Berba gives us all a birthday present against the dippers
I’ve defended him over the years when many people wanted his head after his casual penalty miss against Everton in the F.A Cup semi-final, and when he failed to produce as we drew 0-0 at Ewood park and effectively threw away the league. I even got into a very heated argument with my brother right before last season. So you can imagine my joy when Dimitar started last season in brilliant form as he shot out of the traps scoring seven goals in six games. We were struggling, but the form of Nani and Berbatov kept the team going.
Then Berbatov went through a 10 game barren spell where his early season confidence vanished into thin air. Low points include one of the worst performances of the season against Bursapor where he moaned his way through the match as his frustrations grew and he was then left out of the squad altogether against both Wolves and Wigan. It seemed Berbatov’s season was going straight down the toilet, until the 27th of November that is. Berba returned to the team and it took him less then a couple of minutes to poke the ball past a limping Paul Robinson. You could see the share mixture of joy and relief in his face as his confidence bounced back and he went to 4 more goals in that game and 3 more in his next two starts.
As Rooney continued to miss fire in front of goal, it was Berbatov again who was the man putting the ball into the back of net. The switch of form was enormous that it was Rooney who was taken off for the oncoming Hernandez as United were two-nil down against Blackpool. United would go on to win 3-2 with Berbatov and Hernandez scoring the goals. For Dimitar Berbatov everything was going great. That was until an away trip to Wigan saw the beginning of a fantastic partnership. With a two crunch games against Chelsea and Liverpool to follow, many presumed that Berbatov was being saved for more important games as he sat on the bench against Wigan. However, Hernandez took his chance emphatically and scored two goals in a 4-0 rout at the DW stadium. From then on Berbatov would only start 5 more games as the season reached it denouement.
He still made an impact from the bench, scoring the last gasp winner against Bolton, and coming on to change the game against West Ham and when Wayne Rooney got handed a two-game ban for swearing at a camera (*face-palm*) it gave Berbatov a chance to regain a place in the team. He started off well scoring in the two-nil victory against Fulham to take his to 20 Premier League goals, but he blew it completely against City in the F.A Cup semi-final, missing two golden chances in the first few minutes. United would go on to lose the game to our bitter neighbors and it was the day that I began to feel that he should go in the summer.
Without Berbatov this season, we wouldn’t have won the league, theres no doubt about it. His twenty Premier League goals were crucial in winning the 19th, but will he get anywhere near that total next season as a 3rd striker? In my opinion, not a chance. Dimitar Berbatov is the ultimate confidence player, he needs to have a run of games and he needs to be believed in. Rooney and Hernandez are firmly are first choice strike force, Michael Owen has signed on and been promised more games, while Welbeck and Macheda shown on tour that they want to make it in the first team. So competition is high, and you can imagine the pressure on all our strikers to deliver when they get a chance. High pressure situations aren’t exactly Berbatov’s strong point.
If you consider big games against the likes of Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, Berbatov in his United career has only managed 5 goals. Three of which game against Liverpool last season when they were in the bottom three. One came against Chelsea in the Community Shield. Dimitar has also failed to score in the Champions League since his brace against Celtic way back in October 2008. Doesn’t make for pretty reading does it?
I love Berbatov, if you watch his interviews you can see how much he respects this club, unlike a certain ungrateful twat player that is constantly moaning for Manchester City. He’s a respectful man, and hasn’t deserved some of the abuse he gets off certain United fans. His 30 million price tag has been always used against him, luckily his twenty goal haul last season in the league will ensure he won’t be labelled a ‘flop’. However, despite all that if rumors are true and PSG are willing to gives us 15+ million for our 30 year old, third striker who only has one year left on his contract, then I’d think we would be insane to turn that down. That money could be used to help finance the Sneijder deal (I don’t care what SAF keeps saying, we all know we are in for him) and it would also free up the wage bill for the mega-earner Sneijder.
If Berbatov does depart this summer, I will be sad to see him go, he has provided us with some fantastic moments. The hat-trick against the Scousers and Birmingham, his five star performance and five goal haul against Blackburn, ‘this piece of skill against West Ham’, the bicycle kick against Sunderland among a few others. Thank you for everything so far Berbatov, if you do leave then I wish all the best in your future.
Read more of Ryan’s work at his excellent aite We Are United.
Good article. I hope we don’t Sell Berbatov because although it will free up the wage bill a bit for Sneijder if he does join United, Berbatov has shown he has got the quality to score a lot of goals and Macheda and Welbeck are still virtually unproven. The only criticism i have of Berbatov that instead of scoring consistently in games, he tends to get a few goals in one game against the lesser teams. Welbeck did well for Sunderland before he got injured but he still only scored a few goals so i think the jury is still out on that one. Macheda’s loan spell at Sampadoria wasn’t a success by any means so he also has a lot to prove. What i am trying to say is i think if either Rooney or Hernandez gets injured, we are going someone to fill in and although Owen is still a good finisher, I’m not sure we can rely on him to get the goals on a consistent basis anymore.
Thank You, Ellie!
I hated you guys for the way the you came to buy our sometimes sulky Bulgarian (the term tapping up comes to mind) but even though he behaved like a prat that period and isnt the hardest working player around, he still is one of my favs. That sikly touch , the vision and the coolness he has are unparalleled. He has such a natural flair and talent that it is a joy to watch , even if it is in a red jersey
I really don’t feel nationality has anything to do with Berbatov being left out of the champions league final or any game for that matter.. Sure he is as silky as they come but I think urgency and work rate is what saw him being over-looked…Rooney is adored by united fans worldwide not because he is English, but because of the manner in which he plays and his debut game made him an instant hero. His work rate is high which fans like to see and has scored some fantastic goals in a united jersey…berbatov annoys me at times when I wish he would show more effort and determination but when he is on form he is a joy to watch… I would not like to see him go, he is a class act even if he is a bit lazy.. I think it would be good for berbatov to leave.. He deserves to be the star of a team and unfortunately I don’t think he will be at united…
For what reason in the world will man utd sell berba, most people don’t look at things perspectively and expect every player at man u to play like rooney… Berba said and i quote ‘Great quality doesn’t require much effort’. Nobody can play like berba! Is only when you understand him that you understand his game. Berba is great, berbc is man u, berbc is amazing. we’re united… MANCHESTERLOGY.
Wow, I didn’t know there were so many people who loved Berbatov. I thought it was only me and a select few. What a player! He oozes class, always has. I was infuriated as well when tons of my United friends demanded that Berba be sold before this season. It astonished me as to how they could not see the greatness in him. Yes, he does sometimes seem quite lackadaisical but that’s just how he is. I’d still rather have Berba in the team than Owen. Berba is of far greater value to the team. I for one will be very, very sad if Berbatov departs.
Nice words about a fantastic player! The nearest thing to Cantona since…. Cantona. I only disagree on one point, £15 mill, is not nearly enough, think what th PL title is worth, he gave us it last year, it’s thanks to him!!! Hope he stays forever!!!!!
berbatov like a master of coolness and touch,his touch were incredibles,SAF juz dont realize dat berba9 contribute sooooo many things to manutd,4example,his goals against bolton in2009 when tevez crossed the ball to him n he scored,without the goals liverpool would’ve win the leagues….glory2 manutd and long live berba9
these days i don’t even want to watch football news for fear of confirming my biggest worries of Dimitar leaving United.
I agree with the article, Berbatov is a top player and we do have him to thank for helping us win the league last season. However we all know that it hasn’t clicked like we all thought it would. He seemed perfect for Man Utd but it just hasn’t worked very well. I never thought we would leave a £30 million player on the bench for one Champions League final, and then not even on the bench for a second final.
He is a complete confidence player and needs to be the star. That is difficult at United because we have a few top players. He hasn’t scored in the CL since 2008, and one of the reasons Ferguson must have wanted him was because he was seen as someone to help us win that competition again. Also apart from his hat-trick against Liverpool, his record against the big teams is poor.
I have a friend that travels to Paris for work and he told me there is a lot of talk on Berbatov joining PSG. The story is that Berbatov is suppose to talk to PSG after the community Shield, not sure how true it is, but the fee being mentioned is £20 million. I wouldn’t be against Berbatov staying, but £20 million is too good to turn down for a 30 year old. Also he is going to get a very good contract offer.
It would hit us in attack but with Rooney, Hernandez, Welbeck, Owen and Diouf we should be fine. I went for Diouf over Macheda because I think the Italian would benefit from a season loan spell, like Welbeck did last season. If he does well then he will take Owen spot for the 2012-13 season. Diouf is different to the other strikers and I’m sure we can keep hold of him until January at least.