Bellamy's role

There's an interesting article in today's News of the World about Craig Bellamy and his leadership role at City, particularly relating to his criticisms of his teammates:

In the line of fire was City's back four - Pablo Zabaleta, Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge - following their draw with Burnley.

He pointed the finger at all of them during an explosive dressing-room inquest, accusing them of lacking concentration in the final minutes.

They had allowed Kevin McDonald to score an equaliser for the Clarets late in the game, prompting Bellamy to direct his anger towards City's leaky defence.

Then manager Mark Hughes waded in, questioning Wayne Bridge's focus after he failed to deal with Brian Jensen's long ball in the build-up to the goal.

This is the job that Bellamy was bought for. He clearly has a closer relationship with Hughes than almost any other player-manager combination in the Premier League. He was brought to City - not just to score goals - but to represent and enforce for Hughes in the dressing room. This was particularly important last year given the number of anti-Hughes players: not just the Brazilians but the 'lazy old pros' faction - Didi Hamann, Darius Vassell and Michael Ball. Most of the anti-Hughes players have gone (only Robinho remains), but Bellamy clearly still has a job to do in this regard. He is not just Hughes' eyes and ears in the dressing room, but his mouth as well.