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Sat, May 26 2012
The Times: 'mercurial' Berbatov is on the edge
The UK Times has taken another shot at Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, implying that the Bulgarian's hopes of improving his performance this season and filling the void from the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo will not materialise.
Whether justifiably or not, The Times' Northern Football Correspondent James Ducker compares the Bulgarian unfavourably with Wayne Rooney who, since the departure of Ronaldo, has blossomed and become a tremendous force in the team.
"One Manchester United striker continues to go from strength to strength, but another must be wondering in which direction his Old Trafford career is headed," The Times was quoted as saying.
"Tributes for Wayne Rooney after another virtuoso performance against AC Milan as he took his goals tally for the season to 25, it was easy to forget that Dimitar Berbatov was even at San Siro," Drucker writes.
Ducker raises one simple point and that is that Berbatov, at 31 million pounds sterling, is officially Manchester United's most expensive player of all time. And as such, one would expect that the club's most expensive asset would not only be merely involved, but instrumentally engaged in the team's most crucial games during the season.
The report says that "Berbatov’s omission against Milan meant that he has started only eight of United’s 20 most high-profile matches since his arrival when, because of his age, 29, and the size of transfer fee, many suspected that he would be an almost permanent fixture in the first eleven".
Not only is Berbatov not considered a "crucial" player; according to Ducker, he is an "indifferent" one. "So has Berbatov, much like Robinho in his final days at Manchester City before his loan move to Santos, become a luxury that Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, is finding it hard to indulge?" asks Ducker.
Regarding the decision why Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson decided not to sign a striker during the winter transfer window and reinforce his firepower up front, Ducker put it bluntly: "Berbatov, a player who needs to feel loved, would view the arrival of another forward as a sign that his days at United were numbered".
According to Ducker, Ferguson refused to play the Bulgarian in crucial fixtures either because he lacks faith in him, or because he believes that Berbatov's lack of pace would slow the team down. In other words, in the opinion of Drucker, Berbatov is a liability to the squad.
Whether justifiably or not, The Times' Northern Football Correspondent James Ducker compares the Bulgarian unfavourably with Wayne Rooney who, since the departure of Ronaldo, has blossomed and become a tremendous force in the team.
"One Manchester United striker continues to go from strength to strength, but another must be wondering in which direction his Old Trafford career is headed," The Times was quoted as saying.
"Tributes for Wayne Rooney after another virtuoso performance against AC Milan as he took his goals tally for the season to 25, it was easy to forget that Dimitar Berbatov was even at San Siro," Drucker writes.
Ducker raises one simple point and that is that Berbatov, at 31 million pounds sterling, is officially Manchester United's most expensive player of all time. And as such, one would expect that the club's most expensive asset would not only be merely involved, but instrumentally engaged in the team's most crucial games during the season.
The report says that "Berbatov’s omission against Milan meant that he has started only eight of United’s 20 most high-profile matches since his arrival when, because of his age, 29, and the size of transfer fee, many suspected that he would be an almost permanent fixture in the first eleven".
Not only is Berbatov not considered a "crucial" player; according to Ducker, he is an "indifferent" one. "So has Berbatov, much like Robinho in his final days at Manchester City before his loan move to Santos, become a luxury that Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, is finding it hard to indulge?" asks Ducker.
Regarding the decision why Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson decided not to sign a striker during the winter transfer window and reinforce his firepower up front, Ducker put it bluntly: "Berbatov, a player who needs to feel loved, would view the arrival of another forward as a sign that his days at United were numbered".
According to Ducker, Ferguson refused to play the Bulgarian in crucial fixtures either because he lacks faith in him, or because he believes that Berbatov's lack of pace would slow the team down. In other words, in the opinion of Drucker, Berbatov is a liability to the squad.
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Overrated and a huge disappointment in English football.
He's not playing because of his knee. He will get off-season surgery, all parties agreed that for the time being he could still play, but sparingly.
Berbatov and Keane at Spurs were the ideal combination. Since they split up neither has done that well. Keane went to Liverpool failed and is now at Celtic, while Berbatov warms the bench at United.
I believe Berbatov is a truly gifted player of his type and had in fact done better at United than he is given credit for, but his languid style in the hurly burly of the Premier League will always grate with many a supporter.
Interestingly enough, most tend to forget that Berba was the leader in assists last season. That only goes to show that he indeed has the skills and the x-factor, but it has to go both ways to where the other team members do the same for him. Granted Rooney is in an excellent form, Sir Alex changes the formation to include just one forward. If it were the case that Rooney was injured, Berba would be more than capable of filling in and capitalizing on opportunities designed for him and none other.
yes and no.
in the Bulgarian national team, he is not surrounded by stars, the team IS built around him, and he is still complete rubbish.
Berbatov has been a huge disappointment since arriving at Old Trafford from Tottenham Hotspur. He's a player that needs a team built around him to enable him to blossom, if he's in a team of stars he becomes lost in the mix, and neither has the incline or the ability to impose himself on the team..