Another Sunderland player has been told he’s under-performed for the Black Cats this season.
It’s certainly panning out to be a misfire season for Sunderland in the Championship.
After their unprecedented play-off finish last time round, expectations reached a new high going into this season, and they’ve not been met.
The Sunderland owners arguably made a rash decision in sacking Tony Mowbray earlier in the season, and then an even more rash decision in appointing Michael Beale.
Now with Mike Dodds at the helm, Sunderland have lost their last six, with Dodds overseeing the last four.
Ryan Dilks aims dig at Pierre Ekwah, and now Patrick Roberts
At the start of the month, EFL pundit Ryan Dilks named Pierre Ekwah as his most disappointing player in the entire Championship this season.
And now Dilks has added Patrick Roberts to the list of Sunderland players who’ve underperformed this season, saying in a recent episode of The Second Tier Podcast:
“Loads of players have under-performed this season, particularly Pierre Ekwah, we talked about that the other day, Patrick Roberts is another one as well, and injuries haven’t helped either. But this just needs to be a learning experience for Sunderland.”
27-year-old Roberts has featured 26 times in the Championship this season, without scoring, and with just two assists to his name; that’s compared to six goals and seven assists in 44 league appearances last time round.
A tough season at Sunderland for Roberts
It’s certainly been a tough campaign for the ex-Manchester City man, who is currently sidelined with yet another injury.
Roberts has missed the last five with another hamstring injury, though if it wasn’t for this persistent injury, Roberts would surely have played more games.
At his very best, he’s arguably up there with Jack Clarke in terms of quality and what he gives to the team.
But there’s no doubting that he’s not had his best season; the numbers speak volumes for Roberts who flourished last season but hasn’t been the same this time round.
And the changes in managers can’t be blamed either; he played just five times under Beale and is yet to play under Dodds.
It simply seems like Roberts has had a tough season where the numbers are concerned, though that’s not to say he’s had an overall disappointing season like Dilks says.
Earlier in the campaign when he was fit and featuring regularly, Roberts was still playing his role in the side; this time round, a lot of the emphasis in attack has been on Clarke, arguably taking the spotlight away from other players like Roberts.
But he remains under contract for another year and if he can find fitness for next season, he could still play a huge role in this youthful Sunderland side, especially if Clarke moves on.