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'Bellamy vows to leave bad name behind'
• 'I don't think I'll ever get away from my bad reputation'
• City should be aiming for the Champions League, claims Bellamy
In
football, getting a bad name has always been easier than losing one.
Mud sticks, as Craig Bellamy has discovered since those well-worn
newspaper adjectives "controversial" and "notorious" first attached
themselves to him and stubbornly refused to let go. "I don't think I'll
ever get away from my reputation," is his candid assessment. "Whatever
I do, whatever success Manchester City have, if you tried Googling me
now, you'd know that I will never get away from it."
Bellamy, you
see, has typed in his own name to gauge the public perception of him
and seen the various character assassinations (specimen quote on a
Liverpool forum: "No one should waste their time and money on this
idiot again.") It can be overlooked sometimes that he has put £650,000
into trying to establish a football and education structure in Sierra
Leone. But perhaps it is to be expected given that his list of alleged
misdemeanours include attacking a fellow Liverpool player, John Arne
Riise, with a golf club and sending Alan Shearer threatening text
messages after being booted out of Newcastle United in typically
acrimonious circumstances. As Bellamy says: "If I ever do a book –
which I won't – the headline will be Don't Google Me."
He is a
week into the latest phase of his career, having signed from West Ham
for £10m (not the widely reported £14m). He describes the transfer as
"amicable" and is taking legal advice about reports he went on strike
to force it through. "I'm under no illusion what a lot of people think
of me. But I had a great relationship with [West Ham's manager]
Gianfranco Zola and [technical director Gianluca] Nani. When I heard
talk of going on strike, I didn't know where it had come from and I
still don't. Maybe in the past I've gone down routes that I shouldn't,
but that completely didn't happen. It's probably the best terms in
which I've ever left a club."
That does not entirely tally with
West Ham's account, but it says a lot about the modern-day Bellamy that
he does not wish to prolong the argument. He is 30 this year, older,
wiser, maybe not so impetuous as once before. "I've been involved in a
few things, I've held up my hands, but over the last few years I've
been in a good place. I'm very happy, very settled. I was enjoying life
at West Ham, I really was. I wanted to do the whole five years there,
become a favourite with the fans and end my career there. But the
situation has changed at West Ham.
"When I left Liverpool my aim
was to get into the top six and I was looking for a team that could get
involved at that level. West Ham were brilliant at the time. They'd
signed a lot of players, had a lot of money. But they've had problems
since then. Financially, they are not able to buy the players they once
could."
Tottenham Hotspur were first to bid for him, but West Ham
refused to do business with their London rivals. Then City entered the
market and Bellamy was given another opportunity to work alongside Mark
Hughes, his one-time Welsh international team-mate and, subsequently,
his former manager with the national team and at Blackburn Rovers.
"I
realised I would regret it if I didn't take the chance," said Bellamy,
who could yet be joined at City by Roque Santa Cruz, according to the
Blackburn striker's father. "What would happen, I thought, if I saw
Manchester City in a year and a half's time and they had some
tremendous players playing for them? I might have been playing against
them thinking 'I could have been a part of this.' No, I couldn't have
lived with that."
His debut comes against Newcastle tonight, with
City in the bottom half of the league, having dropped into the
relegation places at one point over the Christmas period, as well as
being beaten 3–0 at home to Nottingham Forest the FA Cup. But Bellamy
has quickly bought into the hype. "The way Manchester City are going …
in the next few years, wow! Just to be a part of it at an early stage
is going to be unbelievable. When I retire and I see them go on and win
Champions Leagues I'll know I was a part of it, from the early stages.
That will give me great satisfaction."
The Daily Mail add...
'Hughes confident that 'driven' Bellamy will have the answers'
Mark
Hughes expects his new £12million striker Craig Bellamy to help knock
the Manchester City dressing-room into shape, as well as score the
goals that lift them clear of the Barclays Premier League relegation
dogfight.
City manager Hughes insists that, for all Bellamy’s
reputation off the pitch, he is a stickler for the discipline and team
spirit that will be needed for the rest of the season.
Hughes
said: ‘Craig is demanding of himself - you can see what a driven guy he
is. He wants to be the best he can be, he’s always been the same.
'That
desire can be frustrating if he feels players aren’t working hard or
doing the right work and he will tell people. He’s demanding of
everyone and doesn’t suffer fools.
We’ve got a dressing-room of
30-odd professionals and you’re not all going to be the same. You all
have different characteristics.
Most Premier League managers
will tell you the dressing-rooms are quiet, not like in our day. But
the talk can’t always come from myself or the coaches. Players like
Craig will say it as they see it, which is no bad thing. He’ll make his
point.’
Bellamy is in line to make his City debut tonight at home
to Newcastle, where he is remembered for a spectacular airport row with
coach John Carver, during which a chair is said to have been thrown.
His
time at Liverpool was also spiced up by him taking a golf club to
team-mate John Arne Riise after they fell out at a karaoke session on a
European trip, then chose an imaginary practice swing as his goal
celebration at the Nou Camp.
Bellamy said: ‘I’m under no illusion
about my image. If I ever write a book, which I won’t, it would be
called Don’t Google Me. I come with a certain reputation, but my
teammates must wonder what the fuss is.
‘I train hard, I give all I can. Maybe in the past I’ve gone down routes I shouldn’t.’
Hughes
nursed Bellamy, 29, through an injury-plagued season at Blackburn but
believes he is now at his strongest and added: ‘He’s older and with age
comes experience and maturity. That’s evident in how he conducts
himself now.’
Bellamy said: ‘I’m at my peak and mentally I feel
good. I was enjoying life at West Ham - I don’t know where talk of a
strike came from. I wanted to end my career there and become a fans’
favourite but the situation changed with the banks.
‘I sat down and thought about this move and realised I would regret it if I didn’t take this.’
Meanwhile,
Hughes made it clear that £34m signing Robinho is not exempt from club
rules and has been fined around £200,000 for going AWOL from the
Tenerife training camp. ‘Robby will be treated the same as any player,’
said Hughes.
NEWCASTLE owner Mike Ashley is prepared to play
hardball with Shay Given by blocking a move to Manchester City and
insisting he plays against them tonight.
Following Ashley’s
surprise appearance at the club’s training ground this week, manager
Joe Kinnear has his backing to start the keeper at Eastlands even
though City have bid £8million for him.
Former City midfielder Joey Barton is also likely to play tonight.
And with reference to tonight's game The Daily Telegraph state...
'Mike Ashley won't risk Newcastle fans' wrath on return'
The
sports retail tycoon will watch Newcastle take on Manchester City at
Eastlands, but it seems he will enjoy the comfort of the directors' box
or an executive box rather than don his replica shirt and sit among
restive travelling fans.
It will be the first time Ashley has
witnessed a Newcastle game live since he was spotted watching on during
a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal last August.
The club were rocked days
later when manager Keegan quit Newcastle and a fans' backlash against
the 'Cockney Mafia' prompted him to put the club up for sale amid fears
for his family's safety. Ashley could also be present when his director
of football, Dennis Wise, holds talks with City's executive chairman
Garry Cook in an attempt to finalise goalkeeper Shay Given's £10
million move from Newcastle.
Given's understudy Steve Harper
has signed a new 3½-year contract and is expected to face City
alongside Joey Barton, who could face a hostile reception on his first
return to the club since a £5.8 million transfer to Tyneside.
Newcastle
manager Joe Kinnear has been fined £500 by the Football Association for
branding Martin Atkinson a "Mickey Mouse referee" following a 2-1
defeat at Fulham on Nov 9.
A charge of using abusive and
insulting words towards a match official during his side's 2-2 draw
with Stoke on Dec 6 was found "not proved".
And finally, the Daily Mail observe...
'Mpenza offered pay-off by Plymouth'
Emile
Mpenza has been offered a pay-off by Plymouth for the final six months
of his contract after earning £190,000 while making only three League
starts for the Championship club.
The 30-year-old Belgium striker
Mpenza joined Plymouth on a £10,000-a-week deal in August after being
released by Manchester City but has subsequently been plagued by
injuries and illness.
Mike Ashley, the Newcastle United owner,
will on Wednesday night watch his team in action for the first time
since fans angrily turned on him following Kevin Keegan's resignation.
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