Jude Bellingham

[oldius]

There's an article on him today in the home page of the BBC that is frankly ludicrous. It's not sports journalism and it's not even feature writing, it reads like a paid for promotional piece. If it carries on, he'll go the way of Beckham moving beyond football to just being a highly successful but utterly vacuous celebrity seemingly fueled only by avarice and narcissism. Alternatively he could try concentrating on becoming a more complete footballer to justify the hype, but sadly I'm not holding my breath on that.

It is our journalism that is the problem. Sports journalism should be about sport - the attainment of excellence - but too often it is more about the personality. He gives them what they want - he is young, good looking, and has achieved way beyond his years. They are seeking the replacements for Messi and Ronaldo, and he needs to be careful not to get caught up because sport and celebrity are often incompatible bedfellows. His two individual moments in this tournament should not overtake the poor general displays he has given. It is not to condemn him and destroy his confidence but it is to highlight how he can take his game to the next level. A proper coach will praise his goals and identify that holding on to the ball for too long has denied teammates good opportunity, and lost possession. This has happened on multiple occasions and it needs to be explained to him that this is both demotivating for his colleagues and dangerous for the team. In short, the team comes before individuals...ALWAYS.

 

[threespires]

It is our journalism that is the problem. Sports journalism should be about sport - the attainment of excellence - but too often it is more about the personality. He gives them what they want - he is young, good looking, and has achieved way beyond his years. They are seeking the replacements for Messi and Ronaldo, and he needs to be careful not to get caught up because sport and celebrity are often incompatible bedfellows. His two individual moments in this tournament should not overtake the poor general displays he has given. It is not to condemn him and destroy his confidence but it is to highlight how he can take his game to the next level. A proper coach will praise his goals and identify that holding on to the ball for too long has denied teammates good opportunity, and lost possession. This has happened on multiple occasions and it needs to be explained to him that this is both demotivating for his colleagues and dangerous for the team. In short, the team comes before individuals...ALWAYS.

It's that much harder these days for top tier footballers to focus on their sport as they are in effect businesses as much as they are sportsmen (I say men because the money is so different from the women's game). You have to hope that the people in his organisation are at least as interested in him as a sports person as they are a revenue generator.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Top players today make more money than they could possibly spend in any kind of normal life, and their on-field career is often short, so I think many look for away to extend their pay days and football is all most of them know.

Accordingly, promotional opportunities based around football are low hanging fruit that anyone would seize upon, so one can’t blame them for some level of self-promotion.

However, it’s when the promotion off the field is out of step with their performances on the field that people start to complain.

To be fair to him, it’s hard to suggest that, for his age and what he has achieved over the last 12 months, he is being overly promoted. In fact, it would seem harsh.

The problem for most of us, at present, is that the actual journalistic coverage of him is overly fawning and precious. Any kind of objectivity has been erased, and he has already been crowned as the new Golden Boy of British football.

 

[oldius]

It's that much harder these days for top tier footballers to focus on their sport as they are in effect businesses as much as they are sportsmen (I say men because the money is so different from the women's game). You have to hope that the people in his organisation are at least as interested in him as a sports person as they are a revenue generator.

Indeed. I am a big boxing fan and there are a few young boxers with immense talent who are caught up in the social media world. Financially, it gives them the chance to be set for life, so it is understandable that someone who may have grown up hungry will pursue all they can in the short term. Without the right guidance, and with hangers-on blowing endless smoke up their arses, they may not achieve the sporting excellence that they are capable of. Millions in the bank will not compensate for relative sporting failure, and the regret could lead to real mental health challenges in later years. By then, social media won't be interested in you. By then, the 'friends' will have long moved on. You will be left with your thoughts of what might have been and what you could have achieved. Guidance can bridge the gap between the wisdom of age and the impetuousness of youth.

 

[KentBlue]

It is our journalism that is the problem.

Absolutely. The celebrity-obsessed media in this country are a total disgrace to their profession. You go online to the Sun or the Mirror and you will perhaps get a nod towards important news items, like the discovery of the dismembered corpses near the Clifton bridge, or the ongoing public ridicule of Joe Biden, but primarily the articles are aimed at the pissants (great word, I must remember to use it in public more often!), the masses, the proles. You might as well read the Beano for all the information you'll get from the tabloids.

Hopefully, there will come a time not too long in the future when the tabloids in this country are finished. The spineless hacks who spent half their lives toadying up to the pisscan and others of his ilk will be on the scrapheap. News is freely available to anyone with internet access -which is probably about 90% of the human race- so you don't need to buy a red-top tabloid, unless of course you'd love to know all about Katie Price's latest boyfriend, the coke scandal of some Hollywood B lister, or what's coming up next on EastEnders.

 

[give it to gordon]

I think this shows how well City bring the young talent up and the type of people our academy players have around them.
If we have an academy player that thinks like bellend they are sent packing Sancho being one.

 

[Fiftyyearsandcounting]

There's an article on him today on the home page of the BBC that is frankly ludicrous. It's not sports journalism and it's not even feature writing, it reads like a paid for promotional piece. If it carries on, he'll go the way of Beckham moving beyond football to just being a highly successful but utterly vacuous celebrity seemingly fueled only by avarice and narcissism. Alternatively he could try concentrating on becoming a more complete footballer to justify the hype, but sadly I'm not holding my breath on that.

What struck me in that BBC article was, in his own words...
"I have to deliver. I have to be that one that kind of tries to decide games, whether its with a goal or an assist, or a match-winning performance."
Is that desire for his team or just vainglory?

 

[Crooked_rain]

What struck me in that BBC article was, in his own words...
"I have to deliver. I have to be that one that kind of tries to decide games, whether its with a goal or an assist, or a match-winning performance."
Is that desire for his team or just vainglory?

Considering he shouts "who else?" After scoring, I think we know the answer to your question.

 

[willipp]

What struck me in that BBC article was, in his own words...
"I have to deliver. I have to be that one that kind of tries to decide games, whether its with a goal or an assist, or a match-winning performance."
Is that desire for his team or just vainglory?

Its probably 15 years of playing the game and being surrounded by people telling you its all about you. He now believes it and that reflects on the pitch, his attitude and in what he says. If you want to be that player, you better be fucking good, and i mean Messi, Zidane levels of good and not Bellingham levels. He's riding this England wave at the moment, but that could easily change in an instant the way he's setting himself up.

 

[Ithryn Luin]

The lads setting himself up for a big fall. Madrid teams evolve and move on quite quickly. His last 5 months performances will not be tolerated going forward and his manager will not be frightened to drop him. He needs to learn to release the ball earlier rather than try to win games on his own.

I foresee a difficult season ahead at Madrid and possibly a big money move back to a club in the UK where I think he will mirror the Pogba model of one good game in six.