BBC Sport: Bellamy was repeatedly caught offside but timed his run to perfection for his goal, latching on to Scott Parker's deft pass before lifting the ball over Given. Mark Noble ought to have put the Hammers ahead after a long ball forward caught out the Newcastle defence but Given made a good block and Bellamy hit the side netting from an acute angle with the rebound. Zola's team were superb in the early minutes of the second half and and they were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Sebastien Bassong clearly impeded Bellamy.
Sky Sports: Newcastle had taken the lead in the 19th minute as the visiting defence backed off Michael Owen and allowed the Magpies skipper to fire in hard and low from 18 yards for his 12th goal in 14 games against the Hammers. However, the lead was to last just 10 minutes as former Newcastle striker Craig Bellamy latched on to a superb pass from Scott Parker to poke a chip past the advancing Shay Given from close range.
KUMB: Shortly before the interval we ought to have taken the lead. Newcastle were trying to play the offside trap with all the skill and nous of a back four who had been introduced to the idea fifteen minutes before kick-off. Noble sprung what passed for a trap and bore down on goal. Given came out to narrow the angle and got enough on Noble’s shot to divert it wide enough to make the angle too tight for Bellamy’s follow-up shot to trouble anything other than the side-netting and the sides went into the interval level-pegging... Shortly before the interval we ought to have taken the lead. Newcastle were trying to play the offside trap with all the skill and nous of a back four who had been introduced to the idea fifteen minutes before kick-off. Noble sprung what passed for a trap and bore down on goal. Given came out to narrow the angle and got enough on Noble’s shot to divert it wide enough to make the angle too tight for Bellamy’s follow-up shot to trouble anything other than the side-netting and the sides went into the interval level-pegging. (Gordon Thrower)
Hammers Mad: The striker - whose every touch was booed by Newcastle's fans - played a one-two with another United old boy, Scott Parker, before skipping into the box and lifting the ball over Shay Given. It was Bellamy's 100th career league goal and with a large proportion of those strikes having come during a colourful few years on Tyneside, it was probably fitting that he passed the milestone at St James' Park where he was once feted, and not booed, by Newcastle's loyal fans. Given had to be at his best to deny Mark Noble before the half was up, stopping his low shot with his legs, and Bellamy struck the loose ball into the side-netting.
The Sunday Times: The game was open and West Ham’s equaliser was the culmination of some well-versed movement. With his back to goal, Bellamy held up the ball outside the penalty area, slipped it to Scott Parker and the midfielder’s pass back to Bellamy gave the Welsh international a clear run through Newcastle’s defence to place a left-footed shot outside of Given’s reach. Carroll had three minutes earlier squandered an opportunity to double Newcastle’s lead when he headed wide a Danny Guthrie cross. Either side of the interval Given demonstrated how important he is to Newcastle. When Lucas Neill played a well-timed pass over the Newcastle defence, which allowed Mark Noble to bear down on goal, he had only Given to beat but the Irishman made a great reflex save before Bellamy hit the side netting on the rebound. Early in the second half Given made an even better intervention when Bellamy’s low cross into the box was met by Jack Collison, whose shot from point-blank range drew a fine instinctive reaction, Given somehow keeping the ball out with his right arm. West Ham were irate that the referee had turned down a strong case for a penalty when Bassong stretched out his left arm and blatantly felled Bellamy but they channelled their fury in the right way and Cole deservedly shot them into the lead in the 55th minute. He controlled Ilunga’s ball over the top with his thigh and delivered a stunning strike into the roof of the net. (Brian Doogan)
The Times: Whether Craig Bellamy borrowed anything from him at Newcastle is open to debate, but his smart finish before the break restored parity before Carlton Cole scored his fourth goal in four games. Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, is determined to keep both players beyond the transfer window. “This team is growing up and it would be a pity not to see it finish the season together,” he said. (Simon Rushworth)
BBC Sport: Craig Bellamy scored a second-half brace as West Ham beat Portsmouth for the first time in the Premier League. The striker capped a fine performance by lashing in West Ham's third after racing clear from halfway and side-footing the fourth from 12 yards. Nadir Belhadj fired Pompey ahead from 10 yards, but Jack Collison rifled past an unsighted David James to level. Pompey's Jermain Defoe missed a penalty before Carlton Cole tapped in a second for West Ham after another Bellamy run.
Sky Sports: West Ham had never won a Premier League game against Portsmouth but they dominated the early exchanges, with Bellamy curling a free-kick over after Collison was scythed down by Sol Campbell. The Hammers' early pressure did not produce a goal however, and Portsmouth settled their nerves with the opener after eight minutes. Left-back Belhadj started and finished a fine sweeping move, his cross-field pass finding Little, who launched a high cross to Peter Crouch at the far post. The tall striker deftly plucked the ball from the air and pulled back to Belhadj, who slammed home his second goal of the season. Collison's shot minutes later was deflected wide, but the midfielder made no mistake with West Ham's equaliser midway through the half. Cole latched on to Scott Parker's quick free-kick on the left and crossed low to Collison, whose first-time shot went through the legs of an unsighted David James.
Hammers Mad: Craig Bellamy fired a superb double to help West Ham United secure an impressive first ever Premier League win over Portsmouth as they beat Tony Adams' ailing side 4-1. The transfer target for London rivals Spurs struck twice in the last 20 minutes to seal victory for Gianfranco Zola's team. Tricky striker Bellamy deserved his two goals as sorry Portsmouth were put to the sword. Carlton Cole also netted as did Jack Collison as Pompey fell apart.
Daily Express: Craig Bellamy hammered home two strong reminders as to why West Ham can ill afford to let him go in – even if their financial realities dictate otherwise. Hammers’ boss Gianfranco Zola continued to try to reassure fans fearful of a firesale, but could offer no more than words. He said: “It is great that Craig Bellamy scored two goals and I hope he will continue to score goals for us. “As far as I’m concerned he plays for West Ham. The club knows that I don’t want to sell him – as simple as that. But we will see what happens.” However, the two goals and match-winning performance from Bellamy yesterday ensured that he will be at the top of a number of shopping lists when the starting gun is fired on what looks sure to be one of the more frenzied player auctions of the January transfer window. (Gideon Brooks)
The Times: In a ridiculously open game during which the defences played as if they had hangovers, West Ham scored as many goals as they had in their previous 11 matches and even the misfiring Carlton Cole got on the scoresheet, but Portsmouth could have matched them but for the form of Green in the visiting team’s goal. At the other end, the form of Bellamy, the Wales forward, may persuade Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, to increase an offer of £6 million that was rejected on Christmas Eve after scoring the two goals that sealed an overdue first win in five matches. “He scored two very important goals for us,” Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, said. “There’s so much speculation about him, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s a West Ham player. He’s an important player for us and the club knows I don’t want to sell him. Between me and Gianluca Nani [the technical director] and Scott Duxbury [the chief executive] there is a total understanding. We work together and we’ll try to keep all our players. For the moment, everybody wants to improve this team but we have to see what happens.” (Nick Szczepanik)
Daily Mirror: In the debtor's derby at Fratton Park, Craig Bellamy proved priceless for West Ham while Tony Adams was left feeling shortchanged. The total debts of these up for-sale clubs is spiralling towards £150million. But the Wales international proved he is worth his weight in gold to the Upton Park club with two second-half goals to give Gianfranco Zola only his second win his September. Whatever any club offers for him this January, it will not be enough. Even Carlton Cole scored following his one-on-one striking tuition with his Italian manager after Jack Collison's equaliser had cancelled out Nadir Belhadj's opener for Pompey. And the Hammers fans even had the added pleasure of witnessing former player and permanent boo-boy Jermain Defoe miss a first-half penalty right in front of them before he was subbed. (Neil Mcleman)
The Guardian: After their third successive defeat, Portsmouth's troubles are very much in the here and now. They have taken one point out of a possible 12 in December, while West Ham had won just one game in 12 and were perched above the drop zone. But their football has been better than their results in recent weeks and although they struggled at times yesterday Bellamy, who scored twice, had the cutting edge of a razor. "The way he trains, the things he does, he is spot on," said the relieved West Ham manager, Gianfranco Zola. "He can be really dangerous. He might have been affected by all the talk about him. I don't want to sell him. I'm very pleased to have him playing for West Ham." It is understood that West Ham have rejected a £6m bid for Bellamy from Tottenham. There will be more attempts to prise him away from Upton Park next month and the same speculation surrounds Matthew Upson. And, of course, the club itself is up for sale and about as secure as a sandcastle. But a smiling Zola added: "This was very good, fantastic for us. The team deserved to win today. It was a very close game and they were close to winning too." (Paul Weaver)
.The Times: West Ham United were never the sort of team likely to win here — they last managed that in 1963 — but even a game plan that did not advance much beyond defending like madmen and hitting Liverpool on the break still fashioned the best chance of the game, when Craig Bellamy hit the inside of a post with a shot from 25 yards. The metallic “ting” as it connected echoed around an eerily silent Anfield, like the ricochet of an assassin’s bullet. Not a lethal one, fortunately for Liverpool. (Martin Samuel)
KUMB: Bellamy was looking pretty lively and he surged forward on 19 minutes to feed Sears who couldn’t profit from some space in the box. Then three minutes later, Sears made a sublime take and seamless pass in the centre circle which sent Bellamy on his way, but he saw his shot deflect wide. Jack Collison, given his chance by the absence of Noble was showing great industry and his work on 24 minutes led to the ball rebounding out to Boa Morte who hit a spectacularly awful skewed volley wide. Sears showed similar determination just after this with a good lay off to Bellamy on the edge of the box, but he wasted his half volley by blasting way over. On the half hour, the best move of the half began after ref Mark Halsey waved play on following an offside against Blackburn. The ball was sent forward to allow Bellamy to make a dummy and get behind his marker. He angled the ball back to the oncoming Sears who smashed a first time strike which Howard managed to tip onto the cross bar and over. (East End Martin)
KUMB: It looked like a more traditional 4-4-2 for us as the match started with the rain chucking it down. Boa-Morte nicked a ball through to Sears who bore down on goal before pulling his shot across the goal a couple of feet wide. Sears came close again a few minutes later when some good work on the right between Bellamy and Faubert saw the Frenchman’s low cross only just cut out by the outstretched leg of Riggot. The early good form continued as the home side struggled to string passes together, though Neill had to be alert to cut out a pass that might have seen Alliadiere in a good position. Bellamy and Sears were combining well but it was an unusual source through which we took the lead on 21 minutes, though Bellamy played a major part in setting up the goal. A move seemed to have petered out on the right hand side but Boro’ were sloppy in clearing their lines and Bellamy nicked it, Collison fed Boa-Morte who didn’t panic and pulled the ball back to Mullins whose first shot was an hilarious miskick that actually turned into a marvellous if accidental touch for the midfielder to smash the ball into the top of the net via the slightest of touches off Sears’ head and a slightly more substantial thump off the bottom of the crossbar. (Graham Thrower)
BBC Sport: West Ham handed a first start to Craig Bellamy for nearly a year and he showed flashes of being back to his dangerous best. He got away down the left side and picked out Cole, only for the in-form forward to fire straight at Myhill.
Sky Sports: The opener almost came from Bellamy, who blazed high and wide from a tight angle after Cole's clever knock-down in first-half injury time.
Hammers Mad: Carlton Cole then missed a great opportunity for the visitors when Craig Bellamy raced down the left and played in a neat ball into the feet of the striker, but the ex-Chelsea man could only place the ball straight into the arms of keeper Boaz Myhill.
Daily Mirror: For West Ham their rollercoaster season continues and Gianfranco Zola's side might have snatched a point had Carlton Cole's shot not bounced out off the underside of the bar. While their financial worries off the pitch grow-and they still have no shirt sponsor - there are signs that they are getting it together. The return of Craig Bellamy from injury is a big boost. He scampered down the left and put in a great cross to Cole only for the West Ham striker to shoot straight at Bo Myhill. (David Anderson)
The Guardian: Craig Bellamy, returning from a hamstring injury, came off the bench to show that feet and tongue were in good working order. Having been booked for giving a linesman a bit of Welsh rabbit he then scored West Ham's third goal with a characteristically astute finish from a narrow angle after outwitting Blackburn's sluggish offside trap. "It was typical Craig," said Curbishley. "He goes on for 20 minutes, gets booked and scores a goal. We needed what he gave us but we can't rush him back. No way is Craig fit for international football." That would appear to rule Bellamy out for Wales next weekend and, so far as Curbishley is concerned, the same goes for Northern Ireland's George McCartney, another recent convalescent. West Ham need McCartney as much as they need Bellamy. As soon as the defender came on he restored balance to a defence which had had Lucas Neill playing out of position at left-back and Valon Behrami exposed on the right. McCartney gave West Ham extra security and attacking thrust on the left, while Neill was much more comfortable on the other side. (David Lacey)
The Guardian: The main hope for an equaliser was Dean Ashton. He will surely be in the England squad to be announced on Friday, even if sharpness is lacking slightly after a year of injury. A header straight to Almunia from Lee Bowyer's fine cross was particularly galling. None the less, he is valuable to West Ham, who are concerned about the groin strain to another important striker, Craig Bellamy. Curbishley thinks that it may have been caused by the orthotic inserts the Welshman wore in his boots to counter an old injury that still bothered him. After seeming fit, Bellamy had to pull out of the game following training on Friday. The medical team may be feeling as taxed as all the football sides who have to cope with Arsenal. (Kevin McCarra, 1st October, 2007)
BBC Sport: Wales boss John Toshack hailed skipper Craig Bellamy's display in the 5-2 win away to Slovakia as "unbelievable". Bellamy scored two great goals, forced an own goal from Jan Durica and had a hand in both Wales' other scores. "You normally have 22 players battling away out there, pretty evenly matched. This game saw 21 players and one who was just unbelievable," Toshack said. "It was a scintillating performance - I cannot recall the last time I saw such an individual performance."
The Guardian: If Ashton is desperate to reward the West Ham fans with a goal, he is not alone. "You want that goal," said Bellamy, still searching for his first for the club. "Sometimes that takes over everything, which it shouldn't do. You want to get off the mark." (Simon Burnton, 27th August, 2007)
BBC Sport: Craig Bellamy scored one goal and made another as West Ham secured a stylish victory at the Madejski Stadium. Bellamy raced on to Lee Bowyer's pass to slot the opener within six minutes. And the fiery striker then played a key role in setting up Matthew Etherington who rounded off a glorious move to blast the second after the restart. (1st September, 2007)
Sunday Times: Making light of harsh memories, and the loss in midweek of Kieron Dyer, West Ham, inspired by Craig Bellamy, simply took Reading to pieces. As early as the sixth minute, it was plain that West Ham were most unlikely to repeat the fearful 6-0 humiliation they suffered here last New Year’s Day. When Lee Bowyer intercepted a Reading midfield pass, he expertly and precisely stroked the ball to enable Craig Bellamy to go through a huge gap. Away went Bellamy, never an easy man to catch at the best of times, finally to send his low right-footed cross-shot into the left-hand corner of the Reading goal. (Brian Glanville, 2nd September, 2007)
Bellamy scoring against Reading
The Observer: Three men deserve special praise. Craig Bellamy, showing pace and poise, scored the first and teed up the second. Matthew Etherington delivered the killer touches for the second goal and then - in the dying moments - the third. And the other West Ham hero was their goalkeeper Robert Green, who made the 76th-minute save from Kevin Doyle's penalty that ensured it would be a far more comfortable end to the game than it could have been for Alan Curbishley's team. (Arindam Rej, 2nd September, 2007)
The Times: Bellamy may infuriate many, with his strutting manner and nonstop verbals, but his high-octane tempo is priceless and Curbishley believes that he can earn cult status at Upton Park: a sort of Welsh version of Paolo Di Canio. “We worked hard to get Craig here,” Curbishley said. “I promised we would get other players in and I told him that the fans would love him for his endeavour, his passion, his finishing. I said, If you come here, they will carry you around the Boleyn.” (Russell Kempson, 3rd September, 2007)
KUMB: Noble then came up with the creative move of the game on 51 minutes as he made a teasing Di Canio-like run into the left side of the box. He foxed two defenders, and passed to Bellamy who only got half a boot on it, hitting Dyer on the back. Bellamy seemed brighter and responded to the raised tempo with a great run down the left, but unfortunately his whipped-in cross was just over the head of Zamora... Three minutes later, the mounting pressure from West Ham resulted in a goal after Bellamy went haring after a ball sent into the right side of the box by Dyer. Doyle came steaming out and Bellamy nicked the ball away from him. Although the ball was heading for a goal kick, the keeper didn’t make it and caught the Welshman. Birmingham protested to the linesman, but ref Mike Halsey was clear about the penalty decision. (East End Martin, 20th August, 2007)
The Times: If life was fair, West Ham United supporters would be waking up this morning and reading about how their team bounced back from losing to Manchester City on the opening day of the season. Life is not fair and Alan Curbishley knows that better than most managers. Curbishley has had more bad press than Pete Doherty since he arrived at Upton Park last December and nothing he says or does seems to make a difference. On Saturday, he had to deny reports that he had fallen out with Craig Bellamy and that the Wales forward had been involved in a scuffle in the tunnel after he had been accused of diving by Birmingham City players. “I had a fairytale existence at Charlton for 15 years,” Curbishley said. “I didn’t upset too many people, but, at the moment, it seems everything I do upsets someone.” Bellamy is the kind of player who could start an argument in an empty room, but Birmingham players would have been better off blaming Colin Doyle for their second defeat of the season. The Irish goalkeeper did not need to rush off his line when Bellamy raced clear in the second half and, when he did, a penalty looked like the most likely outcome. “The penalty was the right decision,” Bellamy said. “Criticism is part and parcel of the game. If it affected me, I would have got out a few years ago.” Millions of words have been written about the Carlos Tévez affair and whether West Ham deserve to be playing in the Premier League this season, but only a Sheffield United supporter would fail to be impressed by the squad that Curbishley is assembling. Sean Bean may disagree, but the top flight is the natural habitat of players as good as Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Mark Noble, Kieron Dyer and Bellamy. “Craig’s a better player than I thought,” Curbishley said. “He’s very professional and he’s not been a problem. You get these situations where you become a target and it’s very difficult. We’re under the spotlight continuously. I’m a patient boy, but perhaps I need to have a thicker skin.” (Kaveh Solhekol, 20th August)
Daily Mirror: The white rhino is an endangered animal on the brink of oblivion... but still thriving in the Premier League. West Ham striker Craig Bellamy said he has had to develop the hide of a rhinoceros to survive in football's most unforgiving habitat. Many defenders and former team-mates would love to make Bellamy extinct - the Welshman has already racked up his seventh club following a £7.5million summer move to Upton Park from Liverpool. The Welsh firebrand was typically at the centre of; controversy at St Andrews when he infuriated Birmingham by winning a hotly-disputed penalty. The striker sprinted into the box and, though his touch past Brum keeper Colin Doyle appeared to be going out of play, Bellamy engineered contact to go down - allowing Mark Noble to net the only goal from the spot in the 70th minute. Bellamy was surrounded by Birmingham players following the decision and confronted at the final whistle by Radhi Jaidi and Mehdi Nafti. But the ex-Anfield star was unrepentant and brushed off the incident, telling his doubters to stay in and watch Match Of The Day. After receiving a ton of flak over the years for his many bust-ups, Bellamy won't be losing any sleep over this latest episode. He admits he has had to develop a thick skin in the face of the taunts and abuse he has endured. "If it affected me I would have been out of this game a few years ago," said the 28-year-old, who has also played for Norwich, Coventry, Newcastle, Celtic and Blackburn. "I would have been washed up because if you let everything get to you, you are not going to last long. "When I used to go and watch football as a kid no-one got booed off at halftime but everyone has a right to criticise now. "Criticism is part and parcel of football these days but what went on before has gone and it is a new season for me and a new club. I want a settled period because I have signed a five-year contract and want to do as well as I can for West Ham." (James Nursey, 20th August)
Sunday Times: Just an average Saturday afternoon for Craig Bellamy. Back-page news in the morning for an alleged set-to with his new boss, by early evening he was being accused of illegally engineering the penalty that earned West Ham United an important, if extremely unglamorous, win at Birmingham City and scrapping with an opponent in the tunnel. Alan Curbishley defended his summer signing on all three counts - no shouting match last weekend, didn’t know anything about an alleged shoving match with Mehdi Nafti postmatch, and no question that goalkeeper Colin Doyle has cleaned Bellamy out for the decisive spot kick. “Bellamy got a touch on the ball and once the keeper comes and gets himself in that position it’s difficult; you’ve got to get contact on the ball and he never got it,” said Curbishley, who angrily knocked down reports that Bellamy had torn strips off him after the previous weekend. “Absolute nonsense,” he said. “There is an agenda out there and if I’m not the target, it’s the club. (Duncan Castles, 19th August)
The Guardian: The Wales manager believes the front pairing of Craig Bellamy and Robert Earnshaw needs competition. "I don't think we have ever seen the best of Earnie under my management of Wales," he said. "Craig has completed his third pre-season with three different clubs over three years. That must be unsettling." (Ewan Murray, 14th August)
WestHamOnline: Just like against Roma, this is a typical Craig Bellamy performance that he has put in for every club he as been at. In effect it is just huff and puff with very little end result. He buzzes about a lot and is always looking for the ball, often coming very deep to get it – which is fair play, you can’t say he hides. But if his record hasn’t convinced you then this performance should – the guy isn’t a goal scorer, so it seems pretty obvious that we need another striker as well as Bellamy, Ashton and Zamora. (11th August)
The Independent: Ljungberg brought a touch of Arsenal quality to his operations wide on the right, linking effectively with the overlapping captain Lucas Neill, while Bellamy's quickness off the mark regularly flustered the home back line. Southend's best efforts at attack provided little more than heading practice for Anton Ferdinand and Danny Gabbidon as West Ham soon took command. First, a Neill free-kick, met ferociously with Bobby Zamora's head, was repelled one-handed by Darryl Flahavan, then another Zamora header rebounded off the goal frame, as did the committed striker. Bellamy headed straight at Flahavan, and Lee Bowyer scooped over before Zamora claimed the opening goal on the half-hour. Meeting Ljungberg's long ball, he spotted Flahavan off his line and deliberately looped his header over the keeper. Bellamy scored easily just before the break with a bright yellow boot when Bowyer's effort rebounded from the bar. (29th July, 2007)
The Observer: Curbishley was heartened by the superior fitness, pace and slick passing presented to Southend. It was a contest effectively ended by two first-half goals. The opener came after 29 minutes. Ljungberg played a clever diagonal from the right. Darryl Flahavan thought he could claim it before Bobby Zamora, but, having advanced to the edge of the area, the West Ham No 9 beat the Southend keeper with a looping header that rolled in off a post. Bellamy, the day's best player, then got his reward when Lee Bowyer headed Matthew Etherington's ball against the bar. From the rebound, the Wales captain finished. That was after 39 minutes. (28th July, 2007)
Sunday Telegraph: Lucas Neill says he is honoured to become the captain of West Ham and hopes it will finally silence his detractors. Neill was criticised last January after he rejected a move to Liverpool and opted for a move to east London, although West Ham were facing a relegation battle. Doubters suggested the Australian international chose Upton Park because of the £60,000 a week salary he was reportedly offered... Despite the signing of Craig Bellamy from Liverpool and the possible arrival of Kieron Dyer from Newcastle, Neill is confident he can control all the players in the dressing-room. He said: "If people step out of line, then we're open to criticism and will push each other to greater heights." (28th July, 2007)
Craig Bellamy playing against Southend United
BBC News: West Ham have completed the signing of striker Craig Bellamy from Liverpool for a club record £7.5m. The 27-year-old Wales captain has signed a five-year contract after just one season at Anfield. "I wanted to make sure that, if I left Liverpool, it would be to a club that is going to be pushing for Europe," Bellamy told the West Ham website. "I want to play in Europe, it's important to me, and I felt that same drive and ambition here at West Ham." (10th July, 2007)
