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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. 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Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie.PITTSBURGH -- The Philadelphia Flyers used dominating special teams to sweep a weekend home-and-home series against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. Wayne Simmonds had two power-play goals in the first period, Matt Read had a short-handed tally and Philadelphia killed off all four Pittsburgh power plays in a 4-3 victory on Sunday afternoon. It was the second victory in as many days for the surging Flyers against their cross-state rivals. Philadelphia had a power-play goal, a short-handed goal and was a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in a 4-0 win against the Penguins at home on Saturday. "The power play was good again, the penalty kill was good again," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Lots of shots, lots of chances. We played a pretty solid game." Philadelphia improved to 5-1-1 in its past seven. Including playoffs, the Flyers are 10-2-1 all-time at Consol Energy Center (8-1-1 in the regular season). "I know the boys in this locker room love playing against them," said Philadelphia goalie Steve Mason, who allowed three goals on 48 shots during the weekend sweep. "Whether were in their head or not, we dont really care. We get amped up to play against them." Defencemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen and recent call-up Jayson Megna scored for the injury-riddled Penguins, who lost two straight in regulation for the first time since dropping three in a row from Nov. 6-13. During the final seconds, the Penguins Sidney Crosby hit the post with a backhand off a pass from Evgeni Malkin while skating down the right wing. "(The post) is all I gave him, though," Mason deadpanned. "Its part of the equipment." Pittsburgh still holds a commanding lead in the Metropolitan Division, but remained three points behind the Boston Bruins in the race for the Eastern Conferences top seed. The Penguins fell to 18-2 in March home games over the past three seasons. They were 10-0 at home last March. "The last two seasons, March has been too easy for us," Niskanen said. "We go through with just a breeze, and I think we go into the playoffs overconfident. Right now, were in a little bit of a bump in the road and were going to have to fight for it." Simmonds assisted on Brayden Schenns goal 2:06 into the game and then scored twice in a 6:54 span to give the Flyers a three-goal lead 14 minutes in. Reads goal was his third goal of the weekend for Philadelphia, which entered Sunday holding down the eighth and final spot in the conference standings. Making starts on consecutive days for only the second time this season, Marc-Andre Fleury made a lunging glove save on the first shot he faced Sunday, fromm Simmonds.dddddddddddd But he couldnt control the puck in his glove and it fluttered to Schenn in the slot, who slid it in past a diving Penguins defenceman Robert Bortuzzo for his 17th of the season. Claude Giroux assisted on Simmonds 20th and 21st goals, the first of which was with 13:13 left in the first when he deflected a Kimmo Timonen shot from the point. Simmonds made it 3-0 when he corralled a rebound while uncovered and beat Fleury to end his afternoon after just 13:41. "The way we started the game," Timonen said, "it was perfect." Under siege by a Philadelphia attack that Pittsburgh had issues dealing with, Fleury allowed seven goals on 55 shots in less than four periods covering 24 hours against the Flyers. Rookie Jeff Zatkoff replaced him. Without their top two goal-scoring wingers -- Chris Kunitz (lower body) and James Neal (concussion) -- for the second consecutive game, the Penguins were held to fewer than four goals for the eighth consecutive game. That hadnt happened to them since early in the 2011-12 season. A pair of defencemen pulled Pittsburgh within a goal with slap shots from the point that found their way through traffic and past Mason. Orpik was credited with his second of the season with 2:27 left in the first, and Niskanen tallied his 10th at 5:50 of the second. But Read had a short-handed goal for the second straight day, finishing a 2-on-1 break himself with a wrist shot for his 19th of the season. Megna tapped in a nice pass from Brian Gibbons to cut the Penguins deficit to 4-3 with 3:41 left in the second, but Pittsburgh failed to score on 11 third-period shots. Pittsburgh has the NHLs No. 1 power play and No. 2 penalty kill but lost the special teams battle 5-0 over the weekend against the Flyers. "We play Pittsburgh a ton of games a year, and our power play has been successful against them since Ive been there," Simmonds said. "I think we kind of know where theyre going to come from. "I dont want to say we try to pick them apart, but we know where theyre going to come from and we try to change our point of attack. And it seems to be working." Notes: The Penguins announced after the game that D Kris Letang was cleared to practice and will practice with the team Monday. Letang has not played since suffering a stroke Jan. 29. ... Penguins F Beau Bennett was cleared for full practice after missing the past 43 games with a wrist/hand injury. ... Penguins D Simon Despres was a healthy scratch. ... Giroux has five assists in the past three games. ... Crosby, who had 74 points over his first 45 career games against Philadelphia, was scoreless in the home-and-home series. ' ' '