Gareth Barker, Michael Lough and Richard Easterbrook discussed all things Sunderland on the latest edition of the Wise Men Say podcast and during the show, the panel spent some time talking about Black Cats goalkeeper Lee Burge.
Lough, in particular, was critical of Burge during the podcast and this comes after the goalkeeper gave away a penalty in Sunderland’s opening League One game of the 2020/21 season against Bristol Rovers, which was subsequently converted by Luke Leahy in the third minute.
The Black Cats couldn’t score an equaliser until the 82nd minute and despite dominating the game in terms of possession and shots, Phil Parkinson’s side ended up having to settle for a point in this one as the game finished 1-1.
Here is what Lough had to say about Burge during this recent edition of the Wise Men Say podcast: “He’s certainly got to really improve, because I just don’t think that Burge particularly inspires me anyway, regardless of his performance on Saturday.
“With him, there seems to be very little balance, he either comes charging off his line to try and get a ball which he, realistically, has no chance of getting or he remains on his line, which is really not very good.
“Every time the ball’s near our penalty area, I do get a little bit anxious and I do think the goalkeeper is certainly one area that we’ve massively downgraded in.”
Who should be Sunderland's number one?
Lee Burge
Remi Matthews
TIF Thoughts…
Considering that he gave away the penalty that allowed Bristol Rovers to take the lead early on in this game, it may be understandable why Burge has been receiving some criticism.
Additionally, it may be understandable why Lough seems to have some concerns about the goalkeeper’s suitability to be Sunderland’s number one, in general, considering that he made just five League One appearances for the Black Cats last season, with Jon McLaughlin, who recently departed from the Stadium of Light to join Rangers, being Sunderland’s first-choice goalkeeper last term.
It may be harsh for Parkinson to drop Burge just one game into the season if the manager had been intending to go with the £90k-rated ‘keeper as his number one this season. However, the North East club did recently sign Remi Matthews, who made 33 League One appearances last season for Bolton Wanderers. So perhaps Burge won’t be able to make too many more mistakes before Matthews is given a chance to take his place.