It may seem like hollow praise after Brendan Rodgers’s recent withering assessment of the signing of Mario Balotelli.
But his latest sound bytes are at least a step in the right direction. He said of Mario Balotelli, in the run up to Liverpool’s titanic clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday:
“He scores big goals in big games. I’m sure he will go into tomorrow, if picked, looking forward,”
“It is just a matter of time before he gets his goals.”
Perhaps he was given some inside info on how reverse psychology works well on the Italian when he spoke about Mario.
But it’s not the way we like to see things done. And the best managers defend their players to the hilt. They can say what they like behind closed doors but publicly heaping pressure on players seems like completely the wrong way to go – especially with a temperamental and often misunderstood player like Balotelli.
The Italian is criticised way too much already. He even gets criticised for giving money away. Sneered at for his generosity in a greedy world.
This is a 24 year old kid who needs some love. If he gets it he will come good and prove everyone wrong. Because Balotelli remains a class act and one of the few players capable of doing Real Madrid some serious damage.
To look beyond the recent goal drought, let’s see Balotelli scoring some beauties.
Liverpool fans: would you start Mario tonight?
