Topic: Welcome to Liverpool - Mario Balotelli

[spider-neil]

I haven't written off Mario but I think I would like to see Lallana in the front 3 (with Allen in the midfield 3) and have Mario play his way into form from the bench.

[jepovic]

Although its all well and good us wanting him to run more but I see that as pointless as we would be losing the ability he has to hold up the ball and bring others into play. While also being a deadly shooter outside the box his delayed runs into the box will be a weapon for us. Ibrahimovic like if you mite. Obviously he is quicker than Zlatan's ever been and he runs a hell of a lot more but thats the type of player he has looked like to me and thats not a bad thing. Sturridge can work with a player like that I think. They won't be making the same runs like him and Suarez seemed to do!

Que? Zlatan is much faster than Mario.  They have a similar style, but Zlatan is better at pretty much everything. Comparing Balotelli with Suarez or Zlatan is just going to make everyone frustrated.  Mario is still fine, but he's never gonna be a world class player like Zlatan. That's ok, though, noone else in our squad will reach that level (bar Gerrard, who's been there). Lallana will never be as good as Gerrard was either, but he's a good signing anyway.

[spider-neil]

I think Mario will get his chances in the CL. I think an attempt to play Daniel twice a week will end in tears.

[liverressie]

Que? Zlatan is much faster than Mario.  They have a similar style, but Zlatan is better at pretty much everything. Comparing Balotelli with Suarez or Zlatan is just going to make everyone frustrated.  Mario is still fine, but he's never gonna be a world class player like Zlatan. That's ok, though, noone else in our squad will reach that level (bar Gerrard, who's been there). Lallana will never be as good as Gerrard was either, but he's a good signing anyway.

You must be joking, right? In terms of pace and acceleration, Balo is much better than Zlatan!

Besides, Zlatan is a world class striker at his prime and Balo is no where near this standard now. However, how about Zlatan was at 24?

Zlatan was a highly rated youngster with lots of potential back in the days when he played in Ajax. However, he was nowhere near a world class striker at that time. With the bad tempered and lazy and selfish style of playing, he was often criticized by the press and other football experts. He also known as a poor finisher at that time.

Let's have a look at the scoring ration of Zlatan (from wiki):-
Years   Team   Apps†   (Gls)†
1999–2001   Malmö FF   40   (16)
2001–2004   Ajax   74   (35)
2004–2006   Juventus   70   (23)
2006–2009   Internazionale   88   (57)
2009–2011   Barcelona   29   (16)
2010–2011   → Milan (loan)   29   (14)
2011–2012   Milan   32   (28)
2012–   Paris Saint-Germain   70   (61)

Before his transfer to Inter at 25, he had a decent scoring records only (actually quite a poor record for playing Juventus). Back in those days, Zlatan was just like Balo, full of potential and everyone know he is a good player and target man but no one will call his as a world class striker due to the poor conversion rate and lazy style of play. Then, he improved a lot at his prime and became a goal machine in Inter Milan.

I also attached Balo's scoring record for your easy reference:-

Years   Team   Apps†   (Gls)†
2006–2007   Lumezzane   2   (0)
2007–2010   Internazionale   59   (20)
2010–2013   Manchester City   54   (20)
2013–2014   Milan   43   (26)

Balo is as capable as Zlatan (when he was at 24). I am not saying he will 100% turn into another Zlatan. However, the potential of Balo is huge:- He has very good first touch, he runs very fast at his size, his shooting is very powerful and he is very strong as well. If we can coach him well and he will definitely turn into a beast for us (just like how Zlatan did in inter Milan). 

[Mingle]

Must be hell walking in his shoes. You can have all the money in the world, it does not buy peace and happiness. The focus is on him at all times, on the pitch, off the pitch. It does not let up, it will not let up. People say that these sort of people bring it all on themselves. I don't think he does. I really don't. 99.9% of it is uncalled for. They do not let him breathe. Anywhere.

No wonder he never looks comfortable. No wonder he cant settle anywhere. How can you with that constant pressure and focus on you? All that negative energy on you? How can you be happy when its you that is under the spotlight in literally anything you do? Its that much of a circus, he gets accused of crazy things he never done. Just to sell a story or a newspaper.

Gullible fickle zombiefied people read that and believe every bit of it. It conditions them, poisons them and they don't even know it.

Must be hard day to day knowing there are so many people in this world that really hate you for no reason, want to see you fail and go out of their way to destroy you.

The media, rival supporters of other clubs, even his own supporters of the club he is at.

Just imagine what it feels like. Even then you can't possibly understand fully. None of us down here have been in that exact position.

What a tough life this man has had.

 

F*cking 'ell... I only want him to score more goals...

this is a bit of understaement but that is reading too far, far, far to much into it!

[MrRaptorTurtle]

I think Mario will get his chances in the CL. I think an attempt to play Daniel twice a week will end in tears.

For the opposition team 

[rizthebiz]

Must be hell walking in his shoes. You can have all the money in the world, it does not buy peace and happiness. The focus is on him at all times, on the pitch, off the pitch. It does not let up, it will not let up. People say that these sort of people bring it all on themselves. I don't think he does. I really don't. 99.9% of it is uncalled for. They do not let him breathe. Anywhere.

No wonder he never looks comfortable. No wonder he cant settle anywhere. How can you with that constant pressure and focus on you? All that negative energy on you? How can you be happy when its you that is under the spotlight in literally anything you do? Its that much of a circus, he gets accused of crazy things he never done. Just to sell a story or a newspaper.

Gullible fickle zombiefied people read that and believe every bit of it. It conditions them, poisons them and they don't even know it.

Must be hard day to day knowing there are so many people in this world that really hate you for no reason, want to see you fail and go out of their way to destroy you.

The media, rival supporters of other clubs, even his own supporters of the club he is at.

Just imagine what it feels like. Even then you can't possibly understand fully. None of us down here have been in that exact position.

What a tough life this man has had.

But they do bring it on themselves don't they. These players and their support network/advisors all know how the media is...The only thing that should get you into the papers because of the good stuff you do on the pitch.

When Suarez was here he I always thought he was treated unfairly by the media because he wasn't English. His racism row and rep took a much bigger hit than John Terry for example.

He recovered his rep last season by being one of the best players in world football only to go and screw it up again at the world cup.

Mario has come back to England with the bad reputation from his stint at City. Whether things are made up or not he does seem to give enough ammo to the media to fire at him.

Best thing for him to do is just get his head down, focus on his football and do the talking on the pitch with goals and assists...after a season ppl with forget. You'll see articles of him being "mature", "fulfilling his wonderful potential", "a great talent in the premiership", "masterstroke by Rodgers"...

He is in control of his behaviour and he needs to do things to manufacture a good image in the media. Get more PR for the charity work he does etc.

But it all starts on the pitch. He must perform. He has come with the tag of being a "high risk gamble"...once he starts scoring that tag will leave him.

[giveandgone]

But they do bring it on themselves don't they. These players and their support network/advisors all know how the media is...The only thing that should get you into the papers because of the good stuff you do on the pitch.

When Suarez was here he I always thought he was treated unfairly by the media because he wasn't English. His racism row and rep took a much bigger hit than John Terry for example.

He recovered his rep last season by being one of the best players in world football only to go and screw it up again at the world cup.

Mario has come back to England with the bad reputation from his stint at City. Whether things are made up or not he does seem to give enough ammo to the media to fire at him.

Best thing for him to do is just get his head down, focus on his football and do the talking on the pitch with goals and assists...after a season ppl with forget. You'll see articles of him being "mature", "fulfilling his wonderful potential", "a great talent in the premiership", "masterstroke by Rodgers"...

He is in control of his behaviour and he needs to do things to manufacture a good image in the media. Get more PR for the charity work he does etc.

But it all starts on the pitch. He must perform. He has come with the tag of being a "high risk gamble"...once he starts scoring that tag will leave him.

Agreed, keep his head down, no mental haircuts / helium balloons... just relentless focus on getting better and scoring goals for the next 12 months and the press will get bored of him and move on

[Il Capitano]

Can you imagine if that was Balotelli? Can you fucking imagine!

Who the fuck cares?

[Tobez]

To be honest I think the criticism of Mario is more than a little unfair. In the games he has played he has made the effort to track back, has pressed from the front to a decent degree and generally performed well. Those saying he has not been offering the right channels and has looked laboured up front should consider the respective performances of the midfield in the games he has played; in a 4-2-3-1 with Henderson alongside Gerrard the gap between midfield and attack has looked cavernous and most players would have struggled to impress in those circumstances. It's worth thinking about how we might have looked in the first half against West Brom with Mario up front as a fulcrum instead of Lambert, given the changes to the midfield structure.

That said I think he will do well when Sturridge is back. We looked very good against Spurs because of the space that was created by the movement of the two front men, and against an awful QPR side we should be looking for another emphatic performance that can really kick-off a good run of games and see us climb the table. Sterling will be in dire need of a rest and Coutinho has looked brighter coming off the bench or starting deeper, so we might well see Lallana at the tip of a diamond with Henderson and Allen/Coutinho on the sides.

The press have been quick to pounce on comments by Brendan about Balotelli, which I think shows a little bit of naivety by the manager. He should realise that criticism of Mario - even constructive - will be quickly seized upon as more evidence of 'disruption' and blown up to ridiculous proportions. Even the Telegraph (I only read the sport section, promise) had an article this weekend saying Balotelli was 'doing Liverpool's brains in'. This after 6 starts, a handful of decent performances in difficult circumstances and a crucial Champions League goal. This is why I think the comments after the game about the Gerrard-Balotelli interplay were published on the official site; as an attempt to show that we will not be taken in by ridiculous press hype and welcome Mario's contribution.

TL;DR - Mario's done fine and will do better.

[Mighty_Red]

So far, I have no problems with the start Balo has made. Criticise him all you like but it has to be in the context of poor performances from his team-mates - our struggles are not down to him.

Obviously, the issue of how he tends to like playing was always going to be a problem, but did we plan to rely on him at this early stage? We've had to make the best of a bad situation and it hasn't come off as yet.

The service into him has been poor, make no doubt about that. Apart from the miss against Everton and those against Spurs he hasn't had many clear cut chances but he has made things happen on the few occasions when the ball has come to him in the box.

I don't think his work-rate has been too bad, he has chased back and tried to win the ball. I would say he does about the same amount as Sturridge (and therefore a lot less thn Suarez). Of course, Sturridges movement off the ball is far superior so that is the no1 thing for Mario to work on.

Again, I think the number of fouls he attracts is also a good thing - it means we win possession and the chance to make things happen from set-pieces. Eventually, if opposition defenders are scared of him, he will win pens and get players sent off.

As I mentioned on the Sturridge thread, these 2 weeks represent a great chance for both of them to work together (and with the others) to improve the understanding between him and the team. Hopefully QPR will show a big improvement on that note.

[Upinsmoke]

I'm not really surprised that the media writes such things about Mario. They dislike him, for no reason mind, plenty of worse individuals, with lesser ability and lesser work rate.

Pretty much a combination of who he plays for and his origins. Fuck all to do with not making a run in behind against Basle and setting a firework off years ago.

[Just Dan]

F*cking 'ell... I only want him to score more goals...

this is a bit of understaement but that is reading too far, far, far to much into it!

Is it really?

[robgomm]

Must be hell walking in his shoes. You can have all the money in the world, it does not buy peace and happiness. The focus is on him at all times, on the pitch, off the pitch. It does not let up, it will not let up. People say that these sort of people bring it all on themselves. I don't think he does. I really don't. 99.9% of it is uncalled for. They do not let him breathe. Anywhere.

No wonder he never looks comfortable. No wonder he cant settle anywhere. How can you with that constant pressure and focus on you? All that negative energy on you? How can you be happy when its you that is under the spotlight in literally anything you do? Its that much of a circus, he gets accused of crazy things he never done. Just to sell a story or a newspaper.

Gullible fickle zombiefied people read that and believe every bit of it. It conditions them, poisons them and they don't even know it.

Must be hard day to day knowing there are so many people in this world that really hate you for no reason, want to see you fail and go out of their way to destroy you.

The media, rival supporters of other clubs, even his own supporters of the club he is at.

Just imagine what it feels like. Even then you can't possibly understand fully. None of us down here have been in that exact position.

What a tough life this man has had.

Is this for real?

[Smithy_88]

Is this for real?

Fucking hell!!!!! He can Fuck off, try working 10 hour shifts mon - friday on £24 grand a year.

And having to afford tickets in 4 cups and euros away.

I feel so sorry for him! 

[Shaved Crossbar]

Is this for real?

The irony is funny isn't it

[Melron]

Needs a few goals to get him going, Can see him getting them against QPR when Sturridge is back in the side dragging defenders all over the gaff

[Mingle]

Is it really?

Yes it is!!

[Mingle]

Fucking hell!!!!! He can Fuck off, try working 10 hour shifts mon - friday on £24 grand a year.

And having to afford tickets in 4 cups and euros away.

I feel so sorry for him! 

I weep every night thinking about his plight!!

[LiamG]

You must be joking, right? In terms of pace and acceleration, Balo is much better than Zlatan!

Besides, Zlatan is a world class striker at his prime and Balo is no where near this standard now. However, how about Zlatan was at 24?

Zlatan was a highly rated youngster with lots of potential back in the days when he played in Ajax. However, he was nowhere near a world class striker at that time. With the bad tempered and lazy and selfish style of playing, he was often criticized by the press and other football experts. He also known as a poor finisher at that time.

Let's have a look at the scoring ration of Zlatan (from wiki):-
Years   Team   Apps†   (Gls)†
1999–2001   Malmö FF   40   (16)
2001–2004   Ajax   74   (35)
2004–2006   Juventus   70   (23)
2006–2009   Internazionale   88   (57)
2009–2011   Barcelona   29   (16)
2010–2011   → Milan (loan)   29   (14)
2011–2012   Milan   32   (28)
2012–   Paris Saint-Germain   70   (61)

Before his transfer to Inter at 25, he had a decent scoring records only (actually quite a poor record for playing Juventus). Back in those days, Zlatan was just like Balo, full of potential and everyone know he is a good player and target man but no one will call his as a world class striker due to the poor conversion rate and lazy style of play. Then, he improved a lot at his prime and became a goal machine in Inter Milan.

I also attached Balo's scoring record for your easy reference:-

Years   Team   Apps†   (Gls)†
2006–2007   Lumezzane   2   (0)
2007–2010   Internazionale   59   (20)
2010–2013   Manchester City   54   (20)
2013–2014   Milan   43   (26)

Balo is as capable as Zlatan (when he was at 24). I am not saying he will 100% turn into another Zlatan. However, the potential of Balo is huge:- He has very good first touch, he runs very fast at his size, his shooting is very powerful and he is very strong as well. If we can coach him well and he will definitely turn into a beast for us (just like how Zlatan did in inter Milan). 

Wasn't there discussion when we had Caroll that most target men only start coming into peak at 25?

[LincsRedbob]

Fucking hell!!!!! He can Fuck off, try working 10 hour shifts mon - friday on £24 grand a year.

And having to afford tickets in 4 cups and euros away.

I feel so sorry for him! 

Fuk that try 9 hours 5 days for half that....

[Smithy_88]

Fuk that try 9 hours 5 days for half that....

Well we're both fucked hahah!!

[Funky_Gibbons]

Fuk that try 9 hours 5 days for half that....

 

[robgomm]

He's still entitled to feel shit on whatever money earns. But that post did two things:

1) Suggest Balotelli does feel miserable and has a hellish life, which is a huge assumption

2) That we should feel his plight is "hell" and he's had a miserable life because he gets some bad press (and has no responsibility for any of his own, pitiful life - it's all been thrust upon him).

Bizarre.

[chanti]

YNWA Mario Brother!!

F@ck the rest.

[Durlmints]

YNWA Mario Brother!!

F@ck the rest.

Fatck the rest?

[chromed]

Fucking hell!!!!! He can Fuck off, try working 10 hour shifts mon - friday on £24 grand a year.

And having to afford tickets in 4 cups and euros away.

I feel so sorry for him! 

What's it like having a weekend off? I haven't had a weekend off since I left school.

[liverressie]

Wasn't there discussion when we had Caroll that most target men only start coming into peak at 25?

It should be! However, Andy is a bit unlucky as he is a bit injuries prone. It seems he will never fulfill his full potential due to his injuries records. What a pity for England as I still think he had the potential to be a classy number 9 for England.

[rizthebiz]

Another reason the media will always target Mario is because he has the potential to be World Class but just seems to waste his talent with his lack of focus.

It's always a great story that sells papers, makes other people good about themselves to see someone of obvious talent self destructing and wasting his god given ability.

If he had no talent, there would be no reason to talk of him. Some people say his "talent" is hype or a myth, who knows...

The Euro 2012 performance is what everyone seems to be hanging on to...if he can do that at a major tournament, why can't he do it consistently for a club?

He also seems to bring attention to himself for off the pitch reasons like the haircuts and helium balloons...so "why always me?"...because he has always done stuff like that and its all well and good to have fun, but do it whilst being a top top player who is scoring goals and doing his job on the pitch.

He had a good record for Milan and if he can replicate that 16m would have been well spent. I still think he is not the right player for Liverpool and the way we want to play. I think he needs plenty of time to adapt to it. Being disciplined and pressing/working hard for the team is only stage 1. Its expected of all our players. Time will tell and I hope he proves me wrong.

Until then getting Liverbirds cut into his hair or all that other stuff doesn't really impress me. If he isn't scoring or assisting as a striker then he isn't really doing his job and shouldn't be in the 1st 11.

[PaulKS]

Just remembered why I stick to the Ticket boards...

[SlowRap]

Que? Zlatan is much faster than Mario. 

haha cheers for the laugh

[Snail]

Fucking hell!!!!! He can Fuck off, try working 10 hour shifts mon - friday on £24 grand a year.

And having to afford tickets in 4 cups and euros away.

I feel so sorry for him! 

Haha, spot on.

[Durlmints]

Fucking hell!!!!! He can Fuck off, try working 10 hour shifts mon - friday on £24 grand a year.

And having to afford tickets in 4 cups and euros away.

I feel so sorry for him! 

Yeah but don't you get it?

He has to play football to make his money!

The poor soul.

Now if you'll excuse me I've gotta head over the park for a kick about...


...not really it's 10 fucking pm, but you get the idea.

Football is fun and money is nice.

[Il Capitano]

My man Balotelli living in hell on earth driving new Maseratis over here

[Xxavi]

Is this for real?

He is a strange guy, Just Dan.

He is really emotional, not unlike myself, in defense and criticism of those he likes and those he doesn't like, respectively. He is criticizing Markovic for almost everything, and I am with him on that. Markovic has many big excuses going for him, still, he should do better. But he is ludicrous in his defense of Borini and Balotelli, he writes of double standards, but he is displaying that himself here in this forum.

Hilariously nonsense defense of Balotelli and Borini leads me to think that the guy must be an Italian who is trying to defend his compatriots. He talks of Balotelli's games for Italy as if he has watched them all. He is a very biased person when it comes to Balotelli and Borini. He doesn't give 4-5 months to Markovic, he criticizes the kid mercilessly, but here, he is crying over the very tragic life of Balotelli. Everybody is unfair to Balo

[Red Sea]

Wasn't there discussion when we had Caroll that most target men only start coming into peak at 25?

'comparing mario with zlatan is a bit mental, zlatan is much better in all aspects of play.

[Redcap]

'comparing mario with zlatan is a bit mental, zlatan is much better in all aspects of play.

I think the idea is Zlatan is the type of player Mario can aspire to be, albeit with a bit more pace and ability to get past a man, and a bit less intelligence/contribution to build up.

The Zlatan comparisons are mostly coming now because despite the career he's had so far, we've been all a bit surprised at Mario's lack of ability, and are trying to re-align our expectations with other players.

[cricketrocks]

'comparing mario with zlatan is a bit mental, zlatan is much better in all aspects of play.

Not if they're playing with fireworks.

[liverressie]

'comparing mario with zlatan is a bit mental, zlatan is much better in all aspects of play.

I still think there are not much difference between them at 24.

[jooneyisdagod]

The Zlatan comparisons make me want to smash the fucking screen in. Leave it out. In terms of sheer footballing ability alone, Balotelli isn't a patch, yup, a patch on Zlatan. Just leave it.