CATT out of bag? The gaffer has admitted today that there has been a lot on interest in taking Boro's tenacious midfield terrier, England Under-21 regular and tough-tackling, all action free-kick conceding machine Lee Cattermole on loan and one "tentative" bid from Wigan.
While it may be attractive money for a benchwarmer and a healthy profit from yet another graduate from the much trumpeted Boro academy, does it leave the midfield light? And what signals does it send out to the rest of the youigsters who hope to see their own ambitions realised at Boro?
The implication is that the estimated £3m plus clauses fee for Cattermole would underwrite the move for Reading's Robbie Mustoe-lite midfield workhorse James Harper. Times are hard, the credit crunch is biting and there are books to be balanced and there may not be room for both at the club. The clubs are haggling over the price - around £5m - and the structure of a deal that has complications caused by a hefty sell-on clause wisely inserted when he left his former club Arsenal.
On that basis a one-in, one-out approach seems reasonable, and arguably, while Cattermole has not made the Great Leap Forward expected a year ago when overly-optimistic Boro fans were dubbing him "the new Stevie G," Harper, 27, is the unglamourous but functional finished product and in two top flight seasons with the Royals has shown Southgate enough to suggest that he offers more than just passion and potential.
There were high hopes for Lee Cattermole, one of Boro's Home Grown Heroes when he exploded on the scene, furiously ticking boxes with the fans as he surged through midfield, closed down, showed a healthy disregard for big name opposition and charged around crunching into tackles all over the pitch, at various heights and angles with an intensity that struck chords with those who wanted to see a bit of steel in the side. He played with courage, zest and passion. And he was a Teessider, one of us. He knew the importance of the shirt and the badge.
At a time when boss Steve McClaren was being crucified for his lack of visible passion, young Cattermole showed genuine emotion as he left the pitch in tears after a humiliating 4-0 hammering at the hands of Aston Villa in March 2006. There was a different type of emotion last November as he put the boot into the boo boys in a no-holds-barred post-match interview, venting his frustrations at the sections of the crowd that were making their discontent vocal and dividing the supporters between those who thought he was correct to have a pop and those who thought he was out of order to question their right to protest.
Such abrasive comments would be hard to take from a lazy over-paid prima donna but seemed fair enough coming from a headstrong youth, one who tried so hard in every game and clearly echoed the passion of the paying punters and expressed it in the same language but it is always unwise to blast the customers as it creates layers of resentment, layers added too when he also later featured in a young man in lager shock. I don't have a problem with people going for a drink (in moderation) when the working week has ended, especially when it is with the mates you have always knocked around with, but again, it is unwise to be overly visible in doing so once you are public property and lumbered with the unwanted burden of being a role model. It is easy to get a bad reputation in the little village that is Teesside (so much so that one wag suggested the headline for this piece should be 'The Road to Wigan Beer'.)
As a youngster - he is still only 20 - those should have been valuable life lessons. You can get away with gaffes and the odd indiscretion if you are delivering the goods on the pitch (no one holds the late night Dad-and-lad shouting and bawling or the freezer frolics incidents against Juninho for instance) and in that respect Catts did not push on last season, he did not make himself an automatic choice at a time when a mis-firing and mono-paced midfield offered him a golden opportunity to establish himself.
Of course, there were obstacles in his way. He did not get a regular run in the team and rarely started in his favoured central midfield role - but he did feature in 24 games, more than enough to make his mark. Yes, he often had to play in the wide right problem position but he knew that offered a route into the starting XI if he did well. And he knew too that his robust style and the impressive resulting card collection counted against him. Youthful enthusiasm soon wears thin as an excuse.
That said, it is easy to forget because he has been in the first team picture for three seasons now, but he is a relative rookie. He made his first team debut and came of age in the UEFA Cup, starting at home in December 2005 in the low key group game with Litex Lovech then growing in stature and popularity with three starts at home to Stutgart and Roma and then away in the Stadio Olimpico before coming off the bench in the final at Eindhoven. Not bad for a 17 year old.
But it does raise expectation levels, from fans and from management and it is not always easy for youngsters to sustain the spectacular progress they make in their first six months. They plateau, they tire, they take their eye off the ball and maybe start to believe they have made it, they get exposed by better players as the surprise factor fades and the opposition become aware of their strengths and weaknesses. It is then that shrewd managers take them out of the firing line to recharge their batteries and take stock of what they have learned. And it is then that shrewd players renew their determination, redouble their efforts and work their rocks off to make sure that they can get back in and deliver on that early promise.
Catts hit such a plateau last term. He is not an automatic first team choice. His sporadic outings have been patchy and while at times he has impressed at others his performances have been littered with bookings and free-kicks and costly mistakes. His boundless energy seems increasing unproductive, his runs out of position once indulged as youthful enthusiasm now are slated as undisciplined or rash and on several occasions the gap he left in his wake was ruthless exploited by the opposition.
It is natural that he wants to play first team football and given his willingness to speak his mind it is likely he has let the boss know that but the purchase of Didier Digard as a holding midfielder to replace George Boateng leaves him still well down the pecking order. For him a move may be exactly what he needs. For Boro though it is a gamble because if his career regains its early upward momentum, if he flourishes and steps up a gear his success could bite Boro on the bum. An early exit and some success - or even just the perception of success, such as becoming Wigan's version of Harper - will be used to question Southgate's judgment (although everything is anyway and for many that is the default position).
It may be that the perfect solution would be a loan move, the chance to find his feet again, to become focused and flourish in the Championship for a year before returning ready to claim his role but if money is tight and the club need to cash in some chips to bring in a ready made midfielder who gives the boss more options and consistency and less of a headache, so be it. If that is the case then £3m is decent return on a player who cost nothing, especially if he does not push on. Another frustrating year on the sidelines and closer to the end of his contract could see his value slashed and the bean-counters at the club will always have that consideration in mind whenever any offer, no matter how tentative, comes in for a player.
But what signals does it send out to the kids coming through about their prospects of first team action? Two years ago a clutch of kids were on the verge of the breakthrough but in truth only David Wheater has made it - and he wasn't even on the radar back then. James Morrison and Andrew Davies have been shipped out, Adam Johnson has been loaned out and then struggled to make more than cameo appearances since his return, Matthew Bates and Tony McMahon have been injured and Andrew Taylor having made the first team could now lose it if Robert Huth is fit and skipper Emanuel Pogatetz gets shifted to left back.
Catts would have had a claim on the midfield slot vacated by Boateng and Johnston probably fancied the place being prepared for Marvin Emnes and had the hype of two years ago been realised then the production line would have led them straight into the team. In fact the club are spending on importing foreign talent of similar ages, experience and CVs to their own. The only position where the line is still holding is between the sticks .... but let's not go there again.
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