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He may have returned to his boyhood club to see out the final seasons of his career, and that club may be facing Liverpool this Saturday, but Craig Bellamy is still keeping a close eye on the Reds. To say he's liked what he's seen so far this season, with Liverpool pushing for their first Premier League title and playing the most exciting football in the league, would be an understatement.
"A lot of the fans have grown up watching that type of football," said the Cardiff attacker. "Liverpool would always, when they didn't have the ball, get it back very quickly. They had high energy doing that and when they had the ball, they would keep it. That's why Liverpool were so successful for long periods. This team now is the closest I've seen to that.
"It's no disrespect to any of the players before that, it's just that Brendan fits what Liverpool have been doing in their most successful periods, 20 to 30 years ago. I get so excited watching Liverpool. When you're a supporter, you'll support no matter what, but actually watching this Liverpool team, it's the Liverpool team I grew up watching. It really is, especially after last Sunday."
It all leaves Bellamy in the slightly awkward position of having to face the Liverpool side he speaks so highly of on Saturday. Confusing matters even more is that he is open about his hope that Liverpool can make good on this season's unlikely title challenge, a goal that will almost certainly require them taking all three points from his current side on the weekend.
"This is such a great opportunity for Liverpool now to really establish themselves," Bellamy added. "To hopefully go on and not just win a title, but kick on from there and dominate for a number of years."
Could be awkward if anyone from Cardiff hears about that before the weekend. Or perhaps, from a slightly different angle, whatever happens on Saturday, Craig Bellamy wins.
