Criticism of Sunderland AFC goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin is harsh - and this is why he'll come good again

If Robbin Ruiter, Jason Steele and Lee Camp had all played for Sunderland in the early 2000s, Danny Baker and Nick Hancock would surely have been pestering the club to allow them to narrate their very own ‘gaffes DVD’ in time for the festive season.

Every other week, there seemed to be a points costing calamity which left many Sunday League keepers’ around the Stadium of Light wondering if they were a little hasty in giving up on their dream of making it in the professional game.

Thankfully, that standard of goalkeeping has been confined to a distressing memory rather than our weekly reality.

However, during our disappointing 1-1 draw with Gillingham, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d travelled back in time to the 2017-18 season as Jon McLaughlin allowed a tame effort from outside the box to squirm through his hands and under his body.

Unfortunately, this hasn’t been an isolated incident and last season’s player of the year candidate has endured a shaky start to the campaign.

This has left supporters questioning not only McLaughlin’s place in the team but whether his plaudits last season were deserved.

I understand why people may be thinking this and after witnessing a season-long episode of goalkeeping nightmares throughout the 2017/18 season, any replacement would probably become a crowd favourite, I think the revisionism of the Scottish goalie’s performances are slightly harsh.

He is simply going through a bad run of form and will come out the other side and excel again in time.

Despite his recent injury, Lee Burge is seemingly flavour of the month at the moment, but in the moments after he presented Charlie Wyke with a goal on a plate while at Coventry last season, would Sunderland fans be pining for his signature?

The truth is even the top goalkeepers go through dips in form and both McLaughlin and Burge will make mistakes between now and the end of the season.

They are both more than capable of being n

umber one goalkeepers’ in their own right at this level and we should be encouraged by the fact that if one of them does suffer and injury of a loss of form we have a quality replacement waiting in the wings.