Reader’s Corner: Which player would you like to score the goal that gets Sunderland promoted?

With everything positive that’s been going on lately, it’s got me thinking about automatic promotion, and who would be the one player I would want to score the winner to finally get us out of this league.

Of course, there are always going to be fans saying ‘it doesn’t matter who scores, as long as we go up’. I totally get that and would be happy with anyone scoring, but this is just fantasy. Whoever scores the winner, the goal will be shared for weeks on end on social media, and it would be remembered for years to come.

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Charlie Wyke. Imagine the atmosphere around the region if Charlie Wyke does what he does best, getting on the end of a delicious cross to head in the winner in the 90th minute. It would be a huge achievement for his Sunderland career considering how anonymous he was in the first two seasons. Party on Wyke.

Luke O’Nien. Of course, I was going to mention this lad. If he scored the winner it could be the start of him becoming a Sunderland legend. He should be captain next season in my opinion regardless of what happens. That would cap off a sublime three years on Wearside and his commitment to the team.

Dion Sanderson. How fitting would it be if he scored a bullet header and celebrated like crazy followed by a permanent contract a few months later? Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself on this one, but a guy can dream.

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Chris Maguire. Now, I love Chris. He has given us so many great goals and his ‘I would walk to Sunderland to sign’ interview is always a nice thing to hear from a player. With Maguire, he does have bad patches and gets taken out of the team. I just hope that his form picks up and the manager sees that in the last 6 or 7 games. Out of all the players I’ve mentioned, I sort of think that this one would be the most possible as he often turns up in big matches.

One of the younger players. Imagine how great it would be if say, Jack Diamond, Denver Hume or Benji Kimpioka popped up out of nowhere and lashed one in from twenty yards? It could be the start of something big for them. They might even be able to push on from that the following season, who knows?

Another obvious choice would be Aiden McGeady. On top of how amazing it would feel to celebrate such a huge goal for Sunderland, it would equally be hilarious. Just think about when Phil Parkinson made such a catastrophic error in removing him from all involvement with SAFC, he comes back to score the golden goal. He then proceeds to take off his Sunderland shirt with a plain white shirt underneath with ‘Parky is a Dinosaur’ written in a bold font.

Photo by Mark Fletcher/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

My favourite person to score the promotion-winning goal would be Grant Leadbitter. Imagine it? A player who has been through so much in his personal life but also on the pitch. He’s seen it all, promotions, relegations, dozens of managers and now he has a trophy to his name. How fitting would it be for him to score a penalty? I think it would mean more to him than any other person. That would be a fitting end to a top footballing career.

This is all just a what-if scenario of course. Fans will be happy with whoever scores but it would be a special moment if it was one of the fan favourites...

It’s going to be McFadzean isn’t it? Whoever it is, they will be remembered for years to come. I really hope we don’t bottle this.