Phil Bardsley has left Sunderland for Stoke City (Picture: Getty Images)

With the 2013-14 season now one for the history books, players across the country are either heading to Brazil to represent their country, jetting across the globe to tropical climes to rest their weary bodies or frantically fielding phone calls looking to wrap up an early move to a new club.

So far this week Sunderland have parted ways with Craig Gardner, who finally makes the move back to the Midlands that he has seemingly being clamouring for since the day he arrived in the North East, and, more interestingly, Phil Bardsley, who secured himself a move to Stoke, a club that has hoovered up a number of former Sunderland players in recent years.



Bardsley is the very definition of a ‘Marmite Player’, with fans split down the middle with their opinion on the full back who was also, notably, the club’s longest serving player.

Personally, I’m delighted to see the back of him.


Many Sunderland fans will point wistfully to his goal at Old Trafford in the Capital One Cup semi-final this term which helped secure Sunderland a trip to Wembley to savour. Myself? Well I pass all the plaudits to Manchester United’s David de Gea who inexplicably threw Bardsley’s shot, which was weaker than your bog-standard backpass, into the back of his own net.

Sure, Bardsley was your typical 100 per cent guy, a guts a glory type player, who would maraud down the right flank with reckless abandon, eye’s widening whenever the play opened up and the goal was within 50 yards, unleashing shot, after shot, after shot, looking for that Roy of the Rovers moment to steal the headlines.

You see, therein lies my very issue with Bardsley. He always seemed to be in it for himself.

Take for example his approach to defending. Whilst this is almost becoming an element of the modern fullback’s repertoire that is grossly overlooked these days, defensive positioning, awareness and simply tracking back should be the very least you expect of the likes of Bardsley.

Well think again. If I had a quid for every time an opposition winger had the run of the left flank and I questioned to myself, ‘where’s Bardsley?’ I’d be a very rich man indeed.

‘Well, he scored goals’, I have heard many Sunderland fans furiously retort in the Mancunian’s defence. Well, that also is not exactly true.

While the full-back certainly made a name for himself for the odd screamer every now and again, a return of a goal every 18 games doesn’t exactly make up for the bizarre hero-like status Bardsley has somehow managed to garner for himself on Wearside.

We’ve been here before though. Sunderland fans love a trier. You just have to look back to the affection shown to the likes of Danny Collins and Nyron Nosworthy to affirm the damning indictment that many Black Cat fans have an obsession with rubbish footballers that goes way beyond a so-called cult status.

I look forward to a Bardsley-less Sunderland next year.

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