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Liverpool has swapped out one controversial striker for another, filling the offensive void left by Luis Suarez with the enigmatic Mario Balotelli. TSN Soccer Analyst Kristian Jack provides three things we learned from the Italian strikers move to Anfield. 1. Fenway Sports Group conducts its business away from the public eye. John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino leaned on Theo Epstein. As the Boston Red Sox moved from lovable losers to winners on the field, their dealings off the field were equally as professional. Of course, their budget helped, but a desire to keep all of their dealings in-house was not something the Fenway Sports Group wanted. It was something they demanded. Their pursuit of star shortstop Alex Rodriguez, then of the Texas Rangers, in 2003, made recently into a short film by ESPN, showed the lengths Epstein and his assistant Jed Hoyer went to try and land A-Rod. How they failed ultimately had nothing to do with their strategic pursuit. FSG have brought that method to Liverpool. This is no longer a club regularly linked with players for weeks before they sign them. Their business is done behind closed doors and the news only breaks when the transfer is a formality. The latest acquisition of Mario Balotelli highlights this attitude and also provides the exact reasons for such a strategy. Balotelli is arguably the most polarizing footballer on the planet. Any long, drawn-out pursuit of such a player can be mentally exhausting for any organization. Liverpool conducted their search the right way and the moment it became public no one could question whether the Reds should get the Italian, as it was already a done deal. 2. Liverpool continue to shop at a realistic level when pursuing players. They do not have the budget of Manchester City or the pull geographically of Chelsea or Arsenal. They cannot afford to sign genuine world class stars on some of the sports largest contracts. However, that doesnt mean Liverpool cannot attract good players. When they sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea they want shopping at the cheaper, Dutch Erevidisie, store and brought in Luis Suarez. With Suarez at Barcelona, Liverpool went on a search to find his replacement. They were linked with Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao but they were never realistically in their price range. Those are in the elite class of centre-forwards, a class Liverpool shouldnt waste their time looking at. Instead, Liverpool have landed on a player with incredible potential, a player who they could help graduate to such a class within the next couple of years. It represents great business for manager Brendan Rodgers and CEO Ian Ayre who get a player with experience at the top level but who has underperformed during his career so far. It sends a message to the other players in the squad that the club is serious about maintaining their current level as contenders for Champions League spots each season. Much like the Suarez signing, it is also an acquisition that can set them for years because if Rodgers gets the best out of Balotelli he could end up selling him for five times the price when he is at the peak of his career in two or three seasons. 3. Balotelli remains one of the most overrated players in the game. It will be said that three major clubs have now happily moved on from the Italian and he is only 24. While this is true, the move away from Manchester City was the real indictment on the strikers career. At Inter he left for the bright lights of England under Roberto Mancini with a substantial pay packet, while at Milan it was clear the team was not good enough to have to put up with the issues he brings. Many of the issues off the field have been reported regularly but Balotellis biggest issue of all is the type of player he is on the field. At Manchester City he was incapable of adapting to different roles. He sulked when being taken off, was a liability when asked to play in any other position than up top and wasnt mentally strong enough to wait for his chance. The sport can humble players very quickly but the position he plays requires tremendous patience and maturity as you might only get one chance to win a game. Balotellis ineffectiveness in this area is not down to immaturity. He is three years younger than Lionel Messi and, at 24, is far from the kid many refer to him as. Such negative aspects of his game meant he was no longer a fit in a very good side like City who had better players. It also meant he was no longer a fit in a very average side like Milan because his demands didnt match up with the talent around him. His demands have also not matched up with his own talent. He is built very much like a striker who can play up top on his own, but his overall attitude and tendency to drift out of games is one of the reasons he hasnt started as many Champions League games as he should have. He has an abysmal scoring record in that competition and that will need to change quickly for him to reach the next level. How he left his three previous teams was not all down to his own inefficiencies, however, each time the jury remained out on what type of player he can become. He now goes to a club that will embrace him, a club that creates many goal scoring opportunities that will give him many situations in which to succeed. Balotellis time is now: A time that will allow the jury of public opinion to sit back and see if he develops. How and when he ultimately ends up leaving Liverpool will tell us exactly what type of player he has become. Phillies Jerseys 2019 . -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. Custom Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys . Alfredo Simon lowered his ERA to 0.86, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Friday for their 16th win in their last 17 games at the Friendly Confines. https://www.cheapphilliesjerseys.us/ .J. Barea during a three-game shooting slump that was getting him booed off his home court with regularity. Cheap Phillies Jerseys . -- Olympic medallist Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que. Phillies Jerseys China .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft.WUHAN, China -- Caroline Garcia followed up her first-round win over Venus Williams with a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) upset win over fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska on Monday at the inaugural Wuhan Open. The 20-year-old Frenchwoman went for broke, continuing to hit big ground strokes despite piling up unforced errors as she tried to keep Radwanska on the back foot. Its pretty different game between Venus and Radwanska, but I did the same game for myself, Garcia said. Against these kind of girls like Radwanska you have to do (this kind) of game ... sometime you can miss, but I knew it was the only way I can win this today. In first-round matches, No. 10 Jelena Jankovic beat Christina McHale of the United States 6-4, 6-4 and No. 11 Sara Errani of Italy reeled off the last six games to beat Heather Watson of Britain 7-5, 6-4. Ninth-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who won the title in Tokyo on the weekend, was among the four seeded players who lost on Monday. She retired with a thigh problem when Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was serving for the match at 7-5, 6-5, while No. 12 and Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova retired with a left ankle problem at the start of the third set after splitting the first two sets with American Madison Keys. Sabine Lisicki of Germany beat No. 14 Lucie Safarova 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 and Australian qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova ousted No. 15 Flavia Pennetta 6-1, 6-4. Mona Barthel of Germany beat crowd favourite Peng Shuai of China 6-2, 7-6 (1) and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic had a 6-4, 6-4 win over former U.ddddddddddddS. Open champion Sam Stosur. Among those advancing were Alize Cornet of France, Casey Dellacqua of Australia, Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain and U.S. player Coco Vandeweghe, who beat Annika Beck of Germany 6-3, 6-2. Almost all the WTAs top 20 players are in Wuhan, with the notable exception of hometown player Li Na, who announced her retirement last Friday. The strength of the field and the more than $2 million on offer in prize money reflect the importance the womens tour continues to place on the booming Asian tennis market. Wuhan is one of three new WTA-level tournaments added in China this year, along with Hong Kong and Tianjin. The newcomers bring the total number of tournaments in China to six -- behind only the United States, which has eight. The season-ending WTA Championship was also moved this year to Singapore through 2018. All the additions mean that the elite players are spending a considerable amount of time in Asia in coming months. Maria Sharapova, who was due to play her opening match later Monday against fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, credited the success of two-time major winner Li and her massive appeal in China for the WTAs push into Asia. I think she was one of the biggest reasons why there is such an international tournament in Wuhan. She brought all of us here, so I think its a little extra sad that she wont be participating this year, Sharapova said. ' ' '