After much speculation and some predictable developments Cardiff City have secured Craig Bellamy on a season-long loan deal. The Welsh capital team are amongst the strong favourites for Championship promotion after their performances last season saw them finish fourth and narrowly lose the play-off final to Ian Holloway's Blackpool 3-2.
Now having secured Bellamy in their quest for the Premier League, Cardiff City have made a massive statement to the rest of the Championship contenders. By placing the erstwhile striker up front with the impressive Michael Chopra, Dave Jones' team have a forward line-up that would be intimidating enough for rivals in the Premier League alone.
This summer has been far from plain sailing for the Bluebirds however; they were plagued by financial worries that concerned an outstanding £1.9M debt to HM Revenue and Customs. Threats of a winding up order and protracted High Court appearances were eventually resolved on June 16th, when the debt was fully paid following investment of £6M from a Malaysian-based consortium.
This also led to Peter Risdale leaving his position as chairman to be replaced by the consortium head Dato Chan Tien Ghee. With the new owners being backed by Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, who sounds like he has even more cash than names (!), Cardiff City can finally look ahead with optimism.
From having been between £30M and £40M in debt and then being placed under a transfer embargo, the club have demonstrated how fickle finances can be in top-level football. Peter Risdale may have laboured another club with debt in the pursuit of glory (after Leeds United), but their relative success under his tenure still attracted the financial backing that should inch them that extra bit that's needed to reach the Premier League.
As for Bellamy, he has played the PR role as best as possible after his public rejection at Manchester City and at the hands of Roberto Mancini. Prior to this summer he had spoken of a desire to play for his 'hometown club' and one that he has "always wanted to come back" to. Either way it is still a step down for a player that Harry Redknapp described as being outstanding and who would be wasted in the Championship.
Of course part of Redknapp's motivation was to attempt to persude Bellamy that playing for Tottenham would be a better move for him. Rumours have also circulated that Manchester City were unwilling to sell or loan the player to any of their Premier League rivals. Whether or not this is true is unclear, it is just possible that Bellamy is genuinely thrilled by the prospect of helping to lead his local team into the top tier and that Tottenham, Fulham and Celtic were not as attractive a proposition.
Celtic's captain Scott Brown was quick to refute claims that Bellamy's decision against a move to Celtic was a sign that the Scottish domestic league is inferior. And whilst he may be right in this case, it is worth remembering that Celtic have also failed to sign David James and Sol Campbell this summer and they are hardly spring chickens. Most damning for the SPL is how Celtic's Georgios Samaras is able to look like a decent player ever since he moved north and away from Manchester City, an indictment if ever there was one!
Meanwhile SPL rivals Motherwell have been infuriated by Bellamy's move to Cardiff City. They are still owed a total of £175,000 from two missed payments that is a part of their sale of Paul Quinn to Cardiff City. As a reaction to the Championship team acquiring Bellamy as well as several other signings since their transfer embargo was lifted, Motherwell feel that the debt owed to them has clearly been put down the list of priorities.
A writ has been issued and the Scottish club has mentioned warnings of a new attempt at a winding up order. Cardiff City for its part has simply stated that the matter will be dealt with in the next seven days. So, barring any new calamities Cardiff City may finally have their house in order and be able to concentrate on their ambitions for the season ahead.
This loan deal for Bellamy will make it the Welsh captain's ninth club in a very varied career, time will tell if being near to his family will provide the platform for him to finally settle down. What is clear is that after a mutual history of trouble with the authorities, Craig Bellamy and Cardiff City may be the perfect cocktail for turning over another new leaf and taking each other to the heights.