Saturday, September 03, 2011

Paul Merson: Craig Bellamy Deal Could End Up In Tears

Craig Bellamy going back to Liverpool shocked me. He needs to play football, and he’s not going to get it at Liverpool. He’s going to get frustrated. In two or three months’ time I can see it all ending in tears.

If someone gets injured, what a replacement he is to have on your books! But I don’t see him being happy waiting around for that to happen. He might not kick a ball there for three months! People say never go back to your old club. Usually I agree with them. But I can see it being effective. They are a big club, they are moving forward.

It’s not an easy decision, though, because if he had gone to QPR, he would be starting every game this season – guaranteed. He won’t let anybody down, and he will always be fighting 100 per cent for that club. But Liverpool doesn’t have a lot of fixtures this year. They’re not in Europe. I don’t think he’ll settle for Carling Cup football.

The risk is all the manager’s. But they don’t call him King Kenny for nothing. Because of Dalglish’s status at Liverpool, it’s going to be harder for the Welshman to rock the boat. If he does, he will be finished with the fans.

1 comment:

Kandinsky said...

I can see where Paul's coming from there, but looking at last season shows he could be being too pessimistic.

Dalglish gave a lot of players a chance to shine and Bellamy will get games if that continues. He has a better idea of competition for places and player motivation than Benitez. Leaving players out for weeks doesn't look like his style of management.