I think one thing we've learned from last year and the Odemwingie situation is that you can't take everything the club say as gospel. They may well have made him two offers, but for all we know, they might be ridiculous offers, we all know JP has a penchant for playing hardball with negotiations.
Personally, I'm a big fan of Long's but for 7 million, with only 18 months left on his contract, then I guess you have to take that money and run. I think some of the criticism he has received has been harsh, solely blaming him for the long ball game we seemed to resort to when he played being the obvious example. He clearly played a lot better when the team played decent football. In the opening few months of last season, he kept Lukaku out of the side on merit, in my opinion. He hasn't reached those levels since, but neither has most of the team.
I accept the argument he doesn't score enough goals, but need I remind you those 8 goals in each of his previous two seasons is more than Anichebe has ever managed to score in a Premier League season. I definitely think a replacement needs to be brought in. Anichebe is never fit, Anelka has flattered to deceive, Vydra and Berahino are raw and unproven, and Rosenberg is well Rosenberg. I just hope that if the money is spent, its invested more wisely than the 6 million we splurged on Vic.