Craig Bellamy is a player than opposing fans love to hate. It ought to be because he’s a bloody good player, but the real reason is that people think he’s just a bit of a nasty piece of work. It’s true. He can be, but this book shows there’s more to Craig Bellamy than the snarly pitbull he seems to present to us on regular occasions. ‘Goodfella’ is one of the best football autobiographies I have read in recent years. Bellamy’s true character really shines through the pages, and it’s not quite what you expect. He’s a man trying to cope with his demons, and there are plenty of them. He suffers from a chronic lack of self worth, he clearly suffers from depression and is a bit of a bastard to his family. Those are the three threads which permeate this excellently written book.
I just looked up his playing stats. The most interesting statistic is that he hadn’t ever played more than 93 games for any of the eight clubs he’s been with. Even so, and despite his chronic injury record, he has racked up 430 career appearances over 16 years, scoring 133 goals. He’s also scored 19 goals in 73 appearances for his beloved Wales.
Although Bellamy uses the book, like most autobiography writers, to settle a few scores and get his side of the story over, he’s very happy to admit his mistakes and failures. In fact, almost too willing. The reader wants to sometimes scream: “Mate, stop beating yourself up”. When Bellamy joined West Ham in 2008, we all looked forward to him striking up a prolific partnership with Dean Ashton, but it was not to be. Ashton got an injury which brought his career to a premature close and even when he was fit, Bellamy wasn’t. Indeed, I think they only appeared together once. What might have been…
Craig Bellamy’s best friend was Gary Speed. His shadow looms large over many a page in this book. Bellamy was devastated by his death. A man not given to tears, cried his eyes out for long afterwards. But in some ways it is clear that Speed’s death saved Bellamy from himself. He admits it. Sadly it didn’t save his marriage. He admits he was a complete bastard to his childhood sweetheart Claire, and failed to include her in any of the decisions he made about his career. His singleminded focus on football is to be lauded in many ways, but he seemed unable to mix his football life with his family life. In many ways he has been a great Dad to his three children, but he was a lousy husband.
Craig Bellamy is a better footballer than he will ever recognise himself. Since his early days at Norwich he has beguiled people with his trickery and outstanding goals. I’ve written elsewhere about his unfortunate departure from West Ham to Manchester City. I truly regret he didn’t stay at Upton Park for longer. He could have been a real West Ham great.
This season he will play a big part in Cardiff City’s first season in the Premier League. I wish him well. Apart from the first match of the season when West Ham entertain Cardiff at Upton Park. Fair’s fair.
‘Goodfella’ by Craig Bellamy is published in hardback at £18.99 and can be bought HERE
