WORLD CUP PLAY-OFF: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND v FRANCE First leg: Croke Park, Dublin Date: Saturday, 14 November Kick-off: 2000 GMT Second leg: Stade de France, Paris Date: Wednesday, 18 November Kick-off: 2000 GMT Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and online, plus text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles. Also live on Sky Sports 1.
By Jonathan Pearce BBC football commentator
Reid has been in sparkling form for Sunderland this season
How can the Republic of Ireland afford to go into the World Cup play-off games against France without Andy Reid?
The Sunderland midfielder has to be the most improved player in the Premier League and if the Irish manage to defeat the French, Giovanni Trapattoni must bury the hatchet with Reid and take him to South Africa.
'The Trap' hasn't made many mistakes so far. He can back up his decision to omit Reid by pointing to an unbeaten record in competitive matches since he took charge of the team.
He is also one of the most successful managers of all time, winning 20 major trophies including the league title in four different countries.
But his four years in charge of Italy were marked by a second round exit at the 2002 World Cup - albeit because of poor refereeing in the defeat by South Korea - and by a complete flop at Euro 2004.
Even the great Trapattoni isn't too old to learn from mistakes and continuing to ignore Reid could be a major error.
Apart from two very good draws against Italy in their World Cup qualifying group, the Republic have looked solid but not startling in their games.
They could only draw with Bulgaria home and away, they were held to two 0-0 stalemates by Montenegro and although they did the double over the minnows Cyprus and Georgia, all four victories were by a solitary goal. They need more creativity.
If, as rumoured, the player did have a row with such an experienced and respected manager, he was out of order. But he has since declared his desire to play for his country and in his current form, he would turn a competent team into a very decent one.
At one stage he might just have been considered as a wide midfielder, but there is plenty of competition from the spiky Stephen Hunt and the revitalised Damien Duff, while Aiden McGeady and Liam Lawrence also have their backers.
Last Saturday, however, I saw Reid turn in one of the most thrilling central midfield performances I have seen this season.
It is in that role where he could provide the creative balance for the dependable Glenn Whelan or Keith Andrews - he simply ran the show against Tottenham.
One minute he was unleashing a perfectly executed 30-yard lob shot against the post and the next he was picking up the ball deep in his own half.
His range of long and short passing was astute and accurate. He had the strength to win block tackles and the turn of foot to avoid challenges too and he was desperately unlucky to finish on the losing side.
That is the way he has played throughout the season, having shed nine pounds in the summer. He looks a completely new man.
At last, Reid is fulfilling the potential he showed at Nottingham Forest, where he scored on his debut in November 2000.
Reid evades a tackle during a 2005 international against Isarel
He seemed to have the world at his feet then but a top Premier League manager, who at the time was heavily linked with the Dubliner and who'd had him watched regularly, told me he went cold on the deal because Reid "looked like a sack of spuds" on the pitch.
He did appear a bit dishevelled at those times when he was carrying too much weight and he also lost his way badly after moving to Spurs.
Being part of a struggling Charlton side didn't help either but no-one could doubt that the ability lay dormant and Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is now bringing the best out of Reid who, at 27, could be reaching his peak.
It would be a crying shame if Irish fans didn't see him in the emerald green again. Remember his cracking long range strikes against Bulgaria and Cyprus in August 2004? A team that is too reliant on the goals of Robbie Keane needs that sort of split-second brilliance.
France are beatable - Argentina, Austria and Nigeria have proved that in the last 15 months - and they could only beat the Faroes 1-0 away in qualifying.
Most of the old guard has gone and the some of the newcomers haven't proved adequate replacements but they still carry enough threat through the likes of Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka to score home and away against the Irish.
That's why Trapattoni will need someone special in his side - but unfortunately, Reid will be at home watching on TV.
The most improved player of the season in the toughest league of them all should have been in the Croke Park dressing-room for the hardest - and most meaningful - game Ireland will face since the 2002 World Cup finals.
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