Return of Super Mario: Problem or Suarez Solution?

With yesterday's news that Mario Balotelli might be returning to the Premier League, this time with Liverpool FC, the North West of England is now on high alert! His last outing with Manchester City caused more headlines for his outrageous off the field antics than the ones on them. But with the departure of 'El Vampire' aka Luis Suarez to Barcelona for an astounding £75 Million, a void therefore needs to be filled at centre forward. Will Balotelli provide a suitable replacement for Luis Suarez? Here are a list of reasons for and against his pending transfer

Reasons For:

  • Natural Goalscorer: Mario's time at Man City may not have ended happily, but you cannot deny that his goalscoring touch hadn't deserted him and his previous record of 20 goals from just 54 premier league games reads quite well. 
  • Style Could Suit Sturridge: His pacy and agile style of play along with his great strength could make him a formidable partner for Daniel Sturridge. None thought him and Suarez would work whatever so ever, but numerous goals later they were proven wrong. The partnership of these two could bring about a perfect mix of strength and skill, but could this be a partnership that is perhaps too flashy?
  • Great Set Piece Taker: Balotelli is regarded as one of the best penalty takers in the world and with his powerful shot, he is definitely a set piece specialist- this Liverpool desperately need because aside from Steven Gerrard, there is really no one else.
  • Best Years Ahead?: At only 24 this young man is still developing and many still view him as a raw but unpolished talent. After busting out of numerous clubs before, Balotelli has realize that there is only so much patience the footballing world can have with him. Could Liverpool be the kick starter for a resurgence?
 Reasons Against
  • Problematic Personal Life: As mentioned before, Balotelli's bizzare off the field incidents were as equally unpredictable as his performances on the pitch. Things such as being fined £300k by City for throwing darts at youth team players because "I was bored", having a firework being set off in his bathroom and driving to a women's prison in Italy to "Have a look around" gave management plenty of headaches. Brendan Rodgers should be prepared for his phone to be ringing continuously and we can assume it won't be his wife! 
  • Rebellious to Authority: Balotelli's exits from his various teams have never been happy ones, at Inter Milan in 2010 he threw a fit at Jose Mourinho for subbing him in a Champions League Semi-Final, at City him and then boss Roberto Mancini were frequently involved in bust ups, one of which nearly got led them to blows! AC Milan also failed to bring about a change in this guy which has resulted in him being shipped off once more. 
  • Poor Disciplinary Record: A game involving Mario can be a knife-edge thing and he has gotten himself a tendency to lose his head during big games. At City he was red carded over four times in two seasons (those kind of stats haven't been seen since Duncan Ferguson!) also there were numerous other suspensions brought about for other incidents such as stamping Scott Parker in one game! He absence from a team sheet is always a notable thing and calming him down should be a big priority. 
  • Attitude in Question: His cocky and larger than life persona may sit well so of his home fans, but other members of the footballing world aren't so sympathetic. Being a young man and having so much money can be a dangerous thing and Mario isn't shy about showing this off! Remember that rumour about him giving out free money dressed as Santa Claus? Even the highest quality managers have fall foul to this act- can Brendan Rodgers make him stand up and fly right?
What ever the result, it is both a guilt pleasure and an intense worry to see Balotelli back on British shores again. Liverpool will be a make or break period of his young career, but rest assured his time there will never be dull! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Will Neal Dive Deter Others?

The Sins Of The (Vancouver) Father

Struggling Pittsburgh Penguins Fire Mike Johnston