The Carling Cup final, by Joe Mason, Don Cowie, Ben Turner and Craig Bellamy
Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to speak to several players about the remarkable 2012 Carling Cup final. So, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of a truly remarkable game, here is the colated memories of Joe Mason, Don Cowie, Ben Turner and Craig Bellamy. Don Cowie – “Our squad was quite small. If […]
VFTN x Craig Bellamy – The Future
Steve Morison has stepped up from a very successful Under-23 side and has managed to instil some of the academy methods with some success. You played with Steve for Wales. How did you find playing with him and was he someone you expected to move in to coaching and management? I played with Steve and […]
VFTN x Craig Bellamy – The Present
I’ve been wrestling recently with whether the current crop of players are breaking through because they’re so much better than what has gone before, or is it just a culmination of circumstances and they’re finally giving them a chance? When I was at the academy, we had very limited resources. From day to day, we […]
VFTN x Craig Bellamy – The Graduates
You worked with all of the academy graduates that have broken through this season. All of them have impressed and I just wanted to ask you about each of them in turn. Kieron Evans had a taste of first-team football and impressed in his brief cameos, but others have overtaken him in recent weeks. I […]
VFTN x Craig Bellamy – The Academy
So, you’re back in Cardiff. When I spoke to you last Christmas, you rang me out of the blue because you were back home, at a loose end and we were all locked down, so there was no golf! When I posted our chat though, some people were suspicious of the timing. Neil Harris was […]
VFTN x Craig Bellamy – Coming home
First and foremost, how are you? I read your recent interview with Oliver Holt for The Mail on Sunday and you talked about struggles with your mental health and feeling isolated in Belgium due to Covid restrictions. You mentioned in that piece that you could feel your anxiety levels rise when you came home last […]
Bellamy on coaching
Everything you’ve outlined when talking about the Anderlecht academy feels like areas where the Cardiff Academy are coming up short. Looking at your time at Cardiff, having worked for one of the best academies in the world, what are they lacking? Is it the coaching? The lack of a pathway? The fact that the first-team […]
Bellamy’s ethos
“I’ve got to smile when I watch football. I’ve got to enjoy it. I love attacking, but I also love defending. I love pressing, but I also love playing. Don’t ever think I’m against long balls, but long straight balls, with a centre forward up against two defenders, I don’t like those odds. It makes […]
Bellamy on the Premier League
Was playing for Cardiff in the Premier League a dream come true and if so, how did the dream compare to the reality? I thought we were going to go down! I knew it was going to be tough. It was going to take a big overhaul of players, but is that fair on the […]
Bellamy on promotion
You came back to Cardiff and I know it was a difficult time for you with the passing of Gary Speed, which had a knock on effect on your marriage. What was your frame of mind at the time and was the move driven by the need to be back in Cardiff more than anything […]