Time the real Dimitar Berbatov stood up?
Dimitar Berbatov is one of the most gifted players in the Premier League. His first touch especially is one of the best I have seen in football. The Bulgarian is capable of sublime football, but his languid playing style does not do him any favours when he is not scoring goals. After watching the tireless exploits of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, Berbatov’s perceived lack of effort can be galling for Manchester United supporters. He has not as of yet, endeared himself to the United faithful, but perhaps this season he can turn all that around. Whilst many were calling for Berbatov’s departure, Sir Alex Ferguson has kept faith in the striker he paid £30 million for. It is now or never for Berbatov, if he does not perform this season he will surely be shown the exit door. If he does perform, Manchester United may have a new fan’s favourite on their hands.
When he was at Tottenham Hotspur, Dimitar Berbatov was an icon for the fans. For the two years he was there he was arguably Spurs’ best player, also guiding the club to the Carling Cup triumph in in 2008. When he signed for Manchester United that summer, there were eyebrows raised over the price-tag but not over the player’s quality. However, in his two seasons at Man Utd Berbatov has not replicated the same form he did at Spurs, and nor have the fans taken him to their hearts as they did at White Hart Lane. This could be due to a number of factors. At Tottenham he was the main man, every player was looking for him. At Man Utd this has not been the case, Berbatov has often had to play second fiddle to Wayne Rooney and the Bulgarian has found it more difficult to dominate the play as he did at Spurs. The pressure is also immense at United, after coming in for such a hefty fee great things would have been expected of Berbatov. He has not achieved this and as a result the burden gets heavier and heavier as fans demand more and get on the players back. Of course a player of Dimitar Berbatov’s quality should be able to deal with this, but it is clear he has found the pressure difficult to take.
The striker is by no means beyond redemption however. Berbatov has ridiculous ability and he will know that if he wants to make it at Man Utd, he absolutely has to do it this season. Ferguson has kept faith in him when others have not and it is time to repay this. I for one think Dimitar Berbatov will do just that this season. He is one of the most talented players in the Premiership and he can play a crucial role in Man Utd’s quest to regain their league crown. Berbatov is more than capable of scoring goals, he has superb close control and when he is on song is ice cold in front of goal. He can also set up his fair share of goalscoring chances, he is excellent at passing and can hold the ball up well. The ability to score and create goals is a rare one, but it is a skill that Berbatov undoubtedly possesses. If he can perform to the best of his ability, Berbatov could be one of the stars of the season, and he will have a big part to play if Man Utd are to regain the Premier League title.
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no matter what this guy will never make it at man utd.and this will be his last season!so if you are a berbatov fan get the last games of his time at OT.
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Where does it say in your article that Berbatov has fallen victim to the failings of the midfield, particularly from the likes of Carrick and Anderson, and been dumped to the bench repeatedly not because of form, but to allow Fergie to shore up the midfield with an extra man via 4-5-1 formations?
Where do you highlight how much a victim he is of playing with such a limited partner as Rooney, who has none of the finesse, technique, vision, or intelligence of Berbatov and is notorious for his inability to play effectively with just about every partner paired with him?
Where does it state that Berbatov’s goals to minutes played ratio is excellent, particularly given how disjointed his appearances in the first team have been through no fault of his own?
Where does it state that to be considered a great champion one must run around like an idiot from one end of the pitch to the other like a headless chook? I used to run half and full marathons at a pretty decent pace – if I get on the field and run up and down all day chasing the ball without stopping, would that be enough for people to consider me a top flight footballer?
People need to get a grip, especially pundits like you. You claim to be a fan of the Bulgarian, but delver the compliments in such a backhanded way that it essentially implies more criticism that plaudits. Berbatov is footballing genius who’s greatest misfortune has been to end up playing at United, a team totally unsuited to his talents. It’s a bash and barge, counter-attacking team built to supply the ball first to Ronaldo, then to Rooney. Berbatov plays sublimely whenever he’s away from United – he didn’t suddenly forget how to play decent football when he turned up at Old Trafford. Pulling on a shirt for Bulgaria over the last three years and the Berbatov everyone knew at Spurs suddenly reemerges – how is that?
One of Fergie’s biggest mistakes was bringing Berbatov to United, but the fault lies not with the Bulgarian, but with the fact they weren’t prepared to commit to the kind of playing style that would have brought out the best in the man. Instead they played him way too deep in his first season, forcing him into an unfamiliar role as a kind of link up man to the midfield because of its failings, then last year he increasingly became the fall guy for everyone when it should have been the likes of Carrick being hauled over the coals for playing so poorly that they had to put an extra man in the engine room to stop the better teams running through United in the middle of the pitch.
I personally love watching every sublime moment of Berbatov’s play, because I appreciate what rare gifts he possesses. The feeling is matched by my exasperation at Wayne Rooney, who exemplifies all that is wrong with British football. He has little technique, no football nouse or presence, and relies on speed, a scatter-gun approach to shooting that sees him spray the ball constantly over the goal, and a complete over-reliance on everyone else setting him up. He is virtually incapable, except on rare occasions, of making a goal for himself, and worse, he rarely sets others up unless they’re simple crosses that he can’t screw up. He’s the most over-rated footballer of his generation, and as age catches up with him and the speed starts to go people will realize just what a one trick pony he really is. Boundless energy does not denote class – if he could harness decent passing ability and intelligence to his play he’d make a great attacking midfielder. But he has neither attribute.
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Sorry Timbo stopped reading your essay at “Such a limited strike Partner as Rooney” You are clearly an idiot.
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He is a really smart and intelligent player. The problem is that he is lazy. He dont take responsibilities.
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@timbo. I don’t think my compliments have been that backhanded. I give him a lot of praise and also predict that he will have a good season this term. I agree that a good striker does not have to run around loads, but when he is perceived to not be performing, as he has done at United rightly or wrongly, his relaxed playing style does not help his image. I think Berbatov is immensely talented, and I think he will have a good season.
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