Stretch… yawn… crick of the neck. Oh, hello there dear reader. How’s the summer going so far? Almost nothing happened in May, so this writer took what Gary Neville would call a “mini retirement”.
That’s odd in itself – I can’t remember the last time in recent years we had such a quiet May. The benefits of stable ownership, I suppose. Who knew?
June rumbled on in a similarly sleepy fashion, but the back end of it blossomed into life when Reading started doing stuff and things, so I’ve come out of my
summer hibernation to review those stuff and things and provide my ill-informed nonsense opinions to the interweb space.
Some (this writer) have begun to call those nonsense opinions knee-jerk reactions: initial, immediate thoughts and conclusions on things far too ready to be thunked upon too long or concluded upon but yet, unerringly, still get thunked and concluded upon. Let’s start with May, before getting into more recent events.
The retained lists
This happens every year, and yet, each year, we seem to get better and more efficient and dealing with it. That tells me one of two things: we either used to be really terrible at managing this or we are going somewhere with this project.
Not long after the dust had settled on that season curtain-closer, which we shall not mention – because… shudder… let’s consign it to the past – the lists were released for the first team, followed by the under-21s and under-18s in swift fashion.
For the first team, there were absolutely no shocks or contentious decisions. Mamadi Camara failed to really make an impact in the side, while both Michael Stickland and Tivonge Rushesha never looked like they would get game time. As much of a shame as that may have been, they deserved fresh starts.
Ben Elliott has had serious injury concerns and, as much as it’s a shame to see him released, it made sense. However, there is a sense of optimism that this may not be the end of the road for him, given that the club have committed to supporting him during his recovery. It would be fantastic to see him return.
Last, but certainly not least, the departure of Andy Yiadom. With Ashqar Ahmed and Kelvin Abrefa, plus a new arrival we’ll get onto, it felt as though it was the right time for him to depart for pastures new. He has been an excellent servant to Reading in his time with the club, often during the most difficult of times, and he will always be fondly remembered.
The contract extensions
Similarly, no major surprises here for the first team. Option activated for Jeriel Dorsett? Sounds about right, given the amount of game time he had last season. Offers made for Andy Rinomhota and Abrefa? Sounds right to me, particularly given how bright Rinomhota looked at the end of the season.
Abrefa will be a surprise to many, but for me, there is a player there – with the right coaching and exposure to an extended run in the first team, alongside a settled defence. His versatility is useful too, being able to play on the left.
In the under-21s, there were absolutely no surprises in seeing the likes of Philip Duah, Luke Howard, Abraham Kanu and Shay Spencer have options activated. Later on in June, Tom Norcott, Emmanuel Osho, Matt Rowley and Tyler Sackey (among others) also signing extensions was not a surprise but was super encouraging, given the talent they all have.
However, the one I wasn’t sure would happen but did is also the one that makes me, personally, the happiest: John Ryan having a one-year option activated.
He has had such bad luck with injuries that it wasn’t clear if the club would keep him around, but he is a fantastic left-back, able to use both feet well, and his set-piece and crossing deliveries could be a real asset in the first team. I really, really hope he’s able to make the breakthrough.
The fixture list
Yep, we play every team twice. However, I always get excited because it’s fun to look at when we will play the big teams, who we will start the season with and how we will end the season.
So when the fixtures were released on June 25, I found it exciting to know when we get to play Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City this coming season – big teams who we will be expected to compete against.
My only disappointment was that we don’t get to finish the season at home. This is something we’ve been somewhat fortunate to have been able to do for the last… three? four? seasons, but quite on trend, we once again are away for Boxing Day.
The arrivals
I won’t mention Jacob Brown because that happened in July and that’s the future, in the context of this article. However, while we left it for what seemed like forever, we did confirm two signings in late June.
Most unusually as well, we paid money for both players. This is unusual because, well, we hadn’t been able to do so for a long time, so it still seems like a novelty, but also because we hadn’t done our usual trick of picking up free-agents prior to this.
Kyreece Lisbie won’t be a surprise to anyone – he was heavily linked in January, so it’s great to see that not only did we get our man, but we were also able to beat reported competition for his signature for the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford United.
He’s young (22), experienced in League Two and had a great first half of last season for goal contributions. Not just this, he’s quick.
Udoka Godwin-Malife joined shortly after. At 26, he sits in that optimum age bracket for us of being old enough to have experience but young enough that we can still help him develop and sell him on for a profit. He’s a coup in the sense that he has lots of experience at this level, has leadership skills and gives us versatility in where he can play.
He could equally be a first-choice right-back or right-sided centre-half in a back four. He gives us pace and the ability to carry the ball out of defence: two things we have desperately lacked since Amadou Mbengue left. A back four of Abrefa/Ahmed, Godwin-Malife, Benn Ward and Haydon Roberts is quite an exciting prospect: mobile, quick, dynamic and technically proficient.
The remit so far for the signings has been clear: experienced, but room to grow. Approaching their peak, but not past it. Pace. Speed. Directness. Durable.
Neither Godwin-Malife (“Dokes”) or Lisbie have missed much game time through injury. And both seem to be really highly thought of in terms of their personal characters too.
It might have felt like a long wait to confirm players, but I’m OK with waiting when we strive to bring in the right players to fill positions where we need cover and competition – attributes we lacked last season – and the type of characters that will complement the existing players.
Rob Kelly
It was a shame to see him go in such circumstances, apparently owing to family reasons. I hope he’s OK and everything will work out for him. He didn’t have much time with us, but hopefully his work has helped pave the way for his successor to succeed.
What’s this? A renewed sense of optimism?
Maybe it’s because I’ve had a bit of a break from Reading Football Club, but I feel more optimistic than I did at the end of April/start of May.
It was so toxic around that time, but maybe, maybe there is a plan here? The “maybes” are doing a lot of heavy lifting here, sure, but perhaps it was just about Leam Richardson getting us to the end of the season in a safe place and the playoff push was a brief flirtation.
The summer is here now and he has spoken often about his desire to have a full preseason with this group. The players coming in aren’t players he has worked with before – again, underlining the “get the job done for the end of the season” point from the previous season – and they are young, attack-minded, pacey players.
Indeed, the recruitment seems to be much more strategic than last summer. For all the criticism of Richardson, he has always known what he wants from the side and from the players he works with, and we have made some excellent signings in his time with us.
Sim’s article about the recruitment is prudent here, because it ties in with the strategic thinking: it’s clear what we need, and the club have a clear directive in the type of players they are looking for to fill those gaps.
Of course, this could all rapidly unravel after a bad start. However, right now, I’m at peace with what we have and the direction we are moving in. It will be a tougher league this year, sure, but since being in this division, it feels like we will be better equipped than ever for those challenges.
