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One goal does not a career make. Let’s wait and see how things play out – Opinion

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So, not for the first time, I find myself talking about Birmingham City’s newest sensation, Jude Bellingham.

Now I want to make it absolutely clear from the outset, that I do wish him all the success in the world. In today’s world where vast sums of money of money are being spent on players who may not even stay at your club long (such as Harry Maguire’s two year stint at Leicester), to have someone come through your academy, to be ‘one of our own’ is something that every football fans should look forward to and enjoy.

He has obviously burst onto the scene in recent weeks, breaking two club records in the space of a month. First it was the youngest player when he came on against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup. Then on Saturday against Stoke City, he became the club’s youngest goalscorer.

All I am asking fans to do, is not get carried away with things. It was just one goal, and let’s be honest, as glorious a moment as it was in front of the Tilton End, there was a lot of luck involved in it when you consider how big the deflection was.

As I said last week, I am questioning whether or not the expectation levels of fans are in line with what they should be for someone who just now become a part of the first team. With a goal like that to win a league game, I am just worried that the fans are going to start clamouring for him more and more often whenever we need a goal. I just wonder if that is too much pressure to put on someone that age.

That’s not to say he hasn’t earned the right to be there, he’s clearly progressed through the ranks incredibly well, and if Pep Clotet sees something in him then we should trust him. Emphasis on the word him.

It shouldn’t be us that determines how much he should be playing, or how quickly he needs to be a first-team regular. This is someone who should be blooded into the first team slowly, rather than rushed into things. We don’t want to set our expectations too high and then end up disappointed. Better to keep them low, then be surprised when he exceeds them.

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