Craig Bellamy took part in five league campaigns for Norwich in which they never finished higher than ninth place. The season after he left The Canaries made the play-off final.The impression that gives is that City were better off without Bellamy, but tell that to any fan at Carrow Road this Saturday and I doubt they’ll be many who agree.
Norwich fans saw the best of the raw talent Bellamy still possesses as the century drew to a close. His sale, which took place just a couple of months before Nigel Worthington took City by the scruff of the neck and eventually in to the top flight, was a crushing blow to a team that had been reliant on it’s hot young Welsh talent.
Bellamy, for me, heads a list that includes the likes of Chris Sutton and Darren Eadie as players who I always wanted to see come back and finish their careers at Carrow Road. The latter two didn’t do it, and now that Craig has pitched up at his first love, I doubt he will play for City again.
But I can guarantee that his arrival back in Norfolk on Saturday won’t go unnoticed. I am convinced he’ll either get booked, get sent off or score for Cardiff on Saturday. Let’s hope he gets a great welcome – though looks slightly more disgruntled when Norwich have taken the points from Cardiff.
Bellamy made his debut in March 1997 in a 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace at the age of 19, he started his first City game at Maine Road against Manchester City in September the same year and scored his first goal against Bury at Carrow Road in November that year.
I was in my last year at university as Bellamy ended that season as top scorer with 13 goals so don’t recall much about that big 1997/98 season when Bellamy emerged as a new City star.
I remember most the start to the following season, specifically on August 22 1998 and that fantastic match against QPR.
A crazy game that saw Craig open the scoring in the second minute, QPR equalised in the fourth minute with a Gavin Peacock penalty, Bellamy scored a sixth minute penalty and Matt Jackson made it 3-1 in the eighth minute. That night’s Pink Un had the headline ‘2,4,6,8 motorway’ or something like that referring to the times of the first four goals. Mike Sheron made it 3-2 before half-time before Bellamy scored again from the spot before the hour to complete his hat-trick.
The next home game was bizarrely a televised home match against Bury. City drew 0-0 and Bellamy had a last minute penalty saved by Dean Keily.
If September was a duff month for Bellamy made a real impact in October 1998 with the only goal of the East Anglian derby. He whipped his shirt off to reveal an flattering baggy white vest under his City shirt. Within days the club shop was stocking similar items branded ‘Simply The Vest’.
Bellamy missed much of the following season with injury, returning to the City side in April 2000. One game into the following season, he was sold to Coventry for £6million.
From Coventry he moved to Newcastle and on to Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester City, Celtic and then to Cardiff.
In the ten and a bit years since he left Carrow Road, he hasn’t been back to play a game. This should change on Saturday when Norwich welcomes back one of their favourite sons.
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