For most professional footballers, playing for one of the world's greatest football clubs would be considered a huge honour. Yet spending four years at Manchester United and winning two league titles all under the stewardship of one of the greatest managers of all time clearly means very little if you are Dimitar Berbatov.

Having spent pretty much all of last season warming up the Old Trafford bench, Berbatov has finally been given a glorious opportunity to play first team football again having completed a £5m move to Fulham. Yet his reputation as a sulky brat has once again got the better of him. Rather than express his delight at signing for one of the Premier League's most up-and-coming teams, he has decided to focus on being shunned by Sir Alex Ferguson and the negative treatment he received by his former employees.

But can anyone really blame Fergie for overlooking him for over a year? Is it any surprise that he fell further down the pecking order as one of Old Trafford's main strikers? Not really.

Firstly, when you spend over £30 million on a striker you expect goals and lots of them. Berbatov's record at Manchester United reads just over a goal every three games. Not a poor record by any means, but when you compare that to Robin Van Persie, who scored approximately one goal every other game at Arsenal and cost Manchester United £6 million less than Berbatov, it comes as no surprise that he was overlooked.

Secondly, for £30 million you want a striker who is consistent. Berbatov was by no means a flop at Manchester United, but he never came close to justifying his price tag.

On one day, he would be unstoppable, just as he proved when he scored five goals in a 7-1 win over Blackburn in November 2010, but the next, he would be completely ineffectual. It was becoming more obvious that Fergie was only really using him against weak opposition, but when it came to the big clashes, Fergie deemed that there were other players more suited for the occasion. This was proven in May 2011 when Berbatov was completely left out of the squad for the Champions League final against Barcelona.

Thirdly, you want a striker who is adaptable to change. Sir Alex was looking to play a faster and more direct style of football last season, a style that Berbatov openly admitted wasn't his. If this is the case, what did Berbatov expect other than complete neglect? What was he hoping for, that Fergie would build the team around him?! And if he knew that this was happening, why did he choose to sit on the bench for an entire season instead of looking for a new club?

Fourthly, look at Berbatov's age. He's not  by any means close to retiring, but at 31, he is not in the prime of his career either. When you compare him to the striker's that Ferguson has at his disposal and the pace and ability they have, it's no wonder he kept finding himself going down the pecking order.

Finally, look at his attitude. On the pitch, regardless of who he has played for, he has developed this lazy mentality of standing in the six yard box waiting for somebody to provide a decent cross. His desire to help out his team-mates has never really been there, but in his eyes, it didn't matter because this was justified by his goalscoring record. Unfortunately for him, this has certainly never been Fergie's style and quite frankly, no striker who has ever been considered as 'world-class' has adopted a similar attitude.

His attitude off the pitch speaks for itself. He has always had this negative attitude, even when he was at Spurs. When it was clear that he was about to leave to join Manchester United, Spurs put in a complaint against the Red Devils, which culminated in Berbatov sulking and being dropped for the start of the 07/08 season.

His recent outburst against Sir Alex Ferguson is typical of Berbatov. Rather than look back at his time at Old Trafford with positivity and pride and focus on the exciting prospect of starting with a new club, he uses the move as an opportunity to criticise Fergie for ignoring him for a year. Quite frankly, it's an insult to both Fulham AND Manchester United.

Yes, one could argue that Ferguson's treatment of Berbatov was a little disrespectful. But that's modern football for you. A decent manager puts the needs of the team first, not the individual. If you don't want to adapt, move on. Berbatov's ignorance and his failure to accept this has been his downfall and he has nobody to blame but himself.

Personally, I believe that this transfer is the perfect opportunity for Berbatov to rejuvenate his career. He needs Fulham and I think Fulham need him. At least at Craven Cottage, he has a considerably better chance of playing regular first team football. And as far as the club is concerned, he is a more than adequate candidate to fill the goalscoring void left by Clint Dempsey.

I just hope that as the season progresses, Berbatov realises this and eventually he will look back with pride and remember that he once scored goals for one of the greatest clubs in the world.

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