Last Peter Reid post, I promise, but I wanted to put the matter to rest, given my obsession with ongoing interest in the situation: Peter Reid is officially off to Stoke City. Steve Darby, who was Reid’s assistant, is now acting national team coach.
BBC story is here, AFP story is here, and Bangkok Post story is here.
Has Peter Reid, the Thailand national soccer team coach, left to join English Premier League outfit Stoke City as an assistant? Or is Reid still managing Thailand? Or is he doing both?
BBC Sport had this item yesterday, written as if Reid officially joined Stoke City last month, which may well be the case:
Stoke City’s Mark O’Connor believes the experience of his colleagues, Peter Reid and Gerry Francis, can help him improve as a first-team coach.
Francis have been coaching at Stoke since October, while Reid joined the Potters as assistant manager in August.
Meanwhile, the president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), Worawi Makudi, has told the Bangkok Post (see below) that Reid will continue at Stoke City for two more weeks. But it’s unclear whether Reid will resume coaching Thailand full-time after that.
For context, previous posts on the matter are here (Aug. 31) and here (Aug. 28).
The Bangkok Post‘s soccer expert, Tor Chittinand, has this piece in today’s paper:
“Worawi Makudi, president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), met Peter Reid in Manchester to discuss whether he wanted to remain as Thailand’s national team coach.
English Premier League chairman Sir David Richards was also there and Worawi said Reid wanted to continue as Thailand’s coach.
The meeting was called after it was apparent that Reid was working at Stoke as assistant to club manager Tony Pulis.
I thought the matter was over but the saga is far from at an end.
Worawi said after returning from England yesterday that Reid had asked for permission to help Pulis for another two weeks.
Regardless of whether the former Sunderland coach comes back or not, he has lost several friends and made a number of enemies in Thailand.
A strange affair indeed.
UPDATE: The Nation is reporting that the FAT have fired Reid. Story — though the wording is unclear — is here.
More on the confusion surrounding Thailand soccer coach Peter Reid’s potential move to EPL outfit Stoke City. Today’s Bangkok Post has this item:
Peter Reid will continue as the national team coach, according to Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president Worawi Makudi.
Worawi’s statement came after he met the Englishman at a Thai restaurant in Manchester on Saturday night.
English Premeir League chairman Sir David Richards, who introduced Reid to Worawi, was also at the meeting.
Worawi and Reid shook hands in front of Thai journalists to signal an end to the will-he-stay-or-go saga.
“Everything has become clear. We have reached a conclusion that Reid will remain as Thailand’s coach. He is likely to return to Thailand this week,” Worawi told England-based Thai reporters.
Reid worked as assistant to Stoke City manager Tony Pulis last week but Worawi said this was not a serious matter because Reid had asked for his permission.
“He did not sign a contract with Stoke,” said Worawi.
“He just helped his friend. He cannot go anywhere at the moment because he is still under contract with the FAT.”
Once again, stay tuned…
Many foreign news organizations are reporting that Peter Reid, who has coached Thailand’s national soccer team for the past year, is leaving to take the assistant’s job at English Premier League outfit Stoke City. ((If you’re wondering where Stoke is located, consult this handy map of English Premier League teams that I mentioned earlier.))
Here are stories from BBC Sport (“Reid content with assistant role”) and PA (“Reid claims agreement over Stoke move”). And there’s this ESPN Soccernet piece (“Reid ready for back-seat role under Pulis at Stoke”), which cites quotes from Reid that ran on BBC Radio Stoke.
But today’s Bangkok Post has this story — “Worawi says Reid will stay”:
The Peter Reid saga continued yesterday when Thai football chief Worawi Makudi insisted that he will remain as Thailand’s national team coach.
Worawi, who is in England as guest of the English FA, said he had talked to the former Sunderland and Leeds manager who confirmed he will return to Thailand.
“I have talked to him on the phone and he says he wants to continue as Thailand’s coach,” said the president of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT).
Reid, 53, has been quoted as saying in the English media that he is leaving Thailand and will become Stoke City manager Tony Pulis’ assistant.
And:
Worawi said he will meet Reid in Manchester tomorrow to get a clear-cut answer from him in person.
“I will ask him to make it clear. It will be an end to the confusing matter if he says he wants to continue coaching Thailand,” Worawi said.
“But if he wants to terminate the contract, then I can’t do anything.”
Stay tuned…
(Thanks to @bangkokbugle for the tip.)