Left Back Is Reading’s Key Position Of Summer Recruitment

As Alex writes, Reading are still to properly replace Omar Richards in the long term, and it’s time that changed.

For the first time in what feels like a long while, we have a settled core of a squad coming into the summer. In most positions we have adequate cover, and we’re really only seeking more strength in depth, to aid rotation so players can get more rest and reduce the risk of burnout and/or injury.

By my count, Reading need to bring nine players to the first team, whether it is through academy promotions or external acquisitions, to provide options or back-up for left wing (one or two), defensive midfield (one), right wing (one), striker (one) and centre-back (two). We need a natural winger on the left who can help to link up play with the striker, nominally Sam Smith, and then depth in that role. Moving Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan centrally will help aid his development too.

We need a striker to take the burden off Smith, who must have been exhausted by the end of the season after being, seemingly, our only centre-forward option. A right-winger to give Femi Azeez a rest will aid his development as well – the quality is and never was lacking, but you get the sense that he struggled as the season went on purely because he has never had to play so often and intensely ever before in his career.

We don’t have a natural defensive midfielder in this team – Lewis Wing and Charlie Savage are more like deep-lying playmakers, while Michael Craig is still raw and needs time to learn and hone his craft, as well as someone to show him how it is done in order to learn from.

And centre-back: well, we just saw a raft of them leave and Harlee Dean appears to be MIA, so this goes without saying. However, none of these positions is in as desperate need of a suitable, long-term option than left-back. In fact, we really need two players to boost the ranks in this position.

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This is no slight on Jeriel Dorsett. He’s clearly a capable defender but is not a natural left-back. He is not the type of player to make marauding runs down the channel or confident to carry the ball inside the field.

He’s a centre-back by trade, and while the time at left-back will have helped him develop match experience and game management experience, also likely improving his passing range and effectiveness, as well as aiding his movement and reading of the game, he remains a developing, albeit good, centre-back. This is where Dorsett’s long-term future should be, and would reduce the pressure on finding a left-sided centre-back, given this a notoriously difficult position to fill.

The priority rating for this position has been further increased when you consider our released list: Clinton Mola, the other nominal left-back starter this season, has departed. Nesta Guinness-Walker has made his long expected departure from the club after failing to keep his place in the first team. Matty Carson has also gone, and even if he had stayed, has shown more to suggest that he is better utilised further forward to get the most from his passing, crossing and attacking instincts.

Consider this: left-back has been the only position in the team for the last three seasons where there has been no clear and defined first-choice starter for that role, or a natural fit. There have been cases, notably with our goalkeepers, when we have had a new option each season, but there has always been a clear option and a natural fit. We have however never truly replaced Omar Richards.

In the 2021/22 season, we rotated between Tom McIntyre, nominally a left-sided centre-back, and loan option Baba Rahman. In 2022/23 we changed to a 3-5-2 and adopted left-wing-backs. This time, the mantle was picked up by returning loanee Rahman, Guinness-Walker or even converted winger Junior Hoilett, none of whom were able to convince.

This season, as discussed, we’ve reverted to a back four and seen centre-backs Mola and Dorsett fill the position, but have also seen Guinness-Walker, Carson, Amadou Mbengue, Kelvin Abrefa and even McIntyre play there at various stages of the season. That’s a lot of churn for one position.

We’ve had a very “mend and make do” approach to this position for some time now, and we really need to focus on settling on a long-term option. For example, while Abrefa could play there as an inverted option, assuming that a contract extension is agreed, really the time is now for him to be pushing on for being the starting right-back or at least having a more equal share of the game time with Andy Yiadom over the course of the season.

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We have options in the youth team: John Clarke and John Ryan are both natural fits and have been able to demonstrate the tactical versatility and technical skills to perform this within the setup Ruben Selles deploys, while representing the under-21s. But it would be a risk to lean too heavily on these young players to immediately make a positive impact. We need to give them time to develop and be nurtured, ideally as rotation options for mid-week games, cup games, coming off the bench or injury cover.

I am a firm believer in building the team from the back. Having a clear and defined first-choice option at left-back will help us recruit or select the correct players to take up the similarly troublesome left-wing position.

If we bring in a left-footer who likes to make runs along the touchline to support the attack, then we know that we need to bring in a right-footed left-winger who prefers to cut inside to support the attack. If we bring in an inverted full-back who likes to drift centrally, then we know we may need a left-footed winger who can stretch the play by going wide and delivering the ball. It all starts from the build-up and helps to define how the attack is shaped.

This season, we need to finally bring in a long-term option for this position. We have to learn from the gaps we have seen in the previous three years and how having the right option in this position to help us create more certainty in how we defend, attack and transition between the two.

As described, we’ve lost a lot of options in this position lately too, which perhaps suggests there is a plan being formed to fix this. One thing is for sure: we’ve waited too long to replace Richards, and we have to do it this summer. It’s the priority above all else, before we begin to add depth to the other starting roles.