Harvey Knibbs Departs: We Were Lucky To Have Him.

On the final day of last season’s playoffs, fan spirits were at an eight-year high, with Rob Couhig’s takeover confirmed.

Fast forward five days to the start of the new campaign, and the picture becomes gloomier. First, we were hammered 4-0 by Portsmouth in our last pre-season friendly, and now Harvey Knibbs has left for Charlton Athletic.

This is a sucker punch. Knibbs arrived as a bit of an unknown quantity, at least among Reading fans, but grew into a talismanic figure who will leave a gaping hole in our squad.

Knibbs was clearly going to be an important player for us from the moment he joined. Knibbs began his Ruben Selles career on the left side of a 4-2-2-2, but it wasn’t until the switch to 4-3-3 that he truly came into his own.

He has the ideal profile for a number eight in Selles’ high-press system; his energy, stamina, tenacity, aggression, and goal-scoring instincts quickly established him as one of our most influential players. He’s been an extremely important part of our progress over the last 18 months or so.

Not only does he leave a significant gap in terms of quality, but perhaps most importantly, we are losing a large personality.

Knibbs has already been criticised for a lack of loyalty and accused of jumping ship. In my opinion, no player who has played for us in the last 18 months, let alone this guy, can be accused of a lack of loyalty. The man has been a force of nature, giving his all for the club.

Last season, in particular, he evolved from a good League One player to an imperious figure. He possessed an aura. If a match-winning moment was required, he would deliver.

Photo by Lee Parker – CameraSport via Getty Images

Among his 14 goals and six assists in 43 league appearances, the standout moments included calm-as-you-like penalties to win home games against Bolton Wanderers and Wycombe Wanderers, as well as another crucial spot-kick against Wrexham. He was always reliable, but last year he transformed into The Man.

He maintained his tenacity, work rate, and commitment throughout the process. He stuck around during our darkest times, helped us get through them, and has decided that now is the time for him to advance his career, with the club in an objectively better position than when he first joined. As much as it pains me to say, c’est la vie. That’s life. And that is football.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a part of me that thinks, “Charlton?” Really? “You are leaving us to go to Charlton?” I would lie if I said no. Again, as with Amadou Mbengue’s departure for QPR, it’s not impossible that we’ll be at the same level as them in a year or less.

However, football is a short game. Players at this level, while you wouldn’t turn down a salary like theirs, are nowhere near as well-paid as their counterparts in the leagues above

. They need to make hay while the sun shines, and you can’t really begrudge any player doing that, especially when they’ve given as much of themselves to your club as Knibbs has since he’s been here.

Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images

It is still heartbreaking to see him leave, especially so close to the start of the season. If this had happened three weeks ago, it wouldn’t have been any easier to swallow, but we’d have had more time to find a replacement.

However, with fans already frustrated by the pace – or lack thereof – of new signings, this couldn’t have come at a worse time. If the reported fee of around £1.8 million is correct, we’ll have plenty of money to work with.

As important as Knibbs was to us, he’d be out of contract in 12 months, so getting a seven-figure sum for him is commendable. Now it must be reinvested. There was a lot of work for the club to do before this, and there is even more now, but hopefully we’ve just received an extra cash injection that will allow us to get started.

 

Of course, the club must be run responsibly, but we also require reinforcements, and we needed them yesterday.

If I had asked you at the start of the year for the five most important players on this Reading team, I am confident you would have given me the same names.

The most important player, Lewis Wing, has signed a new contract, but the other four – Sam Smith, Tyler Bindon, Mbengue, and now Knibbs – have all left. There’s still plenty to be optimistic about, but that’s more than enough reason to be concerned about the upcoming season.

Knibbs was a huge player for us, but he also had a massive personality within the club. He was a huge fan favourite who ran himself into the ground every time he stepped onto the pitch. It hurts to see him go, but we have to.

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