Mario Balotelli

[Adamrb]

I thought Jose and Mario disliked each other. Nonsense story

[barak81]

Well its gone dead so it either happens tomorrow like the 48 hour deadline infured or it wont happen at all

[Uno]

I was more convinced by the bookies stop taking bets on it happening

[dkw]

The thing with that bookies stopping taking bets is it doesnt take much money for it to happen, it happened a few years ago with Ribery to Liverpool remember. A grand suddenly lumped on will massively affect the odds. 

[Zola]

I was more convinced by the bookies stop taking bets on it happening

I think half of the time some bookies work together, suspend markets and then reopen etc...just to confuse the better and get them to waste money.

[soldiergirl84]

Jose said we would sign no strikers this window, the man himself said he would be staying in Milan this window.

 

You would not be calling both men fibbers now would you gents?

 

[Sparkz]

Don't want this idiot anywhere near this club

[Xfaxtor]

I actually hope it does happen. Lets face it our strikers cant get the job done. To win the league you have to score goals so we need a striker that can actually put the ball in the back of the net. Mario has already proven himself in the league. My only worry is the same as others that he is a bit mental.

Selling Ba and brining in Mario would be great business and would help us in the league.

He has proven himself allright, proven that hes not good enough. A couple of penalty goals in seria a doesnt change that. I havent said this before and I probably wont again, but here it goes. Id rather have Torres Edited January 12, 2014 by Xfaxtor

[MrSkyBlue]

It would pain me a bit to see Mario play for another PL club. I love that guy to bits, simply for his clown like character which the boring modern game has too few of imo. And it's not even that i think he would be truly amazing for you... He's got all the talant in the world, on his day he is unplayable. But he will very rarely show it. He's lazy and madder than an insanely mad mad thing.

[ForeverCarefree]

"In football you never know the future," Mourinho said.

"Balotelli is with a big club at the moment but you never know the future.

"They want to keep the best players and want to keep the best Italian players. But Mario has already been in English football before.

"I'm not going to be manager of Milan or the Italy national team, but he's a good kid and somebody I'd like to work with again."

Balotelli has previously claimed he would like work with Mourinho again.

"Of course I would like to play under Jose again," Balotelli said earlier this year.

"In my first days at Inter we had some problems, but then it turned into a mutual respect, and now we have a real friendship.

"It is never boring playing under Jose. When you are in Mourinho's team it is a family and he coaches on the principal that if all is well with the family it doesn't matter what is going on outside the team."

 

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9199046/chelsea-manager-jose-mourinho-could-move-for-striker-mario-balotelli-?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[Castiel]

Oh god no...

[ForeverCarefree]

Oh god no...

 

In fairness he has been speaking highly of Varane as well, I think it's all part of Jose signing up to Yahoo as a "Global Football Ambassador for 2014" (whatever that means).

 

So there is some cherry picking of quotes going on perhaps. 

[Castiel]

It'd be typical of us to go from Torres to Balotelli.  I'll be convinced we have a striker curse.

[Guest RFC_CFC]

It'd be typical of us to go from Torres to Balotelli. I'll be convinced we have a striker curse.

Whoever comes in next best hope they score as quick as possible.

[ForeverCarefree]

Balotelli would either be a genius signing or a complete train wreck.

 

Just out of interest can Milan afford to keep him next season? I assume he one of, if not their highest paid player and they won't have any European football next season. 

 

I know Balotelli is a Milan fan but is he too ambitious to want to stay at a team that is distinctly mid-table? 

[barak81]

I think this is already done.

 

In January we had that flash news story and then the very quick denial by all parties.

 

Normally when there is nothing in it, nobody bothers to comment, the papers our just finishing.

 

So, with all this evidence I'm led to believe the deal was struck in January with every one told to keep hush about it as it serves no purpose for the world media to know.

 

I never thought Balotelli was as good as people made out, I also didn't realise he's only 23. (lets be honest he doesn't look it)

 

His strike rate for Milan is 22 league games in 29 starts (31 appearances total) that's impressive. I don't know what the quality of the Italian League is like right now but I hear Milan are pretty shocking generally which makes that goals to games ratio even more impressive.

 

Also I look at what else is out there, erm not a lot. I have now seen enough of Costa to say I really don't think he's going to deliver for us

 

Falcou, I feel is Torres/Sheva mark 3. 28 busted knee cost a fortune, no thanks.

 

Who else?

 

He is not an unknown to Jose so Jose must feel he can navigate the crazy .

 

Basically I have done a bit of a 180 here. I'm now for this signing and believe he will get bucket loads of goals

[Guest RFC_CFC]

Balotelli would either be a genius signing or a complete train wreck.

Just out of interest can Milan afford to keep him next season? I assume he one of, if not their highest paid player and they won't have any European football next season.

I know Balotelli is a Milan fan but is he too ambitious to want to stay at a team that is distinctly mid-table?

Well with their debt and no CL football I highly doubt it.

I don't think he'd fit in at Chelsea and his off the field antics would be a tran wreck in London...it gives me the fear thinking about it actually.

We need a disciplined striker to play up top on his own, Mario when he wants to can be fantastic but if he takes the huff then he ca damage the team greatly.

I just don't want us to take that risk.

[barak81]

Well with their debt and no CL football I highly doubt it.

I don't think he'd fit in at Chelsea and his off the field antics would be a tran wreck in London...it gives me the fear thinking about it actually.

We need a disciplined striker to play up top on his own, Mario when he wants to can be fantastic but if he takes the huff then he ca damage the team greatly.

I just don't want us to take that risk.

 

 

I have no sources, I'm not an ITK or what ever they call it on twitter. my guess is as good as any one else who doesn't have any inside information but something about this just reaks of DONE!

 

I'm hanging my hat on it and if it happens. I would like to then be known as a ITK (or fluky bar steward)

 

so further more. Is there a betting site I can find odds on these kind of things

[Castiel]

I'd rather take RVP for a year as another stop gap and see where we are the summer after next.  The idea of signing Balotelli fills me with a sense of dread.  His track record is just littered with needless drama.  City got rid of him for a reason.

[ForeverCarefree]

Well with their debt and no CL football I highly doubt it.

I don't think he'd fit in at Chelsea and his off the field antics would be a tran wreck in London...it gives me the fear thinking about it actually.

We need a disciplined striker to play up top on his own, Mario when he wants to can be fantastic but if he takes the huff then he ca damage the team greatly.

I just don't want us to take that risk.

 

You got to admit though, a strike force of Balotelli and Lukaku sounds a whole lot more tempting than Torres and Eto'o.

 

That would be a young, pacey, strong attack... I think we could do a lot worse.

 

As barak said, the options are pretty limited... I don't think Falcao or Cavani would be available. 

 

I think the realistic options are Costa, Mandzukic, Balotelli and at a massive push maybe, just maybe van Persie. 

 

I don't know, I'm very much on the fence about Balotelli, I do think he is a very gifted player but obviously there are question marks about his temperament and life style off the pitch. 

 

If he did sign though, I can't say I would feel disappointed, perhaps just a little apprehensive. 

[ForeverCarefree]

I'd rather take RVP for a year as another stop gap and see where we are the summer after next.  The idea of signing Balotelli fills me with a sense of dread.  His track record is just littered with needless drama.  City got rid of him for a reason.

 

I think we need to avoid a stop gap personally, Eto'o is just that and our striking options look inferior as a result.

 

Next season is a great opportunity to have a title run with the likes of Oscar and Hazard quite experience Premier League players by that point and others such as Matic, Schurrle and Willian should be acclimatized by then.... A striker really is the missing piece of the puzzle for me, whether Balotelli is the missing piece or he is from a whole other puzzle all together, who knows. 

 

I think Mancini's man management played a big part in his City exit personally, look at all the trouble he was having with Tevez... Now he's at Juventus he's got his head down and is arguably the best striker in Serie A now. 

[barak81]

You got to admit though, a strike force of Balotelli and Lukaku sounds a whole lot more tempting than Torres and Eto'o.

 

That would be a young, pacey, strong attack... I think we could do a lot worse.

 

As barak said, the options are pretty limited... I don't think Falcao or Cavani would be available. 

 

I think the realistic options are Costa, Mandzukic, Balotelli and at a massive push maybe, just maybe van Persie. 

 

I don't know, I'm very much on the fence about Balotelli, I do think he is a very gifted player but obviously there are question marks about his temperament and life style off the pitch. 

 

If he did sign though, I can't say I would feel disappointed, perhaps just a little apprehensive. 

 

 

And hungry!!! still have it all to prove. I think its a phenomenal striker force!!

 

I don't think Balotelli will ever be a level headed kind of guy. But lets at least acknowledge the fact that when he burst on scene he was 18. He was an overnight star with more money then he could imagine. Still a chilled!

 

When I think about other "lunatic" players, Cantona, Kean, Maradona, Ibrahimovich, list goes on a bit... some times you genius goes hand in hand with a bit of phyco

[ForeverCarefree]

And hungry!!! still have it all to prove. I think its a phenomenal striker force!!

 

I don't think Balotelli will ever be a level headed kind of guy. But lets at least acknowledge the fact that when he burst on scene he was 18. He was an overnight star with more money then he could imagine. Still a chilled!

 

When I think about other "lunatic" players, Cantona, Kean, Maradona, Ibrahimovich, list goes on a bit... some times you genius goes hand in hand with a bit of phyco

 

There's a fine line between eccentric genius and troublemaker in football.

 

Like you said players like Ibrahimovic, Cantona, Rooney and I suppose even Ronaldo aren't averse to moments of madness on and off the field but I suppose what you have to weigh up is if that level of brilliance (and let's not pretend, Balotelli is capable of footballing genius) is worth any potential hassles the player might bring...

[barak81]

There's a fine line between eccentric genius and troublemaker in football.

 

Like you said players like Ibrahimovic, Cantona, Rooney and I suppose even Ronaldo aren't averse to moments of madness on and off the field but I suppose what you have to weigh up is if that level of brilliance (and let's not pretend, Balotelli is capable of footballing genius) is worth any potential hassles the player might bring...

 

I've used this before but its as relevant now as it was then... Cantona the way he was in France, every one would be saying the same thing if we had todays media tech.

[dkw]

Ive said it before but I still believe the negatives he brings to a club outweigh the positives.