And this is from The Times:
Soon he will be plucking them, but presently Andy Reid is pulling the strings at Sunderland. An avid amateur guitarist, the Ireland player intends to inflict his musical tastes on his teammates, although not before orchestrating their attempts to avoid relegation. Where there was discord on Saturday, Reid brought harmony.
In a brief appearance from the substitutes’ bench - his debut for the club – the 25-year-old Dubliner added gravitas to the Sunderland midfield. Portly he may be, but Reid provided something Roy Keane’s team have lacked. Call it creativity, vision, or time on the ball, it was a counterpoint to endeavour and sweat.
Defeat was harsh on Wigan Athletic, who struck the woodwork twice in the second half and dredged some fine saves from Craig Gordon, but they appeared to freeze in front of goal. Even when Jason Koumas arrived they had no equivalent to Reid, whose immediate intervention was to sweep a brilliant pass the breadth of the pitch for Daryl Murphy to score, blissfully, from long range.
The Stadium of Light burst into song – relief was deepened by the defeats suffered by Fulham, Reading and Bolton Wanderers – and Reid was tempted to follow suit. “I only signed last week, so I haven’t had a chance to get my guitar out,” he said. “But I do play a bit. It’s nice to do something different. I was brought up listening to Irish folk and I should be OK with that in this dressing-room.”
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