Balotelli - What was he thinking?

[taconinja]

Am I getting this right?

It was offside? The whistle went?

And Mancini still brought him off?

I don't believe this.

I'm totally not buying this Dave.

Not buying what?

I watched it with my finger on fast forward before work this morning, over about 25 minutes.

I've only just found we won on penalties a fe wminutes ago as the ESPN coverage finished on 85 minutes.

I've just posted above, if he wasn't offside, as he obviously wasn't, then it isn't anything like the cock up I thought it was 20 minutes ago.

You should watch the penalties if you can. Good stuff for the most part.<br /><br />-- Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:52 am --<br /><br />

Exactly! I reckon the "professional" within the team are getting fed up with his on field childish antics and ultimately that will have an affect on team morale.

and thats exactly the reason mancini should have done this in the dressing room at half time in front of all the other players....same impact & end product but a lot less fuss and media bollox

Of course that's what he should have done. Because whilst I (sort of) take the point that he needs to impose authority, he also needs to be seen to be fair.

He should now be having a chat with Mario, telling him he made a mistake subbing him but also bollocking Mario for not banging it in. They should shake hands and put it behind them and both move on. Mancini would do himself favours with the squad if he was seen to act in a "fair" manner like this.

I think the annoyance of several players on the pitch (Unfortunately the cameras were focused on the sideline) pushed the issue a bit. If you want to be fair, pull your favorites off the pitch when they screw up the same way you pull your non-favorites if they screw up.

I think this is a small thing really and by tomorrow the press will be onto something else.

 

[bluevengence]

Fooking Anders Behring Breivik is getting less shit than Balo

 

[mcfc1632]

an aspect of this which seems to be missed is how this 'antic' impacts on the purpose we were out there in the US

Key to our success is commercial expansion - and a key aspect of that is growing our standing in the US (along with other regions).

The US is a key market - observe how the rags are there year on year - and this trip will have been carefully planned to maximise positive media voverage of CITY - and taken a lot of effort.

Just think how the staff that put all the effort into organising the trip - into setting up the community initiatives etc feel - all that effortt to establish a positive CITY brand and in the end what is the abiding memory in the US of CITY as they now fly back??

This is not simply a playground antic - we are an aspiring top club and a business needing to grow marketplaces - I was very disappointed in what he did - only mitigated if the 'offside' thing was 100% genuine

CITY have likely been hurt my this and not only in the UK rag-infested press

 

[razinho]

Just caught the first half on my lunch hour. What a fucking over exaggeration by the most. I thought it would have been terrible when i heard what had happened and i thought id have been absolutely raging but i didn't feel anything apart from what a bunch of dicks the commentators were.

 

[taconinja]

an aspect of this which seems to be missed is how this 'antic' impacts on the purpose we were out there in the US

Key to our success is commercial expansion - and a key aspect of that is growing our standing in the US (along with other regions).

The US is a key market - observe how the rags are there year on year - and this trip will have been carefully planned to maximise positive media voverage of CITY - and taken a lot of effort.

Just think how the staff that put all the effort into organising the trip - into setting up the community initiatives etc feel - all that effortt to establish a positive CITY brand and in the end what is the abiding memory in the US of CITY as they now fly back??

This is not simply a playground antic - we are an aspiring top club and a business needing to grow marketplaces - I was very disappointed in what he did - only mitigated if the 'offside' thing was 100% genuine

CITY have likely been hurt my this and not only in the UK rag-infested press

We're Americans. We like crazy shit like this. Bust up on the sidelines? That's PASSION! Stupid backheel trick? That's fun! That match yesterday will win us fans in the U.S.<br /><br />-- Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:59 am --<br /><br />

Just caught the first half on my lunch hour. What a fucking over exaggeration by the most. I thought it would have been terrible when i heard what had happened and i thought id have been absolutely raging but i didn't feel anything apart from what a bunch of dicks the commentators were.

Taylor Twellman is a washed-up never-was. Can't even claim to be a has-been. He's bitter and a rag.

 

[Bellamy's Caddy]

Fair play to Mario for having the confidence in trying a trick wether or not he heard the whistle he shouldnt be lynched for that, John's sitter he missed in the dying seconds was worse. Mancini overreacted and I can't blame Mario for getting mad because he was publicly humiliated.

That's just my opinion.

I've been crtitical of Balotelli in the past, but I must admit I've watched the incident a few times now and there's definitely a noise from the crowd which I think led to the backheel. It wasn't good to see him throwing the water bottle about, but he was frustrated. I think Mancini should say its in the past and we should all move on. The press have an agenda with Balotelli already so anything he does they'll pounce on, SSN getting viewers to email in so they can tell everyone what a naughty boy he is. I think it was a misunderstanding and not a big deal.

That's why I can't understand why Mancini subbed him knowing that it was gonna make headlines with the reputation Mario has in the media. IMO he should of waited till half time and discussed the incident in private with Mario. If he'd of done this his back heel wouldn't have been major news.

Yeah, thats what should have happened, any fall out could have been dealt with behind closed doors.

 

[jrb]

Once again Mario's antics take the headlines and the shine of a very successful tour.

When will he understand or learn that everything he does(wrong) will be seized upon by the media and used against City. (twist that f***ing knife)

Instead of Bobby talking about the tour and the positives that came from it, he once again spent an age talking about Mario and his antics.

Regardless of the jokes and smiles from Bobby, he must be sick to death of it by now.

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

I believe he was thinking

"Immmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Balotelli
Im a striker, Im good at darts
I have an allergy to grass
And when i play im fucking class
I drive around Moss Side with a wallet full of Cash"

 

[jaden19]

You can see why Mourinho never liked him tbh.

 

[Blue Haze]

Watching it again, Balo does act like it's offside. Weird that he didn't argue with the referee for making such a terrible call. No one else seemed to think it was offside.

Regardless of what was going through his head, thank fuck he did it in a friendly and not in a derby.