[Archived] Bellamy

[Exiled_Rover]

Deleted.

[gazsimm]

if bellamy did stay it will tell everyone else that blackburn mean business but unfortunaly i think he is a gonner

[Hughesy]

Confirmed in LET, cutting short his honeymoon to sing for Liverpool after telling pals

Sing for liverpool? Since when has he been a pop star?

Just seen the article too. Even prepared to take a pay cut to join them, and we have offered him more than his current deal. Well bye bye, dont let the door hit you on the way out!

[Dan Furness]

Sing for liverpool? Since when has he been a pop star?

Just seen the article too. Even prepared to take a pay cut to join them, and we have offered him more than his current deal. Well bye bye, dont let the door hit you on the way out!

ok ok smart @rse! we all make mistakes

[AggyBlue]

ok ok smart @rse! we all make mistakes

Some a lot more than others

[Nayef]

Where's your full stop?

[cn_barlow]

Well if he's prepared to take a paycut then that says a lot in my opinion.........less money and less first team opportunities would suggest that if it wasn't Liverpool in for him then he wouldn't be going anywhere.

I hope he does well for them.

[gumboots]

Any chance we can get this over with quickly, Mr Bellamy? I'm sure Hughes has a similar attitude to this situation - yes or no, right now. We can't afford to hang on whilst Bellamy fcuks us around, especially with the calibre of transfer targets we've been linked to.

Quite agree. Also I've got a meeting this afternoon and I can't sit around waiting for it to be official so, if you're going, get on with it then we can start looking forward and get on with our business without wasting any more time on you.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

When he pulls up with a hamstring injury during a pre-season match for Liverpool - maybe we will view the transfer differently.

Ultimately a great player - but injury prone - can we afford an injury prone player like that on our books with such a small squad ?

This is where MH earns his new contract - I struggle to think of a bad signing he has made so far (some more successful than others - but all relatively successful) - so I put my faith in him to make the club stronger post Bellamy.

[Flopsy]

im guessing Pongollihnio will be coming the other way, so thats only two more strikers to find asap

[Ronin]

At least he's given us a bit of warning before jumping ship. So we should have some kind of replacements (and other signings) in and ready for the pre-season.

[gumboots]

At least he's given us a bit of warning before jumping ship. So we should have some kind of replacements (and other signings) in and ready for the pre-season.

Might not have done but the clause only runs till the end of the month so he had to get on with it.

[speeeeeeedie]

Imo Craig Bellamy is a better player than Michael Owen (but more injury prone) which is why I think people are only realistic in being so down.

I don't know. After last night Owen will probably play about 6 games in 2006 if he's lucky. Plus Owen had all those problems earlier on too. I'd wager that Owen is worse off. How much could you get Owen for today I wonder?

It is no coincidence that they both suffer from hamstring injuries, players that quick must be wound tighter than a crab's arse at 50 fathoms.

[Exiled_Rover]

Erm, why was my post deleted?!

[den]

Erm, why was my post deleted?!

Bad language. Please read the topic pinned at the top of the m/b.

[DP]

I was always optimisitic that the "big" clubs wouldn't be willing to risk big money for Bellers after he only really had half a season where he was fully fit. As it happens the club weren't able to negotiate a higher clause than £6.5m.

We can be bitter about this or not. But look at it this way, if we'd have signed him on loan and now he was going to Liverpool we'd probably just be thankful that we saw him in a Rovers shirt and made some cash out of him for finishing higher in the table. As it is we are going to get an extra £1.5 million which will pay for his wages over the last 12 months so it's like he played for us at no cost to Rovers. Not a bad bit of business really!

Don't forget footballers aren't the brightest, they're manipulated by the press and their agents. If the LET print something saying Bellamy doesn't have a clause then why doesn't Mark Hughes or John Williams come out and let the fans know exactly what the score is?

1. Because that wouldn't help early season ticket renewals/sales

2. It's probably in breach of the contract to disclose information about the clause.

If it's true he's taking a pay cut then he's daft as a brush because I'm sure Liverpool would match whatever we are. But then he's doing it for footballing reasons so it makes a refreshing change. For me the club has let us down a lot more than the player. But that's football.

[Exiled_Rover]

I'll send an e-mail to French Connection United Kingdom then and inform them that their name is offensive.

[sjsbrfc]

Bellamy now at Melwood having a medical

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liv...-name_page.html

[speeeeeeedie]

Bellamy now at Melwood having a medical

Some honeymoon then.

[StayBellersStay]

From the Liverpool Echo

CRAIG BELLAMY arrived on Merseyside today in the hope of completing his £6m transfer from Blackburn.

Talks between Bellamy and Rafa Benitez took place today, as the 26-year-old Welshman met the Anfield boss at Melwood.

Benitez is assessing whether to proceed with a deal for the striker, but the indications are he'll be recruited.

The forward will also undergo a medical.

Bellamy cut short his holiday in Greece to return to England and complete his dream move.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liv...-name_page.html

[Ronin]

Just want Liverpool to give us the money now, so we can move on and get the couple of strikers and other players we need.

[Fife Rover]

Correct

.....and don't we just get sick of being left with a broken heart.

I'm 52 years old and Blackburn Rovers can still make my stomach turn with emotion, still bring tears to my eyes.............I just wish the bloody footballers did the same.

Everything in this post I agree with, but with the addition of having had even more experience of the really genuine good times that football in general had to offer (not JUST the Rovers), it is even more painful to me to be able to make a direct and accurate comparison between what goes on today and what it used to be like. I am talking mainly about loyalty shown by players and clubs (yes, and fans too). There were of course no agents to muddy the waters which is probably the greatest single reason for the decline we all have to put up with these days.

I fully understand how difficult it must be for the vast majority of the members on this site to be able to relate to what I am saying for the simple reason that they have never known the "good times" and they probably (understandably) tend to dismiss what I and others of my generation try to tell them as "old man's delusions" I can in all honesty assure you that it is absolutely nothing of the kind. I, and others of similar age can with hand on heart assure you all that footballers were generally more loyal, the entertainment and excitement /atmosphere was much, much better and the value for money that the paying customer got was HUGELY better. Believe me or believe me not; it is your choice.

Now having got that across I hope at least some of you will at least get an inkling of why I feel as I do about the way football has changed in terms of value and entertainment. I know you cannot possibly understand properly because you have no "yardstick" with which to make a direct comparison as people of my generation can do. I ask just one thing of you; look around you next time you go to a match. How many people in their 70's or 80's do you see? I accept that there are obvious reasons like death and infirmity which reduce the numbers considerably, but then consider the hundreds of thousands over the years like myself that have started out as children watching their favorite team, and have got "hooked" and gone on right through the years as a confirmed "footie addict". Then just ask yourself if the numbers of "oldies" you see at today's match is in about the right proportion allowing for the drop-out due to death or infirmity.

You may just come to the conclusion as I have that there should be (all other things being equal) a higher number of them visible as you look around. The missing one's are those that got sick and tired of being exploited, overcharged and less entertained rather quicker than I did.

[Presty On Tour]

From the Liverpool Echo

CRAIG BELLAMY arrived on Merseyside today in the hope of completing his £6m transfer from Blackburn.

Talks between Bellamy and Rafa Benitez took place today, as the 26-year-old Welshman met the Anfield boss at Melwood.

Benitez is assessing whether to proceed with a deal for the striker, but the indications are he'll be recruited.

The forward will also undergo a medical.

Bellamy cut short his holiday in Greece to return to England and complete his dream move.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liv...-name_page.html

so if benitez turns around and says they don't wan't him anymore after all this, what will the responce be from us towards bellamy then?

if bellamy rejects the move and stays with us it would be a real coup and a feather in our caps and bellamy would be a kind of "legend"

[herbergeehh]

so if benitez turns around and says they don't wan't him anymore after all this, what will the responce be from us towards bellamy then?

if bellamy rejects the move and stays with us it would be a real coup and a feather in our caps and bellamy would be a kind of "legend"

What's there to respond to? He stays and his clause allegedly expires, meaning the price will be doubled.

[bluebruce]

After last night Owen will probably play about 6 games in 2006 if he's lucky. Plus Owen had all those problems earlier on too. I'd wager that Owen is worse off. How much could you get Owen for today I wonder?

It is no coincidence that they both suffer from hamstring injuries, players that quick must be wound tighter than a crab's arse at 50 fathoms.

Except Mr Henry doesn't seem to have quite that much trouble with it.

I reckon Bellamy is making a mistake. He'll be asked to play on the right again probably- precisely the same problem he had at Newcastle. Benitez loves signing players so, aside from the competition already there, more could easily be on the horizon. He's effectively taking a pay cut, too. And if we keep Bellamy and make the right recruitments, I feel we could push for the Champion's League next season (incidentally, I think we should never qualify for the UEFA cup through the league again, it always alerts top clubs to our top players- CL or bust!). But I know he'll make the move, because it could be his last chance to be at a big club, on the back of his most impressive season ever and whilst he has a cheap clause.

As for us making a profit on all this- doubtful. As has been mentioned, there are signing on fees and wages to consider. Not to mention the agent's fee on this transfer. If it's 6 we're getting, we can assume it's actually more like 5.5 after the agent's slice. Bellers was on AT LEAST 30k a week, though I think it was more like 40. Which means we've paid him 2 million in wages. Add his signing on fee (probably in the region of 500k) and we got zip. Assuming we paid 4 for him, not the 5 or 6 some rags suggested. In which case we'll have lost money. Though if you consider the money from higher league placings...

Anyway, I'm disappointed by the business done by the board. Sure, it might have been a case of take it or leave it with regards to a clause, but I'm sure they could have convinced Bellers' agent to change the conditions. Even without the benefit of hindsight (since I felt the same way at the time, and it's basically the way I always do business on FM), it would be well worth adding a couple of grand a week to Craig's wage in exchange for a couple of million higher release clause. In exchange for guaranteed cash you'd expect him to take it up- especially considering that if any CL club wanted him at the end of the season, it would invariably be on the back of a great season and they'd invariably be willing to pay more than 6 for him (consider that he was rated at around that before his move, and only his Souey fallout reduced the price). Not to mention that a higher transfer fee means a higher amount for the agent's cut. I like our board, but I feel they could have done better here. And there's been a few questionable business moves in the past too- letting Cole go for free? I know he had a fallout with Sourpuss, but seriously. Minimum fee releases in general should always be negotiated a fair bit higher than you really want. So a similar criticism to the Bellers transfer might be levelled in regards to the loss of Duff. Also, allowing players to approach the last year of their contract is extremely risky- Neill, if not Reid, should have been given extensions last year (And maybe the greedy aussie wouldn't have demanded 40k a week last year!). And there's all those other players we keep letting go for free that we should have at least got some kind of minor fee for. Like the youthies (Brett Ormerod, who was a bit after plying his trade in the Prem...Danns who has just signed for 'Big Club' for 850k, and who I always rated, yet we never saw a penny for but simply paid while he was on the books...the academy in general isn't really paying for itself these days). I don't mean to sound like that banned geezer who wants William's head or anything, but at times I question the wisdom of the men at the top.

Anyway, sorry for the mini rant, here's hoping there's life after Bellers, though I struggle to think of suitable replacements and can't see us finishing in sixth again next year.