Former Sunderland kitman Stephen Aziz has given his verdict on Jason Steele.
Sunderland fans will remember Steele, now 33, from his brief time playing for the Black Cats during the 2017/18 season.
Steele was signed by Sunderland ahead of that season in the Championship but he’d go on to feature just 15 times in the league, keeping two clean sheets as the Black Cats were relegated to League One.
Brighton then snapped up Steele following his rather calamitous spell at the Stadium of Light, and the shot-stopper wouldn’t make another league appearances for three seasons.
Now though, Steele is a Premier League no.1.
Stephen Aziz ‘so happy’ for Jason Steele after Sunderland nightmare
In a recent interview with We Are Sunderland, former Black Cats kit man Aziz gave his insight into a number of things, including the Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die, which Steele featured on.
Their relegation campaign and their struggles both on and off the pitch were documented by Netflix, with Steele one of many who were targeted for criticism by fans on social media.
Aziz said of Steele:
“Football isn’t this big glamourous show that everyone thinks it is. I think they captured the real, behind the scenes of the lads who were really feeling it and those tough times. You look at Jason Steele now, he’s absolutely flying, playing in the Premier League and he got absolute dogs abuse when he was at Sunderland.”
Aziz added:
“I’m so happy to see him playing in the Premier League and doing so well.”
This season, Steele has featured 15 times in the Premier League with two clean sheets to his name, having played in the Europa League too against the likes of Roma, Marseille, and Ajax.
A bad time in Sunderland’s history, but Steele has prevailed
That relegation season and the following four years in League One now seems like a bad dream for Sunderland fans.
Instead, they’re now challenging to get back into the Premier League after a seven-year hiatus, though recent results under Mike Dodds have been disappointing.
And Steele’s re-emergence with Brighton in the Premier League proves that there was always a good goalkeeper there, but Sunderland at the time was a very difficult place to be.
Like Aziz says, he received a lot of criticism and that would no doubt have dented his confidence, but he’s now proving his Premier League and Europa League credentials with an impressive Brighton side.
The playing staff and backroom team at Sunderland has changed drastically since then, not to forget the ownership too.
There’s a much better outlook and plan in place now, but results in the here and now need to change rapidly; Sunderland have lost six in a row for the first time since 2006.
Sunderland return to action vs QPR this weekend.