Official : Mario Balotelli signs for Liverpool

You also have to remember Mario hasn't even cost us a lot in terms of the transfer fee. Lovren, Sakho, Lallana, Markovic have all cost more and haven't done any better. But all the criticism is falling on his shoulders.

Art Morte wrote:

izzy wrote:One of the most overrated players I've ever heard of.

Dude has played for Inter, Man City, AC Milan, Liverpool AND is being dropped for the Italia National team and the same problems that were brought up about the beginning of career are still brought up now.

The problem is that even though he's very talented and skilled with the ball, his style isn't that well suited to play the lone forward of the day. Today the most goal-scoring strikers are wham-bang-thank-you-ma'am kind of explosive players who score their goals from a flash of quick action or clever positioning. I think Balotelli is actually technically better on the ball than Aguero, Van Persie or Costa, for example, but his style isn't as direct or aggressive.

Let's put it this way that if your five attacking players were all Balotellis, you'd have better results than if they were all Agueros, Van Persies or Costas, but if you have just one of them playing the lone striker, you're better off choosing one of the other three to score more goals.

I'm hopeful that having Sturridge back will benefit Balotelli, but at the end of the day it's up to Rodgers to get the most out of Balotelli since he signed him. Balotelli's style was well known and if it doesn't suit our needs, we should have bought someone else.

So what you're saying is basically that Liverpool has bought Mario DMtelli.

Massimiliano Allegri after Balotelli's first goal for Milan:
"I see Mario more as a Defensive Midfielder than a Centre Forward".

Fußball wrote:

Art Morte wrote:

izzy wrote:One of the most overrated players I've ever heard of.

Dude has played for Inter, Man City, AC Milan, Liverpool AND is being dropped for the Italia National team and the same problems that were brought up about the beginning of career are still brought up now.

The problem is that even though he's very talented and skilled with the ball, his style isn't that well suited to play the lone forward of the day. Today the most goal-scoring strikers are wham-bang-thank-you-ma'am kind of explosive players who score their goals from a flash of quick action or clever positioning. I think Balotelli is actually technically better on the ball than Aguero, Van Persie or Costa, for example, but his style isn't as direct or aggressive.

Let's put it this way that if your five attacking players were all Balotellis, you'd have better results than if they were all Agueros, Van Persies or Costas, but if you have just one of them playing the lone striker, you're better off choosing one of the other three to score more goals.

I'm hopeful that having Sturridge back will benefit Balotelli, but at the end of the day it's up to Rodgers to get the most out of Balotelli since he signed him. Balotelli's style was well known and if it doesn't suit our needs, we should have bought someone else.

So what you're saying is basically that Liverpool has bought Mario DMtelli.

I guess I'm saying that our squad is lacking natural goalscorers and to such a squad Balotelli isn't the ideal addition. And that he shouldn't be blamed for it, because it was well known what type of player Mario is.

Our attack isn't just shit by itself.

Contrary to what Morty is saying, Mario is detrimental to our attack himself at the moment. He never stays as the point of attack. He's moving deep and basically playing as a midfielder. There's no one up there to get the ball to when he moves out of position.

He's NOT a lone striker. It's like playing a CB as fullback and then complaining why he isn't doing well. He's a SS and I think Rodgers knows that.

But we can't blame Rodgers for playing Balotelli by himself up there either. His other choices are Borini and Lambert neither of whom should be Liverpool players. No one in their right mind would play those two if they could avoid it when you are trying to get CL and contend for the title.

Sturridge is the key to our attack and once he's back that will help us a ton.

ALSO, the second biggest thing with out attack this season is runners from midfield (a la Lampard). Hendo is basically handicapped this season. When he's playing in a double pivot with Gerrard, half of his game disappears because he can't make those lung busting runs anymore because he has to cover Gerrard's ass in case we get counter attacked.

So Allen and Emre Can have been huge huge huge misses for us. Last season the diamond worked so well because Allen would basically stay back and help Stevie while Hendo made those lung busting runs forward which made it easier for the attacker as well as disrupting the defensive line of the opposition. Or it was vice versa with Hendo sitting back and Allen making the run.


And finally our attack has been shit because our quarterback/regista Stevie has basically had a shadow marker in each of the games. Stevie is so good at starting the attack from that deep position. But he's had absolutely zero space this season. He can't even touch the ball anymore because the oppositions game plan is to completely nullify his presence.

Now that this is happening it's forcing the ball onto Skrtel, Lovren, Sakho and forcing them to actually do something with it instead of passing between themselves or hoofing it  Not only this, but also Henderson is now forced to drop deep and act as the regista because Stevie moves forward to try to drag their forward away out of position, which also means that now no one is making those lung busting runs from midfield.


After this international break Sturridge, Allen, and Emre will all be back so two of the problems should hopefully be fixed.

In terms of finding space for Stevie when he's marked out, that's something Rodgers has to work on to find him space or bench him for now and let teams forget how good he is.


So essentially yes Mario shouldn't take all of the blame for our attacking misfortune this season so far, but he is also one of the reasons why we're shit in attack. But I think he'll improve massively when he's got someone of Sturrdige's caliber ahead of him when he drops deep. It would also mean defenders have something other him to worry about up there.

Don't call me James wrote:He never stays as the point of attack. He's moving deep and basically playing as a midfielder.

DMtelli.

Nah, DM is for players like Benzema. Maybe CMotelli?

Fußball wrote:

Don't call me James wrote:He never stays as the point of attack. He's moving deep and basically playing as a midfielder.

DMtelli.

Well that's what happens when you try to play a SS as a target man

My biggest pet peeve with Mario and Rodgers handling of this is that they didn't sit down and talk it through that the current situation is temporary. I hope in every bone of my body that Rodgers realizes Mario isn't a striker. Mario should know that until Sturridge comes he needs to sacrifice himself and just play the way the team needs him to. Stay up there like a striker. Make runs in behind. hold up the ball. Press the defender. But he's absolutely refusing to change his game for the team. Now we're forced to change our system to fit him.

And Rodgers should make this point to him as well. He's basically letting him play the way he wants instead of the way that will benefit the system.

And to be fair to Mario, he's playing his own game. And he's playing it well. I personally think if Sturridge was fit during this past 1.5 months Balotelli would have been seen as a huge success because he's played his own game very well.

Unfortunate part was that we didn't need that in the last 1.5 months. We needed an actual striker.

People were saying the exact same thing about Luisito 2-3 years ago.

He's not a CF. Everyone knows that. He'll do fine as soon as Sturridge is back.

Art Morte wrote:For my money Balotelli has done well thus far. When he's got the ball, he's doing good things with it. And what comes to scoring goals, he hasn't let the team down, it's more the other way round, we haven't been able to create chances for him. I'm not worried about Balotelli, I'm much more worried about our attacking play as a whole.

I didn't say he's doing bad , like having bad games , though 1 goal in 6 games is bad , no matter how well he did with the ball.But I wasn't strictly speaking about the player Balotelli here. I am talking about the character , the man Balotelli . There resides every single one of his issues.

With a few words , he's unreliable and that's where i said he still hasn't changed one bit. As a player , i said ,

....he may be really talented , his body may be capable of great things...

It's his unwillingness to adapt to the team around him , rather he wants the team to adapt to him. He's the classical type of player who wants the entire team to play for him , so he could bring the best out of himself. I don't see Liverpool like that and i doubt BR sees his team this way. However you put it , Balotelli isn't , or can't be , what his team needs him to be .

At Liverpool i have seen most out of a couple of games and some highlights here and there. I don't see a player , coming to prove himself. I see the same world-class Mario , searching for his fks around the pitch. Whenever he has the ball , more often than not he does good things with it , because he is almost always good with it , but i think you would agree Liverpool will need more than that from him . It's not like Balotelli can't make certain moves and runs , or help his teammates out , or stay on his feet against the odds. It's that he chooses not to. And i am sure that isn't an instruction by the coach , wherever he went he was the same . Not hint of change , or improvement.

In any case , my issues with him are mostly in the details , essentialy i wouldn't say he's doing bad so far , even though he is well capable of much more than that. However , i can guarantee you that if he doesn't get serious and work to adapt around his team , he will be a problem for Liverpool . I suppose BR should also see that he does , but with Balotelli it's always an issue , so many others tried .

I'd say the biggest issue you can find with Balotelli is that his team cannot trully depend on him , not when he is like that. When he wants to work and try , he is a beast . I just don't see that yet and it's a pitty , he should have shown that since his first game at Liverpool.

When a player reaches the point where it's his "last chance" at the age of 24.... you know something is seriously wrong. I hope he figures it out because he certainly has ability. But as my father used to tell me: "i'll take a hard worker who is not as gifted as others over a lazy smartass every day of the week." You have to work hard and be dedicated. People need to be able to generally predict what you can and can't do in order to count on you... if you're erratic and lazy, people will write you off fairly quickly no matter what your potential is.

Don't call me James wrote:

Fußball wrote:

Don't call me James wrote:He never stays as the point of attack. He's moving deep and basically playing as a midfielder.

DMtelli.

Well that's what happens when you try to play a SS as a target man

My biggest pet peeve with Mario and Rodgers handling of this is that they didn't sit down and talk it through that the current situation is temporary. I hope in every bone of my body that Rodgers realizes Mario isn't a striker. Mario should know that until Sturridge comes he needs to sacrifice himself and just play the way the team needs him to. Stay up there like a striker. Make runs in behind. hold up the ball. Press the defender. But he's absolutely refusing to change his game for the team. Now we're forced to change our system to fit him.

And Rodgers should make this point to him as well. He's basically letting him play the way he wants instead of the way that will benefit the system.

good analysis.

Balo doesn't run period... how do you expect to play SS when his positioning and running are both poor? He needs to develop a football brain. That should be goal number one.

How do you claim to watch Liverpool and then be ao ignorant in your commenta ffs?

Sturridge was an SS for us last season (when it was Luis playing off Daniel), now Mario doesn't run when he's like the only one in our final third closing down / running his bollocks off. You claim he's not hardworking/lazy yet has stayed back after training on more than one occassion to work with Rodgers...

First time in his life that he's training hard If true.... Running aimlessly means very little. Pressing high alone is about the dumbest thing in the world unless you're closing down the keeper (keepers tend to panic and hoof).

He's tactically inept and he's never underestood to read defenses and make runs off of the defenders' positioning. His play in the WC and most of his clib play clearly shows it.

You can blame bis teammates all you want. But Suarez had no problems creating passing lanes to him and neither did Sturridge with the same teammates. Yet somehow Balo is struggling....

It's going to be fun watching Ramos slap Balo around again. Can't wait.

(This is not a GL jinx btw )

sportsczy wrote:First time in his life that he's training hard If true.... Running aimlessly means very little. Pressing high alone is about the dumbest thing in the world unless you're closing down the keeper (keepers tend to panic and hoof).

He's tactically inept and he's never underestood to read defenses and make runs off of the defenders' positioning. His play in the WC and most of his clib play clearly shows it.

You can blame bis teammates all you want. But Suarez had no problems creating passing lanes to him and neither did Sturridge with the same teammates. Yet somehow Balo is struggling....

You really claim to watch Liverpool and then dig yourself deeper in this hole. Running aimlessly?

HE'S NEVER REALLY PLAYED AS A CF CONSISTENTLY BEFORE IN HIS LIFE. HE'S NEVER ADAPTED HIS GAME TO PLAY AS A CF. AGAIN, SUAREZ WAS IN THE EXACT SAME SITUATION 2 YEARS BACK. THE EXACT SAME THINGS WERE BEING SAID. THE EXACT SAME THING.

Suarez had no problems creating lanes to "him"? Who's "him"? Mario and Luis never played on the same team. Balotelli and Sturridge (if that is indeed "him") played one game together [against Spurs] and that was our best performance this season, where Mario did well and was unlucky not to score. People also forget he didn't really have a pre-season. So not only is he adapting to a new team / system / position, he's also been struggling with fitness in the opening games. But let's just put all the blame on Balotelli because the team as a whole is struggling.

He's never played CF consistently before in his life?  You can't be serious.  Wtf do you think he played at Inter, City and Milan...  CB?  

Suarez created lanes between himself and the player with the ball, typically his forward partners and the midfield.  That's a learned skill for CF.  At the age of 24 and having been a CF his whole life, it's a shame Balo hasn't really picked up this basic skill.  At NT, if it wasn't for counter attacks and Pirlo finding impossible passing angles....  he was always in poor positions to receive the ball.

Because he was a consistent starter at Inter and City..........

He was great for Milan, and he's real first shot as the main player but he wasn't really a CF. And it's not his fault the club had problems (both on and off the pitch) and he was a scapegoat for it towards the end.

Suarez at 24 wasn't a CF and was considered a Liverpool flop after Kenny's first season and we finished 7th.

Again, Balotelli "made lanes" between himself and Sturridge when played together. Our whole final third is crap right now. No one makes runs. He seemed to do fine when he had some genuine quality (not unpolished) in the final third too when Stevie was up there for 20 minutes.

Can't speak for Inter, but I don't think you can call Mario a consistent starter for City during his time there.

He wasn't a consistent starter at City because he kept getting into trouble... either he sucked period, or he made bonehead plays or he had off the field issues.  They TRIED to make him a starter but he kept messing up. He got 2 or 3 runs of being a starter for 1-3 months and he kept frakking up.

He was the CONSISTENT starter at Milan and he didn't do crap other than his first 6 months.  He started 41 games last season....  and Milan were desperately trying to get him off the club by the end of the season.

When you suck, you can't be a consistent starter with a club of any consequence regardless of your talent potential.

Ibra at 23-24 was very much in the same mold in terms of inconsistency. The obvious difference with Ibra, even though he had the bad boy attitude, was that he was always focused in terms of improving his game.

Balotelli really needs to take a page out of his buddies book and follow his footsteps.

Not even CLOSE ffs... what are you talking about. Ibra was the superstar at Ajax when Juve bought him. Ibra was a brat, but he was always hungry and always worked hard on the pitch. His teams always won the league and he was the glue of those teams. Went to Juve at the age of 23 and scored 21 goals for them because Trezeguet got hurt. When Trezeguet returned, he became more of a creative player and wasn't used as a CF... and he was great there too. Why do you think Inter paid 25 mil euros for him and paid him 4,5 mil in wages that went up to 10 mil when he turned 25? For 2006, that's a TON of money.

Balo's issue is that he lacked professionalism his whole career. Ibra never did. They both acted like punks... but Ibra's play, production and trophy count justified the bs at least. With Balo, he gives you no reason to put up with his crap.

What not even close?

Mario has won huge trophies at Inter and City as well. At 23 Ibra was not the current Ibra you see now. He was good but he was so so so inconsistent. People didn't think of him as world class. Ibra was a troublemaker at the current age Mario is. Ibra had some major falling out with VDV and Ajax cashed in on him because of that.

At 24 Ibra barely moved to Juve and he was not the world class player he would become at Inter yet. He was a troublemaker that Ajax got rid of. At 24 Mario has just moved to Liverpool as a troublemaker.

Where are you getting your stats from because they are wrong.

He scored 15 in 31 for Ajax in his final season at 23.
And he scored 16 in 45 for Juve at 24.

Mario scored 18 in 41 for Mlan in his final season at 23.
He just turned 24 at Liverpool.

Don't compare the world class Ibra of Inter or PSG to this Balotelli. Compare the 23-24 year old Ibra to him and you'll see they're sort of in similar predicaments.

Of course as I mentioned the biggest difference is that Ibra has always been career oriented and focused on his football. Where Mario is still very childish.

He is worthless as a lone CF, would almost rather have Matri in that position instead lol