FIVE reasons Brendan Rodgers must keep faith in Mario Balotelli

It’s been an incredibly frustrating season for Mario Balotelli. The Liverpool striker is still yet to find his first goal in the Premier League since joining the Anfield ranks this summer, and his goal-shy run was epitomised yesterday afternoon with a harrowing point-blank miss against QPR.

An eternally enigmatic figure, critics of the Italy international are not hard to find. Alan Shearer and John Hartson both gave Balotelli a stern tongue-lashing on Match of the Day 2 yesterday evening, and after suuch a disappointing performance, Brendan Rodgers might soon find himself convinced into dropping the 23-year-old.

But we at Football FanCast believe that would be a huge mistake and just to prove it, here’s FIVE reasons the Reds gaffer must maintain his faith in the £16million signing.

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What he’s capable of

Amid his harrowing absence of form, it’s worth reminding ourselves of just how talented Mario Balotelli actually is.

Take this worldly stunner for example:

Or this one:

Or this goal with his shoulder:

Or for that matter, any of these:

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Clearly, the Italian international is yet to produce that kind of quality for Liverpool, with him still waiting to hit the net in the Premier League and missing this absolute sitter against QPR yesterday:

But finally breaking his league duck will breed huge confidence in the 24 year-old, hopefully instigating a return to the 40 yard piledriving Balotelli we’ve all enjoyed watching over the years.

No Daniel Sturridge

Injured striker Daniel Sturridge, who could now be out until mid-November, is a massive loss for Liverpool, but even more so for Mario Balotelli.

Indeed, whilst the England international possesses the pace and agility to test the space behind defensive lines, Balotelli’s presence in the final third is far less penetrating, often dropping deep and operating with his back to goal.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but it does contrast quite significantly with Liverpool’s style of play last season, defined by the sensational speed of Sturridge, Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling on the counter-attack.

Balotelli needs Sturridge’s penetration to create him more space in the final third – in fact, the entire starting XI has struggled to rediscover the breakneck intensity they played at last season – and it’s incredibly telling that the only game to witness both strikers feature together thus far was a 3-0 thumping over Tottenham at White Hart Lane:

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And having the 25 year-old back will not only improve Liverpool’s attack from a tactical perspective, but perhaps most importantly, alleviate the pressure on Balotelli to score goals.

He’s not Liverpool’s only (or biggest) problem

Indeed, with Liverpool already looking so far behind the team that rocketed their way to a runner-up finish in the Premier League last season, it can be easy to scapegoat a single player – especially one as controversial as Mario Balotelli.

But in truth, the vast majority of Liverpool’s squad have struggled to hit top gear this season, as shown below:

And the Reds looked equally as suspect during a shaky 2-1 victory over Southampton and a 3-1 loss to Manchester City without Balotelli as they have with the Italian international in the side.

Shoddy defending has arguably been an even bigger problem – Liverpool’s twelve goals conceded is the worst defensive record in the Premier League’s top half:

And Brendan Rodgers should be more concerned with the fact Liverpool conceded twice against a QPR side that until the weekend had averaged just 0.29 goals per match.

Likewise, even Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard’s form has been called into question this season as he finds himself marked out of games at the base of Liverpool’s diamond:

So it’s not as if Balotelli’s wayward form is the only dilemma Brendan Rodgers currently faces.

He is trying

Whether Mario Balotelli has the right ambition, attitude and temperament to become a top-class striker remains open to debate, but no one can discredit his level of effort since joining the Anfield ranks. Take his heat map against QPR for example:

And compare it to Daniel Sturridge’s against Spurs back in September:

As you can see, hardly poles apart. In fact, the Italian has arguably been making the job tougher on himself by coming deeper and deeper to try and get on the ball.

Likewise, only one player in Europe’s top five leagues has averaged more attempts on goal than Mario Balotelli this season – Cristiano Ronaldo – so clearly, he is trying to influence games.

In fact, the 24 year-old’s biggest problem right now is arguably trying too hard instead of relaxing:

This is the deal with Mario Balotelli

To amalgamate this entire article into one single point, this is essentially the deal you get with Mario Balotelli.

Rarely accused of having a mediocre game, the Italian tends to be either the hero or the villain of the piece, producing stunners like this:

…or absolute howlers like this:

There is no real middle ground, no half measures. Fans either love or loathe Balotelli, just as he’s either at top gear or stuck in reverse, which is probably why he only cost Liverpool £16million this summer.

Look on the bright side. First of all, horrendous form currently suggests proficiency could be just around the corner. And secondly, at least Balotelli hasn’t got himself sent off yet:

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