Aggressive, outspoken, wind-up merchant. Journeyman.
Quick, driven, experienced. Talented.
At 32-years-old, its fair to say that Craig Bellamy has already had his fair share of headlines. The Welsh forward has played for 9 different clubs since making his debut for Norwich in 1997, making an impression at every one of them. The late Sir Bobby Robson once described Bellamy as "a great player wrapped round an unusual and volatile character."
Sir Bobby shared the opinion of most football fans. Bellamy is a hugely talented player but, as John Arne Riise would testify, prone to the occasional moment of madness.
So why is Kenny Dalglish risking bringing in such a character when the Liverpool squad's morale is on such a high? Bellamy, a Liverpool fan himself, has had a previous stint at the club and was sold (against the wishes of many supporters) to raise funds for the signing of Fernando Torres in 2007. Craig went on to have arguably the best season of his career at Manchester City (Via West Ham) in 09-10 as shown in the video below:
Despite being such an important part of Manchester City's team, he had a clash of personalities with manager Roberto Mancini and was left out of the 25-man squad for the 10-11 season, resulting in a shock loan move to Cardiff City. Born and bred a Cardiff boy, he became a instant fan-favourite and played a big part in Cardiff's promotion push, although the club ultimately failed.
Upon returning to Manchester in pre-season, Bellamy found he was still not in Mancini's plans and on transfer deadline day completed a dream comeback to Liverpool on a free transfer.
In one of the more interesting moves of the window, the question on many people's lips is: which Craig Bellamy have Liverpool signed? The figure of controversy that sparks trouble everywhere he goes, or the gifted former Wales captain capable of producing moments of magic?
One thing is for sure, Kenny Dalglish has always got a trick up his sleeve.
No comments:
Post a Comment