With Bellamy due to have talks with Man city over his future( or lack of one) at their club, I have to ask how much do we need him, or rather, how much store do the Malaysians put by him being with us this coming season. It seems they like to be linked with the big name(shearer) but is this a stretch too far if Craig can't broker a deal to come to us. This link is taken off the AAMB and is by Carl Curtis, it's gives an account of the situation, how accurrate this is I don't know, seems a lot of money, even for Celtic, to splash out. http://www.cardiffcityforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=52057 Take time to read it if you haven't already, some interesting points for me in there.
Here's my take on the situation: Craig wants to come to Cardiff, but I don't believe we will pay the asking price. If Craig is serious about his desire to come back (and I have no reason to doubt him after last season) he could refuse personal terms with any other club, meaning Man City are unable to offload his wages. With the new Financial Fair Play rules coming into effect soon, Man City are not going to want to pay huge wages to a player who isn't playing. This COULD put us in the driving seat, as Man City should be more interested in offloading his wages rather than recouping any fee they paid for him. Which means we could get Craig at the price WE dictate, not the price they dictate. I hope this is the case.
Agree with Luke. Man City have put themselves in a very stupid position. They have a top player on 80/90k a week and refuse to play him. Man City, for the reasons Luke states above, have to offload Craig this summer. In reference to Carl's post. If Craig is adamant he wants to come to Cardiff, he'll do well to steer clear of meets with Neil Lennon etc. He should distance himself from moves to another other club other Cardiff as this will further help our cause. Re-iterating his "Man City or Cardiff City" sentiment in public would also strengthen our position massively. I think this move can happen. But this could take all summer. And the longer the saga draws out, the stronger our position becomes. So patience is required from everyone! Answering SBFF's question as to how much we need Craig? Depends on what the Malaysian's long term goal is. If they're serious about making us a global (Malaysian) brand and a Premiership brand, then we could do well to spend vast amounts on an exciting, big name player like Bellamy to fast track this cause. From a footballing point of view, given how adaptable Craig is positionally, it would be easy to make him fit into any system MM adopts. The only issue is over playing him. Hopefully we'll have as strong, if not stronger squad than last year in which we'd only need Craig (B) for 30 games or so. My last point is on Carl Curtis himself. One of the best CCFC bloggers out there. More reliable and quicker to stories than icWales or anyone else. Just hope that he's careful not to give away too much inside info on the club too much. Although it's exciting to read, every now and again, leaking info can cost us. Carl clearly has a genuine IN somehow. Just hope he uses his resources responsibly.
Can't agree about Carl Curtis, I think he is a chancer most of his "Updates" are Tittle Tattle and over the last few months he has posted a few howlers. Dave Jones to West Ham. What a muppet post that was.
Some people only remember the hits, and conveniently forget about the misses, which are far greater in number. If I made as many claims as him, I'd probably be right more often, or at worst the same.
Hi Rhondda. Haven't been reading Carl's posts for more than two weeks. Maybe you're right. I actually hope you are as I don't see how it helps CCFC to have this info go out before the club decides to make public announcements.
D-Dragon I'm not a member at AAMB but take a look now and then, Carl Curtis over last season tried to make out that he was in the know, many of his "Updates" were way off the mark and the few he got right he took pleasure of saying that CCFC has a leak, not something a TRUE bluebird would do, I just don't like his way of doing things and I think that even the AAMB faithful are starting to realise the man is just a joker.
