The hunchback just being the hunchback

Read this gem the other day about "Carlos Tevez All-Star" the hunchback of Notre Dame, I mean Craig Bellamy.

Apparently the volatile Welshman who was once responsible for throwing a chair at his coach after a public falling out, he man who once threatened to fake an injury if he were selected to play against Arsenal while he was still playing for Newcastle, the man who sent abusive text messages while still at Newcastle to its all-time greatest player Alan Shearer, the man who allegedly attack Liverpool teammate John Arne Risse with a golf club, and the man who has repeated rows with management, fans, opposing players and teammates is now "ashamed" to be a fellow footballer.

He once again trashed his teammates for a lack of commitment, according to the ESPNsoccernet story.

"I don't feel close to footballers. Sometimes when I see certain things I'm ashamed to be a footballer,'' he told theNews of the World. "I don't go to nightclubs, I don't go to lounge bars, I don't spend my days shopping. That doesn't interest me. I spend a lot of time with my children at home. That's where I feel good.

"I don't know how to be on the pitch as a tourist. Some lads do that but I can't. When I play, I play for real. I never pretend.

"I know I get carried away by emotion. I have always been like that. I don't give a toss whether that pleases people or not. I do my thing. What counts for me is the respect of my family, people who know me, my manager and my team-mates.''

This rant has the familiar misgivings of a player who feels he will soon be passed over when his club Manchester City make further reinforcements in the upcoming summer transfer market. He voiced as much,

"New players are coming in a few months and I might be overtaken. I don't see myself playing for City in two or three years, lifting trophies,'' he said. "It's going to stop quickly. My body won't hold up for a long time. I'll soon be 31 and that will quickly become a problem. I won't be able to play at my best any more and I will stop playing.

"I have had seven knee operations in the last nine years. I can't string three games a week together. My body does not allow me to play all the time."

But this type of controversy is not new to Bellamy. Manchester City should have know when they signed him that when Bellamy plays well and big clubs come calling for his services, he leaves for greener pastures or then lashes out when he does not receive his way.

At the same time, if things are not going well at whatever club he currently plays for, he lashes out at what sees as wrongs to himself, and then forces his way.

There is a reason why he is on his 8th different club of his career and has never stayed at one club more than three seasons. Despite his terrific talent, the hunchback always wears out his welcome.