00:00For the rest of the season, there's a possibility he comes back to Sunderland.
00:02Sunderland do have the option to extend his contract for a further year, taking it into 2027.
00:08But as it stands, his contract's up next summer.
00:10So the fact that he's on loan until the summer suggests that he might have played his final game for Sunderland.
00:15And I just really wanted to sort of, I guess, put down, you know, how much I've enjoyed watching Roberts play.
00:23I think the kind of play that made you want to go up matches.
00:25I can still, in my mind, see the first time he played with Ahmad, which was away at Watford.
00:30You remember it, of course, due to some Bennett's late equaliser.
00:33At that time, Watford, a parachute payment team who everyone expected to really compete at the top end of the table.
00:38So that was a really kind of credible 2-2 draw for Sunderland.
00:41And more importantly, brilliant team performance that showed they could compete.
00:45And so much of that was born out of the impact that Roberts and Ahmad had later in that game.
00:48The way they were just combining so quickly, so decisively.
00:52The way they were just taking Watford defenders out of the game.
00:54And some of my happiest memories watching Sunderland, you know, is that Ahmad and Roberts combination down the right.
00:59And what that team kind of swept to achieve in the last stage of that season under Tony Mowbray.
01:05But I think more than that, like, you know, the contributions that Roberts has made at decisive moments.
01:10I think he leaves a bigger legacy than 99% of Sunderland players, to be quite honest with you.
01:15In terms of, I think that goal for me, that Sheffield Wednesday is the most significant in Sunderland's modern history.
01:21Obviously, you could point to the Tommy Watson or the Dan Ballard one as well.
01:25But Roberts was the one that all started it.
01:28I really felt that once Sunderland got past Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, there was no stopping them in terms of getting back to the championship.
01:33And I think a lot of people at the club would tell you that that first step, getting out of the league, one was the hardest.
01:39And Roberts' contribution was absolutely vital to that.
01:43And ultimately, you know, we can talk about Tommy Watson's goal.
01:46And it was massive.
01:49Roberts' contribution off the bench and turning that game around with his dribbling skills.
01:52Bear in mind, he was actually carrying a significant calf injury as well.
01:55But, you know, unbelievable.
01:57Obviously, the assist from the end is goal, but really helped wrestle momentum back for Sunderland.
02:01It was such a key part in Sunderland that actually turned that game around.
02:04And I think that just sums Patrick Roberts up, really, in terms of the defining contributions he's made to get Sunderland,
02:09basically from that lowest ebb, back to where they belong.
02:12But sometimes, I think as well, we can look too much.
02:15Massive, hypocritical alert, having just talked about a winger and his statistics and his output, all that kind of stuff.
02:21And sometimes we can get too sucked into that at a time when Sunderland had stopped being fun for quite a long time.
02:26Roberts was one of those players who really brought the joy and the love of it back.
02:31And that's something that I'll certainly always remember and very fondly for and be very grateful for.
02:35So, sad to see him go.
02:37But I also understand that, especially the circumstances in which he came to Sunderland, you know, in the way that his career had stalled.
02:44I can understand Sunderland's sort of decision to let him go.
02:47And I can certainly understand his decision to go and take up a really exciting opportunity at Birmingham,
02:52an ambitious club with a manager who he knows, obviously, from his time at Celtic.
02:55So, yeah, I just wanted to kind of put that on record before I go.
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