Balotelli not the cause of Liverpool's problems

Forty-two days. That's all it has taken. No more than seven games. To be honest, that must be some sort of record. Yes, Mario Balotelli has played seven times for Liverpool. He has been on Merseyside for 42 days. He has already earned himself the epithet - from at least one newspaper - of "£16 million flop", which has already prompted publicity-seeking bookmakers to slash the odds on him leaving Anfield in January, or next summer. That, whichever way you look at it, is pretty good going.