Solving Reading’s Midfield Conundrum
As we near the start of the new season, Harry takes a look at what he thinks Reading’s best midfield three is.
Since Ruben Selles made the much-needed switch from his favoured 4-2-2-2 to 4-1-4-1 midway through 2023/24, Reading’s midfield three has been made up of, in the main, Lewis Wing, Harvey Knibbs and one of Ben Elliott, Charlie Savage and Michael Craig.
Last season that whittled down to just one of Elliott and Savage, with Craig switching to right-back. Early on in the season, due to an injury to Knibbs, both Savage and Elliott were able to get some minutes, but once Knibbs returned it was clear that the Wings-Knibbs-Elliott dynamic was Selles’ favourite.
It wasn’t until another setback - this time an ultimately season-ending hamstring injury for Elliott - that Savage found his way back into team, and then stayed there, meaning there hasn’t been a prolonged period of time in which all four of Wing, Knibbs, Savage and Elliott have been fit and available.
That is until, hopefully at least, now. So, one of these four, initially at least, is going to have to make do with the bench, but who should that be?
Let’s start with the easy one: Wing is not only guaranteed to be in that midfield three, but is also the first name on the team sheet. He’s our de facto captain, talisman and, simply put, best player.
Then we move on to Knibbs who, for me, is nearly as indispensable as his stand-in skipper. Moving him into central midfield was a masterstroke from Selles. His tenacity, hard work and aggression in midfield are so important to our team. Throw in his reading of the game - backed up by how many interceptions and tackles he makes in forward areas - and his goal threat, and you get a player that’s very, very hard to replace.
So there’s two of the positions filled. Now onto the real debate. The one that really is a bit up in the air: the boundless energy, enthusiasm and eye for a worldie of Savage or the guile, technique and elegance of Elliott?
They are two very different, but equally as important, players. First and foremost, before we get into the nitty gritty, I will say that having all four of these players fit for as much of the season as possible will be so important in where we finish. We sorely missed Elliott in the second half of last season. All four of them will be needed and will play a lot of minutes if they’re all fit.
However, as long as Hunt sticks with the 4-3-3, there’s only room for one of Savage or Elliott on the opening day of the season and my head and my heart are saying different things on this one. Let’s start with what my head’s saying - in other words...
The practical argument
I think Savage continues to start and will have that spot on the opening day. However, if Elliott had been available from January onwards, this definitely would not have been the case; he played virtually every minute after he came into the team - and he was one of our best performers in the last few months of the campaign.
He’s also more of a ‘Noel Hunt’ player than Elliott is. Again, it’s a really tricky one to judge because Hunt has barely had the chance to play Elliott yet, but under Hunt we are a lot more direct and we tend to bypass the midfield more, which obviously suits Savage’s game way more than it does Elliott’s.
However, if Hunt did have Elliott available, would the Irishman have played more akin to the way Selles did? Was he just doing horses for courses and playing the way he thought was best for the players he had available? Who knows?
What we do know is that Savage improved exponentially as the season went on, and getting 90 minutes after 90 minutes really helped him as a player. His performance levels were also really impressive for a young kid playing so many games.
Therefore I think he keeps his place in the team for the start of the season at least. It was a midfield trio that gave absolutely everything for the team and ran themselves into the ground last season, and I think Hunt will feel he has to show some level of loyalty to the players that nearly broke themselves for him, and for the club, when we needed it most.
The emotional argument
However, my heart is screaming out for Elliott to be back in this team as quick as possible. It’s very easy to forget, because of how long ago it feels now, just how good he was at the start of last season.
This time last year I backed him to have a real breakthrough season in TTE’s season preview roundtable, and he was well on his way to that before injury ended his campaign prematurely.
Savage is good on the ball don’t get me wrong, but Elliott is on another level to him in my opinion. The eye test is something that people need to use a lot more these days when watching football, and all you need to do is watch Elliott for a few minutes to see he’s a serious player - and has the kind of elegance, eye for a pass and calmness on the ball that is unmatched by anyone in our squad, bar Wing.
The midfield just looks like a more well-rounded trio with Elliott alongside Knibbs and Wing in my opinion. It looks less one-dimensional and more balanced. We looked like a better footballing team when Elliott was in central areas making things happen. So that’s who I’d like to see alongside Knibbs and Wing.
But it’s a nice dilemma to have, isn’t it?
Those four could probably get into most midfields in the league, and some in the league above, so to have them all as Reading players at the same time is a really exciting prospect. And, as I said earlier, all of them will be vital for us if we’re going to have a successful season.