' Craig Bellamy set to learn his fate on Monday '

Craig Bellamy set to learn his fate on Monday after bullying claims against former Cardiff City Under-18s coach
By Oliver Holt (Mail on Sunday)


Sunday 17th February 2019


Craig Bellamy will attend a meeting on Monday where he will learn his fate
Allegations of bullying were made against the former Cardiff Under-18s coach
Parents of former trainees accused him of upsetting one young English player
There were other allegations that Bellamy’s behaviour could be threatening


Craig Bellamy, who stepped down as Cardiff City’s Under-18s coach six weeks ago after allegations of bullying were made against him, will attend a meeting at the club on Monday where he is expected to learn whether he will be reinstated.

Bellamy was the subject of newspaper allegations made by the parents of former trainees that accused him of upsetting one young English player on a pre-season tour of Italy by turning down the sound on the television when God Save the Queen was played before an England World Cup game.

There were other allegations that Bellamy’s behaviour could be threatening and intimidating but it is thought that an investigation into the allegations has produced scant evidence against him.

The investigation has been delayed while Cardiff struggled to cope with the trauma of the death of Emiliano Sala, who was killed in a plane crash on January 22. Cardiff manager Neil Warnock and chief executive Ken Choo attended Sala’s funeral in Argentina on Saturday.

Bellamy has admitted he demands a lot from his players and has high standards and he acknowledges that some youngsters would find it difficult to keep pace with what he asked of them but he has insisted he has always been fair.

The allegations against Bellamy fuelled an ongoing debate about coaching methods in academies, how equipped today’s young players are to deal with criticism and the increasing financial expectations harboured by parents with sons attached to Premier League clubs.

Bellamy has refused to comment on the bullying claims since he stepped down in January.

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strange timing tbh. which ever way this goes its going to be more newspaper columns about something other than winning football matches.

Good luck Craig , I really hope this kid/parents do not ruin your future with us.

Good luck Craig , I really hope this kid/parents do not ruin your future with us.

Totally agree Annis, hope he doesn't get made scapegoat here. We all know he can be hot headed but he has high standards and if he has been harsh it will only help these youngsters further down the line.

Good luck CB.

Good luck Craig , I really hope this kid/parents do not ruin your future with us.

Totally agree Annis, hope he doesn't get made scapegoat here. We all know he can be hot headed but he has high standards and if he has been harsh it will only help these youngsters further down the line.

Good luck CB.

I hope Bells is not made an scapegoat.

Whatever the facts are he's probably finished because we live in an age when the presumption of innocence no longer applies to any allegation even vaguely connected with the political religion.

It's not even strictly an ism offence , but there enough common elements to abstractly connect it in the dumbed down minds of the public with the sacraments of the political elite, so there's no real chance of going back.

Any result short of ruining the man would risk incurring the anger of Victoria Derbyshire and various embittered talking heads on the state media , not to mention huge numbers of anonymous freaks on the Internet.

Unlike a violent criminal , he won't be allowed to move on afterwards either since the thought police never forgive or forget.

Unfortunately , he won't be accorded the forgiving attitudes or sympathetic mitigations which our political elite are lavishing upon the Isis killer girl who is the subject of another thread .

Let's the PC brigade does not ruin his managerial career before it starts.

Having high standards is no reason for letting him go.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens; but personally (and having discussed the situation with the parents of two Academy players) I don't believe there is a real case to answer

However, what worries me is that as the poster above says "he won't be allowed to move on afterwards either since the thought police never forgive or forget"

Sadly, that group of "because it's Craig" detractors will include several on this Forum

Good luck Craig - we are lucky to have him in the set up.

Trying to raise standards and encouraging competitiveness is a coaches job surely ?

Might be pushing them too hard and too impolitely for some parents, but if these youngsters want a career in professional football, they had better get used to that style.

I’m not a fan of Bellamy at all however I think this is farcical and stinks of sour grapes.

I am confident that Mr Choo will realise the club needs the likes of Bellamy and the huge amount of experience he brings to make the correct decision and get Craig back involved immediately. Sad times that people can create such a fuss.

Totally agree Annis and good luck Craig

Over the past year, as part of my legal work, I have been involved in the legal cases of Bob Higgins (Southampton) and Barry Bennell (Crewe)

If you want to talk about abuse as a coach those are two figures you should look at

Craig is not in that category

Turning down volume to GSTQ. Maybe high jinks at most. Nothing I’ve not done out of jest

And some players just need to learn how to toughen up. Being a football coach is not just about teaching how to play. It’s about mentally preparing players for the tough environment they are going to face

From what I've seen our under 18's have been fantastic this year and im guessing Bellamy had a lot to do with it. Seems to be a lot of welsh talent coming through there, unlike our under 23's.

Hope he is back at the club. As the other op said about how strong our 18s are that is through the hard work and ethic craig as installed in them.

Good luck Craig , I really hope this kid/parents do not ruin your future with us.

Having read his book and the distressing times he experienced as an apprentice, I would be astonished if these accusations are true.

A load of rubbish in the politically correct world we live in, world gone mad shouldn’t even be a meeting. This will 100% come down to one thing, if city like him or not. Seen it a million times in the work place and carragher is a prime example with sky sports. Face fits it’s moved on, if it doesn’t it’s an excuse to get rid. My feeling, his face does fit and he will remain not only short term but long term at Cardiff.

Without doubt he has his critics within our club, he can come across as arrogant and over the years has thrown his toys out. Personally, when I have met him he’s been great and I like the honest opinion and not scared who he upsets, bit like Warnock. We have seen how good a fit Warnock is with Cardiff, for me Craig is also that fit. He would be hated as a manger, he would cause controversy but that’s us and he would bring passion when he eventually takes the reigns.

Good luck to him

I have full faith in City to have investigated this and will support whatever the outcome. I think Annis has said he is working for free so doubt the club will want to lose him unless they have to.

Good luck Craig , I really hope this kid/parents do not ruin your future with us.

Sounds like a load of crap to me...
Allegedly upsetting one young English player on a pre-season tour of Italy by turning down the sound on the television when God Save the Queen was played before an England World Cup game.

If he goes it will be an embarrassment to our club.

That’s not abuse.

He’s not slapping up kids or watching them in the showers.

God help that little brat if he had to join the army.

Good luck Bellers, I am sure it will be fine then you can continue sorting those snow flakes out and turning them into the next generation pro footballers

Mondays come and gone and no news other than fake news

Mondays come and gone and no news other than fake news

Nothing released by the club yet, Charlie C....

I would imagine the interested parties would be informed first, then a confirmed date for a press release.
Probably today or tommorow?

Mondays come and gone and no news other than fake news

Nothing released by the club yet, Charlie C....

As if you didn't know, I was stating the obvious Sven W

Mondays come and gone and no news other than fake news

Nothing released by the club yet, Charlie C....

As if you didn't know, I was stating the obvious Sven W

maybe it was the plan to announce this Monday but the amount of press we are getting on other matters has made them defer it.
what ever decision is made its more column inches .and probably negativity either way ?

Mondays come and gone and no news other than fake news

Nothing released by the club yet, Charlie C....

As if you didn't know, I was stating the obvious Sven W

Nothing new there either, then!

bellamy is old school. is that approach still appropriate in this day and age? ferguson adapted his methods to motivate modern day players.

bellamy and other players of his era could take rollockings, but society has moved on. obviously we don't know all the ins and outs of the situation, but we all know bellamy is tough on those he coaches.

i note everyone in the media waxing lyrical about eric harrison, who employed similar methods. by the account of neville et al it got discipline into a bunch of teenagers who all became top pros. no doubt it put some off football for life.

i've always said that bellamy lacks people skills to be a manager, and this further confirms this. he clearly has knowledge and passion, and i don't want to see someone hounded out by a bunch of keyboard warriors, but it must be made clear to him that there is a way to speak to people.