Fan Letters: Could Will Grigg still ‘make it’ at Sunderland, or is his departure inevitable?

Dear Roker Report,

Hear me out…

Will Grigg.

A lot has been said about him since his arrival, almost completely negative. But the fact of the matter is, you don’t go from being one of, if not the most, prolific strikers in EFL history over night. Since the bloke signed, his confidence has not been there. Yes, you can argue that his work rate hasn’t been there too, but isn’t that true for the rest of the team until recently? The work rate from the lads has improved astronomically, just as their fitness seems to have done so that with this new formation, we’re creating a lot more chances instead of hoofing the ball down the flank for anyone to chase.

Since returning from injury, Wyke has played almost every minute up top and has saw the service to the striker position improve as the fitness improved and formation clicked, but I think we can all agree that he offers little. I want him to do well, but it’s another bit of an Altidore situation for me. That’s why I think we should give Grigg one more chance to prove his worth. With the team making more chances and utilising crosses from the wing-backs, getting people in and around the box and actually passing along the ground, a run of games could see Grigg find his feet.

If not, we’d have the entire summer to help him move on.

@GrantInRealLife

Ed’s Note [Damian]: Unfortunately I think Will Grigg’s Sunderland career is a doomed experiment, soon to be confined to the annals of history.

As much as I sympathise that his confidence has taken a massive dent, the man himself could be blamed for this as much as anyone else could. There’s been a lot said, in the same breath as Will Grigg, that he never received decent service and so couldn’t be expected to bang them in. This isn’t true though - he’s had the ball to his feet as often as can be reasonably expected, and nine times out of ten he’s fluffed the shot. There was a dastardly period under Jack Ross where the aim of the game seemed to be hoofing the ball and hoping for a draw, and that system undoubtedly did Grigg no favours whatsoever, but since Parkinson arrived and began to piece together the workings of a decent team Grigg hasn’t managed to impress. Presumably in training the team focus mainly on the tactics they’ll be using going forward, and so I don’t doubt the man has had the opportunity to prove that he fits into the system. Yet he has seemingly failed to do so.

When all is said and done the powers that be don’t deem him good enough to come off the bench. Our transfer business indicates that there is zero faith in the strikers under Parkinson’s banner and Grigg commands a pretty big wage for this division - something I’m sure we’re eager to shift onto someone else’s books. Better to have some pacey, hungry strikers come in under the older heads of Wyke and Lafferty than to repeat a failed experiment simply for the sake of it.