But despite dominating the game, Blackburn rarely troubled their Championship opponents before Bellamy's 53rd-minute introduction, when the presence of the former Newcastle forward immediately galvanised Hughes' side.Within seven minutes they were ahead as the substitute's slide-rule pass released Emerton, who finished confidently past the Leeds goalkeeper Neil Sullivan from a tight angle. But we will not give him 90 minutes until he is ready."Hughes has targeted this competition as a potential source of silverware and he delivered a telling statement of intent when he named a team largely unchanged from Rovers' familiar Premiership line-up. Hughes said: "He is not quite there fitness-wise just yet, but there is no doubt he is an exceptional talent and you saw his qualities tonight. He made an impact and that is what we want our substitutes to do."We have made a conscious effort to introduce him slowly and surely and I think he has more confidence in his fitness now. Having marked his return from his latest injury with a goal against Birmingham last Saturday, the forward once again stepped off the bench to devastating effect, this time conjuring a hat-trick of assists that allowed Brett Emerton, Paul Dickov and Lucas Neill to overwhelm a Leeds side eventually reduced to 10 men by the 87th-minute dismissal of Gylfi Einarsson. Bellamy's devastatingly effective cameo appearance prompted feelings of both frustration and anticipation within Mark Hughes, who has already seen his £6m summer signing on the sidelines twice this season with knee and ankle problems and is determined not to risk further damage to his investment. Substitutes not used: Reina (gk), Josemi.Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire)..
Craig Bellamy's brief Blackburn career may have been blighted by false starts, but there can be no doubting the Wales international has already made a significant impact at Ewood Park following a second dramatic substitute appearance in four days in this third-round Carling Cup tie last night. Substitutes not used: Kiraly (gk), Ward.Liverpool (4-4-2): Carson; Raven, Hyypia, Whitbread, Warnock (Traor?77); Potter, Hamann, Gerrard, Kewell (Garcia, 65); Morientes (Sinama-Pongolle, 63), Crouch. However, their removal from this competition was sealed 18 minutes from time. Mr Ofili is a trustee of the Tate, and, I am certain, a very effective and important one. Apart from his innate distinction as a painter, his commitment to, and interest in, non-Western cultures can only be useful to the Tate, considering its future direction. One of the main problems a museum like the Tate has is how to broaden its appeal outside its white, middle-class, middle-aged audience.
Mr Ofili, who evidently engages with a very wide range of art, can only help provide solutions other than the painfully obvious ones. In either role, Mr Ofili deserves our admiration. But none of that is remotely relevant to the extraordinary situation. For the Tate to have acquired a work of art by one of its trustees is blatantly improper; I cannot imagine how they thought that such a scandalous conflict of interest would go unnoticed.Some of the correspondence relating to the acquisition has been made public, and it makes enlightening reading. In 2002, Mr Ofili's dealer, Victoria Miro, wrote to say that "as Chris is getting married next week... I suspect he may be less willing than previously to wait for an extended period in terms of finance.