This is why Lynden Gooch should be shown some love by Sunderland fans

Hear me out on this one but I think Gooch deserves a little more credit than he receives.

Cast your minds back to the Lincoln City game last season. Gooch started at right-back and it was, well, an unmitigated disaster.

The returning Chris Maguire ran riot with a hat-trick with Gooch enduring a miserable game. Sunderland briefly looked like they could rescue something from the clash when Ross Stewart notched to make it 2-1.

The Black Cats pushed forward towards the North Stand in pursuit of what would have been a precious equaliser. The ball spun out to Gooch, who miskicked it, Lincoln made it 3-1 seconds later. Game over.

Many thought Gooch would be finished at Sunderland following that loss and the stick he received was far from endearing with sarcastic cheers greeting his every touch.

However, Gooch bounced back and has adapted reasonably well to Championship football. Take Luke O’Nien as a comparative exercise for instance. I would strongly suggest that Gooch possesses many of the qualities his teammate is (rightly) lauded by many Sunderland fans for.

Versatility

Much like O’Nien, Gooch has played for Sunderland everywhere he has been asked to without moaning. The American started life as a right-winger but has played as a support striker, a number 10, a right-wing back, a right-back and recently a left-back.

Mentality

Gooch has a never-say-die attitude. To come back from the low of the Lincoln game, and indeed several setbacks during his Sunderland career (back-to-back-relegations and Wembley losses) takes something special.

Experience

Experience is another quality O’Nien and Gooch share. The former Doncaster Rovers loanee has made 232 appearances over seven years as a Sunderland first-teamer and has played in League One, the Championship and the Premier League. In my view, this should be celebrated given Gooch joined the club as a ten-year-old. A massive success story for the Academy of Light.

Gooch is now one of Sunderland’s most senior professionals given his age (27) and relative experience. Tony Mowbray’s squad is youthful in make-up with only O’Nien (28), Danny Batth (32), Bailey Wright (30) and Alex Pritchard (29) possessing more miles on the clock than Gooch. That sort of leadership is priceless.

Passion

The club means something to Gooch and O’Nien and they both come across like they want to be here. That is important at Sunderland with such a fervent historically hard-working fan base.

I was lucky enough to speak to Gooch at Wembley after promotion to the Championship was secured. To say he was emotional would be an understatement, he had tears in his eyes and talked lovingly about the club at length.

Performance

I’m not saying Gooch has been perfect at all times but neither has any Sunderland player as you would expect in a new league. I just think he’s due a little slack. His performance levels have been solid enough.

Gooch has chipped in with 58 goal contributions which works out as one in every four games. Not bad for a player who has been shifted into defence. If Gooch was to leave tomorrow, I think we’d miss him. They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it's gone.