We all remember when Jose Mourinho joined Chelsea in 2004 (how have those 21 years passed by so quickly?) and declared himself “The Special One” – a moniker which, even despite the decline in his managerial fortunes over the last years, is one the media still use for him.
The thing is though, he never actually said that. The quote was paraphrased. What he actually said was this:
“Please don’t say I’m arrogant, because what I say is true. I am European champion, so I’m not… one of… of the bottle. I’m a…
I think I’m a special one.”
Although a slight difference, the difference between “a” and “the” still changes the whole context of the quote. Now, while this is a nice walk down memory lane, what relevance does this have to Reading FC? Well, I want to refer to this the interview that Rob Couhig, our owner, gave to this very website’s podcast back in June.
“We have a plan. It will certainly be a good [summer transfer window], well executed, with potential of being spectacular.”
I think we all remember the quote. However, it’s worth reminding ourselves of the full quote because Couhig never promised that the window will be spectacular. Simply that it would have the potential to be so. What he did promise was that we (the collective we) would have a plan, and that the summer transfer window would be a good one, one that is well executed.
The groundwork for a rebuild
At the time of writing this, Reading have brought in a total of 10 players, four of whom are on loan. We’ve only once in the last few years done anywhere near as much recruitment as this in a single window: the summer of 2023, ahead of Ruben Selles’ first season in charge of the team.
This is poignant because the rebuild we’re doing here is massive, even more so than the one required in 2023. At the start of the summer, we only had Kelvin Abrefa, Lewis Wing, Charlie Savage, Ben Elliott, Harvey Knibbs and Andre Garcia to take us into the new season. That basically meant: no goalkeepers, no defence and no attack. It won’t require a tactical mastermind to tell you that’s not an ideal starting point.
First and foremost, we had to tie down players with expiring deals. One of these – Mamadi Camara – was quicker to be completed given a one-year option being activated (read the full retained list here).
The first most significant piece of news regarding new deals for players in this category concerned Joel Pereira, acknowledged as the best goalkeeper in the league (at least, by us; I’m not sure about the opinions of the fans of other teams) on a new, long-term deal.
This then was followed by, in no particular order, extensions being given to Jeriel Dorsett, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Michael Stickland, John Ryan, John Clarke, Tivonge Rushesha, Andy Yiadom, Ashqar Ahmed, Abraham Kanu, Shay Spencer, Basil Tuma and some other youth-level players yet to feature in the first team.
That’s a lot of deals to get over the line. We lost Amadou Mbengue, Michael Craig and Jayden Wareham, which hurt, but if you looked at the priority player – the one we absolutely needed to keep above all else – it was Pereira, and we got that over the line with relative ease, it seems.
As well as this, the deals offered were smart. We haven’t thrown money at players to convince them to stay, and we have only offered one/two-year deals for this lot. We have given them to challenge to grow and meet our expectations, without hampering ourselves financially with long-term deals that would be unsustainable to maintain if they are players that don’t feature regularly.
Further to this, we even managed to get Wing to sign a new deal early on. This is significant because, with one year left on his deal, clubs further up the food chain would have been sniffing. Getting him to commit was a marker for other players either pondering to join or pondering to extend their existing deals. Here is, arguably, one of the best midfielders in the division, committing the best years of his career with us.
Smart recruitment
The importance of this was further exemplified later in the window, with the loss of Knibbs – another player with one year left to run on his deal. However, this was reported to have netted us £1.8 million and we even had the back-up ready.
A few days later, Kamari Doyle signed on loan to replace that goalscoring gap in the team. Losing one of your best players is never ideal, but to get that kind of money and have executed the replacement plan effectively is something we haven’t done well in recent years – at least, the pre-Brian Carey years.
The other loans that have come in have addressed key gaps in the squad. Three seasons – at least – without a proper left-back. Problem solved with the acquisition of Matty Jacob on loan, who has made a bright start to life with us.
We needed a ball-playing, aerial presence in the heart of our defence to replace the loss of Tyler Bindon. In came Finley Burns, and he’s played every minute of the season so far, showcasing those skills. We needed a striker, we got one, in Mark O’Mahony.
Significantly as well – referring back to the mention of Couhig’s “plan” – all of these players have had experience at this level of the pyramid. There was, and remains, the feeling that we are recruiting smartly and not just throwing names into a hat and hoping for the best.
Let’s look at the remaining recruits, who all came to us on permanent deals. Paudie O’Connor – yet to feature due to injury – was widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs, if not the best, in the league last year. He brings aerial quality at both ends of the pitch and leadership. Many boxes are ticked there.
Liam Fraser came in under the radar, but is already featuring regularly for the side and offers flexibility in being able to play in midfield as an eight – as he largely has done for us so far – or deeper as a six. He’s also able to cover at centre-back: useful when you look at the luck we’ve had with injuries there.
Daniel Kyrerewaa was plucked out of obscurity but has been another regular for the side, adding dynamism and speed out wide. Jack Stevens came in as a back-up goalkeeper, and was met with a seemingly universal “meh”, until he then played against Portsmouth and had a blinder. Now we have such a strong goalkeeping department, that we can afford our third-choice ‘keeper (Tom Norcott) some time out on loan to get match experience.
The most recent addition, Derrick Williams, ticked so many boxes for us it’s unreal. Naturally left-footed, experienced at this level, match-ready (coming from the US where their seasons run differently), experienced at this level and a leader. He’s slotted straight into the team like a comfy-fitting glove and, when O’Connor comes back, what a welcome headache that will be for Noel Hunt.
Best of all? Apart from the experience, their quality, the addressing of the depth needed in various positions across the pitch and the fact these are players that meet the now famous Carey “no d*******s” rule, not a single penny in transfer fees were spent for any of these players. Smart business. With a clear plan.
We’ve shelled out only for Paddy Lane, who added depth and experience out wide for us and was ferocious at this level two years ago. The owners have showed they will spend, when the cost and the investment demonstrably is right to do so. And few have argued that this wasn’t right to do so, despite Lane being injured early in his Reading career.
What’s still to come
All that remains is getting a deal over the line for an established striker or two. Including those who are active at first-team level with the academy, we have three goalkeepers, three right-backs, five centre-backs, three left-backs, eight central midfielders, two right wingers and three left wingers. That’s unheard-of squad depth for us.
It’s just the striker position that we have left to fix, and from the rumours doing the rounds, we have some names in the frame. Further to this, pre-Wycombe Wanderers, Hunt confirmed that deals had been agreed with one or two players, pending confirmation from clubs. This shows Reading are continuing to work on giving Hunt what he needs to get the best out of this side. It’s hugely encouraging.
“It’s also hugely encouraging that we aren’t allowing ourselves to be held to ransom by the salary demands of the players”
Further to this, it’s also hugely encouraging that we aren’t allowing ourselves to be held to ransom by the salary demands of the players. Hunt said earlier in the window that either the players or their agents, or both, have seen the facilities and have pushed for more money.
While it could be considered somewhat frustrating to lose the opportunity to bring in good players at the final hurdle, you have to respect the policy we have in place. We know what we want, and if you don’t want to be here, then thanks but no thanks, we will move onto the next person who does want to be here.
To come full circle, has this been a spectacular transfer window? No, it hasn’t. But, really, it’s not been far off it, and maybe once these players we’ve drafted in have settled, the benefit of hindsight could show us that, at the end of the season, it might well have been.
Has it been a good window, with a plan? Undoubtedly. It’s really worth taking a moment to remember this.
We’ve recruited well: experience at this level, addressing squad depth issues, bringing in good players and good people without breaking the budget. We have a week or so of the window left to go, and we as a fanbase should have the confidence that the club will make the right moves to finish our business for the season ahead.
