7 reasons Ba and not 'Telli

Ba - 27 years is a Forward who recently moved from Newcastle United to Chelsea. His professional form this season has generated lots of attention from local and international media. An unnoticed but steady rise to the spotlight has characterized this chap's career.

Balotelli - 22 years is a Forward. One never to get in a hurry. He is particularly famous for providing media with events to always talk about - on and off the ball. Prolific and solid on the ball. Erratic and unpredictable off it. 

Temperament   
Ba infuses a certain docility to play that makes co-work with team mates and managers rich and mutually beneficial. Two yellow cards in 20 games is a bold attestation to his meticulousness off the ball.

Balotelli brings intensity when on the ball. Off the ball and the pitch, he's consistently been a nuisance to his team and the public. 7 yellow cards in 17 games as a start for Manchester City - a feat that drives one into the obvious question; has he become a defender? This may best describe the point being tried to make here.

                                           Balotelli                                Ba
Career Appearances            53                                     66
Yellow cards                          14                                      2
Red cards                               3                                       0

Proficiency
Both are pretty much lethal as central forwards to any central defender braced to extinguish them. Ba though having the advantage of age and appearances has a significantly more rewarding streak than Balotelli. Ba has a combined goals record of 37 in 66 games. Balotelli's got 20 in 53 games.

This is makes Ba 56.06% proficient and Balotelli 37.74% proficient.

Composure
Though judgement here can be quite subjective, it is widely agreeable to peg Ba a better chance converter than Balotelli. The proficiency record above should buttress this claim.
  
Personality
Described by Jose Mourinho as 'unmanageable' and Roberto Mancini as 'crazy', Mario Balotelli brings to the fore a delinquency that shadows true sportsmanship and dampens the respect he sometimes deserves from football spectators. Ba on the other hand has been fortunate with team mates and managers inter personally. His religious piety is noticeable in his trademark goal celebrations of a Muslim prayer.

Influence
Making it to ESPN's Premier League's Best for the first half of last season as well as being named Premier League Footballer of the month for December 2011 are accolades Demba Ba can readily revel in. His sterling form this season has also given him reasons to consistently feature on the highest goal scorers list this term. Balotelli on the converse may not have such happy stories to tell though but could also boast of having a song chanted in his honour by Manchester City fans, bagging the 2011 FA cup final man of the match award and a 2010 Golden Boy award given by Italian journalists.

Mission Conciousness
Though stats may be lacking, you definitely can be assured Ba would keep his eye on the goal and chase that all day. Balotelli would almost definitely lose it somewhere - a phenomenon that scares managers from starting him in games.

Stability
Physically, Balotelli might have the upper hand because of Ba's injury proneness. A litany of injuries at various club sides led West Ham United in 2011 to effect a 'pay as you play policy' in the young man's stint with the club.
Mentally - which proves most vital sees Ba easily upturn Balotelli. Not wont to lose his temper for losing balls like Balotelli will, Ba's carefulness makes his play the least to prone to referee scolds and cards.  

The Stalwart

United - a side which has shown dramatic but consistent leadership in its premiership campaign this term this season host Liverpool (one side which has mixed tales of its premiership sojourn) next week Sunday with a huge doubt cast over the start of this prominent attacker in the squad's ensemble. United have an 83.3% win streak over their last six games - a record unequaled by any other side in the league.

Though not always stellar but definitely pivotal in display, Wayne Rooney often features as an architect behind the attack's point man tactically. Today, He's still nurses a knee ligament injury that has seen him sidelined for the past three games for the red devils. His expected return date is slated for 13th January - United's home game with Liverpool; but manager Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted he's not in a hurry.     

The Rafalyst

Much must be given to Chelsea's recent resurgence from a poor performance streak in recent competitive games. Rafael Benitez - Chelsea's head coach should obviously take credit for this but, what could this 52 year old gaffer have infused that was evidently lacking in the ensemble of erstwhile manager Roberto DiMatteo. From the Sidelines assumes an investigative role to unearth clues to what this personality has brought to Stamford Bridge. 

Iconic personalities

PAULO  FUTRE

Position: Winger Clubs: Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Marseille, Reggiana, AC Milan, West Ham, Yokohama Flugels

Injury: Knee Age at first injury: 21 Age at decline: 26 Age at retirement: 32

Games per season before decline: 28
Games per season after decline: 10
Few players have been able to bring a crowd to their feet like Portuguese wing-wizard Paulo Futre. An international at 17, the left-footed wideman was near-unstoppable in full flight down the flank - as he showcased to stunning effect in Porto's 1987 European Cup final win over Bayern Munich. It was this blistering style of play that ignited the interest of Atletico Madrid, whom Futre joined after that success. It was to be a move with damaging consequences.

The relentless physicality of the Spanish game left Futre a shadow of his former self by the time he left La Liga in 1993, with knee trouble having taken away his famous turn of pace. Typically always on the bike, Futre traveled back to Portugal before a succession of ill-fated moves to Italy, England, Spain again, and then Japan concluded a career that should have offered so much more.

Iconic personalties

SEBASTIEN  DEISLER

Position: Winger Clubs: Monchengladbach, Hertha BSC, Bayern Munich Injury: Knee Age at first injury: 19 Age at decline: 21 Age at retirement: 27 Games per season before decline: 21 Games per season after decline: 12

Deisler's career coupled phenomenal talent with personal turmoil. Seen by many as the last German with the ability to seriously contend for the Ballon d'Or, the man from Lorrach in the Wiese Valley emerged at the dawn of the new millennium as the nation's only youngster with the potential for global domination.

It wasn't to be, however, as a cruciate ligament rupture in 1999 was followed by a number of relapses up until and during his time at Bayern Munich, where his career would eventually come to an end. Under immense pressure at the Bundesliga's largest club as the nation waited with bated breath for their bright new hope to blossom into one of the world's great wingers, Deisler suffered from depression throughout his time in Bavaria, and was eventually forced to retire in 2007 with only 135 professional appearances under his belt.

The game

Football...soccer...are terms today that describe the century-old beautiful round leather game whose presence is so preeminent on local and international media. Acclaimed as this sport is, emotions generated from this game have had an array of paradoxical effects on humanity; avid and addictive followership, harshening of preexistent racial prejudices, global fraternization and sadly...death in a lot of instances.