View: Anthony Patterson concerns emerge at Sunderland after Plymouth draw
Anthony Patterson struggled heavily for Sunderland as they failed to take advantage of Sheffield United’s defeat with a 2-2 draw at home to Plymouth.
Sunderland dropped a huge two points on 25 January, taking just one point from Plymouth Argyle and Patterson was largely at fault.
Having earned high praise throughout the course of the season, his woes were on full show against the Championship strugglers with many noticing a regression in his performances.
Patterson impressed in the early stages of the campaign but in recent weeks, some glaring weaknesses have started to shine through with it proving costly against Plymouth.
Anthony Patterson struggles for Sunderland v Plymouth
Patterson has certainly played his part in what has been a successful campaign so far for the Black Cats and that can’t be overlooked, but some frailties in his skillset need to be addressed as a priority.
First and foremost, his distribution has been a talking point throughout the season with it yet again poor against Plymouth, leading to needless losses of possession in dangerous areas of the pitch.
According to FotMob, he completed just 66 per cent of his passes, only 23 per cent of those which were deemed as long balls.
On far too many occasions this season, Patterson has lost the ball under next to no pressure and while that didn’t immediately impact the play at the weekend, it certainly made things a lot easier for the visitors.
His other area of weakness was his command of the penalty box, which was on show for Plymouth’s equalising goal.
His reluctance to come off his line was evident and has been throughout the season with the ‘keeper failing to make any actions as a sweeper nor making any high claims in the box.
They are the two clear areas of his game that need to be improved on if he is to progress as a Championship player.
In other Sunderland news, the Black Cats are eying a move for a Hibernian midfielder.
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