Balotelli

[Buddha]

I was thinking about the rumoured Petrov deal this morning and how it might free up money from the Masher deal to spend elsewhere, towards a new striker/wing forward - and it got me thinking of Balotelli again.

I've been banging his drum for the last 18 months now during which time he's shown flashes of mercurial genius mixed with petulance and ill discipline, and he's still only 19! He's really got it all this lad, pace, power, bundles of natural skill (the sort you can't coach into someone) and bucketloads of self-confidence. He can play through the middle or just to the left or right of the main striker.

In a way he reminds me of C.Ronaldo at the same age with his confidence, lightning pace and trickery, but perhaps what he lacks (at the moment) in mental strength he makes up for with already being the finished physical article (unlike a rather coltish Ronaldo at the same age).

Given Masher is likely to head to Inter this could be the best time to be negotiating for the transfer of Balotelli (a player Inter are obviously prepared to let go) whilst we hold the upper hand. The differential would likely be 8-10m or so.

Here's a link to him doing his stuff (I don't know how to embed)
http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/s...--------------------Reina--------------------

 

[keniget]

I have no faith in us getting the best out of a player like this whatsoever. To have any chance things would probably need to be a lot more stable than they are now.

As it stands, it's pretty inconsequential anyways. He'll more than likely end up at City where he'll be mollycuddled by Mancini.

 

[manwithnoname]

I thought he was nailed on for Man Shitty at £30m or something?

Mancini was his boss for a while.

I've only seen him play a handful of times, and he was a horrible, petulant twat.

I'd also be a little concerned about a player who even master-motivator Jose Mourinho gave up on, is hated by his tyem-mates, and despised by his own fans.

All-in-all, he seems to be a bit of a thick, arrogant, cunt.

 

[Woland]

When he inevitably got sent off against Sweden in the under 21s I was wishing that the horrible little gobshite would drop dead, and the feeling hasn't really changed since.

 

[Buddha]

He's only 19 for heavens sake and once he fell out with Mourinho at Inter it's would have been a tough task to win him around again.

His immense talent outweighs his (current) immaturity for me. Where else are we going to sign a wonderfully gifted striker/wing forward from?

 

[Woland]

I dunno, he's just got a way about him that seems worth doing time for.

 

[Squiggles]

May as well be talking about Messi

 

[jexykrodic]

[quote author=crump link=topic=41174.msg1144431#msg1144431 date=1280395725]
When he inevitably got sent off against Sweden in the under 21s I was wishing that the horrible little gobshite would drop dead, and the feeling hasn't really changed since.
[/quote]

Bit harsh.

 

[Cleveland Steamer]

Good grief - there is absolutely no chance of us getting him. Good player though - shame he is an utter cunt! Should fit right in at Citeh 🙂

 

[manwithnoname]

[quote author=Buddha link=topic=41174.msg1144439#msg1144439 date=1280396129]

His immense talent outweighs his (current) immaturity for me. Where else are we going to sign a wonderfully gifted striker/wing forward from?

[/quote]

Alpha Centauri?

Of course, it would be dependent on Alpha Centauri having intelligent life, and humanoids who also play football, then obviously we'd have to sell him/her/it/the collective hive mind the benefits of our own solar system, and the wealth of opportunities available to a sentient alien life form on Earth.

That's even before we discuss where he might play (next to Torres? Support striker?) or transfer fee. Once that has been done, we would have to address the issue of developing faster-than-light travel and some exercises for the inevitable cryo-sleep.

All of which is as likely as us signing Balotelli from Inter Milan.

 

[Woland]

There'd defo be work permit issues for players from the faraway reaches of space.

 

[Buddha]

We'd have no chance of signing him?

How about the very obvious fact that Rafa and Inter would love to sign Masher? We could insist on Balotelli coming the other way as part of the deal, no? There's no deal done with City and they've offered 20m thus far, that's all. Inter are also obviously keen to offload Balotelli.

It might be so that Hodgson wouldn't much fancy him, but to say that we'd have no chance of getting him given we hold a trump card in Masher is bollocks.

Most people thought we had "no chance" of signing Joe Cole.

 

[RolandG]

Pipe dream!

 

[Frogfish]

So we swap Masherano for Balotelli and that leaves us with how much for a DM ? A back up striker is a necessity but when we have the best striker in the world why would we blow the Masherano money on his back-up ?

The majority (by majority I mean up to 15M) of the Masherano transfer fee should be spent on securing the best 'replacement' (direct or indirect) we can.

 

[DHSC]

[quote author=Brendan link=topic=41174.msg1144449#msg1144449 date=1280396944]
[quote author=Buddha link=topic=41174.msg1144439#msg1144439 date=1280396129]

His immense talent outweighs his (current) immaturity for me. Where else are we going to sign a wonderfully gifted striker/wing forward from?

[/quote]

Alpha Centauri?

Of course, it would be dependent on Alpha Centauri having intelligent life, and humanoids who also play football, then obviously we'd have to sell him/her/it/the collective hive mind the benefits of our own solar system, and the wealth of opportunities available to a sentient alien life form on Earth.

That's even before we discuss where he might play (next to Torres? Support striker?) or transfer fee. Once that has been done, we would have to address the issue of developing faster-than-light travel and some exercises for the inevitable cryo-sleep.

All of which is as likely as us signing Balotelli from Inter Milan.
[/quote]

Will he be able to survive on nitrogen or oxygen? What if the dolt needs a gas that the earth's atmosphere doesn't have? I don't think FIFA will allow one of our players to wear a spacesuit to play football.

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=Frogfish link=topic=41174.msg1144467#msg1144467 date=1280398172]
So we swap Masherano for Balotelli and that leaves us with how much for a DM ? A back up striker is a necessity but when we have the best in the world why would we blow the Masherano money on his back-up ?

The majority (by majority I mean up to 15M) of the Masherano transfer fee should be spent on securing the best 'replacement' (direct or indirect) we can.
[/quote]

My original post was based on the mooted idea of buying Petrov for 7m odd. I was just weighing up the potential benefits of using the Masher money (or a part-ex deal with balotelli) on a top striker rather than spend it on another expensive DM.

Balotelli can play on the left/right of Torres or as his strike partner, as well as being back-up for the lone striker role. He'd be a long way from just being an expensive back-up.

 

[DHSC]

Sorry Buddha.

I think the benefits of receiving 30m in cash outweighs everything else.

 

[Roopy]

Balotelli is definitely going to Manchester City.

Roberto Mancini + big big wages ... why would he turn that down?

Also, Massimo Moratti has said he can leave.

He has no future at Inter... Rafa dislikes players with his attitude, if he stayed he'd be nothing more than a bench player.

 

[Cleveland Steamer]

[quote author=Buddha link=topic=41174.msg1144461#msg1144461 date=1280397772]
We'd have no chance of signing him?

How about the very obvious fact that Rafa and Inter would love to sign Masher? We could insist on Balotelli coming the other way as part of the deal, no? There's no deal done with City and they've offered 20m thus far, that's all. Inter are also obviously keen to offload Balotelli.

It might be so that Hodgson wouldn't much fancy him, but to say that we'd have no chance of getting him given we hold a trump card in Masher is bollocks.

Most people thought we had "no chance" of signing Joe Cole.

[/quote]


Buddha you need to sort your Chakra's out mate. Seriously there is NO chance of him coming here. Messi maybe but Balotelli?....... No Chance. Oh and for the record I alway's thought we had a good chance of landing Cole 😉

 

[Cleveland Steamer]

Ooops Double post

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=DHSC link=topic=41174.msg1144477#msg1144477 date=1280399149]
Sorry Buddha.

I think the benefits of receiving 30m in cash outweighs everything else.
[/quote]

Probably right.

I just think Balotelli is immensely talented and we'd be in a position to coerce Inter into selling him to us for about 20m if included in a deal for their prime transfer target Masher. City will probably end up paying up to 27-30m for him whereas we are in a position to force Inter's hand and get him cheaper.

We've been crying out for a genuine alternative to the injury-prone Torres and here we have the chance to include a hugely talented striker in a deal we're reluctantly agreeing to. He's been playing wing forward for Inter and would give us real pace and aggression off of one of the flanks to compliment Cole's trickery and movement.

I could live with Petrov partnering Gerrard in midfield if our attacking options were greatly enhanced.

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=Cleveland Steamer link=topic=41174.msg1144480#msg1144480 date=1280399254]
[quote author=Buddha link=topic=41174.msg1144461#msg1144461 date=1280397772]
We'd have no chance of signing him?

How about the very obvious fact that Rafa and Inter would love to sign Masher? We could insist on Balotelli coming the other way as part of the deal, no? There's no deal done with City and they've offered 20m thus far, that's all. Inter are also obviously keen to offload Balotelli.

It might be so that Hodgson wouldn't much fancy him, but to say that we'd have no chance of getting him given we hold a trump card in Masher is bollocks.

Most people thought we had "no chance" of signing Joe Cole.

[/quote]


Buddha you need to sort your Chakra's out mate. Seriously there is NO chance of him coming here. Messi maybe but Balotelli?....... No Chance. Oh and for the record I alway's thought we had a good chance of landing Cole 😉
[/quote]

For the last fucking time...

1) Rafa's prime transfer target is Mascherano
2) We "own" Mascherano
3) Inter clearly want to sell Balotelli
4) We insist on Balotelli being part of any deal that takes Mascherano to Inter.

 

[manwithnoname]

For the last fucking time...

1) Rafa's prime transfer target is Mascherano
2) We "own" Mascherano
3) Inter clearly want to sell Balotelli
4) We insist on Balotelli being part of any deal that takes Mascherano to Inter.

You make it all sound so simple!

Hopefully Balotelli will have no say in the matter, and we can pretend that the higher wages and chance to play for a manager who knows and likes him, in a better team, don't really matter.

Also, I have a feeling that OUR's bosses *might* just prefer to have the money.

 

[Squiggles]

So if City have offered £20M and for some strange reason he'd rather come to us than to City, that means we're left with £5M to £6M to replace Mascherano.

It's mental.

And that's even assuming the board would accept a player + cash offer. The most likely scenario is we take cash for Mascherano, we spend the £12-13M on a replacement and the club swallows up the rest of the dough.

 

[Woland]

I suppose a swap deal between Masch and this bellend would be like for like on bookings points.

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=Brendan link=topic=41174.msg1144489#msg1144489 date=1280399993]

For the last fucking time...

1) Rafa's prime transfer target is Mascherano
2) We "own" Mascherano
3) Inter clearly want to sell Balotelli
4) We insist on Balotelli being part of any deal that takes Mascherano to Inter.

You make it all sound so simple!

Hopefully Balotelli will have no say in the matter, and we can pretend that the higher wages and chance to play for a manager who knows and likes him, in a better team, don't really matter.

Also, I have a feeling that OUR's bosses *might* just prefer to have the money.
[/quote]
I'm not saying it WILL happen, just that it's a possibility. I'm putting it that way as a reaction to a number of posts saying there's absolutely no chance/more chance of Messi coming etc.

The City wages will be an issue, but he was hardly a regular under Mancini and will likely realise that he's not in any way guaranteed a start given City have about 3000 strikers on their books. He might just like the idea of being an important part of the Liverpool team, likely to play in most games, and partnering Torres, Gerrard et al.

As for our situation on money, I'm going with Broughton's unequivocal statement that all transfer fees will be made available to Roy, so it shouldn't matter a jot what Roy decides to do with any fees/part-exchanges. As for the better team bit, I'd argue that given a Balotelli-type signing up front/wings and a reasonable replacement for Masher, we'd be rivalling City for a top three place.

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=41174.msg1144495#msg1144495 date=1280400846]
So if City have offered £20M and for some strange reason he'd rather come to us than to City, that means we're left with £5M to £6M to replace Mascherano.

It's mental.

And that's even assuming the board would accept a player + cash offer. The most likely scenario is we take cash for Mascherano, we spend the £12-13M on a replacement and the club swallows up the rest of the dough.
[/quote]
My original post was based upon the mooted transfer of Petrov for 7m as a replacement for Masher.

That's not mental. It means we'd have vastly improved our striking options and got a reasonable replacement for Masher, rather than replaced Masher like-for-like (difficult) and bought a reasonable striker.

You might not agree, but it's not mental, just an alternative use of the money.

 

[Avmenon]

I'd actually like that. Say Balotelli plus good money for Mascher.

Sell Ngog for 3-4 million; get Balotelli and play him with/as cover for Torres and promote Pacheco and have Kuyt as additional cover.

Not sure if I'd like Petrov though.

I think with some shrewd work by Hodgson, we could be looking at some quality players with the money left over.

 

[dee]

Manchester City are set to confirm the £24m signing of Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli on Thursday after he agreed a contract worth about £65,000 a week.

 

[Buddha]

65k a week eh? Hardly megabucks.