Craig's a man of compassion

Few players in the history of the Premiership have managed to polarise fans and managers quite like Blackburn Rovers' new £4 million signing, whose chequered career has never been short on controversial moments.

Listen to Graeme Souness at Newcastle and you get the impression Bellamy is a serial troublemaker who could start an argument in an empty phonebox.

But speak to those who know the Welshman more intimately and they will talk of an ambitious, dedicated, highly-motivated individual who has a compassionate, and occasionally vulnerable, side to his nature.

Four years ago, for instance, Bellamy befriended a young Asian boy called Indie Singh, who had a serious kidney condition.

Bellamy regularly visited the 14-year-old at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary while the youngster endured two kidney transplants.

On one visit, the former Norwich and Coventry star gave Indie the Newcastle shirt he wore when he scored twice in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

But what was even more precious to the teenager was the hours of time Bellamy used to spend by his bedside, playing games on his Playstation.

Tragically, Indie died from kidney failure in December 2001, but his family have never forgotten the comfort Bellamy's visits brought him during the final days of his life.

That's a side to Bellamy the public never see and the details only came out when Indie's father, Bal, felt compelled to defend the Welsh international some time later when he was getting savagely criticised in the media.

"I believe my son lived a few more days because of Craig's kindness to him," said Mr Singh of Washington, Tyne and Wear.

"He did so much for Indie and so much for us as a family. He is a young gentleman and a special person.

"When Indie was poorly, Craig was always there for him.

He used to visit Indie in hospital at least once a week and would play Playstation games with him.

"Then when Indie was sent home because the doctors couldn't do any more for him, Craig would come to our house and see him.

"Indie loved football and he loved Newcastle and Craig raised his spirits when he was very ill.

"He even gave my son his shirt after a game with Aston Villa and dedicated the goals he scored in that match to him."

Bellamy came from fairly humble beginnings, which perhaps goes someway to explaining his humility towards the Singh family.

One of three brothers, he grew up in the Trowbridge district of Cardiff, where his mother, Angela, was a home carer and his father, Doug, was a supervisor at a steel and wire plant.

Academically, Bellamy never stood out at school - he left Rumney High without a GCSE to his name.

But put a football at his feet and Bellamy's precocious talents quickly elevated him above the rest of his peers from an early age, and it was his brother, Paul, who first alerted Doug Bellamy to the potential of his son.

"They were in Trowbridge Junior School together," recalls Doug.

"Paul came home one day and said, 'Dad, Craig's playing for the school side'. I said, 'Is he? He's too young', and Paul replied, 'He's good, dad'."

Doug took a keener interest in his son's development as a footballer from that moment on, ferrying him to training sessions and matches, and it wasn't long before the 11-year-old was invited to train with Cardiff City.

It seemed the boy from Trowbridge was destined to sign for his hometown club, but, much to Doug's amazement, an offer never materialised.

"How could they not see Craig's ability when everyone else could," recalls Doug, an ardent Cardiff fan.

"In the end he joined Bristol Rovers, where he played with other boys his own age.

"But I wanted him to be a part of Cardiff City. It would have been an ambition for me to see him at Ninian Park."

Shortly before his 16th birthday, Bellamy then received an offer to join Norwich, which he took up.

He found it tough to adjust to life in Norfolk initially, but he toughed it out, spurred on by a burning desire to make it in the professional game.

Life took a further turn for the young Welshman at the age of 17 when long-time girlfriend Claire Jansen gave birth to their son, Ellis.

"My fear was that he was too young to be a father, that he wouldn't be able to cope and that his career would suffer," said Doug.

"We were a little subdued for a while but we looked at the positive side rather than the negative. There was no point in going ballistic over it."

The extra responsibility of parenthood might have proved a hindrance to some but not Bellamy, who remained firmly focused on his football, and he got his reward in March 1997 when he made his Norwich debut as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.

From that moment on, his career took off in a big way and he went on to make a total of 91 appearances for the Canaries, scoring 34 goals.

Even then, his outspoken nature got him into trouble occasionally, but what shone out like a beacon was his insatiable desire to succeed.

Bruce Rioch, who managed Norwich at the time, recalls: "When I arrived in Norfolk, Bellamy was a young professional but I saw even then that he was extremely single-minded for someone at such a tender age.

"Craig had travelled over to Norwich from Cardiff on the train - it was a journey that had begun when he was still in school. He used to link up with Chris Llewellyn, who'd start his trek from Swansea.

"You have to say that Bellamy probably lost a great deal of his childhood because of his desire to be a professional footballer.

"He was a father at 17 - that's an awful lot of responsibility to have on your shoulders for one so young.

"I think it made him more serious minded and simply hardened his determination to make a decent career for himself in football.

"He was very demanding of himself and others around him - that didn't always go down too well with the older professionals at Carrow Road. But he knew where he wanted to go and was never slow in telling others about his ambition."