Opta Jury: Craig Bellamy
Opta analyse Craig Bellamy's move from Newcastle to Blackburn.
It is just 14 months since Craig Bellamy was involved in an extraordinary clash with Graeme Souness at Highbury.
The Welsh international striker was left out of the Newcastle side to play Arsenal, apparently through injury, only for his manager to subsequently claim that Bellamy had refused to play in midfield, sparking a confrontation with the player that precipitated Bellamy's messy departure from the club.
It was a sorry way for his Tyneside career to end, and an episode which many Newcastle supporters are still bitter about. Bellamy finished last season on loan at Celtic, where he collected his first piece of silverware, and then transferred to Blackburn for £5 million in the summer of 2005, linking up with his former international manager Mark Hughes.
His move to Ewood Park has been a success, with Blackburn challenging for a UEFA Champions League position, just a season after battling relegation. Mark Hughes has turned Rovers into an impressive outfit, and Bellamy is a key figure, his pace and finishing adding a cutting edge that the Lancashire side badly needed. He has mustered 11 goals in just 20 Premiership appearances this season, four more than he managed in 21 games for Newcastle last campaign.
| Player | Craig Bellamy | |
| Team | Newcastle United | Blackburn Rovers |
| Season | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
| Appearances | 21 | 20 |
| Minutes On Pitch | 1,790 | 1,400 |
| Goal Attempts | | |
| Goals | 7 | 11 |
| Mins per goal | 255.7 | 127.3 |
| Shots On Target | 20 | 25 |
| Shots Off Target | 16 | 12 |
| Shooting Accuracy | 56% | 68% |
| Chance Conversion | 19% | 30% |
| Passing | | |
| Goal Assists | 4 | 2 |
| Total Passes | 577 | 371 |
| Pass Completion % | 76% | 75% |
| Discipline | | |
| Fouls | 19 | 17 |
| Offside | 24 | 32 |
| Yellow Cards | 2 | 3 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| | | |
Indeed, 2005-06 represents Bellamy's finest goalscoring performance in the English top-flight, and the first time he has managed to reach double figures in a single season. He is also averaging more than a goal every two games, which is the standard that all strikers strive for.
| Year | Team | Apps | Goals | Goals/game |
| 2000/1 | Coventry | 34 | 6 | 0.18 |
| 2001/2 | Newcastle | 27 | 9 | 0.33 |
| 2002/3 | Newcastle | 29 | 8 | 0.28 |
| 2003/4 | Newcastle | 16 | 4 | 0.25 |
| 2004/5 | Newcastle | 21 | 7 | 0.33 |
| 2005/6 | Blackburn | 20 | 11 | 0.55 |
So clinical has Bellamy been this season, that he is ahead of the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry in chance conversion, having bagged 30 percent of his opportunities thus far.
| Player Surname | Team | Goals | Goals to Shots Ratio |
| Solano | Newcastle United | 5 | 38% |
| Owen | Newcastle United | 7 | 33% |
| Keane | Tottenham Hotspur | 11 | 31% |
| Kanu | West Bromwich Albion | 5 | 31% |
| Yakubu | Middlesbrough | 13 | 30% |
| Bellamy | Blackburn Rovers | 11 | 30% |
| Crespo | Chelsea | 9 | 29% |
In this sort of form, it would take a brave man to back against Bellamy firing Blackburn into a top six position by the season's end. Meanwhile, Newcastle languish in mid-table, having failed to score in more games than any other Premiership side this season.
What do you think? Has Bellamy been a hit, a miss or is the jury still out.
