Andy Reid was a great character in the game. A player who could get fans off their seats with not just his skill on the ball but also the pure passion he showed on the pitch.

He was a great talent with a magical left boot – ability that we perhaps did not get to see enough of during his brief spell in north London but certainly something that he went on to show more and more as his career progressed.

It was with Forest at the turn of the century that Andy got his break in the game. Coming all the way through their youth system, he made an instant impact on his professional debut in November, 2000, as he found the back of the net against Sheffield United at the age of just 18.

He continued to push on and impress at the City Ground before his performances eventually earned him a move to the Premier League as he joined us in January, 2005 - alongside a certain Mr Michael Dawson.

"Funnily enough, I was in the same year as Michael's older brother, Kevin, and I think Michael came the next year," he recalled. "And it was one of them where you watch him play for the first time, you train with him, you know he's got something a little bit different and you kind of knew he was destined for big things.

"Then the opportunity came for the move to Spurs, an established Premier League club, (the decision) was a no-brainer at the time. It was something that we both sort of jumped at.

"(Spurs) was the only place I wanted to go and I had my heart set on that for two transfer windows before - we had been trying to get a deal done - but it hadn't quite happened for one reason or another. Some other clubs had come in for me but that wasn't something I really wanted to do. I had my heart set on going to Tottenham.

"Frank Arnesen, who was Technical Director, had shown a real will to get me to Tottenham and that was something that stuck with me and I remember thinking, 'yes, I really want to go there. They had shown faith in me in really wanting to push for me. So, when it did come around, it was great.

"I realised the potential of the Club. I remember speaking to Daniel Levy, me and 'Daws' did together, and he showed us plans for the new training ground and told us about plans for a new stadium. I look at the Club now with the new stadium and training ground and I think the Club has a lot to be thankful to Daniel Levy for. Fair play to him with what he's done and what he has developed the Club into. It's fantastic to see where the Club is now - a firm Champions League club and a real top club in Europe. It's really nice to see it got there."

Andy's debut for the Club came just a matter of days after his arrival in north London as we hosted Portsmouth in the Premier League on 5 February, 2005.

In what was his top flight debut, the Irishman enjoyed a promising start to life in N17 with an impressive display against Pompey as we earned a 3-1 victory.

But, when reflecting on his first moments in lilywhite, it is his fascination for our former home White Hart Lane which takes centre stage with the 'old romantic' in him having quickly fallen in love with the historic Lane.

"I loved it. It was absolutely fantastic," Andy said about our former home. "I am, I suppose at times, a bit of an old romantic in the fact I love the historical value of football - I love historical clubs and grounds, and White Hart Lane is one of those.

"It was a smashing place to play. It had a lovely feel to it. The pitch was always class. You always felt the fans were close enough. It was compact but, yet, there was always a fantastic atmosphere. It was a really great place to play.

"I remember making my debut there. I made it against Portsmouth and we beat them 3-1. I had only signed for the Club a few days before and I wasn't too sure whether I would be staring or not. I only found out a couple of hours before that I would be. I remember looking forward to it and it was another decent debut.

"(The Lane) had a special feeling. You knew that football had been played there over the years and you got a sense of its history. And I think that's what, when you move to a new stadium as Spurs have, you're making memories, you're making history as you go along so in 30, 40, 50 years time, the current team are the ones making that history and developing that feeling around the ground. And, of course, the fans have their part to play in making the stadium be as good as it was at the Lane."

Despite clearly enjoying his time in north London, Andy ultimately spent just 18 months with us.

Having joined us in January, 2005, the Irishman left us in the summer of 2006 to join Charlton Athletic with just 27 appearances to his name as his first-team opportunities became limited.

While his time in lilywhite had begun brightly, the formaer midfielder admits his potential was ultimately 'unfulfilled' at the Club with a lack of minutes hampering his progress.

"I think, in some ways, I'm disappointed because I didn't really get to show the real me, in the respect I didn't really get the game time to show what I could really do," he reflected. "I think I did okay but I probably wish I had done a little bit better. I would have liked more opportunities to show that and, with a little bit more time and the opportunities, I could have shown people at the Club and the supporters what I could have done, because I do feel there was more to come.

"But, football isn't always perfect. It doesn't always work out how you want it to and I didn't feel I was going to get the opportunities that I needed to develop. I think I was 23 or 24 years old when I left and I felt I needed to be playing week in, week out, and I didn't really get the feeling I was going to get the opportunity to even stake a claim for a spot in the team so, for me, it felt like it was time to move on.

"So, probably unfulfilled is how I would describe my time at the Club, but I still had some fantastic times and have some fantastic memories. For me, the stand out memory would probably be the time we beat Aston Villa 5-1 and I managed to score - it was a decent enough goal and probably my best performance for the Club!

"I have lots of good memories and it is a fantastic Club. It was an experience that I most definitely won't forget but perhaps it is tinged with a bit of sadness that I didn't quite get the opportunity to produce what I would have liked to."

"Now, I sit down with my son to watch Tottenham games and I tell him that I played for Tottenham and he kind of looks at me as if he's not too sure that he believes I actually did play for the Club. I do plan to take him to a Spurs game, though, when I can."

After departing N17, Andy enjoyed a positive 18 months at Charlton where, despite the Addicks suffering relegation from the Premier Leaguein 2007, he became a key player under Alan Pardew - a bright spell which ultimately earned him another opportunity to tackle top-flight football, as he moved to Sunderland in January, 2008.

A stellar three years followed at the Stadium of Light before brief stints at Sheffield United and Blackpool. In 2011, he then returned to his former home of Nottingham Forest where he remains to this day, but in a rather different capacity.

Having enjoyed a further four years as a player with the Reds, he has since moved into coaching at the City Ground, first with their Under-23 side before moving up to join Steve Cooper's first team staff ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

"Coaching was something there from about 26 or 27 years of age that I started to think about it," he explained. "You start to realise fully that football isn’t going to last forever and you’re going to need something different. I always felt I had the attributes, I felt I had the knowledge of the game and I felt I understood the game enough to coach it.

“I’ve always had an interest in it and had an interest in how the managers that I have played under worked - I took a lot of notes and noted down a lot of their sessions. I would have noticed a lot of stuff about how managers treated players and how some managers got the best out of them. You would take on board a lot of things that managers would do but it was also important to notice things that mangers did that I would never do. It kind of works both ways – things that you would do while you can almost learn from some of their mistakes. I always had a keen interest in going into it and an understanding of how it is structured has built up over the last six or seven years.

“I think what you learn when you finish playing and you start coaching is that it is a completely different skill set and you’re almost fully retraining yourself. Although it is the same sport, you’re doing a completely different area of it and you have to understand how people tick. Before, I would have been probably more interested in a midfield role, whether that be wide or central, now as a coach, I’m having to understand what the ‘keeper’s relationship is with the full-back is, what the striker’s relationship is with the centre back – all these relationships and how can I bring them all together? It’s a big change so you do have to retrain yourself and I’ve enjoyed doing the coaching badges.

“I finished my pro-licence a couple of years ago but I’m still learning every single day, still trying to improve, still trying to understand what makes people tick. Things like ‘how can I get the best out of these players? how can I structure my squad?’ and ‘how can I develop myself? how can I make myself better?’ Because I feel, if I’m making myself better, then that can only benefit the players that I’m working with as that will give me a better understanding of how to make them better, which is the ultimate goal.

"I’m loving coaching. I have a real passion and drive for it. From very early on I was bitten by the football bug in the respect of playing it and, in the last couple of years, I’ve been really bitten by the coaching bug. I really get a thrill out of doing it.”