On this day in 2008, Andy Reid came off the bench to make his Sunderland debut in a 2-0 win against Steve Bruce's Wigan Athletic.
Arriving from Charlton, the Republic of Ireland international joined the Lads for £5 million with Greg Halford going the other way on a 6-month loan spell.
Reid had come through Nottingham Forest’s academy, even turning down Arsenal and Manchester United to play for the Tricky Trees! He scored on his debut, the second goal in a 2-0 win over Sheffield United in the year 2000. The following season however, Reid failed to score a single goal in 31 appearances.
Reid had clearly solved his goalscoring problems by the 2003/04 season, where he became Forest’s top scorer with 13 league goals. He had such a good season that he was named in the PFA Division One Team of the Year.
In January 2005, Reid joined Tottenham in a deadline-day move that was touted by many to be a panic-buy. He arrived with teammate Michael Dawson for a combined £8 million. Despite a promising start, the wide-man's form quickly dropped off and he didn’t score for Spurs until May, where he netted in an emphatic 5-1 win over Aston Villa. That goal was ultimately Reid’s only one for Martin Jol’s side, with many labelling him as one of the worst ever January transfers. He only played 26 games in a season and a half, before joining Charlton.
Andy was made captain at the Addicks, and impressed under Alan Pardew. He caught the eye of his countryman Roy Keane, who bought the winger in January 2008. At Sunderland, the winger got an assist on his debut after coming on as a substitute. He set up Daryl Murphy for an unstoppable 25-yard shot. Reid’s first goal on Wearside was a 95th minute volley to make it 2-1 against West Ham. Despite his, shall we say, unique physique, his technique was second to none throughout his time at Sunderland. He ran the midfield in a crucial 2-2 draw with Manchester United alongside Lee Cattermole. He assisted Kenwyne Jones who finished off an excellent move to make it 2-1 to the Lads at the time.
After the 2009/10 season, Reid’s time at Sunderland was clearly beginning to come to an end. He joined Sheffield United on loan in October 2010, where the winger scored twice in nine appearances. He joined Blackpool on deadline day in January 2011, but only played five games as the Seasiders were relegated. He then returned to the place where it all began with Nottingham Forest, where he spent five seasons before retiring. In the Championship, Reid still had the ability to make a huge impact and was named Forest’s Player of the Year, as well as being named in the Championship Team of the Year.
He retired in 2016 after long-term injury problems, and is now an under-23s coach at Nottingham Forest.
