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Should Liverpool be concerned about Mario Balotelli?

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BalotelliWhen Luis Suarez left in the summer, a lot of Liverpool fans launched into panic mode. What were they supposed to do without their talisman? Without their main source of goals? How were The Reds supposed to get past this?

Then Brendan Rodgers went out and bought up half of Europe and won back some belief. In particular, fans seemed to rally behind £16m striker, Mario Balotelli. They hoped that the Italian ace would offer a similar amount of firepower as Luis Suarez did last season (even if he was never going to offer Liverpool the same amount of technique or creativity).

Unfortunately, Liverpool fans are likely to be somewhat disappointed with Balotelli’s performances thus far. Here’s MotD’s Mark Lawrenson’s thoughts on the matter:

“I already believe Rodgers is going to have to make a move for a fast, pacey striker during the January transfer window, especially if [Daniel] Sturridge is going to miss chunks of the season through injury. Mario Balotelli… is a big lump up front. He offers a different kind of threat. He [Balotelli] doesn’t have pace and he’s never going to score 20 goals a season.” (Source: The Metro)

Ouch. Don’t hold back Lawro!

I can’t help but feel that Mark Lawrenson is jumping the gun a little bit here. He seems to be judging a player on the basis of four games, which is a big mistake for a pundit to make. To get a well rounded picture of Mario Balotelli, you need to consider his entire career.

He scored goals at Manchester City when he was still a teenager. Since moving to AC Milan, he’s improved immeasurably. Whilst in Serie A, he scored 30 goals in 54 games. Is that really evidence of a striker who doesn’t have goals in him?

Let’s not forget that Mario Balotelli is only 23-years-old. He’s still got a lot of developing to do and it’s going to be exciting to watch him grow as a player. He’s got the physique and mentality necessary to excel in the Premier League. All he needs to do is find his shooting boots.

As soon as he does that, there’ll be no looking back. Mark Lawrenson may well have to eat his words.

What’s your take? Is Mark Lawrenson right to be concerned about Mario Balotelli?

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