It was another uncomfortable afternoon for Sunderland striker Will Grigg on Saturday.
The twenty-eight-year-old forward was hooked in the eighty-second minute of another goalless performance. He then watched from the Stadium of Light Stadium sidelines as his replacement, teenager Benji Kimpioka, stabbed home from close range in the ninetieth minute to earn the Black Cats a crucial 1-1 draw with Coventry City.
Grigg has just one league goal to his name all season, and he’s only found the net a total of eight times across all competitions since his big-money move from Wigan Athletic almost a year ago.
Despite his dismal showing, boss Phil Parkinson has been publicly backing his forward in the local press. Speaking to the Shields Gazette, he said: “We definitely won’t give up on him, we will keep working with him, I see his qualities in training, his calmness in finishing both with his feet and his head as well.’
‘I’ve had several chats with him and want to help him. You don’t mind spending time with players who want to get better and want to improve; he is certainly in that category.’
‘His finishing is top, top class.’
Parkinson is also under massive pressure after a less than impressive start to his reign on Wearside. It was, therefore, unsurprising news that he was planning to keep the Northern Ireland international in January did not go down well with many Sunderland fans when they took to social media to react.
There are persistent rumours amongst supporters that Grigg is unhappy and doesn’t want to be at the club. Many fans are desperate for the club to cut their losses and move him on in January, and news Parkinson intends to keep hold of him is not helping to endear him to plenty of the Stadium of Light faithful as the following selection of responses on Twitter illustrates.
https://twitter.com/safctim/status/1198922611146797056?s=20
https://twitter.com/paulbasnett10/status/1198884232497651712?s=20
https://twitter.com/TRexHen/status/1198937310118793216?s=20
https://twitter.com/ian_brown_jnr/status/1198886758072619008?s=20
https://twitter.com/heidelberg35/status/1198891385576919041?s=20
https://twitter.com/Lennox66Steve/status/1198876012395847680?s=20
https://twitter.com/Lane2ralphlane/status/1198910059205541889?s=20
https://twitter.com/alexwnicholson/status/1198936025319514112?s=20
https://twitter.com/Christianfors23/status/1198894421028360192?s=20
