Aaron Connolly's Sunderland exit makes sense — let's wish him the best for the future
01/16/2025 06:30 AM
As the Republic of Ireland international bids farewell to Wearside, Phil West reflects on a spell in red and white that sadly didn't pan out as everyone would've hoped
Not every footballing 'redemption arc' works out as we might hope. As Aaron Connolly bids farewell to Sunderland after joining Millwall on a free transfer, it's fair to say that the Republic of Ireland international's spell on Wearside didn't pan out as he, the club hierarchy, or the supporters would've envisioned.
A talented player who was once tipped for great things, Connolly's brief career at the Stadium of Light was largely unfulfilling, marked by a series of fairly unconvincing cameo appearances but given a fleeting sheen with a well-taken goal at The Den against his new club — a goal that might well have won us the game had we not shown a little bit of naivety in the closing stages.
On the face of it, you could easily write this one off as another Kristjaan Speakman-sanctioned misfire, and in some ways, that's a reasonable view to take.
Given the circumstances under which he arrived at Sunderland and the minimal amount of upheaval that his departure has created, it's by no means a season-defining turn of events. It should not damage Speakman's credibility to any real degree.
Did bringing Connolly to the club make sense at the time? Absolutely.
As a free agent with a more-than-respectable goalscoring record for Hull City during 2023/2024 it was a classic low-risk, high-reward signing and after our struggles in front of goal last season and the need to provide Régis Le Bris with additional firepower in the form of a slightly different type of centre forward, it certainly felt like an option worth pursuing.
It would be remiss not to highlight the fact that in addition to his struggles on the football pitch, Connolly has undergone some very high-profile personal strife, and following his arrival, a remarkably candid interview revealed the scale of his struggle with mental health issues and alcohol abuse.
As Speakman highlighted at the time — and also in the club's statement announcing Connolly's departure — he's a human being first and a footballer second, and although the temptation is often to say that 'well-paid footballers ought to be able to handle whatever comes their way', we don't see the struggles and the silent battles these lads are often engaged in.
To that end, Connolly deserves immense credit for opening up and revealing the true extent of what he's gone through, and I don't think there's a Sunderland fan around who wouldn't wish him the very best in South London.
It'll certainly be interesting to see how he fits into Alex Neil's plans for the Lions, but if he turns Millwall into the abrasive, take-no-prisoners kind of team that many may suspect, perhaps Connolly will find that very much to his liking — let's hope the 'curse of the former Sunderland player' doesn't strike when they make the trip north later in the season!
In recent years, our club has provided opportunities to many players whose careers had stalled or who had lost their way, and with it, the passion for the game that made them.
When it's worked well, it's yielded spectacular results, such as in the case of Patrick Roberts, but Connolly's Sunderland story has ended in underwhelming fashion.
For now, we'll move on and look to bring in another striker to compliment Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor, and Connolly can look forward to what'll hopefully be a positive new chapter of his career down at The Den.
Good luck, Aaron, and all the best for the future.
