As season-openers go, this is one that will be remembered, but not fondly. Despite Jack Marriott’s sublime first-half hat-trick, the game was soured by some horrific defending that can’t be defended.
The perpetrator in chief was Jeriel Dorsett, the defender that doesn’t enjoy defending. It’s fine to consider him a bit of a utility defender, as he can play at centre-back, where he’s passable, at best. But at left-back, it seems he hasn’t learned one iota about positional sense, engagement or what the best thing to do is at any given moment.
It’s akin to him waking up every morning finding out he’s got to play in a position he’s never played in before, and making a hash of it every single time.
Further to this are the knock-on effects of his consistently inconsistent play. Everyone else around him becomes nervous as to what he’s going to do, or, more to the point, not going to do. It causes disruption, because he can’t be trusted.
“While this unit is in its infancy, we most certainly need a big, big upgrade at left-back”
A back four needs to be solid, dependable and united. As a unit, we looked woefully disjointed, and it wasn’t only the defence, as we’ll get to. Yes, it’s only game one. Yes, it’s a marathon and not a sprint, but damn, there’s a lot of work to do.
Udoka Godwin-Malife (or just Dokes) and Benn Ward were fine. Dokes was a bit quieter than I’d expected, but pretty much error-free until Luton Town’s fourth. Ward seemed to be putting out fires pretty well, but Paudie O’Connor is a worry.
A few times he did manage to bail himself out of a tight spot, but his lack of pace is there for all to see. Balls over the top are always going to be a bit of an issue, but for O’Connor it’s like watching a glacier shift in real time.
Overall, while this unit is in its infancy, we most certainly need a big, big upgrade at left-back. I would prefer Randell Williams or even Paddy Lane to take a berth there, rather than watch Dorsett flounder so badly week in, week out until Haydon Roberts is fit again, and who knows when that will be?
They all need to find confidence in each other, back each other up when required, learn each other’s strengths and deficiencies. But on this showing they were far from composed or complete.
Captain material?
Then there’s the next big issue, in my opinion, and it will probably divide many. Lewis Wing is not captain material.
There, I said it.
There’s a school of thought that would suggest there’s a mental disconnect in the entire squad. We saw it clearly in the huge drop-off at the end of last season, and we saw it again against Luton.
When we’re scoring goals and all is good in the world, we’re riding high and floating on rarefied air. From the first-half showing we looked like a team that could actually be easy on the eye and effective.
But from the moment Luton scored their second goal, Reading’s mental fragility cracked like some cheap china. There was little reaction from the players beyond a bit of finger pointing and obligatory clapping of hands. Where’s the fight? Where’s the spirit?
Chiefly, I believe this is because the captaincy is in the wrong hands. Wing is undoubtedly one of the finest players we’ve had in the hoops over the last few years. He has rescued the side and won games all on his own. That much is a given and can’t be underestimated.
But – and it’s a huge, huge but – he’s a luxury player, and luxury players in my eyes should not be captains.
It’s fine to want to build your team around him, that’s understandable, but as we saw, once Luton decided to flood the midfield and overrun Andy Rinomhota and Wing, we had no counter-punch.
As a midfield pairing, Wing is the weak link. He’s a great interceptor of the ball, as his stats will attest, but he’s not quick enough or strong enough to be in a two.
Neither he nor Rino had good games against Luton. Both were chasing shadows in the second half. Throughout they didn’t have support from Josh Stokes – who struggled to know where to be – or from Randell Williams, his replacement.
But to return to Wing, I feel his captaincy style is not what we need, if he has a style at all. He’s not demonstrative, he’s not a leader of men, and his quiet disposition mirrors itself in the rest of the team when the chips are down. The team looks dejected because he is too.
He doesn’t even attempt to lift the team when we concede. He’s invisible. Yes, there should be individual responsibility, it’s not all on the captain. But if he’s not giving the players even a mild ticking-off, then what is his captaincy for? Just by being the best player at one point? It’s not enough.
The problem is the captaincy is almost certainly not going to be given to someone else. Not unless we bring in a natural born leader who commands respect, and it’s just not who we’re in the market for. We’re stuck with this leaderless leader who can lead by example but not by anything anyone else can replicate. That’s a focal point, not a figurehead.
An unbalanced side?
While we can appreciate what Leam Richardson is trying to morph the team into, it’s now switched from being too negative into something akin to kamikaze.
Having two out-and-out wingers with pace who want to take on full-backs is absolutely fine, and what we’ve craved for so long, but there has to be stability behind them.
The midfield two will be overrun without support, and Wing isn’t strong or mobile enough to contain attacks. Stokes’ role appeared to be to support Marriott, not to drop into midfield. He also didn’t look fit enough yet, but that’s by the by.
Anyone who’s ever played a bit of Football Manager will know this set-up is bonkers. Forget the defence for a moment. We’ve got a box-to-box midfielder and a deep-lying playmaker in midfield. Ahead of them are an attacking midfielder, two wingers and a striker. Where’s the protection for the already shaky-enough defence?
There’s symmetry in the formation, granted, but the balance is weighted far too much towards attack now. As we saw against Luton, we can counter-punch to great effect, but over the course of 90-odd minutes we’ll get outlasted by opposition who can flood the weaker areas and dominate from there.
In short, everyone knows we need more bodies – and better bodies at that – in key positions. We’ve got a gem in Marriott, but the deficiencies are crystal clear. One game in and the new style is appreciated but the old failings are still glaringly bright.