Portmore’s Adrian Reid proves a dependable soldier

With the Premier League almost well and truly over and Portmore having all but cemented their place as the 2007/08 champions, it is only natural that this week’s player in the Spotlight should come from them.

The decision on which player to highlight from Portmore United proved to be ‘traumatic’ for want of a better word. If you paid any attention to this season, one of the things you would have noticed was how deep the Portmore United squad is. To highlight the point, on one  occasion when Portmore had seven players in Brazil, everyone, including the league’s organizers, expected them to ask for postponements but to their surprise, the leagues ‘champions designate’ played two games successfully, beating Tivoli Gardens and St. Georges. They did this while sporting seven under-21 players.

One of the players who was absent on the above occasion was Adrian Reid. While not one of the most talked about players in the league, Reid has quietly gone about the business of putting in a solid season and giving his team the kind of stability it needs if it is to win not just games but titles.

While young players like Steven Morrissey and Michael Binns excite with their attacking play and while Roen Nelson romped to a leading goalscorer title, Reid has been doing his job. Such a competent job has he been doing that national coach Rene Simoes seems to have taken an interest in the young man and a career as part of the national programme has been the result.

The first time I formed any opinions of Reid was when he played for Carlton ‘Spanner’ Dennis at Santos at least four or five years ago. Then, I had noted that the young man seemed to have very ‘old’ shoulders. He never seemed flustered and had very good tactical awareness. Then I saw him make the switch along with Richard Edwards to Waterhouse. While there, the latter became an instant hit with the crowd and the coaching staff and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why the same wasn’t true for Reid.

Playing at right back at the time, Reid lost out on many occasions to Damion Powell, who in truth is a good player in his own right. I didn’t care though; I was of the opinion that Reid was too good a player to be sitting on the bench for any team.

A year later, Portmore United proved me right. In less than a season, Reid had not only crept into what was arguably the most talented starting 11 in the league, he had become an integral part of that unit. Since that time he has not turned back. Versatility is the name of his game, as he has shown the ability – with the exception of forward and goalkeeper – to be a solid player in any position.

For Portmore, the young man has played right back, left back, central midfield and all relations of the centre-half position and in each case he has made it look easy. A tall, elegant player, whose movements on the field, with or without the ball, are easy on the eyes, has also displayed this versatility for Jamaica where he has played at both right back and centre-half at not just the senior level, which is a recent happening, but at the age-group stage of his career as well.