Mike Dodds has spoken about the struggles Jobe has faced while trying to make a name for himself, rather than being known as Jude Bellingham's brother. He says that's why the teenager has "fallen in love" with the Sunderland fans - because we judge him for his performances, not his surname.
ALWAYS JUDE'S BROTHER
"Jobe's life is difficult. Wherever he goes, he’s never going to get away from that. It’s difficult for me to comment but I don’t think anyone will truly understand what it is like to be Jobe – if he goes anywhere in the world, he’s Jude’s brother, he’s not Jobe. Him having his own identity is something he desperately craves. I’m sure as he gets older and he gets more accolades and he does wonderful things in football, he’ll be appreciated for who he is.”
UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION
"He’s desperately fighting to be recognised for him. It’s always going to be a battle for him, that’s the reality. But everyone [here] is doing their part. I think the group and the staff are really understanding of Jobe’s situation. We don’t discuss the brother stuff with him at all, if he wants to discuss it, that’s up to him."
LOVES IT HERE
"That’s why he’s fallen in love with the fans, with the area. He’s so happy with the decision he made last summer, he’s said that to me personally. It’s a perfect club at the perfect time for him. I’m sure this part of the world will be forever in his heart. He’s completely fallen in love and I think the Sunderland fans have been unbelievable with him."
SO MANY MINUTES
“He’s definitely played more minutes than anyone would have expected. I think for such a young boy, he always been picked, whether by Tony (Mowbray), Mick (Beale) or myself and that says something. He’s been picked in different positions as well with all three of those coaches which says from a maturity perspective he can be trusted. I don’t know the numbers but there wouldn’t be many scholars who have played the minutes, maybe Archie Gray at Leeds would be one in the Championship."
HARSHLY SCRUTINISED
“I think I have to bring it back to that (the fact he's a scholar) I think people forget that. There’s so much scrutiny around him if he doesn’t play well. I think it’s unfair, because he’s just so young and I don’t think people appreciate how good he is for his age. I’ve said it a thousand times, if his name was ‘Jobe Smith’ people would be waxing lyrical. But because of his second name and the comparison, sometimes the over-analysing of him is unfair. But those unfortunately are the cards he’s been dealt and he’s got to get on with it. I’ve had that conversation with him."
NEEDS A BREAK?
“Everything gets monitored, everything gets recorded, the GPS data, we get all the physical data. And if there ever was a red flag, we would have protected him. In my personal opinion, it’s more the mental break for Jobe that he needs and I think the summer will be important for him to just switch off from football. Not just for him but for Riggy as well. For young players going away in the summer and just forgetting about football is important, less the physical aspects, more the mental aspects."
JOBE AND RIGGY
“It’s the same with Chris Rigg. He’s a first-year scholar. This time last year he was in school. We haven’t achieved what we wanted to achieve [this season] but we have played against Leicester, Southampton, Norwich, Leeds, West Brom, with a boy who twelve months ago was in school and another boy who 18 months ago was in school. And we’ve done all right in the games. So there’s so many positives from my perspective. We’ve played those games really well with two youth team players on the pitch.”
