He's unhinged. It shall end in Scouse tears.
Balotelli signs for Liverpool - Official
- Thread starter shaggy
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That will obviously not happen. If Coutinho plays with Gerrard in midfield there will be a third midfielder in there. Henderson, Allen or Can.
He has one of the hottest wags around!
Great player but just wait until he's getting sent off 20 minutes into a Champions League quarter final for doing something only Balotelli can do.
I imagine there will be gametime for them together and games where Lallana and Markovic will be taking time from them.
That's the point though. More games, we need more players who won't just be warming the bench.
It will be a great ride for Liverpool fans and there is no doubting he will score against us but it's going to end in tears. He will look for a move within 2 years.
Yup. There would be too much of Fanny at Liverpool this season.
He's done well for a really poor Milan side.
Headcase or not, he'll score goals especially in that team.
Liverpool have done well to plug pretty much most of the holes in their squad.
Headcase or not, he'll score goals especially in that team.
Liverpool have done well to plug pretty much most of the holes in their squad.
Indeed!
I like the look of that team, especially with good fullbacks going forwards. I imagine we'll see that every so often this season.
Won't be the only one though. There will be games and formations where Allen/Can, Markovic and Lallana will get the nod for various reasons. 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and diamond 4-4-2 will be our go to formations this season I expect.
The midfield would be still weak though.
Replacing an animal with a clown.
Sounds good.
Sounds good.
Why the obsession with strength? Coutinho and Sterling are small but they can handle themselves, Sterling especially.
Serious question for the Liverpool fans, who will take penalties?
I kind of wish they had gotten Remy. Remy isn't good enough to be the difference in a title challenge or not even if he does score goals. Balotelli has the ability to be a difference maker.
Apologies for the Cross-Post but it seems relevant here too.
There is one over-riding issue we needed to resolve, the lack of a striker that can play in place of Studge if he is injured or otherwise unable to play. Remy unfortunately failed his medical because I thought he was perfect for our system(s) and would work very well alongside Sturridge or in his stead.
Now we've tried to secure Sanchez, Cavani, Falcao, Lacazette (sp.), Bony and Benzema (and these are only the ones having credible reports - there may well have been others, Reus perhaps, that never saw the light of the fans' day) however for one reason or another each of these fell through or didn't even get past the word 'Go'. The only other viable options left with 10 days left in the transfer window are Bony (again, and at £19m) or Eto'o (who is not going to be able to play a pressing game at his age either).
Balotelli is a nutter, we all know that, however he is also extremely talented and could easily achieve the same level as the majority of those listed above, if he can mature. We shouldn't forget he's only 23 yrs old, 24 next week I think, (and most of his bad shit happened when he was a teenager/20/21, so that even if this goes tits up and we are forced to sell him in a year or two, he will probably still have scored goals at roughly a 1:2 / 1:3 ratio and we should get most of our money back selling to the next club ready to take a chance on his talent being worth more than his temperament is detrimental. It also gives us another year to find a powerful option if this gamble fails.
If you watch the video I posted above you'll see him often in the LM/RM channels, I imagine with Moreno (especially) and Manquillo that we'll be seeing a lot more of them on the outside and with Sterling, Lallana and Markovic I don't see Studge or Mario spending too much time out wide at all, unless pulling wide to take defenders with them and create space for one of those three. What he does offer is fantastic skill on the ball, great pace, a penchant for the unexpected (both good and bad !), superb free kicks from long or short distance and an ability to score in a hat full of different ways. In other words unpredictability - something that is very difficult to defend against. He could end up being a fantastic signing for us .... or could just as easily fail dramatically. Which ever way it goes we needed to take a gamble on someone and, with Rodgers history of getting the best out of difficult youngsters or those with unfulfilled potential, I'm pretty excited it's someone as overtly talented as Balotelli we've signed.
And we've now got real depth throughout the team (still need a DM, Song would be perfect and is available) and this attacking line-up is frighteningly fast and skilful : Sturridge, Sterling, Balotelli, Coutinho, Lallana, Markovic & Ibe (probably going on loan).
Echo saying £16m fee agreed...
I can't imagine BR taking them away from Gerrard when his record is just as good as Balotelli's (and then there's Lambert too, pity we don't have US style match deciders for drawn matches here) !
However with rotation and cup matches I'd expect Balotelli to be the man when Gerrard isn't on the pitch.
Not physical strength. Ugh. I mean Gerrard as DM and all that. The midfield trio of Gerrard-Henderson-Coutinho, in that formation, doesn't look like it would provide that much cover/steel for the defense.
Fair enough. They all get through plenty of work and we're solid for the majority of most games, even with that midfield. It's late on in games when Gerrard starts tiring that it gets worrying, he switches off and stops tracking players. Ideally this season he won't play every minute of every league game but we'll see if that actually happens.
He's a good player but he's not worth the trouble. That's why I feel indifferent to Pool signing him.
Worth the risk for Liverpool, he's a fantastic player if he can stop the circus (which is largely off-field media-driven bollox anyway).
Not cover in the sense of a reliable shield to take pressure off the centrebacks. But they will win the midfield battle to let us play the way we want.
Going on last season anyway. Our three new defenders might make things look very different. Lovren looks potentially talismanic.
Individually it is a very good signing, no doubt about it. They are signing one of the best young strikers in the world with an enormity of potential.
However, from a collective perspective I have my reservations. Will he be able to adjust to Liverpool's high-pressing and intensity? It's never been his game to do so and he's been slated for his worth ethic in the past. Rightly so. Even when they had an absolute star and talismanic figure in Suarez, he is relentless and contributed so much to the team as a whole and while Balotelli will most likely replicate a high goals-tally like Suarez did, he is severely lacking in other areas.
Plus, they have to play him centrally if the signing goes ahead and that could be detrimental to Sturridge. I fully expect Sturridge to step up to the mantle following Suarez's departure. He's proved himself capable in Suarez's absence last season and after returning to injury that it might effect his output when they have a very individualistic player in Balotelli playing centrally at the expense of him (unless they play the diamond or three at the back). They undoubtedly need another striker, but this one has questions over him, despite his obvious talent.
However, from a collective perspective I have my reservations. Will he be able to adjust to Liverpool's high-pressing and intensity? It's never been his game to do so and he's been slated for his worth ethic in the past. Rightly so. Even when they had an absolute star and talismanic figure in Suarez, he is relentless and contributed so much to the team as a whole and while Balotelli will most likely replicate a high goals-tally like Suarez did, he is severely lacking in other areas.
Plus, they have to play him centrally if the signing goes ahead and that could be detrimental to Sturridge. I fully expect Sturridge to step up to the mantle following Suarez's departure. He's proved himself capable in Suarez's absence last season and after returning to injury that it might effect his output when they have a very individualistic player in Balotelli playing centrally at the expense of him (unless they play the diamond or three at the back). They undoubtedly need another striker, but this one has questions over him, despite his obvious talent.
He is a red card waiting to happen a lot of the time.
I'm not sure if he would be worth the risk. Part of the reason which they got rid of Suarez, as much as some wouldn't like to admit, is because of the controversies surrounding him despite his brilliant ability. Balotelli can be fantastic but Liverpool seem like a team which is well balanced and happy...Balotelli could come into the side and disrupt that if he brings his circus with him. He'll have to knuckle down and realise that it's not all about him at Liverpool, as they're a very hard working team that plays for each other most of the time rather than themselves. He'll frustrate them hugely i think with his 'laziness', especially if he plays like he did at the WC.
You could tell when the Berties players talked about him being a joker and a funny lad they couldn't wait to get him out. His boy hood club want rid, Prandelli thinks he's mental and even Mourinho couldn't manage him.
He's a great player when he can be bothered. No way will he be pressing from the front.
I'd be more concerned if they'd signed Remy or Bony.
He's a great player when he can be bothered. No way will he be pressing from the front.
I'd be more concerned if they'd signed Remy or Bony.
Definitely worth 20m Euros if thats the fee, scousers wont be losing anything imo. Like I said before this signing could turn them into title contenders. Rodgers is very shrewd in the transfer market reminds they've made very good buys this summer.
Indeed there is always that possibility but the bark is worse than his bite (no pun intended !) with 4 Red Cards in 2.5 yrs.
Probably but in reality, he should have reached double figures. How he got away with somethings was beyond me. For the price though, it's very good business.
He'll probably score a glut of goals, but disrupt Liverpool's style and pressing or bring more controversy with him. They'll have to cater to him in some capacity and it's not really worth it when they have an excellent set-up as it is.
That was one potential signing which had me a little concerned.
Great move for Balotelli. I would say i hope he matures but i know thats never going to happen.
And better Liverpool sign him than Arsenal
And better Liverpool sign him than Arsenal
He'll look amazing for a few games then go on a sulk. He's like a more mental version of Anelka.
Also factor in the amount of times Mancini hauled him off after he had got a yellow as a precaution.
Worst striker in Europe
He is a bluff, pushed up by the media.
He is a bluff, pushed up by the media.
So he's going to be backup to sturridge then?Read the thread ! It's still on Page 1
Mario Balotelli, ideal striker to have sat on the bench
Maybe a bit of an over exaggeration...
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