Dion Dublin: Craig Bellamy’s Cardiff move would be good for all parties

As the Capital One Cup returns this weekend, Craig Bellamy’s proposed transfer to Cardiff City may well be the remedy required to cure last season’s cup final heartache.

We have seen through his performances for Team GB at the Olympics that Bellamy is a quality player, one that would be a great addition to Malky Mackay’s side.

It would be a good move for all parties as expectation should be high at Cardiff off the back of last season’s lengthy cup run that ended in a penalty shoot-out final defeat.

Just like Leeds, Birmingham City, and Blackpool, there should be no reason the Bluebirds can’t to go deep into the competition this year.

And that is testament to Mackay, who has shown he can more than hold his own as a manager – he knows what he wants to achieve and has a good club to do that with.

I clashed with him many times in my playing days and have the scars on my forehead to prove it, he was always a very committed player and has brought that element into management.

He still has the core group of players that experienced disappointment alongside him and they will want to put things right.

But starting up away at Northampton Town on Tuesday night will be far from an easy start with the League Two outfit looking to cause an early upset.

I never worked under Aidy Boothroyd but he is in the same category as Mackay and Leeds manager Simon Grayson in terms of the style of football they like to play.

He loves the game of football and wants to manage players that really want to be successful – whether that is in League Two or the Premier League, that doesn’t matter.

They all subscribe to the philosophy that you must adapt to which system works best on the day in order to move forward.

Sometimes sides can drop their guard and get away with it but in the cup competitions you just can’t afford to do so which could leave the door open for upsets.

It is always a tough time for the bigger clubs who want to come through unscathed as all sides will have new players that are trying to impress the manager.

The first few games are notoriously difficult to settle down in and the bigger clubs in the early rounds of cup competitions need to hit the ground running.

Whatever happens, with two young and exciting managers in the dugouts, Tuesday’s game should provide a thriller.

Dion Dublin was talking on behalf of Capital One, the credit card company and new sponsors of The League Cup. Round 1 of the Capital One Cup takes place from 11 to 14 August.

Open a bet365 account with £10 or more and you'll get a free bet of up to £200 on us. Click here for more information.

Like The Sport Review on Facebook:

Read more on: capital one cup, cardiff city, craig bellamy, dion dublin, Liverpool.