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Reid All About It - The 'Warrior' Returns To Full Training

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 28/03/2019 - 10:04

It seems a long long time ago that New Zealand captain Winston Reid patrolled his defensive line with his mix of confidence and physicality, and that is because it has been a long long time!
From this To this Has taken a year!
So much has happened since Reid has donned the claret and blue, players have come and gone as Reid became the club's forgotten man. Once he used to be first on the team sheet, his 'warrior' like performances inspired those around him, he also managed to write himself into folklore by scoring the winning goal at West Ham's last ever match at the much beloved Boleyn Ground in a 3-2 victory over Manchester United.

The injury that has kept Reid out for so long was unique in that he was actually unconscious when he sustained it, the fact that he was unconscious as he hit the ground meant that his knee was forced into a completely unnatural position, the exact opposite direction to the way it should be. The surgeon who operated on Reid said it would be remarkable if the defender were able to come back from the injury, such was the state of knee. While 'Winnie' has been away, Hammers defence has been strengthened with the arrival of Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena, although the latter succumbed to the Hammers injury curse leading to a lengthy lay off.

There is little doubt that a fit Winston Reid is still an asset to the club, but there is no way that he could be considered as the 'main man' in defence anymore, the imposing Diop has made that his own title. However bearing in mind the club's horrific injury lists of the past, it will be just as well to have Reid back on board, at 30 years old he still has a few good seasons in him and is contracted until 2023, but he might not be content to be a bench warmer.

It would come as no surprise should Winston Reid be shipped out in the summer, there will be plenty of takers and his wages, whilst high, are not too exorbitant. If he stays he will be a 'back up' player at best, and find himself behind Diop, Balbuena, Ogbonna and Obiang in the pecking order, a situation that probably won't sit well with the 'Warrior'.

In a way the situation with Reid shows just how far the club have come, he was once considered to be one of the club's greatest player assets and was coveted by Arsenal and Tottenham among others, in the eighteen months that he has been out of contention things have moved swiftly forward under Manuel Pellegrini's stewardship which has left Reid 'out in the cold', 'Pelle' of course might see things differently once he has had the chance to run the rule over a fit Winston Reid in a similar way as he did with Robert Snodgrass.

If Reid does stay, it would be rather good to see, possibly in cup games, the 'General' Balbuena, alongside the 'Warrior' that is Reid! - Ed

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Comments

Don't agree dicksy he should be kept ,with our record on injurys who's to say he wont fight his way back into contention ,especially as we hve to wait and see if the General is another injury prone player ,i remember when he and ginger held that defence together with some remarkable performances

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Burkie 1

Shame really,the team has moved forward a lot since his injury,and he will find it hard to get his place back,though more realistically will be a bit part player.He was a force in his day.

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81 users have voted.

I think the important word here is was a great player ,its time to look forward not back ,otherwise let's get bonzo his 500th appearance

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