Liverpool Transfer News: Will Craig Bellamy Be on His Best Behavior This Time?

There weren't many clubs in a good position to stand pat in the final hours of the summer transfer window, but Liverpool was one of them.

They didn't stand pat, of course, as the Reds chose to send a number of players packing. They gave Joe Cole to Lille on a season-long loan, transferred Raul Meireles to Chelsea, transferred David Ngog to Bolton and also transferred Christian Poulsen to Evian.

In the midst of all the players going out was one player coming in: Craig Bellamy, who came in on a free transfer from Manchester City.

As we all know, the 32-year-old Bellamy is quite familiar with Anfield. His first tour with the Reds started back in July of 2006, as he came over on a transfer from Blackburn Rovers. He promptly scored in his debut, but things more or less unraveled from there.

February of 2007 was pretty much the beginning of the end for Bellamy at Anfield. It was then that he was alleged to have attacked John Arne Riise with a golf club, which resulted in him being fined two weeks' wages. It also earned him one of the great nicknames in recent sports memory, "The Nutter with the Putter."

For all intents and purposes, it also all but killed his relationship with then-manager Rafael Benitez, who shipped Bellamy to West Ham United later that year.

The point of this little story time, in case you're wondering, is to frame the question: Should it be taken for granted that Bellamy and Liverpool have truly buried the hatchet?

As much as I would like to say no, which would certainly be a great way to drum up some totally unnecessary controversy, I think the answer is yes. And it's not even close.

Shoot, just look at the circumstances. Bellamy can certainly be excused if he left Liverpool with something of a chip on his shoulder, but he's been humbled recently.

He signed with Manchester City amidst much hype, and he quickly became a fan favorite, but the last year or so have not been so kind. His place on the squad was compromised by big-money signings, and it ultimately became clear that there was just no place for him there at all.

Enter Liverpool. A place of less-than-favorable memories, perhaps, but a place where things are undeniably different. Benitez is gone, and so is the ownership group that oversaw him. In a sense, the very people who would have held a grudge against Bellamy are gone now.

So despite the fact it's a club he knows quite well, what Liverpool can offer Bellamy is a very unlikely change of scenery.

At this point in his career, that's pretty much exactly what Bellamy needs.