Shay and Dunnie are 2 guys that realise that although they are very talented and good at what they do they are very lucky to have had and still have great careers, earn as much money as they do and be set up financially for life. Although they probably feel that they could make a contribution at City, and rightly so, they are both held in esteem by us because of the service they gave to the club. They accepted that the club was moving on to a new level and weren't in the manager's plans.
Despite Bellamy's reluctance to move you should have seen him playing with our young lads at Stalybridge Celtic. It was like having a coach on the pitch and although it's not his game style he was teaching the young lads what Bobby wanted, all the close work, little passing moves etc. and showing that he wanted to get into the team. He hasn't slagged the club off but then again I don't think Wayne Bridge is doing so either, but Bridge's his refusal to move, even on loan annoys me immensely. As long as players who left in this way say they would have liked to have played for City for longer, they enjoyed their time here but had to move on to get a 1st team opportunity then that will do for me.
So 3 of those players mentioned can walk back into the Etihad Stadium in front of the fans and receive genuine respect. We know Stephen Ireland has certain issues but for the life of me I will never understand how he didn't acknowledge the fans' warm reception that he received on his return either before the Villa game or upon his substitution after a decidedly average performance. Shauny will of course receive as great a welcome as his counterpart modern day heroes such as the Goat and Dickov and hopefully Nedum will keep his mouth shut now and accept his welcome when we play QPR (his dispute is with certain personalities, not the fans).
As for Tevez, Adebayor and Bridge ... You've only got to look at those names and think 'would I buy any one of those a pint?' Now Im a generous type of bloke and the answer would be a resounding 'no'.
