Re the Januzaj red - I was thinking he would miss Saturday's game and hoping to see what Khazri can do from the start to prove something to us - But Adnan is banned tomorrow night instead!! Maybe he did it on purpose cos he didn;t want to have to go to Loftus Road!
I genuinely think I must watch a different Cattermole to everyone else. I understand why people like him, but I can't be the only one that sees what I see. Against Spurs he gave the ball away 3 times when not under pressure and/or because he's awkward on the ball (on 18, 59, and 84 minutes). There was a separate occasion when he played a short ball to Manquillo, placing him immediately in trouble as the two players stood directly in front of Cattermole were ideally placed to close him down. And his booking was completely unnecessary; there was no need to run into the player like he did and he could easily have stopped. He's very, very average in my opinion and the Squawka stats show that Rodwell- widely considered to be crap on these boards- outperformed him defensively last season. He made just as many mistakes as Khazri against Spurs but Khazri is rubbish and Cattermole is the golden boy. I just don't get it.
The sad thing is he is one of our better players, in fact a legend according to many, and to be fair Khazri has looked like a car crash this season, hard to fathom as I rated him even if he is unpredictable. He has lost his spark, he and PVA are sublime in an attacking mode, and at home we need some drive, as we must get at least four points out of our next two home games, to stop falling any further behind the pack.
There are 2 different Cattermoles which people see - there's the one people who are in your frame of mind always see where every mistake is the only thing you remember, and ones like me who remember how much good he did in the game. Proven primarily by the fact that you state "He made as many mistakes as Khazri" when Cattermole was on the field for 90 minutes, Khazri was on for 11. As for his booking - by context, it was never a yellow card - Sissokho had committed as many (more I think) fouls as Cattermole and all similar in nature to Catts and wasn't booked.
I remember him making several good passes and one or two decent challenges. I'm not ignorant of the good work that he does during a game. But most of what he does is the minimum that should be expected from a premiership midfielder. What I'm asking is; why are his mistakes constantly overlooked when other players, Rodwell and Khazri for example, castigated for similar or less? Cattermole made 5 basic errors in that game, and I'm not talking about mishit passes, missing a tackle, or losing a physical challenge, I'm talking about avoidable errors. To me that doesn't constitute a good game. If Rodwell had done the same everyone would be moaning, despite the fact that statistics show him to be a much better player than everyone considers him to be. Why can certain players make such mistakes and still be considered to have had a good game?
When it was suggested that Catts could easily have stopped, I just smiled . . . . 'cos, to me, there was absolutely nothing that he could do to get out of the way therefore it is obvious to me that it was being said by somebody who doesn't just not see the good things that he does, but it's said by somebody that's specifically looking for faults in his game (hence counting his mistakes, even noting the times of them, and suggesting that he's 'awkward on the ball') Norton, but it looks like you just don't like him, and no matter how well he plays you'll still look for negatives He's not a brilliant player, and it would be great if we had better options, but he's a very good player . . . . despite some people not appreciating his contribution. He's a captain . . . . a real leader, by example and motivation, who does other players' donkey work so that they can do their, more noticeable, bit. I'm sure that his team-mates feel better when he's in the team, and so do I n.b. I don't understand why you look at him negatively, and you don't understand why I see the opposite . . . opinions, eh
As Gordon says - all about opinions - I don't recall him making those "5 basic errors" and using a player running into him when he's stationary as one of them is just picking IMO - seemingly looking for faults rather than appreciating the fact that he did more good for the team than bad at the weekend. 5 errors in 90 minutes vs Khazri's 3 basic errors in 11? If Khazri played for 90 then, by law of averages, he makes 20+ errors as opposed to Cattermoles 5. They got nothing down the centre on Sunday - all of their chances came from the left wing. Surely that's got to be good for the 2 in front of the back 4 and the centre backs?
You're both right, it is about opinions and I just don't like him. But just as I am too willing to see his faults I think you are too willing to overlook them. I recognise his leadership skills and his fighting mentality and I have said previously that there is a place for it. However, I don't think he goes about it quietly, I think it is the most obvious aspect of his game. As I've said, stats suggest that Rodwell is better as a defensive midfielder but goes about those jobs in a quieter manner and doesn't get the recognition for it that Cattermole does. As for his booking, he ran into the player; he could have stopped. And as for being awkward on the ball- that's the main thing I don't like about him; he's the most inelegant footballer in the league in my opinion. My contention is though that his popularity derives from his embodiment of characteristics that many of his fans find admirable and because of those, his technical deficiencies are overlooked. I think perhaps none of us are right, and a fairer assessment would be in the middle. You'll never convince me though !!!
Cattermole always involves long paragraphs. I'm not prepared to write, or read long paragraphs about Lesley Cattermole. Therefore, running away seems my best option.
To argue about which is the best option between Catts and Rodwell, just about sums up our squad, the truth is at best these players would struggle to hold their places in any Premiership team never mind mid table, and the same goes for our wingers, time is running out for these players and fast,and a rapid improvement on recent showing is a must. Sorry for being negative, but the positives have been done to death.
I'll let you in to a secret, Gordon. Kirchhoff is far and away my favourite current player but when I was having a look at one of those statistics websites a while back, one of them suggested that Cattermole's pass completion was better than Kirchhoff's. Don't tell anyone though, I'm keeping that one on the down low.
