Danny Collins responds when asked if Anthony Patterson should be axed at Sunderland after Hull City nightmare
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris faces a bit of a goalkeeper conundrum with calls for Anthony Patterson to be dropped from the starting XI.
Anthony Patterson already has more than 150 senior appearances to his name at Sunderland, despite being just 24 years old.
The Sunderland academy graduate has asserted himself as one of the brightest young goalkeepers in the whole country over the last few years, with transfer links to Arsenal, Spurs, and Manchester United a credit to how well he’s done.
But right now, the going is tough for Patterson. Sunderland lost 1-0 against Hull City in their last outing with Patterson scoring an own goal during the game.
He fumbled a corner into his own net, and Sunderland fans were very critical of Patterson after the game, with the mistake against Hull City not the first costly error that Patterson has made in recent weeks.
There’s calls for no.2 Simon Moore to come into the XI for the final 12 games of the season. But it’d be a big call from Le Bris to drop Patterson amid this tough run of form.
Danny Collins thinks Simon Moore should be starting for Sunderland
Sunderland signed Moore during the summer transfer window. The experienced goalkeeper joined as a free agent and he’s since made four Championship appearances for the Black Cats, keeping three clean sheets.
Speaking on Total Sport, pundit and former Sunderland man Danny Collins has suggested that it could be beneficial for Patterson to spend some time out of the XI, and for Moore to come in for the next game against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night.
Collins said: “Simon Moore come in earlier when Patto had an injury, and he actually did quite well. He had three or four clean sheets on the bounce I think, remembering it now. He’s a sort of experienced goalkeeper, he [Le Bris] may well think, ‘I’ll just take him out the firing line’.
“Patto’s still a young goalkeeper at the end of the day. He [Le Bris] might feel, ‘I’ll just give him a little break and bring him [Moore] in’.”
Regis Le Bris
questions Anthony Patterson after Hull City blunder
Speaking after the defeat against Hull City at the Stadium of Light, Regis Le Bris admitted ‘serious questions’ must be asked of his side, indirectly aiming the criticism towards Patterson following his own goal.
Le Bris explained: “It was disappointing to concede like that. In this kind of a game, silly mistakes can change many things. It happened, and for sure, we have to think about these mistakes because we have to improve our game.
“It is not like a coincidence now. I am not saying it is predictable, but at the same time, we have to ask some serious questions.”
Whilst many fans and pundits think it’s time for Patterson to be dropped, the decision is Le Bris’, and it’s not a decision he’ll take lightly.
Dropping Patterson would put a huge dent in his confidence and likely in his transfer value too, so there’s a lot to consider. But Sunderland simply can’t afford any more mistakes; promotion should be the main aim, not whether or not Patterson will lose confidence if he’s dropped.
