There's nothing to be bitter about, he did the club no harm. What it is, is an answer to the OP. Some say Kinky, some say Elano and some, like me, say Balotelli. You see the question is 'what city player was most overrated by our own fans', and it's fair to say that when a player is given the leeway and arse licking that Balotelli got, when the truth is he was no more than a good player, that player is most definitely being overrated.Skashion said:I'm very amused by those who still have a lingering bitterness towards Balotelli.
That's all well and good. Jonathan Greening has a Champions League medal, which dresses up the fact he was in because Keane was banned and wouldn't have got anywhere near a medal otherwise. Point being you can dress it all up however you want, but for US he wasn't anything like as good as what people believe. His personality and 'star' status is what many fell for, simply because we've not had someone who gets in the gossip columns in the showbiz parts of the papers for years and years. For every world class performance he put in, in the Euro's, there are plenty more for us which show he simply couldn't be arsed. Add the nonsense on the pitch and the red cards and what you have is someone who, for us, was nothing more than good. If he goes onto be the player you believe, fair enough and good luck to him but the OP didn't ask that, he asked who was overrated when playing for us and Balotelli was most definitely overrated.Skashion said:He's not even 23, first-choice striker for Italy who got them to the Euro 2012 final, first-choice striker for Milan with 12 goals in only 13 appearances, top-ten all-time goals per minute scorers in the Premier League despite spending a fair amount of time playing wide-left, winner of the Golden Boy award, one of our first three players ever nominated for the Balon d'Or. Hard to see how that's merely 'good', and as I say, not even 23, you might just be counting your chickens with your overrated declaration. He's very good with potential to be quite a bit more, which is pretty much how most people rated him.
So this post is basically a I-don't-care-about-facts posts. :-)Pigeonho said:That's all well and good. Jonathan Greening has a Champions League medal, which dresses up the fact he was in because Keane was banned and wouldn't have got anywhere near a medal otherwise. Point being you can dress it all up however you want, but for US he wasn't anything like as good as what people believe. His personality and 'star' status is what many fell for, simply because we've not had someone who gets in the gossip columns in the showbiz parts of the papers for years and years. For every world class performance he put in, in the Euro's, there are plenty more for us which show he simply couldn't be arsed. Add the nonsense on the pitch and the red cards and what you have is someone who, for us, was nothing more than good. If he goes onto be the player you believe, fair enough and good luck to him but the OP didn't ask that, he asked who was overrated when playing for us and Balotelli was most definitely overrated.
Put it this way. If Balotelli wasn't a pop star player, someone people fawn over for non-footballing matters, and he put in the same performances he did for us, people would have been on his back a long time ago. 'He's crazy, but he's our crazy'. 'He does magic tricks in the box'. 'He slagged Rooney's prozzie off'. 'He lit fireworks off his balcony'... and countless other off pitch stuff. He gained some super star status through all that, things which matter absolutely zero in the scheme of things to the football club where it matters, and for that he was pretty much untouchable as far as getting stick off the fans was concerned. Take all that away and give him the personality of Gareth Barry, and I would say people would have got on his back like they have other players. I remember a handful of games where he played to the potential I don't doubt he has, but a 'legend'? Please.Skashion said:So this post is basically a I-don't-care-about-facts posts. :-)Pigeonho said:That's all well and good. Jonathan Greening has a Champions League medal, which dresses up the fact he was in because Keane was banned and wouldn't have got anywhere near a medal otherwise. Point being you can dress it all up however you want, but for US he wasn't anything like as good as what people believe. His personality and 'star' status is what many fell for, simply because we've not had someone who gets in the gossip columns in the showbiz parts of the papers for years and years. For every world class performance he put in, in the Euro's, there are plenty more for us which show he simply couldn't be arsed. Add the nonsense on the pitch and the red cards and what you have is someone who, for us, was nothing more than good. If he goes onto be the player you believe, fair enough and good luck to him but the OP didn't ask that, he asked who was overrated when playing for us and Balotelli was most definitely overrated.
Thought you weren't bitter? This post definitely is bitter.Pigeonho said:Put it this way. If Balotelli wasn't a pop star player, someone people fawn over for non-footballing matters, and he put in the same performances he did for us, people would have been on his back a long time ago. 'He's crazy, but he's our crazy'. 'He does magic tricks in the box'. 'He slagged Rooney's prozzie off'. 'He lit fireworks off his balcony'... and countless other off pitch stuff. He gained some super star status through all that, things which matter absolutely zero in the scheme of things to the football club where it matters, and for that he was pretty much untouchable as far as getting stick off the fans was concerned. Take all that away and give him the personality of Gareth Barry, and I would say people would have got on his back like they have other players. I remember a handful of games where he played to the potential I don't doubt he has, but a 'legend'? Please.
How do you get bitter from that? You're one soft, easily offended man if you think that there is bitter. It's how I saw it. I have no ill-feeling toward Balotelli, he's never done anything to me personally. My opinion though is that he was overrated, which of course is what the OP was asking. Now, is that ok with you fella?Skashion said:Thought you weren't bitter? This post definitely is bitter.Pigeonho said:Put it this way. If Balotelli wasn't a pop star player, someone people fawn over for non-footballing matters, and he put in the same performances he did for us, people would have been on his back a long time ago. 'He's crazy, but he's our crazy'. 'He does magic tricks in the box'. 'He slagged Rooney's prozzie off'. 'He lit fireworks off his balcony'... and countless other off pitch stuff. He gained some super star status through all that, things which matter absolutely zero in the scheme of things to the football club where it matters, and for that he was pretty much untouchable as far as getting stick off the fans was concerned. Take all that away and give him the personality of Gareth Barry, and I would say people would have got on his back like they have other players. I remember a handful of games where he played to the potential I don't doubt he has, but a 'legend'? Please.
Exeter Blue I am here said:Pigeonho said:Balotlli all day long. I'm looking at it all relatively. Kinkladze was a gem to us because we were so woefully shit. He stuck out and not just to our own fans, other fans rated him too. The battle of Juninho v Kinkladze as it was billed at the Riverside, Dec 1995, (the coldest away match ever and I just wanted to die, quite frankly). We got beat that day, and Juninho shone out of the two of them but the fact it was billed as that in the first place shows what others thought of him.
Balotelli has been labelled as a legend by many on here, more often than not for matters that are nothing to do with football and i'm sorry but Balotelli is anything but a legend. Never before have I seen our fans laud someone almost like a teenage girl fawns over the latest bubble gum pop idol from the States. It's been quite embarrassing at times. Balotelli is a good player, but he's not even close to being what many said he is.
This.
Plus Kinkladze, however much of a dilettante he may have been, provided me with some of my most precious memories as a City fan. His performances at home to Newcastle, and away at Oxford and Southend, amongst others, were nothing less than magical, and when the Etihad is eventually raised to the ground in the 3rd World War, he'll still be the scorer of the greatest goal ever seen in Manchester.......
I'm not offended by your bitterness. The idea that I'm easily offended though brought me much mirth so I thank you.Pigeonho said:How do you get bitter from that? You're one soft, easily offended man if you think that there is bitter. It's how I saw it. I have no ill-feeling toward Balotelli, he's never done anything to me personally. My opinion though is that he was overrated, which of course is what the OP was asking. Now, is that ok with you fella?
My pleasure.Skashion said:I'm not offended by your bitterness. The idea that I'm easily offended though brought me much mirth so I thank you.Pigeonho said:How do you get bitter from that? You're one soft, easily offended man if you think that there is bitter. It's how I saw it. I have no ill-feeling toward Balotelli, he's never done anything to me personally. My opinion though is that he was overrated, which of course is what the OP was asking. Now, is that ok with you fella?
Pigeonho said:Skashion said:Pigeonho said:How do you get bitter from that? You're one soft, easily offended man if you think that there is bitter. It's how I saw it. I have no ill-feeling toward Balotelli, he's never done anything to me personally. My opinion though is that he was overrated, which of course is what the OP was asking. Now, is that ok with you fella?
I'm not offended by your bitterness. The idea that I'm easily offended though brought me much mirth so I thank you.
My pleasure.
bobmcfc said:Can't believe the amount of people this week turning on zabaleta You're on drugs, you ust be !
n_mcfc said:blue62 said:n_mcfc said:De Jong by a friggin' mile!
He was needed in the 2009-10 season in the games against 'the big 4' when we had to control the midfield and stop them from playing. As I recall, he was quality against Chelsea at home but 2 goals in 3.5 seasons for a midfielder is a poor return. Don't care if he's a defensive midfielder, so's Gareth Barry but he offers so much more than a sideways pass and cynical foul.
The idea of De Jong was to stop the other (better) team from playing. By 2010-11, we were better than 18 other teams in the league anyway. He was here on big money and of 4 players we signed in January 2009, all 4 came to City for the money. There was no 'project' then!
He seems a sound bloke and that but Christ, he was ineffective most of the time. Never got the love-in for him.
He has a PL winners medal. And he earned it.
Course he did. He's a good footballer! He's nowhere near as good as many thought, though. And, him being sold is not even a fifth of a reason why we were dog mess last season.
I think, again, we are fair when it comes to Vincent.GaudinoMotors said:Kompany
6one said:Exeter Blue I am here said:citizens_1976 said:Clueless. Nothing more needs to be said.
-- Tue Aug 06, 2013 3:50 am --
Paul Lake, Tevez, Zabaleta and Kinkladze... Dear oh dear. Think i might go to bed now.
I know. By the way, I'd have staked my life on old Mr 6one being a newbie with less than 100 posts, so I went back and checked, and sure enough! 3 letter word, begins with 'r', ends in 'g'.......
Not a rag. 17 years season ticket holder.
I included Paul Lake. Bit of a funny one. It never materialised how good he was or not because of his injury, so nobody knows how good or not he may have been. So we don't know. But people say as though it's certain he'd have been England captain etc...
Tevez I think was massively overrated, and much like Suarez he is to the detriment of the team in my opinion. With their greediness and excessive touches of the ball. It was no coincidence in my mind that when Tevez came back into the team last season, we were less prolific than in 11/12 and like we were in 10/11 again when Tevez was the main man. Tevez was also obsessed with being the main man, and when he felt he wasn't he wanted to leave. He only came back to collect his money and when he did come back, he was not as good as he was before his sabbatical.
Adam Johnson was very useful in 11/12 and could have done with some of his goals last year, but he was overrated, as shown by his poor season at Sunderland. Should do better this year though now his stock has reduced.
Kinkladze, to hear some talk it's like the guy was messi. if he was that good, he'd have single handedly stopped the club being relegated.
Michael Johnson is overrated to the extent that you're only as good as you treat your body (see Rooney) and people were too quick to give excuses for Johnson. His lifestyle was atrocious for an "athlete" especially one on £30,000 a week and contributed to his weighty frame. People even made the excuse saying that it was the medication that made him balloon. That doesn't wash.