John Wilson says…
I remember seeing him ping his first goal for us at the Stadium of Light and running over to the section where his family was, and where he used to stand as a young supporter — a great memory for Dan and for us.
He developed into being a proud product of our academy, truly “one of our own”, and his sublime passing was at times lovely to watch.
Many thought (and could still think) that he was a future England midfielder, but I think he was caught up in our huge summer overhaul and the introduction of Granit Xhaka, whilst helping him off the pitch, wasn’t going to help him get many appearances on the pitch.
Dan is still young and has a bright future ahead of him, and I’ll watch his career with great interest wherever he goes.
“He’s one of our own, he’s one of our own…Dan Neil, he’s one of our own!”
Nic Wiseman says…
Great servant of the club from the days of his namesake Alex Neil, and when he was the first to realise that he needed resting.
He’s been red and white through and through and it’s sad that he’s deemed not up to the new standards.
To be fair to him, he hasn’t rocked the boat and has been supportive of what’s been going on this season — and Luke O’Nien’s ringing endorsement of him said it all.
Good luck to him. I hope it all works out and hopefully he’ll be back in some capacity in the future.
Anthony Gair says…
From captain to the “Tractor Boys”.
First off, let me say a massive “thank you” to Dan for his amazing contribution to the renovation and rejuvenation of our football club. Without Neil as captain last season, I doubt the players coming in would understand the football club half as much as they would.
From the image of him as a young lad in the crowd at the Stadium of Light to watching him lift the playoff trophy last season to seeing his childhood club smash through the Premier League gates and on to play against the best teams in the world is one of the stories that brings the phrase “living the dream” to life.
On a personal level, I’m really sad to see him go, as you wish that these lads could stay forever, but football is such a short term game, isn’t it? We need to move on if we’re going to progress as a football club and players like Dan, as good as he is, aren’t as good as the other lads we have here currently.
We have to clear out some of the players. I’d imagine that more outgoings are coming, and I’ll be disappointed by those, too.
All in all, Dan has been a magnificent young player for us and has done more for the club than we can repay him for. I really hope he proves himself as a Premier League footballer by taking Ipswich up.
Malc Dugdale says…
Despite the fact Dan is moving on, he leaves a significant legacy at the club for others to benefit from, and more than anything else, he helped restore pride in his boyhood club after years of disappointment and mismanagement by previous owners, coaches and managers.
By playing his heart out and eventually leading the team back to the Premier League — as a boy and then a talented young captain — instead of walking away from the madness as many did, he refreshed and reinvigorated the link between players, the fans, the owners and our city as a whole.
Only players like Neil and maybe Anthony Patterson and Luke O’Nien can communicate to all the lads who join Sunderland from outside the region (or indeed from outside the British Isles) what’s actually required and really means to be a Sunderland player.
As skipper, he set standards and expectations way ahead of the arrival of Granit Xhaka and company — standards which got us to this point, and he’ll have made it clear to those pull on the red and white stripes what we need from them: 100% graft, commitment and passion for the shirt. Nothing less.
In Xhaka, we have a “next level captain” who’s already demonstrated that he can and will take us through a glass ceiling we’ve wanted to break for years.
He’s at a level that Neil is clearly not ready for quite yet. Of all the young lads, Neil probably has one of the most promising chances to succeed long term in the Premier League, but it just so happens that now isn’t that time.
After bringing in almost £150 million’s worth of new players during the summer, players like Neil have clearly made sure they all settled but also understood the challenge before them.
He knows from being a fan himself that players — no matter where they come from — need to “get Sunderland” in order to succeed and I’m certain his contribution to the present team spirit and camaraderie will have been a major one and will last way into the future.
I do wonder who’ll maintain this natural link to the fans and the city if both Patterson and Neil move on. Chris Rigg, maybe — with a lot of support from “Mr Sunderland”, O’Nien, no doubt.
Before long, we’ll probably see the next generation of future stars come out of the U21s to aid our mission. We’re blessed with a great academy, which produced the man we say goodbye to here, and many others.
While I’m gutted he isn’t staying and fighting for his place, I’m chuffed that he’s getting a move to a club where he’ll play good football continue to develop, and with Jack Clarke in the new changing room and playing very well right now, he’ll have an ally who can help him settle and add value very soon.
Best of luck, Dan. You’ve been a great servant and you’ll always be one of our own wherever your career takes you from here.
Go and enjoy your football, because we’ve very much enjoyed watching you grow and we’ll be watching you continue that, for sure.
