After starting three games so far this season — against Wolves, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest — and coming off the bench in three others, Chris Rigg seemed to be making a good start to life in the Premier League.
To be honest, after the summer window we had and with Rigg still only being eighteen, he could’ve easily struggled for minutes but don’t get me wrong: I’m glad he’s been playing and he hasn’t looked too far out of his depth so far.
He was an unused substitute in the Everton and Arsenal
games, but I must admit I wasn’t expecting him to be totally removed against Fulham.
My mind immediately went to thinking he was injured, which would’ve been unfortunate but not a major blow, but after realising he’d scoring and assisted for the England Under 19s over the international break, it occurred to me that it must’ve been something more curious.
Régis Le Bris revealed that it was a tactical decision for Rigg to drop out, being quick to add that he wanted to bolster the defensive options on the bench.
With Omar Alderete coming back into the fold, someone had to make way, and I would’ve dropped Arthur Masuaku and kept Rigg on the bench. Masuaku has been poor since joining, but Le Bris is the man making the decisions and we have no reason to argue with him.
Overall, being spoiled for choice is a good problem to have, but not an easy one to solve. We have a squad of great players all pushing for selection and a few more yet to return in Romaine Mundle, Dennis Cirkin and Habib Diarra, so Le Bris is going to have to make some difficult decisions which will undoubtedly upset some players and fans.
Ultimately, it did make sense for Rigg to drop out.
He’s younger, less experienced, lightweight and despite his well-established willingness and aggression, not the strongest. Ironically, we would look to the bench for attacking options — both to make a late attempt for a winner and then to try and find a very late equaliser, so could Rigg have been useful in the final stages?
It was also nice to see that he travelled with the squad.
Of course, I would expect him to, as it would’ve been very harsh to axe him totally, but good to keep him involved. It’ll also be interesting to see Rigg’s reaction — hopefully he doesn’t take it to heart and it doesn’t rock his confidence.
It would also do the club well to remember that Rigg is one of the hottest prospects in football. He signed a new, five-year contract with a hefty pay increase in the summer, but there was still interest from other clubs.
The promise of game time was a major bargaining chip for Sunderland, so could Rigg be thinking about forcing a move if he’s continually shunned? If he’s going to sit on the bench, he might as well do it for a bigger wage, which he could easily be offered. I don’t believe he’ll do that, but it’s something the club should be aware of.
Overall, Rigg strikes me as the type of player to use this sidelining as a motivator to make a statement.
Saturday’s fixture at the Stadium of alight could be a good chance to do so, but Bournemouth are no mugs. Do you think that Rigg should come back into the squad — or even the starting eleven — on Saturday?
