By descent, I meant of British/Irish/Italian parentage. I should have simply just said "Irish" parents. Great post btw.
Thanks. The less said about Altidore's time here the better but I was a big fan of Yedlin, If I remember correctly he had a very respectable run in the team after Christmas under Sam Allardyce and looked dangerous on the offensive, no doubt if we had kept Sam as manager he would have recruited Yedlin permanently among other players in the summer and perhaps the story would have been different. I was sad to see him sign with Newcastle to be honest. As for Gooch, for me his potential is an opened ended question as this stage, he could legitimately end up a very competent Premiership player. Confidence and stability are such big factors for a player and Sunderland haven't been able to offer than for a good few years now, not only to Gooch but for all of our players. Right now it feels like we've turned the corner and hopefully we'll make headway in the following seasons. Gooch is technically good, has the physical game and is showing cognitive improvement when it comes to decision making and reading the game, I wouldn't say he is just a League One player, there's plenty left in the tank in my opinion.
Was in Sunderland for the Shrewsbury match Saturday, then at Blackpool on New Year's, where Sunderland had nearly 8000 away fans in a crowd of under 11,000. Even got to briefly say hello to Gooch post-match on Saturday. Not surprised he signed the extension, he's indicated he's very happy here and there were multiple signals he would be do it. A 3-year extension is pretty unusual in League One, so clearly the club has a lot of faith in him. And he is something of a fan favorite. After what I saw, and have seen watching online all year, here's an overview. Good pace, very two-footed, works very hard - his willingness to make recovery runs is amazing. Can create on his own off the dribble. And a battler, if there's a scrap, he's almost always involved. He s stronger than a year or two ago as well. Weakness? Sometimes tries to do too much. Not just in terms of holding the ball but also noticible in that if he comes in as a late sub he frequently gets booked. Can play multiple spots although I think he's clearly best wide right. He's very good at this level. There are times when he's the focal point of Sunderland's attack. I don't think he'd have huge issues in the Championship, he had decent moments there last year, especially toward the end. And my sons and I are convinced he'd be very good in MLS.Not DP level, but very productive. A lot of MLS left backs would struggle against him. His form this year warrants a decent national team look. I know its League One and few do it from there, but he's been one of best players on one of the top teams. He's improved in the last calendar year, plus he'll never shirk. He's earned something beyond a token call up.
Starts: Today's line-up, in association with @aphrodite1994...#SAFC #HawayTheLads pic.twitter.com/ZUVuBbZcMe— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 5, 2019
Started again today. 16' #SAFC 1-0 #LTFC@LutonTown have started well, forcing two big stops from Jon McLaughlin, but Chris Maguire has dealt a sucker punch after @LyndenGooch's blocked shot fell kindly into his path. Ha'way The Lads!! pic.twitter.com/qy3enil437— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 12, 2019
Gooch was substituted at 79'. Sounds like an ill-tempered match with some controversy. A Luton player was red carded around 70' and a penalty allowed Luton to equalize. This was a big one because Sunderland would have jumped ahead of Luton Town into second with a win.
Starts: Today's starting XI, in association with @aphrodite1994...#SAFC pic.twitter.com/OAjUvL5wBc— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 19, 2019
dropped points today. Now Sunderland need to win their game in-hand, catch up on goal differential with Luton, who are surging. Not to mention Charlton and Barnsley are turning up the heat as well. League One heating up for sure.
Ended in a 1-1 draw. Gooch went the distance. On the Scunthorpe goal 1:09 he jogs to double a player in the corner though doesn't get there. In retrospective if he dropped inside he may have been in the space the Scunthorpe goal scorer strikes from. Hindsight is 20/20 and all.
Came off the bench in the Checkatrade Trophy match and scored: GOOOOOCCCHHH!!Only just on as a sub, his first involvement ends in a goal...#SAFC 2-0 #MCFC U21 pic.twitter.com/z4ydAgfBCw— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 22, 2019
A cell phone video of the goal (complete with "GOOOOOOOOOOch" yells): 1087819640494084097 is not a valid tweet id
It's the Checktrade Trophy. If you offered me free tickets, with a paid taxi to the match and another one to take me and my mates home afterwards, I'd answer "is there a free bar included? Because if there isn't, you can stuff it."
Late scratch, film at 11: Skipper @GHoneyman10 also returns to the line-up after being out since our away trip to @officialpompey in December.@10LewisMorgan has come in for @LyndenGooch, with Chris Maguire taking the winger's place on the bench. More details on Gooch's omission coming soon. #SAFC pic.twitter.com/MYJDhObUZd— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) February 2, 2019
Not an injury: Lynden Gooch a late withdrawal for "family reasons" says Jack Ross. #safc— Richard Mennear (@RichMennear) February 2, 2019
Pulled because he pulled, apparently. Girlfriend went into labor, gave birth to a boy later in the day.
On the bench: Today's line-up, in association with @aphrodite1994...#SAFC pic.twitter.com/ckNNBqFTFY— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) February 9, 2019
Starts: Tonight's team news, in association with @aphrodite1994...#SAFC #HawayTheLads pic.twitter.com/meaEgkpOz9— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) February 12, 2019
dropped valuable points. both Sunderland and Portsmouth are slipping up on auto promotion while Luton and Barnsley have made hard charges.