Reid: Peter

2003-2003 (Manager Details) (Manager Details)

Born 20th June 1956 in Huyton, Liverpool, Peter Reid played schoolboy football for Huyton Boys, a side that caused something of an upset when they won the English Schools Trophy in 1970. Many scouts came to the games and the chance came for Reid to join various clubs as an apprentice. He opted for Second Division Bolton Wanderers and signed professional forms for them in May 1974. He made his debut as a substitute against Orient in October 1974. Reid made twenty-four starts and three substitute appearances in his debut season of 1974/75. He then established himself in the Wanderers side and was ever-present for the next two seasons as he scored twice and then five times as the Trotters finished in fourth spot in both seasons, narrowly missing out on promotion to the old First Division. His cultured midfield play and his intense desire to be involved all the time were features of Bolton's Second Division Championship winning side of 1977-78, but injury struck in pre-season, and Reid missed out on Bolton's return to the top flight. He did recover in time to play against Everton on New Years' Day, but collided with 'keeper George Wood and suffered a broken leg which kept him out for a whole year. He suffered another break in 1981 after Arsenal, Wolves and Everton had all offered £600,000 for him, and eventually he achieved his dream of playing in the topflight when he signed for Everton. He had made two hundred and Twenty-two starts and three more off the bench and scored twenty-three goals in the League while at Burnden Park. He was to turn out to be one of Everton's most influential post war signings and due to his apparent proneness to injury he was bought at a bargain £60,000, when he was signed in December 1982. He was restricted to just seven appearances during 1982-83 due to injury. He was fit for the following campaign but sat out most of the autumn as Kendall left him on the bench. The team struggled, and it seemed Reid had to feature eventually. Everton's revival of the spring of 1984 after he broke into the team was not wholly coincidental as he and Andy Gray inspired them to the FA Cup. 1984-85 was, significantly, his most injury-free season, and resulted in his being named Player Of The Year by his fellow professionals as he collected League Championship and European Cup-Winners' Cup medals in possibly the finest Everton side of all time. He nearly won a unique treble but Everton lost 1–0 to Manchester United in the 1985 FA Cup Final. In that game, Reid was recklessly challenged by Manchester United defender Kevin Moran who became the first player to be sent off in an FA Cup Final. It was the season Everton finally reaped the rewards of Reid's outstanding skill and passing. His lack of pace may have been a blessing in that it probably led directly to his style of play, which was as simple as it was effective. He would receive the ball and either play it off and move into space ready to accept another pass, or strike a typically majestic long ball such as the fifty-yarder that Gary Lineker ran onto to score in the 1986 FA Cup Final. After gaing six England Under-Twenty-three caps he won thirteen full caps, several of which came in England's World Cup campaign of 1986 in Mexico. After scoring eight goals in one hundred and fifty-five League starts and four substitute appearances, and a total of thirteen goals in two hundred and twenty-two starts and six substitute appearances in all games, in February 1989 he moved on a free transfer to Queens Park Rangers, after he had spent the last two seasons at Everton as Player/Coach under Colin Harvey. He only stayed at Loftus Road until December 1989 and scored once in twenty-nine League starts before returning to Lancashire with Manchester City and rejoin Howard Kendall, his former Everton boss, who had taken over as Manager at Maine Road. Reid's managerial career began in November 1990 at Manchester City. Reid was appointed Player-Manager after Howard Kendall resigned to begin the second of his three spells at Everton. In 1990–91, Manchester City finished fifth and equalled this achievement the following season. In the first season of the EPL, 1992–93, City slipped into ninth place with an increasingly stale brand of 'long ball' football and Reid was sacked after a poor start to the following season. He had scored one goal in ninety starts and another thirteen from the bench in League games while at Maine Road. Following his dismissal by Manchester City, in October 1993 Reid was persuaded by Ian Branfoot to resume his playing career with Southampton who were then in the middle of a crisis, with the Saints fans calling for Branfoot to be sacked with the club at a very low ebb, having lost eight of their first nine games. Reid brought a touch of guile and stability to the Saints side and despite playing only seven League games he made a major contribution to the team's fortunes as Saints' season started to come together. His final game for Saints was a 3–1 victory over Chelsea on 28th December 1993. Branfoot was sacked a few days later and Reid was touted as a possible replacement, but he stated that, as Branfoot had brought him to the club, it would only be fair that he left as well. Reid joined Notts County in February 1994 but only played five League games before he moved to Bury in July 1994 where he had one game before he hung up his playing boots. Reid made his return to management in March 1995 with Sunderland, who were battling against relegation in the First Division. He kept the club up and the following season they were crowned champions of the Division and were promoted to the EPL. The season they were relegated back to the First Division after losing their final game of the season, so their new 42,000-seat Stadium of Light would replace Roker Park initially as a second-tier stadium rather than one hosting EPL football. Sunderland missed automatic promotion by one place in 1997–98, and drew 4–4 with Charlton Athletic in the Division play-off final. Reid's side missed out on promotion after losing 7–6 in a penalty shoot-out in one of the most dramatic games ever seen at Wembley. The following season Sunderland bounced back from this defeat, winning the First Division with a then-record breaking one hundred and five points. Throughout 1999–2000, Sunderland were competing for a place in European competition but in the end missed out after finishing in seventh place. Still, Reid's team had achieved one of the highest finishes ever achieved by an EPL team in the season after promotion. Striker Kevin Phillips was the highest league scorer in England and Europe with thirty goals in the Premier League. Reid also had a brief spell as manager of the England Under-Twenty-one team in this season. For a while in 2000–01, Sunderland were second in the League and it looked as though they would secure qualification for the ECL, but their form dipped in the final stages of the season and again they finished seventh. Reid's team suffered a downturn in the 2001–02 season ending up one place above the relegation zone and with just twenty-eight goals from thirty-eight games, fewer than any other team in the Division. In a bid to halt the decline, Reid paid a club record £6.75 million for Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo from Rangers but he was not a success. Reid was let go in October 2002 after nearly eight years as Sunderland Manager. Reid was out of work until March 2003, when he was appointed interim Manager of Leeds United after the dismissal of Terry Venables. The Elland Road club had been hit by £80 million debts after their £100 million outlay on new players in the space of five seasons had failed to land them a trophy. Reid kept faith with Venables' usual team as they were beaten 3-1 at Anfield in his first game. He was fortunate to have Dominic Matteo in place of Paul Okon and a fit Harry Kewell in place of Nick Barmby and the team of Robinson; Mills, Radebe, Duberry, Harte; Kelly, Bakke, Matteo; Smith, Viduka, Kewell was a team that Venables could only dream about. A 6-1 win over Charlton Athletic at the Valley was the boost the team needed and a hat-trick from Mark Viduka and a brace from Harry Kewell set the standard the Australian duo were to keep up for the rest of the season. It also took Leeds up to fourteenth place and gave them the belief that relegation could be avoided. After losing to both Southampton and Leicester City by the odd goal in five, it took a 3–2 away win over Arsenal, which ended the opposition's title hopes, to see Leeds safe in the last but one game of the year. After keeping Leeds up, he was awarded the job on a permanent basis. Leeds were still in a poor financial state and Reid was forced to sell Harry Kewell and bring in loan signings from abroad as replacements. He brought in a succession of Loan players, mostly from Marseilles or other French clubs. Lamine Sakho, Zoumana Camara, Didier Domi, Saloman Olembe, Cyril Chapuis, and the Brazilian Roque Junior were all failures in varying degrees and his only loan player who was a success was the talented Jermaine Pennant. His free transfer signing of Jody Morris from Chelsea was also a failure. His new signings failed to gel and Leeds suffered some devastating defeats and were in another relegation battle. He was fired in November 2003 after a 6–1 defeat against newly-promoted Portsmouth. Although many of his signings left Leeds after the club was relegated, Kevin Blackwell, who Reid had brought to Leeds as Assistant Manager, later went on to become Manager in 2004. Reid was appointed manager of First Division side Coventry City in May 2004 with the aim of getting the club promoted to the Premier League. His spell at Highfield Road lasted only eight months as he departed on 6th January 2005 with the club twentieth in the CCCL. In the autumn of 2006, it was rumoured that Reid would be returning to Sunderland as Director of Football under new chairman Niall Quinn, who had played under Reid at Manchester City and Sunderland, but this appointment never happened. After an absence from management of nearly four years Reid became manager of Thailand in September 2008, having been linked with the position earlier in the year. He signed a four-year contract with an aim of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Since his days as Manager of Sunderland Reid has made occasional appearances on Sky Sports and its related channels as a football pundit.