Well, isn’t that some lovely news for us all to get on a Wednesday afternoon?
Andy Rinomhota’s return, on a deal until the end of the season, is a move that ticks all the boxes. Not only does it play a nice
tune on the heart strings, it’s also a really smart piece of business.
A lot has happened in the world of Reading Football Club since the June 24, 2022 – the day Rinomhota’s move to Cardiff City was confirmed. Therefore, it’s probably slipped a fair few fans’ minds just how good he was in blue and white hoops – and I include myself in that.
Making his debut under Jaap Stam in 2017, it wasn’t until the following season that he really cemented his place in the team. Thinking about it now, I’m struggling to come up with an academy player who’s made as immediate an impact on the first team as Rino did. From the get go it was clear he belonged.
In particular there was a barnstorming performance, first in midfield and then at right-back, in a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford in the FA Cup, and who can forget his first professional goal, that equaliser at Carrow Road?
At the end of 2018/19 he was rewarded with the club’s player of the season – a feat no academy graduate has achieved since. It’s worth adding here that he only made 26 appearances in the league that season too, which puts into perspective the impact he made.
A more difficult season for him followed, first struggling to find his way into Jose Gomes’ new-look midfield before the season was curtailed due to Covid. But he more than made up for that in the next one.
The 2020/21 season didn’t end up the way it perhaps should’ve done, but we were given some pretty memorable moments – albeit from our sofas rather than in the stands. The central-midfield duo of Josh Laurent and Rinomhota was a huge part of that, and a personal highlight of mine.
We saw the best of Rinomhota in that season. His selflessness, endless running and under-the-radar work allowed the likes of Michael Olise, Lucas Joao, Yakou Meite, John Swift and Ovie Ejaria to steal all the headlines.
Side note: we should’ve got playoffs that year, shouldn’t we?
It’s those traits that sum Rino up to a tee. But unfortunately, it’s also why he’s been forgotten a little bit. We’ve all looked back over the last few years and craved a piece of Olise magic, a dose of Swifty’s creativity or a goal from Joao. But Rinomhota’s energy in midfield has been just as big a miss.
And as I mentioned before, even if you strip sentimentality out of the equation – which is hard to do in a situation like this, granted – this move makes sense. We’ve seen homecoming returns in the past that haven’t quite worked out as practically as they did emotionally (cough, Shane Long, cough). But I’m pretty confident in saying we’ll look back on this piece of business come the end of the season as a shrewd move.
Simply put, Charlie Savage cannot play every minute. And with the move to a double pivot – a system we’ve seen Rino thrive and deliver in before, may I add, combined with Liam Fraser’s sudden disappearance – some competition in the centre of the park was desperately needed.
Rino’s Cardiff move
I’m sure he’ll be the first to say his time at Cardiff didn’t go as he would’ve wanted.
It’s very easy to look back now at that time and say ‘the grass isn’t always greener’, but for what it’s worth, when Rino left us (and the likes of Swift, Laurent, Tom McIntyre and Tom Holmes too for that matter), the Sahara desert was a greener prospect than our football club.
It was a real shame for him on a personal note, because he showed during his first spell that he had the potential to be a really solid Championship midfielder. Cardiff was an upwards move from us at that time, no doubt, but whether it ended up being the right club for him is another debate entirely.
However, although the Bluebirds didn’t have the best season as a club last time out, Rinomhota bagged himself another end-of-season award: players’ player of the season.
Of course he’s been without a club since then, but if he carries over that personal form, and if we get even half of the player we had previously, we’ve got one hell of a midfielder for this level.
But my hopes are higher than that. I think this is a seriously good piece of business, and the fact it’s Andy ruddy Rinomhota is a big, gigantic cherry on top.
A former player of the season, one half of perhaps my favourite central midfield partnership in recent times, and one of our own.
It’s good to have you back, Rino.
