[Archived] Craig Bellamy - Good Signing Or Not?

[Blue blood]

Brilliant. Benni was my first choice but Bellamy was a close second.

Exactly what we are looking for. He's a good strike rate, bags of pace, isn't foreign so should gell well, and is young to boot. Newcastle's forward line went from looking pretty decent to rather weak with the departure of Craig, which shows what a massive impact he can have. Added to which having him on a 4 year deal means Rovers hold all the cards should he do well (as I think he will) and the 'big' clubs get interested. Best of all Bellamy provides a long term solution to the striker problem.

The only thing is I feel that Bellamy may work best with someone to play off. Here's hoping Rovers get in a quality target man as well, or that Kuqi or Jansen can produce the goods, although maybe that's me being greedy!

Oh, and I met Bellamy at a reserve game a couple of years ago, and despite his rep he was rather pleasant and had a fair bit of time for the fans.

[dannyboy1206]

Excellent signing but like a lot of people I just hope he settles down and proves what a good striker he is instead of proving what a little s**t he is. Surely that is our only big money signing of the summer the wallet must be empty now musn't it

[cn174]

I am well happy with us signing Bellamy. We've got a young skillful player. He comes with baggage, but I have confidence that he'll be able to work alongside Hughes better than other managers. All credit to the board for pulling this one off!

[Lee]

'Grooby' is quite a distinctive surname, it's almost completely necessary. Sort of name you'd find in an old kids tv show. 'Groobies Giants', Groobie Hill, Hong Kong Groobie, Groobies Leg, Groobies Magic Torch, Groobie Bobs, Groobie and the Teen Angels, Groobie Plays Pop, The Groobie Bunch, Chorlton and the Groobies (I could go on...)

Anyway back on topic

330102[/snapback]

Tell me more about this 'Groobie and the Tean Angels'!!

[Derbyshire Blue]

Well pleased, just what the fans needed…..COME ON ROVERS!

[super_neill]

We now have Kuqi and Dickov to upset defenders and Bellamy to upset our team

No quality signing, Europe Here We Come!!

[brennanboy]

so what does Vinjay feel about the Walkers lack of ambition in signing top rate players for nigh £5m

[colin]

Excellent signing. Now we will have the most hated team ever

330110[/snapback]

As a colleague at work said "All you need now is Lee Bowyer and you'll have the full set." He meant it to be funny.

I'd just like to comment that I'm really impressed by the quiet way MH is going about his transfer business. With the exception of the Savage saga, MH has been very quietly bringing in some good players. Nelsen & Mokowena arrived with barely a ripple in the press and now Bellamy when everyone thought he was either staying at SJP or Parkhead or going to Goodison.

And for £5m - that's a bargain.

Let's hope he does his talking on the pitch from now on (cliche no. 17)

[rastan]

Who cares if he is an arse hole, he is ruthless and wants to bang them in!! why not??? Im glad at this signing..

Im sure Benni feels like turd now that we wouldnt pay this money for him!!, Im happy in Bellamy cos he is proven.. How many times does it happen that someone comes from abroad and flops?? loads

[broadsword]

"Hong Kong Grooby"!

Quality!

[broadsword]

Very happy.

330067[/snapback]

Are you going to stop wailing like an old woman now?

"EEEEeurgh Rovers, what are you doing?! Sort it out, board!"

Now that you've stopped panicking about signings, you'll probably start worrying yourself into a state of collapse about season tickets.

N'est pas?

[Kremmin]

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the headline on the Guardian. Thought we were condemned to scrapping among the old hacks and the bright young hopefuls of League 2 for a striker.

Biggest signing in a decade (that includes you Barry!) and shows the club still has real ambition.

Bloody brilliant!

[Bijani]

Tis bloody brilliant.

[duff]

i can't wait any longer for the new season. this is a massive signing and i didn't really believe that we could get someone like bellamy. as mentioned before, with bellamy and stead, that could have been a great partnership upfront. but i'm just happy now anyway.

[Blueboy Downunder]

I would rather have had Benni, with Bellamy a close second.

My only fear is he may need a high quality strike partner to play off and maybe Kuqi isnt that person. Cole anyone?

329986[/snapback]

i agree with you boddy g. further to the part about adding a second good striker to to play with, we need to try and get in a really good footballing central midfielder to complement this great signing. otherwise it is kinda defeating the purpose of what we arre trying to do.

[juggalo_rover]

i think its a great signing. he was my first choice in front of benni cause he is proven in the PL. I just hope we can supply him with more chances that we were creating for our front line last season. If we are successful in doing that then i can see him bagging quite a few goals and being up there in the top 5 goalscorers.

[tchocky]

Interesting quotes on soccernet:

and after a day of intense negotiations, he committed his future to the ambitious Lancashire outfit.

However, as Bellamy acknowledged in a perceptive judgement few may think him capable of, on some days football gossip is of no significance whatsoever.

'It has been a difficult few weeks for me and I am glad to get my future sorted out,' he said.

'But what has gone on today puts a different perspective on everything. Sometimes, football has to come second to other things - and this is one of those days.'

[philipl]

Random thoughts here:

- what are the details of the first year get-out clause? I am pretty sure Rovers will have protected our financial interests but still curious.

- Bellamy is no clinical finisher but he can score from anywhere around and in the box which makes him a real threat to any defence. The Rovers front line has suddenly become a headache for opposing defenders rather than for our own fans.

- the weapon of his pace only works when the right ball is delivered in the right place. Savage can deliver those as can Amo and Gresko, Toogs certainly can, Neill Axe and Nelsen can sometimes, MGP might be able, Reid possibly, Emerton probably not, Thompson will be too busy going round in circles and Flitty is incapable and Matteo is best not trying. Picking up on Hughes' jigsaw pieces comment, I wonder if we will see an in and out of midfield players now to give us more ability to exploit Bellars' pace?

- I don't see him as the 1 in a 4-5-1 formation or am I missing something?

- Does anyone see a Dickov/Bellamy front line working together? I could see Bellamy/Kuqi operating very well in many circumstances but not as an automatic first choice being a bit predictable whereas Bellamy/McCarthy, Bellamy/Cole or Bellamy/rejuvenated Jansen look very tasty propositions.

- Hughes' huge challenge will be discipline. Rovers have a reputation already and refs will be handing out cards for the fun of it just because they see a blue and white shirt.

- Once again, Rovers' big day is over shadowed by national tragedy.

- The perception of Rovers both by our own fans and the press and opposition should be changed by this signing- but probably won't be.

[Bobby G]

The media are calling us Blackeye Rovers, thugs, etc...

Different places in the media are saying that there is a get-out clause after 12 months. No one knows the figure or what it entails exactly.

[Bobby G]

Elsewhere on Tribalfootball, they seem to specify the clause:

Craig Bellamy's Blackburn Rovers contract reportedly has a clause saying he can go in a year's time if a club playing in the Champions League comes in with a £6m offer for him.

The Telegraph also confirms the same clause.

Edited July 8, 2005 by Bobby G

[philipl]

That looks a sensible clause- I like the way it only operates next summer which could make for a nervous time next year if we don't come 4th or above. At least Bellars won't be in the shop window at the world cup.

Two other good things-

Bellamy has taken a wage cut to come to Rovers and will only make the amount he made at Newcastle (£2.5m a year) if Rovers do well and he scores a certain number of goals.

Bellamy scored 42 in 128 appearances for Newcastle so was more prolific than I thought despite not being used as an outright striker there.

[Sparky Marky]

Lets hope that this inspires the stay away fans. I believe that it is so important that we all start the season as we mean to go on......No bloody 19,000......everybody has to contribute now. Bellamy ain't cheap, but just a few thousand more supporters through the door every other week will pay for the extra outlay......

We've needed someone like this for a long time.......Roll out the Barrell!!!!!!

[sausagemandog]

Bellamy is a very good footballer! He's also a loudmouthed, arrogant, pompous little sh1t! If Hughes can keep him quiet and sort out his attitude problem then I'll love him, but I need time before I can accept him fully.

329999[/snapback]

These are my sentiments also, very excited about having a quality forward with pace, but whenever i have I have watched him play my first and last impression has always been what an arrogant ######. Can a Bellamy change his spots !

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Are you going to stop wailing like an old woman now?

"EEEEeurgh Rovers, what are you doing?! Sort it out, board!"

Now that you've stopped panicking about signings, you'll probably start worrying yourself into a state of collapse about season tickets.

N'est pas?

330187[/snapback]

I just hope you have renewed yours shag!!!

[SD4E]

This is great news- I cant remember the last time we actually had someone upfront with frightening pace- when was it?

here is a player who any sort of decent through ball is quick enough to get on the end of it, and when he runs at defenders he scares the living daylights out of them . Attitude Problems aside, i cant wait for the new season now!