Micky Lough appeared on the most recent edition of the Wise Men Say podcast to discuss all things Sunderland and during the show, he spent some time talking about Lynden Gooch, following his goalscoring performance in the Black Cats’ 2-0 win over Oxford United last weekend.
Gooch has started just one of Sunderland’s four competitive games this season so far, with that start coming in the Black Cats’ 8-1 EFL Trophy win over Aston Villa’s U-23s earlier this month.
However, he did come on as a substitute in the rest of Sunderland’s games so far this term and the £540k-rated winger even managed to score after coming off the bench this past weekend, netting the Black Cats’ second goal in their 2-0 win over Oxford United.
With that in mind, it may not come as a big surprise that Lough was full of praise for Gooch and the quality that he brings to Sunderland’s squad during this recent edition of the Wise Men Say podcast, saying: “I think that Saturday’s performance kind of summed up that we do, when we’ve got our best team out, have quality which a lot of teams in this league don’t possess.
“So bringing Lynden Gooch off the bench, and he’s shown quality throughout last season; he was arguably a lot better than he was the season before last, and he scored that goal at the weekend, which was really well taken.
“He really likes to get the ball and run at defenders and make things happen. So, I think he’s got that bit of ‘X factor’ that a lot of teams in this league don’t have.”
Should Gooch be starting for Sunderland?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what Lough had to say, it’s clear that he appreciates Gooch and the quality that he offers Sunderland.
Last season the former USA international netted on 10 occasions in 30 League One appearances for the Black Cats, so it may be fair to say that he has proven to be an effective attacking option for the North East club of late.
With that in mind, as well as the fact that he scored this past weekend, we find it difficult to disagree with Lough’s comments on the player and we feel that the winger is making a strong case for himself to be included in his side’s starting XI more often.