Reid Back from Injury

Winston Reid turned out for West Ham reserves yesterday after recovering from a "torn buttock muscle" that kept him out of action for two weeks. It was a successful hit out for the All White defender, with the Hammers Ressies keeping a clean sheet in a 1 nil win away to Everton. And he might be back in the first team squad for this weekend's crucial match away to Stoke, with defender Tal Ben Haim (and Manager Avram Grant) set to miss the trip in order to observe the Jewish Holy day of Yom Kippur.

Winston Backed by Manager

Manager Avram Grant has backed Winston Reid after a tough debut in the English top flight on Saturday and acknowledged that the youngster was played out of position.

"Winston Reid was good for his first game. He did not play in his position because he is centre-half but for a first performance in the Premier League he was good. He will be a very good player."

It's hard not to feel a little sorry for Reid who really was thrown in the deep end on Saturday. Debuting in one of the strongest leagues in the world away from home after a couple of weeks training will always be difficult, but slotting into a team with a new manager and a number of new players when you haven't made one appearance in pre-season and then being played out of position does raise some questions about the manager's judgement.

Reid did finish the match in the centre of defence, let's hope that he's given more opportunities in his favoured position.