Lee Cattermole has one of the worst disciplinary records in the league after collecting his seventh Premier League red card against Hull City on Saturday. The challenge resulted in former Sunderland and current Hull manager saying he was ‘thankful’ that he is no longer the midfielder’s manager. Paulo di Canio tried to get rid of Cattermole in the summer after stripping him of the captaincy but he has since undergone a resurgence under Gus Poyet. This latest example of Cattermole’s lack of discipline could finally push him out of the Sunderland exit as he has shown he still can’t be relied upon. In Sunderland’s current situation, they need all players pulling towards the same direction, Cattermole’s aggressive streak will lead to him hindering the team more than he helps it.
Sunderland needed to avoid defeat against Hull to ensure they retained the momentum that was gained from the Tyne-Wear derby victory. The challenge that led to Cattermole’s red card was reckless and should never have been made. Jake Livermore was in the middle of the pitch and Sunderland had plenty of bodies behind the ball, the former captain didn’t need to go in for that tackle like he did. That one stupid decision by the midfielder led to Sunderland losing the match. If he doesn’t make that challenge, then Andrea Dossena isn’t in the situation that leads to his red card. Hull didn’t manage to score against the ten men of Sunderland while Adam Johnson nearly equalised. If Sunderland had eleven men on the field of play for the entire 90 minutes, there is a good chance that they take something from the game. It’s matches like these that highlight the damage Cattermole inflicts on his own side.
He has never played more than 23 league matches in a season for Sunderland and he is now into his fifth campaign on Wearside. This is due to a combination of suspensions and injuries, this shows that it’s impossible to build a team around the former Wigan player. He has performed well since returning to the Sunderland side, his tackle success of 73.33% from 15 tackles is impressive. Furthermore he has been very successful in both ground 50-50s (winning 51% of 45 contested) and aerial 50-50s (winning 100% of the 6 contested). Also he has made 12 interceptions.
The stats show that Cattermole can be an asset if he is in the right frame of mind. He needs a manager who can get him to focus on just playing football and who can remove the ugly elements of his game. He is only 25 years old so he can still develop into a reliable defensive midfielder, but the changes to his game need to happen soon otherwise he will stagnate into a Championship player who still receives too many red cards. It looked like the snub from di Canio had motivated him to become a better and more reliable player but Saturday showed he still has a very ugly side to his game. Looking at his body language after making the challenge, it as if he was disappointed with himself and he walked towards the tunnel before the referee produced the red card.
Cattermole is approaching a crossroads in his career and a move away from the passion of the North East could be beneficial for his career in the long run. He has been at Sunderland since 2009 and a transfer may give him a new lease of life to become a really good Premier League player. There is no doubt that he would be a decent buy for a mid table team. A team like Fulham would really benefit from signing the Sunderland player as they have an ageing squad. Cattermole would offer energy and Premier League experience to Martin Jol.
