Lee Trundle will join Cardiff City’s academy from next week working alongside Gavin Chesterfield the academy lead. It won’t come as a shock to to those close to Trundle as he has harboured thoughts of taking the step in to football development for some time.
Someone Lee will be working close with is Darren Purse who has welcomed the news on derby weekend. "Lee was a fantastic footballer and if he can pass on his craft to our academy players and scholars that would be fantastic” On his connections to the Swans Purse wasn’t fazed at all. "At the end of the day we have to get to the level that Swansea are at, we have been second best for too long at every level, if it means getting in coaches like Lee then that’s what we will do”
Cardiff City have taken on numerous restructuring initiatives over the years especially during Neil Warnock’s time at the club. Craig Bellamy was one ex player they employed. Bellamy though resigned after allegations of bullying which he initially denied. Martin Overton who oversee’s recruitment at Cardiff is another who is delighted to see Lee Trundle at the academy. " Lee comes to us with a good football pedigree, and let’s be honest the issues that some Cardiff fans will have with his appointment won’t last forever. I thought the flag thing was quite funny to be honest, and let’s be fair we’ve employed Craig Bellamy here so he’s the bench mark if you want to start at the bottom and stay there. We’ve had players come through like Mark Harris, Rubin Colwill and Isaak Davies, all of whom haven’t really impressed at first team level. We need more Ollie Cooper’s and Ben Cabango’s, players like Joe Allen, Joe Rodon and Connor Roberts, the Swans have produced so much quality we want a bit of that "
The news won’t be as well received in Swansea though, Lee has been at the club for a number of years working in the community and hanging around the dressing room with his boots. However when he’s not doing that he plays for Ammanford Town alongside Ex Swansea player Leon Britton. Leon was surprised to hear the news on Trundle. "Now that does surprise me, I’m unsure how that affects him as a player at Ammanford. Deep down we both want to go in this direction so I might see if there’s a job going there as well. I’m more flexible than Lee when it comes to football, all he did was score goals and get the ladies moist. Me, I’m different, most certainly shorter, so from a Cardiff perspective I would fit in, and with a more broader outlook on things, I’m from London which proves my point”
We wish Lee all the best in his latest role, and hope he finds time to come back to the Swans wearing his Cardiff City academy issue kit. We expect an announcement from Swansea City after todays game.