Source: lfctour.com
Mario Balotelli, the enigma never far away from controversy, is set to become Brendan Rodgers’ toughest challenge of his managerial career to date.
After an incredibly successful campaign, which ultimately ended in disappointment, the task for Rodgers was to replicate not only the free-flowing, exciting brand of football which plundered over 100 league goals for the reds; but to try and build a squad capable of ‘going one further’ in the world’s most competitive league.
The aforementioned task was made even more difficult after talismanic forward Luis Suarez departed to Spain to join Catalan giants Barcelona for a club record sale of £75m. It wasn’t simply the Uruguayan’s 31 goals and 12 assists in 33 league games which made him the most feared striker in the league, but also his tenacity and work-rate which often spurred on fans and team-mates alike to reach the unexpected heights of the previous campaign.
His departure left a void in the squad, albeit a void capable of being filled with the £75m fee he commanded. Naturally, achieving Champions League football requires greater squad depth to cover inevitable injuries coupled with the increased physical and mental demands placed on players.
Lallana, Markovic, Lambert, Lovren, Can, Manquillo & Moreno represent that increased squad depth at a total cost of £86m. However, the weakness is glaringly obvious – a lack of quality strikers.
Divock Origi was signed for £10m, but loaned immediately back to Lille and while his development will be watched keenly, he will not make an appearance for the reds for at least another 11 months. With Fabio Borini surplus to requirements, that leaves English duo Daniel Sturridge & Ricky Lambert.
Sturridge’s impressive record stretches further than 21 league goals in 26 league games in the previous campaign, to scoring 36 goals a first 50 games, bettering former Kop forwards Fernando Torres & Luis Suarez.
While Ricky Lamberts signature may prove to be a shrewd move, he is drawing towards the end of his career and it would be impossible for the life-long Liverpool supporter to either replicate the energy Suarez brought to the side or his goals.
The search for that all important striker has been an intriguing and largely frustrating one.
Loic Remy, according to Liverpool, failed a medical after an £8.5m release clause had been triggered. Wilfried Bony’s desire to join the Anfield outfit, never got over a £19m transfer-fee and £100,000 a week-wage shaped hurdle, while looking at Monaco’s Radamel Falcao at the costly £20m total package for a season-long loan was scuppered by the Colombians continued desire to become a Galactio at The Bernabeu.
Step forward, Mario Balotelli. The 24-year old Italian comes with fireworks, quite literally, and a complex yet intriguing personality branded ‘unmanageable’ by his infamous former and current Chelsea coach, Jose Mourinho.
But just where does Mario Balotelli fit in?
14 goals and 6 assists in 30 league games for a struggling AC Milan side, who slumped to a disappointing 8th place finish in the 2013-14 campaign seems promising; however a worryingly low chance conversion rate – excluding penalties – of just 8.42% illustrates just how far ‘Super Mario’ must come in order to fulfil his undoubted potential.
Should he need any inspiration however, he need look no further than new teammate and striking partner Daniel Sturridge, who completely transformed what had previously threatened to be a career which never saw the potential fulfilled.
Often branded lazy and disruptive, tags which have rightly or wrongly also followed Balotelli throughout his professional career, Sturridge dispelled such rumours to become not only a goal-machine fan favourite, but also a player no longer the first to be criticised by press and media.
Should Mario Balotelli follow the same path under Brendan Rodgers, the £16m price-tag will soon be hailed a masterstroke, especially considering that Ross McCormack and Shane Long have moved in the same window for £5m and £4m less respectively than a player with Champions League and International experience.
Balotelli provides a different threat, a different option and a different presence. Sturridge neither deserves to be dropped or moved out wide to accommodate Mario, which means that the likely solution is the 442 ‘diamond’, with Sturridge & Balotelli partnering each other with teenage sensation Raheem Sterling in arguably his best position, at the tip of the diamond; which leaves all of Gerrard, Can, Allen, Coutinho, Henderson & Lallana when fit to battle it out for the other 3 midfield positions. Depth.
The other alternative is to play a 433 with Balotelli either deputising for an injured Sturridge, or rotation for the Englishman when he needs his inevitable rest, through the centre, likely with Sterling and Markovic wide and the aforementioned 6 once again contesting for the remaining 3 midfield positions.
“He has got quality. If he wants to stay at the top level, this is probably his last chance.”
– Brendan Rodgers on Daniel Sturridge’s arrival, January 2nd 2013.
I would be surprised if Brendan Rodgers’ quotes on Balotelli’s arrival are dissimilar. This is Balotelli’s last chance. It’s inevitable he’ll write his own name in headlines, but here’s to hoping he finally realises his true potential and the headlines are all for the right reasons.
For now, he can’t be considered anything other than a ‘marquee signing’ and he should excite fans and add that much needed firepower to enable Brendan Rodgers’ galvanised, tricky reds to build on last season’s successes.
– Chris Dickinson (@SuperSubLFC)