All right Reds, time to ‘slip’ for Super Mario!

When Brendan Rodgers helped Swansea City gain promotion to the Premier League and made them the first ever Welsh club in history to have achieved that feat, I was impressed. I was further captivated with the manner in which he helped the Swans adjust to the elite confederacy of BPL by finishing an inspiring 11th in the table. When he was made Liverpool manager in the aftermath of the Kenny Dalglish fiasco, I felt that it was the best thing to happen to the club ever since Rafael Benitez.

And why wouldn’t I feel that way? Rodgers’ impeccable possession play strategy did wonders for Swansea and his ideology of always keeping the ball moving in order to have a flowing game is something that every team needs. God knows our team needed that. And ‘that’ is what we got.

However, I’ll be honest. I hated him after his first season at Anfield.

There was no specific reason for that. It’s just that I was impatient, like millions of others, to see Liverpool get back to winning ways. We last won a trophy under ‘King’ Kenny in 2011 when we lifted the Carling Cup and it felt like, still does, ages since the touch of silverware. But then came last season.

An inspired Liverpool under Rodgers was on a feeding frenzy and was trampling teams with ridiculous ease. His counter-attacking brilliance indeed gave the Reds a new sense of direction and his insight when it came to signing the right characters for his squad was only the icing on the cake. The recruitment of Chelsea-reject Daniel Sturridge and Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho along with the first team promotion of English talent Raheem Sterling and the staggering surge of ‘bad boy’ Luis Suarez was the metaphorical equivalence of grabbing something by the throat and pulling it towards glory.

And then started this season!

An opening day fixture against Southampton - whom we raided for the likes of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren – gave a pellucid image of the season that was to follow. And if I was to summarize the analysis for the foreseeable future in just one word, that word would be ‘vexatious’. Ok I used the thesaurus on that one! But then again that’s how complicated things can become in the camp.

Apart from the Saints trio, the Reds have enlisted striker Lazar Markovic, midfielder Emre Can, left back Alberto Moreno, right back Javier Manquillo and lastly, but never in a million years least, the epitome of naughtiness Mario Balotelli. Super Mario was brought in the side to compensate for the loss of Suarez; however, with the recent events that conspired at the Etihad Stadium I feel that he’s not just going to be looked upon as a goal-scoring machine but also as the messiah who would lead us to enchanted glory.

 See now that’s the problem. There’s too much pressure already on Balotelli. For my team’s sake I hope his second stint in England turns out to be one in which he thrives under pressure instead of striving under it. Because unlike our new ‘leader’ Lovren, who clearly looks more confused and bamboozled on the field than Fardeen Khan in Prem Aggan, Mario can handle it well.

Also, I presume that Mario can be much better a defender than Mr. Lovren. Because if the prime responsibility of a center back is to screw up an offside trap, make abysmal clearances, be out of position for almost every incoming attack, be unaware of a thing called presence of mind and not know the meaning of the word sprint, then not just Mario but even I can be the greatest center back in history. Yes Mr. Lovren! You are that bad. I know it’s been just two matches with the second one being against the defending champions Manchester City, but I’m pretty sure they must have covered a topic called ‘Defending 101’ in ‘Defending School’.

When Balotelli returned to Italy to play for AC Milan he seemed to be fully in his element. He scored a brace on debut, almost scored a goal-a-game for the next 15 matches and everything he was touching turned into gold as he hauled Milan back into Champions League contention. He had a fantastic debut season even though he missed a penalty (his first ever) to Pepe Reina, who interestingly was on loan to Napoli from Liverpool at the time. Was it in the stars from that time itself for Mario to be ‘linked’ to Liverpool? Nah! Or was it? It does not matter.

What matters is that he is a player of top-notch quality and for the Reds to have landed him for just 16 million pounds is a freaking steal. Now is the time not to mess it up. With Andy Carroll the problem was the price. He was bought for 35 million pounds and hence the expectations from him skyrocketed. However with Mario all the factors play right into Liverpool’s alley. The price – check. The age – for a 24-year old striker Mario is quite exceptionally talented. The attitude – 4th time’s the charm. The team – Whoops! That’s the only thing that can screw the next big adventure in Liverpool’s daunted journey.

If you don’t believe me then clearly you’ve missed out on the Man City game. I know I’m supposed to be biased towards my team but let’s all be authentic and agree to the fact that the Reds played a shit game. Let’s start with the defence. Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno. On paper I’d rate this defensive line-up as pretty brilliant. However, the problem begins when these players step on the field and start playing the game.

Moreno had one heck of a debut. He initially showed impeccable promise as he was making all the right runs at the right time with a head that was thinking the right things. But the fact that there were several instances when he was caught completely off position, an instance when he dived into David Silva from behind and almost gave away a penalty, the time when he failed to clear the ball in front of Jovetic that led to Ciy’s goal and those reckless tackles that showed his lack of maturity is what spells worry.

Johnson, who’s supposed to be one of the most experienced players in the squad and is supposed to be leading from the front and setting examples, had probably one of the most awful games of his career. His placing and running on the right flank was completely deplorable, he never seemed in the zone and it is unacceptable to me as a loyal fan to witness a right back not being able to complete a cross into the box almost every time he receives the ball. What’s ironical is that he ended up being injured and it happened at the time when a certain Javier Manquillo is just waiting to pounce on the right back spot.

Coming to the midfield. I’m sorry but when I see a 4-3-3 formation that has Joe Allen, Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard (34 years old) in between against a team like Man City, I can’t help but think about a dreary land of dull and depressing football. You maybe play those three together against a weaker team, but you don’t play them together when the opposition has money that has gifted them with pace and power. Gerrard is never getting young, Henderson is never going to turn and pass forwards whenever he receives the ball and Allen will never shoot the ball from distance or be known for his flighted passing.

In the end, the pressure always comes on the strikers because it is them who have the onus to score. And this time that man is Balotelli. The weight of expectation on Balotelli in Italy had been extraordinary, and not just in footballing terms. So therefore I have full faith in him to come out on top and fulfill anticipations of millions of fans. Especially when he does not have a midfield or a defensive line-up that will give him the balls he needs to score.

For the sake of Liverpool’s betterment, we need a bad boy. We always have to be honest. We’re just too uptight to accept the fact that our legacy is no longer something that will win us trophies. We had Luis Suarez and look where he took us. We need that raw and ruthless aggression that signifies out intent to be taken seriously and not just a team who has a glorified history. People were shocked last season when we topped the table at Christmas and almost ended out 24-year long wait. Not because of the fact that it was us who was doing the damage. But because it was Suarez who was pulling us all the way up.

With Balotelli however, things move like a pendulum. He’s either a genius who can be compared with the best in the fraternity at present or he’s a lunatic who sets fireworks in his bathroom just for fun. He’s either a ridiculously talented striker who can single-handedly knock top International teams out of the Euro and them go on and celebrate in a manner that becomes a cult or he an idiot who is considered overrated and is susceptible is bookings and bans. He’s either a boon or he’s one risky signing.

But what’s really important is that he’s not someone who we deserve; but he’s a striker that we need!