Forget January – is this Liverpool’s most important signing?

At a grand total of £0.00p, £35m less than 4-goal Andy Carroll, Craig Bellamy is already level with his team mate when it comes to the goals tally, but in 11 fewer games and furthermore, Carroll’s goal to minutes ratio, during this PL campaign, of 1:435 is dwarfed by Bellamy’s contribution of 1:127 – a goals to minutes ratio that isn’t bettered by any other Liverpool player, making Craig Bellamy, arguably, Liverpool’s most potent player this season.

With Suarez present, goals are almost guaranteed: having featured in every Premier League fixture for Liverpool so far this season, the Uruguayan had found the back of the net 5 times, made 3 direct assists and his tireless displays as part of the front line were pivotal in instigating attacks in the final third. However, Bellamy has the ability to provide the same in the absence of the suspended Luis Suarez and did so on Friday evening, with Carroll failing to, scoring a brace over his former employees. With one goal and one assist fewer than Luis Suarez, the Welshman’s directly measurable contribution in terms of goals and key passes is almost like for like. Their direct involvement in goals, during the same time period involving all games prior to the Suarez ban (through the scoring or final pass leading to the goal) are once every 182 minutes for Luis Suarez, therefore averaging direct involvement in a goal once every two games, and once every 127 minutes for Craig Bellamy – that was until Friday night.

Friday night saw Liverpool field 3 ex-Toon players and in their fairly fluid and flexible 4-4-2 formation, it was a pairing of two former Newcastle strikers that were burdened with the task of firing Liverpool to glory and up to 5th place. One lasted 90 minutes, but was criticised with the endorsement that he, “simply does not have it in him to deliver” and “lacks top class skills” from a comment on “If this man doesn’t deliver are Liverpool in trouble?” whilst the BBC’s football pundit, Dan Walker tweeted, “Andy Carroll will score 5 in a game soon.” Their were contrasting differences on Carroll, but Bellamy’s performance was unanimously described, “It’s not the first time we’ve praised him and it certainly won’t be the last,” said Dalglish,  “we are delighted for him.”

Craig Bellamy didn’t cost Liverpool a penny outside of his signing on fee and weekly wages, whilst Carroll’s signing overshadows Bellamy in all three figures, but not on the pitch and in the 8 remaining games without Luis Suarez, it won’t be Carroll to step up to the plate, it won’t be Dirk Kuyt and it won’t be a January signing: Craig Bellamy will be the pacey versatile forward that will successfully prove to be the stopgap replacement for the Uruguayan. His pace, his work rate and his goals are a sure measure of his talent, but Liverpool fans will be hoping that Bellamy isn’t following Suarez up the stairs and into the box to watch on from the stands with Suarez through injury or suspension.

Friday night, like most games for Bellamy, was characteristically eventful: as well as scoring, the player who once referenced a disagreement involving a golf club in a goal celebration during his last Liverpool stint, got an elbow to the eye in which four stitches had to be later placed and was seen to verbally abuse Newcastle’s goalkeeper Tim Krul. As the Welshman walked across the box, holding his head where it has been cut open with the force of an Argentine’s elbow, although Bellamy later insisted it was accidental, Tim Krul seems to have antogonised the Welshman with a comment, which sparked the reply of, “f….. you Dutch….nt”. Videos have already appeared on Youtube and @SkySports have received a considerable amount of tweets asking for the video to be passed to the F.A, just two months after Craig Bellamy was on the receiving end of racial abuse to the tune of getting cosy with sheep and a week after Bellamy announced his stance with Suarez on the topic of his ban.

Continual idiocy, double standards and the hypocrisy of footballers aside, on the pitch Bellamy offers what no one else at Liverpool is: goals, assists, pace upfront and a work ethic on par with the injured Lucas and the ironically Dutch Dirk Kuyt. Over January, Liverpool won’t make a more important signing than the one they did back in the summer for £0.00, whilst a new striker may well be needed, it won’t be at the expense of the Welshman and it would have to be a rather large coup to overshadow the diminutive forward.

Craig Bellamy was Liverpool’s most important signing and his weight in gold will be proved, if not already, in Suarez’s absence.

Written by Jordan Florit for www.maycauseoffence.com/ For more articles visit my website or my Twitter @JordanFlorit

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