West Ham United’s Winston Reid is celebrating his 31st birthday on Wednesday and fans took the opportunity to pass on their messages following the club’s tweet.
Happy birthday to the last ever goalscorer at Upton Park! 🎉🎊
We'll forever get goosebumps watching this, @WinstonReid2 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/phEPEFhMDQ— West Ham United (@WestHam) July 3, 2019
The defender has had a nightmare few years with injury troubles, with his latest knee problem having kept him out of action for the whole of Manuel Pellegrini’s debut campaign in charge of the club.
Those knee issues are not new for the New Zealand international as our former skipper has been plagued with them for some time. In fact, according to Transfermarkt, the last time we saw him in action for us in the Premier League was back in March 2018; lasting just 27 minutes in his comeback against Swansea City (a match we were drubbed 4-1 away from home).
However, that does not appear to have affected his chances of getting into Pellegrini’s first-team squad in the future as it is believed he will get the opportunity to impress in pre-season before a decision is made on him (Claret and Hugh) – something we believe could benefit West Ham immensely if he is up to scratch.
Fans will certainly have fonder memories of him though, as Ried was the last man to score at Upton Park/Boleyn Ground before we made the switch to the London Stadium. He rose above the Manchester United defence to head past David de Gea to help us to a famous 3-2 win in our final ever game at the stadium (Transfermarkt).
Supporters took to Twitter to provide their congratulatory messages and were full of praise and support, hoping that they would see the enforcer back in action sooner rather than later.
One fan account stated that Reid was a ‘hero’ whilst others echoed similar thoughts by calling him a ‘legend’.
Here are just some of those reactions…
Happy Birthday Winney… You are in our History Books forever..
— Ⓟⓗⓘⓛⓘⓟ 父 Ⓦⓘⓛⓚⓘⓝⓢⓞⓝ 父 (@PW57WHU) July 3, 2019
Still gives me goosebumps watching this ???? hopefully he can get back to his best and keep fit this season ????????⚒
— Jack (@myWHUopinion) July 3, 2019
Happy Birthday Winston Reid ⚒
Will always be a hero in my eyes for his 10 years of service and some of the crucial goals he has scored for us! pic.twitter.com/s2ch1K7JTM
— West Ham News (@whufc_news) July 3, 2019
Happy birthday to this legend
Winston Reid ❤️⚒ pic.twitter.com/hnQ9aNGwab
— iRONS UNITED (@irons_united) July 3, 2019
Happy 31st Birthday Winston Reid!
Looking forward to seeing you in the upcoming season Winny! ⚒ pic.twitter.com/TVuTfrNG0k
— West Ham Central (@WestHam_Central) July 3, 2019
Happy Birthday @WinstonReid2 . Unbelievable servant for the club and should get a testimonial when he eventually leaves pic.twitter.com/ZCMbmZLv7w
— Claret & Blue HQ (@ClaretBlueHQ) July 3, 2019
Happy Birthday Winnie! @WinstonReid2 ⚒❤️ pic.twitter.com/3aK3hqpCEF
— Then Like My Dreams (@tlmdwhu) July 3, 2019