Sunderland fans were concerned about the team’s recent form before the 2-1 win against Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
The Black Cats had gone six games without a win so morale was low among the supporters but one result has completely changed that.
Regis Le Bris’ team can go top of the Championship table on Tuesday night if results go their way and fans are rightfully buzzing again.
But there is still one issue with the team at the moment that the Sunderland faithful can’t seem to agree on.
Sunderland fans disagree on penalty taker decision
Patrick Roberts’ penalty miss against Sheffield United cost Sunderland dearly. The 27-year-old could have given his team a 1-0 lead and, instead, they lost 1-0.
It was a poor effort and Black Cats fans have since questioned whether he should be stripped of penalty-taking duties by Le Bris.
Indeed, many have taken to X to share their opinions on whether Roberts should take the next penalty and who should replace him.
“Let Roberts put to bed that awful miss the other day or it will haunt him,” a supporter said in support of the right-winger. “Roberts, he’s been allocated the pens,” added another.
However, it seems that the majority want someone else as the penalty taker. There is no consensus on who that should be, though.
One wrote: “[Wilson] Isidor and that’s the only answer.” An SAFC fan agreed: “[I’m a] traditionalist – unless there’s a penalty specialist like Cole Palmer, Leighton Baines or Fabio Borini, it should always be the striker (Isidor).”
But there were plenty of other shouts, including Jobe Bellingham, Tommy Watson and Luke O’Nien.
“Bellingham or Watson for me,” tweeted a Sunderland supporter. “Luke O’Nien, feel like he’d give it a proper CB’s hoof and give the keeper no chance,” replied another.
What is Patrick Roberts’ penalty record?
Roberts’ penalty record is neither good nor bad. He scored his first one for England in a Euro U19 Championship Qualifier against Luxembourg in 2014.
He then had to wait 10 years to take his second, scoring in Sunderland’s 3-2 defeat to Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle in September.
Roberts’ third penalty was the miss against Sheffield United, giving him a success rate of 67%. That’s not exactly shocking.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with replacing him if Le Bris has more confidence in another player but Black Cats supporters should not be so worried about Roberts taking the next one.