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

[kev776]

Anybody who buys him will be getting quality. No doubt about it in my mind, the lad has been unlucky with illness and team mates who won't pass to him.

He had a hard first season due to cultural differences, this year he will be untouchable, brilliant and superb.

[Nicey]

Are you high mate ?
Performed well ? when where ?

When he came on last season ... he really could not be faulted .. he had zero service and was totally isolated, he held the ball up reasonably well, but never really looked like he suited our system. In a team that plays this his strengths he will get you goals, but he is not going to change his game or perhaps he is not capable of playing another way .. same way Fabregas is pretty poor at defending, he cannot change his game .. does not make him a bad footballer

It has not worked out for the lad ... so what the world still turns

[Nicey]

Wtf? He's been absolutely ****e - BR had opted against using a striker at all instead of using him

We went out over the summer & brought in 3 forwards!

When he played ... he did ok .. he certainly was not the worse player on the pitch last year ..

Lets not forget last season was a huge cluster**** in parts ..

He closed down, he held up play .. but ultimately he was isolated

He needs a team builth around him as does the vast majority of top strikers ... look at Suarez .. has utterly brilliant as he was .. he was nowhere near as effective in his first season ... Bdog literally set the entire football club up to feed Suarez .. Mario never got that .. he was thrown on randomly .. expected to contribute immediately in a system that did not take into account his style of play

**** it .. I like him no matter what

[Kenneth]

He'd be awesome at walking football with those old guys on the advert.

[Fan65]

When he played ... he did ok .. he certainly was not the worse player on the pitch last year ..

Lets not forget last season was a huge cluster**** in parts ..

He closed down, he held up play .. but ultimately he was isolated

He needs a team builth around him as does the vast majority of top strikers ... look at Suarez .. has utterly brilliant as he was .. he was nowhere near as effective in his first season ... Bdog literally set the entire football club up to feed Suarez .. Mario never got that .. he was thrown on randomly .. expected to contribute immediately in a system that did not take into account his style of play

**** it .. I like him no matter what

To be fair, he started off poorly considering he was supposed to be a potentially talented striker that Rodgers thought he could work with and coax the best out of him to the extent that he was willing to give him big bucks as a reward.

However, his performance didn't really improve at all, when he did get a chance he ambled about seemingly waiting for the ball to bounce off his boot into the goal so he can pose as the wonder striker he thinks he is.

Close people down, ha ha, maybe a half hearted lollop occasionally and if he was isolated it was because he didn't bother to find space or make runs.

Comparing him with Saurez is laughable, Saurez was sheer class. Balotelli just isn't.

I agree totally a team should be built around him, but only if it's someone else's team and not ours. He's shown nothing to suggest any tactical change to the team would benefit his game at all.

Rodgers worked with him all year and gave him chances to prove himself but in return he couldn't be bothered to up his game, it got so bad in the end that Rodgers had to drop him from pre season altogether. If that's not a sign that he's not worth the effort then I don't know what is.

When he signed I was on the side that hoped he'd prove his critics wrong and that he'd buckle down and start banging in the goals.

But that hope faded very quickly.

[Exiled_red]

He'd be awesome at walking football with those old guys on the advert.

[Cormack74]

He'd be awesome at walking football with those old guys on the advert.

That's a good shout actually.

[Norbs]

Nah, he'd be **** at that too

[fidget]

When he came on last season ... he really could not be faulted .. he had zero service and was totally isolated, he held the ball up reasonably well, but never really looked like he suited our system. In a team that plays this his strengths he will get you goals, but he is not going to change his game or perhaps he is not capable of playing another way .. same way Fabregas is pretty poor at defending, he cannot change his game .. does not make him a bad footballer

It has not worked out for the lad ... so what the world still turns

Agree completely - and as soon as he's shown no love by the manager(very publically) he takes his ball home.
If you buy a gifted,eccentric man child striker you'd better mollycoddle him or expect the worse.
Wish him all the best.

[baitman]

Agree completely - and as soon as he's shown no love by the manager(very publically) he takes his ball home.
If you buy a gifted,eccentric man child striker you'd better mollycoddle him or expect the worse.
Wish him all the best.

it wouldnt have mattered if brendan was breastfeeding this bellend.
he considered mancini the best guy who has ever lived and was almost having a fist fight with him.
the guy is poison, totally not arsed about anything other than being the class clown.
whoever is responsible for his purchase needs the skin peeling off their feet and stood in a bucket of salt and vinegar crisps.

[Mostar]

i have a feeling that he will go to West Ham on loan and do well.....

I think you might be right that he will go on loan to a team in PL I do not think he will do well.

[RichC]

Lack of work ethic is his biggest problem, he's clearly got some talent but he's ****ing bone idle it's a complete waste.

I was one that thought when we'd ended up with him he was probably worth a punt as there didn't appear to be anyone on the horizon we were likely to sign but what a complete waste of time both for the club and the player.

[Mostar]

Reminds me of Ryan Babel in so many ways.

God given talent wasted due to poor work ethic.

[frank the tank]

If you genuinely thought that Mario Balotelli looks like a woman based on a long earring, this casts into massive doubt every single thing you've said about the supposedly gorgeous women you've been pathologically abusing yourself over for the last few years. It also proves that as we get older, we don't turn into our fathers, we turn into the victorian gender police. Men should look like men! Neat conventional haircuts! Tell that woman to sit side-saddle on that horse!

[RichC]

Reminds me of Ryan Babel in so many ways.

God given talent wasted due to poor work ethic.

Worse than Babel though, at least he on occasion put a shift in just not that bright. This guy seems to do as little as possible to get by.