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

[red g]

His movement is dire. Stagnates our attacks & makes is predictable and easy to defend against.

not one touch in the penalty box yesterday

[Pablo]

He did have a few, but they were all whilst offside

[red g]

He didn't get subbed

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2777112/Mario-Balotelli-snubs-Brendan-Rodgers-orders-applaud-Liverpool-fans-Champions-League-defeat-Basle.html

story here....doesnt say he was subbed ....he snubbed

chinese whispers

[Muddled]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...eat-Basle.html

story here....doesnt say he was subbed ....he snubbed

chinese whispers

"This is the second time Balotelli - who failed to register a touch in the Basle all evening - has ignored Rodgers order to clap the travelling fans but the Northern Irishman attempted to defuse the situation."

I know it's the Daily Mail, but c'mon!

[ronanm]

As someone else said it another thread, drop him and play Borini up front on his own until Studge gets back. Am sick of the sight of him in a Liverpool shirt already (although he might improve with Studge up front)!

[Slinky Skills]

He could do with a slap across his face.

[Gibbo]

Hmmm.

He hasnt been amazing but there has been flashes, they may not have been any touches in the box for him last night but he was never given the type of ball that would benefit him in there really, we missed Moreno in that sense as he can really whip a decent cross in.

I do think Sturridge coming back will help his game, just as he did against Spurs. Mario in a similar sense to Rooney comes deep when he's not getting the ball where he wants.

I wasn't before, and I'm still not 100% now, but I'm gonna hold back on my full judgment until he has played a few games with his strike partner.

I still think the biggest mistake of the transfer window was Remy not coming in for whatever reason it ended up being. Him playing with Mario I reckon would have really made a difference.

[kev776]

He has never been amazing.

[danperkins]

not one touch in the penalty box yesterday

Unreal stat & a huge part of his problem. Clearly he can't play as a lone striker. Once Sturridge gets back and they play as a pair.. Balotelli needs to seriously improve & change his game.

Looking at him thus far which is early of course, but he doing exactly what he's been doing his whole career. For such a big and serious guy.. he's spends most of his time falling on the ground & whinging. That's just not going to cut it here.. needs a massive improvement.

[Paddy]

The lad has played 5/6 games for us and already it's a disaster according to most on here. Ridiculous to suggest that so far. He's under an awful lot of pressure to currently replace the best attack from the last 2 years in the Premier League. All on his own, considering the dire service provided due to a horribly underperforming defence and centre midfield.

He'll come good when he has Sturridge back and Gerrard etc pull their fingers out.

[Paddy]

not one touch in the penalty box yesterday

With one striker up front, and the midfield and defence at sixes & sevens it's no wonder he started dropping deeper to try and make an impact. Same happened whilst Torres was here, except we had players like Alonso, Mascher, Younger Gerrard, so it was a less frequent occurrence.

[RichC]

The lad has played 5/6 games for us and already it's a disaster according to most on here. Ridiculous to suggest that so far. He's under an awful lot of pressure to currently replace the best attack from the last 2 years in the Premier League. All on his own, considering the dire service provided due to a horribly underperforming defence and centre midfield.

He'll come good when he has Sturridge back and Gerrard etc pull their fingers out.

It's the Est way

[Gray]

He's always been average.

[Slinky Skills]

It's the Est way

It doesn't matter whether it's the Est way or not, he has been dog **** since signing and you can't get away from that.

[Paddy]

Maybe most would have preferred...