Bellamy loving life back at Liverpool
Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy is loving life at Anfield after seeing his first spell at the club end in 2007 after just one year.
The Welshman courted controversy after allegedly attacking team-mate John Arne Riise with a golf club during a training session in Portugal.
Bellamy starred in Liverpool’s win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, setting up Maxi Rodriguez to open the scoring with a perfectly-weighted pass after John Obi Mikel had been dispossessed.
This change in approach under new boss Kenny Dalglish is, according to Bellamy, what made him unable to turn down the chance to rejoin the Reds.
“I watched the way they played towards the end of last season, the passing and moving, the free-flowing football. It felt like it was back,” he said, as reported by The Telegraph.
“I don't want to sound critical towards Rafa [Benitez] or [Gerard] Houllier, but under them it was more tactical and disciplined. But now, this feels like Liverpool again. To be a part of that, it was too big a deal to turn down.”
It's not just Dalglish's approach on the field that attracted Bellamy to resign. The Scot has managed to bring the feel-good factor back to Liverpool and it is his human interaction which the striker feels is as important.
“Kenny has this effect on people. He doesn’t treat me any differently. He treats everyone exactly the same, it doesn’t matter if you’re a player or a cook, part of the media department, we are all treated the same, we’re all just as important as each other.”
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But Bellamy's original move to Liverpool may never have materialised after he revealed he could have been playing across the Stanley Park divide, meeting Everton boss David Moyes twice in 2005 before deciding against the move.
“It was a U-turn. I said to my agent 'no, this isn't going to happen'. So I chose to go to Blackburn.”
By Harry Dillon
Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
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