MAKING HIS POINT: Jack Rowell is tipped to follow Wayne Rooney on to the International stage
Gritty Cattermole heads for the top FOOTBALLER’S LIFE BY JOE JOHNSON Special Correspondent
Jack the lad BY SIMON PEACH Special Correspondent
IL SATIS nisi optimum: Nothing but the best is good enough. Everton’s club motto seems to have particular resonance nowadays thanks to the quality of players that are rolling off their production line. Few clubs can compete with the class of youngsters that have come through their much-fabled youth system in recent times, from Leon Osman to Wayne Rooney. But now there is another gem in Everton’s academy crown: Jack Rodwell. Nurtured at Rooney’s football college, Rodwell has transcended from ball boy to the cusp of the England side in just four years. And there is no doubt that he is the finest talent at Goodison Park since the freckled, rough diamond Rooney came to the fore back in 2002. Rodwell has progressed from youth teams to the reserves, and is now a fully-fledged English Premier League starlet at the age of 18. But his skill belies his tender years. His elegant runs, economic play, and strength in both the tackle and air have seen him likened to Rio Ferdinand, and linked to an early exit from the club – much like Rooney. Yet manager David Moyes has quickly quashed speculation linking him with a move to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, smartly signing Rodwell up to an improved five-year deal to avoid another Rooney-esque quandary. But Moyes need not worry as, unlike Rooney,
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Rodwell is settled at the club. And how the youngster who was ball boy when Everton last finished in the top four back in 2005 has developed! Rodwell’s record-breaking progression through the ranks – at 16 and 284 days he became the youngestever Toffees player to play in Europe in 2007 – shows just how much Moyes and his staff trust him. Since breaking into the first team he has been deployed predominantly in a holding midfield role, despite starting his career as a centre-back. With such ability and versatility, many are tipping Fabio Capello to book him on a flight to South Africa next summer, to help fill the void vacated by the injury-prone Owen Hargreaves in the England side. Should he go to the World Cup, he would link-up with the man he has replaced as Everton’s home-grown hero down the spine of the side; Rooney filling the creative role between attack and midfield, while Rodwell breaks up opponents’ advances with aplomb. But if he shines on the international stage the vultures may once again swoop over Goodison Park looking to pick up their newest prince, just as they did six years ago after Euro 2004 when Rooney moved to Old Trafford. Yet Evertonians should rest assured as Rodwell seems more personable and level-headed than Rooney. “I just want to do the best I can, which means playing for the England full side one day, and carry on playing well for Everton,” he said. A simple mantra from an incredible talent.
IT IS a compliment to describe Lee Cattermole as a no-nonsense midfielder. Every team needs one and, when fit, there are not too many better in the English Premier League than the 21-year-old, who has already played for three clubs in his short career and commanded combined transfer fees of nearly £10million. It is also a measure of the importance that Sunderland place on him that his enforced absence through injury this season has been repeatedly referred to as a factor in his side’s sporadic form. What is also clear is that if Cattermole can make a swift return to form and fitness, he should soon add a senior international cap to his 16 England Under-21 appearances – and time is clearly on his side. He first impressed when starting out at Middlesbrough, working his way up from the youth academy and into the first team. Cattermole’s first season at Boro was a successful one, as he helped the club reach the FA Cup quarterfinals, and he scored his first League goal in a 1-0 victory away at Manchester City. It was the following months, though, that were to prove most memorable, as he helped Middlesbrough reach the 2006 UEFA Cup final against Sevilla. Despite losing 4-0 to the Spanish side, this proved to be one of the club’s most successful seasons ever, as they had never reached a major European final before. Cattermole also got the chance to become the club’s youngest-ever captain, skippering the side in a 1-0 defeat away at Fulham in May 2006. His impressive form for club and country – at Under-21 level at least – saw him linked with a move away from the Riverside Stadium, but he remained before joining Wigan in 2008. He was again a massive midfield influence with the Latics. However, a recklessness began to creep into his game, as he
LEE CATTERMOLE Position: Midfield Club: Sunderland D.O.B: 21.03.1988
was sent off several times for dangerous tackling, most notably against West Ham in March 2009 for a lunge on Scott Parker. Despite question marks over Cattermole’s temperament, he has continued to produce solid displays and followed former Latics boss Steve Bruce to Sunderland in August. A promising start to life with the Black Cats, though, was halted in October when he sustained a knee injury during a 1-0 win over Liverpool that is expected to rule him out of action for 12 weeks. Once back, however, many leading pundits predict Cattermole will again come to the fore with Sunderland and could represent his country at senior level. FOOTBALLER’S STRIFE: Sunderland’s controversial 1-0 success over Liverpool in October – when Darren Bent’s goal deflected past Pepe Reina off a beach ball – was overshadowed when Cattermole damaged medial ligaments in his knee. FOOTBALLER’S WIFE: Cattermole has so far managed to avoid the eagle eye of the media to keep his private life exactly that. FOOTBALLER’S DRIVE: The midfielder has been spotted leaving training at the wheel of a Range Rover Sport 4.4 V8 HSE. ONE TO REMEMBER: Despite the heavy loss to Sevilla in the 2006 UEFA Cup final, the journey to PSV Eindhoven’s Philips Stadion – where the final was staged – saw Cattermole involved in a number of exciting clashes against some of Europe’s heavyweights. Most memorable were the comebacks against FC Basel and Steaua Bucharest, where Boro scored four times in each to win both games 4-3 on aggregate. ONE TO FORGET: In his first full season at Boro, the club he had been at since the age of 10, a 40 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa proved particularly hard to take for Cattermole, who was captured on camera in tears after the final whistle and had to be consoled by then team-mate Gareth Southgate.