Andy Dibble, Cardiff City’s goalkeeping coach, and Lee Camp are together again.
Northern Ireland international Camp has signed a two-year contract for the Bluebirds, completing manager Neil Warnock’s goalkeeping team.
“I already have a really good relationship with Andy,” says Camp. “He knows how to get the best out of me and we bounce off one another.”
Camp, who was out of contract at Rotherham, looks certain to be Cardiff’s number one, while he will be challenged by Neil Etheridge, a Philippine international signed from Walsall, and Brian Murphy, who joined City last season and made four Championship appearances.
Ben Wilson is still with the club, but his contract ends this month and he looks certain to be moving on.
“Lee is what I call a ‘Steady Eddie’ and he has always done well for me,” says Warnock. “He offers experience, reliability and good decision making.
“We now have a really good trio of goalkeepers.
“Neil Etheridge is a big lad with plenty to prove, while Brian Murphy did well for me last season.
“It is down to the goalkeepers now to see who can cement their place in the team, and keep that number one jersey.”
Warnock has now signed four new Cardiff players with 32-year-old Camp joining Etheridge, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson.
Lee Camp facts
Born: Derby
Age: 32
Clubs: Derby County, Burton Albion, QPR (3 spells), Norwich City, Nottingham Forest (2), WBA, Bournemouth, Rotherham.
Career appearances: 483+3sub.
Talking personally:
Favourite player: Peter Schmichael. He was the man making the headlines when I started to play in goal. Manchester United were the team at the top and he was the main player in that team.
Main strength: Mental toughness. I try not to get too high when things are going well and likewise not get too down when it’s not going so well.
First game in goal: For Mickleover Jubilee at under-10 level. We were beaten 19-0 and that left me questioning if I wanted to play in goal.
Derby-born, but are you a Rams fan? I’m not a Derby fan. I’m a Manchester United fan.
I went to watch Derby because they were my local team and my dad used to work on Saturdays so my auntie and uncle used to look after me.
My uncle was a season ticket holder at Derby (as are a lot of my family because they are Derby fans) so it was either go and watch football with my Uncle or go shopping with my Auntie so I went to the football.
When Derby weren’t at home we would go and watch Belper Town or other teams. We just liked watching football.
From the age of eight I used to wear a Manchester United shirt or a Peter Schmeichel goalkeeper top.
Can you play outfield? When I was at QPR I broke a finger. I couldn’t play or do any handling of the ball and I trained with the outfield players and was the best striker. I scored the most goals and was the best finisher.
Lee Camp facts
Wembley pride: Played for England under-21 five times, including the first professional match at the New Wembley. That was a 3-3 draw against Italy when Giampaolo Pazzini scored after 25 seconds, making Camp the first goalkeeper to concede a goal at the stadium.
Northern Ireland call: Qualified to play for NI because his grandfather was born in Newtownards. Manager Nigel Worthington selected him and Camp made nine senior appearances.
Swans’ call: During the 2011 Swansea City made three bids to sign the goalkeeper from Nottingham Forest. The highest was £1.8m, but all three offers were rejected.
Honours: Helped AFC Bournemouth earn promotion to the Premier League, winning the Championship title, in 2014-15. Also played for QPR when they were promoted from League One in 2003-04, finishing runners-up to Plymouth.
Won player of the year awards at Forest and Rotherham.