Reading Player Grades: September 2024
TTE debutant Nick has his say on how Reading’s players have done individually so far, and gives them all a grade.
For context, I have only rated players who played 90+ minutes during August, as to be able to give a fair assessment of their performance thus far.
Goalkeepers
Joel Pereira: B
Overall, Pereira has been exactly what you’d want from your ‘keeper in the first four league games – reliable. No real mistakes and some solid saves, coupled with the odd fingertip round the post, have contributed to a solid start to the campaign. A real standout was the diving save, high to his left from Emil Hansson, in the last few moments at Birmingham City, to keep the scores level and earn the Royals a deserved point to kick off the season.
Coniah Boyce-Clarke: C
He seems to have displaced David Button as back-up to Pereira and has performed to a decent level when playing between the sticks in both the Carabao Cup and BSM Trophy respectively.
Boyce-Clarke could have been better at commanding his area against Colchester United and his distribution can be unpredictable at times, but at 21, his game is surely going to develop with more opportunities as the season progresses.
Defenders
Jeriel Dorsett: B+
The unsung hero of the team so far for me personally. Dorsett has been robust defensively, making the joint-second-most blocks per 90 in the squad (via WhoScored) and has exhibited a surprisingly quick turn of pace for a player who is naturally a centre-half, allowing him to make 15 recoveries.
He dealt well with Siriki Dembele in the first half against Brum, and although he admittedly did struggle against Wrexham’s Ryan Barnett, on the balance of things he’s been dependable and puts in a good shift week in, week out.
Amadou Mbengue: A-
This man is exceptionally hard not to love, whether it be due to his infectious personality off the pitch or his growingly consistent performances on it.
Taking out that hazardous back-pass to Pereira against Birmingham, Amadou has displayed strong decision-making personified by his ability to know when to play it simple or hit the ‘Hollywood Ball’ as he did to great effect multiple times against Wigan Athletic, getting the forwards in behind the Latics’ backline. This is demonstrated by the fact he has hit a team-high 5.8 accurate long balls per 90.
Further to this, Mbengue has 3/3 successful dribbles this season and his driving runs from defence have enabled Reading to beat the press and get up the pitch putting the opposition on the backfoot.
Tyler Bindon: B+
Bindon’s continued his fine form from last season and, in every game, he’s been steady and reliable. He was really the only player to come away with much credit from our encounter with Wrexham, hitting the bar with a header from Lewis Wing’s free-kick and defending well, all things considered.
He won 100% of his tackles that day while making nine recoveries and five headed clearances, and that is what we’ve come to expect from Bindon – solid defensive performances.
Not the standout man but a strong August for the young Kiwi-international.
Harlee Dean: C-
Whenever a senior defender comes into a fairly young backline, you should know what you’re going to get from them and they should bring a level of assurance, however with Harlee Dean I don’t think he brings that.
He doesn’t fit the system and, as they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Dean fits the stereotypical old-fashioned long-ball defender mould, heading out crosses and playing in a deep line – traits that don’t suit Selles’ approach.
Against West Ham United under-21s he was shaky, getting caught out of position on occasion and misplacing numerous balls out from the back. The performance did nothing to reassure that he’s good enough to be anything other than a backup option within this squad.
Abraham Kanu: C-
After a pretty good pre-season, Kanu will have been disappointed to have been subbed after 34 minutes on his full debut against Colchester. He looks very capable, but it seemed a baptism of fire for the youth player and a clear step up competitively.
Time will tell for the young centre-half and, with the lack of depth in his position, he may well get a chance to impress with injuries and rotation in store.
Michael Craig: A-
Simply put I think he’s had a great start to the season, considering he’s playing out of position. He’s among the highest in the team regarding his defensive numbers (1.8 successful tackles and 1.3 interceptions per 90) and his passing stats (45 accurate passes and 4.3 accurate long balls per 90).
I think this exhibits just how much of the build-up play has started on the right before a long-ball switchopf play over to the left flank. I’ve been impressed specifically with Craig’s ability to link up with Mbengue and Wing and play through the press, relieving pressure on our goal and giving us a foundation to build on in the attack.
A strong start to the campaign for the academy graduate!
Andre Garcia: B-
An encouraging start to his senior career for Garcia in August. He was very versatile, playing in three different positions, which isn’t always easy when thrown on midway through a game, but he’s dealt fairly well in getting up to the speed of the games for such a young player.
I thought he did especially well when coming on away at Birmingham – helping to get Reading up the pitch and taking on and beating his defender often. He’s sometimes lacking defensively but, at just 16, it is hard to be too harsh on him. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses.
Kelvin Abrefa: C
He took his goal well in the BSM trophy with a nice driven shot across the ‘keeper and, when coming on in the league, he’s done a stellar job. However, if fit in pre-season I firmly believe he would have been the starting right-back at the start of the campaign.
It seems fitness is Abrefa’s main issue so far throughout his career. If he can maintain his fitness levels and stay clear of injury for the majority of the current season, there’s every chance his grade will improve as he is clearly good enough for this level, but until he has a clear run in the team and is getting consistent minutes, a C is the highest realistically he can get.
Midfielders
Lewis Wing: B+
The first name on the team sheet, he seems to relish that ‘quarterback’ role in the centre of the park and really is the heartbeat of this young team. Wing keeps things ticking and is always an option to receive it off either Bindon or Mbengue, while retrieving that ability to find that killer long or through ball to cut open the defence.
He’s created a team-high eight chances so far and he did what he does best when whipping in a low free-kick against Colchester in the cup.
Reading’s main man from last season, he’s has started this one much in the same manner – strongly.
Ben Elliott: A
A cracking August for Elliott. His final ball has improved so much from last season and he’s quickly developing into one of the star men in this team and one of the main creative hubs.
His defence-splitting pass for Sam Smith in the build-up to Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s goal against Wigan was sublime and he showed the other side of his game defensively against Birmingham, winning 3/4 tackles and making 3 recoveries to retrieve possession.
Elliott seems to have a knack of luring in the defender before releasing the ball at just the right moment to start dangerous attacks. The only way I think he could improve his performances at the moment would be adding some goals to his game in the coming months.
Charlie Savage: A-
He was given the opportunity to start a run of games due to Knibbs’ injury and boy has he taken it! Savage has an unbelievable strike on him, demonstrated by the goals against Colchester and Charlton Athletic, and has a trait of arriving late in the box for cut-backs that always gives him shooting opportunities.
The defensive side of his game needs to improve and he still gets dribbled past too often, but for what he’s offered the team offensively in August, he has to get an A of some sorts.
It will be interesting to see who starts in that midfield now Knibbs is available again after injury.
Mamadi Camará: C+
A mixed bag for Camara in August. I think he’s had his strong moments but once again picked up an injury has frustratingly hampered his start to the season.
From the two games he’s played this season, both in which he was subbed off, I think his link-up play has been encouraging and he looks after the ball incredibly well, but his end product is lacking and it seems that final ball has just escaped him so far.
Hopefully a speedy recovery and getting some regular minutes can allow Camara to build some form heading into the autumn months to get his season really up and running.
Forwards
Harvey Knibbs: C+
Unfortunately there’s not a lot to work with to grade Knibbs thus far, but from the first couple of games this season I’ve gone with a C+. In the opening game against Brum, he was strong in the press as we’ve become accustomed to, and protected the ball well. He fired straight at the ‘keeper when he got an opportunity against Colchester, the only real chance he’s had thus far.
I’m looking forward to his return from injury as his role is one that the Royals cannot really directly replace at the moment, due to the limited numbers within the squad, and I’m sure his grade will improve as the season goes on.
Adrian Akande: B-
Promising early signs for Akande! He’s clearly still very raw and at times has struggled to understand when to slow the game down and retain the ball. However, there has been clear potential in his performances.
He’s attacked the space in front of him well and provides pace and directness, personified by THAT run and assist against Charlton. He’ll get plenty of opportunity I feel this season due to Femi Azeez going out the door, so hopefully he develops as the campaign goes on. Not a bad start at all.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan: A
What a start to the season this man’s had. A constant threat in one-on-ones down the left and his ability to drop his shoulder to gain the half yard have enabled him to create plenty of shooting opportunities for himself.
Ehibhatiomhan took his goal well on the opening day and was aware and on his toes to cushion in against Wigan, but it was the assist in the same game that I particularly liked. He showed great aggression to shrug off his marker as the ball was floating in and the touch to bring the ball down was exceptional, before pulling it back for Savage.
The jewel in the crown in August for me and hopefully he can stay injury free as he looks likely create something every time he goes forward.
Jayden Wareham: B
When Wareham has got the chance, he’s been reliable and impressed. His creativity on the ball in the BSM Trophy particularly caught the eye and he seems an able back-up option for the striker role.
He took his goal well, slotting a calm finish across the ‘keeper, and his agility and close control have allowed him to create some decent shooting opportunities. A solid start to the campaign and something to build on as the games come thick and fast.
Sam Smith: C
Ostensibly, C may seem a harsh grade for Smith. Charlton was undoubtedly his best game to date this season, with better link-up play throughout, and he took his goal well by getting in front of the defender with a clever run and getting his knee over the ball for a controlled finish.
Up until that match though, Smith has been wasteful in front of goal. He missed two big chances in the Wigan game, volleying over at the back stick in the first half from Dorsett’s cross and then in the build-up to Ehibhatiomhan’s goal: after timing his run perfectly he got the ball stuck under his feet a little and ended up rushing the finish.
His pressing has been impressive though and, as a top striker at this level, hopefully he can now go on a run of scoring and gain some momentum as he did in the second half of the last campaign.