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“Shut up!” That was the message from Liverpool’s Mario Balotelli on his Instagram account yesterday, as the Italian once again hit out at the ‘haters’ who have plagued his second spell in English football.

For those with an easy judge without knowing s*** about others. Good night

In fairness to Balotelli, he has had a hard life, as he emphatically stated, with his journey to the top of the footballing ladder having been a tough one filled with set-backs both on a personal and professional front.

He, however, does little to help himself, and considering the links with a move away from Anfield after just under a year on Merseyside, it’s hard to see the 24-year-old staying a part of Brendan Rodgers’ set-up, especially given the Reds’ recent impressive run of form.

So who should ‘shut up’? Mario or his critics? We think the former, and here are FIVE reasons why…

Four goals is… erm… shocking!

£16m is not a massive fee in terms of modern day football, but such an investment in a striker should bring plenty of goals, especially if he’s playing for one of the biggest sides in English football. However, Balotelli has a tally of four, one of which came from the penalty spot, to his name, despite playing over 20 games for his current side.

To put that into perspective, Raheem Sterling – a winger who has been used as a centre-forward – has six in the Premier League alone.

Simply doesn’t fit the Rodgers way of playing

Rodgers’ teams are all about fluid movement, high-tempo pressing, intelligent runs and tactical flexibility. Although a clearly talented player, Mario does not truly fit into any of those criteria, with his game based on power and individual magic. Balotelli’s show reel proves that he has some justification to his approach, but as long as Rodgers is in charge, it appears that he will not truly fit at Anfield.

Somewhat ironically, ‘Balo’ may well have been a success under previous managers such as Kenny Dalglish, Roy Hodgson and Rafa Bentiez, who would have been more inclined to make use of his hold-up capabilities.

Liverpool’s best run has come without him…

Liverpool have won eight of their last nine games, playing themselves right into contention for fourth place after a shocking start to the campaign. The Reds are undefeated in domestic action (over a 90 minute period, at least) in 2015, and this upturn in form has coincided with Balotelli’s peripheral first-team role.

The 24-year-old has been, largely, confined to the bench or dropped altogether, which has allowed Rodgers to get the players he needs on the pitch, and the points haul speaks for itself. Okay, Balotelli scored a massive goal to seal a 3-2 win at home to Spurs, but he’s done little else of not since Christmas.

He’s failed here before

He may have won the Premier League and the FA Cup in his spell at Man City, but Balotelli’s Etihad Stadium journey was one blighted with controversy and a failure to live up to expectations. Some big goals were scored, but fall-outs off the pitch and questionable actions on it saw him shuffle off back to Italy with his tail between his legs.

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Some players use such experiences to develop and move on, yet ‘Balo’ appears to have done little in terms of self-improvement.

Doesn’t get assists

To this day, Balotelli has one assist in Premier League action. That ball was the one from which Sergio Aguero scored the title-winning goal back in 2012. Not bad, eh?

But, to contribute to a Liverpool team that is all about the sum of its parts, Balotelli has to add creativity to his skill set, and it looks as if he’s just not cut out for that. Luis Suarez may have earned plaudits for his goal tally last season, but the Uruguayan also contributed 12 assists, which were just as important.

It might seem bizarre, but perhaps the bulk of the pain that stemmed from Arsenal’s 3-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, wasn’t necessarily from the the result itself.

Because on the face of it, as brutal as it may seem, seeing Jupp Heynckes’ side dismantle the Gunners shouldn’t and didn’t come as any real surprise. The nature of the performance and the way Arsenal went down naturally hurt supporters, but the fact was we simply saw a far superior team beating an inferior opponent. Had the game been replayed, nine times out of ten, the result would have been the same.

It’s in what the game stood for and to a greater extent, their entire season so far, that has really invoked the dejection. Arsenal are a club that should be challenging for Premier League titles and at the very least, giving the likes of Bayern Munich and the cream of Europe’s elite a genuine, competitive examination over the course of two ties.

Today, the club still harbors those sort of champagne dreams. The problem is, they’re backing it up with lemonade ambition. And until they change the psyche of settling for second best, no matter who is at the managerial helm, be it Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho or Martin Allen, the outcome is going to be the same.

The thorn in the narrative here is that Wenger has possessed a defining influence over the degradation of a mindset that has seen the club go from winning to Premier League titles to hoping to scrape a fourth placed finish. Has the competition been bloated by those on a vastly inflated financial footing? Yes. Has Wenger had to work behind a veiled set of financial constraints? Most probably, yes.

But have either of those factors made the Gunners’ slide from the top inexorable? Most certainly not.

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Much has been made of the correlation between wage expenditure and on-field success, but while it isn’t quite a direct marker of where a club should be heading, the servicing of a £154million wage bill at the Emirates Stadium, hardly marks the resources of a pauper. It might not be quite that of a Manchester City, but they should be doing a hell of a lot better for the sort of money they’re dishing out.

And it’s where that money is being dished out that lies some of the greatest faults in the current mindset of the club. On the wider scale of the Premier League, it seems somewhat difficult to justify the £100,000-a-week wages that Theo Walcott’s new contract has now afforded him. Within the club’s flawed wage ideology however, there’s no way they couldn’t justifiably not offer him the terms he demanded.

Until the deadwood has been shifted from the ranks, that wage bill is going to continue to saddle the club on its current direction. But it’s where you draw the line of the cull that needs to take place at Arsenal, that you realise quite the job the club have on their hands to start challenging for titles again.

Because if that’s where they truly feel they belong, then some radical changes are going to have to be made this summer. Let’s be under no illusions here, the core group of players that Arsenal have at their disposal are as good as any in this country. The likes of Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski are a set of extremely fine footballers indeed and in Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain amongst others, the club boast some exquisite young talent, too.

It’s hardly as if this is headline news here, but the fact is there simply isn’t enough of the aforementioned talent around at the club needed to reach the levels of expectations the fans rightly demand. And to get back to the top, both Wenger and the board need to rediscover the mindset of a winner, most notable, the cold streak of ruthlessness.

Who in this Arsenal squad isn’t good enough to even consider the thought of a Premier League title? Gervinho? Andrey Arshavin? Marouane Chamakh? If so, they’ve all got to go.

New contract or not, are the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Wojciech Szczesny realistically good enough to propel their side to the top of the Premier League table? If not, then they don’t belong in the first team. Simple as that.

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Throwing money at a problem isn’t necessarily going to solve all their issues, but for as much as investment may or may not be an issue at the Emirates, they’ve wasted enough money for far too long now. If resources are tight, than you have to make sure that every single penny invested or funds raised from transfer sales, is invested wisely back into the club. Now would be a good time to start doing it.

Arsene Wenger isn’t going to haul his club back up to the Premier League’s summit by sticking to the same set of principles that he has done for the last eight years. He has spent enough time harbouring untold levels of patience towards members of this squad, only to be mercilessly let down time and time again.

Call it a new sense of direction, a Eureka moment or simply a last roll of the dice in last chance saloon. Both Wenger and the hierarchy at Arsenal are going to have to learn to be ruthless if they want to get back to where they belong. Should they fail to regain that winning mentality, then maybe a change at the helm wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

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It would be fair to say that the Liverpool fans are excited about the potential of Rhian Brewster, who certainly has the tools to become a future star for the club.

The 18-year-old, who fired England to success at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup, spent six years with Chelsea’s youth system before joining Liverpool in 2014.

The centre-forward is yet to make his first-team bow for the Reds, but has managed five goals and seven assists in 11 Premier League 2 appearances for Liverpool’s Under-23 team during the 2017-18 campaign.

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It was actually Brewster’s 18th birthday on Sunday, and Liverpool’s Twitter account retweeted a message from the teenager on Monday afternoon.

Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to call Brewster into the first team in the final weeks of the 2017-18 campaign, but the Liverpool fans are hopeful that they will see the forward in action for the Reds, who are currently being strongly linked with Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, next term.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Football and beer go like bangers and mash or steak and chips. Often the perfect football experience is accompanied by a pint, or any other measurement you deem fit, of the good stuff, whether that be in the pub before the game or from the comfort of your very own living room. And the good people over at Sportingbeer have thought up a new and exciting way to mix your football and beer experience which may well add a new dimension to the whole event. Take the current Capital One Cup for example, the guys have put together this little box of joy…

So what is it?

For too long, sport (and football in particular) has been associated with large continental lagers which offer little character. Due to the recent rise in craft beer production in the UK, there are now over 1,000 breweries, found in all corners of the country. Sportingbeer aims to pair these great beers with their nearest football clubs to be enjoyed by supports as they watch their team play.

Sportingbeer are set to launch is a subscription pack for the Premier League season. For every Premier League game your team plays, you’ll receive two beers through the post (delivered in four quarterly boxes to your home or work). One will be brewed in a brewery near your club (sometimes a stone’s throw away); one will be brewed in a brewery close to your opponents that day. By drinking beers brewed locally to your club and your opponents club, you’ll be supporting British breweries instead of lining the pockets of huge brewing companies.

As well as delivering you some storming brews to drink, getting a Sportingbeer subscription will also allow you to rate the beers, using scorecards. Your ratings will be used to shape a league table of beers; at the end of the season, the 3 lowest-scoring beers will be relegated and the highest-scoring beer will be crowned champion. With one lucky subscriber winning a case of the beer for free!

Sounds good, right? We think so, and if you’re interested head over to their website to get involved or give them a follow on Twitter @sportingbeer_.

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Bottoms up!

Sportingbeer: Pairing fantastic, local beer with your favourite sporting events.

Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign Lyon midfielder Yoann Gourcuff on loan and are also mulling over an approach for Celtic enforcer Victor Wanyama, according to the Daily Mail.

The French playmaker has struggled for fitness and form during his two-and-a-half year spell at the Stade Gerland and hasn’t featured for Remi Garde’s side this season.

And the cash strapped Ligue 1 club are now keen to shift his £80,000-per-week wages in order to ease their dire financial situation.

Despite seeing his career blighted by injuries, the 26-year-old is still highly thought of in his native land and Arsene Wenger is reportedly preparing to take Les Gones up on their proposal to bring him to the Premier League on a temporary deal this month.

The Gunners boss is also pondering whether to reignite his interest in Wanyama this month with Chelsea and Manchester United thought to be monitoring the 21-year-old.

Since moving to Parkhead from Antwerp-based outfit Beerschott in July 2011 the Kenyan anchor man has come to the attention of the Premier League’s leading clubs after his dynamic performances in this season’s Champions League.

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Wenger has been linked with a number of midfielders in January, namely Marouane Fellaini, Yann M’Vila and Mohamed Diame, but reportedly sees Wanyama as the natural replacement for Alex Song.

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Leeds fans are absolutely delighted with the news that Pablo Hernandez has started discussions about extending his time at Elland Road.

It’s been a while since we’ve had some good news to share with Leeds fans, but the fact that fan favourite Pablo Hernandez has entered contract negotiations will be music to fans ears.

According to Sportsmail, the winger has started discussions and the club are hopeful he will agree to stay beyond the summer. Manager Paul Heckingbottom is a big fan of Hernandez.

The Spaniard will be 33 by this summer, but is nonetheless one of Leeds’ best players and certainly their most creative outlet.

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In a season that has gone from decent to terrible in dramatic fashion, Hernandez has still managed four goals and seven assists despite missing some time through injury.

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There hasn’t been much to cheer about at Elland Road since Boxing Day, but tying up Hernandez to an extended deal would be the first step in preparing to right the wrongs next season.

Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

Roma are not considering selling Kevin Strootman to Manchester United or Chelsea and president James Pallotta is “angry” with the rumours surrounding his star midfielder, according to general director Mauro Baldissoni.

The Netherlands international has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford since Louis van Gaal took over the Red Devils, while Jose Mourinho’s Blues have been aligned with the 24-year-old in recent days.

Strootman has been out of action with a serious knee injury for much of 2014 – he missed the World Cup – and has only just returned to first-team duties with Roma – who he signed for last year from PSV Eindhoven.

WANT MORE? >> Chelsea transfer news | Man United transfer news

Even with his fitness still a worry, rumours have suggested that £30m+ offers will be considered by the Italian giants, but Baldissoni has revealed that this is not the case, and that the speculation is annoying for the club:

“Our (club) president (James Pallotta) has already spoken about this and he gets angry with the rumours that link him (Kevin) to Manchester United,” Baldissoni said to Italian radio station Radio Anch’Io Lo Sport: “Our policy is that of investing in players that have quality but have room for improvement.

“Kevin is a young player with experience, and we want to build our future with players like him.”

Roma were recently eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage, which has led to talk that the financial hit may force them to sell players of Strootman’s value and quality.

But, Baldissoni is adamant that there is no truth to such suggestions thanks to their careful planning:

“We were cautious and we did not include the revenue of a possible progression to the last 16 of the Champions League on our books,

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“Hence, we have no need to put our books in order. Everything is correct and we are in no need to sell.

“We will evaluate the market based on what the team needs from a technical standpoint because our first mission is that of winning games.”

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Kolo Toure has urged Manchester City to offer him a new contract, by insisting that he wants to stay at the club.

The Ivorian defender joined the Sky Blues from Premier League rivals Arsenal as one of the first stars to arrive under the reign of Sheikh Mansour three-and-a-half years ago.

After captaining the club in his first season, Toure has struggled for game time of late, with Vincent Kompany and Matija Nastasic appearing to be Roberto Mancini’s first choice centre-back pairing.

Despite this, the 31-year-old hinted that he wants to stay, and extend his contract which expires at the end of the season:

“I like it in England. I have been here for all my career and it’s great to play in England.” He told SkySports.

“I really enjoy it, that is why I brought my brother (Yaya) here!

“There are challenges coming and there are changes in life, and I will deal with that if it happened. I wish to stay, but you never know.”

Toure received a six-month ban for doping last season, and believes that he owes City for their decision to stick by him:

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“The club has been here for me. Even through my tough time, everyone was behind me – the people and the staff at the club, everybody, the chairman, everybody.

“To have this support is great and that is why it would be much more difficult to leave.”

Perry strikes first-ball on debut for Hampshire but is unable to prevent 37-run defeat

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Jul-2025The Blaze reasserted their Women’s Vitality Blast qualification charge with a rock-solid 37-run victory over Hampshire at Queen’s Park, Chesterfield.Kirstie Gordon’s side bounced back from their defeat to Warwickshire by recovering from a scrappy start to reach 188 for six thanks to Heather Graham (73, 47 balls) and Ella Claridge (51 not out, 36) who added 76 from 51 balls for the fifth wicket. Ellyse Perry, on her debut, took a wicket with her first ball for Hampshire on the way to two for 23.Hampshire replied with 151 all out, only Rhianna Southby’s classy T20-best 64 (42) defying for long against a Blaze attack led by Kathryn Bryce (four for 13). The Hawks’ defeat means they, or any other side, have a great deal to do in the remaining games to reel in top three Blaze, Surrey and Warwickshire.Put in, Blaze were given a brisk start by Marie Kelly (16 from seven balls) but then lost three wickets in nine balls. Kelly’s off-stump was uprooted by Freya Davies who two balls later took a simple catch at mid on, offered by Georgia Elwiss off Rebecca Tyson. Kathryn Bryce then edged Perry’s first ball to wicketkeeper Southby.Graham was immediately fluent and, though Davies returned to trap Sarah Bryce lbw with a yorker, Claridge supplied vital support. Claridge contributed only eight of the first 50 added by the fifth-wicket pair but was the perfect foil for the Australian who exploited a reprieve on six, when she was dropped at short third man by Tyson off Daisy Gibb, to reach 50 from 34 balls.Graham was threatening to take the game right away from Hampshire when she drove a low full toss from Perry back to the bowler. Michaela Kirk walked across one from Georgia Adams and was bowled but Claridge closed the innings with a flurry of fours to reach a 36-ball half-century and, with Sarah Glenn, plunder 37 from the last 14 balls of the innings.Perry launched Hampshire’s reply with three fours from her first nine balls but perished in pursuit of a fourth when she lifted Kathryn Bryce to mid on. Gordon accepted that catch and inflicted further damage with her first ball which she flighted past Freya Kemp’s charge to hit leg-stump.Adams clipped Kathryn Bryce to mid-wicket and, as the required rate climbed, Southby carried the fight to Blaze, passing a boundary-laden half-century from 36 balls. Southby and Abi Norgrove added 54 from 32 balls but fell in successive overs as the pressure grew.Both were bowled, Southby slogging at Graham and Norgrove beaten in the flight by Kathryn Bryce. Hampshire’s chase disintegrated with Megan Sturge suffering the rotten luck of being run out without facing a ball on her Hawks debut.

Laura Wolvaardt has been confirmed as the full-time captain, while Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx have earned their maiden national-team call-ups

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2023South Africa have handed T20I call-ups for the first time to Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx for the three T20I at home against Bangladesh. Marizanne Kapp, playing for Sydney Thunder in the WBBL, has been rested for the T20Is but will return for the ODIs that will follow.Injuries will force fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka (knee), and allrounders Chloe Tryon (groin) and Nadine de Klerk (side) to miss out altogether.Meanwhile, as reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier this month, Laura Wolvaardt has been confirmed as the full-time captain of the team, taking over the reins from Sune Luus. Wolvaardt had earlier led South Africa in their away assignment in Pakistan and at home against New Zealand in an interim capacity.Related

• Lata Mondal back in Bangladesh squad for South Africa tour

• Wolvaardt to take over as full-time South Africa captain

“Having Laura Wolvaardt as the official captain, together with a blend of young and experienced players bodes well for our succession planning,” Clinton du Preez, convenor of selectors, said. “It will also assist within the excitement we have around the squad in giving young players an opportunity and therefore we are looking forward to seeing them put up their hand and make impactful performances in this upcoming tour.”Hlubi is a seamer and was part of South Africa’s squad at the Under-19 T20 World Cup earlier this year, and returned three wickets in four matches in the competition. More recently, she began the CSA Women’s Division One T20s with two wickets in two outings at an economy of 4.56.Marx is part of the South Africa emerging side’s tour of Zimbabwe, and has picked up three wickets in three matches and has a strike rate of 103.57 with the bat. She is also Titans’ leading wicket-taker in the domestic T20s this season with four strikes.”The inclusion of Ayanda Hlubi and Eliz-Mari Marx gives great confidence to rewarding performances at the professional level,” du Preez said. “They have been instrumental with their domestic performances in the past season for their respective provinces.”Marizanne Kapp will take a break after the WBBL and link up with the team for the ODIs•Gallo Images/Getty Images

Following impressive outings on the emerging tour and in the domestic T20s, seam-bowling allrounder Annerie Dercksen also returned to the 15-member side after completing full recovery from the finger fracture that kept her out of the Pakistan tour.”For the T20Is, this is where we are going to look, where possible, to blend in youngsters and give an opportunity to expose them at this level to keep growing the base,” head coach Hilton Moreeng said. “Overall, we have a lot of good youngsters coming through and the squad is becoming stronger and stronger every day with a more challenging environment, so we as a team are looking forward to that.”It’s another opportunity for some of these youngsters to show what they can do while not losing sight of what we want to achieve overall when it comes to the entire tour.”The three T20Is will take place in Benoni and Kimberley between December 3 and December 8, with the three ODIs to be played between December 16 and December 23 in East London, Potchefstroom and Benoni respectively.South Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Lara Goodall, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Delmi Tucker