On our skipper. http://www.footyplace.com/features/cattermole-can-rewrite-reputation/ Chris Weatherspoon believes Martin OâNeillâs management is helping Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole repair his battered reputation. Following a debut double, Steven Fletcher was the talk of Wearside on Saturday night. The former Wolves man, finally signed by Martin OâNeill after a transfer saga running three months long, announced his arrival at Sunderland with a clinical performance at Swansea. Fletcher had just two opportunities at the Liberty Stadium, finishing both with aplomb. Yet, while their new striker took all the plaudits, his was not the most intriguing story of the day for the red and whites. In a poor performance for OâNeillâs men, what was most notable for the Black Cats was just how important a role their captain looks set to play in their fortunes over the coming season. Lee Cattermole is hardly the most popular of individuals. To the casual observer, he is often viewed a midfielder more concerned with harming others than furthering his own cause â and there are valid reasons for this. As a youngster at Middlesbrough, Cattermole displayed a bewildering mix of promising ability and worrying tenacity. Moving on to Wigan, few will forget his scything down of Scott Parker when the latter performed for West Ham â a challenge Cattermole later admitted was meant to hurt his opponent. Brought to Sunderland by Steve Bruce three years ago, Cattermole has matured considerably, but there have remained enough lapses to cause concern. A red card at Portsmouth in his opening season in a tense, crucial game signified that the combative midfielder still had plenty to learn, as did two reds in the opening four games of the following season. Since then, and especially since the arrival of Martin OâNeill on Wearside, Cattermoleâs discipline has been much improved. Yet, almost predictably, he let himself down once more. The Tyne-Wear derby is never an affair for the light-hearted, and Cattermoleâs reckless challenge on Newcastleâs Cheick Tioté just 40 seconds into last Marchâs tussle did little to endear him to the Tyneside faithful or a watching television audience. That the Sunderland captain then went on to dominate proceedings â silencing the opposing duo of Tioté and Yohan Cabaye â counted for nought when he received another red card after the final whistle, this time for dissent. That, however, was his sole lapse under OâNeill. Saturday at Swansea saw him leave the field once more, but it was an injury rather than an act of indiscipline that spelled the end for Cattermole in south Wales. What followed that departure showed just how integral Cattermole has become to the Sunderland cause. Under Bruce, Cattermole often seemed unclear on his remit â sometimes he would career aimlessly into the opposition half in search of the ball (and blood); other times, he would sit deep in front of his centre-backs, awaiting onrushing opponents. His role was an ambiguous one. The arrival of OâNeill changed this. Specifically, Cattermole was told to hold his position, reign in his errant ways, and put the protection of his defence first and foremost. No frills. No frolics. Since then, the young midfielder â he remains, surprisingly to many, just 24-years-old â has excelled. Last season Sunderland were the only Premier League side not to lose to eventual champions Manchester City. In their two tussles, Cattermole reduced Cityâs talismanic Yaya Toure to a mere peripheral figure. When the giant Ivorian was asked last year who he relishes midfield battles with the most, he had little hesitation in citing the name of the Black Cats skipper: âThe one at Sunderland, Cattermole. Very strong!â At the Liberty Stadium, prior to his departure just before half-time, he was Sunderlandâs best player. Alongside Seb Larsson, a man ill-suited to a deep lying central midfield role, Cattermole was the man responsible for repelling the advances of Swanseaâs Michu and Jonathan De Guzman. He managed it excellently â in the opening 40 minutes, the Swans mustered just a single shot from inside the Sunderland 18-yard-box. Doubters will point to how each of Steven Fletcherâs two goals came when Cattermole had left the field, but this masked the midfielderâs importance. Following his forced removal with a dead leg, the captain was replaced by David Meyler â a man much feted by Sunderland fans, despite having played scarcely a handful of games for the club. Sunderland may have taken the lead twice in those five minutes before half-time, but they also conceded to Wayne Routledgeâs thunderous strike; it was soon one-way traffic in the second half. Meyler and Larsson proved unable to stem the relentless flow of Swansea attacks that Cattermole had so ably repelled in the opening half, and Michuâs equaliser just after the hour mark was the least the home side deserved. From just one shot within the Sunderland area in 40 minutes, Swansea mustered a further eight in the Sunderland captainâs absence. Indeed, were it not for Chico Floresâ ludicrous challenge on Louis Saha â and subsequent dismissal â Sunderland would have likely lost the game. They were poor throughout but, when Cattermole was present, they at least had someone capable of marshalling the midfield and protecting the central defensive duo of John OâShea and Carlos Cuéllar. He is by no means a saint â not yet anyway â but Cattermole has shown real signs of progression in recent months. When Bruce departed last winter many expected his captain to follow soon after. Now, two games into the new season, the former Middlesbrough man has produced two outstandingly disciplined performances. It is testament to both Cattermole and his current manager that he is now one of Sunderlandâs most important players.
Damn fine read "Q". Mind I do agree with the majority of it. Someone seeing games similar to my good self.
It is hard not to agree that after Catts went off, defensively we were poor. However, I think a significant factor was the poor performance of the ones in front of Larsson and Meyler, that of Johnston, Sess and McClean who collectively had individually were very off form!
Very good read. Nicely balanced view for a change. One of the reasons we missed him so much was because Colback was out of position. If we'd had LB cover, he could have been switched to midfield and taken over Catts role.
Interesting take on Catts and hopefully a sign of good things to come. Certainly Tiote won't be looking forward to the derbies as much, although that may be fear of the other brutal thug in our ranks, Stephane Sessegnon
Bloody good article,well written and well thought-out.How many people wanted Catts out of the door at the end of last season,I wonder???
catts is and has always been one of my favourite players i like his (run through a brick wall determination) also some of his cards (not all) werent deserved.
I agree with the gist of the article - that is, Catts is a decent player who is important to us at the moment. The real question for me is whether he is or can be a Top 6 club type of CM. I am doubtful on this. I wouldn't sell Catts as he's decent after all, but if we had the cash, I would love to bring in a gun CM (who can defend and attack in generous proprtions) to play alongside him. This would give us a core rotation of Catts, gun CM and Colback in the middle of the park. It would also allow us to sell either Vaughan or Gardner, leaving the other as a useful squad player (I'd rather sell Vaughan as Garder can deputise at RB). It would also allow us to put Seb back where he belongs - in the wing rotation together with AJ and Jimmy.For me, this is the most important upgrade we can make from here. Gun CMs make all the world of difference and we currently don't have one. The big problem of course is that gun CMs don't grow on trees.
Just about every game is won or lost in the middle of the park and when Catts is in the mood, there aren't many better at what he does. When he has the reckless head on he lets everyone down and generally we suffer as a team cos of it, he needs to learn how important he is the the cause and under MON, i'm sure he will. Shame about Meyler, i had him down as a successor to Catts but looks like the injuries have taken their toll.
Great summing up and spot on Welder especially about Meyler. Sadly I too think those injuries will prove too much for him to recover from at the highest level. Catts frustrates, annoys and impresses with equal ease but its noticeable that under MoN, he has become an integral part of the team and at 24, he is just coming into his peak. As it stands, there is simply no one better in that role at the club and I include Jack Colback in that scenario, as no-one else has that incredible desire to win and die for the cause as the current skipper. I posted on here Saturday and over the weekend that I thought we collapsed once he left the pitch and the midfield was lost without his fire and drive. IMO, for what it is worth we should be looking to improve every aspect of play and a player with Catts attributes but maybe a better footballer coulkd be sought in the next 2 or 3 transfer windows but let me warn you all now, to do that will require in excess of £15m-£20m to be spent. The only player I would swap right now in the whole EPL with Catts, is the lad Diaby at Arsenal who is both a great tackler, header and footballer but seems also to have a good temperament. However, for me , Catts remains the absolute 1st name on the team sheet and the team should be built around him. I didn't know that story about Yaya Tore but its also not surprising either and very complementary. When I look at Catts I see a young Archie Gemmill. Tigerish tackler, fearsome terrier-like reputation amongst his contemporaries and the engine room of the Forrest and Scottish team of the 70's. Having played with and against him in his career, I think MoN sees that too.
