THE PICTURE summed up the feelings that Sunderland and Middlesbrough have for each other.

The protagonists were products of either club’s academies, who had earned a place in the squad of their respective hometown clubs.

The players? Grant Leadbitter and Lee Cattermole who, in 2007-8, played for Sunderland and Middlesbrough respectively. One had taken umbrage to a tackle by the other, and both embarked on a spot of handbags that earned them both yellow cards.

Now, while Boro and Sunderland are not exactly the fiercest of enemies, there is little love lost between the two sides. At the time of that game - which ended 2-2 at the Riverside - both Leadbitter and Cattermole were seen as the heart and soul of their respective clubs.

When the two sides meet - most recently in the Capital One Cup when Tony Mowbray and Martin O’Neill were in charge of Boro and Sunderland in 2012 - there is considerably bad blood between the fans who are only united by a dislike of Newcastle United.

But, in 2014, the players that both sets of fans have seemed to identify with the most are Cattermole and Leadbitter, who now play for each other’s boyhood club.

While it’s not on the same level, perhaps, as Frank Lampard scoring against Chelsea at the weekend, a notion which many struggled to deal with, it is refreshing that both Sunderland and Middlesbrough fans have taken to players who represented their rivals with such distinction in the early stages of their careers.

Leadbitter has led by example this season, leading scorer for Middlesbrough, the talisman of their side, the engine room in midfield, and is perhaps the main reason for their superb start to the Championship season.

Cattermole, so often criticised for his disciplinary record, is proving there is more to his game than that with a series of mature, composed displays that has led to calls, particularly from this newspaper, for his inclusion in the England squad. The call-up of Fabian Delph - whose disciplinary record is arguably worse than Cattermole’s - shows that the suggestion that Stockton’s Cattermole is not that fanciful.

Neither club’s supporters refer to either player as rejects of their rivals, instead, they class Cattermole and Leadbitter as one of their own.

Cattermole has had a chant from the Sunderland fans for a while now - “Lee, Lee Cattermole” - while Leadbitter’s penchant for scoring goals from a neighbouring county, seemingly, has earned him the nickname ‘Leadbelter’.

Leadbitter, whose father’s ashes were buried under the pitch at the Stadium Of Light, has spoken of his time at Middlesbrough and admitted that Boro has got under his skin.

Cattermole, meanwhile, captained Sunderland for a short spell, but could have left the Black Cats in January when Stoke showed interest, but Gus Poyet intervened to keep him on Wearside. Cattermole repaid that commitment by showing his best form in a Sunderland shirt to help Poyet’s side escape relegation.

Both players stand on the cusp of being - say it quietly - heroes for their current clubs.

That picture seems a million years ago now.