Likes to and can shoot from distance, has some pretty good close control and dribbling skills, has got good game intelligence, can see and execute passes.

Yaya Toure has all of that - but I think so does Balotelli.

Toure is a midfielder and considered one of the best in the game. Balotelli is a striker who is struggling to play as a striker. Mario's movement, instincts in which way to play the game... They don't really seem like those of a star striker, even though he has got the talent, the potential to be a star player.

Should Balotelli be made a central midfield player?

Not if he wants to play CF. Otherwise he'll put even less effort in.

He'd probably be better off as a SS, at the least.

No I don't think he can become a midfielder or a CAM which is what I think You're implying. Hopefully for him when Daniel Stu comes back, their understanding would be good and he could play behing him. I don't know why but I think a role like Anelka's at Chelsea might be a good idea.

Midfielders have to actually move, so nah.

Doesn't have the attitude, and his attitude would be even shitter if he was told he'd be shafted to midfield

Short and simple - No
The stumbling block clearly is his attitude.

Lumiere_Blanche wrote:
The stumbling block clearly is his attitude.

This, added to his non-existent defensive abilities.

I'll give you the same response I gave you in the Official Mario Balotelli thread:

http://www.goallegacy.net/t36383p270-official-mario-balotelli-signs-for-liverpool#1314830

As i've said before... until he develops a decent football brain and gives a consistent effort on the pitch, it doesn't matter where you play him. Also, moving from the attack to the midfield has never been done effectively from what i remember. It's just completely different. The movements, instincts, defensive requirements, mindset, etc.... it's all different.

Balo has no desire to work and needs to be fed the ball to have an impact. When he does get the ball he can do brilliant things if given some space and that's his strength. The problem is that when he is starved of supply he drops deep to get the ball, but then finds himself too far away from goal to create a chance or shoot. He has no will/energy/desire/ability to make movement off the ball when he is not in the attacking third and that means he is an unlikely candidate for an on-the-ball midfielder with additional defensive duties.

Good effort Art, creative thinking but sadly it wouldn't work.

People think gerrard has lost it and is hurting the team playing as a deeper midfielder.. I can't imagine balotelli there.. Gerrrard at 72 would work more in midfield than balo

The hate for Balotelli is real. Come on now...have you guys even watched one Liverpool game this season? For all his faults one thing he can't be faulted for is his workrate for us. He's been pressing, moving and working hard the entire time he's been at Liverpool.

Not to mention getting fouled a ridiculous amount, most of the time with no calls (probably because of his reputation).

Balotelli's work rate and attitude at Liverpool have been just fine. Center-forward is a position where it doesn't always help to run around aimlessly, even though people will then give such a player credit for their work rate.

For instance, I don't think Aguero is a particularly hard worker, but he knows when to explode into action.

There are three things people forget about Yaya that makes him way different from Balo.

1)When Yaya decides he wants to take a game over he quite frankly can do it in so many different ways it's scary. He can set up the set up man for the goal, he can directly assist the goal, he can score from devastating free kicks or shoot from long range or he can dribble in about 30 yards around and through a bunch of players and score.

2)Again, when he decides he want's to, it's pretty much impossible to take the ball from him and again when he want's to he can generally go take the ball off of anyone he wants.

3)He can play almost any position on the pitch through the middle. In big games I have seen him play CM, DM, CB and AM.

I like Balo as a player and think things would be going much different for him at Pool if Sturridge were playing. I think they can make a great partnership.

But his lazy and Yaya's lazy are two different types of lazy as I'm assuming that is where the similarities are being generated from, plus there both big guys? And Yaya other than the last 6 months has never really showed any lack of professionalism, the guy has really been a model professional footballer.

and Torres should become a pirlo

I think we just need Balo to gain some years. Experience is the only thing that can save him, IMO. Hopefully, he doesn't ruin himself further along the way. Might end up being the new Adriano in a sense.

Should be tried at AM at least. The coin is in the air.