Liverpool FC Forum

[Danish Red]

Sorry I can't recall Rodgers informing everyone that Balotelli was a "marquee" striker starter ?

Balotelli was bought along with the others to boost the squad , just as Lambert was bought to boost the squad - the one player that we did buy that was Prob a guarentee starter was Lovren

[only me]

Sorry I can't recall Rodgers informing everyone that Balotelli was a "marquee" striker starter ?

Balotelli was bought along with the others to boost the squad , just as Lambert was bought to boost the squad - the one player that we did buy that was Prob a guarentee starter was Lovren

Come one mate ,you don't buy 16m player to "Boost" your squad. At the time he only had Daniel and that's it ,of course he saw Mario as his main striker next to Daniel.

[Danish Red]

Of course you spend £16mil to boost your squad now - that's the way the Prem is.

Sturridge is out main striker and Balotelli was arriving to supplement him

And again we had Lambert and Borini in the squad also

[andy_g]

have we ever had a more frustrating player on the books?

his talent is patently obvious. his touch, his flicks, his strength, some of his passing last night were excellent. but why oh why doesn't he fecking run a bit sometimes?? in the time he was on the pitch we had a number of our useful fast, incisive attacks going on... usually with sterling and coutinho heading towards the box at speed, a lovely bit of space opening up for balotelli to run into and wait for that tasty ball to come across. but what does he do? he puts the brakes on and hangs back, leaving virtually no options for the pass.

he's a player who belives that just having the talent and the skill is enough. he refuses to believe that hard work is also necessary to make the most of these gifts. as far as i'm concerned we can't get rid of him fast enough.

[red till i die!!]

have we ever had a more frustrating player on the books?

his talent is patently obvious. his touch, his flicks, his strength, some of his passing last night were excellent. but why oh why doesn't he fecking run a bit sometimes?? in the time he was on the pitch we had a number of our useful fast, incisive attacks going on... usually with sterling and coutinho heading towards the box at speed, a lovely bit of space opening up for balotelli to run into and wait for that tasty ball to come across. but what does he do? he puts the brakes on and hangs back, leaving virtually no options for the pass.

he's a player who belives that just having the talent and the skill is enough. he refuses to believe that hard work is also necessary to make the most of these gifts. as far as i'm concerned we can't get rid of him fast enough.

Agree that it wasn't all bad from him last night but he does let himself down at times. Its the system that doesn't suit him as he went straight in at LW last night and playing him there doesn't work. He is much better with his back to goal and always sets himself up for a give and go. Out of that position you can clearly see how uncomfortable he is.

That system is allowing us to defend much better but we are still struggling to score, Its been that way all season and it doesn't suit any of our strikers. Most of the chances we create keep falling to the wrong people or are weak efforts destined to never trouble a keeper. We played the same personnel and tactics in anfield and kept going with the same thing again for another 120 mins last night, It wasn't working and our answer is just to swap people out with square pegs and keep plugging away at the same thing. We need an actual plan B that involves a change of style and tactics and that way we might break down teams who for the most of it are defensively comfortable with what we are doing.

It was pointless bringing balotelli here thinking he could be some kind of utility player just like it would be pointless selling him now at a loss.

[RedAnt]

He didn't seem to know what to do last night. Mind, nor did Sterling. A lot of our attacking play seemed to consist of hopeful long punts to Sterling which usually, if he recieved the ball, left him running forwards with no clear purpose. Surely using Balo as a target man and Sterling playing off him would have produced better results.
I agree with those frustrated at Mario's running and positioning, but I don't see as he could have done much in the system we were using, not as a sub. I thought he looked reasonably creative though and I really would love to see him have a run in the team before people decide they've seen enough.
He's certainly being singled out. None of our other new signings seem under such intense pressure to slot right in and become star man.

[killerp]

None of our other new signings seem under such intense pressure to slot right in and become star man.

Sorry RedAnt but not many other players make an absolute clown of themselves and invite scrutiny the way Mario does. His very presence divides people mostly against him.

He deserves everything he gets. Perhaps he thought Liverpool would tolerate his antics due to harboring a maniac like Suarez?

[RedAnt]

None of our other new signings seem under such intense pressure to slot right in and become star man.

Sorry RedAnt but not many other players make an absolute clown of themselves and invite scrutiny the way Mario does. His very presence divides people mostly against him.

He deserves everything he gets. Perhaps he thought Liverpool would tolerate his antics due to harboring a maniac like Suarez?

What antics? Apart from his occasional brainf*rt off the field he seems very subdued. Whatever talent he has seems to have been locked tightly in a cage since he arrived. As I said earlier I'm not sure of the truth of his contract, but if he really has good behaviour clauses and the like id imagine it's like putting corks on a crocs teeth. I think the damage is done and doubt he'll ever play freely for us. He looks depressed and lonely. Maybe that's just him. But maybe it's the way he's been singled out from day one.

[7_Kewell]

He's taken a lot of stick, but fair dues, he came on ran (yes, ran!) around and nabbed a goal by getting in a forward position.

I'm hoping BR will give him a start against Palace because this might actually be the moment he pushes on and shows us what he can actually do...

[Fowler_E7]

I hope this can be the goal that starts a turn around in fortunes for him, however i wouldnt be a bit surprised if Rodgers dropped him from the squad for the next few games either as he likes to randomly rotate Borini, Ballo and Lambert for bench time. Ballotelli has obvious talent and Rodgers really needs to find way to help the team play to his strengths, IMO he has been used incorrectly all season when he could of been more than useful.

[alxy]

But what was up with his behaviour after the goal and after the game? He didn't look like a guy who just scored his first Premier League goal for the club after like ages. And after the final whistle, when everyone was celebrating and doing the obligatory post game handshakes, he just quickly disappeared down the tunnel. Hope that is just Mario being Mario and not a sign of petulance or attitude. With Sturridge back, I think we can get the best out of Balotelli playing off him

[leeroy74]

Balotelli is notorious for not celebrating a goal. He did the same at man city. don't worry, he'll of got in the empty dressing room and gone mental.

[only me]

But what was up with his behaviour after the goal and after the game? He didn't look like a guy who just scored his first Premier League goal for the club after like ages. And after the final whistle, when everyone was celebrating and doing the obligatory post game handshakes, he just quickly disappeared down the tunnel. Hope that is just Mario being Mario and not a sign of petulance or attitude. With Sturridge back, I think we can get the best out of Balotelli playing off him

Pretty simple ,As the best footballer in the world Mario thinks he is doing us a favor by scoring ,he thinks that this one tiny goal proves he is the best thing which landed in Liverpool and that it's an insult he wasn't picked everygame this season. He is a delusional infantile player which is angry at the world and this is how he reacts.

Personally i think the best we can get from Mario is 10m offer from some other club.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Having two strikers that can exploit defensive weaknesses will be a huge plus ,just hope the manager views it from a similar perspective ...who knows 

[maguskwt]

What is that saying again? Oh yeah...
One swallow does not a summer make...

Very grateful for the winner yesterday but the formation shouldn't be changed for him. And in the current formation, there is only room for one striker and that striker should be Sturridge and not Balotelli.

He can come on as a sub...