Players departing Sunderland used to do so with most fans being delighted they were on their way out and happy for any amount of money some clubs were willing to pay. Whilst this is the case for some players in the last six months, a handful of others have left Wearside having made the biggest of impacts. In the summer, Jobe Bellingham moved on to Borussia Dortmund, and a few months before that, Tommy Watson. Watson’s legacy of scoring the winner to take us back to the Premier League will be remembered
for years to come, and Jobe was a popular and important figure in a promotion-winning midfield. With the January window now closed, Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, and Patrick Roberts have all joined Watson and Jobe in moving away from Wearside.
Whilst the door hasn’t completely closed on Patterson, the signing of a second-choice keeper with European experience suggests he has probably played his last game for Sunderland, with the other two either leaving permanently or being out of contract in the summer.
This trio have been to the lowest ebb with Sunderland, with Neil making his debut in the first season in League One. They also all played key roles in getting us back to the Premier League, from Dan Neil’s over 200 games for the club, to Paddy Roberts scoring some crucial playoff goals and assists, to Patterson making that outstanding save at Wembley in May. They leave Sunderland with blessings, respect, and a tinge of sadness.
Their departure comes as a result of the club moving faster than their careers, and that’s no one’s fault. It’s a compliment to the club, but it’s also good that we’ve been able to get them all good moves.
The fact that there is even a tinge of sadness as these players leave is a testament to the characters they were. However, progress has no time for sentimentality. If we had stuck with the majority of the Championship squad, we would be down there with Burnley and Wolves.
The hierarchy at Sunderland looked at what not to do as a newly promoted club and went about doing almost the complete opposite, and it’s working. As brutal as it is, last summer needed to go the way it did for us to be on course for a top-half finish. Sentimentality has no place here now, and that’s just the harsh reality of trying to make it in the Premier League.
Over the years, these three players and those who left last year and were part of our rise back to the Premier League played an integral part of the tapestry of our club. It’s going to be strange watching them in different colours, particularly Patto and Dan Neil, who have been in Sunderland shirts for all of their careers so far, but times move on, and all we can do now is wish them all the best in the future.
