18 September 2023 , 13:32
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A chair went flying, a shouting match kicked off, and before a stunned squad could intervene, star striker Craig Bellamy was wrestling on the floor with first team coach John Carver.
Behind a flimsy screen, dividing waiting rooms at Newcastle airport, Sir Bobby Robson was holding his pre-match press conference before we all flew, on the team jet, to a UEFA Cup tie in Majorca in March 2004. We heard a few mysterious bumps, and bangs. What’s going on there?
At Majorca airport, there was Sir Bobby, pacing around the baggage reclaim on his own, cursing to himself. Something was up… By the end of the day it was a full blown, typical Newcastle, mini-crisis. A crazy club in the news again.
And if there is any lesson for Eddie Howe’s players as they prepare for their Champions League campaign, it’s nick in the coach’s parking bay and wind him up about it!
Newcastle United trips to Europe have thrown up some great matches, wonderful adventures and funny stories, and this one lives long in the memory.
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When news of the fracas leaked before the game, Bellamy was left on the bench, with Alan Shearer and Shola Ameobi up front. But typical of the sparky Welshman, he came off the bench in the 77th minute and scored within 60 seconds.
How to celebrate? Give a big “up yours” gesture with his arms towards the press box!
After the 3-0 win , which set up a quarter final against PSV Eindhoven, in the “mixed zone" where players give interviews, Bellamy dismissed the reports as “lies, lies, lies,” but admitted there had been an issue.
Bellamy scored in both legs against Mallorca - but his incident with Carver was the biggest talking point (PA)He said: "I'll admit I have a temper, but who hasn't? And anyway, a lot of people tell me that is why I am a Premiership footballer and an international player.
"The incident lasted seconds and was over very quickly. These sort of things just happen. I have admitted my mistake and that's the end of it. The only thing the both of us want is success for Newcastle United.
"That is always the first thing on my mind from when I wake up in the morning to when I go to sleep at night and John is the same. He was the first person to congratulate me when I scored because all he wants is success for the club as well.
"I have done nothing wrong. All I have done is have an argument with a working colleague just like thousands of other people in this country do every day, and you have to shake hands and get on with it.”
Fair enough. He had a point. And far better to be like Bellamy and have out, than let a problem fester. Walking past him up the aisle of the plane on another trip, he once growled at me: “Simon Bird….Why the hell are you a journalist?” Other times he gave interviews and chatted with passion and ambition.
These were turbulent yet successful times for Newcastle. Senior stars like Shearer and Gary Speed leading the team, with a pack of talented youngsters like Bellamy, Kieron Dyer and Titus Bramble who got labeled the Brat Pack, with Sir Bobby in his ‘70s trying to keep control.
With the passage of time, there is always more reflection on these incidents, which seem like the end of the world when they’ve happened, but just add to football folklaw when historical.
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In his own book Bellamy recalled the incident, and revealed what a genius manager Sir Bobby had been to trick him into staying on the trip to the Balearics when he wanted to go home and not travel.
Bellamy wrote: “The row started when I parked in his car space. I walked past him later that morning and said ‘hiya’; he just walked straight past. I wouldn’t let it go. So by the time we got to the airport, he was at snapping point: we had a shouting match.
“People had to keep us apart. So suddenly I convinced myself I was the wronged party. I threw a chair aside so I could argue with him. It nearly hit Shay Given. We ended up wrestling on the floor.
“I didn’t know then but Bobby (Robson) was in a press conference on the other side of the screens. I said, ‘I’m going home to see my missus’. Bobby put his arm around me. ‘Walk with me, son,’ he replied.
“He asked me about how my kids and missus were. The next thing I knew I was on the plane. I was thinking ‘how the f*** did I get here?’”
Bellamy was a spiky character, driven by any personal slight, but a fighter, and had other bust ups at Newcastle including with Graeme Souness, and Alan Shearer. Around this time Bellamy part-owned a star greyhound he named Droopys Shearer!
He’s now coaching Burnley with boss Vincent Kompany, and using his vast career experience helping players. Hopefully without the wrestling and chucking chairs. Carver, now No2 to Steve Clarke with Scotland, and never held a grudge.