Not on the team sheet... from outcast to Sunderland hero
Few people turning up at Wembley for the Championship play-off final would have had Sunderland's Tommy Watson down as the match-winner.Even less so after scanning through the team list in the official programme... Watson's name was not even on it.The anomaly comes from the fact the 19-year-old signed for Premier League Brighton and Hove Albion last month ahead of next season in a £10m deal.His place in the top flight was assured regardless of what happened in the final, unlike that of his boyhood team.But with his low curling effort in the 95th minute securing an unforgettable comeback win over Sheffield United, he has written a glorious chapter in the entire history of the Black Cats to end their eight-year exile from the top flight.
'Squad accepted he was still our player'
What is also remarkable is that in the first home game at the Stadium of Light last month after the deal was announced, Watson was booed by some fans in light of his pending move to the south coast.Former Black Cats striker Marco Gabbiadini described that response as "brainless", but there is no doubt that Watson has had the last laugh in a way that nobody will ever forget.In his 22nd and final game for the club and with only his third goal - the two others came against Stoke City in December - Watson delivered in the grandest manner.For head coach Regis Le Bris, the key thing was that the squad had no issue with Watson still being involved in these crucial last few weeks. "It was probably a tough decision for him, but it was clear in our mind and his mind that he was still a player of Sunderland," Le Bris said."The group, the squad accepted this decision as well, knowing that he is a good player and that he can help and we don't know what can happen and he had his opportunity this afternoon."
Watson admits that the end of the season has been difficult but he delivered a champagne moment that will be remembered for a lifetime."After the last few weeks, I've been dreaming of that moment," he told BBC Radio Newcastle."I'm really happy that it's going to end positively and this monster of a club is back where it belongs."It's been tough, but I've learned so much from it. I knew something like that could happen. So I'm just buzzing."
Watson is the latest of a string of graduates from the club's Academy of Light to make the first team, with Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson and Chris Rigg all in the starting XI.Famous former alumni include England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who was in the crowd to see his hometown club win promotion.That production line has been a successful one for Sunderland with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman at the forefront of pushing this youthful approach.Ahead of the final, he had said that promotion would vindicate the model that Sunderland had chosen in trying to regain their top flight place.And while Watson's goal will not change his own departure, it may have ensured that players including Rigg, Neil and Jobe Bellingham can shine in the Premier League with Sunderland and not elsewhere.
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