When Lynden Gooch left the sleepy beaches of Santa Cruz for Sunderland at just 17, his aspirations were lofty.
He was joining a mid-table Premier League club. His first-team squadmates played internationally for nations like Belgium, Sweden and Ghana. And his first-team manager held previous stints at Celtic, Aston Villa and Leicester City.
Unfortunately, as Gooch began to rise, his club began to sink.
When he started earning minutes in the Premier League, the club was relegated. During the following season, when Gooch became a consistent starter, the club was relegated once more. The season after that, he became one of the most productive players on the squad, with 13 combined goals and assists in league matches. And yet, the club failed to get promoted.
Where does this leave us today? Gooch is 24 years old, near the prime of his footballing career, and finds himself playing in England’s third tier.
Gooch needs to leave Sunderland. If not for the fact that he plays in League One, then for the club’s woefully misdirected and incompetent management.
Management’s misplaced priorities and frivolous conversations are available for all to witness thanks to Sunderland’s documentary series on Netflix, “Sunderland ‘Till I Die.” I’ll admit, the show is incredibly entertaining and gives the viewer enormous empathy for players and fans, but several scenes like the following also give us little hope for the club’s future.
I’m not writing this to bash Sunderland. I’m actually a fan and hope they return to the Premier League sooner rather than later. But I’m also a fan of Gooch, and I care about his career.
He has the numbers (10 goals this campaign) and the potential to earn interest from promotion-seeking clubs in the Championship. Maybe even a lower-tier Premier League side would take a chance on him. But to make a move even possible, he needs to demand it. He needs to accept that he’ll receive disapproval from management, teammates, fans, the media—and maybe even Netflix viewers, should they film another season.
Gooch can find inspiration by looking at former teammates George Honeyman and Josh Maja. Both moved on to greener pastures in Hull City (Championship) and Bordeaux (France’s Ligue 1), respectively, and have thrived at their new clubs. He can also find a warning sign by looking at current teammate Duncan Watmore. Watmore failed to move from Sunderland when he was earning minutes during their Premier League years and now finds himself wasting away on the bench.
All of this to say: Gooch still has a chance to save his career. Whether he decides to remains to be seen.
