***Official Balo Watch Thread***

[Beeks]

New Nike ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giec1F1t ... r_embedded

Nice find Lee..love it!

[Im_Spartacus]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... tramp.html

GENEROUS soccer star Mario Balotelli gave £1,000 to a tramp outside a casino - after a whopping £25,000 win.

The Manchester City striker, 20, shared his windfall on a night out with Blackburn Rovers ace Chris Samba.

Balotelli - who earns £100,000 a week after signing from Inter Milan for £24million last year - is said to often give cash to homeless people he sees around Manchester. His latest act of kindness came outside the city's 235 Casino last week.

A source said: "Mario is really generous. He always hands £20 notes to the Big Issue boys without even taking the magazine. There's a guy he always sees around town with ginger dreadlocks and a beard. He carries his possessions in two carrier bags.

"He was outside the club in the early hours so Mario handed him a wad of notes after his big win. The tramp couldn't believe his luck. It was enough to keep him going for months."

Balotelli has frequently hit the headlines for his off-the-pitch antics. At the weekend he had a scuffle with Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand after City's 1-0 win in the FA Cup semi-final. Last month he got an official warning for throwing darts at youth team players at his club's Carrington training ground. That followed his sending off against Dynamo Kiev. His fines now total £300,000 in one season.

[craigmcfc]

New Nike ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giec1F1t ... r_embedded

Nice find Lee..love it!

Yeah that's a quality advert, love the tramp story too

[carl_feedthegoat]

CHRIS Samba has taken on the role of minder to Italian hot-head Mario Balotelli.

Blackburn centre-back Chris Samba has struck up an unlikely friendship with the Manchester City striker and laid down ground rules on how to behave.

So far, Samba’s law clearly hasn’t worked with Balotelli falling out with City team-mates, his boss Roberto Mancini – and United fans for his antics taunting opposition supporters at Wembley.

But Samba, 27, won’t rest until he’s tamed the beast inside Balotelli, 20, and admits on nights out in Manchester he regularly tells him to button his lip.

Republic of Congo international Samba, who was born in France, comes face to face with Balotelli tomorrow night and said: “I like to talk to him and tell him what to do and what not to do.

“Sometimes he does not listen but he is a good player. I do try to give him some guidance. I want to help him because if his career does not really take off it will be a waste.

“He is not a bad guy – he’s just flashy. But he has to be his own person. It would be really boring if everyone was the same, if everyone just played and went home.

“Sometimes he does things and I tell him, ‘You can’t do that’. I have told him when he goes out not to be so loud. He has to be more discreet and act in a classy way.

“He is a good person but he has difficulties in fitting in with things in England. He can be a good player but he has to realise he needs to work harder and then he will be a success.”

[john68]

Lets just hope that Samba hasn't told him not to to score....or that Mario doesn't take heed.

[Dameerto]

I'm glad they told me Samba was 27, it really added to the article.

[freshie]

Did anyone just see him trip up Dzeko? What a clown!

[HeyMark]

Did anyone just see him trip up Dzeko? What a clown!

That was fckin brilliant! Had me in stitches

[aaron bond]

Did anyone just see him trip up Dzeko? What a clown!

He did that to Yaya after the semi final win. After the players did the Poznan, Yaya is near the goalpost and he runs up behind him and trips him over.

Great to seeing him messing around with the lads and with a smile on his face.

[CitizenYank]

The kid is finally winning me over. His mistakes aren't stupid mistakes. The fouls are hard and come at
the right times. And he has a cockiness about him that a lot of people have mistaken for hubris.

Once Balo's skills come together and his pace evens out, he should really help us down the road.

[BadKompany]

Much better effort from him,needs to start showing some of that alleged ability now.

I'm sure with experience and maturity we'll have a fantastic player on our hands.I'm warming to his character.....

[craigmcfc]

Did anyone just see him trip up Dzeko? What a clown!

That was fckin brilliant! Had me in stitches

Me too. He's liked by the players there's no doubt, great big bear hug with Edin straight after and my overriding memory of the Wembley celebrations was Mario and Shaun rolling about on the floor laughing their heads off

[Douglas Higginbottom]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

[roblues]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

I have to agree, almost every dribble he tried failed miserably and he barely got a shot, but at least he worked back a couple of times and created space for others to get forward.

[bigblue]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

Thought he made some great runs, held the ball up well, and contributed to the passing movement nicely in the first half. Also came close with a few chances that only required an extra touch. Seemed to dwindle from the 2nd half on

[Douglas Higginbottom]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

I have to agree, almost every dribble he tried failed miserably and he barely got a shot, but at least he worked back a couple of times and created space for others to get forward.

A few good signs in the effort he is putting in but he has to be more of a threat up there and/or the ball has to stick more when it's played to him.Still settling in.

[Ted Hughes]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

I have to agree, almost every dribble he tried failed miserably and he barely got a shot, but at least he worked back a couple of times and created space for others to get forward.

A few good signs in the effort he is putting in but he has to be more of a threat up there and/or the ball has to stick more when it's played to him.Still settling in.

I think our midfield, even including Silva, is hopeless at playing any kind of final ball & they miss every single run that he makes, so the only time he ever gets a pass, he is marked, with his back to goal or at the half way line surrounded by oponents. If Little Pee played for us, he'd still be searching for his 1st goal.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

I have to agree, almost every dribble he tried failed miserably and he barely got a shot, but at least he worked back a couple of times and created space for others to get forward.

A few good signs in the effort he is putting in but he has to be more of a threat up there and/or the ball has to stick more when it's played to him.Still settling in.

I think our midfield, even including Silva, is hopeless at playing any kind of final ball & they miss every single run that he makes, so the only time he ever gets a pass, he is marked, with his back to goal or at the half way line surrounded by oponents. If Little Pee played for us, he'd still be searching for his 1st goal.

I know what you mean Ted but I don't think it is as simple as that. He does make some good runs but for me a lot of them are either very predictable or poorly timed. And through a game I don't feel he is doing enough yet.Getting better though.With Tevez playing well i think we might have murdered BBurn tonight.

[Ted Hughes]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

I have to agree, almost every dribble he tried failed miserably and he barely got a shot, but at least he worked back a couple of times and created space for others to get forward.

A few good signs in the effort he is putting in but he has to be more of a threat up there and/or the ball has to stick more when it's played to him.Still settling in.

I think our midfield, even including Silva, is hopeless at playing any kind of final ball & they miss every single run that he makes, so the only time he ever gets a pass, he is marked, with his back to goal or at the half way line surrounded by oponents. If Little Pee played for us, he'd still be searching for his 1st goal.

I know what you mean Ted but I don't think it is as simple as that. He does make some good runs but for me a lot of them are either very predictable or poorly timed. And through a game I don't feel he is doing enough yet.Getting better though.With Tevez playing well i think we might have murdered BBurn tonight.

I agree some of his runs are predictable but so were many of the Goat's. He still got the ball played to him & still managed to put a fair few away.

[CityGer]

All the messing about is fun to watch and he put a bit in again today but he was pretty crap wasn't he?

Agreed. I thought he was poor. His touch was crap and he couldn't hold up a washing line. Signs that his work rate is getting there, though.

It seems that not getting sent off, not acting like a nutter, laughing or doing something daft such as slapping or tripping up a team mate amounts to a good performance from him with some. Needs to do a lot more for me. His level of performance is being blown out of all proportion by some because of sheer relief when he doesn't act like a berk.

I think we would have had a much less stressful game and possibly a bigger margin of victory with Dzeko up top. The ball came back to easily.