Fans fear Bellamy departure

Newcastle will lose a key player if Craig Bellamy’s latest misdemeanour costs him his career on Tyneside.

That is the view of Frank Gilmour, chairman of the Independent Newcastle United Supporters’ Association, as the repercussions of the Welshman’s blazing row with manager Graeme Souness continue to rock Tyneside.

Chairman Freddy Shepherd yesterday labelled Bellamy a fool and fined him £80,000 (€115,000) for lambasting his manager on live television, a decision which seems certain to result in his exit from St James’ Park.

However, while admitting that the 25-year-old has been the architect of his own downfall, Gilmour insisted that the club would be a losing a big performer.

“I am biased because I disagreed with the appointment of Souness in the first place, but this is not one-sided,” he said.

“There are problems on both sides. Bellamy was out of order for saying what he did. He tends to court publicity and he should never have said what he said.

“I was always told never slag off your gaffer without having a word with your gaffer first. However, it seems as though Souness has had something against Bellamy since the day he came here.

“You ask any Newcastle fan what their preferred pairing would be up front and it is Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy every time.

“That is the position he wants to play in and that was the argument. He makes a difference. He is one of the fastest forwards in this country at the moment. Once you put the ball in the right spot, he’s away.

“If his finishing was as good as Shearer’s, he would be one of the greatest goalscorers this country has ever seen.

“That said, Ryan Giggs has played in any position the manager has asked for Manchester United without argument. That is one of the weaknesses of Craig Bellamy – he mouths off rather than just getting on with the job.

“There is a choice – one of them has to go and given that choice, it is going to be the player rather than the manager.”

The whole unsavoury episode is the latest to drag Newcastle’s name through the dirt, and that is the biggest disappointment for fans who have witnessed more than their fair share of controversy in recent years.

“It is not something I like to see as a supporter of Newcastle United,” said Gilmour. “That tends to be the kind of publicity we are getting at the moment, bad publicity, and fault lies on both sides.”

The club’s supporters have not been slow to voice their opinions with the local evening newspaper and radio phone-ins having been inundated with messages supporting either Bellamy or Souness.

But with opinion divided, it is a debate which will rage on until the club bites the bullet and decides how best to deal with a situation which has already got too far out of hand.