paulchapo said:I actually didn't think he was *THAT* bad on Sunday,the problem is his body language gives the impression he is centre stage,''Look at me'' syndrome and doing little to back up his *star billing.Both him and Agero weren't working,pressing or harrasing United's back four enough,or making enough runs into space.They were mainly ambling about hoping something was going to drop to them.
Mancini obviously had asked him to do certain things in the match he failed to do so he was hooked.The derby was never the game for him to start,i don't care what he did at Old Trafford.We needed 11 battlers willing to die for the cause out there from the off,he never feels that affinity for us.
The editor of the excellent 'View from a Blue' weblog wrote this and i agree with a fair bit of it.
''However, and this brings me to the main talking point post-match, that doesn’t mean Mario Balotelli was poor. His performance has been vilified in today’s papers by journalists who, rather than attempt any real analysis of the game, take the lazy option and focus on Balotelli. Jamie Jackson in the Guardian described the Italian’s performance as “close-to-hopeless” whilst Ollie Holt in the Mirror thought the striker was “utterly ineffectual, distracted, fitful and fretful … and that City had effectively been forced to play with 10 men.” And the less said about Steven Howard’s bile-filled, vitriolic piece in the Sun, the better. What absolute nonsense.
The reality is the Balotelli was one of, if not the, liveliest attacking sparks in the first half. His pace, direct running, touch and strength caused a number of problems for United’s backline and it was his speed in behind their defence which looked our most likely route of scoring. Yes, he tried a couple of flicks too many and that infuriated Roberto Mancini but at least he tried to move the ball on quickly, rather than take too many touches in possession and slow down our tempo, as was the case with so many others.
The negative vibe in the ground was startling towards him, as if many fans have turned against him because of who he is, rather than what he produces. Of course, he doesn’t help himself at times with his questionable attitude and lack of workrate, but those at the ground should be able to realise how good he is off the ball when City are in possession. Sadly, our tactics don’t play to his strength.
When you watch him for Italy, you realise just how effective he can be. His searing pace enables him to get beyond the opposition defence and with Andrea Pirlo picking him out early with balls over the top to exploit the space, he is lethal. Unfortunately, we don’t play that way. At the Etihad Stadium, it is clear that his movement is terrific. There were countless times in the first half when he (and Sergio Aguero) made darts over the top as United’s defence pushed up, but our tempo was so laboured that no-one found those runs. And that is when Balotelli gets frustrated. He is flawed yet there is an expectation for him to be flawless.''
if he gets to that level it'll be long after he's left City I'm afraid.
paulchapo said:those at the ground should be able to realise how good he is off the ball when City are in possession. Sadly, our tactics don’t play to his strength.
When you watch him for Italy, you realise just how effective he can be. His searing pace enables him to get beyond the opposition defence and with Andrea Pirlo picking him out early with balls over the top to exploit the space, he is lethal. Unfortunately, we don’t play that way. At the Etihad Stadium, it is clear that his movement is terrific. There were countless times in the first half when he (and Sergio Aguero) made darts over the top as United’s defence pushed up, but our tempo was so laboured that no-one found those runs. ''
simon23 said:paulchapo said:I actually didn't think he was *THAT* bad on Sunday,the problem is his body language gives the impression he is centre stage,''Look at me'' syndrome and doing little to back up his *star billing.Both him and Agero weren't working,pressing or harrasing United's back four enough,or making enough runs into space.They were mainly ambling about hoping something was going to drop to them.
Mancini obviously had asked him to do certain things in the match he failed to do so he was hooked.The derby was never the game for him to start,i don't care what he did at Old Trafford.We needed 11 battlers willing to die for the cause out there from the off,he never feels that affinity for us.
The editor of the excellent 'View from a Blue' weblog wrote this and i agree with a fair bit of it.
''However, and this brings me to the main talking point post-match, that doesn’t mean Mario Balotelli was poor. His performance has been vilified in today’s papers by journalists who, rather than attempt any real analysis of the game, take the lazy option and focus on Balotelli. Jamie Jackson in the Guardian described the Italian’s performance as “close-to-hopeless” whilst Ollie Holt in the Mirror thought the striker was “utterly ineffectual, distracted, fitful and fretful … and that City had effectively been forced to play with 10 men.” And the less said about Steven Howard’s bile-filled, vitriolic piece in the Sun, the better. What absolute nonsense.
The reality is the Balotelli was one of, if not the, liveliest attacking sparks in the first half. His pace, direct running, touch and strength caused a number of problems for United’s backline and it was his speed in behind their defence which looked our most likely route of scoring. Yes, he tried a couple of flicks too many and that infuriated Roberto Mancini but at least he tried to move the ball on quickly, rather than take too many touches in possession and slow down our tempo, as was the case with so many others.
The negative vibe in the ground was startling towards him, as if many fans have turned against him because of who he is, rather than what he produces. Of course, he doesn’t help himself at times with his questionable attitude and lack of workrate, but those at the ground should be able to realise how good he is off the ball when City are in possession. Sadly, our tactics don’t play to his strength.
When you watch him for Italy, you realise just how effective he can be. His searing pace enables him to get beyond the opposition defence and with Andrea Pirlo picking him out early with balls over the top to exploit the space, he is lethal. Unfortunately, we don’t play that way. At the Etihad Stadium, it is clear that his movement is terrific. There were countless times in the first half when he (and Sergio Aguero) made darts over the top as United’s defence pushed up, but our tempo was so laboured that no-one found those runs. And that is when Balotelli gets frustrated. He is flawed yet there is an expectation for him to be flawless.''
absolutely spot on that is