NurPhoto via Getty Images
Have you heard about Haway The Podcast, the all-new, official Roker Report Podcast? We’d love for you to check it out and give it a listen!
He was just starting to edge into the first team picture at the Stadium of Light during the dog days of Sunderland’s 2007-2017 Premier League stint, and he was one of our central figures during the years of lower-league exile that followed, so when Lynden Gooch returns to Wearside as a Huddersfield player for tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup tie, perhaps it’ll be a slightly bittersweet occasion for the Californian-born, Mackem-raised defender.
Sunderland’s Lynden Gooch during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers at the Stadium Of Light, Sunderland on Monday 26th December 2022. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Of course, from a Sunderland perspective, there’s a lot more on the table tomorrow night than a reunion with a former fan favourite, but as our journey from League One drifters to Championship contenders to Premier League new boys continues, why shouldn’t we give props to someone who’ll doubtless feel a great deal of pride at the progress made at the Stadium of Light since 2022?
In the first instance, it’s abundantly clear that Terriers’ fans have already taken Gooch to their hearts, as we see here…
Surprising? Hardly.
The work rate that was the fulcrum of much of his play in red and white — some would say unimportantly and that his technical shortcomings undermined that, something with which I’d disagree — has clearly been retained, first when he left Sunderland for Stoke City at the end of the summer transfer window of 2023, and then following his move to West Yorkshire earlier this year.
During the League One promotion campaign, his versatility and sheer commitment to the cause played a major role as the Lads scrapped and fought their way back to the Championship.
Yes, he could be erratic and he often had to deal with cries of “he only has one good game in every three or four”, but as we fought to escape that hellhole of a division under Alex Neil’s granite-tough management, it was evident that attitude was as important as talent — something embodied by the likes of Gooch, Luke O’Nien, Corry Evans and others, and he deserved his moment in the sun at Wembley as much as anyone else.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Lynden Gooch of Sunderland celebrates with the trophy during the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final match between Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on May 21, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
In 2022/2023, Gooch became one of our most reliable players and having served notice of his, and by extension the team’s intent, with a ridiculous chipped goal against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, he continued to put in the hard yards when Neil was replaced by Tony Mowbray and we embarked on what often felt like an against-the-odds playoff push.
Towards the end of the campaign, with the team decimated by injury and Mowbray looking high and low for short-term fixes, Gooch seemed to be everywhere, filling in wherever he was required and more than carrying his share of the load.
The challenge for the top six as a newly-promoted side might’ve felt unlikely but everyone seemed to be inspired by the efforts of the players who were still standing, and had the playoff semi-final second leg against Luton not hinged on a glaring lack of Sunderland height at Kenilworth Road, a second successive passage to Wembley would’ve been ours and maybe — just maybe — the American would’ve tasted his second successive promotion in red and white.
As it was, we fell just short of a Wembley final against Coventry City. The squad then underwent something of an overhaul and Gooch’s eventual departure for Stoke City and a reunion with Neil, ostensibly to make way for Timothée Pembélé, felt like something of a misstep, as one could argue that his growing experience might’ve helped to keep the red and white ship on a steadier course during a turbulent 2023/2024 campaign.
As it is, his career took a different turn and Sunderland’s trajectory has continued upwards under the guidance of Régis Le Bris, whom I suspect might’ve admired Gooch’s wholehearted approach, durability and selfless attitude.
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Lynden Gooch of Sunderland during the Sky Bet Championship between Burnley and Sunderland at Turf Moor on March 31, 2023 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Would he have made the grade for us in the Premier League? Maybe not.
Was he one of those lads who played a significant role in helping us to start moving forward again? Absolutely, and that’s why I wanted to give him his due ahead of tomorrow evening’s reunion, because the journey we’ve been on since 2022 involved a lot of effort from a lot of good and decent men — of which Gooch is certainly one.
He’ll get a warm reception when he runs out in front of the supporters for whom it always meant so much to play, and hopefully what’ll doubtless be a much-changed Sunderland team can clock up a victory that’ll send us into Saturday’s clash with Brentford in a positive frame of mind.
0 Comments