BELLAMY CAN’T BELIEVE LIVERPOOL SOLD COUTINHO

Philippe Coutinho had long been linked with a transfer to the Spanish side, Barcelona, with the Camp Nou dwellers already having bids rejected in the Summer Transfer Window, the last of which was 90million pounds.

Barcelona were urgently seeking a replacement for the recently sold Neymar Jr, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record fee of 198 million pounds.

Several reports suggested that the play maker, Coutinho was willing to go on strike in order to force his way through a move to replace Neymar Jr. He eventually made his move in January, for an eye-watering £150 million, and features on livescore for the first time for Barca when he neted his first goal on his debut in the Copa del Rey.

Former Manchester City and Liverpool forward Craig Bellamy cannot believe that Coutinho left Anfield for Barcelona, especially after he had boastfully claimed to know the club and what they can do, especially when they don’t want to lose a player.

“Liverpool will not let him go,” Bellamy opined back in the summer. “What I know and I’m sure of concerning Liverpool is that, they will not sell him, not this season. It is not going to take place. The coach, Klopp may want to do the business, but the club owners will not permit it.”

“His departure will be a nightmare for Liverpool, so they will make it impossible. I will want the Liverpool owners to remain firm and refuse any price offered by Barcelona until the transfer window is closed.” he added.

Bellamy revealed that he did not understand the reason Coutinho wants out to Barcelona and he believes it would be pathetic to Liverpool if it happens, stating that his departure would leave Liverpool in a desperate position Barcelona is now – similar to how Liverpool actually acted in the Winter, when they failed to find any kind of replacement.

With Liverpool receiving the second most amount of money of all time for the Brazilian midfielder, it’s no surprise that they struggled to get another player of the same quality in with less than three days of the transfer window to go.

COLEMAN STAYS AS WALES BOSS

Hull City had managed to put Chris Coleman in a dilemma by making a tempting offer to him, but, as the former Swansea City player recalled the happy faces of the fans that he had seen on his return from Euro, he quickly shrugged the thought of switching the job off his head and said no to the Yorkshire club.

Coleman confesses to have got interested in the offer for a second or two because it had come from the Premiership which is an aspiration for any coach. Whilst the bookmakers such as netbet made him the odds-on favourite for the Tigers, in his heart he knew he could never really move on.

The 46-year old said, “An offer from Premiership is big and any such offer flatters you a little bit and makes you think over it, but, I declined it only because I have to ensure this Welsh side doesn’t happen to be a one-tournament wonder.”

“We had not even dreamt of the Euro unfolding the way it did for us. If it had not been like that and my ambition with this team had died down, it was likely that I grabbed another offer, but, not after experiencing those Goosebumps moments on the homecoming. There is no better feeling than to see that kind of happiness among the country people.”

“Many times I have seen a different scenario where people are disappointed with the failure of the team and the players or the manager hesitate to go out, but, this kind of response was definitely a first for me to be honest and I believe it’s these moments which help you bond tightly as a unit. You can go for team dinner, have funny moments with each other or whatever, but, the energy and the spirit you get from a positive public response, especially from such a response, you can’t get it from anything else.”

BELLAMY WAITS ON PROCTOR

Not everyone is impressed with the performance of Kevin Proctor. While some fans and players are impressed with his performance, on the other end of the spectrum, manager Craig Bellamy definitely isn’t.

The Melbourne Storm boss definitely isn’t impressed with this latest injury and he believes that Kevin Proctor must prove his level of fitness. This comes as the Storm went to head to head with the Newcastle Knights on Saturday, and Bellamy shared his concerns with some of the form recently and his selection headaches.

Whilst Bellamy has been quoted as saying that Proctor needs to prove his fitness after missing Monday night’s late game due to a thigh injury against Cronulla. Will he be able to pull through and prove his team wrong? This injury came as early as the game versus the Warriors and he has since struggled with the injury and has been failing to prove that he’s capable of hopping back on the field.

The thing that Bellamy is having trouble with is if he lets Proctor out on the field right now, he could risk a further injury and then he’d be out for another six weeks at least. That’s a huge blow to the team, to the lineup and the form of the team. Instead, Bellamy is going to see how he trains and see how he handles being in practice to determine whether or not he should be back on the field.

Craig Bellamy went on to say that he has a bit of an idea of what to do but it’s going to take time and he has to take some time to observe how the player is handling the practice to determine the future. The opposition and how they’re playing is also under consideration.

Bellamy took time out of talking about the team to discuss the latest Masters – he is an avid golf fan (and plays a bit himself), and known to be a big supporter of Rory McIlroy. When asked about who he would be betting on in the Masters at StanJames he declared that he thought Spieth would be in with the best chance this year.

Marika Koroibete, the winger, will also unfortunately be missing the game because of a suspension for one match due to tripping.

RODGERS HAS REGRETS

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has stated that one of his biggest regrets has been the inability to work with Craig Bellamy. The former Liverpool striker is currently playing for Cardiff City and he is unlikely to join a club like Liverpool once again.

He spent a couple of seasons at the club in two spells, but left the Reds in the summer of the 2011-12 season. This was when Rodgers came to the club to replace Roy Hodgson. Rodgers has since taken Liverpool to new heights, while Bellamy has been playing with Cardiff for the last few seasons.

The 34-year-old is approaching the end of his career, but Rodgers has revealed that he tried to keep him at the club when he came in 2012. Bellamy had more than 12 months left on his contract, but he was not interested in staying at Liverpool due to ‘other reasons’, which have not been revealed by Rodgers. The Liverpool manager has praised the Welsh international by saying that he is the ultimate professional. Over the years, Bellamy has had a few enemies due to his opening remarks, but Rodgers appreciates the Welshman for the same.

According to him, there are few players who would be honest and hard-working as Bellamy. The 41-year-old Irishman has been able to take Liverpool to the top of the table this season.

“It’s one of my only regrets, really, that I never got the chance to work with Craig. I’ve followed him in his career right the way through; an outstanding player, very honest, speaks his mind, but is an ultimate professional. He always prepares himself well. He’s given his life to being a footballer. He’s a big Liverpool supporter and did very, very well here,” said Rodgers, whose team take on Manchester City this weekend looking to remain top.

BELLAMY COMES TO LIVERPOOL

Cardiff city striker Craig Bellamy will be coming up against his former club Liverpool during the weekend. Even though he is unlikely to start the match, the Welsh international has revealed that he wants Cardiff to win the encounter. Three points will be crucial for the relegation threatened team, who sit just one place above the bottom of the table. Even though Bellamy says that he wants Liverpool to lose this weekend, the striker has stated that it would be a great feeling to see Liverpool win the league title once again.

The Reds are looking to win their first league title since 1990 and their competing along with Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal. Even more impressive is the fact that Liverpool have been a breath of fresh air in the league with their attacking style of football. They have recently become the top scorers in the division following their 3-0 win over Manchester United.

They remain on course to beating Chelsea’s record of 103 goals through an entire Premier league campaign. After the weekend’s win coupled with Chelsea’s defeat at Villa Park, they have moved within two points off Jose Mourinho’s men.
Bellamy played for Liverpool at a time when they were only challenging for a top four spot, but he has recalled the club’s glory days during the 1980s.

“I just feel this is such a great opportunity for Liverpool now to really establish themselves, and hopefully go on and not just win a title, but kick on from there and dominate for a number of years. A lot of the fans have grown up watching that type of football. Liverpool would always, when they didn’t have the ball, get it back very quickly. They had high energy doing that and when they had the ball, they would keep it. That’s why Liverpool were so successful for long periods,” said Bellamy.

Bellamy Banned Due To A FA Charge

Craig Bellamy (Welsh footballer) will be facing a suspension for around three football matches because the Football Association has filed a charge of violent conduct against the Cardiff Forward.

The violent conduct took place in a match of the Premier League that was held on the 8th of February, 2014. The match was between Cardiff City and Swansea City. Craig Bellamy actually clashed with Jonathan De Guzman during the 2nd half of the football match. The Football Association confirmed on 9th of February, 2014 that the violent incident did occur and the association was aware of it.

Andre Marriner (referee of the match) did not see Bellamy punching De Guzman. However, FA (Football Association) set up a three member disciplinary panel to investigate the incident. Through the investigation it was noticed that the violent conduct displayed by Bellamy was captured in a video though no match officials had witnessed it.

Though the performance of Cardiff City was not that impressive, Craig Bellamy was playing pretty well during the match against Swansea. But his bad conduct just spoiled an amazing performance. Cardiff City lost the match against Swansea City.

Bellamy is planning to retire after this season. But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (manager of Cardiff City) is trying his best to convince Bellamy to continue playing because he is fit enough to play football even though he is thirty-four years old.
Another violent incident took place on the same day (8th February, 2014) in a match between Manchester United and Norwich City. Yaya Toure (Manchester United) had kicked Ricky Van Wolfswinkel (Norwich City). However, the panel which charged and banned Craig Bellamy for violent conduct could not take a unanimous decision against Yaya Toure.

Although, Van Wolfswinkel wanted FA to take a strict action against Toure, the Manchester United player was able to walk away without getting punished.

GABBIDON BACKS PULIS

The former Cardiff city and West Ham defender Danny Gabbidon has said that the arrival of Tony Pulis has worked to the benefit of Crystal Palace, as the former Stoke city manager has been able to organise the defence. Pulis has been out of work after leaving Stoke city at the end of last season.

He returned to management after taking over the difficult job at Crystal Palace. The club have been installed as the favourites for relegation, which is something Pulis has never experienced in his long managerial career. However, many expected Crystal Palace to go down even after the arrival of Pulis.

Since his arrival, he has been able to turn around the fortunes of the club that were rooted to the bottom of the table. Four victories since December have helped them stay in touch with the other clubs fighting against relegation. There are currently just one place above the drop zone and Gabbidon says that the club are now more confident about avoiding relegation. Pulis is expected to bring a couple of players in January, which could again work to the benefit of the team.
Gabbidon says that the work done by Pulis to organised the defence has been the main reason towards Crystal Palace looking up in the table.

“In this league, especially with the lower teams, you need everybody to put a shift in, to know what they are doing and to be organised. That is what the gaffer has instilled in all of us since he has come in. I think he does not love just the back four, but the whole team defending together. Maybe earlier in the season that was something we were not really getting right. He definitely does pride himself on the back four and I think he sees that as the starting point for everything,” said Gabbidon.

STILL A BIG PLAYER

The head coach of Cardiff City Malky Mackay has insisted that the 34 years old Welshman Craig Bellamy still is an important player for the team even though he has only made 6 appearances for the Premier League team in this season and was left on the sidelines in their last few matches.

“Craig is absolutely part of and involved in everything we do here.He has been rested over the last couple of matches, but is always in contention.” said Mackay

Cardiff City is struggling in the Premier League fighting their way out of the bottom relegation spots alongside Sunderland and Crystal Palace as those are the only 2 clubs behind them in the standings.

Craig Bellami revealed that he turned down the chance to play for Manchester United in 2 occasions. His agent was in talks with the Premier League club back in 2010 but later finished off by signing a loan deal with Cardiff City.

The Welshman admitted that his history with Sir. Alex Ferguson is longer than most people know as the Scottish tactician was tracking him down as far back as 2002 when his representatives travelled to see him at the training grounds of Manchester United but ultimately made his move to Newcastle United because of the joy that it is to play for Sir. Bobby Robson.

“Actually, there was a link with Sir Alex as far back as 2002, when my representatives went to see him at United’s training ground, with a view to a move going ahead,” he added.

“But Newcastle had just qualified for the Champions League; I loved playing for Sir Bobby Robson and had just been offered a new contract there.

Craig Bellamy has played in Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Blackburn, Cardiff City and Celtic but never did get to land a deal with Manchester United despite all of their interest in signing him.

BELLAMY RETIRES

Craig Bellamy confirmed his retirement from international football some weeks ago when he played during Wales’ match against Belgium and later revealed it to be a very emotional moment for him.
“To soak in your national anthem. I’m speechless about it, but it is really nice. It’s something I do cherish.

“It did hit home a bit that I’m not going to be this side of it again.

“I’ve enjoyed every second of it. To reach 78 [caps] and the injuries I’ve had down the years. I’m delighted.”

He also expressed his desire to manage Wales in some way or another. Although he does not seem to be as appreciated in his club as he is in the international level.

Only being able to play for his as a substitute but has failed to make any full appearance for the club since September 22nd when Cardiff City faced off against Tottenham and lost by a late goal from Paulinho. This has prompted many fans to bet on him moving on from Cardiff in the near future – with Unibet offering Evens on him swicthing in January.

His repertoire of clubs he has played in include: Norwich City, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham United as some of the most noticeable and important times of his career.

With 34 years of age his retirement from football altogether is arriving soon enough and this is evidenced by his lack of consistent matches and already seeing his exit from the national team of Wales.

Having played in 78 matches for Wales he is an icon for many fans and players. His former team-mate of Manchester City Vincent Kompany gave him a bottle of Cognac brandy as a memento of his international career.

FRESH ENERGY

The manager of Cardiff City, Malky Mackay, has said that he had dropped Craig Bellamy from the starting line up against Fulham just to bring in some fresh energy. Mackay insisted that the 34 years-old Welsh forward is still a vital player for him.

In the match against Fulham, Bellamy was replaced by Peter Odemwingie in the starting XI of Cardiff. Bellamy did come onto the ground, but, towards the end of the game.

Nevertheless, Cardiff won that match by 2-1 courtesy an injury time goal by Jordon Mutch.

In a press conference yesterday, when Mackay was asked about his decision of not including Bellamy in the starting line up against Fulham, he said, “I just wanted to have some fresh energy in the XI. So, I went with Peter.”

“Craig is still a huge part of our plans. He is one of the guys whom we rely upon heavily.”

“But, it’s important to ensure that we are spot on with our changes. The players who are in good nick should be out there playing.”

Meanwhile, the manager of the Wales national team, Chris Coleman, has said that after the friendly match against Finland which will take place in November, he will talk to Bellamy about his future in international football.
Bellamy has been included in the Wales squad for the upcoming couple of World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Belgium respectively.

Talking to the reporters about Bellamy, Coleman said, “Craig is close to 35 now and it’s not easy for him to continue playing both club and international football. After the Finland fixture, I will speak to him about his future plans.”
“He has served the Wales national team fantastically well over the years, but, he needs to take care of himself now.”