Mancini ...what was he thinking ?

[Soulboy]

I get totally pissed of with unprofessionalism and showboating... even in friendly games.

I routinely support Mancini's handling of Balotelli, as I still remain to be convinced that Mario is ever going to be the answer... but... in this case Mancini showed his man-management skills to be lacking, has created a story where none was there, and has put even more pressure on a player who needs space rather than being crushed.

Wrong call by the manager and this should have been handled so much better.

Professionalism in football means winning above all else... so by that token the manager acted uprofessionally by taking our best striker off and weaakening the team.

I'd hoped we'd seen the last of these outbursts by both parties, and if this is going to be another re-run this season, then questions are going to have to be asked about our longer term strategy on dealing with players.

Hissy fits by players are bad enough, but when it's the manager...

 

[Ragnarok]

one of mancini's best goals was a backheel ;/

exhibition games like last night are exactly the spectacle for showboating

wrong decision mancini....whats good for the goose is quite obviously NOT good for the gander

Are you comparing Mancini's back heel to Balotelli's? Seriously? Completely different circumstances in that the ball was behind Mancini off a corner kick and he wouldn't have had enough time to get his left foot round to have a shot so backheeled it instead, it was really the only thing he could do to get the ball on target whereas Balo's was just complete showboating because the odds were he wouldn't score whereas if he'd have had a shot with his right foot he'd have probably scored

I don't mind Balo doing what he did as it was a friendly but just find it a bit strange to compare the two back heels and say it was good enough when Mancini was doing it himself but for him it's not now when the two back heels were completely different

Agreed . In Mancinis case he had little choice other than a backheel whereas in Balotellis case he would have scored had he not tried to showboat.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

he did his job properly, unlike Balotelli.

 

[bzekosilva]

MANCINI DID THE RIGHT THING 100 PERCENT no pissing about not even in friendlies very unproffesional

 

[DSonBlue]

Bert wins every time on this one for me.

Balo could have done many things yesterday; it's perhaps no surprise he made the worst choice given his enigmatic character.

I understand the critics of Bert to some extent - perhaps if it was another player he wouldn't have reacted so angrily.

That said, it's Balo; he's got previous for this daftness, and that's why I feel Bobby did the right thing.

City aren't all about Balo, after all.

We're on the verge of signing the hottest striker around - do you think Sergio would have had such a lack of professionalism, given the same situation?

I get the fact that we have a special, albeit raw talent in Mario, and that most teams would love to have him - baggage and all.

He just needs to realise that in Bert, we have potentially the best young manager around today, one that has a massive desire for perfection, and thus a guy who won't keep forgiving petulant behaviour.

He wants what all City fans want, remember?

 

[LongLang]

I am very worried about balotelli and his career. Even the person that claims and supposed to shield and protect mario from the ferocious, unreasonable and rather unprecidented degree of animorsity,contempt and cynicism have shown that he is also detached and does not have the empathy to realise that taking balotelli off the way he did was absolutely terrible.
I have been and will always be a supporter of balotelli and i refuse to allow him to be a punchbag or a scapegoat for people(unfortunately some mc fans included)willing to pounce on any opportunity to attack and show their innate hatred for balotelli because they think he epitomises all that is wrong with the modern game:
Black
Black european
Black european italian!
Black european italian earning millions in his teens
Black european italian earning millions in his teens and have the potential to be a something special.
He can be something like weve never seen before.
Lets face it, this is why there is this aggressive intolerance,animorsity and a sort of uneasiness around balotelli because people and the press do not like what he represents and they ultimately want him to fail.
So the fact that he is although flawed but young and going to get matured or the fact that he has this snap, 'if you touch me,i will bite you because i have been wounded and suffered great discrimination and unfairness all my life so i must react and fight' mentality or the fact that he is grossly misunderstood as was the case today, are all irrelevant.
Mancini have shown his true colours today as he has shown that he is just like the rest
of them, detached and with NO EMPATHY , because i can bet that he would not have done this to his own son.
I fear for balotelli and i believe the only people that can realise what is really happening and protect him from this 'new discrimination' is us- his fans

When did this become a race debate?
When it was joey B doing stupid things no one said "its not his fault no one likes him, hes scouse"
Hes not being discriminated against, ges getting stick for being a daft bastard.
Its to be expected.
I like ballo and think he will be ace when he settles down a bit, but at the minute he seems like an ADHD kid.
But dont play the race card for fucks sake, its not even been mentioned. It just makes the argument look even more petulant
"iz it coz i iz black" grow up

 

[johnny crossan]

he could hear that hysterical yank commentator and decided to prevent a missile launch against Etihad

 

[Akai]

he did the right thing imo, shows strong management.

 

[Carver]

Whether or not Balotelli thought he was offside and all the crap from the commentators I think all the negativity starts when Dzeko throws his arms up (he could see that Balo was not offside). Mancini substituting him and a stereotypical Italian argument between them both over nothing blew blew it all out of proportion. If he hadn't been taken off this would have been dismissed as something or nothing rather than the storm in a teacup it has become.

Rodney Marsh, Frank Worthington, Peter Osgood, Geroge Best, Paul Gascoigne. Where would the football world be without these great entertainers? A much less interesting place, that's where. To me it's more about the journey than getting to the final destination.

 

[LongsightM13]

I am very worried about balotelli and his career. Even the person that claims and supposed to shield and protect mario from the ferocious, unreasonable and rather unprecidented degree of animorsity,contempt and cynicism have shown that he is also detached and does not have the empathy to realise that taking balotelli off the way he did was absolutely terrible.
I have been and will always be a supporter of balotelli and i refuse to allow him to be a punchbag or a scapegoat for people(unfortunately some mc fans included)willing to pounce on any opportunity to attack and show their innate hatred for balotelli because they think he epitomises all that is wrong with the modern game:
Black
Black european
Black european italian!
Black european italian earning millions in his teens
Black european italian earning millions in his teens and have the potential to be a something special.
He can be something like weve never seen before.
Lets face it, this is why there is this aggressive intolerance,animorsity and a sort of uneasiness around balotelli because people and the press do not like what he represents and they ultimately want him to fail.
So the fact that he is although flawed but young and going to get matured or the fact that he has this snap, 'if you touch me,i will bite you because i have been wounded and suffered great discrimination and unfairness all my life so i must react and fight' mentality or the fact that he is grossly misunderstood as was the case today, are all irrelevant.
Mancini have shown his true colours today as he has shown that he is just like the rest
of them, detached and with NO EMPATHY , because i can bet that he would not have done this to his own son.
I fear for balotelli and i believe the only people that can realise what is really happening and protect him from this 'new discrimination' is us- his fans

Wow. Just wow.
There have been some silly comments and a massve overreaction since the backheel, but against the stiffest possible competition, this is the most stupid post of the week.
Balo did the wrong thing, his boss let him know in no uncertain terms, they move on. It happens in every workplace every week.
No manager knows better than Mancini how to handle Mario. To pointlessly drag his race into it is cretinous.

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

I am very worried about balotelli and his career. Even the person that claims and supposed to shield and protect mario from the ferocious, unreasonable and rather unprecidented degree of animorsity,contempt and cynicism have shown that he is also detached and does not have the empathy to realise that taking balotelli off the way he did was absolutely terrible.
I have been and will always be a supporter of balotelli and i refuse to allow him to be a punchbag or a scapegoat for people(unfortunately some mc fans included)willing to pounce on any opportunity to attack and show their innate hatred for balotelli because they think he epitomises all that is wrong with the modern game:
Black
Black european
Black european italian!
Black european italian earning millions in his teens
Black european italian earning millions in his teens and have the potential to be a something special.
He can be something like weve never seen before.
Lets face it, this is why there is this aggressive intolerance,animorsity and a sort of uneasiness around balotelli because people and the press do not like what he represents and they ultimately want him to fail.
So the fact that he is although flawed but young and going to get matured or the fact that he has this snap, 'if you touch me,i will bite you because i have been wounded and suffered great discrimination and unfairness all my life so i must react and fight' mentality or the fact that he is grossly misunderstood as was the case today, are all irrelevant.
Mancini have shown his true colours today as he has shown that he is just like the rest
of them, detached and with NO EMPATHY , because i can bet that he would not have done this to his own son.
I fear for balotelli and i believe the only people that can realise what is really happening and protect him from this 'new discrimination' is us- his fans

Rubbish. If Mancini harboured some subliminal dislike of Balotelli based on the colour of his skin, he wouldn't have fucking bought him. He took him off because at a time when City are trying to build bridges and generate positive PR, Mario did his best (again) to undermine those efforts. When he plays for the team, as he did in both games at Wembley, he's a cracking player. When he acts self indulgently, he's no use to us and can't complain if he gets slapped down.
Balotelli has had fantastic support from virtually everyone at City (support that his displays on the pitch generally speaking haven't merited I might add) since he came to the club, and we're all desperate for him to be a legend. Blaming Mancini's reaction, and comments from fans on here, on racism, is just utter bollocks

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

To be honest I'm livid that Mancini hauled him off

It was a nothing game against a nothing team and now Bobby has given the media exactly what they need..a 'trouble at city' headline to get their teeth into

Bobby could have kicked off with him in the dressing room instead of in front of the spotlight

Stupid call and has created unnecessary friction between him and Balo for fuck all

 

[CTID1988]

Yep, make a mistake and I'll pull you off. Well done Mancini for perpetuating the media bile about Balo. I always liked Mancini but he pissed me off royally tonight. Really bad decision!

Doesnt sound too bad! If only we had a female manager...

 

[TonyM]

Mancini baffles me. There was no need to make a big deal of a 20 year old being a bit silly in front of goal.

A lot of things Mancini says and does baffle me.

 

[blueplan]

I am very worried about balotelli and his career. Even the person that claims and supposed to shield and protect mario from the ferocious, unreasonable and rather unprecidented degree of animorsity,contempt and cynicism have shown that he is also detached and does not have the empathy to realise that taking balotelli off the way he did was absolutely terrible.
I have been and will always be a supporter of balotelli and i refuse to allow him to be a punchbag or a scapegoat for people(unfortunately some mc fans included)willing to pounce on any opportunity to attack and show their innate hatred for balotelli because they think he epitomises all that is wrong with the modern game:
Black
Black european
Black european italian!
Black european italian earning millions in his teens
Black european italian earning millions in his teens and have the potential to be a something special.
He can be something like weve never seen before.
Lets face it, this is why there is this aggressive intolerance,animorsity and a sort of uneasiness around balotelli because people and the press do not like what he represents and they ultimately want him to fail.So the fact that he is although flawed but young and going to get matured or the fact that he has this snap, 'if you touch me,i will bite you because i have been wounded and suffered great discrimination and unfairness all my life so i must react and fight' mentality or the fact that he is grossly misunderstood as was the case today, are all irrelevant.
Mancini have shown his true colours today as he has shown that he is just like the rest
of them, detached and with NO EMPATHY , because i can bet that he would not have done this to his own son.
I fear for balotelli and i believe the only people that can realise what is really happening and protect him from this 'new discrimination' is us- his fans

If I were to paraphrase and substitute the following in lieu of Balotelli;

Lets face it, this is why there is this aggressive intolerance, animosity and a sort of uneasiness around MCFC and its new owner because people and the press do not like what we represent and they ultimately want us to fail.

Would that be fair?
And Balotelli unfortunately is the scapegoat du jour.

Kudos to Mancini for wanting to instill in us a winning mentality for every game. There is a razor thin edge between champions and almost ( think gunners) winners.

"In football you always need to be professional, always serious and in this moment he wasn't professional," added Mancini.
"He needs to understand his behaviour has to be good in every game - not just in a final or a semi-final but every game.

"He knows he made a mistake. Football should always be serious and if you have a chance to score, you should score.

"Mario is young, I want to help him and that is the end of it. To take him off after 30 minutes is enough punishment"

I believe City has the right manager in more ways than one.

Remember other than Yaya the only player to strike with pace, power & striking ability is Super Mario. Tevez Aguero Dzeko?
His detractors and or our opponents are scared shitless of that.
Give your head a wobble if you think otherwise.

 

[remember arthur mann]

He wasn't! A little over reaction.

 

[jaden19]

Mourinho, Wenger, or even Guardiola would never have done that. They would have left it to half time and then had a word with him. It was clear he thought he was offside.

I really don't rate Mancini. Sorry.

 

[moomba]

Different players need to be treated differently depending on their character and motivation.

99% of players would react poorly to being publicly bollocked. Whether or not it was the correct way to treat Balo will ultimately be decided in time and by how he reacts.

 

[Ragnarok]

Mourinho, Wenger, or even Guardiola would never have done that. They would have left it to half time and then had a word with him. It was clear he thought he was offside.

I really don't rate Mancini. Sorry.

I really dont care whether you rate Mancini or not but according to him Balotelli knew he wasnt offside : When asked what Balotelli said to him as they exchanged words on the side of the pitch, Mancini said: "It was in Italian. In English I would find it difficult to give you the translation. But Mario is streetwise, he knows he was not offside."

 

[shadygiz]

Mourinho, Wenger, or even Guardiola would never have done that. They would have left it to half time and then had a word with him. It was clear he thought he was offside.

I really don't rate Mancini. Sorry.

I really dont care whether you rate Mancini or not but according to him Balotelli knew he wasnt offside : When asked what Balotelli said to him as they exchanged words on the side of the pitch, Mancini said: "It was in Italian. In English I would find it difficult to give you the translation. But Mario is streetwise, he knows he was not offside."

something like: "vaffanculo! vai in culo!......ho sentito un fischio......non mi rompere le palle......Nessuno me lo ficca in culo"