Originally Posted by
Stephen Elliott
I experienced the potential of Gibson during the 2007-08 season when he came in as a young Manchester United lad on loan to my club back then, Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was there I got to see at first hand, the qualities he had at his disposal.
Even as a 20-year-old, you could see he had a great range of passing and fantastic technique. He had a real maturity beyond his years on the pitch as well. Our gaffer at the time, Mick McCarthy, was really glad to have him at club, even if Gibson did come across as a bit of a grump at times.
You got the impression that he didn't fully enjoy being in the West Midlands as he felt he was ready and should have been involved in the Man United squad. I suppose this probably told you all about the belief he had in himself and how he wanted to rise right to the top of his profession. It turned out to be a quite successful season for him, where he picked up some invaluable first team experience.
After returning to his parent club, it was no surprise that over the course of the next few seasons, Sir Alex Ferguson showed enough trust in him to give him some game time in a squad drenched with world class midfielders.
Although he never became a regular in United's engine room, he did score some important goals for them which included strikes in the latter rounds of both the 2010 and 2011 Champions League campaigns.
In January 2012, he left United in search of regular first-team football and moved across the M62 to join Premier League rivals Everton. Before this move, ironically enough, the Red Devils had agreed a fee with Sunderland but it had fallen through as Gibson couldn't agree personal terms. He got off to a flyer at Everton where he really enjoyed regular football. He hit the ground running and it coincided with the club going unbeaten that season in every match he played in.
Not a bad record to hold! It’s one that I’m sure Sunderland supporters will hope repeats itself over the course of the rest of this season.
During these early periods in his career, he had also developed into an important member of the Republic of Ireland national team. Everyone was talking about how he would become ‘the future’ of the Irish midfield. As a goalscoring midfielder, he had the makings of a long and successful international player. He was playing with so much confidence and you felt he could only get better.
Although his early experiences as a footballer were full of high potential, it seems that Gibson's career has come to a sudden halt. A lot of this is down to him struggling with fitness after picking up the dreaded ACL knee injury while playing for Ireland against Kazakhstan in 2013.
Since then, his Everton appearances have been sporadic. And when they have come along, it appeared as if he was trying too hard to prove he was back to himself and full fitness. This resulted in him constantly picking up other niggles that would ruin his multiple comebacks. It definitely stopped him improving on his promising introduction at Everton.
He is now back fit and has cut his ties with Everton after struggling for game time this season under new manager Ronald Koeman. After almost six years on from disagreeing personal terms, he will now be grateful to his old Everton gaffer for giving him a chance to resurrect his career on Wearside.
Going forward, if he can stay clear of injuries, he may well be the calming influence and catalyst for the Black Cats to keep up their recent impressive record of last minute Premier League survival. He certainly has the ability to make a big contribution.
He strikes a ball as well as anyone I've seen, so he may give the forwards a helping hand with some important goals from midfield. I know he will enjoy playing at the Stadium of Light and i just hope the supporters get to see the best of him.
It would also be a good thing from Republic of Ireland's point of view as a fit Darren Gibson would definitely be an important member of Martin O'Neill's squad. His experience would be really beneficial with some big World Cup Qualifiers coming up over these next few months.
At the age of 29 now though, you get the feeling this is a make-or-break move in defining where Gibson’s career is going to go. I really do hope it goes well!
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