There are times when a player leaves your football club and you immediately think to the future and the replacement signings. Then there are those whose departure makes you stop and look back. More often than not, we find ourselves doing the latter at Sunderland these days, and Anthony Patterson definitely falls into that category.
Sunderland have reportedly agreed a deal with Wrexham which will see the Lads net £8 million for the Academy of Light graduate. If and when this goes through, Sunderland will say
goodbye to one of their own, a goalkeeper who came through at our lowest ebb and has been there through the good, the bad, the ugly and, ultimately, the revival.
Patto was never just another goalkeeper. Like Pickford before him, he was one of us.
A product of the Academy of Light, soon to join Jordan Henderson, Jordan Pickford and Tommy Watson amongst the most expensive sales for academy graduates at Sunderland, Patterson’s journey from promising youngster to first-choice goalkeeper somewhat mirrors the club’s own climb back to the big time. When he was thrust into the first team in 2021 against Wycombe Wanderers after a strong loan spell in the National League at Notts County, nobody could have predicted quite how far both player and club would go.
There were mistakes, as with any young goalkeeper, and there were times when criticism came Patto’s way, both just and unjust. But there were also some enormous moments.
His emergence during the 2021/22 campaign was one of the biggest positives of one of Sunderland’s most important seasons in recent memory. Being recalled from Notts County on the back of poor performances from Lee Burge and Ron-Thorben Hoffman, Patterson made the number one position his own for the remainder of the campaign.
Then came Wembley. (Part 1)
The play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers will be one of the defining days in Sunderland’s modern history. The day we finally stepped up out of the doldrums of League One after four long years, and we finally looked like a club on the up. Patterson kept his head in this game, producing a fantastic save in the second half when Sam Vokes was through on goal to keep the score at 1-0, showing tremendous composure for a keeper so young and inexperienced.
Patto was there for the return to the Championship, the brilliant first season under Mowbray when we fell short in the play-off semi-finals. The turgid second season with Mick Beale coming and going. And the fantastic third season, resulting in one of the most memorable days in Sunderland’s history.
The scene: Wembley (again). The opponent: Sheffield United. Patterson showed his ability about 30 seconds into the game with a brilliant save to deny Kieffer Moore. More fantastic goalkeeping in the second half denied Andre Brooks after a Dennis Cirkin error. The famous comeback sealed it and Patterson once again made his mark on the biggest stage in England, helping to guide his boyhood club back to the Premier League and confirming his status as a modern-day Sunderland great.
Thanks to Robin Roefs and his amazing form last season, we didn’t get to see Patterson turn out for the Lads in the Premier League, but he more than played his part in getting us there, and will move on with the best wishes of everyone at the club and everyone who follows the club.
Whatever comes next for Patto, Sunderland fans should remember what he gave the club, rather than the odd mistake he received pelters for.
Remember the kid who came through the academy.
Remember the goalkeeper who stood tall at Wembley. Twice.
Remember the numerous penalty saves to help us on the way back to the Premier League.
Most importantly, remember that he was one of our own.
169 appearances later, and it’s time to move on.
Cheers, Patto, and all the best in North Wales.
