Lee Cattermole says Sunderland has got under his skin – and the midfielder has revealed the most hurtful time in his seven years at the Stadium of Light. The 28-year-old midfielder is the Black Cats’ great survivor. Cattermole has played under six managers on Wearside – many of whom at one point or another have either written him off, fallen out with him or tried to sideline him. Even current boss Sam Allardyce seemed to come to the conclusion he could do without Cattermole, leaving him out of the side in the spring, only for the Teessider to re-establish himself in the side for the run-in, where he played a key role. Cattermole is contracted to the club until 2021 and it would be a brave man to bet against him seeing it out. “The more time you spend at a club, you get more amongst it don’t you?” said Cattermole, who started his career at Middlesbrough. “Especially with me being from up here as well, you live around it. “At Norwich (in April) it was a very friendly atmosphere. When Fabio (Borini) did his slide in front of the fans, it was all old faces in the crowd. Whereas up here, they live for every pass. We need to make that work for us.” Steve Bruce took Cattermole to Wigan Athletic, then brought him to Sunderland. He captained both – and Middlesbrough – only for then-manager Paolo Di Canio to take the captain’s armband off him as he tried to force the former England Under-21 international out of the club in 2013. Cattermole was made to train with the club’s youngsters but got his head down, worked hard, and was still at the club when the Italian was shown the door after six months in charge. If Cattermole probably afforded himself a smile when Di Canio was sacked, he had a very strong bond with Bruce, and was very sad – and guilty – to see the former Manchester United captain lose his job. “The thing that killed me was when Brucey was sacked (in 2011),” he admitted. “That really hurt me. “I always thought, ‘I’m not ever going to be involved in something like that again’. Even though I have been, I’ve never been involved to a point where I thought I could take the blame. “I felt that under (Martin) O’Neill I did everything I could have done, and the same with Gus (Poyet). Dick (Advocaat) was obviously a different situation (the Dutchman resigning because he felt the club had not signed the calibre of players he asked for). “Brucey was different. I had injuries as well – I had a serious stress fracture of my back I tried to play with for months. I was having ridiculous amounts of anti-inflammatories which no one ever knows. “Things like that happen in your career. I was 20 or 21, and I had to grow up quickly.” Injury permitting, Cattermole can expect to make his 150th Premier League start for Sunderland in August, and he should make his 200th appearance in all competitions long before the season is out. If Bruce is the manager he felt closest too, Poyet is perhaps the one who most developed Cattermole’s game. The Uruguayan likes his holding midfielders to build attacks, and when he brought Liam Bridcutt from old club Brighton and Hove Albion it was once more assumed Cattermole’s time was coming to a close. Instead he rose to the challenge and added more quality to his combativeness. “As you get older, you obviously mature more and get a better understanding of the game, and I give Gus a lot of credit for that,” he reflected. “He was questioning us all the time on the training ground about different situations. It makes you think even more, and you start watching more and seeing what he’s on about.” With John O’Shea losing his place to Younes Kaboul in February, Cattermole ended the season as captain once more, and of the two, his chances of being a regular starter next season look much better.
Reads good to me. He may not be the most gifted, but then neither was Bally and a few who loved SAFC before him. All teams need an arse kicker and he's ours.
Thanks for posting that Tees. I'm still not convinced he'll be here come August, but it sounds like he may have won Sam round as well.
Good read. Though I think if the right players are available Big Sam won't hesitate to drop him down the pecking order, especially if we sign M'vila and the additional box to box mid and attacking mid we're apparently looking for.
What formation are we playing? Mvila, Kirchhoff, the box to box and an attacking mid and Khazri and Borini! 2 6 2 sounds good to me... Agree though. He may be a sub for us come August but he's a big step up from the subs and back up we've seen here in the past!
Don't know fella, but last season the squad only had the personal to play one system and one style. Surely Sam will be looking to add more variation in what essentially a squad game. Looking, apparently the AM needs to be able to play wide. So the options Could be a line of three behind Defoe in a 451 or a 442 diamond which he played the West Ham. There's also the 352 he tinkered with for a bit last season. Seems Sam wants lots of options. Here's the article anyway Revealed: The five positions Sunderland tell agents they want signings for please log in to view this image Sunderland target Andre Ayew takes on Black Cats midfielder Jack Rodwell last season. Picture by Frank Reid Email 06:30Wednesday 08 June 2016 10HAVE YOUR SAY Sunderland have identified FIVE priority positions in the transfer market to bolster Sam Allardyce’s ranks this summer. Allardyce has held discussions with chairman Ellis Short over Sunderland’s strategy for this summer, and both the transfer and wage budgets which will be at the Black Cats manager’s disposal to strengthen the squad. But the Echo understands that Sunderland have already informed agents that they are concentrating on five main positions this summer, aside from the possible returns of loanees Yann M’Vila and DeAndre Yedlin. A striker, attacking midfielder/winger, box-to-box midfielder, full-back and centre-half are all on Allardyce’s wish-list. Sunderland need a new frontman to complement Jermain Defoe after the departure of out-of-contract pair Steven Fletcher and Danny Graham in the January transfer window, plus the end of Dame N’Doye’s loan spell. They have made enquiries about West Ham United forward Diafra Sakho, but the Hammers will play hardball over the price tag. Despite Sunderland shelling out £9million on Wahbi Khazri in January, the Black Cats still want a creative player to join the Tunisian, Duncan Watmore and Fabio Borini as wide attacking options, with Jeremain Lens expected to depart this summer. Allardyce is a fan of Swansea’s Andre Ayew – a big target for Sunderland in the January window – to address that role, but it is still very early days for the Ghanaian international’s possible switch from the Liberty Stadium. The exit of loanee Ola Toivonen and possible departure of Seb Larsson leaves Allardyce short on options in the middle of the park, where he has been linked with a move for out-of-contract Bordeaux midfielder Clement Chantome. With Yedlin leaving, Patrick van Aanholt and Billy Jones are currently the only senior full-backs available to Allardyce, with the latter struggling for form before losing his place in February. Out-of-contract Lorient right-back Lamine Gassama – who Sunderland approached in January – could again be an option for the Black Cats, while he has also been linked with Crystal Palace’s Martin Kelly. And with the curtain expected to fall on Wes Brown’s Sunderland career this summer at the end of his Stadium of Light contract, Allardyce will need another centre-half to compete with Lamine Kone, Younes Kaboul and captain John O’Shea. http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport...-tell-agents-they-want-signings-for-1-7952519
When he plays he is an influential part of the teams energy & his commitment & drive also gets the home crowd going creating passionate support. Now his head seems right he is a very big part of the current team both on and off the pitch - imooc I no longer hold my breath when he makes a tackle. Our great away fans don't need any encouragement to create a top atmosphere
