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Gus Poyet really does seem rather enamoured with Lee Cattermole right now, and insists the qualities that have often made him a villain in English football would make him a 'hero' in Uruguay.
The former captain is back from suspension to face Leicester City, and it looks like he can expect to go straight back into the Sunderland line-up despite an impressive showing from Liam Bridcutt in his absence. Poyet told reporters:
If somebody tells me this guy is a b*****d and I need to be careful, then I will be. I was told he was impossible to control, that he will get sent off a hundred times and he will let you down.
I was told he could not play football like I want to. I was told he was training on his own away from everybody else. I thought I'd meet Lee and he'd have a gun and he'd shoot me in the head.
In Uruguay, he would be the hero, the captain.
Having watched Uruguay, you could quite see it. He'd fit in lovely with their mentality, and it's an interested observation that Gus Poyet makes - largely about the snobbery of the English game.
Let's face it, Uruguay are probably a better side than England right now. They knocked Roy Hodgson's men out of the World Cup and are usually ranked higher than them in the latest (albeit usually stupid) FIFA rankings - yet Cattermole is a player England turn their noses up at.
I still think it's one of the more unusual footballing bromances out there, but one thing you'd have to say is that of all the managers Cattermole has played under here, none have managed to get him to as good a place as Poyet has.
