The reason Bellamy didn’t join Everton
Craig Bellamy is no stranger to transfer negotiations, having played at nine different clubs throughout his career. However, it is the one move he didn’t make that may give us a clue as to new Manchester United boss David Moyes’ intentions when shopping this summer. As revealed in Bellamy’s newly released autobiography, the striker came very close to joining Everton in 2005. Why didn’t he join forces with Moyes?
If there’s one thing consistent with Moyes sides it is discipline. While Wayne Rooney, for example was a wonderfully maverick talent, his relationship with the boss during his Everton days was not the best, and arguably worsened after his departure. It is worth remembering that Rooney’s Everton form was never truly outstanding, bar that opening burst onto the back pages.
A year after Rooney’s departure, who can blame Moyes for erring on the side of caution when it came to a player’s character? In 2005, Bellamy was out in the cold at Newcastle after a very public falling-out with another Scottish hard-man – Graeme Souness. Bellamy, in his book, spoke of an enthusiastic Moyes on first impressions, before this quickly turned to hostility at the second meeting. Bellamy suspects that someone warned the Everton manager about getting involved with such a volatile temperament, and that Moyes was simply laying down the law.
Given the fact that Bellamy had not yet passed his ‘golf-club’ phase, it was probably a good thing for Moyes that the Welshman was scared off, as the best Moyes teams have been built on unity. On the pitch, no one works harder than Bellamy, but his character, particularly in his twenties, was always a red flag, and Moyes has never really dabbled in high maintenance personalities.
The likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Dimitar Berbatov, or Luis Suarez, are all players with a trick or two up their sleeve, but you never saw them anywhere near an Everton shirt, as each have been perceived to be flawed genius. Give Moyes eleven limited but united individuals any day of the week, and he’ll prefer that.
Having said that, at Man United, he will have bigger egos to deal with – particularly in the shape of the aforementioned Rooney. Whether the hatchet of past grievances can be buried is doubtful, but Moyes clearly sees the job as a challenge worth taking on.
Don’t be surprised to see Everton’s best players follow the Scot. Fellaini and Baines will be prime candidates, as Moyes trusts them. Sir Alex Ferguson however, always found room for the biggest of egos, and got the best out of them. Time will tell whether Moyes has a similar knack.
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