Lemonade Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Ooooh. It's January 2016? I must have read I all wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeinzHines Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Ooooh. It's January 2016? I must have read I all wrong.Banned in January 2015 and summer 2015, then can sign players in January 2016. It's likely CAS will reduce it, because they are Barcelona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Talksport seem to think Liverpool are in serious talks with AC over Ballotelli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Talksport also thought that Man Utd had signed Arturo Vidal. Would be a great signing for Liverpool though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 He's more trouble than he's worth. He only rarely very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I just think that the Liverpool squad is too 'nice' at the moment. Definitely missing a nasty/fiery edge that's now left with Suarez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Also no job for Malky apparently he's a bit of a homophobic racist. Guess Vincent Tan isn't so bad after all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eupraxia Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I think Ballotelli has a lot of skills and abilities to offer, but it's all very much on his terms. If he's not in the mood, or the manager hasn't blown the right amount of smoke up his arse, he often looks uninterested. He has enough ability to produce match winning moments, but his often feckless displays could arguably contribute heavily to poor performances and defeats. A momentously overrated player, in my opinion. A perfect Liverpool signing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Balotelli is a match winner no doubt, but he also needs handled with kid gloves, has the potential to disrupt the dressing room and will inevitably bring negative attention / press to the club. If I was a Liverpool fan I don't think I'd want him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 A match winner in a handful of matches a season, which can be useful to have around when you've also got Aguero, Dzeko etc doing it on a more regular basis. However I'd never want to rely on him as the main forward for a team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Also no job for Malky apparently he's a bit of a homophobic racist. Guess Vincent Tan isn't so bad after all? Also a nazi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Sounds like Ballotelli deal is real. SSN saying he told Sky Italia today is his last day at AC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eupraxia Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Malky Mackay and Iain Moody are a pair of vile twats. Some of those recovered texts and emails are unacceptable. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/malky-mackay-texts-former-cardiff-manager-accused-of-sending-racist-sexist-and-homophobic-messages-9682753.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I think that Liverpool signing Balotelli will have no bearing on their league position whatsoever. I just don't see the point in shoe-horning a player who, like Eupraxia says, "plays on his own terms" and has been accused of sleepwalking through games into a squad so reliant on sharp bursts of collective energy. Very talented, but definitely not a guy you want to have to rely on. There's lots of chat about how Rodgers is going to turn his career around, etc. Well, Milan and City thought they'd be able to do that as well. He will provide flashes of brilliance but I'm confident that this will only result in further reasons to laugh at Liverpool, which I'm totally fine with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eupraxia Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Brendan Rodgers really fancies himself as a man manager, motivator, and philosopher. He will probably mention that his productive handling of Luis Suarez demonstrates his abilities in this area, but Suarez is a significantly better and more effective player than Balotelli ever will be. Rodgers will unquestionably meet his match with Mario; the guy does not accept and respect any sort of authority - in fact experience and evidence tells us that he very much opposes and constantly challenges authority figures. I'm always up for a wee giggle at Liverpool though, so in a way it'd be nice to see them sign him for a gravely inflated fee, before moving him on any way they can in twelve months time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Milan made a really casual announcement on there page saying that he left training after saying some goodbyes. It's a bit strange. Still Liverpool looks nailed on at the moment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Balotelli is no longer the explosive wunderkind he looked at Inter. He's proven himself as a showman and a bantz-merchant, but as a player he really has done very little to indicate he's the next world-class striker. I'm not sure he ever will be but I do think he's a handy player. He's been pretty good for Milan, averaging a goal every other game, but the fans aren't overly enamored by him and by most accounts he's a pain in the ass but a good player. His reputation is what fuels his over-rating. I'm not sure it's as bad a transfer as is being made out though. He is very effective when used right and who knows, maybe BR will work his man-management magic and slap him into shape. He certainly seems to like a challeng. Sturridge, Sterling and Coutinho are electric but they're very slight. Balotelli provides some muscle and his hold up play is unarguably excellent. He'll never be a workhorse but with such busy players around him he won't be expected to. He'll no doubt form a good friendship with Sturridge too. Both jokey, confident, larger than life characters (seriously, check out Liverpool's youtube video, Sturridge is a very funny guy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 They'll have to change formation for Ballotelli which will be interesting. He's not going to be happy riding the bench and I think at this point Sturridge has earned his place up front. So they likely have to go 4-4-2? Who drops out of the midfield? Can you afford to play just Gerrard and Henderson in the middle? I don't think you can so you have to drop Henderson I guess as they're not dropping StevieGee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 His goals at Milan might be good, but he has a higher shots to goal average that Jordan Henderson. Something like 1 goal every 12.4 shots. Suarez was something like 1 goal every 4.3 shots. I might have them slightly wrong but its around those figures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I think there's a few options with the inclusion of Balotelli. We might see a 4-2-3-1 type formation with Hendo and Stevie G behind Coutinho, Sterling and Sturridge with Balotelli as the lone striker. Or simply 4-4-2 with Sturridge and Balotelli up front and Sterling on the wing (although that'd mean Coutinho would get bumped, unless he can play the other wing which I don't see happening). Or a diamond midfield with 2 strikers, Gerard being in front of the back four and Hendo, Sterling, coutinho playing the other points in the diamond. Then there's the new guys, Can, Markovic, Lallana... can see them being regular subs along with the Welsh Xavi. It's a fair old squad Liverpool have now. Surely they'll be shipping out a few players before deadline day? They've still got Agger, Luis Enrique, Jon Flanagan, Kolo Toure, Glen Johnson, Sakho (all of whom I'm assuming won't start ahead of the two new defenders I've forgotten the names of) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 A world with Mario Balotelli in it is so much better than one without, and I can't wait to see him back in the EPL. Can I buy him for my FL team yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I think they'll slump back into conceding too many goals if they don't play a defensive minded midfielder as part of a midfield five. Gerrard cannot do that job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scootray Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Liverpool will not be the team they were last season and I can't wait to see them flop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Cheers Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scootray Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I hate Liverpool and all you soft bastards that started to like them last season too. You don't deserve to like football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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