He can be like a wasp at a picnic - and you can be sure Roberto Mancini did not fall out with him without a reason - but does any Liverpool player more richly deserve an appearance at Wembley than Craig Bellamy?
For all his flaws, one of which was evident in his seizing of a golf club and use of John Arne Riise as a ball during his first spell with Liverpool (not to mention the hurling of a chair at coach John Carver while at Newcastle), Bellamy displays a commitment to football that means we shall miss him when he is gone.
Sir Bobby Robson, under whom Bellamy served on Tyneside, described him as "a great player wrapped up in an unusual and volatile character" but, like other frequent movers between clubs - Carlos Tevez and Robbie Keane spring to mind - he gives value on the pitch. He also represents one of those phraseological imprecisions in which football specialises, being a "winner" who hasn't won much.
Just the Scottish Cup. So, ahead of his 33rd birthday, the Carling Cup final offers a timely opportunity.
Though Bellamy spoke last night of the piquancy of the opposition to be faced next month, the Welshman may regret the obligation to triumph at the expense of Cardiff, his first love in football and the club for which he dropped a division.
For the nutter with the putter is hardly bereft of heart, as his support for a school in Sierra Leone emphasises. There will have been dancing in the streets of Freetown last night as well as Liverpool. And a quiet smile of vindication from Kenny Dalglish. As he implied, if City have any more problems, they are welcome to unload them at Anfield - so what price a bid for Tevez?
