Lewis Wing has been a mainstay of every iteration of our starting XI since he first broke into it under Ruben Selles. He played every single minute of his second season and missed only half a game last season after going off injured.
Essentially, he’s been the first name of the team sheet for two and half years. Untouchable, some might say.
For the vast majority of that time, I think I’m pretty safe in saying we’ve all been OK with that. The general consensus over the last couple of seasons is that he’s not just been our best player, but one of the best in the league.
But, despite his 20+ goals and assists in the league last season, and all that came before, his position under the side is coming under some scrutiny from fans – and has been for a little while now.
So, simply put, what is going on?
Square peg, round hole?
Lewis Wing played his best football, overall, under Selles. At the time I was one craving for him to be played further forward, but in hindsight that number six role, in a team that wanted to keep possession and play patterns through midfield, was tailor made for him.
(And to be honest, I’ll take any reason to think about that Wing-Knibbs-Elliott triumvirate again).
Obviously after Selles, we’ve had Noel Hunt and now Leam Richardson: two managers with very different philosophies to the Spaniard.
And there has been a clear impact on Wing’s ability to effect games because of that. He’s seeing less of the ball, teams have cottoned onto his quality and he’s now playing in a two, rather than being the one who sits in.
Essentially, where I’m getting to with this is that Richardson’s style of play isn’t a natural fit for someone like Wing.
That’s not to say he can’t perform under Richardson – we’ve seen he can. But it looked like it was easy for Wing to play under Selles. Under Richardson, it’s looked that little bit more difficult for him.
A victim of his own success?
Let’s call a spade a spade: Wing has been one of the best players in this league for two and a half seasons now.
He has set himself super-high standards. There was a time when we couldn’t go a week without a 30-yard worldie from him. So it was always going to be noticeable when his performances dipped a bit, which they objectively have.
But still, let’s take the last game at Wigan Athletic for example: he played at least three passes that no one else in our squad, nay perhaps even our league, could have made.
It is invaluable having players in your team that, even when they’re below their best, can still produce multiple moments of magic.
And I’m going to be honest, I really don’t think he’s playing that badly. At least I don’t think he’s playing any worse than any of his teammates.
Furthermore, if you do drop him, does Charlie Savage come in and objectively improve the side? Does Liam Fraser? I’ve seen more to be positive about Wing going forward this season than either of them – albeit a much smaller sample size from the latter, I will concede.
Credit in the bank
Yes, I’ll admit it, I am a bit of a Lewis Wing fan boy. I’m perhaps even writing this piece with my Wing-tinted glasses on, who knows?
In his first year he was our player of the season, in his second he played every single minute, in his third – his worst of the three – he got 11 goals and 11 assists from midfield.
He is not playing as well as we’ve seen he can. He has looked particularly off the pace this season, I will admit that. But he should have enough credit in the bank for a bit of patience and grace from us.
It is a tale as old of time, especially in the world of Reading Football Club, that when your team is going through a tough patch and it’s not really clicking on the pitch on a regular basis, your so-called best player gets picked out as a bit of a scapegoat.
It happened to John Swift, it happened to Lucas Joao, it’s happening to Wing. Because of the standards they set themselves, and the moments of magic they’ve shown they’re capable of, it becomes so much more noticeable when they’re not doing it.
We’re a better side with Wing in it
Of course you always crave what you don’t have. And I pretty much guarantee that a few games without Wing in the side will have us realising that, in reality, we’re a better team with him in it.
I truly, truly believe that we lose so much more with him out of the team than we gain. And he will come good, I have little doubt of that.
Of course, he needs to improve and find consistency. The Wing we got against MK Dons should be his baseline, and his baseline is a level above most of the midfielders in this division.
But the entire team needs to improve and find consistency, not just Wing. And that’s a much wider conversation to be had.
How can Richardson get this team to gel on a more regular basis? How can we find that consistency to compete week after week?
The answers to those questions I am not here to answer, although I will say that, whatever they are, I’m adamant they involve Wing.