Strap In and Hold On . . . The Craig Bellamy Ride Starts Here

Wales manager Craig Bellamy. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)

Strap In and Hold On . . . The Craig Bellamy Ride Starts Here

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By Graham Thomas

Craig Bellamy has always talked a good game, which is why as a player he was just as watchable off the field as on it.

It’s no surprise, then, that in the lead-in to his first match as Wales manager, the former striker has proved entertaining as well as illuminating.

If Rob Page tended towards low-key, keep-a-lid-on-it stuff, then his successor appears more comfortable both reaching for the stars and telling you how he’s going to get there.

By the time his first Wales team run out to play Turkey on Friday night in their Nations League opener, few people will have doubt over what the Bellamy background music is going to sound like.

So, when asked about what success will be for Wales, the former Cardiff City academy coach left little room for ambiguity.

“Success is being at the next World Cup and competing at the World Cup,” he declared.

Or try this. When asked what his players can expect from him over the next few weeks and months, replied: “The players will have a library in their heads.

“That will take a lot of work on the training pitch and a lot of hours in meetings. Short term is all about identity and making it clear to the players what we are asking.

“We are a machine that is already working. We know what we are doing. We’re not losing, and when we go into qualifiers we are up and running.”

It appears, then, that clear targets, clear approaches, and transparent methods are the order of the day.

Bellamy’s players will be given a lot of information – all of those who have spoken so far, have stressed this point – and will be expected to absorb the detail and process it accordingly.

It is easy to see this modern approach to coaching as simply the result of Bellamy’s coaching path so far. He worked under Vincent Kompany at Burnley, who in turn learned his coaching craft from watching Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, where Kompany was his trusted captain.

But that would be to ignore the fact that Bellamy has always been a noticeably deep thinker about football and a student of coaching methods, even when he was a youngster in the Wales team and still making his way with Norwich City.

There was a confidence, a clear-sightedness that seemed to mark him out. It may have been clouded at times by various controversies when he was at Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester City and then Cardiff, but it was never far from the surface.

Clear targets, understandable language, no bullshit. When asked to expand on what Wales fans might see over these first few games, he added: “I just want to create a clear identity of how we want to play.

“Of course, I want to win every game, but over this six game period in the Nations League I want our identity to become clear. That is going to take a lot of meetings.

“Are we going to be the best, physically? I’m not sure. But tactically, and with the knowledge the players will be able to take on board, I believe that is going to give us an advantage.

“We need to be able to adapt in games. We don’t lose in 45 minutes or 90 minutes, because we weren’t able to adapt and change.
“We will always have a solution. We won’t panic.”

It sounds very much like a new era, rather than a continuation of what has gone before, although it should be stressed that Page took Wales to a World Cup finals, something no Wales manager had managed to do since 1958.

In that sense, Bellamy has a tough act to follow.

But bookmakers DragonBet reckon he will do well get away to a flying start on Friday evening, offering what might seem generous odds on a Wales win of 15/8.

Turkey are clear favourites for the victory at 8/5, with the draw priced at 11/5.

If you’re feeling confident – and believe Wales can repeat their famous 2-0 win over the Turks, achieved by a Gareth Bale-inspired team at the European Championship finals in 2021, then it’s available at 12/1.

If you fancy Kieffer Moore to score first on his return to the Cardiff City Stadium, then he’s available at 13/2, with Mark Harris at 8/1 to do the same.

Read the most recent DS stories on Craig Bellamy

Connor Roberts Has Seen The Craig Bellamy Show Before . . . And He Wants To Buy Another Ticket

Aaron Ramsey Will Keep The Wales Armband . . . But It’s No Big Deal, Says Craig Bellamy

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