Mario Balotelli

[Blueband Brother]

The bottom line is that England and English football decided to be hostile from day one with the constant negativity, criticism and smear campaign. This trickled into the arena of football matches with consistently unfair decisions given against him- red cards, yellow cards etc, most of which were wrong or at least very harsh This in turn led to more criticism and cynicism and this mentality eventually caught up with the fans as well.It reached a point that a misplaced pass or flick from Balotelli was interpreted as an act of treachery or betrayal.

So my point is everybody is to blame- the media, the society , the fans, the club and of course Balotelli himself but I retain that his project was hijacked by the anti -city media who were successful in turning some fans against Balotelli by subliminally (as they always do) giving us permission to indulge on the innate urges of intolerance, contempt and cynicism.
The media campaign culminated with their masterpiece: the Balotelli - Mancini supposed Carrington fight, which they made sure was pasted on every front page newspaper. The ignominy of such an event coupled with the already piling negativity from society and the fans about Balotelli gave the board no choice but to sell the player.

This is a shame because we have let a real prospect slip between our fingers.

But Life goes on and I wish Balotelli the best as he did make a very positive impact and played a major role in all the great moments of the past couple of years.

 

[TFC]

Looked like Emile Heskatelli tonight, maybe the daft **** is starting to grow up.

 

[Bill]

Seems like a better player since leaving.
I miss him.

Better player or better managed?

I'm plumping for the latter.

Neither. Very gifted but simply a ****. He didn't want to be here so did everything he could to get hoofed. Nobodies fault at city , he just hated Manchester and England.

 

[toffee balls]

The bottom line is that England and English football decided to be hostile from day one with the constant negativity, criticism and smear campaign. This trickled into the arena of football matches with consistently unfair decisions given against him- red cards, yellow cards etc, most of which were wrong or at least very harsh This in turn led to more criticism and cynicism and this mentality eventually caught up with the fans as well.It reached a point that a misplaced pass or flick from Balotelli was interpreted as an act of treachery or betrayal.

So my point is everybody is to blame- the media, the society , the fans, the club and of course Balotelli himself but I retain that his project was hijacked by the anti -city media who were successful in turning some fans against Balotelli by subliminally (as they always do) giving us permission to indulge on the innate urges of intolerance, contempt and cynicism.
The media campaign culminated with their masterpiece: the Balotelli - Mancini supposed Carrington fight, which they made sure was pasted on every front page newspaper. The ignominy of such an event coupled with the already piling negativity from society and the fans about Balotelli gave the board no choice but to sell the player.

This is a shame because we have let a real prospect slip between our fingers.

But Life goes on and I wish Balotelli the best as he did make a very positive impact and played a major role in all the great moments of the past couple of years.

Well said.

If he would have played in red we all know he would have been the misunderstood media darling a la Cantana.

To be expected really.
How else can you sell papers to the hoards of southern glory hunters.

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

Seems like a better player since leaving.
I miss him.

Better player or better managed?

I'm plumping for the latter.

Neither. Very gifted but simply a ****. He didn't want to be here so did everything he could to get hoofed. Nobodies fault at city , he just hated Manchester and England.

Cant blame the kid for not liking the country missing home and eventually not being able to see his own son. It was only last season it became obvious he didnt want to stay but maybe he had been lied to in the summer about being allowed to move

 

[Skashion]

We didn't get the best out of him because our style of play and his attributes were fairly mismatched. Balotelli thrives on use of pace, space and movement. We play possession-based football where the chances to those attributes are limited. We're usually breaking down parked buses at low pace.

By the end we weren't even playing him up front but instead out wide where he's half the player, if that, and then we stopped playing him at all. At that point, he's in a foreign country which he isn't fond of, not playing football, he quite naturally wants to go home. He does, we get our money back plus some great moments. Happy result for all.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDp5k7E1uds[/youtube]

 

[Bill]

Better player or better managed?

I'm plumping for the latter.

Neither. Very gifted but simply a ****. He didn't want to be here so did everything he could to get hoofed. Nobodies fault at city , he just hated Manchester and England.

Cant blame the kid for not liking the country missing home and eventually not being able to see his own son. It was only last season it became obvious he didnt want to stay but maybe he had been lied to in the summer about being allowed to move

Dont blame him at all for that. He should have just asked to leave and got on with it till his wish was granted. He embarrassed us on and off the pitch.brilliant player and I wish he'd have settled but it wasn't to be.

 

[Skashion]

What didn't he get on with?

 

[Mike N]

I think we all knew what talent he had. I dont think Mancini could have done any more for Mario.

I never saw him try to play for us like he plays for Italy.

So, no, I dont miss him.

 

[FantasyIreland]

I dont think the close(father/son type) relationship with Mancini did either any favours in the end,too much emotion was involved,and boundaries pushed,which often doesnt get the best out of an individual.

Ultimately,i believe both contributed heavilly towards each others downfall at City.

As Skashion has stated,he probably should have been given more of a sustained central role,however,i can see that may not have been possible due to his unpredictability on and off the pitch which led to his disrupted career with us.

Like i said,a shame.