Goodbye Mario? (merged)

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Anyone who thinks that the transformation of how this football club is perceived in the last two years was just down to how we performed on the pitch is hopelessly naive.

Anyone who thinks how this club is perceived isn't important in terms of its ability to attract top players within the prism of FFP is hopelessly deluded.

These things matter. The battle for supremacy in modern football is fought beyond the playing arena. City are now big news, which enables us to be taken seriously. Without that we are just another Blackburn or Wolfsburg.

Mario has, quite possibly inadvertently in the main, helped propel this club into the big league. Fans of clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal now talk about us with much more respect than even a year ago. We are on everybody's lips and he has been very much part of that.

That's not saying we shouldn't sell him. I think we probably should, but as I posted earlier he has, as much as anyone, helped make Sheikh Mansour's vision for this club become a reality - and has accelerated that process too.

Every club needs a big character at the point of their development into a bigger force. united had Beckham. That doesn't mean that football considerations aren't paramount: of course they are, but equally that doesn't mean that the club doesn't have the indirect benefits that the reflected attention gives them. It may be a sad reflection on the modern world, but it is the reality nonetheless.

Many have previously pointed to our "egos" as the reason for our expected undoing, but the fact is that it is these "egos" that have made this club such box office. And box office, for good or bad, matters in contemporary football.

 

[juanhunglo]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Will be glad to see him go.
His mind is scrambled and thinks the world owes him a living.
All the people who say he has talent, I have yet to see it consistently in a City shirt.
You just do not know what you are going to get with him. We need players that will roll their sleeves up when the going get tough, alas, he is not capable of that.
Take the money and don't open the box.

 

[Pigeonho]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Anyone who thinks that the transformation of how this football club is perceived in the last two years was just down to how we performed on the pitch is hopelessly naive.

Anyone who thinks how this club is perceived isn't important in terms of its ability to attract top players within the prism of FFP is hopelessly deluded.

These things matter. The battle for supremacy in modern football is fought beyond the playing arena. City are now big news, which enables us to be taken seriously. Without that we are just another Blackburn or Wolfsburg.

Mario has, quite possibly inadvertently in the main, helped propel this club into the big league. Fans of clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal now talk about us with much more respect than even a year ago. We are on everybody's lips and he has been very much part of that.

That's not saying we shouldn't sell him. I think we probably should, but as I posted earlier he has, as much as anyone, helped make Sheikh Mansour's vision for this club become a reality - and has accelerated that process too.

Every club needs a big character at the point of their development into a bigger force. united had Beckham. That doesn't mean that football considerations aren't paramount: of course they are, but equally that doesn't mean that the club doesn't have the indirect benefits that the reflected attention gives them. It may be a sad reflection on the modern world, but it is the reality nonetheless.

Many have previously pointed to our "egos" as the reason for our expected undoing, but the fact is that it is these "egos" that have made this club such box office. And box office, for good or bad, matters in contemporary football.

With all respect that is rubbish. Ask kids born from 1995 onwards who they associated Barca with. I would say 10 out of 10 asked would say Messi. Why? Because he does magic tricks, gets sent off, rows with his manager, has a strange hair cut and drives a camouflage Bentley? Or is it because he scores 100 goals in a calendar year, puts in mesmeric performances and is all in all 100% football? Barca are probably a bad example to use for obvious reasons, but i'm sure you see my point. You could very well ask kids of that same age bracket who they associate with Man City. It would be a mixed bag but there will be some who say Balotelli. Unfortunately for him and the club in regards to football reasons, they would say the reasons above, which at the end of the day have nothing to do with results on the pitch. Also, who cares if Liverpool fans talk about City? Are you that insecure you need fans of other clubs to talk about the club you support? The last day of the season it was nice to see the QPR fans and Sunderland fans cheer our victory and if rumours are true there were many pubs full of Chelsea fans in London who went equally as bonkers but do you think that is for there newly found respect of City? No, it was because it denied United another league title. If we had won the league over any other club that day those reactions wouldn't have happened because quite honestly people other than their hatred of United, (and any local rival), only care about their own club and no 'character' like Balotelli is going to change that.

 

[baggy]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Comparing mario to beckham is ridiculous.

There's publicity and publicity and mario has been nothing but the court jester throughout. A part he seems more than happy to play up to. If this is what you want our global brand to be associated with then we've not come as far as you think...

Maybe if he had shown half of his potential on the pitch maybe I'd give a shit but unfortunately he's just a poor imitation of ibrohimovic.

A rotten apple of which I've no doubt we will be better off without.

 

[St Helens Blue (Exiled)]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Global this,commercial that.

Fuck off-AS a fan/supporter I want him to perform on the pitch. I really couldn't give one iota about shirt sales etc.

Hopefully he wil be gone by end of play Thursday.Thanks for your 3 contributions on the pitch Mario. I thought becoming a father would have chilled him out and made him grow up a little. Oh well,no fucker is bigger than the club. We have done perfectly well this season without him. Get the money and run City.

 

[peoffrey]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Global this,commercial that.

Fuck off-AS a fan/supporter I want him to perform on the pitch. I really couldn't give one iota about shirt sales etc.

Hopefully he wil be gone by end of play Thursday.Thanks for your 3 contributions on the pitch Mario. I thought becoming a father would have chilled him out and made him grow up a little. Oh well,no fucker is bigger than the club. We have done perfectly well this season without him. Get the money and run City.

#

100% this. I've never really understood the complete devotion he receives from certain quarters.

 

[masterwig]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Nonsense. The rags had won the double and a European trophy in the seasons before Beckham appeared on the scene. And he was, unpopular as it is, a very good player who produced for them. They didn't need Beckham and his pop star wife just to raise their profile.

This 'keep him around because he gets us in the papers' argument is about the weakest justification of a player I have ever heard. He doesn't contribute nearly enough on the pitch and if someone wants to give us upwards of £15 million we're well rid.

 

[Deleted member 52846]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Anyone who thinks that the transformation of how this football club is perceived in the last two years was just down to how we performed on the pitch is hopelessly naive.

Anyone who thinks how this club is perceived isn't important in terms of its ability to attract top players within the prism of FFP is hopelessly deluded.

These things matter. The battle for supremacy in modern football is fought beyond the playing arena. City are now big news, which enables us to be taken seriously. Without that we are just another Blackburn or Wolfsburg.

Mario has, quite possibly inadvertently in the main, helped propel this club into the big league. Fans of clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal now talk about us with much more respect than even a year ago. We are on everybody's lips and he has been very much part of that.

That's not saying we shouldn't sell him. I think we probably should, but as I posted earlier he has, as much as anyone, helped make Sheikh Mansour's vision for this club become a reality - and has accelerated that process too.

Every club needs a big character at the point of their development into a bigger force. united had Beckham. That doesn't mean that football considerations aren't paramount: of course they are, but equally that doesn't mean that the club doesn't have the indirect benefits that the reflected attention gives them. It may be a sad reflection on the modern world, but it is the reality nonetheless.

Many have previously pointed to our "egos" as the reason for our expected undoing, but the fact is that it is these "egos" that have made this club such box office. And box office, for good or bad, matters in contemporary football.

But I can see us buying a real superstar footballer in the next eighteen months to two and a half years, not just a celebrity who plays well every fifteen games in the sport. In the meantime I think our stock will rise even without Mario as we continue to win trophies in that timeframe in all areas. Neymar will be available soon and if we don't get him we'll get someone else and maybe the one we get won't just be a celebrity footballer but actually put in performances week-in-week-out too. I've always viewed Mario as I viewed Dennis Rodman during his NBA career; wasn't a bad player but how he got so much press attention I could never understand, he was a media circus and his haircut or relationships were bigger news than his performances. But there are players out there who can be as famous for their performances and Sheikh Mansour will know that we will need that sort of person at the club at some point.

Mario is not the only player the world is obsessed in, and we need to carefully and intelligently find the right one. As I say, it might not be this coming Summer, it might not even be the one after that but I'd say the timeframe we're looking at is two and a half years for Summer 2015. That seems way off at the moment but it will be here in no time.

 

[BluePurgatory]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Global this,commercial that.

Fuck off-AS a fan/supporter I want him to perform on the pitch. I really couldn't give one iota about shirt sales etc.

Hopefully he wil be gone by end of play Thursday.Thanks for your 3 contributions on the pitch Mario. I thought becoming a father would have chilled him out and made him grow up a little. Oh well,no fucker is bigger than the club. We have done perfectly well this season without him. Get the money and run City.

#

100% this. I've never really understood the complete devotion he receives from certain quarters.

And I have never understood the hatred aimed at Balo by the usual suspects!

 

[Pigeonho]

Re: Goodbye Mario?

Global this,commercial that.

Fuck off-AS a fan/supporter I want him to perform on the pitch. I really couldn't give one iota about shirt sales etc.

Hopefully he wil be gone by end of play Thursday.Thanks for your 3 contributions on the pitch Mario. I thought becoming a father would have chilled him out and made him grow up a little. Oh well,no fucker is bigger than the club. We have done perfectly well this season without him. Get the money and run City.

#

100% this. I've never really understood the complete devotion he receives from certain quarters.

And I have never understood the hatred aimed at Balo by the usual suspects!

It's not hatred, nobody hates him. What it is, is just not jumping on a bandwagon of love for him which is completely unfounded and totally undeserved, footballing wise.