Ryan Longman was targeted by Chris Hughton during his time in charge of Nottingham Forest. Last night, he silenced the Hull City boo-boys with a brilliant display against Blackpool.
The Tigers roared back to winning ways with a 3-1 win at Blackpool. Longman set Andy Dawson’s team on their way, with a lovely goal and he worked his way back into the supporters’ good books.
Longman was on the wrong end of some criticism earlier this month. After a 2-0 defeat to Huddersfield fans bombarded him with chants of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’.
They did seem slightly harsh too. Longman was always signed as one for the future and it seems somewhat poor form to do that to such a young player who is still finding his way in the professional game.
Ex-Forest boss Hughton knew Longman from his days at Brighton. The youngster came through the academy ranks at the AMEX Stadium and caught the eye during a loan spell with AFC Wimbledon.
Longman cost Hull £700,000 and at the time, Forest didn’t fancy paying that at the time. The transfer window when he made the move was post-Covid when clubs across the country were cutting their cloth accordingly.
Longman silenced critics with goalscoring display
Fair play to Dawson. The former Forest academy graduate is in caretaker charge at Hull and he’s not listened to the supporters and given Longman the chance to prove his critics wrong.
In 52 appearances for Hull, the versatile attacker has scored six times and laid on a further four in the way of assists.
He’s operated in a number of positions and last night, he got the nod to play as the striker in Dawson’s team.
Longman, 21, hasn’t lost faith in his own ability. Despite the supporters turning on him recently, he’s knuckled down and showcased exactly what he’s capable of.
Forest ultimately didn’t regret not signing Longman. They won promotion last season and now they’ve moved on from signing young EFL stars for the future.
It would appear that he could still have a bright future in the game, however, and it seems he will get the platform to star at Hull.
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