Return of Reid marks new era
True, there might be the odd quizzical eyebrow raised at the reappearance of Darron Gibson, considering it was his own decision to make himself unavailable for selection since Euro 2012. But just as Giovanni Trapattoni was being entirely pragmatic in attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, to lure the Everton man back into the fold, so too can one expect Gibson’s colleagues to park the past and accentuate the positives of having the best players available for active service.
They need all hands on deck as they prepare for a challenge which will be, in part, about redeeming pride badly bruised by their last encounter with the Germans but also about trying to put down a marker for the fast approaching new era in Irish football.
Caretaker manager Noel King’s decision to recall Gibson, Kevin Doyle, Anthony Stokes and Andy Reid might make football sense but it also has an undeniable symbolic and even populist appeal: for the many Irish supporters who had long since grown disenchanted with Trapattoni’s reign, the return of the exiles sends out the clearest possible signal that that was then but this is now.
It’s an observation which applies most forcefully to Reid who, after all, was the first great cause célèbre of the Trapattoni era. Now, a full six years after he last played for Ireland — coincidentally also under a caretaker manager, when Don Givens took over from Steve Staunton for the 2-2 draw with Wales in Cardiff in November 2007 — the gifted 31-year-old Dubliner at last gets the chance to, as he said himself this week, “put the bad days to bed”.
And there can be no doubting that Reid is back on merit, his scorching form for Nottingham Forest underlined the night after his recall for Ireland when an audacious long-range free-kick gave his side a share of the spoils at one of his old clubs, Charlton. That made it five goals this season for Reid, confirming his position atop Forest’s goals and assists table.
When I spoke to Reid this week, he attributed his resurgence to a combination of personal application and inspired management on the part of Forest boss Billy Davies — for whom his regard could hardly be higher.
“I guess I just got my head down and got on with working hard,” he told me. “I gained quite a lot confidence from having a good pre-season last season, I didn’t pick up any injuries, and that helped me throughout the season.
“I only had a couple of little niggles so I got a good run at it and that’s just rolled on into this season.
“I’m also enjoying working with the manager. I think he understands me. I would probably say that he’s the best manager I’ve worked under. That’s helping me massively. All these factors come together and you sort of find yourself in the right place at the right time. But I’m also very conscious that if I even take my eye off the ball for a second, things can fall apart pretty quickly. You’ve got to constantly be honest in football.”
And while understandably delighted by his recall to the Ireland squad, Reid exhibits the same grounded attitude to his long-delayed second coming as an international footballer.
“I haven’t set myself any goals, to be honest with you,” he said. “I’m fully aware that the manger is just in for these two games.
“Realistically, if a new manager does come in, he’ll pick whoever he wants and then maybe me and some of the other players won’t be what he’s looking for. Then again, maybe we will be exactly what he’s looking for.
“I’ve been in the game long enough to know that a lot of things can happen so I’m not looking beyond coming in to train and, if selected, playing in these games.”
And if he should make it onto the pitch in Cologne on Friday, well, as second baptisms go, the ceremony could hardly be more inflammable.
“They’re one of the best teams in the world at the minute,” he said.
“The manager and everyone in the squad will realise that it’s going to be a tough game and, I suppose, whoever is picked will have to go out and give everything they’ve got — as Irish teams always do — and see where it takes us.
“I heard that the manager said the aim is to try and win the two games – and rightly so. I think Irish teams throughout the years have shown that, on their day, they can be a match for anybody, and hopefully that’ll be the case in Germany.”
