We all know Andy Reid, right? Over-weight, over- hyped midfielder who never fulfilled his potential and was exiled by Giovanni Trapattoni for being disruptive.
The player who dazzled at Forest, flopped at Tottenham and spent the rest of his career flattering to deceive.
That's the perception, anyway. Yet those who know the 33-year-old Forest coach insist the reality is very different. That Reid, rather than wasting his talent, was a dedicated pro bedevilled by injury and blessed with a sense of perspective.
“Looking from afar, you always felt that Andy was a luxury player,” said Stuart Pearce, his manager at Forest in 2014. “In fact, he is anything but. It really surprised me how much work he does within the team and how much ground he covers.
“He's got great talent, but he is prepared to do the dirty stuff and, if young players see that, I don't have to open my mouth at all.
“I just point my finger at Andy and tell the players that, if they want to know how to play the game, how to work hard and what it means to play for this club, then have a look across the dressing room. He is a shining example.”
Reid has always railed at accusations that he lacked dedication, no doubt fuelled by his unashamed insistence that there is more to life than football.
Though he would rarely leave his childhood home in Dublin without a ball, Reid was equally rapt by the songs of Van Morrison, the guitar-playing of Johnny Marr or the works of James Joyce, Oscar Wilder and WB Yeats.
Later, during a spell with Charlton, he was a regular at the Natural History Museum, the Greenwich Observatory and the theatres of the West End. He plays guitar and owns 23 of them.
“At the very top, you find people who are ridiculously obsessive,” he said in 2011. “But I realised very early in my career that I couldn't live that life.
“I have to have things away from football. I need to talk to people, I need to read, I need to play guitar, I need to go on the internet. I can't just come home here and sit thinking about football from two in the afternoon until half-nine the next morning when I go training again.”
Even at a young age, Reid displayed this kind of level-headed acuity, rejecting offers from Manchester United and Arsenal – “where I was just another number” – to join Paul Hart's academy at Forest.
Then, when he unexpectedly became a father to daughter Saoirse at the age of just 16, he made the agonising decision to remain in England, missing his daughter's formative years to safeguard her future security. Reid has always been tortured by that choice, though Forest fans were certainly thankful for his sacrifice.
“You could see straight away that Reidy was a bit special,” said Michael Dawson, who came through the ranks with Reid and would later accompany him to Spurs as part of an £8m double deal. “He had great skill and could create something out of nothing. I used to laugh at some of the goals he scored in training.”
He scored plenty on the pitch, too: 25 in 160 games and another couple for Ireland, with Spurs convinced they had unearthed a gem. Sadly, injuries proved frequent and opportunities scant, just as in a later spell at Sunderland.
It was during this time that scrutiny of Reid's weight intensified. Though just 5ft 7in, he at one stage weighed 13st. Les Reed once said he looked like Ferenc Puskas.
To many, though, it was a symbol of lax standards. Yet both Reid and the men who managed him say minimal playing time exacerbated a natural tendency to bulk up.
“Andy always looked after himself,” said Martin Jol, his boss at Spurs. “If he plays regularly, like any professional, I don't think it is a problem. It will occur when you don't play.”
Sean O'Driscoll added: “Andy is never going to be svelte, but he is fit and he works very hard in training. He has always done that – he just needs regular football.”
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Perceptions of unprofessionalism were hardly helped by Trapattoni who, following victory over Georgia in 2008, reacted to a late-night singsong by banishing ‘ringleader' Reid from the Ireland squad, sparking a five-year exile. Again, though, the reality was far from sensational.
“It was a perfectly normal night,” said Kevin Kilbane. “Nobody had gone mental with drinks. It was just banter and Andy was hardly the ringleader. He was singled out very unfairly and I think he's shown great dignity to keep quiet about it.”
Brian Kerr, Trapattoni's predecessor, agrees. “Andy is a very good guy,” he said. “He was never disruptive when I had him. He was always good for morale and a very well-liked guy.
“He was very articulate in the group, clever tactically, and he understands the importance of the morale within a team. It was very unjust what happened.”
Reid returned to Forest in 2011 and has since played a further 130 games. Though far from quick, the flawless touch and technique that illuminated his first spell remained undimmed and he has worn the captain's armband for Steve Cotterill, O'Driscoll, Billy Davies and Pearce.
“He is reliable, he is a good bloke in the dressing room and he always has an opinion,” said O'Driscoll. “You can talk to him. He trains really well, is technically very good. He is captain material.”
These days, however, that leadership is coming from the bench. He was laid low by a groin injury in 2014. Numerous operations have failed to find a solution and Reid's appointment as No.2 to Paul Williams was a nod to the future.
“Coaching is definitely a road I want to go down,” said Reid, who is studying for his A Licence. “And it's a great honour to be asked. But I'm still trying to get back playing. I'm not done yet.”
