Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid player

Stop that. Pogba was stuck playing in front if the defense :lol: by our pedestrian tactics. Bellingham has been given a free roaming role. Something Pogba was never afforded at United :lol:.

i guarantee you if Pogba had gone to Madrid he'd have a way better club career than he ended having. Coming to united was a mistake on his part
Sure. He's also playing better and more effective football than Pogba ever has, which is the point.
 
It seemed quite likely that he would score a last min winner when he scored the first one. Elite player level inevitability about him.
 
So grateful he didn't sign for Liverpool.

He's essentially playing as a false 9 for Madrid in a diamond. Don't get me wrong, he'd have most likely been a success wherever he went, but he'd have played deeper for Liverpool, and I don't think he'd have been given the amount of freedom he's being given a Madrid.
 
I think it was more that his parents/team weren't idiots and could evaluate the level of coaching/development he'd get here
I think you two are actually saying the same thing. United didn't see Bellingham as an immediate part of their starting eleven, so he went somewhere where he would be to develop better.
 
No one has been better than Bellingham this season. That first goal was ridiculous. The one at Napoli was brilliant as well and he scored all those late winners.

He's not even scoring goals due to Madrid playing good offensive football, he's worked miracles many times now.
 
He's essentially playing as a false 9 for Madrid in a diamond. Don't get me wrong, he'd have most likely been a success wherever he went, but he'd have played deeper for Liverpool, and I don't think he'd have been given the amount of freedom he's being given a Madrid.
That's true, but it's a fact that Bellingham through his career now has played every position in the center (except goalkeeper) as well as left winger - he is just amazingly versatile and was good in every position he played.
 
I think you two are actually saying the same thing. United didn't see Bellingham as an immediate part of their starting eleven, so he went somewhere where he would be to develop better.

Which is, considering his age at that time (or now), not that strange. In hindsight it is obviously a mistake but it certainly isnt impossible to see why Ole didnt want to guarantee playing time.
 
That's true, but it's a fact that Bellingham through his career now has played every position in the center (except goalkeeper) as well as left winger - he is just amazingly versatile and was good in every position he played.

100%. I was more talking about his goal contribution not being as good, though.
 
I think you two are actually saying the same thing. United didn't see Bellingham as an immediate part of their starting eleven, so he went somewhere where he would be to develop better.
It just wasn't the right career move for him. Him and Haaland were good enough to be secure that the big clubs were coming eventually. Their careers has been managed perfectly as at that age, you either go to a lower pressure club that is known to develop young players or one that is already a functioning unit and is ready to win trophies. We're neither.
 
Which is, considering his age at that time (or now), not that strange. In hindsight it is obviously a mistake but it certainly isnt impossible to see why Ole didnt want to guarantee playing time.
True, it's all hindsight now. We know that Dortmund made the right call in giving him a first team role and contract (money did play a role as well, as Dortmund allegedly offered more than United), but of course it could have gone wrong for them as well.
 
Which is, considering his age at that time (or now), not that strange. In hindsight it is obviously a mistake but it certainly isnt impossible to see why Ole didnt want to guarantee playing time.

I don't even know that I would call it a mistake in hindsight unless United knew at the outset that those would be write-off seasons and they could afford to accommodate a young player in order to allow him to make mistakes and grow because there was no expectation to win much anyway.
 
Stop that. Pogba was stuck playing in front if the defense :lol: by our pedestrian tactics. Bellingham has been given a free roaming role. Something Pogba was never afforded at United :lol:.

i guarantee you if Pogba had gone to Madrid he'd have a way better club career than he ended having. Coming to united was a mistake on his part

The only time Pogba was given a free role at United was when Ole put him in a midfield three with Matic and Herrera. I can't remember how many he scored/assisted, but he was arguably the best midfielder in the world during that period.

The fact that Pogba got into the world XI when he was at Juventus should say everything about how talented he was. As you said, United had no clue how to utilise him. As a result, his form fluctuated.

Actually, I can guarantee the same would have happened if we somehow managed to buy Bellingham.
 
i’m with paul merson, there’s no point letting english players go to inferior leagues. bellingham wasn’t putting up these kinds of numbers at birmingham in the championship, yet here he is, taking the piss out of el clasico.
 
wow just wow, it's crazy how Real is so good at identifying the real diamonds with all the noise..
 
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The only time Pogba was given a free role at United was when Ole put him in a midfield three with Matic and Herrera. I can't remember how many he scored/assisted, but he was arguably the best midfielder in the world during that period.

The fact that Pogba got into the world XI when he was at Juventus should say everything about how talented he was. As you said, United had no clue how to utilise him. As a result, his form fluctuated.

Actually, I can guarantee the same would have happened if we somehow managed to buy Bellingham.
I think Bellingham is more versatile than Pogba, so there is a chance that he would have played better than Pogba in the same setup.
 
He is right. Using Bellingham as a stick to beat Pogba with is disingenuous. Why would you compare someone that played in a double pivot and spent the majority of his career here collecting the ball from our centre backs to someone that is effectively playing as a striker?

You wouldnt expect Rodri to produce striker numbers. But then Pogba is the only midfielder in history that gets criticism for not defending like Kante, not scoring like Jude, not controlling the CM like Pirlo which probably shows that he is rated by his critics deep down. If he wasn't rated he wouldn't be expected to do three different jobs at once but would be judged on what he actually was doing like any other player.
 
He really is killing it over there. Makes me sad that we didn't get him, but then again, we all know that he would just turn to shit the moment he arrived at United.
 
Don’t think I’ve seen anyone better at knowing when to arrive in the box. It’s pretty incredible that he has mastered it so young.
 
I think Bellingham is more versatile than Pogba, so there is a chance that he would have played better than Pogba in the same setup.

Not too sure if you watched the World Cup, but it wasn't until Southgate pushed Jude higher that we saw better performances from, not only him, but the team as a whole. Can he play deeper? Of course he can, so can Pogba, but he's much better when given freedom, as we're seeing.
 
He really is killing it over there. Makes me sad that we didn't get him, but then again, we all know that he would just turn to shit the moment he arrived at United.
The expectation to deliver when playing for Madrid is completely different to what we (used to) have here.
 
Don’t think I’ve seen anyone better at knowing when to arrive in the box. It’s pretty incredible that he has mastered it so young.

I keep wondering if this is enabled by Madrids lack of a striker. Basically he can always see the space there that would have been taken up by Benzema or someone like that.

His timing is impeccable right now. 20 years old!
 
He is right. Using Bellingham as a stick to beat Pogba with is disingenuous. Why would you compare someone that played in a double pivot and spent the majority of his career here collecting the ball from our centre backs to someone that is effectively playing as a striker?

You wouldnt expect Rodri to produce striker numbers. But then Pogba is the only midfielder in history that gets criticism for not defending like Kante, not scoring like Jude, not controlling the CM like Pirlo which probably shows that he is rated by his critics deep down. If he wasn't rated he wouldn't be expected to do three different jobs at once but would be judged on what he actually was doing like any other player.

I don’t know why people need to bring Pogba into the conversations in the first place like he’s some star player which should be compared to everyone. Pogba failed to live up to expectations whilst he was here and some of the excuses people are coming out for why are beyond laughable. But keep that for the Pogba thread.
 
I keep wondering if this is enabled by Madrids lack of a striker. Basically he can always see the space there that would have been taken up by Benzema or someone like that.

His timing is impeccable right now. 20 years old!

His goal ratio is much better playing behind Joselu who is a proper 9 than Rodrygo who is more like your false 9.

He scores because he is given more freedom than other midfielders but also because his awareness is really special. Today was probably not his best game but in other matches he seems to be everywhere, his presence is massive.
 
What a player. I wonder where does he stand as comparing to the best English midfielders in the past: Charlton, Gascoigne, Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard.
 
Just seen the golas- natural footballer who makes everything looks easy wich is hardest thing to do on football pitch, and at this level, just wow.
 
Don’t think I’ve seen anyone better at knowing when to arrive in the box. It’s pretty incredible that he has mastered it so young.

He reminds me of Martin Peters who would ghost into the box to get the vital touch. Cantona could do that and Robbo too in his heyday. It's a rare gift all right.