I actually doubt he would have played alot at United had he come
Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund player...
- Thread starter Rozay
- Start date
Axel has been poor when he’s played but I must admit, I’m confused at the lack of game time Williams has had.
Because he’s been shit every time he’s played for the last year or so.
Williams was hit and miss last season, and has been like a headless chicken every time he's played this season. Tuanzebe has been average at best, and injured a lot (again).
He's class but I take it as a sign we should give Garner and Mjebri a shot next year rather than go looking to pay money to buy him. No reason in my mind why Mjebri isn't as talented as him but you have to take the risk and just give him the game time at the top level. Same with Garner to an extent. You'll have shit games along the way but have to let them play through that.
17 years old and the best player on the pitch (bearing in mind you have Haaland and De Bruyne out there as well)
Still makes me laugh that Birmingham City retired his shirt number.
I have no idea how you can watch this performance and be like "we've got Garner and Mjebri though."
I was just thinking that. What's really impressive is he looks a bit languid on the ball but he's deceptively fast with the ball at feet. Immediately would get into our midfield on this showing.It’s hardly something not to be excited about though. We have some good talent coming through why not praise them if you’re an Utd fan?
We should be all over him.
More due to the money they got. It threw them a life line
We were but he and his connections chose BD and you can’t blame him. He’s getting match play
Arguably Dortmund’s best player tonight which is some showing considering the level and his age.
Who's saying they have a problem with that?
What sort of gametime have Williams and Tuanzebe really warranted?
Not so much that I look at it and think they are as good as he is, but that I think signing him is out of our reach for a few years, after unfortunately missing out on him initially. What he has gotten, though, is regular football at a high level and I guess that I'm hopeful that Mjebri (in particular) and Garner might prove themselves well if afforded the same. Now its harder for us because the PL is a lot harder than the German league but I optimistically think that either of our guys can become top class players if given the chance. The thing is that we've never really gotten the chance to see a performance like that from someone like Mjebri yet. And by that I mean Bellingham has been a regular for Dortmund this year and will undoubtedly have had some poor performances but they have persevered with him. Basically I'd like us to look at this type of performance from Jude and stop considering some of our players 'too young' to be given a regular chance. Maybe they just might surprise us. Just like Rashford did when he came in, honestly who seen his emergence coming?
I think the issue ties into our issue with always chasing games. If we were a bit more consistent and managed games, I'm sure Williams, Diallo, Tuanzebe, Fish etc would get a decent amount of cameos with the hope they challenge for the first team in a couple of years. Bellingham knew he wouldn't get game time at United, he made the right choice for his career at the time but no reason we can't get him in the future.
He's been awful and is a walking red card.
He’ll be a Dortmund for another couple of seasons at least.
Yeah, you've probably got a point there. For what it's worth there will be other Bellingham's in the future, we can identify these talents so hopefully it's only a matter of time before we land one.
We should have tried harder to sign him in the first place. Would cost near £100m now
He looked a very good all round midfielder tonight. Certainly the right decision from him to go to Dortmund. Hopefully he can continue to develop into a top midfielder.
I dont think that was possible. He wanted more game time, which we cant guarantee. Plus Dortmund is a certainty for development.
Impressive interview for a 17 year old.
They are all trained to say the same things to be honest. I think he is very grown up and intelligent for his age, going by his decisions and how he carries himself, but most players, even the dumb ones, know what to say in interviews.
I’m sure they all get given similar templates but some do it far better than others. He had a confidence and maturity in the way he spoke that mirrored his abilities on the pitch.
Lad’s got an insanely bright future ahead of him, just a shame we weren’t able to land him before his price rose to a £100 million to get. Dortmund’s transfer model working for them once again.
England’s attacking options really are something else when you look at the whole array of talent, with even more coming through.
Last edited:
What is the general consensus about whether his goal should have stood tonight
Come back in 2-3 years for him
It bloody should have, ridiculous decision.
We shouldn't bemoan every transfer. They sometimes don't work out due to many reasons. I mean, how on earth would we give him plenty of starts with Bruno being as good as he is and starting every game and a double pivot that needs to provide defensive structure?
Not disagreeing with the general point, but you have to feel that if Fred and McTominay start for you, so could Bellingham.
I don't see how there can be any debate that it's a legitimate goal, so much so I'd argue anyone who thinks that's a foul needs to find a new sport to watch.
We don’t have to play a double pivot every game. Ole is extremely cautious in that regard. The majority of the best teams of the last 15 years play 4-3-3 with two 8s. I would argue that playing a pivot with a 10 as advanced as Bruno (arguably a false 9) leaves us very disjointed in the middle. We lose the midfield battle every time we play a half decent team. If we played 2 8s & a 6 I don’t think we would.
For me, I would always play Pobga and then one of those two which leaves Bellingham as second choice/backup for Pogba. But Ole prefers to play either those two (defensively much better than Bellingham) or one of them and Pogba (much better than Bellingham) so under it's even harder to make a case for him playing given his preferences IMO.
I know, but we do play it, and Bruno almost plays as a forward at times. It is what it is. And under those circumstances, he would find it hard to get playing time.
At least we are identifying the real top youth players. Hopefully some of the deals we have been able to do will turn out to be of a similar standard. We will never know unless they are given a proper shot but I could see Bellingham getting the VDB rotation treatment here this season. He’ll be free to move for big money in a few years anyway.
He could definintely play in a double pivot. The defensive side of his game is strongest at the moment. The hope is that he'll develop into a true all round midfielder.
Yeah, he’s not a 6. If we played 4-3-3 with Pogba & Bruno as 8’s, Bellingham & Donny could have been the backups. Obviously it didn’t happen & Ole seems extremely rigid & stubborn with the double pivot. I can’t remember the last time we played a proper 4-3-3.
Why shouldn’t we be excited about our own exciting prospects
