UNITED WANT MORE FROM BERBATOV
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Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov has scored against Bayern Munich before - but for Bayer Leverkusen. The Bulgarian, pictured left with Bayern's Lucio, scored twice in this game in August 2004. Photograph: Rolf Vennenbernd/EPA
From the hyperactive Wayne Rooney they turn to the languid Dimitar Berbatov to see off Chelsea and Bayern Munich inside five days. The good news is that Berbatov has already scored three times against Germany's grandest club. Less encouraging is that Rooney's replacement as Manchester United's chief striker posted all three while at Bayer Leverkusen from 2001 to 2006.
A £30.75m centre-forward comes off the bench to hunt the two wins United need to disprove the accusation that they are a one-man band.
Berbatov is an international who has played in two Champions League finals and scored 32 times in European competition. Hardly the bare bones of United's squad. Yet the success of his elevation will depend on his response to the urgency of this five-day test and the team's ability to survive the psychological jolt of seeing their best player on crutches.
The expectation back in August was that Sir Alex Ferguson would deploy Rooney and Berbatov together but the United manager has favoured a five-man midfield with Rooney in a luxury Alan Shearer role. Tactical considerations aside, the implication is that Ferguson's faith in Berbatov has dimmed to the point where Bulgaria's six-times footballer of the year exists to give Rooney a rest or supply an extra weapon when United are in desperate need of a goal.
Like Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was lethal around the penalty area and so could justify his comparatively low work-rate, Berbatov is the antithesis of the super-busy United striker who seeslosing the ball as a dishonourable act which he has a moral duty to correct. Berbatov must know that most Old Trafford diehards are intolerant of his dreamy style.
In a long and compelling answer to a question about Van Nistelrooy's successor Sir Bobby Charlton, the embodiment of United's energetic forward play, said in the Observer last year: "I watched him at Tottenham [his previous Premier League club] and I thought he was in charge of his own destiny, that he made the right decisions. But playing for Man United is a bit more demanding. You're expected not just to do all the great things you're good at but also your share of the dirty work – which is chasing back to regain possession, helping your defenders if you're close enough to help.
"First of all I was very critical of him, to myself, thinking: 'Look at that. As soon as he loses the ball he stops running and starts walking, as if to say – somebody else will do it'. And I thought: 'He must be a good player if he can afford to do that.'"
Charlton said he had come to understand Berbatov's "really great skill, his awareness and his physical strength at holding people off. Not only that, when he passes he always makes it easy for you. He always gives it perfectly. Everything is so, so precise. Add to that, he's got his control and when he gets round the goal he wants to score.
"He's frustrating sometimes. Instinctively I think that, if I've lost the ball, I want to chase after it. I want to make up for the mistake I've made. Maybe like George Best you've got to accept him for what he is. Cantona had that arrogance. But he did his fair share of the work. I'd never complain about Cantona in that respect. He was sensational and he had an influence. Given that bit of time and space that Berbatov seems to be finding now, he'll get better and better."
Since Charlton offered that analysis, mid-way through the striker's first season in Manchester, stagnation has become the theme. Twelve goals from 27 league appearances this term is not a glittering statistic. Rooney had scored 18 times in 13 outings before a typically conscientious urge to stop an attacking run inside his own half led to his ankle injury. Berbatov has yet to score in this season's Champions League but did seize two in the weekend's 4-0 win at Bolton.
Of the alternatives Michael Owen is out with hamstring damage, Mame Biram Diouf has appeared only five times for United and Federico Macheda is an 18-year-old on the road back from injury (Danny Welbeck is out injured).
"I'd have enjoyed playing with him but I'd have been arguing with him. A lot," Charlton said. "If you've got people running backward and forward and you're responsible, it's not right. But he's learned. You're not allowed many mistakes and you can't be casual. You can't be casual."
As a child Berbatov modelled himself first on Marco van Basten, then on Shearer. From the outset on Saturday and again on Wednesday night the United cognoscenti will look for evidence that his self-esteem has not been damaged by his slide in the hierarchy and hope he learned from Shearer the meaning of 'carpe diem'.
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with this guy around, it's like having 10-and-a-half men................should have stayed at Spurs..........
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Originally posted by As romanista2001:
with this guy around, it's like having 10-and-a-half men................should have stayed at Spurs..........
well, he has been showing signs of improvement lately...
hopefully he steps up during this crunch time
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he has to come to the fore now that rooney is out for 2-3 weeks. time to justify his 30m pounds price tag by scoring against chelsea and bayern.
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If there ever is a time for Berba to shine, now would be it.
With both Rooney and Owen out, it would be up to him to provide the attack. Macheda and Diouf are still pretty raw.... too raw for Chelsea and Bayern, methinks.
Valencia, Nani, and Park Ji-Sung had all better work at 110% as well.
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Cole: Berbatov's the man
United legend Andrew Cole is backing Dimitar Berbatov to step up during Wayne Rooney’s two or three-week absence.
Speaking on MUTV, the former Reds striker said: “Wayne has been a revelation this year, but without him we ran out 4-0 winners against Bolton and Berbatov was the man, scoring two goals. I thought he played extremely well.
“Although Chelsea are a different proposition, Saturday’s game could be the one in which Berba produces that little bit of magic and people turn around and say, ‘That’s why we paid thirty million pounds for him.'
"I’m sure he will relish being the main man for United.”As MUTV's special guest on Wednesday Night Live at the Red Café, Andrew was asked if he feels Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf can help cover for Rooney in the run-in.
“They are still young boys learning their trade,” he replied.
“I doubt that the manager would have envisaged a situation in which he would had to use them regularly."
So no disrespect to Macheda and Diouf, but Andrew believes there is only one man United fans should look to for the time being.
“Of course when you lose the likes of Owen and Rooney people begin to question who is going to produce the goods. For me, Berbatov is the man.”
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Sir Alex Ferguson insists he still trusts Dimitar Berbatov.
The £30.75million Bulgarian was left on the bench for Manchester United's crunch Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and remained there until 10 minutes from time, even after Wayne Rooney had gone off and his side were slipping to a narrow quarter-final exit.
It has raised inevitable questions over Berbatov's Old Trafford future, even if United would have to take a massive loss on the club record fee it cost to sign the 29-year-old from Tottenham in 2008.
Yet Ferguson apparently has no concerns about Berbatov's overall contribution.
The striker is set to be included for Sunday's trip to Blackburn as Wayne Rooney misses out with an ankle injury, and the United manager is confident Berbatov will play a major role for the Red Devils, both this season and beyond.
"Yes, I still trust him," said Ferguson.
"He is a good player and there is absolutely no reason why we should doubt that.
"Dimitar he has done well in a lot of games recently but we prefer to play with one striker.
"When we got the man sent off on Wednesday there was no need to bring a striker on because all we were trying to do was go over the line in terms of defending."
The spotlight has tended to shine on Berbatov even more because Ferguson fought so hard to get him, and bucked the general trend of buying younger players.
That policy continued on Thursday, when United confirmed the capture of 21-year-old Mexico striker Javier Hernandez from Chivas.
Doubts over the finance available to Ferguson continue, with latest reports suggesting United are baulking on a bid for highly-rated Valencia forward David Villa, who has declared an interest in moving to England, because the fee is too high.
Without rejecting the claim outright, the United boss did try to clarify his overall transfer policy, and insisted, at a time when Real Madrid and Manchester City in particular are spending huge sums on players, it was the best way forward for the Old Trafford outfit.
"We like doing these kind of deals where we can identify young talent. We have been good at that over the years," he said of the Hernandez deal.
"There is the odd exception when we get a mature player, like Berbatov. When you sign a player for that kind of money you know there is not going to be a resale value if he stays with you for six years.
"It is about getting the player we need who is going to improve us or maintain the level we are at. That is the way we have operated in the past and there is a lot wrong with that policy.
"There is conjecture about every good player.
"Last summer it was Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, although he was a young player and one of the targets we set out to get. Now it is David Villa.
"I am sure by the end of the season there will be half a dozen more. I can't confirm that speculation but most of it is not right."
Ferguson admitted he was not intending to sign Hernandez quite so quickly.
However, he had been forced into action by the 21-year-old muscling his way into the Mexican national squad, where he has scored four times already, and put himself in line for a place at the World Cup.
"We got some background knowledge about the boy last October and we had more good reports in December," he revealed.
"The feeling was to wait because he was young. But then he got into the national team, which created a problem for us because if he went to the World Cup and did well, there would be a danger of losing him."
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i guess Berba's time is up @ MU.. haha..
sounds like SAF is ardy buan tahan liao..
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Old Fergie just say he trust Berbatov becoz he can't admit he just spent tons of money and it didn't work out.............that old bastard is always like that, will never admit he's wrong............
go ask him about 1986 World Cup when he was Scotland coach................he'll screw you for sure for bringing up that humiliating episode.......
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Originally posted by As romanista2001:
Old Fergie just say he trust Berbatov becoz he can't admit he just spent tons of money and it didn't work out.............that old bastard is always like that, will never admit he's wrong............
go ask him about 1986 World Cup when he was Scotland coach................he'll screw you for sure for bringing up that humiliating episode.......
well, he got the job, cause the sudden death of the Jock Stein.
Sure, the scotland team got hammered in the WC, so?
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http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-Manchester-United-striker-Dimitar-Berbatov-is-facing-the-axe-at-Old-Trafford-Exclusive-article390713.html
seems Fergie is going for his next revolution and Berba is on thin ice..
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Mike Phelan has challenged Dimitar Berbatov to build on an encouraging performance against Tottenham.
Berbatov has endured periods of frustration since joining Manchester United from Tottenham in 2008 and has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford.
AC Milan have cooled speculation regarding a summer switch and the striker's agent has also insisted he will be staying with the Red Devils, but the transfer talk shows no sign of abating.
Phelan is not paying much attention to the rumours, insisting that United still know what Berbatov is capable of.
The Bulgarian produced an eye-catching display against former club Tottenham on Saturday and Phelan was pleased with his contribution.
"A lot has been said about Berba, but we all know the qualities he has got," the United assistant manager said in The Times.
"All we ask from him is a little bit of something else that we haven't seen for a while and he can do that.
"We have seen him do it in the past and when we keep pushing him and pushing him, and he responds in the right way, he is a handful for anyone and in the second half, in particular, I thought he did very well."
Phelan maintains that United are right to expect a lot from their best players and has called on Berbatov to keep on striving for improvement.
He explained: "Berbatov is a great talent, there is no question about that, and as coaches and managers we demand more from great talents.
"If you look at the Giggses and the Scholes, we demand more from them as well and they produce.
"Berba is no different in that respect."
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there is some improvement but must give berba 1 more season, if still underperforming then berba must leave utd
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Originally posted by sh90:
there is some improvement but must give berba 1 more season, if still underperforming then berba must leave utd
its his laid back attitude lar. he has the skills and talent no doubt, but he isnt making the effort lar. he is his own worst enemy.