It's open season on Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli at the moment: the gutter Press is constantly scraping the barrel for dirt on the Italian, and his own Manager (inadvisably) fans the flames of discontent by regularly criticising him in public. For some reason, however, the most scathing criticism has come from ex-Liverpool players, and Dietmar Hamann is the latest former Red to jump on the 'Balotelli is the devil' bandwagon.
Earlier in the week, Alan Hansen dedicated an entire Telegraph column to attacking Balotelli, and his criticisms were so breathtakingly hypocritical that I felt compelled to highlight them.
Mark Lawrenson and Graeme Souness have also regularly savaged Balotelli this season, yet like Hansen, they've been silent on the various transgressions of Luis Suarez, despite the fact the Uruguayan has caused many of the the same problems.
Speaking to the BBC earlier today, Hamann became the latest ex-Red to join the anti-Balotelli brigade. He said:
"The only reason he got away with his behaviour for so long was because he scored some important goals. I'm a big believer in team spirit, and no matter how good the player is, it doesn't give him the right to cause trouble. It's a distraction.
"It seems like his City career will come to an end because it's ongoing, and I can't really see the lad making any progress. If I was a manager or a player, I wouldn't want him in my team".
Whatever Balotelli's onfield transgressions may be, they're no different to those of dozens of other footballers, yet we don't hear Hansen et all attacking them, especially if they play for Liverpool.
Prime example: Luis Suarez was booked for diving today; if it was Balotelli, Hansen, Souness and Lawro would be falling over themselves to attack him for it. As is usually the case though, Suarez will escape censure, and the hypocrisy will continue.
Jaimie Kanwar
Earlier in the week, Alan Hansen dedicated an entire Telegraph column to attacking Balotelli, and his criticisms were so breathtakingly hypocritical that I felt compelled to highlight them.
Mark Lawrenson and Graeme Souness have also regularly savaged Balotelli this season, yet like Hansen, they've been silent on the various transgressions of Luis Suarez, despite the fact the Uruguayan has caused many of the the same problems.
Speaking to the BBC earlier today, Hamann became the latest ex-Red to join the anti-Balotelli brigade. He said:
"The only reason he got away with his behaviour for so long was because he scored some important goals. I'm a big believer in team spirit, and no matter how good the player is, it doesn't give him the right to cause trouble. It's a distraction.
"It seems like his City career will come to an end because it's ongoing, and I can't really see the lad making any progress. If I was a manager or a player, I wouldn't want him in my team".
Whatever Balotelli's onfield transgressions may be, they're no different to those of dozens of other footballers, yet we don't hear Hansen et all attacking them, especially if they play for Liverpool.
Prime example: Luis Suarez was booked for diving today; if it was Balotelli, Hansen, Souness and Lawro would be falling over themselves to attack him for it. As is usually the case though, Suarez will escape censure, and the hypocrisy will continue.
Jaimie Kanwar
Suarez was not deservedly booked today. The Villa player stomped on his foot. It is clear that Suarez is fouled a lot and does not get as much fouls as he should have.
ReplyDeleteThen, the media, and bloggers like you hungry for some fame, continue stirring the pot by labelling him a diver. I expect better from this website. It is right to call a spade a spade, but it is wrong to call it otherwise because of prejudices.
I can only say fair play to Aldo for calling a spade a spade recently and voicing what everyone is thinking but not expressing.
ReplyDeleteWish Hamann or someone else would comment on the continous defence of diving in recent weeks from our players, alongside the undignified excuses from our manager that points have been dropped due to officials not awarding decisions for us - this reliance on refereeing decisions is so embarassing and cannot recall another manager that has used it as a scapegoat for their teams poor display so often. "Deliighted" with the players Kenny? Really? The future is bleak
Bleak? Arctic more likely.
ReplyDeleteWhen Wayne Rooney was behaving like thug and like an idiot people in media were saying that if u take that away from him you won't have the same player. B4 somebody accuses me of not likening British people I will state that my wife is English. I think there is hipocrysy at the highest order from pundits in uk. Now if Suarez was playing for England there wouldn't b a fuss at all on the affair with Evra.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone hears about J Terry anymore. His racist remarks at Ferdinand were worst than Suarez's. Nothing is said anymore. And unlike the Suarez affair there is more evidence that Terry actually racially abused AF. Why is it that whenever an English player behaves like an idiot is called passion when the foreign ones do something similar they r treated like criminals.
kenwar your not a liverpool fan just a wanna be journalist you nob
ReplyDeleteWhy do you keep picking on Suarez? Suarez has been one of the (few) better players for us this season. The press and media in this country are very predictable and love to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, hence the reason they focus so much on Balotelli. He's eccentric and unpredictable and this leaves him open to criticism from all quarters. I assume you're English or are a Brit at least, surely you should know this. YNWA.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regards Aldo, and yes, I do wish our players sometimes stay more on their feet. But you cannot deny that refereeing decisions aren't going our way!
ReplyDeleteWe are talking about game changing decisions here! Look at Chelsea, they have been playing the same level we have been playing, but due to favourable refereeing decisions, they are where they are now..
We were never a club famous for getting decisions our way unlike other clubs, and the other clubs who were famous for this factor have gone on to win the league. Do you think that they shouldn't thank the referees for some of their success? Have you forgotten when we lost the league to Man.UTD because of Ronaldo's diving?
Referees have not been giving us the benefit of the doubt for ages now. This needs to change. It would have changed the game vs. Newcastle and undoubtly even today.
Agreed! The FA even went to great lengths to defend the English players while also going to great lengths to make sure foreign players are found guilty on frivolous and trivial evidence.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison is valid; if there was another LFC player to use as a comparison, I would use him, but there isn't.
ReplyDeleteWell said Jamie, the fact is there are many LFC fans and pundits that are coveniently turning a blind eye to Suarez's antics this season yet Ballotelli is somehow fair game?
ReplyDeleteSuarez can do no wrong, it doesn't matter whether it is a kick at Parker which probably should have been a Red....or a finger to the Fulham fans, or his contsant theatrics and moaning to ref's, and its not like he's been playing well either......anyone who can say that he has been is wearing those tinted glasses.....
And then there is the little Evra incident which saw him banned for 8 games.....now forgive me if im wrong but how does Ballotellis antics warrant such heavy criticism and Suarez's doesn't.....?
Answer?
Because he's a Red, one that the fans like....one that the fans want to protect....one that has become too big to be criticised.....???
Clearly.
I am a firm believer that over the course of a season decisions go against you, and they also work for you. I always use the Rodwell / Spearing example - worked for us at Goodison and against us at Craven Cottage.
ReplyDeleteThis principle applies for every team in the league, they may be wronged by a penalty that is not given, conceded a goal that is offside, have players sent off unfairly etc but no team suffers it more so than anyone else - the belief that LFC is suffering is part of the victim complex Kenny has created by constantly using the officials as an excuse for the teams poor play.
obviously former lfc players wont critisize lfc cause they love the club unlike you! your defo not a fan of lfc when we won the carling cup you didnt post an article for days and your excuse was you were sick just do one thing and shhhhhhhhhhh...
ReplyDeleteI've not been happy with the way that Hansen has been on Baloteil's case. Last week after slating him despite the striker scoring two goals (Hansen scoffed at the point that one was only a pen which is a joke considering how many pens Liverpool have missed this season) Hansen did not say one thing about Roger Johnson's on/off field antics in the following game. Don't get me wrong Baloteil's actions are not helping Man City at all, but if they are relying on him to win them the title it shows that they are not ready to overhaul Man united this season. Plus if you look back in history the teams that win their 1st title usually put in a serious title challenge the previous season so Man City are on course to be champions next year. As for Luis Suarez I don't think he should of been booked today but he is not doing himself any favours by going down easily. I've got a feeling that Liverpool will sell him in the summer which will be a shame because he is a fantastic talent but this bad boy stigma attach to him just like Baloteil will make them pursue their careers in a different league.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly. Balotelli is a clown albeit a lovable one. Suarez on the other hand has been pretty much a behavioural disgrace since he arrived. Terrible example for kids on how to behave during the game. Anything Balotelli has done has been eclipsed 10 times over by Suarez
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you. I have been on the lookout for this during all of our matches for some seasons now, trying to stay as impartial as possible, and the number of times we have benefited from the referee's decisions are very low.
ReplyDeleteThe only decisions which seem to go our way at times are corner kicks, and we are terribly wasteful in them.
For the Rodwell incident, I can remember Spearing vs Fulham and Adam vs. Spurs. And that's without looking deeper.
I hear a lot of people, all type of football fans, even Man.UTD fans,saying how lucky Man.UTD are with referee decisions, yet I seldom hear how lucky LFC are. I wonder why...
your right terry never got the same reaction that suarez recieved even though his was well worse
ReplyDeleteSuarez was fouled when referee wrongly booked him
ReplyDeleteBalotelli is a nutcase. His antics will cost Man City
Do we see / hear of any Man Utd players causing trouble?
If a player is making headlines for arguing with teammates to take free kicks etc during a match it surely calls into question the entire organisation of a team - maybe it's hard to organise a team of mercenaries
Mancini will more than likely lose his job this summer, doubt the successor will hold onto Balotelli
The problem with Balotelli is that he is not a team player and, I suppose, not popular among teammates. Suarez is. He's a good lad. And he is less theatrical than Bale!
ReplyDeleteWell bloody said Bekim spot on mate.
ReplyDeletePeople shouldn't be sucked into the meeja's unfair rubbishing of Balotelli. He is a bit, mad, shall we say, but as Jaimie points out, he is not a great deal worse than everyone else. He is a bit immature, but people make him ot to be a raging lunatic.
ReplyDeleteThey've found there pantomine villains in Suarez and Balotelli and will keep writing that as long as it fits their agenda.
No you tosser because Balla ballbag thinks the f%^&*ing world and his team owe everything to him if you actually both took notice yes Suarez has some problems but Balla ballbag has this f##$%d up attitude that even his own team mates want to bash him. Now do you get Jamie so to me there is no comparison Suarez has the support of his club and teammates and yes can improve on the whole going down to easy. But the fact that Balla ballbag not only on the field and in the dressing room where his own team mates what to knock him the fck out he also has indiscretion in the public, missing training so he can catch the next stripper act, and that bullshit that happened in Asia pre season when even Manchini was pissed. Hey and Dee Day below you are a disgrace to say that Balla Ballbag behaviour is loveable well F$%^ me sideways i hope if you have young, that they grow up and have the same attitude as that over aged ,thinks his shit don't stink, wanna be Messi clown who you think is loveable. Wake up you clowns.
ReplyDeleteObviously, you don't actually watch the games.
ReplyDeleteI was under the impression that Suarez admitted to calling Evra "negrito" but denied that it was used in a racially insensitive way. To me, racism through ignorance is still racism.
ReplyDeleteSuarez was trying to upset Esra during the match - to me that is fair game. Either nobody talks trash or it's ok to do so. That does not make Suarez a racist. What I did not like about Suarez was the descending way he approached Evra - that was not fair game, but the sign of a poor character and low sportsman.
ReplyDeleteBalotelli - you will only stop, when he is destroyed, will you ? You have to ask yourself, why you react that way - it speaks volumes.
I call it the 'small-penis-syndrome', but if you admit to greed and envy, you'll be alright.
I blame the fans for all this, they are not doing enough to sack kenny come on did you forget what you've all done to sack roy? where is that commitment now? just do it for lfc, dont you see we need that? sing at anfield kenny go and at any other stadium until he leaves thats what we've done with roy and now its the time to do it again lfc needs you and you people are doing nothing, im talking about liverpool people the ones who go to watch games they really need to do this for our club cant they see we're finished?! I just cant see kenny anymore here, sick of him he will never learn hes well stubborn and wont listen anyone but his old retarded mind, trust me I was laughing a lot yesterday while watching the game henderson downing kuyt were hilarious every time they tried to shoot i was shi.tting my pants, i just dont know how they became lfc players its amazing, also gerrard was disappointing, i dont know him anymore his free kicks corners are too bad too low and deep his shots from distance so poor why is that? wheres is that legend we all know? carra is funny, enrique was good before now hes as sh.ite as downing and hendo , this team needs to be changed immediately because theres no bright future in that team.
ReplyDeleteThat's all you're capable of coming up with? Not even close to being funny.
ReplyDeleteI can not believe you would say that he is loveable yet Suarez is a disgrace, in Suarez and every other LFC fan's defence i say you are a disgrace. Only someone who has no clue would make such a ridiculous statement. By the way Mitzu Suarez cops his fair share of criticism so if you ask me than he should leave, if i was him i would leave just on principle because of supporters like you who at every chance run his name into the ground.
ReplyDeleteYeah cause Suarez hasn't been vilified AT ALL this season you complete muppet.
ReplyDeleteronaldos diving didn't cost us the league.
ReplyDeletewe drw too many games that seasons.
the victim complex of blaming ronaldo and his diving is ridiculous,have some pride and stop blaming others for our shortcoming.
as insane as balotelli is he'd walk into our forward line ahead of carroll and kuyt.
ReplyDeletesuarez is by far the most important player we have atm,his overall play means that defences are constantly pushed back by his clever runs and his technical ability is unreal.yeah he oes down easy but if u played the game then u would realise that sometimes the slightest contact will cause u to fall when ur running at someone at speed.he will score 20+ goals next season for us.as for ballotelli,well hes a bit daft in the gasgoine mode,setting fire to his house etc etc,suarez does all his mad things on the pitch so u cant compare the two really.its ballotellis off field antics that cause u to worry about his mental state than anything else.
ReplyDeleteThe point I was making is that there r different rules for British players and completely different ones for the foreign ones.
ReplyDeleteChi Bai lu, Hamann. Who cares ! We are only to those wearing the Liverool shrt. Me, Ashfah a bit Gila like my brother David
ReplyDeleteI like Balotelli he is a good player and not the only trouble maker , besides no one is perfect, you have to accept individuals the way they are .
ReplyDeleteMe thinks kanwar is an attention seeking contrarian.
ReplyDeleteAlways picking an obtuse different view to show himself as separatefrom the crowd. Even when the crowd is right
How else can one justify defending plodder Roy hodgson over Rafa Benitez. Or Poulsen over mascherano ?
Next we look forward to a defence of the Syrian regime. A historical defence of the poll tax and the merits of slavery!
Who says money buys you success? Nearly £500 million spent by City since 09 and only 1 trophy to show for it!
ReplyDeleteIf you saw the so called dive he got booked for there was clear contact and he didn't deserve the booking for it.
ReplyDeleteBut saying that Suarez doesn't make life easy for himself because he does go down easy on occasions and sometimes when he is touched he makes a mela out of it and referees are clamping down on it and he's one of the main culprits. The boy who cried wolf comes to mind...
Obviously you didn't watch the game ReX referred to!
ReplyDeleteU're funny! :)
ReplyDeleteOfc you are not a racism cant be the case if you don't know that what you are doing is abusive. Stating otherwise is due to ignorance! ;)
What you are saying is only "political correct" and it is only ridiculous.
You cant be a racist if you don't intend to be abusive.
But you and the other side might perceive something as racist if you feel it is racist.
You have a transmitter and a receiver in a call, and sometimes they are not the same wavelength.
So Didi wouldn't have Balotelli but he likes de Santos and Henderson and regards them as great players? What former LFC players know about tactics and players you can write on the back of a mosquito's wing.
ReplyDeleteSurely Henderson's Gormless mentality and inability to really man up and be a presence is just as bad to any dressing room. Gerrard once said when he sat in the dressing room before games and looked at the quality of players like Torres, Masch, Alonso, Kewell, Crouch, Garcia he was confident that these players could get a result for the side.
If I looked round that dressing room now and saw Henderson, Carroll, Downing, Kuyt, Carra, Reina, Henderson etc etc surely it would create a worse team spirit. To constantly look round and think "we've got no chance with that guy in the side" would create resentment. However much Didi dislikes Balottelli's antics it is a firm decision by the lad to be who he is...eccentric, awkward, Bubbly and also an idiot at times. The same can't be said for our lads who are too scared to show their true nature either on or off the pitch. I'd rather a character (within boundaries) than a bottler any day.
Another excellent contribution by Super Mario today.....
ReplyDeleteOur draws certainly did not help. But you cannot overlook Ronaldo and co.'s diving because if you compare the number of times they got away with it to the number of times we got away with it, you will find a sproportionate ratio, enough to change history.
ReplyDeleteSuarez should have had 2 pens yesterday, the first particularly was just a blatant foul. The ref should in theory have sent him off because if he believes it isn't a foul it had to be a dive and therefore it's the same as the 2nd incident. Trouble is it's about reputation. Today, Ashley Young throws himself on the ground gets a penalty and an opponent sent off. Guess that's just how it goes though.
ReplyDeleteNot much was said about Young's dive today on Sky but Redknapp and the others laid into Baloteli again!
ReplyDeleteHow about Carlos Tevez? Why is no one tearing into him? Since when does a team lose the title because of a 21 year old.
ReplyDeleteYes, and being an immature 21 year old, he doesn't keep his head and doesn't react well in certain situations and against provocation, but that's nothing new is it? But the media have escalated this out of all proportion.
ReplyDelete200k + per week and he cannot be trusted to last 90 minutes
ReplyDeleteWaste of space, he'll not play for City again
Why are you so defensive about Balotelli?
ReplyDeleteWhat's his age got to do with anything?
He is a liability
To be fair, Villa also had a player booked for going down when he got his foot stomped. I don't know what the ref was thinking, but going down when your foot gets stomped was cardable not once but twice in this game.
ReplyDeleteTo compare Balotelli with Suarez is both laughable and absurd. This article is laugh out loud barmy! Mario is a clown and impetulant kid. Suarez is one of the hardest working professionals in the premiership, coveted by most of europes top clubs and has arguably been Liverpools best player this season. He got another MOTM award this weekend. I'm sure if you asked any premiership manager to choose between the 2 they'd reply to you as soon as they could master their uncontrollable fits of giggles. As for the foul on Suarez, clearly the writer of this article has never played football or any sport in general. When your going at full pace sunshine, the merest of touches to your legs can quickly send you off balance, let alone someone standing on your foot. Claiming he's a diver because the ref made a split second decision flies in the face of reason when replays show there was contact. Everyone has blacklisted Mario Balotelli, Past liverpool players and the rest. Even his own manager, who must have the patience of a saint. Why don't you just admit the truth, you're still enraged by the Suarez/Evra incident and are looking for any excuse to vilify Suarez, hoping the mud will stick and making unconnected comparisions with Mario Balotelli. Every article i read on this blog seems to be seven degrees of Luis Suarez. I'm surprised you haven't linked him to the Kennedy assassination yet. At least save your hatred for Luis Suarez to when he deserves it, don't keep going back to past indescretions. It makes you look bitter and twisted and scews your stories.
ReplyDeleteSuarez was fouled & was booked for being fouled.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't care less about the behaviour of players of other teams, though I do think that Balotelli's tackling is so bad that he is going to break someone's leg & should be vilified for that (& that alone), its got nothing to do with my team.Hodgson selects his sides as though they are fighting to avoid relegation. If it had worked at Liverpool it would have been grim watching, but thankfully others recognised what he was doing and gave him a hefty goodbye cheque.Dalglish is struggling, but if his team eventually finds success the football will be worth spending £800+ per season to watch.
Shelvey & Henderson looked good together in midfield against Villa & at 19 & 21 it augers well for Liverpool's future.
Sadly, Carroll does not appear to fit into the Liverpool system, but he is not a bad player.
The only players that I worry about are Enrique & Adam, but both are replaceable within the squad.
Sometimes the performances are frustrating because you can see they are better than the opposition and it only takes a bit of tweeking to get the results and against Villa some of the problems had been sorted, but we have to build on the performance, pick the same team (except for putting Johnson to left back if available and Agger to centre half).
I have more hope than many on this site and I'm very surprised at the attitude to Suarez who gives everything to the cause.
Probably not. Nor will Tevez, and for half the season he did not last one minute in most of their games. Yet, his troubles have blown over a lot easier and a lot of people are not slating him in the way they get out of Balotelli.
ReplyDeleteWe all know what that is about, but it can't be proved so not worth going there.
Because i can see where the agenda of you and others comes from and I don't agree with that kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteEnough said.
That's a real clown like opinion.
ReplyDeleteParticularly as we are talking about Balotelli on this thread and many people are doing exactly that, being racist without realising it, by joining in the media witchunt. Of course, some are doing it knowingly as well!
As long as he plays for city and give man u 6 zero lessons, that's fine. Else i don't care.
ReplyDeleteWhat agenda?
ReplyDeleteHe gets red cards, 3 this year, could be 4 if FA do him for the Song tackle, this could be 6 game ban +
He petulantly kicks the earth and waves arms all over the place when his team mates misplace a pass
He openly argues with team mates for the right to take free kicks, embarrassing everyone
There's no agenda. Even Mourinho couldn't work with him
I've no idea "what that is about"
ReplyDeleteEnlighten me, what's the big theory? Does it involve Roswell or JFK?
No, what theory are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteIf you don't know what it is about, it is not worth bothering to try and tell you. You should stick with the baying mob.
Yes, he is a real killer of a player to have in your squad. Would rather have Tevez.
ReplyDeleteNo agenda?