Mario

[Gaylord du Bois]

Funny enough BoB but i think Balo has got the best smile in the squad tbh.

im not even gonna take the bait on this post !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Don't recall Gary Lineker being renowned for 'putting a shift' in.

Mario's mere talents ensures opposition defenders can't afford to take a higher line.

He showed decent application and his 'Rooney' moment will come.

It will take the breath away and a positive seed will be planted not just amongst our own doubters, but a wider consensus.

It's coming...

 

[SamTheGuru]

He can be a great player without having to run around like a headless chicken you know. Not every player has to play in that style. It may be more appeasing for fans but it is certainly not always necessary.

Who said anything about headless chicken? CT absolutely does not run around like a headless chicken anyway. You must be thinking of Gelson.

What I was saying is that, although Mario's performance was a big improvement, he didn't make any effort to regain the possession that HE lost. Why is that too much to ask? He may not be successful in getting the ball back but for fuck's sake at least try!!

I thought he did his fair share of grafting yesterday. I wouldn't expect him to do too much more anyway.

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

There are a handful of players in world football who clearly have the talent, seem to wander about the pitch doin' a bit o' chasin' now an' then, until POW! Summat out o' nowt. Mario's one of those.

You won't get him doin' the Tevez stuff, chasin, holding the ball, harryin'; yer won't get 'im doin' the David S stuff, eyin' up, short an' long passes, reverses, the odd goal; yer won't see 'im doin' the Adam J stuff. He is an explosive kind of player - the shot that hit someone in the first half and the free kick at the end - the swerve an' dip on the free kick were summat else. He will win us a match when were up against it with just one nanosecond-long piece of sublime skill.

Very disciplined performance yesterday.

^^This.

 

[samharris]

Don't recall Gary Lineker being renowned for 'putting a shift' in.

Mario's mere talents ensures opposition defenders can't afford to take a higher line.

He showed decent application and his 'Rooney' moment will come.

It will take the breath away and a positive seed will be planted not just amongst our own doubters, but a wider consensus.

It's coming...

Yep..we've all seen what can happen to tevez when he chases everything going,he burns out and is basically dead wood for the last 15/20 mins..

Not a criticism btw.

 

[Ricster]

I've noticed nobody has mentioned how Balo in the 2nd half drove into the box and his change of pace to get past the defender and get a shot in that the keeper could only parry was sheer class too.

Moments of brilliance yesterday from Mario, and its a huge improvement on what he has shown in the past.

He needs support, and he deserves to be given it after an improved performance yesterday.

not saying it wasnt an improved performance, just some people go about him as if hes some sort of god.

I think the lad deserves credit though, for an improved performance and for keeping his head when he could have easily lost it a few times.

If Mario is going to continue to play like this, and put in the effort he showed yesterday while keeping a lid on things then im happy to wipe the slate clean and start again with him.

I've gone on about man management before, a number of times, and to see how Howard Webb treated Balo yesterday, from a referring point of view i thought it was professionalism of the highest level, and i think a few of us would learn alot from what Webb did yesterday, especially concerning Mario.

 

[samharris]

not saying it wasnt an improved performance, just some people go about him as if hes some sort of god.

I think the lad deserves credit though, for an improved performance and for keeping his head when he could have easily lost it a few times.

If Mario is going to continue to play like this, and put in the effort he showed yesterday while keeping a lid on things then im happy to wipe the slate clean and start again with him.

I've gone on about man management before, a number of times, and to see how Howard Webb treated Balo yesterday, from a referring point of view i thought it was professionalism of the highest level, and i think a few of us would learn alot from what Webb did yesterday, especially concerning Mario.

Webb was brilliant with balo yeterday.

 

[Ricster]

your failure to realise that he had a much better game today is laughable

I think Mario did have a much better game but for me, the huge frustration was his almost complete lack of effort when he DIDN'T have the ball at his feet. In addition, when he lost the ball his body language basically said "fuck it, someone else can win it back and pass it back to me". Totally different to CT's attitude which says "how dare you take the ball off me I'm getting it back!"

Mario, without a doubt is a talent, he just needs to work harder when we don't have the ball and do his bit for the team to get it back.

Hi RS,

I dont think that is true at all. Mario won some balls back yesterday and broke down play quite a few times. There was also 2 occasions, maybe more, where he pressured the keeper when the ball was passed back to him.

 

[pee dubya]

Mario is like a big cat, can look docile and ineffective, just hanging around not really doing much, but it's a strategy. The second he sees an opportunity he springs into life, it's a nightmare for defenders really. Against an all action player like Tevez, they don't get much of a chance to lose their concentration, but against Balo, they have to keep their concentration even when he looks like he's doing nothing at all. Really he's watching and waiting.

Of course it's a balancing act, he has to contribute to the general team play as well, but it's about getting the balance correct. Sometimes he doesn't, but he's young and learning.

The problem is of course if it doesn't go his way, sometimes you don't even notice the threat, but it's always there.

 

[samharris]

Mario is like a big cat, can look docile and ineffective, just hanging around not really doing much, but it's a strategy. The second he sees an opportunity he springs into life, it's a nightmare for defenders really. Against an all action player like Tevez, they don't get much of a chance to lose their concentration, but against Balo, they have to keep their concentration even when he looks like he's doing nothing at all. Really he's watching and waiting.

Of course it's a balancing act, he has to contribute to the general team play as well, but it's about getting the balance correct. Sometimes he doesn't, but he's young and learning.

The problem is of course if it doesn't go his way, sometimes you don't even notice the threat, but it's always there.

His burst of speed deserves more credit than it gets tbh.