Ian Harte blasted as Tommy Watson situation at Sunderland made 10x worse
Tommy Watson’s difficult situation at Sunderland has not been made any easier after comments that were made online.
Watson’s departure from the Stadium of Light was prematurely announced and led to a lot of anger among Sunderland fans.
The 18-year-old will be joining Brighton at the end of the season, making the move to the Premier League whether Sunderland gain promotion or not.
However, after just breaking into the Sunderland team, supporters had expected Watson to stick around for a little longer than he has.
Watson will leave the Mackems for a fee of £10million, which will allow Regis Le Bris to reinvest into his team, but losing the talented teenager is a blow.
Ian Harte has added fuel to the fire
Former Republic of Ireland international Ian Harte has ended up making Watson’s situation 10x worse due to his behaviour on social media this weekend.
Harte is the father of Watson’s girlfriend, and he took to X to say, “Don’t worry about some of the fickle fans, they are the experts NOT….There is a reason why you play professional football and they sit in the stands.”
While Harte was obviously looking to stick up for Watson, Sunderland fans took the comments negatively, which was made worse when Watson liked the post.
| 2024-25 Stats | Watson |
| Appearances | 21 |
| Goals | 7 |
| Assists | 3 |
| Minutes Played | 1,065 |
Harte ended up deleting the post when common sense prevailed, but the damage had already been done as Watson’s relationship with the supporters was strained even further.
Tommy Watson must focus on the promotion push
Even though Watson will be moving to the Premier League regardless of what Sunderland do, he needs to focus on matters on the pitch to help take the Mackems up with him.
There are six games remaining this season before the playoff campaign begins, which Sunderland are expected to be part of.
If Watson is able to play a key role in helping Sunderland return to the promised land, then it would no doubt go a long way in repairing the damage done to his relationship with supporters.
While it doesn’t guarantee he’ll get a warm reception whenever he returns to the Stadium of Light, it wouldn’t hurt his legacy at Sunderland and how he is viewed when all is said and done and the waters have settled on his transfer.