Pigeonho said:
I've heard it many-a-time where people have said he will one day be for us what the Tranny was to United.
Ah, I see what you mean. I thought it was a comparison of players.
That may well be the case and only time will tell. My point though is that people have given him legend status for the mad-cap things he has done off the pitch, and I think it covers the cracks that the actual case is that he isn't that good where it matter - on the pitch. Imagine someone 'boring' putting in the same performances? Someone who doesn't wink at Rio, who doesn't wolf whistle at hookers who bedded Rooney, who doesn't break into womens prisons, who doesn't drive round with £25k 'because I can'.... those things instantly appeal to some fans because its what we would all like to do ourselves, and it portrays a character, a mentalist and someone who is just a loony who we all love. The fact is though that he doesn't apply himself on the pitch as much as he should do, and it should only be on the pitch where he is judged, not some hoo-har he causes in an italian restaurant in town. That 'boring' player I referred to would have been hounded ages ago.
I agree somewhat with this; he has achieved a cult status because of his off the pitch stuff. However, there are those of us who have watched him his entire career and appreciate the player that he is.
Look at this another way, almost EVERY poster on here who regularly watched him at Inter madly raves about him. We can't all be making things up; added to this, that there is video evidence of what we are talking about.
Some people say "judge him off of what he does at City", I say that this is unfair for such a young player in his first season. Think of how Torres would be seen if he was judged purely because of his time at Chelsea. He wouldn't even get near the Burnley team. However, nobody in their right mind believes Torres is anything short of world class. We know this because we've watched him for years and recognise his quality. The Balotelli situation is the same. I honestly don't know a single person who consistently watched him at Inter and thinks anything other than him as a world class player and a massively talented young lad. I'm sure that those people exist, but that opinion is in the minority.
Mourinho is famously pig headed about disruptions. Despite him classing Balo as one, he still consistently played him in big games and in his Treble winning season he played nearly 40 games for them. He doesn't ever give any other player this privilege, Mou himself rates him as somebody who can be the best player in the whole world.
I know it's hard because he is so hugely rated by some sections of the fanbase, so it automatically makes you examine his performance closer than you would.
Let's look at this another way. He's already won the Champions League, the Serie A on three separate occasions, the Italian FA Cup, the Italian Charity Shield, has been capped for his country twice at full international level, played over 100 senior games and was just voted the best under 21 player in the world, in front of the Wilshere's of this world.
He's 18 months younger than Daniel Sturridge.
This is the level of player we are realistically dealing with.
