The long road from non-league loans to the Premier League will reach its end when Sunderland and Anthony Patterson return to the top flight in August.
The Academy of Light graduate has been a consistent presence as the Black Cats have made their way from League One into the top flight of English football and has produced two eye-catching displays in memorable play-off final wins against Wycombe Wanderers and Sheffield United over the last four seasons.
Sunderland's Anthony Patterson.placeholder image
Sunderland's Anthony Patterson. | Getty Images
But the first steps in Patterson’s development with the Black Cats came not in the plush, historic setting of Wembley - but in the most modest surroundings of Northern League clubs Sunderland RCA and Ryton and Crawcrook Albion. At just 16-year-old, the young stopper followed a well-trodden path encouraged by influential Sunderland goalkeeping coach Mark Prudhoe as some of the Black Cats top talents were exposed to the physical nature of non-league football.
Former Academy of Light manager Lewis Dickman told The Echo: “Mark Prudhoe’s eye for a goalkeeper, his methodology and everything he offers is second-to-none. He’s always held Anthony in high regard but there might have been times when you have questioned how long he’d last at the club. We always wanted to get keepers out early on loan and the Northern League gave a good grounding, it’s a physical and mental challenge and Patto dealt with that. You look at Jordan Pickford, he did similar in non-league and that pathway helps Sunderland and definitely helps their goalkeepers. There was solid rationale behind sending lads out on loan and Patto is just one that has benefitted from it.”
An early relegation battle
Anthony Patterson during his time with Ebac Northern League club Sunderland RCA (photo Sunderland RCA)placeholder image
Anthony Patterson during his time with Ebac Northern League club Sunderland RCA (photo Sunderland RCA) | Sunderland RCA
Being thrown in at the deep end would be underplaying the situation Patterson found himself in when he joined a Ryton side in the midst of a battle to preserve their Northern League status. Far from being intimidated, the Black Cats starlet threw himself into life in the tenth tier of English football, keeping clean sheets against the likes of Hebburn Town and Thornaby to help Tony Fawcett’s men remain in Division Two for another season.
Patterson’s professional attitude and clear determination to improve left an impression on the man now in charge of Division One club Whickham.
Fawcett said: “Anthony was brilliant, he commanded his area well for a young boy because he was only 16 playing in a man’s league at the time. He would come for crosses, he was brave, he was outstanding to be fair to him. There were mistakes but you could see he would become a top quality keeper. I can’t say I thought he would become a Premier League but I don’t know what a Premier League goalkeeper would look like at 16. What I can say is he kept clean sheets in high pressure games when we were battling relegation and helped us stay in the division.”
A step up into the Northern League’s top tier followed with Sunderland RCA as Patterson helped Martin Swales’ side claim a top five finish in step five of the non-league pyramid. As explained by then-RCA goalkeeper coach Lenny French, the impact of his loan at RCA went far beyond on-field improvement.
He said: “You could see Anthony’s quality as soon as he turned up to training. He was a bit quiet, he was really unassuming, but we had Tom Howard on loan from Sunderland at the same time and he brought him out of his shell a bit. We had already had James Talbot and Michael Woud on loan as young keepers from Sunderland and they have both gone on to become international footballers. Patto didn’t seem as confident at first but he grew into it.”
Becoming a Magpie
After a tentative introduction to life at senior level, the decision was taken for Patterson to undertake a third loan stint in non-league football - but this time the pressure was ramped up as he joined a Notts County side battling for a play-off spot in the National League. The selection of the Magpies for Patterson’s next destination was based upon a demanding playing style of building from the back - and it was one that former Sunderland star Lynden Gooch took the youngster’s development to another level.
“Patto was a quiet lad, a shy lad but he let his goalkeeping do the talking,” explained the former Black Cats star.
“When he trained with the first-team, you could see the quality he had and we were impressed with him - but we needed him to come out of his shell. His quality wasn’t in question, it was clear in the training group. We knew within the core group he was our best goalkeeper before that loan to Notts County and that’s no disrespect to the other keepers. The loan worked for him, he got his chance, and he took it brilliantly.”
In an ultra competitive environment where Sunderland were producing several promising young goalkeepers, Patterson’s improvement made an impact on a number of prospects that had hoped to follow him into the senior setup at the Stadium of Light.
Former Black Cats youngster Harrison Bond explained: “Being in League One at the time, the Premier League was obviously a long way away but you could see him becoming a Sunderland keeper and we thought he would go on to greater heights. When he went to Notts County, the lads knew he was ready to go and play and he seemed to become more solid during his time there. I didn’t see much of the games he played there but Mark Prudhoe said he was different when he came back. He had learnt to play out more and he wasn’t exposed to that with us so that put him in good stead.”
Play-off final heroics
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After establishing himself as the Black Cats first-choice goalkeeper on the back of those impressive loan spells with Notts County, Patterson has produced a whole host of impressive displays in recent seasons - and perhaps the most impressive have come in Sunderland’s League One and Championship play-off final wins against Wycombe Wanderers and Sheffield United. A stunning save to deny Wycombe striker Sam Vokes was bettered by a world class effort that kept out a header from Blades striker Kieffer Moore in last month’s Championship play-off final win. More was to come during the second half of the latter of those Wembley wins as Patterson stayed big to deny Andre Brooks and that set the scene for fellow academy product Tommy Watson to grab a dramatic last-minute winner that has gone down in Black Cats folklore.
Neither Bond or Gooch were surprised by their former team-mates Wembley heroics.
Fellow keeper Bond said: “The first save from Moore was an unbelievable save but it was not a surprise to me because I’ve seen those saves from when Patto was a young lad. For me, it wasn’t such a good save or a shock, that’s what he does. I feel like the last two seasons he’s been a bit overlooked because he’s been so good.”
Gooch agreed, saying: “You talk about the two saves in the play-off final but he has that in him. You’d get frustrated in training because he’d be plucking balls heading to the top corner and you’d wonder how he had done that. You’d just laugh about it but he makes big saves and puts in big performances. No disrespect to any keepers I’ve played with, I played with Jordan Pickford, and they are probably the two best I have played with and it’s credit to the club because they keep producing good goalkeepers.”
Premier League promotion
Sunderland celebrate promotion to the Premier League (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images).placeholder image
Sunderland celebrate promotion to the Premier League (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images).
The full-time whistle in last month’s Championship play-off final brought scenes of jubilation and disbelief on and off the pitch at the home of football.
Patterson’s journey from Academy of Light graduate and a trio of challenging non-league loans to becoming a Premier League goalkeeper had taken it’s biggest step yet. For Gooch, a player that also met the challenge of rising from academy prospect to first-team player, there was nothing but admiration for Patterson as he dealt with the setbacks he has suffered during his time in the senior setup at the Stadium of Light.
The former United States international said: “The big thing is when he has made a mistake, he doesn’t show the effects of that. Deep down he really cares, he might not show it but he just cracks on, he doesn’t show anyone that he’s down, he just gets on with it and that’s a huge quality that is needed to play as a goalkeeper for Sunderland. As a young lad coming through the academy and into the first team, there will come a point when you have a tough spell where you might not play as well or supporters might question you. It happens, Patto, Dan Neil, everyone goes through it but he has come through the other side.”
Pickford and Henderson comparisons
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The final word goes to former Academy of Light supremo Dickman, who has followed Patterson’s journey from the early days and has kept a close eye on his latest steps towards becoming a fully-fledged Premier League star. There is obvious pride and satisfaction - but there is also a realisation of the qualities that have enabled Patterson to take the great leap into the top flight of English football for the first time.
He said: “He’s had a tough journey through and he’s always had to step up because he’s always seemed to find himself behind the eight ball at times - but Anthony has taken any chances that have come his way. I’m not sure proving people wrong would be the right phrase but he has shown his resilience and that is part of a top player’s ammunition. Players like Jordan Henderson did the same, he showed that quality and resilience to get to where he is and Patto is the same. I am proud of him but Ged (McNamee), Elliott (Dickman), Bally (Kevin Ball), Pruds can all say the same.
“There should be pride because it was a team collective from a lot of people within the academy to put the hard work in place and to get players through. You look at the likes of Jordan Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Dan Neil, Chris Rigg. They’ve all made the jump and Patto deserves to be spoken about alongside the very best of them.”
The next test in Anthony Patterson’s journey is the biggest yet - but the lessons learnt on the route from non-league to Premier League will hold him in good stead come August.
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