How good was Bellingham last night

It was ridiculous.

He could become the best player in history and it will never not be a ridiculous decision to retire a 17 year old's shirt after half a season.
It was daft to retire his shirt but there is mitigating circumstances ( does not excuse the shirt retirement). He was on schoolboy contract and had not signed a professional contract so could have left for nothing, he said he wanted to sign a professional contract in last few months of the season so Birmingham city could get some money for him( he is a Brum fan and his brother is in the academy and is aware of the precarious financial situation at the club), he was also one of the main reason they stayed up that year.
like I said daft to retire the shirt but mitigating circumstances
 
One thing you cant level at Southgate is a reluctance to give young players a chance.

Agreed. I can't think any other recent England manager would have even given him a chance yet.

As for retiring his shirt, It's a marketing gimmick really; they're hoping he becomes a huge success for England, and they'll keep selling Bellingham shirts for years to come.

Its not much of a gamble because they don't really lose anything if that doesn't happen.
 
I didn't get chance to watch either leg, but you do wonder how much some of our younger players miss out by not playing abroad.
Yes - happening more and more though, very different to 10 or even 5 years ago.

For so many years the only Englishman abroad would be a Beckham or an Owen or a Woody being a random galactico for a few seasons. It was a real curio. Remember Joey Barton posing with a latte and a newspaper during his half season in France?

There’s loads of u21s now who take their chances in Holland or Germany, more than you’d think - look it up, it’s quite a long list. Plus the likes of Ashley Young, Smalling and Trippier playing for top European teams when they’re older.
(Edit: found a list:)

Jadon Sancho’s success was a real pathfinder I think.
 
Sancho certainly proved the gamble is worth it, but I think it’s more to do with top European clubs taking advantage of the fact that we have some of the best academies in the world but fewer chances of breaking through than ever. It’s the reverse of the Pique and Fabregas type transfers.
 
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