Liverpool FC Forum

[Boocity]

Balotelli has been dropped because he simply has not got the ability to score on a regular basis in the Premiership. This is his pathetic 2014/15 Premiership record:

11
Games
0
Goals
0
Assists
43
Shots

Prior to this season Balotelli had scored one goal in his last 16 Premiership matches. Was never convinced that he could replace Borini let alone Suarez !! This is a player with distinctly limited ability. He has been hyped to death. His off the pitch behaviour tells you all you need to know.

How anybody can feel sorry for this vastly overrated player is totally beyond me. HIS PATHETIC RECORD SAYS IT ALL !! Hate to criticise our lads but Balotelli is  unfortunately  living up to what a lot of people expected.

I'd have to say I'm starting to agree that he is over-hyped and quickly becoming a failed signing. I can't believe that he is the leading striker of the Italian National Team at the World Cup...

I am willing to reserve judgement on him until we see what he is like alongside DS, I remember how long it took Crouchie to score for us and he was given a lot of leeway by the supporters.

[devaney]

Crouchie took a while to score but his contribution was always admired by the Kop. He also has a great attitude and doesn't carry a shed load of baggage around with him.

As for playing alongside Danny I think Balotelli will do more harm than good. His assist record is zero for the season !!

[Shanks Forever]

He doesn't look.interested and his link.up play leaves much to.be desired.

His touch,close control and dribbling is woeful, and he's not prolific by any means.

He's good in.the air, and can get the odd crucial goal, thats it!

I'd rather play Llalana or Borini there tbh.

I give him 18 months max at Anfield

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Crouchie took a while to score but his contribution was always admired by the Kop. He also has a great attitude and doesn't carry a shed load of baggage around with him.

As for playing alongside Danny I think Balotelli will do more harm than good. His assist record is zero for the season !!

Believe it or not ,Balotelli's contribution was equally acknowledged by the same collective you speak of ,as for the attitude I think that's only materialised
recently with the managers ridiculous treatment of him ....Truth be known I think the manager done his level best to hinder the lads career as a Liverpool
player and its been well documented and received its fair share of condemnation  ,so I will refrain from regurgitation   As for his assist record ,well you
really need to receive the ball in a dangerous area to provide an assist and as we all know the service to Mario was less than minimal.

A real pointer to his possible impact would be the Spurs game alongside Sturridge ,or if you like his performance against the Bitterz which garnered plaudits
from those in the Kop ....The most underlying difference with Balotelli in comparison to Crouch is that Benitez praised every performance the lad gave us
and told all those wise enough to adhere to his words that the boy would come good ,Rodgers on the other hand made certain Mario would be the archetypal
sacrificial lamb to our seasons failures and he wasted no time whatsoever in handing the media an early Christmas present.

Another reason was the game time afforded to Crouch even when he was goal shy, Benitez  offered him a level of consistency to develop into a Liverpool
player ,can you honestly say Rodgers has done similarly with Mario 

[Red Indian]

At least with Crouch you could see that there was something there. Balotelli, can't run, pass or shoot with the evidence I've seen so far. Linking him with DS will just paper over the cracks, he's just not good enough

[Doeboy]

He just isn't as good as he has been hyped up to be. Has the ability to score some cracking goals but over a course of a season that is not enough. When he is poor he is shockingly poor. Really is no surprise that we were not rivalled for his signature. His next stop will probably be at a mid-table italian/spanish team. I don't know what possessed us to buy him, at best should have been a loan or we should have looked for a loan elsewhere

[red till i die!!]

Crouchie took a while to score but his contribution was always admired by the Kop. He also has a great attitude and doesn't carry a shed load of baggage around with him.

As for playing alongside Danny I think Balotelli will do more harm than good. His assist record is zero for the season !!

Believe it or not ,Balotelli's contribution was equally acknowledged by the same collective you speak of ,as for the attitude I think that's only materialised
recently with the managers ridiculous treatment of him ....Truth be known I think the manager done his level best to hinder the lads career as a Liverpool
player and its been well documented and received its fair share of condemnation  ,so I will refrain from regurgitation   As for his assist record ,well you
really need to receive the ball in a dangerous area to provide an assist and as we all know the service to Mario was less than minimal.

A real pointer to his possible impact would be the Spurs game alongside Sturridge ,or if you like his performance against the Bitterz which garnered plaudits
from those in the Kop ....The most underlying difference with Balotelli in comparison to Crouch is that Benitez praised every performance the lad gave us
and told all those wise enough to adhere to his words that the boy would come good ,Rodgers on the other hand made certain Mario would be the archetypal
sacrificial lamb to our seasons failures and he wasted no time whatsoever in handing the media an early Christmas present.

Another reason was the game time afforded to Crouch even when he was goal shy, Benitez  offered him a level of consistency to develop into a Liverpool
player ,can you honestly say Rodgers has done similarly with Mario 

Well said RBG.

[parchpea]

Balotelli will be gone this month if they can shift him and wont be here next season, neither will Lambert.

Can only see him back in Italy again so maybe we can use him as bait there.

I felt he was worth the gamble in the summer but alas not, even the best get it wrong let alone me.

[red till i die!!]

We got him for 16 million 6 months ago. How much does anyone seriously think we are going to get for him if we try to shove him out the door less than a year later ? Even his wage is reported at 80k a week so that rules out a lot of clubs straight away.
Taking massive losses on players is what needs to stop as it will end up meaning we sell our best to compensate.

[parchpea]

Knowing FSG the risk on Balotelli will be massively lower than £16m and it will be a complex deal.

They can be a pain in the backside wheeling and dealing but in these situations it pays dividends.

[maguskwt]

Crouchie took a while to score but his contribution was always admired by the Kop. He also has a great attitude and doesn't carry a shed load of baggage around with him.

As for playing alongside Danny I think Balotelli will do more harm than good. His assist record is zero for the season !!

Believe it or not ,Balotelli's contribution was equally acknowledged by the same collective you speak of ,as for the attitude I think that's only materialised
recently with the managers ridiculous treatment of him ....Truth be known I think the manager done his level best to hinder the lads career as a Liverpool
player and its been well documented and received its fair share of condemnation  ,so I will refrain from regurgitation   As for his assist record ,well you
really need to receive the ball in a dangerous area to provide an assist and as we all know the service to Mario was less than minimal.

A real pointer to his possible impact would be the Spurs game alongside Sturridge ,or if you like his performance against the Bitterz which garnered plaudits
from those in the Kop ....The most underlying difference with Balotelli in comparison to Crouch is that Benitez praised every performance the lad gave us
and told all those wise enough to adhere to his words that the boy would come good ,Rodgers on the other hand made certain Mario would be the archetypal
sacrificial lamb to our seasons failures and he wasted no time whatsoever in handing the media an early Christmas present.

Another reason was the game time afforded to Crouch even when he was goal shy, Benitez  offered him a level of consistency to develop into a Liverpool
player ,can you honestly say Rodgers has done similarly with Mario 

Regarding the service to Mario. If his movement was good enough, players like Coutinho and lallana would find him. But the reality is that, Mario is the type of player who would stand behind an opponent, or would often be in an offside and wonder why he's not getting the ball. And to compensate that, he would then drop deep and expects the pass to his feet, once he receives the ball, he would run into an opponent player and lose the ball. The guy has natural talent in abundance but he's got very little football IQ. Coutinho and lallana and Gerrard are no slouches in giving strikers the service needed. If we are complaining he doesn't get the service, he alone is to blame.

[Boocity]

He hasnt been given a chance since the we started playing the high intensity attacking football again, I would rather see Mario on the pitch than either Borini or Lambert.

[devaney]

RBG - As they say mate it is a game of opinions 

You have been  understandably critical (if a little over the top at times  ) of Gerrard's performances both this season and last season and yet you are sympathetitic towards Balotelli ? You almost seem to feel sorry for him. I know that stats aren't everything but when a striker fails to score in 27 Premiership games and provides virtually no assists then to be honest I take notice. It is very easy to blame lack of service but I'm sorry I don't subscribe to that view. He fails time and time again to get himself into the right positions on the pitch. He is massively responsible for his own shortcomings. I certainly agree with the view that the lad is lacking in terms of his football brain. I'm also not convinced about just how much natural talent he is supposed to have.

Do we really know exactly what has gone on with Balotelli and Rogers? We all knew about what a disruptive influence Balotelli could be before he arrived at Liverpool. His off the field behaviour is legendary. The lad has got form !! Do we know what Rogers has had to put up with? I have heard Rogers making very complimentary noises about Balotelli on several occasions when to be honest I wondered just what he was looking at. I believe Rogers most recent comments have been borne out of frustration and I can fully understand exactly where he is coming from. Rogers has got a lot wrong this season but Balotelli certainly hasn't helped to make his life any easier. Both Gerrard and Balotelli didn't play in the Swansea game and that was possibly our best performance of the season. How much that tells us I'm not sure. Mobility is an important aspect of Rogers game plan (Carroll didn't get a look in because of that) and neither Gerrard or Balotelli could be regarded as particularly mobile.

Sorry mate but  I don't share your somewhat sympathetic view of Mario.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Firstly ,I only brought Rodgers into the equation because of your supposed comparability in circumstances when using Crouch in your argument. I felt the need to impress
that Crouch had a manager with patience and many other discernible traits Rodgers has shown to lack ,therefore there exists a marked difference between the two.
As for Balotelli he was never a lone striker ,and never will be ,but his task was made all the more difficult when everything was channelled to Sterling on the flanks ,and
I don't think I am being too critical to suggest his final ball was woeful. No mate ,I think I will stick with my opinion ,as for not possessing a 'football brain' Balotelli used
the ball intelligently when he had it ,but its a thankless task if you're utilised as a lone striker and the only way you can receive a ball is by dropping deeper into midfield.

All in all ,no service negates the effect of any striker in the game ,not just Balotelli ....Also when you take those set of circumstances into the equation ,to have 45
shots is remarkable ,and given the scant amount of service it kind of  proves the lad has had to work hard to go find the fucking ball in the first place. 

For me personally I think he's amongst the most talented footballers in our squad ,and when Gerrard was pushed up front to play behind him the two linked brilliantly
with one touch passes ,and deft flicks ,which for me  proves that two players with game intelligence will always find a way to dovetail ,it also disproves the medias
theory and sadly the collective in the bandwagon your content on jumping on ,that surrounded by the right players on a similar wavelength Balotelli shows a football
brain he supposedly lacks.

We disagree Dev ,I think the goals will come ,and for any other manager with a modicum of tactical acumen he would prove a monster....As regards my sympathetic
approach to the lad ,I feel he has been treated appallingly by a manager who has showed a similar contempt to a handful of players this season in an attempt to
deflect the media attention away from his own shortcomings ,although all sadly fall short of the disdain he smothered our Champions League campaign with.

[devaney]

I hope your right mate. Maybe he can get an opportunity tonight? I agree that he appears to have been treated badly but I also think we don't know the full story. For the moment we remain poles apart.