Craig Bellamy, a thank you and an apology

 

 

The ‘thank you’ rises from the depths of my socks, powers through my soul, gathering energy all the way but emerges as only two words, ‘thanks Craig.’ I guess it should say more

Note from the pictures how generous Craig was in offering unsolicited advice to referees. How they will miss him.

I suppose I should tell you what a buzz you created in the ground whenever you were warming up. We knew you added energy and direction to the side, lifted players who maybe were looking forward to just getting by until the fat lady sang. We never witnessed your famous anger directed at colleagues.

 

No golf clubs were used as part of your encouragement. Rather, from day one under big Dave Jones, you quietly let each player know how you wanted the pass. Usually with pace and curl, so you could run on to it. It was noted how you helped the youngsters around you.

People who say you lost your pace never saw you haring down the wing with some poor sod of a full back doing all he could just to live with you. And those crosses deserved a better reward.

 

I won’t forget your wonder goals. Maybe the knowledge that you could score from distance always gave us hope.

In fact there you are, I have found the words for my gratitude. Thank you for promotion to the premier league, thanks for the goals but most important of all thank you for always giving us hope.

And the apology? I guess like many other City fans we could never understand why you spent so much time on the bench. The no brainer would have been to play you every second you could actually stand up. But now we know the pain you experienced every morning after training. You went through a brick wall for us and it is appreciated, won’t be forgotten.  

Somewhere in Canton lives John Mahoney, or at least he used to. He is crippled from the bastards who had him play when he was in pain. As a young man he followed the advice of his so called coaches and trainers and was stuffed full of knee injections - like other great brave players at the time he was forced to play on when they ought to have been rested.

So go now Craig and let your body recover.

Note from the pictures how generous Craig was in offering unsolicited advice to referees. How they will miss him.

So good luck on your retirement and best wishes with the management roundabout nonsense. I suspect you will make Diego Simeone’s attitude to referees seem like a quiet UN official visiting Luxembourg.