A sharp eye for goal but a lack of hard work: just how good is Lucas Joao?

Reading’s talisman Lucas Joao has come under fire in recent weeks for a perceived drop in work rate.

Now without a goal in three games, is the Championship’s third highest scorer deserved of the criticism he’s getting?

In truth, it was hard to write that introduction seriously.

A striker without a goal in three games isn’t exactly a matter of huge concern. It’s hardly a goal drought – perhaps more a case of the water pressure dropping. Thus, the purpose of this article isn’t to pick holes in a very good player’s game, but rather to question what we as fans ultimately want from our strikers.

But it’s not necessarily Lucas Joao’s goalless last few games that is frustrating Reading fans. Joao has most definitely banked a substantial amount of faith and deserves manager Veljko Paunovic’s trust given his immense goalscoring exploits thus far this season. It’s what he does away from his direct involvement in play that has frustrated Reading fans, namely poor body language and a perceived lack of hard work sporadically since the turn of the year.

Joao is arguably the best striker Reading have had since Adam Le Fondre – in terms of natural back-of-the-net flair at least. Whilst Joao and Le Fondre are extremely different types of strikers (Joao the modern-day target man and Le Fondre very much the poacher), they both have one thing in common.

They scored goals.

Over the last seven or eight years, Reading have seriously missed a ‘proper’ striker. Yann Kermorgant will argue that he fitted this description in the 2016/17 season that saw the Royals reach the play-off Final, and his case in strong in fairness. The Frenchman notched 18 league goals that season – one more than Joao has currently – and was a pivotal part of the Jaap Stam side that very nearly returned to the holy grail of the Premier League.

However, some may argue that Kermorgant’s game was limited. He had an eye for goal – naturally – and was absolutely key in either the target man or deep lying forward roles that Stam often deployed him in. Kermorgant was the man to outjump from set pieces (both defensively and offensively), but he didn’t showcase the same ‘skill’, so to speak, in the goals he scored as Joao does.

Is this a criticism of Kermorgant? Not at all, and it’s something that we’ll discuss further on in terms of the criticism Joao is receiving. But, in terms of comparing the quality of the two strikers, Joao’s goals arguably showcase a little more pizzazz.

Lucas Joao combines the fox-in-the-box nature of Le Fondre, scoring his fair share of tap ins, with the powerful style of Kermorgant. Joao, in his 43 league games for Reading since joining in the summer of 2019, has scored 23 goals – one every 1.9 games. If Joao continues in this vein of form, he will beat Le Fondre’s goalscoring record in the 104 league games ‘Alfie’ played for Reading quite drastically – 0.96 goals per 90 minutes compared to the 0.62 that Le Fondre ended his career on.

So, Joao scores goals, which is his job. What, then, are his drawbacks?

In stereotypical striker fashion, Joao is very good at scoring goals but hard work on the pitch, however, doesn’t seem to suit him.

Against Millwall, Middlesbrough Wycombe and again away at Rotherham, four of Lucas Joao’s last five Reading performances haven’t met the standards that the frontman has set himself so far this season. With attackers Yakou Meite and George Puscas once again fully fit, and Reading’s performances in the New Year too often inconsistent and lacking in ‘spark’, Joao has been singled out for, simply, not enjoying the running and displaying body language that has left much to be desired.

It’s not only in 2021 that this has been apparent, however. Joao’s career in England has perhaps been held back by his attitude, with ex-Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce commenting on it before he joined the Royals in summer 2019.

‘He has to have that mentality. We all know he’s got talent. He’s been here now in England I think four years (in July). So we’re not talking about a young one any more with promise. He has to come and deliver … he’s got all the bits and pieces’ – Bruce on Joao.

Yorkshire Live also commented on Joao’s attitude when discussing his time at The Owls, saying ‘erratic form and a questionable work ethic all contributed to the striker’s frustratingly inconsistent performances’.

Reading boss Veljko Paunovic asked questions of Joao’s attitude after his penalty miss away at Preston on January 24th, and the Berkshire faithful were next in line to criticise Joao’s demeanour on the pitch.

But is this criticism deserved, and should Joao simply be left to do his job: score goals?

Reading have had their fair share of hardworking but low-scoring strikers over the years. Simon Cox, Matej Vydra and Sam Baldock all had (and have, in Baldock’s case) their heart in the right place. They would run, run and run some more.

But in the two years that Cox and Vydra overlapped at Reading, the club finished 19th and 17th. Sam Baldock signed the year that Reading finished 20th. The club scored a total of 149 goals over the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2018/19 seasons, with Cox, Vydra and Baldock (to date) notching up only 17 of those goals, finishing 17th, 17th and 20th in the goalscoring tables those years.

For reference, the league winners in those three seasons scored over 250 goals.

Jon Dadi Bodvarssonn is another who was guilty of working hard but to no avail; he scored 14 in his time at Reading (2017/18 and 18/19), with the club finishing 20th again in the goalscoring table in the former and latter.

Whilst this wasn’t solely the fault of the aforementioned, the lack of a reliable, consistent striker has been something that Reading have so dearly missed before Joao’s arrival last season and subsequent fantastic form this season.

Reading fans have for years been crying out for a striker that, simply, scores goals. And that’s what Lucas Joao does. Until the goals dry up, then Joao’s work rate isn’t his trait of priority. After all, without Joao’s goals, Reading would likely be sitting in mid-table.

As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.