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Mario Balotelli


WhiskeyJar
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He certainly needs to wind it in and understand hen you are winning you can say anything. When you are losing games and playing poorly everything comes across as pathetic excuses looking for escapegoats. Rodgers has bought six strikers since he arrived. We have four here now, Lambert, Borini, Sturridge and Balotelli. Not sure what moaning about, Mario was all we could get offers, other than lame excuses.

 

Six?

 

Who are the other two he has bought?

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Mario is fucking boss.

 

He put in a great shift last night despite getting constantly fouled. His support last night came from Markovic (who hasn't exactly settled yet), Coutinho (who's been poor since preseason) and Sterling (worst game he's played in a year). Despite that, he held the ball up well and beat his man a few times.

 

He also did a lot of closing down. Just because he didn't win the ball doesn't mean he didn't close down. There were plenty of times he went to close the fullback down by running at him and taking the angle for a pass to the centreback away. That left the only option as up the line. He can't cover both, so did all he could. If anyone else had followed his lead, they'd have blocked the ball up the line too and we'd have won the ball back.

 

I know he's paid to score, and he didn't again last night. I thought he did a great job for the team. He's no Suarez, but he's no lazy cunting Berbatov either.

 

I wonder is there a bit of Sakho syndrome about him? As in, people are judging him on how he looks and what the "experts" say, as opposed to actually seeing what he does?

 

I know if I was playing, I'd hate to have to mark him.

 

Mario? Mario ... is that you?

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“I always said it was about availability and affordability of players,” said Rodgers, who considered the merits of Samuel Eto’o before the 33-year-old’s move to Everton. “Mario was the one right at the very end who was available for that. I said when he came in that it was a calculated risk and it’s something I have to work on to try to make it work for the team.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/02/mario-balotelli-liverpool-brendan-rodgers-luis-suarez

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I don't see how Balotelli is not working hard for the team. he tracks back into his own half looking to win the ball, holds the ball up well, wins loads of free kicks around the opposition penalty box and in the last few games has been making the runs in to the box that we need him to.

 

Yes he has missed a few decent chances when they have been created for him, but Suarez wasn't that clinical for us to begin with either.

 

Balotelli has made space for himself to be set up and would probably have scored more if the right pass had been made to him. The same could also have been said about his intent on trying score from everywhere as well.

 

Our creation of clear cut chances for him has been piss poor. We have hardly played a ball in to his feet. They have all been either to his head or his mid riff. Get it on the floor and he will score.

 

If people are expecting him to run like Suarez, then they are setting an unrealsitic expectation for him. He is not like that, and never will be.

Maybe I’ve been a little harsh blaming him for laziness. I don’t expect him to run like Suarez, but I do expect him to follow orders and try to get in space behind the defenders. He’s not doing that! At all! He expects the ball to be played to his feet. That’s not how we play!

No wonder the rhytm isn’t there. Players like Coutinho and Sterlig trying to play like we did last year and probably as instructed by BR. But their partner up front doesn’t want to play this way, or doesn’t understand how.

 

I don’t want Sterling and others to adapt their play to how Mario plays the game. I want Mario to change and us to play the same style of attacking football we did last year. If that’s going to happen either Mario starts to learn or we might as well get rid.

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Owners mate? This is Rodgers. After FSG's sponsorship worries with Suarez I'd be amazed if Baloteli was high on their list of demands.

He seems to fit in with the young players transfer policy that FSG seem so keen to follow so I have assumed this is why we bought him.

We did need a striker but I really dont know who was available.

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Mario Balotelli: 20 shots without scoring

 

A quiet and unassuming integration into the Liverpool set-up was never really likely where Mario Balotelli was concerned. The striker wants to be at the centre of attention when he plays but he won't be happy with the start he's made to his Reds career in front of goal. Balotelli may have scored for the club in the Champions League, but he's had more shots without scoring in the Premier League than any other player.

 

Ten of his 20 shots in the English top flight to date came in the weekend's derby draw with Everton, with the Italian clearly viewing that game as the ideal chance to win over the Liverpool fans. Balotelli will shoot from anywhere, frustrating his team-mates on more than the odd occasion, and will no doubt net for the club in the league soon enough having fired off the most shots per game this season (five). He'll certainly get his fair share of the headlines but it's fair to say you can expect a modest conversion rate from the controversial front man come the end of the season.

 

http://www.football365.com/f365-features/9498900/Premier-League-s-Five-Misfiring-Players...

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Fuck it, I'm jumping back on the Balotelli is boss train. Once he has a strike partner up top with him he'll come good. Origi and/or Sturridge will be perfect to bring out the best in Mario.

if we re waiting on origi to help him he ll be gone before he arrives.

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Maybe I’ve been a little harsh blaming him for laziness. I don’t expect him to run like Suarez, but I do expect him to follow orders and try to get in space behind the defenders. He’s not doing that! At all! He expects the ball to be played to his feet. That’s not how we play!

No wonder the rhytm isn’t there. Players like Coutinho and Sterlig trying to play like we did last year and probably as instructed by BR. But their partner up front doesn’t want to play this way, or doesn’t understand how.

 

I don’t want Sterling and others to adapt their play to how Mario plays the game. I want Mario to change and us to play the same style of attacking football we did last year. If that’s going to happen either Mario starts to learn or we might as well get rid.

 

He is certainly not playing like last year at the moment,

 

And also I am sure we play to feet as part of our set up.

 

The problem for me is that Balotelli isn't a striker you play up front on our own. You play him with a n other. Lambert sould have been brought in to play with him imo. Our set up is wrong, it has to be the diamond.

 

We are also playing very deep a lot of the time with Gerrard playing pretty much alongside Lovren and Skrtel/Sakho at times when coming to collect the ball. Also the final ball by the majority of our players has been nothign short of shiter than shite.

 

The main problem is the set up, not Mario Balotelli.

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Think people are overcomplicating the Balotelli discussion to be honest, it's not really about formations or strike partnerships, it's about - and this is widely accepted by fans of all his clubs - the fact he'll give you one good game in seven.

 

Last season we did so well because of our consistency, every match we were out of the blocks and playing to our maximum. Our system is so fragile that we can't win game any other way, we can't grind out results, we can only batter sides - with Balotelli we can't do that IMO, you watch him in hope rather than expectation, and that's no good, it is if he's a third supersub perhaps, but not as your main striker.

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He is certainly not playing like last year at the moment,

 

And also I am sure we play to feet as part of our set up.

 

The problem for me is that Balotelli isn't a striker you play up front on our own. You play him with a n other. Lambert sould have been brought in to play with him imo. Our set up is wrong, it has to be the diamond.

 

We are also playing very deep a lot of the time with Gerrard playing pretty much alongside Lovren and Skrtel/Sakho at times when coming to collect the ball. Also the final ball by the majority of our players has been nothign short of shiter than shite.

 

The main problem is the set up, not Mario Balotelli.

I agree with some of your points, but not all. I agree 100% about Gerrard and his new role as DM – it’s not working. I agree we look much better playing the diamond than 4-3-3 or any other setup. I agree Balotelli will be much better with a strike partner. However, Balotelli and Lambert together=too little movement. IMO Balotelli needs a strike partner who’s moving and searchin space behind the defence. Balotelli/Sturridge might be a good combo later on.

 

There are different approaches to the attacking part of the game. I personally like the BR way of last year, who doesn’t?, with no target point, only running forwards charging in behind their defence. I don’t like this play to feet as you suggest is our set up now. Other teams have had great success setting up their attacks differently, I guess there’s more than one right answer to how one should attack. I just loved the way we did it last year.

 

I believe the way we attacked last year is still the best way to do it and that we can achieve good things playing the same way even without the genius called Suarez. If that's going to happen we either dump Mario or he changes his game,

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