Sunderland faced West Brom in their midweek fixture at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night, and fans had clear message to send to Regis Le Bris about one of his players.
With a number of players back from suspension and injury, Regis Le Bris wrung the changes for Sunderland ahead of the meeting with top six rivals, West Brom.
While the inclusion of Patrick Roberts on the right wing seemed obvious for Le Bris, who would play on the other side of the pitch was far more unclear.
Sunderland failed to make the most of their chances in the game, registering yet another draw with a frustrating 0-0 scoreline.
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Tommy Watson isn’t ready for Sunderland starting XI
18-year-old Tom Watson was handed another start by Le Bris for the clash with West Brom, and while the youngster looked lively at times, fans watching the match were in agreement that the winger should not be getting as much game time for the Black Cats.
One fan on Twitter/X said Watson is “nowhere near ready” for the starting XI, while another described the teenager as being “wasteful” on the night.
Other Sunderland supporters picked up on a particular issue with Watson, with one posting, “Think Watson is taking too long making decisions when on the ball.”
Another added: “It feels like he’s trying too hard. Rushing into things, shots for example that’s just a lack of experience really. Just needs to calm himself down and think about things.”
It wasn’t all negative, though, with James Copley offering a balanced analysis of Watson’s performance early in the second half.
“Seen some flashes of quality so far from Watson today,” Copley wrote on Twitter/X. “Improvements to be made in terms of his physicality, positioning and end product but his work rate is top-notch. Not bad for his third start in my opinion.”
Similarly, the Bilbao Black Cats account agreed Watson has plenty of promise but also lots of room for improvement, adding: “No doubt Tommy Watson has talent and will be top player in future but he’s completely out of his depth starting games at this level. Needs to be used at the end of games.”
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Another Sunderland youngster who will have a bright future
When assessing the Sunderland players after the draw against West Brom, it’s clear that Watson has a lot to admire about his game, but he’s such a raw talent that just isn’t quite refined enough yet.
He was getting himself in the right positions, though, and on another day could have had a goal or two. If he can just improve his decision-making, which will come naturally anyway, Watson can be a top player for Sunderland.
It’s harsh to say Watson looks out of his depth, especially given the fact no Sunderland player really managed to do anything incisive to change the game, and the youngster certainly wasn’t the worst on the pitch.
We have to be careful over-analysing such a young player and putting too much pressure on him. Watson is doing just fine, and will only improve as the season goes on. It’s all a learning curve, but every experience, good or bad, is going to make him a better player.