Originally Posted by
Bruce Foxton
Spence had played a lot of U23 football by then. Bellamy came in to oversee the pathway from academy to first team. He was in charge of the U23's, but from what i can gather wasn't a fan. I think he saw it as a backwater for youngsters, journeymen and older players coming back from injury. If you remember, Andy Legg came in solely as U23 manager/coach, and Bellamy reverted to academy coach, primarily with the U18's. I suppose by then he had seen enough of the players to know they were ready for first team football.