Bellamy’s axe to grind over roomie

FOR Craig Bellamy, Nobby Solano was the perfect room-mate during his Newcastle United days.

But when Solano joined Aston Villa in 2004, the former Wales international then roomed with Lee Bowyer for away games and it is fair to say Bellamy wasn’t a fan of the new arrangement.

Solano has often been spoken about as one of the characters of that dressing room and Bellamy was more than pleased to be his room-mate on away days.

But when Bowyer stepped into the Peruvian’s breach, Bellamy couldn’t get away with the current Charlton Athletic manager’s annoying habit when he sleeps.

“I had Solano, Nolberto Solano, for a bit (at Newcastle),” Bellamy told Sky Sports.

“Not just a great guy, he was good to room with. He loved the sleep.

“You know, I like to watch telly late and it wouldn’t bother him, he’d go to sleep and so he was the perfect roommate.

“Then he went and Lee Bowyer came in.

“He had a real annoying habit where one or two in the morning he used to grind his teeth when he was asleep, really loud and wake you up.

“He warned me about it but I used to take a sleeping tablet every night in a hotel as I struggled to sleep the night before a game.

“So imagine being on a sleeping tablet, the noise he had to be making to wake me up.

“I used to leave a glass of water to the side and I said, if you wake me up this is going over you.

“So it would be two or three in the morning and he would be grinding his teeth away and I’d just throw the water straight over him.”