Mario Balotelli [On the Road to Ballon d'or)

[EwarWoo]

Balotelli changed the penalty taker

Did he? Or is this just speculation?

Do we know what happened beyond what appeared to occur on the pitch?

[DannyMan2006]

I think what's also key to remember is that Mario cost £16m. That price for a lad of his talents is peanuts, but he cost that much for a reason. For me he came to Liverpool as a wild & untamed horse. Now I think it's getting to the point where Rodgers may have broke him, but it'll still an issue.

He could become a model professional and we still have to wonder it he fits into the team ethos. Does his style fit the team shape? Well increasingly I think he will. It seems that the one true way to stop LFC at the moment is to drop deep and not allow space. Flood the middle with bodies to not allow Coutinho time and kill LFC attacks at the source. I think in games like this, which will very quickly soon become the norm, a player like Mario or Rickie will be key to come and hold the ball up and be a big target to hit further up the pitch.

Wether the team shape and ethos will mould and change as a result of opposition tactics, or even if it remains as an option to change the game of the bench, I still the fabled plan B has finally proven to be worthwhile.

[Vermilion]

Because you could end up paying for ****e.

Far better to wait till they are released, and then pay for the ****e.

[kingfunk]

All the experts saying Ballo will be sold in the summer... Not so sure about that.

[EwarWoo]

Far better to wait till they are released, and then pay for the ****e.

I'll be pre-orderring GTA V but

[DannyMan2006]

All the experts saying Ballo will be sold in the summer... Not so sure about that.

Well for him to stay he will have to be playing at a much higher level than he is now. He's improved, but he's not yet value for money. Of course, the other point is someone would have to offer a reasonable fee. I smell a loan move to an Italian club, but I'm not sure we'd allow that.

[Gibbo]

Mirallas missed the pen he nicked, and I'm not sure *this* much was made of it.

It's a massive storm in a teacup based on an agenda.

[Rich]

Mario only pre-orders Assassin's Creed games.

[The Birdman]

We moaned when Balotelli was crap at the start of the season.
Now we're moaning because in the space of a week he's won us the game v Spurs, played a big part in beating Palace in the FA Cup and given us a first leg lead in a Europa Cup game.

I'd want to spend more time worrying about how **** Sturridge and Coutinho were and whether they both need a rest for Southampton.

[Roboklopp]

I was almost as much against Balo's signing as MrM but allowed myself to be optimistic about it when it looked like it was defo gonna happen. I soon got really pissed off with him tho & wanted him gone ASAP.

Right now, I've seen real improvements & if he continues at this rate, I'd be happy to see him here next season alongside Studge, Origi & a new star. He's been really good last couple of cameos.

I like to think that I'm above the petty tribalism & bigotry of people like Mr M, who are relics of the bad side of football from yesteryear.

[EwarWoo]

I've always thought his only issue was confidence.

Will see what happens now he has that.

And as for Balotelli....

[baitman]

It was nice to see him pressing the opponents and even chasing back. That in itself earns him 80k a week plus a bonus every time he scores a peno...

[MrMichael]

Why not?

I don't buy video games really, but for some reason I really need to know why you should not pre-order them!

Because the pre-order culture encourages game developers & publishers to continue spending the vast majority of their budget on pre-release advertising and hype, much of which constitutes flagrant and barefaced lying about features / qualities of their upcoming titles, rather than ensuring their games are actually good and work as advertised.

Well you did ask

[Le Chef]

Because the pre-order culture encourages game developers & publishers to continue spending the vast majority of their budget on pre-release advertising and hype, much of which constitutes flagrant and barefaced lying about features / qualities of their upcoming titles, rather than ensuring their games are actually good and work as advertised.

Well you did ask

Witcher 3 MrM !

[Vermilion]

I'll be pre-orderring GTA V but

I've got that little gem yet to play too, made up i gave it a miss on ps3.