"Mario Balotelli is set to be fined for swapping shirts with Real Madrid defender Pepe during half-time of Liverpool's 3-0 Champions League defeat to the European champions."
A big deal is being made of this action and seems to have overshadowed the fact that Liverpool were overwhelmingly beaten at home. I personally do not see why such a minor misdemeanour is overblown and kudos to Gary Lineker for being brave in coming out on this issue when others just jump on the bandwagon. "Gary Lineker has backed under-fire forward Mario Balotelli and revealed he sees no problem with players wanting to swap shirts half way through matches. The enigmatic forward caused uproar when he swapped shirts with Real Madrid defender Pepe during half time of his side's 3-0 defeat at Anfield. But the Match of the Day presenter claimed he doesn't feel such actions have any negative effects, and can't see why supporters are so angry with the 24-year-old."
This is a detraction from the larger issues at stake. For one, the purchasing, management and personal issues at Anfield can be laid squarely at the feet of the club management. There was a feeling that Liverpool might emulate Spurs in blowing their windfall from the Suarez sale and Rodgers took great pains to assure the public this would not be so. Now it seems this is exactly what has happened. Despite the large outlay, Liverpool are still deficient in the attacking and defending departments. Many in the game now believe Brendan Rodger's judgement to be suspect (http://bleacherreport.com/tb/dfcSC?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=liverpool). Jamie Carragher points out that none of Liverpool's summer acquisitions have contributed significantly so far.
Another point that remains sticking is the seeming inability of our manager to overcome the defensive propensity to ship loads of goals. This leads one to question the actual capability of Rodgers and lends credibility to Luis Suarez's claim that it was Suarez that brought Liverpool up last season.
I hope that I am proven wrong and more tangible actions, unlike fining Balotelli, are taken to address the decline.
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