as tempting as it is to write about a fantastic victory for arsenal, i am slightly disappointed that our win has effectively handed manchester united a 20th premier league trophy: as born and bred united hater, i had to pray for the impossibility of qpr winning at old trafford so if arsenal were to beat city, it wouldn't affect the title race. but a comfortable 2-0 victory for manchester united meant city had to take all three points from their match at the emirates.
controversy has been a constant through manchester city's campaign and with the carlos tevez affair, city could have been excused for a bad run in october and november but first half of the season, they played some truly brilliant football and were the envy of the rest of the premier league, including their manchester rivals who they thumped 6-1 away from home. and at the start of the new year, it looked as if big spending manchester city would win the premier league comfortably and at this time, they deserved to. kompany was immense, david silva was in terrific form and aguero looked unplayable at times.
2012 was a complete different story. it's not so much the football that we've all been focusing on but instead the behaviour of a troublesome striker from italy. the young man that mancini has put all faith in could have lost his manager his job. balotelli has an enormous amount of talent but his petulance has cost his side too many points and eventually, fans will grow tired of 'super mario'. his performance against arsenal earlier on today may have singalled the end of his manchester city career. lucky to escape an automatic red for a dangerous challenge on alex song early on, the referee booked balotelli mid way through the first half for persistent fouls: the striker was lucky the referee didn't have better views of the previous challenges or he could have been off for an early shower, A LOT earlier.
his manager had already admitted this week that he cannot trust balotelli and today, this was proved yet again. another reckless tackle, this time on sagna, towards the end of the match meant balotelli had to go. whether it be selfishness or just pure naivety, balotelli couldn't put the needs of his team above himself and this is why he needs to be sold, preferably as soon as the transfer window opens. as entertaining as he's been at times, mario is a disruptive influence in the manchester city side.
it's such a shame that balotelli will probably never reach his potential because of his attitude and behaviour. anybody taking on the challenge of mario will know it's a huge gamble, one that hasn't paid off for city or mancini.
