I watched Sunderland's frustrating defeat at Watford and here's four things I thought

Sunderland fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.

Here’s Phil’s big talking points and thoughts from the game…

TIME TO SHOW DAN NEIL SOME LOVE

“I cannot say we lost the game because of Dan, it is not the truth,” Regis Le Bris said afterwards.

It was undoubtedly a mistake from Dan Neil to dive into a tackle on Kwadwo Baah inside his own box, having done so much of the hard work to push the striker away from goal at the end of a dangerous counter attack.

There was a visceral reaction online in particular to the error but if anyone deserves a bit of love and patience, surely it’s Neil. The (still developing) midfielder was handed a difficult job when Corry Evans suffered an ACL injury in January 2023, essentially asked to learn an entirely new role on the job. He’s done it diligently, performing to a high level in the vast majority of fixtures. It also shouldn’t be forgotten that when a raft of players understandably gave up on Sunderland in the nadir of the League One years, Neil was one of very few who rejected the chance to leave. His contribution to Sunderland already surpasses what the vast majority of other players have managed in their time at the club.

As Le Bris alluded to, to focus squarely on Neil’s error also deflects from some of the other issues in Sunderland’s performances - first and foremost a dreadful first half hour in which they barely landed a pass. Sunderland have often sat off a little bit this season in order to draw the opposition onto them, but this was different. They were too deep to offer a threat on the break and were still easy to play through, with Watford having six shots from inside the box in the first half alone. Handing the opposition such a significant head start was every bit as significant to the end result as the late penalty, and all the more baffling given that Watford had come into the game having conceded inside the first five minutes in five of their last six matches.

None of this is to say that there isn’t a fair debate over where Neil’s best position is in the long term, particularly as Le Bris’s shift to a 4-3-3 does leave the sitting midfielder even more exposed defensively than in previous seasons. Sunderland lost too many duels in midfield with Moussa Sissoko superb, and it created big chances on the break. The variety and competition that Salis Abdul Samed will offer when fit will clearly be welcome and a big boost to the squad. To write Neil off as a six entirely would be an extreme overreaction, though. He’s still the best passer in the squad and when Sunderland get on the front foot and up the pitch as they did after the half-time interval here, there’s no one better at feeding the wide players in dangerous positions.

Neil’s frustration with his error was obvious, sinking to the floor and kicking the ball away in despair after the final whistle was blown. He also fronted up for the club media duty afterwards, taking responsibility for a ‘daft error’. Criticism for a costly mistake is fair but Neil deserves support and the chance to put it right in two big games this week.

A FRUSTRATING AFTERNOON BUT LE BRIS TAKES TWO BIG POSITIVES AWAY

Le Bris is not a head coach prone to an emotional response either in victory or defeat, always ready to point out the fine margins of football whatever the result. Even so, it was noticeable in his post-match press conference that he was taking clear positives away from a disappointing afternoon.

The head coach felt that dismal start to the game was a tactical issue caused by Watford’s formation, and was buoyed by the way his players had been able to ultimately respond within the contest and find a way to get back on top. He noted that this was a hugely promising sign for the rest of the campaign.

Then there was an excellent full debut from Wilson Isidor. The arrival of Aaron Connolly earlier this week further fuelled suspicions that Isidor is here to play out wide first and foremost, but this display was a strong riposte to that. In a first half where he was often left isolated, Isidor showed a pleasing willingness to scrap with three Watford centre halves to get his team up the pitch. He occupied central areas well and made some good runs in behind, as well as being in exactly the right place to meet the cross from Patrick Roberts for the equaliser. It was a very solid, all-round ‘number nine’ display.

WATFORD’S BENCH DEPTH TELLS

In theory, Sunderland have a fair amount of strength in depth everywhere but full back. The reality right now for Le Bris is somewhat different. Sunderland had the better of the second half without ever really taking complete control, and that Watford were a persistent threat on the break was a reflection of how Tom Cleverley was able to use more substitutions and earlier. Le Bris made three, but only two before the final ten minutes and neither Nazariy Rusyn nor Ian Poveda were able to really impose themselves on the game.

It’s a situation that should improve after the international break but it’s a definite challenge for Sunderland at the moment and it doesn’t seem unfair to suggest that a little more rotation might help avoid those costly late errors.

TOMMY WATSON SHOWS HIS PROMISE

The obvious caveat to the point above is that there was one very encouraging late cameo. Tommy Watson has been knocking on the door for first-team minutes with a string of impressive displays in the U21s and eager to protect Romaine Mundle for the busy week ahead, Le Bris finally saw the right moment to give the 18-year-old his chance.

It took Watson a matter of minutes to find his feet and before the final whistle he was able to demonstrate his ability to drift past players with ease, reminiscent of Jack Clarke in his close control. He looked completely at ease with the level and this seems certain to be the first of many cameo appearances.