Source: FOOTYMAD
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Here are a few blogs / aricles I found interesting this week from the world wide web. A big-hearted Craig Bellamy is better than a big-headed BrazilianThe ObserverWhen the news broke that Manchester City's wage bill is now higher than their turnover, thoughts turned to a man in exile. Craig Bellamy expects to watch the Ryder Cup singles today at Celtic Manor, which is near his place of work at Cardiff City but a long way from the white light of Premier League fame.Bellamy, on loan to his hometown club for the season, still draws most of his income from Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour. One report claims Manchester City pay £50,000 of his weekly wage while Cardiff somehow pick up the other £35,000. If you think this is a cushy number for Bellamy you would be wrong, because the competitive urge that prompted Sir Bobby Robson to call him "one of the most committed players I've ever worked with" remains intact.READ MOREThe Dave Jones WayMike WhalleyTHERE was a bizarre start to Dave Jones' press conference following Cardiff's 2-1 win at Barnsley this afternoon, when his first priority seemed to be to make sure that a particular journalist from one of the local South Wales papers wasn't recording it.Having established that said reporter wasn't in the room, Jones then went through every recorder on the desk in front of him, asking who it belonged to. If no one answered, he handed the recorder to another chap (I presume a Cardiff press officer) to turn it off.From what I can gather, Cardiff's relationship with the local written media is somewhat fraught. Then again, every local paper falls out with the football club(s) they cover at some point. Trying to maintain both journalistic credibility AND good relations with a club while writing stuff that people might want to read is a balancing act that would test Kofi Annan's diplomatic patience. (If you don't believe me, try it.)READ MORECraig Bellamy hints at Manchester United interestBBCManchester City striker Craig Bellamy has hinted to BBC Radio 5 live that Manchester United were interested in signing him before the last transfer deadline.The 31-year-old Welshman admits it would have caused a "stir" had the move come off and accepts a switch to Old Trafford would have caused consternation amongst City fans. "If I had said I wanted to go there for one minute, staying [at Eastlands] would have been really tough," said Bellamy. "It would have been a miracle if it had come off."READ MOREBobby Gould and I were loversPhil SteadI had to laugh this morning, when I read Bobby Gould's version of the famous "secret ballot" which led to Vinnie Jones' appointment as Wales captain. Sorry Bobby, but that isn't the story that I've heard.More than one member of that Welsh squad has since confirmed to me that while there was indeed a secret ballot held to choose the man who would replace Barry Horne as Wales captain, the announcement of Vinnie Jones as winner surprised everybody. A quick straw poll among the players quickly revealed that nobody had vote for Vinnie, and that Dean Saunders was the most popular candidate by far.Bobby Gould has pulled off a few tricks in his career. He is the Derren Brown of football management. He bewitched the FAW committee into the job in the frst place. Who knows what magic he pulled off in that job interview that persuaded the men in suits that he was the one for the job?READ MORE
