The Gods have had a busy morning laughing at Lee Cattermole. Sunderland's prodigious card-collector was rumoured this week to catapult to a level almost as high as the waistline of his shorts, as it was reported that Cattermole was on the verge of a move to Bordeaux, in so doing making the rare step from League One to Ligue Un. Those wishing to rationalise something as fundamentally unfathomable as this need only identify the French club's manager: Gus Poyet, who coached Cattermole at Sunderland.
This morning, however, it seems like Cattermole will be denied his move....as Bordeaux have sacked Poyet one game into the new season.
The Uruguayan has proved combustible in the past - he was suspended by Brighton amid the fallout to a shite being found in the Crystal Palace dressing room ahead of a playoff tie - and he has now been sacked in France after a wild rant against his bosses.
Poyet was furious that the club's board sanctioned the sale of Gaetan Laborde to rivals Montpellier. Speaking after a 2-1 Europa League qualifier win against Mariupol, Poyet took aim at his bosses.
It's a disgrace what the club has done today with Gaetan Laborde. I told the club he could not leave until we bought another player.
They did not listen and let Laborde go. We arrived at the hotel today at 11:45 and Laborde was not there. We called him and he was in Montpellier. Nobody told me anything!
I am going to speak to my agent tomorrow and make a decision.
At this point the Bordeaux press officer attempted to intervene, saying that 'we'll stop there'. Poyet was in no mood to stop:
No, no, I stop when I want, not when you want.
I want public explanations and they tell the truth. I ask for respect and professionalism, no more. And if there is none, it's over.
It's a shame what they have done to me, the players, the fans. I cannot accept that.
I need explanations from the owners and the president. When they explain this to me we'll see if I continue.
I do not care about the Bordeaux leaders who speak behind my back, they try to kill me from behind.
It's up to them to talk to you.
Instead, the board have spoken to Poyet, and made it brief: they have fired him as a "precautionary measure".
Poyet lasted just seven months at the club.
[L'Equipe]
