Sunderland have hit their best form of the season in recent weeks, with Phil Parkinson managing to turn things around since a loss to Gillingham a couple of weeks before Christmas.
Since then, the Black Cats have lost just once in 11 games and it is worth noting that the return of Charlie Wyke coincided with the upturn in results. The striker featured against the Gills to make his comeback from injury but made his first start against Blackpool, which started the successful run.
Wyke has started every game since, contributing three goals, but it is his general hold-up play and ability to bring Chris Maguire and Lynden Gooch into play that is really helping Sunderland. That pair have made eight and four goal contributions in the last nine games respectively but, despite Wyke’s influence, some fans remain doubtful about his ability.
[freshpress-poll id=”278687″]
The key criticism is his lack of goals, with just four in 21 league matches this term, and until he improves that record, he is unlikely to convince all Black Cats fans that he is good enough to lead the line in a promotion side. One supporter even went as far as to say he makes Jozy Altidore look like Sergio Aguero, with the USA international scoring just three goals during his time at the Stadium of Light.
Here is some of the discussion taking place about the current Sunderland striker.
https://twitter.com/Deanospamoni85/status/1227136727585824768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1227136727585824768&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252FDeanospamoni85%252Fstatus%252F1227136727585824768%26widget%3DTweet
Makes Jozy Altidore look like Aguero
— David howe (@Davidho66732701) February 11, 2020
He’s a striker. He’ll always be judged on goals scored and unfortunately he doesn’t score enough
— Browny (@ian_brown_jnr) February 11, 2020
I detest watching him play for us. Whenever he gets a chance he cant even control his own limbs to get a shot away, nevermind get it on target. Has 1 game in 10 where hes ok and actually holds it up. Other than that the ball just bounces off him all game.
— Jason Reveley (@JAReveley) February 11, 2020
Ideally we would all like him to score more but I’d have thought what he brings to the team is obvious. We’ve had seasons with no one to hold the ball up and yet now ppl are criticising him for doing just that. 🤷🏻♀️
— Julie (@juliesund) February 11, 2020
He is the only footballer who jumps shorter than his height
— Mark Antony (@MarkAnt82781139) February 11, 2020
Haha running stats are good and he ticks every box. Well not quite. He is a striker that can’t score goals.
— Mark Hood (@shmoodz) February 11, 2020
What is your opinion on Wyke Sunderland fans? Do you feel he is doing a good job or does he need to score more? Share your views below!
