Sunderland’s goalless draw against Norwich City on Tuesday night sprung up few positives, but a fair few negatives.
The main positive, and it’s a big one, is that Sunderland have confirmed their spot in the play-offs after avoiding defeat at Carrow Road.
Sunderland drew 0-0 with Norwich City and now have five games left to prepare for the play-offs, marking an incredible feat for Regis Le Bris in his first season in charge at the Stadium of Light.
But fans weren’t all that impressed on the night. Sunderland fans blasted Milan Aleksic’s performance, though many think captain Dan Neil was even worse.
Sunderland fans critical of Dan Neil after Norwich City draw
After the game against Norwich, Sunderland fans made their feelings be heard about the 23-year-old Neil, who’s so often a talking point among supporters be it positive or negative.
Fans described his performance as “abysmal”, “awful”, and “ridiculously sloppy” with Neil giving away possession a number of times in the first half especially.
“Neil has been so slack,” added one fan, as another Sunderland supporter wrote: “Dan Neil wouldn’t last two games in the Premier League the way he turns into trouble, frightening.”
“Dan Neil giving it away for a record number of times surely?” asked one fan. “Nowhere near the standard needed to go up,” as another Sunderland fan posted: “If I was Regis Le Bris, I would be absolutely screaming at Neil.”
“Neil needs to get to Specsavers”, joked one Black Cats supporter.
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Dan Neil’s stats for Sunderland against Norwich City
Noe for the first time in recent games has Neil come under the spotlight. Before the international break, Sunderland fans fumed at Neil for his performance in the 3-0 defeat against Coventry City.
But then in the last outing before Norwich, Sunderland fans lauded Neil’s performance against West Brom, suggesting that the midfield is just too inconsistent.
| Statistic | Dan Neil vs Norwich City |
| Touches | 62 (4th) |
| Passes completed | 45 (3rd) |
| Pass % | 90% |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Duels | 2 won out of 7 |
In recent weeks, he and his teammates have looked a bit off the pace, which is understandable given the length and stress of the Championship campaign.
But Le Bris now has a chance to rest up some key players with the play-offs secured.