To be honest there’s not a lot to say about the Plymouth Argyle game. We should have won it. We had decent chances and looked energetic in doing so.
It’s a difficult place to go to, both in terms of distance and the fixture itself, but taking a point there was no disgrace and we moved on.
However, Reading’s performance against Oxford United was frankly a disgrace.
What we’ve seen so far this season is enough to make a decent judgement on the team as a whole. We’ve seen enough to know that, at home,
we can be flat-track bullies and have more of an edge to our game to score enough goals to win most matches. That’s where our confidence lies.
But away from home, we’re a different animal completely. Aside from the MK Dons mismatch, where they were truly dismal, we show little fight, we’re timid, we look beaten as soon as we go a goal down.
Our play is one-dimensional and stale. We’ve got two out balls: one to Kyreece Lisbie and one to Jack Marriott. That’s it. That’s all we’ve got. There’s no playing between the lines or progression up the field from midfield. There’s a lot of running around but rarely do we find space.
It’s so easy to counter as a result. Tie Lisbie down and that’s one avenue shafted. The returning Marriott is the only other beneficiary and he’s working off scraps.
For a side that’s touted to be playoff- or promotion-worthy, it’s frankly laughable. We’ve seen the limit of this squad already, barring a huge change of attitude and commitment away from home.
Further to that, it’s pretty clear that, while we have the basis of a decent starting XI, the gap between the starters and the finishers is stark. When all our players are fit, you know exactly who that starting XI is; there are no exceptions – well, there should be, but I’ll get onto that later.
You can rattle that XI off right now without so much of a blink.
This does come down to the manager, obviously, but either he doesn’t rate the rest of his squad that much or they aren’t that good – or both.
The fact that a barely fit Marriott started against Oxford pretty much says it all. He should have been eased back into the last two games, but he started as this one meant something; the risk was worth taking. But what on earth does that say about Jacob Brown and Jamie Reid?
The captain
Going into central midfield is where I have my biggest beef and have done so for a couple of seasons. I never liked the pairing of Charlie Savage and Lewis Wing. They never gelled; it felt shoehorned as they were our high-value players. Now we have Andy Rinomhota and Wing together and my feelings are just the same.
The common denominator is Wing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: he’s a luxury player in a team that can’t afford luxury in that position, and this was proven last night.
He’s not agile enough, he can’t tackle, he’s slow and he’s, ultimately, out for himself. He’s selfish. How many times do we have to see that same ‘half turn, hit and hope down the field’ pass which somewhat resembles a… golf shot? I’m bored of it.
Nor do we wish to see our captain laugh as he hoys a hopeless ball into the car park. We’ve seen this desperation too often this season as his personal slump continues. Play for the team, not for yourself.
A lot can be said for a team when the chips are down. When we go a goal down away from home, invariably that’s it, we’re toast. You can see it in the body language. The shoulders droop, the look of defeat is already in their eyes and play hasn’t even restarted.
In my opinion, this characterises what the captain portrays himself.
There’s no rabble rousing, there’s no arms around shoulders, there’s absolutely no change in his demeanour, whether that be rage, disappointment, kicking a post, anything! It’s just the same trudge back to the centre circle without so much as a word. There’s a literal silence between him and his charges.
There’s been a lot of discourse around what kind of captain Wing is, and I was guilty of it too. I wrote an entire piece about him being made captain because he was our best player. The owners bestowed that privilege upon him because he deserved it, based on his output.
In hindsight, that’s been an awful move. He doesn’t lead. He no longer leads by example in terms of output either.
He may be a leader in dedication and how a professional conducts himself, but then all the players should equally be as dedicated and professional by default. They don’t need a figurehead in being holier than thou.
But back to last night, both he and Rinomhota were like lighthouses. You could see them, but they were easily avoided. We were so easy to play through.
That, coupled with Josh Stokes getting booked in the first half, meant we simply stood off Cameron Brannagan who just ran the show without so much as a still breeze against him.
Has anything changed?
I could go into the goals conceded, but again, we’ve been here many times before. Switching off at crucial times is our nemesis and has been for eons. Last night was no different.
How we can eradicate those mental hiccups and change our mental make-up, I really don’t know. I fear this is the limit of this squad until big changes are made.
Other players need to break into that established starting unit, but will they even be given the chance? How low must a player’s form be before they are even considered to sit a league game out?
That said, I have always felt that this team is nothing more than a mid-table outfit. My sentiments there haven’t changed, but also what hasn’t changed is our midfield, our formation, what our substitutes do and what positions they take, etc.
If we’re to be any different, if we’re to be in with a shout of the top six, if we’re serious about doing the right thing, then Richardson can’t and shouldn’t be afraid of making those changes.
Otherwise, we’re stuck with these shoddy one-dimensional performances, with players being demotivated due to not being given a chance and mental frailties killing us time after time.
Change nothing and nothing will change.
