Liverpool FC Forum

[Octsky]

i have seen us played since folwer and collymore partership.
so i know how frustrating it is to see a forward with so many chances and miss so many,
heskey is the prime culprit,
mario performance today is the worse i have seen for many many years,

i am confident that if the last goal was not an own goal and mario was at the end, he would have balloon it.
ship him back to italy for 10m next season if he still plays like that. we such shitty def we need to score more than we concede,
and he just aint doing that.

[ballotelliman]

hes being so stupid. i remember when he first came he was 20 doesnt seem 2 minutes ago. Mario wakeup this is your last chance.  Natural ability wont get you feckall unless you work hard everyday in training to improve. Forget instagram twitter YOU WILL GET TO 30 AND SAY I WISH I TRIED HARDER.

[devaney]

Desperately tried to convince myself that at £16m we could get something out of Balotelli. Well I don't mind admitting that I have never sworn at or castigated a Liverpool player in the way that I did today. It won't be very long before the boo boys start  on him. I've never booed a player in my life but I think I might just make an exception if he carries on putting in such pathetic performances. Big problem seems to be that Rodgers doesn't really understand that he is not capable of playing the single striker role effectively. The other major problem is that he is fkg useless     

[7_Kewell]

Real fans don't boo their own players, especially new ones.

[Stu the Red]

Yeah be a real fan Dev for God's sake lad 

[woof woof !]

I don't get you lot sometimes....is he not what we have been looking for...a top striker.
this is a great move.

We all bang on about his "ability" and I fear some of us may be getting a tad carried away.

"A Top Striker", is he really ? if that means one who sticks the ball in the net more often than most then we should perhaps have a look at some sobering stats from Liverpool Echo online.

Moments of brilliance continue to be counterbalanced by issues of temperament and discipline. He has never scored more than 14 league goals in a season. His record at Milan - 30 in 54 games - is impressive but break it down and you'll discover that of the 26 that came in Serie A, less than half (12) came from open play. The rest were penalties (9) and free kicks (5). Only a couple were against teams in Italy's top four as well.

A talented footballer without doubt but top striker    All I can say is hopefully he becomes one but right now 12 goals (from open play) in 54 games is hardly the work of a top striker. In the 2013/14 prem season at least ten players exceeded Balotellis' score whilst playing fewer games and they include the likes of Loic Remy, Wilfred Bony and Jay Rodriguez, Even 4 million pound man Rickie Lambert came close to matching Balotelli with 10 goals from open play.

Don't get me wrong, despite some reservations I won't be unhappy to see us sign the talent that is  Balotelli, but those who think Balotelli is a "top striker" who will start scoring week in week out may find themselves somewhat disappointed.

Hate to say I told you so BUT.................... I told you so.

Our manager has no idea tactically as to how to get what quality he may have to offer out of Balotelli and that being the case the sooner Balotelli is shipped out the better. Give Lambert a go, at least the fella looks like he actually wants to play !

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

I feel a bit sorry for Mario, at the beginning of the season even though we were playing shyte as a team he was generally one of our better players, okay he wasn't scoring but his hold up play and link up play was pretty good.
Then out of the blue Brendan decides to single him out and have a go at him about his goal scoring record, the lad had only been here five minutes and I wouldn't have even minded if he was our worst player, but he wasn't.
Ever since then Mario has hardly passed to a team mate, he's shot on sight at every opportunity and snatched at everything like a player under pressure.
What's more why are we hoofing it up to him like he's Andy Carroll? His game is obviously about playing it into feet so why are we launching ball after ball into the ionosphere?

[stmichael]

I agree that he needs a strike partner if he's going to play. He never has been a lone striker.

Today though he just frustrated the hell out of me and his teammates. Continually wasted good situations and took the wrong option and didn't even apologise to any of his teammates when he messed up.

[kazza]

I feel a bit sorry for Mario, at the beginning of the season even though we were playing shyte as a team he was generally one of our better players, okay he wasn't scoring but his hold up play and link up play was pretty good.
Then out of the blue Brendan decides to single him out and have a go at him about his goal scoring record, the lad had only been here five minutes and I wouldn't have even minded if he was our worst player, but he wasn't.
Ever since then Mario has hardly passed to a team mate, he's shot on sight at every opportunity and snatched at everything like a player under pressure.
What's more why are we hoofing it up to him like he's Andy Carroll? His game is obviously about playing it into feet so why are we launching ball after ball into the ionosphere?

I supported all Liverpool players whether they scored or were playing well or not. Kuyte, Lucas, Skrtel, Crouch when he first started and couldn't hit an @rse with a banjo because those players gave 100% and worked hard for the team. Watching Mario however I am having serious reservations about him in the side as he seems so disintrested and that can be contagious and not good for team spirit. I can live with him missing easy chances but I cannot take the lack of effort and passion which he is showing. I have not seen him show a real passion to win since the first game of the season where he chased (some) lost causes. He does not even seem to be getting pi$$ed off that he is getting rough treatment which again seems to show a lack of passion. When he came, everyone said that he has undoubted talent but you have to curb his petulent behavior (red cards etc) but so far he has shown little talent and relativly good behavior towards other players and refs, basically the opposite of what we were promised. I'd rather have the talent frankly and I am not sure it is valid to blame the manager. If Mario gives 100% most will support him whether he scores or not, if he continues to show little passion the fans will turn on him and rightly so. I think the ball is in his court and he will only have himself to blame. More important than the 31 goals we miss by selling Suarez is the enthusiasm that seemed to go with him. Last year the team were enjoying their football, this year they are not as the most enthusiastic player is now gone, and been replace by someone that does not give a sh1t. A lack of passion is as contagious as enthusiasm.

I do not care about donations to tramps, buying trampolines, funky haircuts or any other cr@p he was supposed to do, I care about a passion to win and the ego of a player that wants to show he is the best on the field. Up untill now I am dissapointed in him as a player.

[red till i die!!]

he really needs to do much better thats for sure. he really looked like the player today that city were sick of.
it isnt right that he is being made a scape-goat seen as he was a panic buy towards the end of the window and it was always obvious that he wouldnt fit into a round hole no matter how hard you hammer.

[ballotelliman]

im starting to think he carnt concentrate for long. would make bigger impact i feel as a sub with 20 minutes to go. IF somehow brendan gets origi to come back in january thats where hel end up sat on bench sulking most probably.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

I feel a bit sorry for Mario, at the beginning of the season even though we were playing shyte as a team he was generally one of our better players, okay he wasn't scoring but his hold up play and link up play was pretty good.
Then out of the blue Brendan decides to single him out and have a go at him about his goal scoring record, the lad had only been here five minutes and I wouldn't have even minded if he was our worst player, but he wasn't.
Ever since then Mario has hardly passed to a team mate, he's shot on sight at every opportunity and snatched at everything like a player under pressure.
What's more why are we hoofing it up to him like he's Andy Carroll? His game is obviously about playing it into feet so why are we launching ball after ball into the ionosphere?

I supported all Liverpool players whether they scored or were playing well or not. Kuyte, Lucas, Skrtel, Crouch when he first started and couldn't hit an @rse with a banjo because those players gave 100% and worked hard for the team. Watching Mario however I am having serious reservations about him in the side as he seems so disintrested and that can be contagious and not good for team spirit. I can live with him missing easy chances but I cannot take the lack of effort and passion which he is showing. I have not seen him show a real passion to win since the first game of the season where he chased (some) lost causes. He does not even seem to be getting pi$$ed off that he is getting rough treatment which again seems to show a lack of passion. When he came, everyone said that he has undoubted talent but you have to curb his petulent behavior (red cards etc) but so far he has shown little talent and relativly good behavior towards other players and refs, basically the opposite of what we were promised. I'd rather have the talent frankly and I am not sure it is valid to blame the manager. If Mario gives 100% most will support him whether he scores or not, if he continues to show little passion the fans will turn on him and rightly so. I think the ball is in his court and he will only have himself to blame. More important than the 31 goals we miss by selling Suarez is the enthusiasm that seemed to go with him. Last year the team were enjoying their football, this year they are not as the most enthusiastic player is now gone, and been replace by someone that does not give a sh1t. A lack of passion is as contagious as enthusiasm.

I do not care about donations to tramps, buying trampolines, funky haircuts or any other cr@p he was supposed to do, I care about a passion to win and the ego of a player that wants to show he is the best on the field. Up untill now I am dissapointed in him as a player.

It's no use blaming Balotelli, we looked even worse when Lambert and Borini have had a go at leading the line.
For some reason we have stopped doing what made us so effective last year - keeping the ball and playing short passes. Our back 4 don't even try to keep possession these days, I don't know if Brendan has instructed them to just get rid in an effort to try and shore up the defence or what but we give the ball away so cheaply it's untrue. For most of the first half QPR just launched the ball at us and we just conceded throw in after throw in with the odd corner and free kick lobbed in for good measure. We just couldn't get hold of the ball and on the rare occassion that we did one of our players would try a ridiculous Hollywood ball which just gifted possession back to them.
Last season we were sometimes guilty of over playing it and keeping the ball for half an hour without going anywhere but this season we've gone from one extreme to the other, we are practically an ale house side now.
We need to get some composure back into the team and stop giving the ball away so cheaply, when we start playing proper football again then we can judge Balotelli properly, not now when we are just hoofing it up the pitch and asking him to go and chase it.

[Dundreamin is back]

It's his body language I don't know if it's his personality,but he doesn't seem interested to me. If our fan's seeing him put a shift in ( Crouch for example) they will back him 100% but if he looks like he's taking the p.iss  the fan's won't take to kindly to him. He needs to buck his idea's up or come January and the way we are playing we will have nothing to play for by then surely Rodgers will get rid. I am not being defeatist here I am being realistic am to old in the tooth now to have up to last May,  The eternal optimist because the title's nowhere nearer to us winning it than it was in 2002,2009 and last season. I love this club so much it hurts especially when we buy these so called "world class players" on more money a week that would take me 10 years to get to. The big one regret I have is Carra retiring when he did. Had he stayed one more season I am convinced we would now be reigning champions

[RedSi35]

Didnt have a great game again, but tbh he will probably need judging on his partnership with Sturridge ( if they ever get that chance )

[shakey]

The blokes a Cart horse & doesn't fit our style of play!
Even Carroll worked harder than Mario