Who's Playing Who?

Love him or hate him, this man is at the centre of everything.

Another sporadic blog post… who doesn’t love them? This week I was prompted to write in response to one incident. You may have seen it.

Why always me?

Does a week go by when this man isn’t in the headlines? Mario Balotelli was at the centre of it all, yet again. After being bought down in the box deep in extra time, he calmly slotted home a penalty which gave Man City a vital victory over league rivals Tottenham.

However, many have claimed the player should have been sent off earlier in the match, after a rather unfortunate incident involving Scott Parker. If you haven’t seen it, check it out here.

It seems that the English press is fairly unanimous in their view – Balotelli should have been sent off. Seeing as he wasn’t, they believe he should now miss some serious game time as a penalty for such an act.

I think they all just need to calm down.

The first strike was clearly accidental, but the second has been labelled as more than questionable.

This might be controversial, but from my point of view the player was simply trying to steady himself, with little regard for whom or what was around him. It was reckless, but not intentional.

I know who we’re dealing with. I know his history of brain explosions. But I’m of the view that the incident was unintentional. Unfortunate? Yes. Unavoidable? Perhaps not.

Ridiculous amounts of cash

The January transfer window is known for its bizarre rumours and exorbitant transfer fees, and it’s here where player agents really shine. Hulk (Porto/Brazil) may or may not have been surprised to find out he is worth a casual €100 million.

Here’s what his agent Teodoro Fonseca told Radio Renascenca:

“Hulk is one of the best players in the world and he is being followed by big clubs in Europe. One hundred million euros is not such a high figure. Every European club knows that the money spent on him would be compensated by his talent.”

I’m fairly sure clubs could find plenty of other things to spend one hundred million euros on. Just saying.

In other related news, Spurs have told Man City to cough up or forget about chasing Gareth Bale by putting a world-record £150 million fee on their man. Good move by the club – they keep one of the best players in the world, or in the unlikely event that City pays the fee (it’s not going to happen), they’d be set for the next… forever.

Oh and the whole Modric thing is still going on. Man United have reportedly come knocking (again), and they’ve been told its £50 million or nothing.

I know I’ve been campaigning strongly for a quality creative midfielder, but 50 million is a bit steep, especially when there are plenty of other options out there.

Now that there’s no Champions League to focus on for United, I can’t help but think that waiting until the summer window might just be a smarter decision.

Tevezzzzzzzz

Is everyone else bored with the whole Tevez saga? I know I am.

Seriously – Inter, Milan, PSG, somebody! Please sign this player so we can all move on.

That’ll do me for now. Agree or disagree with anything above? I’d love to know what you think about any of these issues or anything else.

Leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter – @adrmcm.

Remember for all the latest player movements, head to our dedicated Premier League transfer page.