When you think about your favourite Sunderland players, past or present, where exactly does you mind wander? I guess part of it depends on your age, but what are the real stand out memories for you? Who created them?
When I was a kid, if ever there was debate or discussion around goalkeepers for example, my Dad would always name check Chris Turner. "He was a good goalkeeper him, but he was only five foot ten" he would say. He mentions it even now, when the subject of Sunderland keepers comes up. To this day, he still enforces his admiration for Turner. I don't think it will ever change.
Maybe you were more a lover of John Kay or Kevin Ball, if bone-crunching tackles were more your thing. Or did you enjoy watching tough, bruising centre-halves swatting away opposition forwards? Deep lying midfielders who set the tempo and dictated a game. Nippy, effervescent number tens who could always find that precious few yards of freedom to either create a chance or score a goal themselves. Strikers; deadly finishers like Kevin Phillips or perhaps ones of the more beanpole variety like his mate Sir Niall.
Whatever floats your boat player-wise, we all have our favourites and our unwavering loyalty to them never really dies, does it? Me? Well I'm a simple soul if I'm honest. I like flair players and I always have. The players who create that aura of expectancy when they receive the ball. The players that make you inch just that little bit closer to the edge of your seat. The players that effortlessly humiliate a fullback or stick one through the legs of an oncoming opponent.
Since I first went to Roker Park as a starry-eyed child, we have had some good ones over the years. Waddle. Johnston. Arca. Sessegnon. Amad. All capable of the spectacular and who at times, made the game look easy. Don't get me wrong, I can still appreciate the class of a Jan Kirchhoff, or the the work rate and desire of a Lee Cattermole, but the guys that produce the genuine bits of quality and magic on a Saturday afternoon will always be my favourite players. We have one in our side at the moment, who is undoubtedly back to his best. Step forward, Patrick Roberts.
I write this whilst still riding the crest of a wave somewhat, after our non-derby win over Middlesbrough. The plaudits quite rightly have gone to Chris Rigg. To score a goal of such ingenuity and skill is one thing, but to put in a display of such maturity at 17 years of age is quite another. The lad is a remarkable player, and has the world at his feet. The next year or so will see a meteoric rise for him, and I just hope we hang on to him for as long as possible. Dare I say it, but is there an England player in there? Special mention to Jobe Bellingham too, who turned in another big performance in the middle of the park as he also goes from strength to strength.
That said, I reserve the highest praise for Patrick Roberts. He looks back to the player of two seasons ago. The attacking trio of Clarke, Amad and Roberts that Sunderland assembled during the 2022/23 season really was something to behold. Some of the football we played that season was sensational, the 4-4 draw with Hull City sticks in the mind, and Roberts was certainly integral to all of that. Also, who can forget that iconic late, late strike at Hillsborough the season before, to send us to Wembley? The double at Reading or the penguin celebration at Wigan? Fantastic.
Tony Mowbray spoke on more than one occasion that Roberts needed to be loved, and to find a home after a nomadic career that has taken him to Scotland, Spain and France. I think he has done that here on Wearside. Roberts himself said that his multiple loans left him questioning whether he "felt valued or wanted". It goes without saying that he is very much valued and wanted at the Stadium of Light.
Roberts had a poor end to last season, but which of our players didn't? The whole Mowbray/Beale situations turned the season into something of a nightmare. Roberts now looks firmly back to his best. He possesses incredible skill, can beat players with ease and can create and score goals. He looks integral to this Sunderland team at the moment, particularly with Jack Clarke moving on, and carries something of an extra responsibility as he now finds himself among the senior players in our young squad. He looks to be thriving.
I had a few conversations with various people over the summer who were happy to see Roberts sold. What nonsense. The club can't possibly sell its best players when they're simply out of form; what we needed was to find a head coach to get the best out of them, and in Regis Le Bris, that undoubtedly looks to have happened. Roberts is playing with a new lease of life in a very exciting Sunderland side. He has said publicly that he is very happy here, and of course, the red and white army adore him.
We will undoubtedly see more from Patrick Roberts this season, as both he and the team go from strength to strength. It could be a special campaign for all of us on Wearside, and our magical number ten will be an integral cog in the machine as we look to get the club, and Roberts himself, back to where they both belong, in the upper echelons of the English game.
