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Sunday evening Manchester City faced Arsenal in a game that, pretty much, could
see their title chances either fade away or give hope of a possible resurgence.
With
rivals United drifting to a 2-0 win over QPR earlier, victory at the Emirates
was needed. A Mikel Arteta strike soon
put paid to that, though, leaving City eight points behind United with six
games to go. Mathematically possible, sure, but – in reality – it is hard to
see City putting in a convincing performance at the minute, never mind United
slipping up at this late stage.
The
fluidity and sheer power seen in the first half of the season has completely evaporated
for City. And the man that has, slowly but surely, taken most of the flak for
this demise is the man who was so revered just months ago, the ‘character’ of the
Premier League, the ‘enigma’.
English
football, it seems, has finally turned on Mario Balotelli.
It’s
been coming. As stupid
hats and toilet
trips turned into car
crashes and hookers,
Balotelli’s actions became less innocent, more idiotic. All of a sudden,
Balotelli wasn’t the lovable rogue – he’s disruptive, a trouble-maker. He’s the
problem.
Of
course, he’s not the problem at
Manchester City, just one of many. There were players who put in worse
performances against Arsenal, but some dangerous tackles, petulant
play and a general futility up front are all more high-profile than the
complete ineffectiveness of James Milner, or a clearly-exhausted performance
from Sergio Aguero.
The
second-half collapse of City’s season is down to many, many things but
Balotelli is the easy target. When winning, a maverick’s fun; when losing, he’s
a detriment to the side.
Of
course, Balotelli has had poor stages of his Manchester City career and that
will impact on his team, but the way in which he’s being used as a scapegoat
seems a little harsh on the young Italian.
Yet,
the 21-year-old has been playing football long enough now to know that going
into a tackle with studs showing is stupid and doing it in a vital game such as
Sunday’s is certainly that, to an almost infuriating level. It is hardly surprising,
then, that Mancini
feels he can’t trust Balotelli, and now seems
ready to cut ties with the man he has placed so much faith in both in
Manchester and Milan.
The
dangerous tackles are
nothing new and the free-kick
blusters and common on-pitch arrogance (or ‘swagga’ as it’s called when you’re
winning) seem to have all taken their toll now. Surely the negatives largely
outweigh the positives for Balotelli now, given that the positives seem so intermittent
in occurring?
Even
the things that originally gave Balotelli cult-hero status have been dismissed
as silly rumours. In the BBC interview with Mario,
it turned out that the media – whomever their sources may be – fed the nation
false stories on their latest headline-commanding Premier League footballer,
while Balotelli came across as reserved and, really, rather shy.
And
that’s the thing, in interviews Balotelli seems like a nice, affable chap.
Entirely innocent although obviously with a cheeky side and an expert in not
giving a fuck. Hardly arrogant, anyway.
He
talks of working towards being the best rather than already being there, he’s
reluctant to talk about his youth and, let’s not forget, this is a man just out
of his teens who’s forced to live his life under the spotlight of country that expects
the very best of the celebrity youth. He’s immediately likeable, then.
But
then we get to the business end of the season. Football likes its mavericks but
they have to turn it on when needed. They have to be professional when it
really matters. You mess about on our terms, basically.
Interruptions
of Inter Milan press conferences are as bizarre as they are bewildering and
one wonders whether Balotelli misses home, and the continual assertion that he’s
at Manchester City because of Mancini rather than any great affiliation with
the club hints at a possible exit in the summer if Mancini has had enough, or
even if Mancini departs Eastlands.
Will
the Premier League miss Balotelli? The striker does bring the odd chuckle, a
smile to the face of fans bored by banal footballers who make up a game that is
meant to be entertaining.
But
a man who infuriates his own manager and fans will not last long, no matter how
many titters he delivers on a weekly basis.
At
the start he was loved because it was promised that he would come good, that
there was good in there. Now, with the discipline continually slipping and the
form so erratic, the English seem to have finally worked out Mario Balotelli.
And they, overall, don’t like what they see.
