Is it not time Dimitar Berbatov showed respect to Tottenham – the club that made him one of Europe’s most sought after strikers?

FFC columnist Harry Hockley feels that Dimitar Berbatov should stop pining for a transfer and show loyalty to a club who have made him one of Europe's most sought after strikers.

They say life is never easy being a Spurs fan, but would you have it any other way? I don't think a day goes by when our club isn't subjected to some media coverage, whether it is unrest in the boardroom, secret meetings in Spain or Martin Jol still bemoaning his treatment at the club; Fleet Street's finest simply can't get enough.

I don't think many Spurs fans would have needed a double take this morning at reports, that the day before the transfer window officially opens, Dimitar Berbatov's agent has come out and claimed that if the right club came in that matched the Bulgarian's ambitions and the offer was accepted by the club, his client will happily move on.

It has been an on going saga that has started since the summer and I for one am getting to the point now where if Berbatov wants out, then get rid so we can all move on and give Ramos ample time to find a suitable replacement. The whole situation is completely unsettling and at a crucial stage of the season with Carling cup semis and alike we can simply do without it.

Dimitar Berbatov is a fantastic footballer and I would go as far to say the best striker I have seen down the Lane since Jurgen Klinsmann. On his day he is simply unplayable and his from of late has been absolutely superb, especially last week at Eastlands where, in my opinion, he put out his best performance in a Spurs shirt.

As a player he has no weakness and why there are many who will probably feel that his abilities should be better suited to a side that isn't languishing in 12th place, maybe the Bulgarian should take some of the responsibility for our poor start to the season instead of bemoaning the performance of others. There is no reason why we shouldn't have been in around the CL places this season had certain players, Berba included, matched the efforts of Robbie Keane and Steed Malbranque. We could have provided CL football he so desperately craves if he had shown more application in the first few months of the season.

I am certainly not going to come on here and slate Dimitar Berbatov because I have appreciation of World Class footballers, of which he is one, and appreciate that we have a player like him in a Spurs shirt, but at the same token, although Berbatov has been very good for Tottenham, we have been extremely good for him. Who had ever heard of him really before he came to England? I am not asking Berba to give us a big pat on the back, it would just be nice for him to appreciate the role that Tottenham have played in making him one of the most sought after strikers in Europe and repay some loyalty by sticking out the season as we aim to salvage something from what has been a horrendous first half to the 2007-08 season.

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