More Than Just A Wing Man

There it is then, another season has passed and another Player of the Season award has been handed out. In stark contrast to 2022/23, it really felt like there were so many players deserving of recognition. However, there really seemed to be only one contender in the running for this: Lewis Wing.

Winning the club’s official vote with 60%, Lewis Wing was given his recognition at the end of the final game of the season in a really nice presentation event. I heard through various Reading-related media outlets that, later that night, while celebrating in Purple Turtle, he declared his love for the team and said he wasn’t leaving. He was probably a bit plastered though, so maybe we won’t read too much into that.

He’s got two years left on his contract, and after a season when he contributed 10 goals and eight assists in League One, he really seems to be at the peak of his game and one of the best in the division.

Something that we don’t talk about though is his leadership role within the Reading first team. He’ll turn 29 at the end of June and has worked incredibly hard to get to where he has gotten to in football, working his way up from the very lower leagues after being released from the Darlington academy. He’s been around and knows the value of hard work and the importance of staying grounded, where anything can change in football at the drop of a penny, or a ball. He has the ability and capability to lead by example, on and off the pitch.

He’s one of the oldest, therefore most experienced, in the Reading first-team picture: only David Button, Dean Bouzanis, Andy Yiadom, Harlee Dean and Sam Hutchinson are older than him. I use the term “first-team picture” loosely, here.

Of that quintet, Hutchinson is set to leave, Bouzanis and Dean both seem to have one foot out of the door already despite one year remaining on both their deals, and there are question marks over whether Button will hang around as fans are keen to strengthen in the goalkeeping department. The only constants have been, and seem to be, Andy Yiadom and Lewis Wing.

Andy Yiadom hasn’t always been present for us either, this season. Two suspensions and, if I am counting correctly, two injuries have seen him have various spells on the side line. During the first half of the season, it was the likes of Nelson Abbey and Tom Holmes who took the armband when he wasn’t available.

Both have now, sadly, departed the club for pastures new. In the second half of the season, the de facto captain for when Yiadom wasn’t available became Wing. And do you know something? It just feels right, doesn’t it?

Wing’s the elder statesman of the group, but he’s an ever-present for this side, and after recovering from his start-of-season injury, has gone on to record a total of 47 appearances and 3,608 minutes this season. For perspective, only two players have recorded more appearances and minutes this season for Reading: Harvey Knibbs (44 starts and one substitute appearance totalling 3,789 minutes) and Femi Azeez (43 starts and three substitute appearances totalling 3,741 minutes). Neither Knibbs nor Azeez have had injuries this season, either.

By comparison, Yiadom has started 27 times and appeared six more times in all competitions this season, totalling 2,341 minutes for the team. This puts him ninth in a list of total minutes for the squad. Sadly, his influence is beginning to wane and, having turned 32 in December, you do start to wonder if he has the energy to be available for the majority of the 46 League One games next season, given Ruben Sellés has a demanding and energetic style of play.

In terms of influencing “headline” numbers, Yiadom’s highest statistic is picking up more yellow cards than any other Reading player (seven, though admittedly, two of those were during the joke of a Derby County game) and the most red cards out of all players this season (two).

Compared to Wing, who finished second for assists this season and third in goals, and with only five yellow cards, it seems his statistical influence is higher than Yiadom’s right now. And the numbers on the pitch don’t lie – he was statistically Reading’s best player for last season, too. Quite simply, Wing is pivotal to how we play and our identity right now.

What am I building to, then? Well, to borrow a phrase from Ben, it’s time to give him his flowers. Wing is the natural leader for this team, given his on-pitch influence, game time and level of experience. He has two years left to run on his contract and will likely attract offers. Yiadom only has one year left and faces a battle for a starting role with Clinton Mola (if he stays) and Kelvin Abrefa breathing down his neck.

Being offered the captaincy would be a great way for Sellés to set a statement for how invested we are in Wing, as well as the continued progress of the club, and hopefully fend off almost certain interest from other clubs who may see an opportunity in Wing.

With new ownership hopefully around the corner, coupled with such a positive atmosphere on display around the club and the adulation of the fan base, it would surely (hopefully?) be an offer too good for Wing to refuse to stay and lead this team into play-off contention next season.

I have no desire to see Yiadom leave, and I feel his experience in the background will be valuable, in terms of guiding younger players and being a vice-captain when the occasion requires. However, it feels like, as the season has drawn to a close, the baton has already been passed on and it’s time for Wing to pick it up and lead. He’s not just a Wingman, he´s our future captain. And the future starts in August of 2024.