Balotelli interview..

[Anonymous]

Mario didn't NEED to score at Molyneux to have changed a few opinions of him .......

all he had to do was match the performance level that was put in by David Silva , and his debut would have been seen as being very promising ........ he let himself down by his constant bickering with the referee and Wolves players , and his aggressiveness .... he'll know that more than anyone ....... all we ask for a decent days work from a player who's highly rated in the european game , and we definetely didn't get one from him on Saturday!

Not that he was alone on that day by any means!

Silva is fit, and has been playing in all of our big games this season. He is currently our best player.

Balotelli isn't fit. He just came back from injury. Wolves was his debut.

How do you expect him to match Silva's performance? Balotelli didn't have a bad game. Considering the circumstances, it could have been a lot worse. Change his name to an English Adam Johnson, and the performance would have been hailed as something sent from the heavens.

As someone pointed out the other day to you , i really don't know what games you watch !

If Balotelli wasn't 100% fit , then he should have been gaining match fitness with reserves ..... and not in the pressure cooker that was the Wolves game , where we were being made to look 'inadequate' ....... he knows he should have done much better !

 

[lancs blue]

at Molineux there had been a mistake from someone.

the penalty should be left to mario for score .

maybe this would change his whole game. and certainly the perception of his performance.

Mario didn't NEED to score at Molyneux to have changed a few opinions of him .......

all he had to do was match the performance level that was put in by David Silva , and his debut would have been seen as being very promising ........ he let himself down by his constant bickering with the referee and Wolves players , and his overall aggressiveness .... he'll know that more than anyone ....... all we ask for a decent days work from a player who's highly rated in the european game , and we definetely didn't get one from him on Saturday ..... we needed far more positive football from him than we got!

Instead he was completely upstaged by a little known player who Wolves got for 'peanuts' , Matt Jarvis ......

Not that Balotelli was alone with a bad performance on that day by any means!

And at Spurs during Silva's debut I heard "too lightweight.." " can't hack the pace of the Prem..." etc from City fans - now look at him. Why judge any new player on one performance, especially as the guy has hardly played any competitive football in 6 or 7 months.

 

[Deleted member 14625]

Things didn't quite come off for him on Sat, but it was his first game for us! When most of the other 27 players who played had been playing for 3 months now and were much sharper than Balo could have dreamt of being after just 25 minutes of football since the Italian Cup Final in April!

But he looked like he cared the most out of everyone at City (including the fans) that we were losing, he looked desperate for a result! And that will do for me! When he's fit and sharp and confident and playing well and bagging a few goals - he WILL be one of the best at the club, in the league, in Europe! No doubt!

 

[Anonymous]

Mario didn't NEED to score at Molyneux to have changed a few opinions of him .......

all he had to do was match the performance level that was put in by David Silva , and his debut would have been seen as being very promising ........ he let himself down by his constant bickering with the referee and Wolves players , and his overall aggressiveness .... he'll know that more than anyone ....... all we ask for a decent days work from a player who's highly rated in the european game , and we definetely didn't get one from him on Saturday ..... we needed far more positive football from him than we got!

Instead he was completely upstaged by a little known player who Wolves got for 'peanuts' , Matt Jarvis ......

Not that Balotelli was alone with a bad performance on that day by any means!

And at Spurs during Silva's debut I heard "too lightweight.." " can't hack the pace of the Prem..." etc from City fans - now look at him. Why judge any new player on one performance, especially as the guy has hardly played any competitive football in 6 or 7 months.

Nobodys saying that Balotelli doesn't have the talent to turn things around over time ....... but you know , i know , Mancini knows , and the player himself knows that he didn't do himself justice at Wolves ....... his energies were channelled in the wrong direction

try saying any different to the 2,500 city fans who paid , and travelled , 70 miles to watch him!

 

[CTID Chris]

Silva is fit, and has been playing in all of our big games this season. He is currently our best player.

Balotelli isn't fit. He just came back from injury. Wolves was his debut.

How do you expect him to match Silva's performance? Balotelli didn't have a bad game. Considering the circumstances, it could have been a lot worse. Change his name to an English Adam Johnson, and the performance would have been hailed as something sent from the heavens.

As someone pointed out the other day to you , i really don't know what games you watch !

If Balotelli wasn't 100% fit , then he should have been gaining match fitness with reserves ..... and not in the pressure cooker that was the Wolves game , where we were being made to look 'inadequate' ....... he knows he should have done much better !

Don't worry mate - I've also come to the conclusion that I watch different games to you lot. :)

With Tevez out, giving Balotelli a chance to gain match fitness against a mid-table side, with a view to getting him close to full match fitness in time for the derby, was the right decision. Not everything goes to plan all the time, but it looked like it was going to at the start!!

 

[bluefandk]

The abuse Balotelli gets on here is beyond pathetic, no one can even pretend to have an informed opinion about how he is going to perform in the prem for at least a couple of months, but of course its much more fun to destoy our players rather than support them.

 

[dennishasdoneit]

Well we had another chap here who wanted to be 'the best player in the world ' , and he basically made a right c#nt of himself for the main part ...... and now we have Balotelli , a young man not short on confidence , or agression , coming out with a similar thing.

Well Mario we need to see a whole lot more than we witnessed from you on Saturday , that's for sure ........ you wouldn't have got into a Sunday pub side on that performance , yet Mancini leaves you on for the entire ninety minutes!

So less talk , and more action Mario ....... great players have the ability to change , and win , games ......... if you truly want to be 'great' , it's the only way to go!

I understand where your coming from BM and having read the board without posting for a few years now, and i do have respect for your postings-i live in nottm and recall on more than one occasion your great accounts of the forest/city match in 1974 where it kicked off to fook-you clearly have watched city for a long time...BUT..
I do feel you are being a little harsh in your assesment of Balo,s league debut.
top class players like Bergkamp took a whole season to adjust to this league after being used to Italian football,yet he went on to become arguably,one of the best players,ever, in english football.We as city fans should be looking to suppout this guy as much as possible-let the media be the ones who are quick to to dismiss our signings..we need to get behind the lad and let him know
we are willing him to succeed.
I must say,having been at the match i was disappointed ,horrified even,to see balo engage in face to face confrontations with wolves players -completly uncalled for-you are right in that regard and he needs to cut that out..but as another poster has said,if the rest of the team who have been playing regular football all season,with the benefit of a full pre-season were off form on sat,its a bit much to expect a guy with 25 mins 1st team football this season to transform things on the pitch single-handedly!

 

[BlueBoy85]

The abuse Balotelli gets on here is beyond pathetic, no one can even pretend to have an informed opinion about how he is going to perform in the prem for at least a couple of months, but of course its much more fun to destoy our players rather than support them.

Totally agree mate!

Its pathetic. Especially Black Moomba or whatever who 'travelled 70 miles' to watch the game and almost expected Balo to entertain him on his debut.

FFS get a grip. He's 20 yrs old, not played any competitive football in god knows how long, on his debut, never played in an English game. Seriously? What do people expect of him? You need to give the guy a chance, it's only been 1 game?

 

[tommo]

And at Spurs during Silva's debut I heard "too lightweight.." " can't hack the pace of the Prem..." etc from City fans - now look at him. Why judge any new player on one performance, especially as the guy has hardly played any competitive football in 6 or 7 months.

Nobodys saying that Balotelli doesn't have the talent to turn things around over time ....... but you know , i know , Mancini knows , and the player himself knows that he didn't do himself justice at Wolves ....... his energies were channelled in the wrong direction

try saying any different to the 2,500 city fans who paid , and travelled , 70 miles to watch him!

I was one of those that paid and travelled to watch my TEAM not one player who happened to be selected.Considering the length of time he has been out and a new league and team-mates to boot i am willing to give the young lad time to settle and improve

 

[bluemoondays]

That was his first PL game and also after coming back from injury.

I'm pretty sure he was shell-shocked by the pace of the PL and how quickly he was closed down, probably also how much he was kicked. Silva struggled for his first few games, hopefully Mario will realise pretty quickly the differences between Serie A and the PL and be able to up his game.

I'm hopeful for the lad but also slightly worried as a few italians (and other foreigners) have come over here and struggled big-time and never really been able to cope. He's big, strong and quick, if he can start using those attributes along with his technical ability he could become a big player for us.

Jury out for the next few matches but hoping to see something.