BBC pundit and former Sunderland man Marco Gabbiadini has given his verdict on Dan Neil, who’s facing criticism after Watford.
Sunderland were dealt just their second defeat of the Championship season last weekend, losing 2-1 against Watford.
The defeat also marks a second-straight away defeat for Regis Le Bris’ side who now sit in 3rd place of the Championship table ahead of their clash against Derby County on Tuesday night.
It’ll be a welcome return to the Stadium of Light for Sunderland who have lost two of their last three now.
Whilst it’s been a very good season on the whole, there’s a few complaints starting to emerge among fans, with Dan Neil a real talking point right now.
Neil was made Sunderland captain going into this season. But many fans think he’s had a poor season so far, with Neil facing criticism after the Watford game last Saturday.
Speaking after the match, Neil admitted his mistake as he gave away a penalty that led to Watford’s winning goal.
Marco Gabbiadini rues criticism of Dan Neil at Sunderland
Sunderland academy man Neil is now in his fourth full season as a first-team player with the club, having made his 150th appearance for the Black Cats earlier this season.
He’s featured in six of Sunderland’s opening seven league fixtures having been suspended for one, following his red card against Burnley.
Speaking on Total Sport, Marco Gabbiadini has shared his thoughts on the latest wave of criticism against Neil.
Gabbiadini said: “Unfortunately there are certain people who’ve got a skewed view of these situations.
“It’s a football season, 46 games, and so far we’ve pretty good. And actually, I thought Dan Neil had quite a good game [vs Watford], he swept up a lot of the ball, he was involved in a lot of the forward moves.
“He had a busy afternoon because it was quite an open game, and I thought he did OK. You can’t really criticise his performance.
“He made an error. He’s a very young player still. He will be learning from these situations.”
Gabbiadini concluded: “Some of the negativity; it’s a sign of the times unfortunately, where people just go overboard.”
Regis Le Bris faces Dan Neil dilemma ahead of Derby County
Whilst some criticism of Neil may be overboard, like Gabbiadini says, the 22-year-old certainly hasn’t been as influential as he has been in previous campaigns.
It’s clear by his red card against Burnley and his penalty incident against Watford that he’s still lacking some experience, which will no doubt come with time.
For Le Bris, he now faces a key selection call ahead of Derby County; whether or not to start Neil, with Alan Browne waiting in the wings.
Brown is much more experienced than Neil, but a different type of player with Neil more of a passer than Browne might be.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see what Le Bris opts for and whether or not Neil can quickly find his best form again.