Tuesday 20th June 2006
ANFIELD ONLINE LFC NEWS

CRAIG BELLAMY PROFILE

Bellamy for £6 million anyone?

Craig Bellamy could shortly become a £6.5 million Liverpool signing from Blackburn. Here is a quick profile of the Welsh enigma.

Craig has so far commanded £17.5 million pounds in three transfer moves.

Coventry paid £6.5 million to Norwich in 2000 for him.

Newcastle splashed £6 million in 2001 and then sold him to Blackburn (after a spell at Celtic on loan) for £5 million last year.

He has scored 85 goals in 225 league appearances.

He made a total of 27 appearances (including substitutions) for Blackburn last season netting 13 goals. He also bagged 4 goals in 4 cup ties.

Profile from ESPN

Bellamy is a forward who plays the game with a self-assured swagger: he's a good finisher with lightning speed and a galvanising influence on those around him.

He began his career with Norwich City, who struggled to fill the void when he inevitably made the step up to the Premiership. Without him, they were far less effective.

Bellamy's arrival on the Carrow Road scene created a massive impact in what was a difficult and miserable 1997/98 season.

And he was handed his full international debut by Wales in 1998, coming on as a substitute against Jamaica.

But the player suffered injury agony when a terrible challenge by Wolves 'hardman' Kevin Muscat ruled him out of the game for two months.

He returned at the end of January to play the rest of the season, notching 17 goals in 38 appearances.

Bellamy's knee woes struck again in a pre-season friendly against Southend before the start of 1999/2000, acting as a indicator to a career of injury ills for the pacy forward.

The Cardiff-born player did not play until April that season and appeared just four times for the Canaries - but he still managed to get on the scoresheet twice.

It would act as a brief swansong for the player as Coventry City came in to sign him for £6.5million at the start of the 2000/01 campaign. Bellamy had made one final appearance for Norwich in an opening day defeat at Barnsley.

Bellamy played 91 games for Norwich, scoring 34 goals.

His debut for the Sky Blues came in a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough, but he would score in his next two games against Southampton and Manchester City.

The rest of the season was an unhappy one as Gordon Strachan's side were relegated out of the top flight. It would turn out to be the Welshman's one and only season at Highfield Road.

After failing to shine in the Midlands, it was a surprise when Sir Bobby Robson chose to pay £6million to sign him in May 2001.

The forward played just 39 games for Coventry, scoring eight goals.

Bellamy made his debut in the Magpies' 4-0 InterToto Cup Third Round pasting of Belgian side Lokeren before netting his first goal - the winner - in the return leg of the tie.

After a slow start Bellamy became one of the buys of the season, as a number of pulsating displays propelled the Magpies into the title race. It was only when the Wales international was injured in February that the club's form dipped.

Newcastle would finish fourth in the table, with Bellamy bagging 14 goals. He would only make one more appearance after February, and the injury would also keep him out of the picture for the opening weeks of the 2002/03 season.

He came back in September, and was in dreamland the following month as he hit the winner in Wales' 2-1 European Championship qualifying win over Italy.

However, Wales' form dipped and they would lose to Russia in a play-off to reach the finals.

Bellamy has struggled to avoid headlines - for the wrong reasons - with Wales as well. In 2003 he was alleged to have been involved in an bust-up outside a Cardiff city centre nightclub. He was charged with a public order offence.

Injuries continued to plague his Newcastle career, and he was hard to replace because his searing pace complemented the skills of strike partner Alan Shearer.

Bellamy visited specialist after specialist for his persistent knee problems but he could not kick his injury ills - he missed much of the 2003/04 season for this very reason, as well as hamstring trouble.

One of the Wales striker's trademarks is his on-field style, whereby referees and opposing players are never given a minute's peace from his constant verbal tirades. It was a situation which, off the pitch, would force him out of St James' Park.

He was fit for the start of the 2004/05 campaign, scoring in the opening game at Middlesbrough - and then in the international friendly in Latvia.

But as Newcastle moved for Everton striker Wayne Rooney, Bellamy voiced his disapproval. His nose had already been put out of joint by the signing of Patrick Kluivert.

Sir Bobby then came out and called him the 'gobbiest' player he has worked with in his entire career.

But worse was to come. With Sir Bobby sacked and Souness installed as the new boss the pair clashed within a matter of weeks.

Bellamy was seen, by the TV cameras, to mouth a series of obscenities towards the bench when substituted in the draw against Charlton Athletic in October. Souness warned the player that he would have to sort his head out.

Not that Bellamy listens to advice.

With Shola Ameobi installed as one of Souness' first choices in the forward line, Bellamy was forced to play out wide on the right. Bellamy was furious with the situation and after weeks of bottling it up inside he finally exploded.

On the Friday before the trip to Arsenal he feigned injury, was 'grassed on' by other members of the squad and then admitted as such in a meeting with the chairman and manager.

However Bellamy, who had been dumped from the squad for Highbury, showed no remorse. He did a live interview with Sky Sports News when he called Souness a liar with regards to the feigning of injury.

And that brought the curtain down on his time with the Tyneside club.

He was fined two weeks' wages - £80,000 - and Newcastle said they would listen to offers. Souness then declared that Bellamy would never play for him ever again.

Birmingham City had a £6million bid accepted just before the transfer window closed in January 2005 - but when he rejected the move it seemed he would be force to languish in the shadows at St James.

Hours before the transfer deadline passed Celtic came in for the player and signed him on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

Although Souness said the situation would be reviewed in the summer there was no doubt Bellamy had no future at Newcastle United.

Bellamy had played 128 games for Newcastle and scored 43 goals.

After returning from Celtic he surprisingly joined Blackburn on a four-year contract.

He said: 'This is about Craig Bellamy being happy and me showing people I'm not a destructive influence.'

He remains an exciting and dangerous player for both club and country, but he may have achieved so much more with better application.

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