Liverpool FC Forum

[red till i die!!]

while i was impressed with mario that he actually managed to keep his cool with senderos and hutton i was less than impressed at how easy it was for them to disrupt his game.

[stmichael]

Felt sorry for him on Saturday. Never a lone striker in a million years. Spent to much time out in wide areas and coming deep.

[LFC1990]

Good to see him get his first goal. Dont think we will see the best of him until Sturridge is back

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

Balotelli's movement isn't the greatest but his hold up play is excellent, he's a strong lad and the ball sticks to him even in traffic, he doesn't just get it down and shuffle the ball backwards to the nearest red shirt either, more often than not he'll knock it first time or switch the play or something. He reminds me a lot of Mark Hughes in that respect.
I'm sure we can incorporate that type of ability into our game plan, when the ball goes into Mario we just need to get plenty of runners around him.
Oh and he made that goal out of nothing, the ball into him was awful but he used his strength to outmuscle two defenders.

[UvS xR4GEx]

He can be frustrating at times... there was a couple of instances where Lallana had the ball and players were surrounding him and Ballotelli made no effort to show for the ball or make a run to help him out.

But then he showed another side of him, Scoring important goals at important times. He's exactly what I was expecting, frustrating and brillant all in one.

I'm willing him to do well because he seems to love it here and we have harsh fans if he's not playing well.. and lets be honest if his confidence is high he can be brilliant.

[ballotelliman]

He can be frustrating at times... there was a couple of instances where Lallana had the ball and players were surrounding him and Ballotelli made no effort to show for the ball or make a run to help him out.

But then he showed another side of him, Scoring important goals at important times. He's exactly what I was expecting, frustrating and brillant all in one.

I'm willing him to do well because he seems to love it here and we have harsh fans if he's not playing well.. and lets be honest if his confidence is high he can be brilliant.

ye i agree  he is lazy when he hasnt got the ball.  Seems to only get into good positions when he knows a cross is coming in.  What suarez had  in abundance was making himself available for the ball  between 18 yard line and centre circle.

[red till i die!!]

He can be frustrating at times... there was a couple of instances where Lallana had the ball and players were surrounding him and Ballotelli made no effort to show for the ball or make a run to help him out.

But then he showed another side of him, Scoring important goals at important times. He's exactly what I was expecting, frustrating and brillant all in one.

I'm willing him to do well because he seems to love it here and we have harsh fans if he's not playing well.. and lets be honest if his confidence is high he can be brilliant.

ye i agree  he is lazy when he hasnt got the ball.  Seems to only get into good positions when he knows a cross is coming in.  What suarez had  in abundance was making himself available for the ball  between 18 yard line and centre circle.

the pair of you's obviously never seen him when he played for city    i was at the city game a few year's ago when carroll scored the brace and ballotelli played that night. trust me    we got the usain bolt version
he could do better at times but iv'e been impressed with his workrate so far considering who he is and im sure we will get even more from him as the games go past.
he is just a different beast than what we have been used to watching.

[ballotelliman]

He can be frustrating at times... there was a couple of instances where Lallana had the ball and players were surrounding him and Ballotelli made no effort to show for the ball or make a run to help him out.

But then he showed another side of him, Scoring important goals at important times. He's exactly what I was expecting, frustrating and brillant all in one.

I'm willing him to do well because he seems to love it here and we have harsh fans if he's not playing well.. and lets be honest if his confidence is high he can be brilliant.

ye i agree  he is lazy when he hasnt got the ball.  Seems to only get into good positions when he knows a cross is coming in.  What suarez had  in abundance was making himself available for the ball  between 18 yard line and centre circle.

the pair of you's obviously never seen him when he played for city    i was at the city game a few year's ago when carroll scored the brace and ballotelli played that night. trust me    we got the usain bolt version
he could do better at times but iv'e been impressed with his workrate so far considering who he is and im sure we will get even more from him as the games go past.
he is just a different beast than what we have been used to watching.

Mate i rate him believe me and in the box he is a beast  just out the box doesnt show as much urgency. Early days though just up to brendan to find the right system which suits him best.

[damjan193]

Should never play on his own again. Could have really used Remy right about now.

[Stu the Red]

As I mentioned earlier, think he's quality and a class above most we have but he's not a Liverpool player. He reminds me very much of a Cantona type player... Put him in a 4-4-2 and you'll see the best of him. Maybe Sturridges return will help create more space for him and bring the best out of him. Doubt he'll ever get 20 goals a season.

[Ben Patrick]

I agree about him not playing up top on his own.

He looks to me like he needs players close by.
Until Sturridge is back I'd start Borini with him and go back to the diamond.
While he isnt the greatest Fabio he does work hard and make constant runs occupying defenders.
For me it was no conincidence that Balotelli got more into the game when Borini came on.

[Stu the Red]

I agree about him not playing up top on his own.

He looks to me like he needs players close by.
Until Sturridge is back I'd start Borini with him and go back to the diamond.
While he isnt the greatest Fabio he does work hard and make constant runs occupying defenders.
For me it was no conincidence that Balotelli got more into the game when Borini came on.

Borini is a shocking player, no system in the world will work with him in a premier league side.

He's woefully inept, would rather see Lambert play or another midfielder.

[Ben Patrick]

I dont agree with you Stu.

I do think we need better than him without doubt but he is not a shocking player.
His movement is pretty intelligent and he did pretty well in a poor side last season.

His goal in the league cup final was very good.
I'd pick him ahead of Lambert just for the fact that he has more legs.
If the manager preferred Lambert to partner Balotelli I'd have no problem though, I just dont think Mario can play on his own up there.

[Stu the Red]

I dont agree with you Stu.

I do think we need better than him without doubt but he is not a shocking player.
His movement is pretty intelligent and he did pretty well in a poor side last season.

His goal in the league cup final was very good.
I'd pick him ahead of Lambert just for the fact that he has more legs.
If the manager preferred Lambert to partner Balotelli I'd have no problem though, I just dont think Mario can play on his own up there.

Can't agree on Borini, even some of the players questioned his signing and how poor he was. He's never a good player in  a million years.

I go agree that Ballotelli is not a lone striker though, as much as I don't really think Sturridge can start in a league winning side (unless you have Suarez) I do think he'll help Ballotelli by creating space for him to drop into.

[Red Focus]

I remember when Kenny was manager, Suarez wasn't very clinical in his finishing but under Brendan he became too good for any defence or goalkeeper. I hope that was due to Brendan's tutelage and not Suarez reaching his prime when Brendan happened to be the gaffer. If Brendan had played a huge part in developing Suarez, I hope he can do the same with Balo. In the Ludogorets match, Balo had a few half chances prior to his goal which Suarez would have easily put to the back of the net.