West Ham United completed the £7.5 million signing of Craig Bellamy from Liverpool yesterday, but the jury is out on whether the Wales striker will have more of an impact on or off the pitch at Upton Park.
Bellamy has featured on the front and back pages of national newspapers since he made a name for himself as a goalscorer at Norwich City from 1996-2000. In between the goals and the frequent transfers – West Ham are his fifth club in six years – there have been run-ins with teammates such as Alan Shearer, involving text messages at Newcastle United, and John Arne Riise, involving swinging golf clubs at Liverpool, but yesterday he insisted that he was ready to turn over a new leaf and settle down in East London.
“Some people don’t understand, but the opportunity to be a senior figure at an ambitious club like West Ham is very attractive,” the Wales captain said. “It was important for me to start playing regular football. I could sit at Liverpool as a squad player all day long, picking up my money, playing every now and then, but I’d be cheating myself and my personality.”
Bellamy decided to leave Liverpool after it was made clear to him that his first-team chances would be limited after the signings of Fernando Torres, from Atl?tico Madrid for £20.2 million, and Andriy Voronin, from Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer. “I had a great experience at Liverpool and I believe West Ham will benefit this year because I know I am a better player for it,” Bellamy, who moved to Anfield from Blackburn Rovers for £6 million last summer, said.
“I’ve signed a five-year contract and I will be here for the long term. I’ve moved around a bit in recent years. Now I want to settle. I’m 28 this week and hopefully approaching the prime years of my career. I believe West Ham are going to see the best of me.”
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Whether that turns out to be the case is likely to depend on Bellamy’s behaviour off the pitch. His ability to strike fear into opponents with his pace and close control has never been in doubt, but perhaps only a player with his fragile temperament could strike a teammate with a golf club on a bonding trip to Portugal and less than a week later score at the Nou Camp against Barcelona.
Bellamy made up with Riise after their disagreement, which was caused by the Norwegian’s refusal to step up to the microphone during a karaoke party, but the mention of the Welshman’s name sends shivers down the spines of some former colleagues.
Terry McDermott returned to St James’ Park as a coach in 2005 after Bellamy had been exiled to Celtic because he had fallen out with Graeme Souness, the manager at the time. When McDermott heard that Bellamy might return to the club, he decided to gauge the reaction of the Welshman’s former teammates. “I’ve never come across so much hatred and unrest over one person,” McDermott said at the time. “What I’ve learnt about him has astonished me.”
More clubs than Tiger Woods
Nicolas Anelka
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So much talent, so many clubs. The France striker was a moody 17-year-old when Arsenal snapped him up for £500,000 from Paris Saint-Germain in 1996. Five clubs and more than £50 million in transfer fees later, he is plying his trade at Bolton Wanderers – but watch this space.
Robbie Keane
The Tottenham Hotspur and Ireland forward led a nomadic existence before he found his spiritual home at White Hart Lane. After leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1999, Keane played for three clubs in three years – including Inter Milan – before signing for Tottenham.
Nicky Barmby
The former England forward spent four years at Tottenham, from 1991 to 1995, before wanderlust took hold. He played for five clubs in eights years before he opted to take a big cut in wages and returned to his home-town club of Hull City.
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Stan Collymore
He started his career as an apprentice at Walsall before signing for Wolverhampton Wanderers and working his way through ten clubs in 11 years. He normally got itchy feet after about 12 months, but he bucked the trend by staying at Aston Villa for three years, from 1997 to 2000.