I’M OFF on holidays and there’s nothing better than a good book to settle down with after thrashing about in the waves for a few hours. A cup of tea, a ham sandwich and good read. Now that’s relaxing. You know you’re on a good thing.

This week the A-League is abuzz with the news of Jason Culina coming to the Gold Coast – and that’s a great thing.

I doubt too many people outside of the footballing fraternity know much about Jason but they soon will and he’ll make headlines. All good for the sport. I hope he plays well. I hope he won’t mind losing to Adelaide.

So, the razzle-dazzle rolls on and we all name our best players and damn our worst. In the meantime, there remain players who seem to be able to get on with the job every week without making much fuss, without drawing attention to themselves – but still make an incredibly valuable contribution.

So this week I want to single out Paul Reid and say, “Great job, mate”.

If anyone thinks Reid’s name isn’t printed onto the team sheet (rather than pencilled in) they’re kidding themselves. This guy is trusted to do his job and I doubt Viddie even thinks about whether he might need a rest.

He covers huge amounts of ground, makes the crucial tackles, lays off good passes and pops up for a reasonable number of assists too – five so far in the A-league.

He’s a smart footballer who has been the sleeper in a raft of excellent signings for United this year. Plucked from the lower leagues in the UK he’s come to Adelaide at a golden time and played in matches he would have dreamt of competing in while overseas. And to give credit where credit is due, Paul’s been a major contributor to this fantastic time for the Reds.

I like players, who through graft and brains, make a difference every week.

Steve Waugh was my favourite cricketer of all time. He wasn’t blessed with any level of precocious talent but he was so smart, so tough and honed his skills to perfection – and he never gave up. My impression of Reid is that he and Steve might get on well.

So, all praise the quiet achiever. I hope he has another complete match this week against the Roar and helps us on the way towards wrapping up the Premiership.

While I’m at the beach with my boogie-board and my books I can be sure that the Mighty Reds will also be enjoying another night with a bloody good Reid.

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In closing, a couple of questions.

Who’s your favourite ‘quiet achiever’ in the A-League – or in world football?

Who’s your favourite Reds player? We know who we love to hate but who do we love to love?