This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…
Sunderland is seemingly encased in a horrible thick cloud of doom and gloom at the moment.
Under Phil Parkinson, they’ve won just two of their 12 games and the pressure has increased on him and the board.
Calls from supporters have seen them urge for Kevin Phillips to be put in the hot seat but wherever you look, negativity seems to follow the club’s players.
Sunderland’s U23s find themselves rock bottom of Premier League 2 and after a 1-0 defeat on Monday evening against Stoke, they’ve now lost 11 successive games in a row.
It’s a horrendous record but there is one player in their ranks that is providing hope of a better future at the Stadium of Light.
Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson was one of the shining lights for the Black Cats, making numerous saves that kept his team in the game.
Just before the hour mark, he denied an effort right on the line while he also had to be sharp to keep out Gabriel Kycremateng’s on more than one occasion.
But despite failing to keep a clean sheet, it was an incredibly productive performance from the 19-year-old who is being tipped for big things at the club.
Jack Ross previously suggested that he was a player they wanted to integrate into the first-team on Wearside but he’s still yet to appear in a competitive fixture. Considering he is one of the few positives surrounding Sunderland at the moment, it may not be a surprise if he’s given a chance before the season is up.
Speaking about the ‘keeper last month, the club’s goalkeeping coach Lee Butler had the following to say: “He makes big saves and he’s a good shot-stopper but it’s not all about that, and he knows that. He can take a telling off. Some of these young keepers, you have to just nudge them, whereas with Patts, you can give him a telling off.”
It seems as though the young stopper has the right mentality but that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have work to do.
In fact, Butler has urged him to follow in the footsteps of a certain Jordan Pickford:
“He’s doing everything I ask of him. He’s a bit quiet in games, so I’m getting him to talk a bit more. It’s not natural to him like it was with (Jordan) Pickford. He naturally wants to be involved, talking quite a lot, but that’s not Patto’s personality. But he’s got to get that into his footballing personality.”
Pickford has since gone onto become England’s regular number one so if Patterson can discover a similar trait, there is a reason to be excited about his future in the north-east.
Further commenting on the teenager, Butler added: “He’s got the right profile to be a top keeper in my eyes.”
It was fine praise for a player who still hasn’t been given a chance under Parkinson. However, despite woeful results following the senior side and U23 team wherever they go, Patterson continues to be a shining light.
If Sunderland fans need something to be positive about, he is the man.
In other news, Sunderland are hoping to add another bright teenage prospect to their ranks…