Angry Craig Bellamy explains what fuelled him during Newcastle spell

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Craig Bellamy had his fair share of moments at Newcastle United. Whether it be the last gasp goal against Feyenoord in the Champions League or the winner against Everton, the same match where Shearer scored ‘that’ volley.

He was signed by Sir Bobby Robson from Coventry. The Welshman spent four years on Tyneside, joining in 2001 and leaving in 2005. Towards the end of his time at Newcastle, he fell of favour with then-manager Graeme Souness.

You can say what you like about Bellamy, but there’s no doubt he had bags of ability. His spell with the Magpies was arguably the peak of his career, especially under Robson.

‘I exploded out at Newcastle’: Bellamy wanted to show his talents after injury problems and prove the doubters wrong

The forward spoke on the ‘The Central Club‘ podcast about his time with the Toon Army.

“I exploded out at Newcastle, Coventry didn’t go well for me. I had a year out with my cruciate,” he said.

When Bellamy arrived at Newcastle there were question marks around why the club had signed him.

“Everyone was like well ‘what they signed him for?’. I was seen as a failure at Coventry.”

The Welshman went on to win the PFA Young Player in the 2001/02 season, and Bellamy explained what drove him.

“That was fuelled off the anger of ‘everyone thinks I’m a poor player?’ Yeah, we’ll see now.”

The season where Bellamy won the award was a very impressive breakout campaign for him. He netted 14 goals in all competitions, with his speed complementing Toon hero Alan Shearer very well.

Since retirement, Bellamy recently had a stint in a managerial role. He managed Belgian side Anderlecht’s U21s for a couple of years from 2019 until 2021.

From listening to the podcast with Bellamy, it’s evident that his game was spurred on by his emotions. It’s clear that it would play into his hands very often. Without that approach to the game, Newcastle may not have had some of those memorable moments in the early 2000s.

It’s an interesting insight into Craig Bellamy the man. He’s incredibly honest about his football career. His time at Newcastle was memorable and was some player at his best in black and white.