Mario Ballotelli

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

Im 100% behind Balo. Hes a young lad with bags of talent. Give him a break lads.

100% agree. If Yaya and Ibrahimovic have trained with him daily and see him as a future great, than I believe too. You hardly ever see 2 of the top 10 players in the world praise the ability of a young player within a month of each other. And when they do you should listen.

Or maybe Balotelli should listen. And get his finger out....

[Beefymcfc]

Im 100% behind Balo. Hes a young lad with bags of talent. Give him a break lads.

The fans give him a lot less shit than Mancini does. Have a word with him instead.

Mancini has given him plenty of rope to hang himself, maybe it's the point where he is saying 'Chances are gone, you show me the goods'? There's been a steady build up to this event and if it works we may just see what Mario's potential is all about. He can no longer get away with it during the game and now he knows he cannot get away with it in training, maybe Mario will finally learn.

[Beefymcfc]

Im 100% behind Balo. Hes a young lad with bags of talent. Give him a break lads.

100% agree. If Yaya and Ibrahimovic have trained with him daily and see him as a future great, than I believe too. You hardly ever see 2 of the top 10 players in the world praise the ability of a young player within a month of each other. And when they do you should listen.

Or maybe Balotelli should listen. And get his finger out....

Very true.

[Ted Hughes]

Im 100% behind Balo. Hes a young lad with bags of talent. Give him a break lads.

The fans give him a lot less shit than Mancini does. Have a word with him instead.

Mancini has given him plenty of rope to hang himself, maybe it's the point where he is saying 'Chances are gone, you show me the goods'? There's been a steady build up to this event and if it works we may just see what Mario's potential is all about. He can no longer get away with it during the game and now he knows he cannot get away with it in training, maybe Mario will finally learn.

Perhaps, but imo he's deserved a bit less stick & a bit more carrot this season & had Mancini done that, many of the fans would have followed suit. When the moaners start to get on his case & then Mancini rants & raves at him, the neutrals & lickers join in with Mancini & the press jump all over it with glee. I think he looks totally bemused sometimes as to what exactly it is he's done wrong & I'm in the same boat. I just can't see how it can turn round under these circumstances. Just let him play, or fuck him off, rather than bullying him all the time. If his natural play doesn't suit the team, sell him, don't torture him.

Let him actually enjoy a game of football for once.

[JamieMCFC]

but these negative incidents can't keep happening as they are very embarrassing to the club, the players and us.

The owner of the club disagrees with you.

[Beefymcfc]

Im 100% behind Balo. Hes a young lad with bags of talent. Give him a break lads.

The fans give him a lot less shit than Mancini does. Have a word with him instead.

Mancini has given him plenty of rope to hang himself, maybe it's the point where he is saying 'Chances are gone, you show me the goods'? There's been a steady build up to this event and if it works we may just see what Mario's potential is all about. He can no longer get away with it during the game and now he knows he cannot get away with it in training, maybe Mario will finally learn.

Perhaps, but imo he's deserved a bit less stick & a bit more carrot this season & had Mancini done that, many of the fans would have followed suit. When the moaners start to get on his case & then Mancini rants & raves at him, the neutrals & lickers join in with Mancini & the press jump all over it with glee. I think he looks totally bemused sometimes as to what exactly it is he's done wrong & I'm in the same boat. I just can't see how it can turn round under these circumstances. Just let him play, or fuck him off, rather than bullying him all the time. If his natural play doesn't suit the team, sell him, don't torture him.

Let him actually enjoy a game of football for once.

I've already stated that I feel Mancini doesn't treat him right and has a lot to do with his development. However, looking at it objectively it does seem that Mancini has given him enough time to grow with the club and it's more Mario that isn't stepping up to the plate. Many were complaining that Mario was getting far too much preferential treatment not too long ago but now we are saying that Mancini is being harsh on him and that it is all Mancini's fault? I'm afraid that doesn't cut it.

I want Mario to prove me wrong and I also want Mancini toprove me right. That way, we get the best of both worlds.

Can Mancini stop him from doing stupid things on the pitch? Can Mancini stop him from doing things away from the pitch? The answer is 'No' but at least if he tries to instill a sense of responsibility then he's doing his job. Gone is the day of foster parenting, now it is time for professionalism, on both sides.

[Dubaimancityfan]

I posted this after the derby and I think it's worth repeating in this thread as I have not seen Mario do much wrong this season and the manner his substitution against the rags and what followed may have contributed in a big way to the bust up that took place yesterday. I apologise for the length:

I think we all agree that Balo has not lived up to the potential and the talent that he undoubtedly has and has not delivered anything even close to what we expected from him when he was first signed. Many on this forum have expressed their desire to see him go, sooner rather than later. I agree but for different reasons.
To start with and going back to the derby, I don’t think that Mario performed so badly in the first half. We all saw that we dominated the match in the first 20 minutes and Mario was part of that ! We hardly can blame Balo for the 2 soft goals that we conceded which changed the match. However two things went against Mario in that match and for both I blame Mancini .
The first was that he should not have started instead of Tevez in this very important match with so much Media attention focused on it. This inevitably set him up for failure as many people (City fans, the Media and others) are predisposed to judge him very quickly.
The second was Mancini’s attitude. If he was not happy with Mario’s performance in the first half, he should have pulled him off at the interval. However by giving him less than 10 minutes and then pulling him out immediately after an attempted back pass didn't work, was for me an insult that no player can accept. This set the stage for all the haters (match commentators included) to see how Mario will react. Well, he didn't disappoint and he went straight down the tunnel. What else would you expect from Mario ?
Mario will not succeed in English football because it is very clear that all Refs have prejudged him and offer him little or no protection. Opposing players know this very well, so they foul him at every opportunity, knowing that in 90% of the cases they will get away with it. We've all seen the soft yellow cards he gets from Refs (the match against Liverpool last season comes to mind). No doubt he has deserved many of the yellow or red cards that he was given but no all. The attitude of the Refs and the opposing players results in him becoming agitated, lose concentration and consequently play badly. I think he is not mature enough (yet) to handle such pressure and what he perceives as injustice, although he has improved this season (no red cards yet!).
And that’s why I think he should go back to the Continent and make a fresh start which will not be easy as his reputation will precede him but maybe, just maybe, it will work out for him as it has not in England.

[Ted Hughes]

Im 100% behind Balo. Hes a young lad with bags of talent. Give him a break lads.

The fans give him a lot less shit than Mancini does. Have a word with him instead.

Mancini has given him plenty of rope to hang himself, maybe it's the point where he is saying 'Chances are gone, you show me the goods'? There's been a steady build up to this event and if it works we may just see what Mario's potential is all about. He can no longer get away with it during the game and now he knows he cannot get away with it in training, maybe Mario will finally learn.

Perhaps, but imo he's deserved a bit less stick & a bit more carrot this season & had Mancini done that, many of the fans would have followed suit. When the moaners start to get on his case & then Mancini rants & raves at him, the neutrals & lickers join in with Mancini & the press jump all over it with glee. I think he looks totally bemused sometimes as to what exactly it is he's done wrong & I'm in the same boat. I just can't see how it can turn round under these circumstances. Just let him play, or fuck him off, rather than bullying him all the time. If his natural play doesn't suit the team, sell him, don't torture him.

Let him actually enjoy a game of football for once.

I've already stated that I feel Mancini doesn't treat him right and has a lot to do with his development. However, looking at it objectively it does seem that Mancini has given him enough time to grow with the club and it's more Mario that isn't stepping up to the plate. Many were complaining that Mario was getting far too much preferential treatment not too long ago but now we are saying that Mancini is being harsh on him and that it is all Mancini's fault? I'm afraid that doesn't cut it.

I want Mario to prove me wrong and I also want Mancini toprove me right. That way, we get the best of both worlds.

Can Mancini stop him from doing stupid things on the pitch? Can Mancini stop him from doing things away from the pitch? The answer is 'No' but at least if he tries to instill a sense of responsibility then he's doing his job. Gone is the day of foster parenting, now it is time for professionalism, on both sides.

Imo, if he goes on the pitch & starts headbutting people everywhere, then fair enough, give him shit, I'll join in. He's been going out & trying to do what is asked of him though & has been getting battered & not reacted. Still he gets shit. I read comments after his performance v Villa, & the shit he got for a decent game, compared to Kolo, Nasty & Kolarov, who were abominable, was ridiculous.

Then we have the derby. Two absolute Balotelli haters near me, both agreed on the day that they had no complaints, then all this shit from Mancini afterwards and the lad gets hung out to dry. Playing him & bullying him when he's actually trying to do the right things is just bollocks. Mancini just takes out his frustrations on Balotelli. If we'd been 2 up at half time v the rags & then won, Mancini wouldn't have even said a word about Mario's performance apart from perhaps to praise him. It's because the team lost that he reacted like that, not because Mario was so poor. He is taking out his frustrations with the season on Balotelli.

When Balotelli deserves it then fair enough but this season on the whole, he's been no worse than any of our attacking players.

Imo, if it doesn't happen for him after this latest fiasco, he should put his future in the hands of someone other than Mancini. It has not worked at all so far.

[Dubaimancityfan]

Ted, I think you more or less reinforce what I mentioned in my post. My point was the same as yours: Mario has been fairly disciplined this season and has been trying to do the right thing. He obviously has not performed as well as expected but that is no reason for Mancini to single him out for special criticism, the derby match being a good example. And on the training ground bust up, I mentioned elsewhere and I repeat that to me it looks like that Mancini over reacted and has to bear the main share of the blame for this fiasco.

[1an3]

Whatever your opinion, he didn't deserve to be booed when he came on today.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

Imo, if he goes on the pitch & starts headbutting people everywhere, then fair enough, give him shit, I'll join in. He's been going out & trying to do what is asked of him though & has been getting battered & not reacted. Still he gets shit. I read comments after his performance v Villa, & the shit he got for a decent game, compared to Kolo, Nasty & Kolarov, who were abominable, was ridiculous.

Then we have the derby. Two absolute Balotelli haters near me, both agreed on the day that they had no complaints, then all this shit from Mancini afterwards and the lad gets hung out to dry. Playing him & bullying him when he's actually trying to do the right things is just bollocks. Mancini just takes out his frustrations on Balotelli. If we'd been 2 up at half time v the rags & then won, Mancini wouldn't have even said a word about Mario's performance apart from perhaps to praise him. It's because the team lost that he reacted like that, not because Mario was so poor. He is taking out his frustrations with the season on Balotelli.

When Balotelli deserves it then fair enough but this season on the whole, he's been no worse than any of our attacking players.

Imo, if it doesn't happen for him after this latest fiasco, he should put his future in the hands of someone other than Mancini. It has not worked at all so far.

No worse than any of our attacking players?

Depends how you judge that I suppose. I'm a bit old fashioned and judge then on goals. In which case he's been worse than all 3.

[Ted Hughes]

Imo, if he goes on the pitch & starts headbutting people everywhere, then fair enough, give him shit, I'll join in. He's been going out & trying to do what is asked of him though & has been getting battered & not reacted. Still he gets shit. I read comments after his performance v Villa, & the shit he got for a decent game, compared to Kolo, Nasty & Kolarov, who were abominable, was ridiculous.

Then we have the derby. Two absolute Balotelli haters near me, both agreed on the day that they had no complaints, then all this shit from Mancini afterwards and the lad gets hung out to dry. Playing him & bullying him when he's actually trying to do the right things is just bollocks. Mancini just takes out his frustrations on Balotelli. If we'd been 2 up at half time v the rags & then won, Mancini wouldn't have even said a word about Mario's performance apart from perhaps to praise him. It's because the team lost that he reacted like that, not because Mario was so poor. He is taking out his frustrations with the season on Balotelli.

When Balotelli deserves it then fair enough but this season on the whole, he's been no worse than any of our attacking players.

Imo, if it doesn't happen for him after this latest fiasco, he should put his future in the hands of someone other than Mancini. It has not worked at all so far.

No worse than any of our attacking players?

Depends how you judge that I suppose. I'm a bit old fashioned and judge then on goals. In which case he's been worse than all 3.

In terms of goals and assist yes, & if people want to slag him for missing chances & not creating enough, then I have no problem with that but it hardly gets a mention, he gets accused of all manner of other shit.

In terms of workrate & general play, imo he has sometimes been better than Dzeko & Aguero & done nothing to deserve the bollockings he keeps getting. If he twats somebody & gets a red card, or just stands about doing fuck all & sulking, then fair enough but neither of those things are true this season. I know for a fact he has been making the runs, as I've watched him do it, as he did v the rags. If no cunt passes to him, it's not his fault.

[CityChris92]

Mario is a good player shame his attitude lets him down..

[Swales4ever]

Apologies, but I must share my amusement at a finely obsessed bitter:

I went on reading this decent effort by our Stu, who recently seems to try even harder to redeem himself from his raggish birth:

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... r-his-wing

on bottom of the article, down the fans comments section, You may well appreciate a very genuine kind of rag at full steam of his bitterness. Reading that, I wished Carl was there.... ;-)

[Slim]

I am tired of the circus that accompanies Balotelli. I am tired of patchy performances, temper tantrums, arguments and silly dismissals. I am tired of Mancini putting his foot down when we could have sold him, giving him unlimited latitude to fuck up, criticize him publicly and then claim he has another 100 chances to fuck up, get criticized and start the circus all over again. I am particularly tired of our 4th best striker acting like he's Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Pele all rolled into one without ever actually backing it up with a performance that grabs a match and wins it for us, as the team kicks and screams and conspires to throw it all away(think Tevez).

Quite frankly I think it's disgusting. The filth wouldn't get this crapshower from Hernandez, Barca wouldn't get it from Tello and Bayern wouldn't get it from Pizarro. He is a bit part player, he should get his head down, work his fucking bollocks off and earn a place in the team, perform on matchday like his 'potential' claims he can and then maybe we've got a player even worthy of discussing, right now he is as relevant to me and to City's fortunes as Guidetti is.

I don't want to boo him, I don't want to cheer him. I just want to see the player £170,000/week buys and in 2½ years it hasn't happened yet.

[Original Dub]

I am tired of the circus that accompanies Balotelli. I am tired of patchy performances, temper tantrums, arguments and silly dismissals. I am tired of Mancini putting his foot down when we could have sold him, giving him unlimited latitude to fuck up, criticize him publicly and then claim he has another 100 chances to fuck up, get criticized and start the circus all over again. I am particularly tired of our 4th best striker acting like he's Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Pele all rolled into one without ever actually backing it up with a performance that grabs a match and wins it for us, as the team kicks and screams and conspires to throw it all away(think Tevez).

Quite frankly I think it's disgusting. The filth wouldn't get this crapshower from Hernandez, Barca wouldn't get it from Tello and Bayern wouldn't get it from Pizarro. He is a bit part player, he should get his head down, work his fucking bollocks off and earn a place in the team, perform on matchday like his 'potential' claims he can and then maybe we've got a player even worthy of discussing, right now he is as relevant to me and to City's fortunes as Guidetti is.

I don't want to boo him, I don't want to cheer him. I just want to see the player £170,000/week buys and in 2½ years it hasn't happened yet.

That about sums it up for me.

[Ted Hughes]

I am tired of the circus that accompanies Balotelli. I am tired of patchy performances, temper tantrums, arguments and silly dismissals. I am tired of Mancini putting his foot down when we could have sold him, giving him unlimited latitude to fuck up, criticize him publicly and then claim he has another 100 chances to fuck up, get criticized and start the circus all over again. I am particularly tired of our 4th best striker acting like he's Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Pele all rolled into one without ever actually backing it up with a performance that grabs a match and wins it for us, as the team kicks and screams and conspires to throw it all away(think Tevez).

Quite frankly I think it's disgusting. The filth wouldn't get this crapshower from Hernandez, Barca wouldn't get it from Tello and Bayern wouldn't get it from Pizarro. He is a bit part player, he should get his head down, work his fucking bollocks off and earn a place in the team, perform on matchday like his 'potential' claims he can and then maybe we've got a player even worthy of discussing, right now he is as relevant to me and to City's fortunes as Guidetti is.

I don't want to boo him, I don't want to cheer him. I just want to see the player £170,000/week buys and in 2½ years it hasn't happened yet.

That about sums it up for me.

Well the good news is that he looked like that player for 10 mins v Watford.

Let's see if he looks the same next time he gets on the pitch.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

I am tired of the circus that accompanies Balotelli. I am tired of patchy performances, temper tantrums, arguments and silly dismissals. I am tired of Mancini putting his foot down when we could have sold him, giving him unlimited latitude to fuck up, criticize him publicly and then claim he has another 100 chances to fuck up, get criticized and start the circus all over again. I am particularly tired of our 4th best striker acting like he's Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Pele all rolled into one without ever actually backing it up with a performance that grabs a match and wins it for us, as the team kicks and screams and conspires to throw it all away(think Tevez).

Quite frankly I think it's disgusting. The filth wouldn't get this crapshower from Hernandez, Barca wouldn't get it from Tello and Bayern wouldn't get it from Pizarro. He is a bit part player, he should get his head down, work his fucking bollocks off and earn a place in the team, perform on matchday like his 'potential' claims he can and then maybe we've got a player even worthy of discussing, right now he is as relevant to me and to City's fortunes as Guidetti is.

I don't want to boo him, I don't want to cheer him. I just want to see the player £170,000/week buys and in 2½ years it hasn't happened yet.

Credit where it is due, he looked sharp, potent and focused during his short time on the pitch v Watford.
Only a dead and buried Championship team admittedly, but he can only take on what's there in front of him.
He looked good.

That about sums it up for me.

Well the good news is that he looked like that player for 10 mins v Watford.

Let's see if he looks the same next time he gets on the pitch.

[JamieMCFC]

I am tired of the circus that accompanies Balotelli. I am tired of patchy performances, temper tantrums, arguments and silly dismissals. I am tired of Mancini putting his foot down when we could have sold him, giving him unlimited latitude to fuck up, criticize him publicly and then claim he has another 100 chances to fuck up, get criticized and start the circus all over again. I am particularly tired of our 4th best striker acting like he's Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Pele all rolled into one without ever actually backing it up with a performance that grabs a match and wins it for us, as the team kicks and screams and conspires to throw it all away(think Tevez).

Quite frankly I think it's disgusting. The filth wouldn't get this crapshower from Hernandez, Barca wouldn't get it from Tello and Bayern wouldn't get it from Pizarro. He is a bit part player, he should get his head down, work his fucking bollocks off and earn a place in the team, perform on matchday like his 'potential' claims he can and then maybe we've got a player even worthy of discussing, right now he is as relevant to me and to City's fortunes as Guidetti is.

I don't want to boo him, I don't want to cheer him. I just want to see the player £170,000/week buys and in 2½ years it hasn't happened yet.

Don't see any mention of the Sheikh in your post. Every single person on this board that complains about Balo not a single one of you has complained about the Sheikh support of him and the fact that he likes the attention he brings to the club.

[Hazy2]

I am tired of the circus that accompanies Balotelli. I am tired of patchy performances, temper tantrums, arguments and silly dismissals. I am tired of Mancini putting his foot down when we could have sold him, giving him unlimited latitude to fuck up, criticize him publicly and then claim he has another 100 chances to fuck up, get criticized and start the circus all over again. I am particularly tired of our 4th best striker acting like he's Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and Pele all rolled into one without ever actually backing it up with a performance that grabs a match and wins it for us, as the team kicks and screams and conspires to throw it all away(think Tevez).

Quite frankly I think it's disgusting. The filth wouldn't get this crapshower from Hernandez, Barca wouldn't get it from Tello and Bayern wouldn't get it from Pizarro. He is a bit part player, he should get his head down, work his fucking bollocks off and earn a place in the team, perform on matchday like his 'potential' claims he can and then maybe we've got a player even worthy of discussing, right now he is as relevant to me and to City's fortunes as Guidetti is.

I don't want to boo him, I don't want to cheer him. I just want to see the player £170,000/week buys and in 2½ years it hasn't happened yet.

Don't see any mention of the Sheikh in your post. Every single person on this board that complains about Balo not a single one of you has complained about the Sheikh support of him and the fact that he likes the attention he brings to the club.

That was a quote from the manager, I am sure the CEO will be telling Mancini, sort this DAILY CRAP out OR I WILL. Berigistain is no slouch as Zlatan found out when it comes to finding a solution to a recurring issue.