FantasyIreland
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MCFC BOB said:
Sean Haughton
Monday, 5 November 2012
Why Mario Balotelli’s Future Must Lie Away From Manchester City
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Typically, as a Manchester City season-ticket holder, my first genuine blog had to be about my beloved club. And of course, what would a modern City opinion piece be without the presence of one Mario Balotelli? On this occasion however, I cannot laud the efforts of our Italian Enigma…
Mario’s signing was one of great intrigue; his ego and bravado was known to European football fans though of course not to the extent that Italian fans knew. Indeed, Mario felt that he’d rather spend his 20th Birthday on a beach back home and delay the transfer for his thrills, though you couldn’t really hold that against him. His impact was instant, with the winning goal in a Europa League qualifier away to the recently dissolved Romanian minnows Timişoara. An injury picked up immediately would prevent us from seeing him until the 3-0 home defeat to Arsenal a couple of months down the line, but it was a further week later that we would see a glimpse of what was to epitomise Mario’s City career so far. A double at West Brom was tarnished by a ridiculous sending off after a bitchy altercation with Youssuf Mulumbu, though at the time you couldn’t help but admire his passion while being somewhat alarmed by his petulance of which we were warned.
Apart from a sly dig at Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshire, Mario went somewhat unnoticed in the immediate future other than doing what he was bought to do, and that’s score goals, which he did so against Salzburg and Villa. That was until March when another red card played havoc with City’s Europa League ambitions and we crashed out over two legs to Dynamo Kiev. Petty and unnecessary, and with Mario already displeasing with his ‘allergy’ antics in the first leg, there was an understandable level of dissatisfaction with the Enigma. However, at the end of the season, he put in a Man of the Match performance when it mattered against Stoke in the FA Cup Final. The season’s shenanigans were practically forgotten and the Blues faithful could laugh along as he dropped a Shit-Bomb on ITV’s coverage of Cup Final day, with the man himself acknowledging his new song, “Oh Balotelli, he’s a striker…”
The following season, Mario’s childish antics seemed to return after he stormed down the tunnel during the Community Shield defeat to our abhorrent rivals, but he seemed to turn a corner with the goal that set us on the way to a win against Everton at long last, and a celebratory hug with Roberto Mancini seemed to show a sign of maturity and a thank you to the faith shown in him by Mancio. Just days earlier he had scored against Birmingham in the League Cup and followed the goal against Everton with a superb strike away at Blackburn, but it was on the 23rd of October, 2011, that Mario truly took centre-stage for all the right reasons. A Derby Double at the Swamp in the 1-6 Massacre, topped off by the now famous “Why Always Me?” undershirt after his firework fiasco in his bathroom, allowed Mario to step up to a new platform that he could expand upon, and he continued this form with a penalty against Villarreal in the Champions League and mocked the Home Side’s fans racist chanting with a trademark blank-faced, arms out celebration. Mario’s temperament however continued to haunt him, though he was unfortunate to be dismissed away at Liverpool, his sending off a sign that his reputation amongst referees was now being used against him, as has been the case with many of the Premier League’s foreign imports.
He did continue to score goals however, and his tally of 17 in all competitions for the season easily surpassed the previous season’s tally of 10. Unfortunately, it was incidents such as the stamp on Scott Parker (not helped by the English media’s glaringly obvious witch-hunt), a public spat over free kicks & the sending off against Arsenal in April that took centre-stage and seemed to signal the end of his City career. Forget the fan favourite stories about darts, allergies and fireworks, it was Mario’s public discrepancies which were now holding both himself and the team back, and it seemed especially so when the 8-point deficit was established with 6 games remaining in the Title race. Of course, the rest of that wonderful story is, as they say, history.
He seemed to redeem himself though as he returned to make a substitute appearance against QPR in THAT game, and of course provided the assist for Sergio Aguero’s magical winner. The previous antics hadn’t been forgotten, but it was the general consensus amongst fans that his position at the club was somewhat secure for the time being.
Which brings me to my opinion that Mario’s days at the club should now be considered numbered. Mario’s performances, away from the negatives, had earned him not only a call up to Italy’s Euro 2012 squad, but the No.9 shirt and the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, and he thrived. His performances in the knock-out stages against England and Germany were outstanding, and they proved that when his heart is in it, Mario Balotelli truly can be one of the best in the world as he says he is. He was unable to prevent the dominant Spaniards from completing their International treble however, and his heartbreak was visible. Imagine my disappointment then when he returned to the club that instead of trying to get over said heartbreak and prove himself furthermore, he returned to displaying the same typical City form; lazy, uninterested and lacklustre. It has brought me to the conclusion that, as we knew all along if we were being honest, that Mario has no true feeling for Manchester City. Of course, we shouldn’t really expect many of the squad members to do so, none have any actual allegiance to the club but in Mario’s case, it’s clearly obvious that he couldn’t care less. Yes, he has scored this season but his entire demeanour is that of someone who seems to have thoughts of better things to do. In only 3 games have I seen Mario give his all for this club; the Cup Final, the 1-6 and his cameo against QPR and think about what was to be gained during those games – worldwide audiences, trophies and personal glamour.
A boyhood Milan fan despite his history with Inter, I have no doubt that he harbours ambitions of joining them and those ambitions spark up on a daily basis, but of course there’s PSG with their wealth and ambition that isn’t too far from that of our own club. Which either club he joins, in my opinion he needs to do so soon, for the benefit of himself and for Manchester City. I have always been a Mario fan, but my personal patience has run out. A club that he feels connected to will benefit immensely from his obvious talents; it’s just sickening that it will never be with us.