England v Serbia - Thu 13th Nov '25, 19:45 | Word Cup Qualifier

Paladin said:
Bellingham is clearly a very good player. So much is obvious, as he's playing for one of the best clubs, he had offers from other top clubs, including City and Liverpool, and he's one of the key players for his country.

But analyse his performance last night. On one occasion he was seen on camera complaining "f*** me!" after a not so good pass towards him, which he failed to control. It's this attitude that he thinks he's levels above everyone else that rankles. You don't get that from any other England player, regardless of their ability.

He had a few link ups with Foden, which was pleasing given that the narrative was that they don't get on and Bellingham never passes to Foden. Also the building narrative that Foden and Bellingham can't play together, but only Bellingham is undroppable. (This narrative was being postulated by Stuart Pearce on TalkSport in the build up. Pearce struggled to say a good word about any City player, and had Foden behind Rashford, Eze, even Bowen, in the pecking order for a place at the World Cup).

On one occasion, Matterface and Dixon both praised Bellingham for a brilliant cross that went straight to the Serbian keeper, on the basis that it was perfect for Kane, if he had still been on the pitch at the time. Fair enough, but Bellingham knew Kane wasn't there, and therefore it was a very poor cross, because it was nowhere near an England player. Notice all the other England players didn't all complain "f*** me!" after this poor cross.

This was surprising from the commentators as they had been very fair to all players before this, with no noticeable agenda against City players, unlike our former player and manager.

So whilst acknowledging Bellingham is a very good player, there are clearly question marks about his attitude. It's been mentioned that Tuchel is trying to foster a welcoming atmosphere amongst his team, where newcomers like Nico can feel at home. You can see these characteristics in certain players, and I'll name Rice, Stones, Henderson, even Rashford as experienced players who show good attitude. But not Bellingham, and not his mate TAA, who along with his Liverpool mate Gomez, picked a fight with Sterling all those years ago.

Tuchel somehow needs to let Bellingham know that he isn't the undroppable superstar like Messi and Ronaldo, and he must comply with team ethos he is trying to promote.
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Bellingham is a great player with many good attributes but I agree that the team and the balance within it is always the most important. He needs to buckle down and tone down his attitude and there’s no sign for me that this is likely just yet.
 
supercity88 said:
I don't think you can question Tuchel considering Phil came on and got an assist and probably should have scored and had another assist for Eze. He was more effective in his cameo last night than he has been in probably 20 games for Southgate.

Tuchel is providing clarity but he's not fixed in his position. He said Phil's great in the 10 role, can play false 9 and compete with Kane but also accepted Pep's used him as an 8 this season too so he's potentially competing for that spot. The main thing is he's playing with a smile and given freedom which is what we saw last night.

Rogers was good in the previous games and it was right to keep him in the side to keep reinforcing to the squad that playing well for England gives you credit and having a big name or impressing for your club over a month or two doesn't mean you're straight back in.
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Any competent manager would start him and mould the team around him
 
Fucking hell are Arsenal becoming the new Liverpool?? As for Dixon and Matterface being a City fan....plenty on here would beg to differ lol.

 
Bellingham has a big ego, sure, but many of the top players do. He's achieved an incredible amount for someone his age so he is walking the walk. I do think on the pitch he can be a bit individual, and England just might function as a team better without him. But his talent is obvious. Anyone questioning that surely just can't understand football.

Anyway, as for England, to potentially win every group game without conceding a single goal is a fantastic achievement, regardless of the opposition. Serbia were supposed to give us tough games. It's only because we spanked them 7-0 over two games that they suddenly became a pub team in some people's eyes. I really like what Tuchel is doing with our national team and regardless of how the WC goes I hope he's in the job for 2 or 3 years after.
 
Literally watched the last 10 minutes,

Saw Foden lay 2 on plates for Eze,

Eze walked off with 1 goal!

Phil Foden is the most accomplished and technically gifted footballer of this generation.

The way he receives, uses and plays the ball is poetry in motion, a master of his craft.
 
BlueHammer85 said:
The Bellingham hate on here has become an obsession.
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Probably because we don't buy into the bullshit and hype that surrounds him.

I haven't seen anything from Bellingham that warrants the level of sychophantic coverage he gets.

If a club wants to retire his shirt number because he leaves them to join Real Madrid then that's their business.

But he flatters to deceive if you ask me. I've seen him go missing in big games too, so he's hardly got the big match temperament.
 
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