Balotelli has worked "under some of the best managers in the game"?
Mourinho is regarded by many to be one of the best in the game, even though I don't really rate him at all that highly. I find him to be a 4-2-3-1 counter attacking football one-trick pony who's been found out. In my opinion he can't adapt his style of play.
Can you name a single one of those managers that managed to fulfill the player's potential and make the team play better with him included?
Yes. He won the league with Man City, and for all of his antics, still performed enough on the pitch to get 1 goal in every 2.75 games. There are plenty of other players who have a record like that and still don't get crucified like Mario does. Pretty good return for a player who hasn't even realised his potential. Benteke's current return is 1 goal in every 2.66 games and yet again, there's numerous people defending him. Balotelli's return for AC during the 2013/14 season was 1 goal in 1.65 games, a goalscoring return that Benteke has never met in his career. Even at Genk, in the weak Belgian league, Benteke's return was at best just under 1 in 2 games. Balotelli is better than Benteke and his stats prove it. That's why one has been at top clubs like Milan and Man City winning titles and the other has been helping Villa avoid relegation. I would much rather Balotelli at the club being nurtured by Klopp giving us an extra option up top than Benteke quite frankly.
Also, lets not pretend that Balotelli was the only Rodgers signing to struggle. He was brought in and played out of position numerous times, thats when Rodgers would even let him play. He didn't give him any time whatsoever to build confidence up. What about Lambert? He was a goal scoring machine who also came in under Rodgers and failed to perform, so its not just Mario. What about the missing players? Lazar 'Where art thou?' Markovic? Was he also to blame for not performing? Lallana has not hit the heights he hit at Southampton. Neither has Clyne, although he's been closer to that level. Another player who has failed to be consistent has been Firmino, another Rodgers signing. Amazing how he appears to the common denominator here, isn't it? The fact is, Mario is not the only player to not perform under Rodgers but in the curious case of Mario Balotelli, rather than admit it's his fault as a manager, he ostracised him and played on his media reputation to cast him adrift. The only bad signing made was the one where we brought in Rodgers as manager of a football club way above his level. He should go back and manage what he knows, mid table to lower table clubs like Swansea City.
EDIT: I see you made a speculative follow-up post about how he "would have thrived under Ferguson" - like he did with Ravel Morrison you mean?
Morrison was a kid who has had numerous run-ins with the law. Morrison's history is far worse than Balotelli's and he's years younger so its ridiculous to compare them. What has Balotelli done that's on a level with anything this wrong-un Morrison has done or apparently done? Nothing. The guy has let off a few fireworks in his house and done some stupid things in training, and people are acting like he's committed hideous crimes.
Logged