Bellamy has no future at Newcastle
Posted by JamesB in Newcastle | 11 April 2006
This article is a submission from Chris Baker, who also does some writing for Tyne-Talk.
Another great performance from Bellamy this weekend at Portsmouth saw the Welshman twice put European hopefuls Blackburn ahead, with the game ending 2-2. Both of his goals were good, particularly the first, and this show from the former Toon player had some fans, not for the first time this season, saying we should bring Bellamy back in the summer.
I'm not the only one that gets fed up of hearing this from some people.
Yes, Bellamy is a cracking player. He is a match winner. He has tremendous pace and is a skillful player, whilst his finishing has also been pretty solid in the past few years which have made him an even better player.
Nobody denies these things. He is a good player. But he is certainly not a person I want at my club.
I find it ironic that since Souness departed, people have been crying out for Bellamy to return, with these cries getting louder with every goal that Bellamy scores. Because Souness is now gone does that mean everything he did at the club was wrong? I didn't see half as many people complaining when Bellamy was carted off on loan to Celtic. A lot of people backed Souness/Shepherd for doing this, yet recently there seems to be more support for Bellamy. Such fickleness...
What Bellamy did cannot be forgotten. He feigned injury to avoid playing. He called the chairman and manager liars on TV. He showed a tremendous lack of disrespect towards the coaching staff. He sent, if the tabloids are to be believed, childish text messages to Alan Shearer, a legend, and rightfully so, at Newcastle.
And that was just last season. How about the incident where he threw a chair at John Carver at the airport? Even Sir Bobby Robson said that Bellamy is someone who could start a fight with himself.
The best thing Souness did in his time here was clear out the dressing room, ridding it of disruptive influences such as Bellamy and Laurent Robert. Just because Souness has now gone doesn't mean this was the wrong move. The team has been much more united this season, and hasn't been on the front pages of the newspapers for all the wrong reasons like before. Everyone is pulling together in the same direction, and that is vital in a squad.
Why do you think Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and perhaps even some of the top clubs on the continent weren't interested in buying Bellamy? Could they not afford the fee? Of course they could. Is he not good enough? I think he certainly is. He's damaged goods, that's why. That's why he was wanted by the likes of Villa, Birmingham and Blackburn, and not bigger clubs.
Besides, are we forgetting we now have a certain Michael Owen at the club now? Yes, he has been injured, but are you saying Bellamy never is? He's missed a lot of games for Blackburn this season, and he was injured a fair amount with us too.
Who would you rather have in your side, Michael Owen, a world class striker with expert finishing, or Craig Bellamy? As good a player Bellamy is, my choice would be Owen, without a shadow of a doubt. A fit Michael Owen will score more goals per season than a fit Craig Bellamy, this is more than certain.
What is also more than certain is that if Owen never got injured, and maintained his impressive scoring rate throughout the season, the whinges of "Bring Bellamy back" would have all but died out by now.
I have many fond memories of Bellamy in a black and white shirt, particularly his last gasp goal against Feyenoord in the Champions League. But no thanks, you're not welcome back.
Comments
Bellamy Rules! heehee!
That's wrong. Bellers has intensity which is lacking in most newcastle players. His feud with 'management' is more of a result of phooey soeuy bad people skills. Players should have egos, not managers. Everything done by that bad manager will soon be realized to be detramanetal to the club. I hope Owen stays, but something tells me he wont have the same pride as Bellers did in the balck and white. Look at what souness did and try to blame someone else. Look at Cole on Man city. Souness is not a modern day manager, he is a kick your ass championship manager at best in england.
Did you not read the article Paul? Bellamy had problems with management long before Souness.
It's clear to me you never liked Souness from day one, thus every single thing he did was bad for the club etc etc. You hate Souness with a passion and that clouds your judgement entirely. Heard it all before.
