If ever a game summed up a player, surely Sunday’s match between West Brom and Manchester City showed us all the two sides of City’s prodigious striker Mario Balotelli. The Italian rewarded the faith of his manager with two goals in six minutes in only his second start in the Premier League. Unfortunately for Mancini, Balotelli made the transformation from hero to villain with a straight red card in the second-half for a reckless kick during a tangle with Youssouf Mulumbu.
Todays dismissal highlighted Balotelli’s addiction to controversy and for Fantasy Football Managers was the equivalent of an espresso at the end of a drunken meal. Certainly it would have made many managers wary of bringing in a striker who, whilst has obvious talent, still has a hot headed fieriness. Temperamental players are the last thing the majority of Fantasy Football managers want or need.
This game and the display of Balotelli served to ease the pressure which had been building on manager Roberto Mancini who has been looking to stop a run in which had City lost their last three games. Mancini was clearly happy with his strikers performance;
“For me, Mario Balotelli played very well. The referee should not have given a red card, absolutely not. It’s possible we may appeal.”
That will be promising to the ears of those who are looking to bring in the fiery Italian. However it is worth remembering that frivolous appeals can often lead to extended cautions so City, and FPL’s finest will need to tread carefully.
The inclusion of the Italian saw James Milner dropped to the bench and increased the rotation risk around the Manchester City team. From an attacking perspective it is nearly impossible to determine the line-up for the Citizens and going forward investment in Manchester City midfielders and attackers, bar talismanic captain Carlos Tevez, is becoming more of a minefield. Caution and patience is recommended.
Unfortunately this is not something that 1,282 managers displayed this afternoon. That is the amount (and rising at time of writing) who knee-jerkingly transferred in Balotelli today. A large number of those did so during the game. If ever there was a test case in why you shouldn’t do your transfers early then this was it.
-Elsewhere Liverpool overcame champions Chelsea with a first half performance from Fernando Torres which reminded us all why he is so revered throughout the world. Two goals, the second a sublime curling effort, proved too much for Chelsea at Anfield and served to open up the title race. It also exposed how Chelsea struggle without their big hitters Lampard, Essien and Drogba. It was no coincidence that their performance improved in the second half with the introduction of the Ivorian, but for those who have the big striker in their team, a single point was a disappointing return.
Overall this week served up its fair share of headaches, underperformance of key players and low scores across the board. Thankfully we only have two days before the next Gameweek comes along.
