Oof. I think Jude is more mentally mature now than Dele ever will be.
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Also, no doubt we’d be interested in Bellingham even knowing in the back of our minds he could wish to leave in more or less 5 years. I don’t think clubs look at it so romantically like us fans. Like “here’s Jude Bellingham, our new main man and captain for the next 10 years”. That’s too long in football to predict. Potential is another thing, of course he could do it.
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There’s always something negative to find eh?! 
Ham can last very long with the right preservation method.
Don’t you think there is a reason we are willing to smash our world record fee for this guy. He is a freak, physically and ability wise.
Of course, it’s the whole package.
It’s also why he’s wanted by some of the biggest clubs or best teams in the world.
Feels like this thread has devolved into an amortisation thread…
Yes, he’s our Chuck Norris!
Sure, there are differences. I can’t think of a perfect one to one comparison.
Take Rooney then as the closest one - he was an amazing signing for United, one of their best players in the history of the club.
I’m sure United don’t regret signing him because he declined a bit earlier than most.
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Also, a key reason as to why Bellingham has played so many minutes so far is because he is robust.
Would it be more or less concerning if he had half the amount of minutes played but a string of different injuries?
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Is that like the indigenous English Lions we so proudly wear on the England shirt?
Yes, Gerrard specifically made the point when he was interviewing him that Jude is physically basically grown to where he’ll end up… So a lot of the growing pains a lot of players have from growth spurts fucking up their muscles etc. Shouldn’t happen to a point with Bellingham.
England are frauds. The only lions that you’ll find in England are in zoos.
The Welsh have a dragon as a national animal and the Scots have the unicorn. No way will you ever see those locked up in zoos.
Fictitious creatures for fictitious countries
The allusions to Owen are baffling to me. He is far more like a lemon than he is a car that was driven into the ground as his body started failing him as early as his second senior season. From that point on he was too frequently injured to accrue a number of games that would concern anyone about burn out. At this point Jude already played far more games, probably double, the number Owen had at the point his body started failing.
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Ooh, there’ll be trouble at t’mill.
I actually believe Owen when he says he felt like the world’s best player between the age of 14 to 22 (if I remember correctly). One of them. Then he got the Ballon d’Or in 2002. I remember his final, 03/04 season with us (when there were already many rumours about him leaving), already feeling like something is not right with him anymore. A little bit like Torres when he returned from WC10. He had a few more good seasons and spells after that, but it’s around that time that his peak was finished.
But in my opinion it’s too wild to compare Owen and Bellingham. And a lot of names on that list. Jude is doing really well so far. He’s played so much because he’s obviously good enough. Made big steps very young. Part of that could well be because his physique. I don’t see him as a player who needs to play high intensity football all the time to be the best himself. And reading between the lines what he said post-Ukraine, you feel like he could evolve and change roles in midfield, depending on needs and how he feels.
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anyone taken into consideration that every footballer is playing 40-50 games a year if they’re a professional?
Championship teams are playing a regular season which is 46 games.
U23, U21, U19 all of these teams play scheduled league games, plus training daily or nearly every day?
Only difference in the number of minutes, is what level Bellingham is able to play them at his age.
My friend’s daughter who was still in high school was playing 50 games a year and training 5x a week when she was in Whitecaps development program. at 16.
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I get that point. But I would also point out the level of intensity required in a top tier game is very different to a youth game. They may think they are playing at 100% in a U17 game at the time, but I think in hindsight after they have played top tier football they will realise its actually a very different ballgame.
I think this conversation has morphed into a belief that there is anyone on here arguing he ‘isn’t worth it’ or that we don’t want him because he has too many minutes in their legs.
I don’t believe anyone has done that. But I personally think we have to be mindful of having expectations on career length at LFC as if he’s guaranteed to be playing in a red shirt until his mid 30’s. Realism doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t mean we cannot also get super excited about what he will deliver for us when he signs, in the short and medium term.
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Always wondered how footballers from the Championship get through a season. League games, FA Cup, League Cup and some play play offs at the end of the season too.