David Gill has today played down any suggestion that Manchester United are prepared to sell Dimitar Berbatov. Despite both Berbatov and his agent repeatedly claiming he has no interest in leaving United, he has been linked with moves to Italy.
With just one year remaining on his current deal, there was the belief that Berba had to agree a new contract this summer, or leave on a free next year. Gill has today talked about a clause in Berba’s contract which means this isn’t necessarily the case.
“There is an option to extend Dimitar’s contract by another year, on the club’s side,” said Gill. “We can do it whenever we want to do it and there are no conditions around it. Everyone has been talking about Berbatov from the outside, saying he wants to leave or that we want want him to leave, but we don’t want him to go. We want him to stay. He scored over 20 goals last season, so there is no desire on our behalf to see him go. From our perspective he has, effectively, two years to go. We have until the end of the season [to extend his contract], so we can assess how it goes, talk to him, see how he performs and see what happens. I’ve not had one conversation with Dimitar [about his future]. There has been no correspondence in that respect. The decision Alex took [leaving Berbatov out of the Champions League final] was a decision he took for that particular game. It wasn’t a decision taken with a view that we want Dimitar to go, because we don’t.”
Man Utd News 24/7
Pleased to hear it.
*Heaves a huge SIGH of relief*
Now that someone from the club has made a steadfast statement on the Berb’s future, I am pretty content right now. IF this also means, Sir Alex has found a way of having Berbatov work in a system where we get to see a lot more of him all the time, then that makes it even better.
Anyways, just glad to hear that he will be part of our setup for two (maybe more) years.
Tremendous that the club are confirming what anyone with a brain already knew, that Berbatov is very much a Manchester United player.
It was unnecessary leaving him out of the final. no point in doing that at all.
Hmm, don’t know. Why not do it now and get it out of the way? Say Berba doesn’t play a lot this season and the time comes for him to leave. We will extend the contract in April or May only to sell him 2 months later?
“The decision Alex took [leaving Berbatov out of the Champions League final] was a decision he took for that particular game. It wasn’t a decision taken with a view that we want Dimitar to go, because we don’t.”
Yet, the player that replaced him didn’t play for 1 second even though we were chasing the score for most of the second half…
Berby is staying !
Rooney & Chico can get 18+ goals
Berba 14+
Welbeck 7+
Owen 4+
We will have the best attack in the world with these guys up front if they get games passed round.
With the likes of Nani, Valencia, Young, Park, Cleverley and Giggs in their supporting roles, there are no excuses for us not to aim so high goal scoring wise.
C’mon now Gill or SAF, Tell us Gibbo’s staying
when it comes to berba being left out of the CL squad terrible decision,i really think Sir Alex over thought the game and lost the plot somewhat with his tatics and personnel
Oh NO, so he is STAYING? That is terrible news…….
For his haters of course…..
Looking forward to Denton’s post lol.
He’ll stay for one more season at least.
Maybe next next season, Denton?
at least two more years of berbaCLASS!at least two more years of berbaCLASS!
now willie denton doesn’t hate berba,berba has silky skills,just a square peg willie a square peg mate.although he was utds top scorer and spent pretty well the last 2 months on the bench otherwise would have scored 30,yet to prove himself at utd,just doesn’t fit our quick break system.the team scores sooooo many goals from quick breaks and berba slows that down,silky skills just a square peg mate.
It’s been public knowledge for some time that the club has a one-way option to extend his current deal, so speculation about the absence of a new deal (as The Berb enters the last year of his original contract) was always nonsense. Why would you renegotiate when you don’t have to? As for the CL final, I criticized the decision at the time (as did many others), not because I think The Berb would have won us the match, but because he was the one up-front option who could have given Barcelona something different to think about. And given the way the game went, that might have been worth trying.
But Sir Alex has explained his rationale behind the decision. I don’t think there’s any doubt he got it wrong — his decision during the match to leave his allowance of subs unused is a pretty good indication of that. But having said that, SAF had to do something which none of us was burdened with — he had to make a call based on how he saw it before the match. He genuinely believed the game would be closer than that, and on that basis, his decision made some sense. It didn’t pan out that way, but you can’t cover ever eventuality. So yes, I think he got it wrong, but my criticism is muted.
Oh well, I suppose the anti-Berb crowd will be coming out in force again.
wayne … you forgot to mention that he nearly flubbed a goal the other day.
oh yeah sorry Stateside,lets face it berba isn’t that sharp in front of net,look at his miss at blackburn that cost utd the league and don’t even get me started about the two sitters he missed against city that cost utd the fa cup.look at last the last game clear through and missed the chance got lucky because the ball bounced off the bar straight to him.Don’t get me wrong dimi has silky skills just a square peg and not that sharp in front of net misses lots of sitters.
shit player, when you think about it. Most of the time, he can’t even be arsed. And when he can, he spends half of his time flapping his arms around like a a spoiled brat blaming everyone else, while nonchalantly flubbing any chances that do come his way. You know what i reckon? I reckon Sir Alex didn’t leave him out of the CL. I reckon he included him but then The Berb was asleep and they couldn’t wake him up, so they just left him there. That’s why he stayed in the dressing room — because he was asleep, then after he finally woke up, he was just too embarrassed to show his face. What a dick.
He is like the Gannicus, the hero gladiator character in Spartacus Gods of the arena with his cool and easy going style
Wayne – Apart from all that, he loves him lol.
Makes me wanna puke, the way he thinks he actually achieved something by scoring 20 goals last year. Not to mention his constant fucking moaning and whining, and his nonstop attempts to destabilize the squad by stirring up shit while trying to engineer his own move to Italy. Did you see the way he purposely bounced that ball off the crossbar the other day, before VERY RELUCTANTLY condescending to knock in the rebound? The message was loud and clear and I am just amazed that none of you deluded bastards can see it — he was saying “Get off my back — or the next one’s going over, baby!” What a cunt.
And as for his assault on Hernandez — leaving the poor pea with concussion, no less — that was totally fucking despicable.
The Berbattery is berbaffling.
Actually, I’ve heard Berbatov was the second gunman on the grassy knoll.
Goodnight.
Knoll coward on grass.
Fuck Dos Equis and their Most Interesting Man in the World. We’ve got The Most Interesting Player in the World (TM). His pillow isn’t merely cool on both sides, it is actually used as the team’s official ice pack.
If The Most Intersting Player in the World (TM) had been the second gunman on the grassy knoll, they wouldn’t have needed a first gunman. Or a rifle. Or a bullet. One lusty look would have done it.
When he puts a square peg into a round hole, it fits. Perfectly. He is The Most Interesting Player in the World (TM).
Worlds best top 3 strikers? As so many have said 2 years going nowhere, happy at Man Utd.
Lil Pea get well.
As the revenue grows Man Utd has a self imposed salary cap of like 60 to 63% of total revenue on salary’s. Thus pay Tony V, Lil Pea, Fletch ect.
OK Berba can/ should be a starter, but just think he is 3rd choice hahahahahaha what a club, or Lil Pea 3rd striker, best up coming young one in the world is Man Utd 3rd one.
(EVIL SCIENTIST LAUGH MMMMUUUUHHHAAAHHHHAAAHHHHAAMMMMMUUUHHHAAAHHHHAAAA!)
Last season Berba clearly was our best and most consistent player.
Starting in 24 games he was recognized as Man of the Match 8 times.
Wazza and Nani have scored 5 MOTMs each.
Berba had some notable wobbles in front of goal last season despite the golden boot . I believe this season he will repay in spades SAF would of moved him on if for one minute he doubted his commitment . Lets hope he blows City away .
Not at all glad to hear this from Gill. He was one of our best players last season! One of the best players at MANCHESTER UNITED last season!! What does he mean “so we can assess how it goes, talk to him, see how he performs and see what happens”.. Doesn’t sound too positive or respectful to me. But knowing Berba, he’d give it his everything as long as he’s a United player and not worry about these things. Compare that with that mercenary and money grabbing troll.. He would’ve shat all over the media about this uncertainty from Gill.
Why? If it’s an option, something may go wrong in the meantime or Berbs might want to go somewhere else – it’s down to personal stuff. What if he’s pushed out by the other great strikers we have and he wants game-time? It’s a club option that may only be available at the end of his current contract.
@Cedars & Costas
I think you’ll like this:
http://www.football365.com/f365-says/7065677/F365-Says
@Unitedfanatic
Agreed mate. This is the first time I remember Gill or any other club official say that our top scorer for last season is basically on trial. Reminds me of the idiotic decision to exculde Berbatov from our official website’s poll for player of the season.
@dela
Ah, thanks mate. That article 100% expresses how I feel about our central midfield and full back situations. And I swear it wasn’t written by me.
A Ball winner in the midfield would do just nicely!!!
@Costas, The first thought that popped into my head when I read that article was “Is this written by Costas?”
BTW, for everyone worried about the lack of a ball winner, what do you feel about Phil Jones filling in to that role? I always thought the reason we were not in for a game-breaker is because Sir Alex envisioned Jones to do that role and recent comments have only reiterated that stand.
@Balaji
That must have been written by my twin brother.
Jones is probably the player that will replace most of O’Shea versatility. But I still wouldn’t count on him to do a job for us in midfield so soon. He should be eased into the first team, so imo it would be better if we started giving him tryouts at right back at this point. It’s an easier position for him and he would give us an alternative to the twins. Fergie did play him at right back against MLS, so he’s probably thinking the same too. As for the midfield, I’ve always said that if we buy one player, it should be someone that can step in for Fletch in a high pressure situation.
actions speak louder than words…berbatov is basically on trial in his final year… there have been contracts throwing around like confetti with smalling,park, hernandez , valencia all getting or in line to get the new deals while berbatov’s new deal is not even considered…and gill’s statement “we’ll see how he performes ” is nothing for berba fans to be reliefed about.
It’s obvious Berbatov is a class player. However the guy doesn’t fit our playing style.I can’t forgive him for those missed chances @ Blackburn and against Man City (FA cup). He’s too Lazy and tries to excuse that fact by saying that “Great Quality doesn’t require much effort”.He want’s to score beautiful goals huh?. Does Rooney not score beautiful goals too. I like the guy but let’s face it he’s a Square peg in a round hole!. What i don’t understand is Scot’s love affair with this guy?!.
Darth Redder – Berba, lazy? Did you watch a single game last season?
His demeanour suggests it, but in fact he put in some serious yards chasing back last season, the one big difference in his game.
@Fibes, Yeah, stats show that Berbatov is one of the most consistent workers in our team and his distance covered rivals that of our central mid-fielders. I sometimes think he is too nonchalant for his own good.
I’m not a Berba hater by any stretch of the imagination but I’m not sure how he fits into the team. I think the obvious question is – Would we buy him now if he didn’t play for us? I think the answer to that is no.
Why are people harping on about his miss at Blackburn last season costing us the league ? It was Valencia that missed the sitter for one, and there were a lit more reasons to why we didn’t win the league other than one missed opportunity?! Or am I missing something ?
Fuck me. Has Rooney NEVER missed a chance? Or Hernandez? Or Ruud? Or Hughes? How long are you gonna keep dragging up his miss at Blackburn? Anyone not remember the glorious ball he put through to Valencia who missed a sitter at Ewood the very same game? No one gives him any stick and rightly so. Shortsighted cunts.
How does he not fit? As Wayne has said we score three goals a game on the break dont we? Oh wait a sec…………………… Sometimes a slow patient build up is required for which there is nobody better. The best counter attacking goal of last season was Blackburn at home. Just remind me who was the main man in all that? Sorry to appear rude but I really am sick of folk beating Bernatov with any stick. Straw clutchers.
MikeKelly – Ha. Two great minds think a like mate!
King Eric – spot on mate! And that goal he started and finished against Blackburn wasgoal of the season in my book! I also recall him sliding in to win the ball back before playing a one two with Rooney who crossed for giggs to score! I suppose some people are choosing to forget the hat trick he scored against the scousers too! Baffling!
sell berba, buy tevez….oh, wait… =)
MikeKelly – Exactly mate. Think that goal where he slid in to win the ball and did the one two with Rooney and Giggs rifled into roof of net was against Brum in that 5-0. Another hat trick for Berbatov that day.
Yeah bring back the troll mercenary. At least he is not “lazy”.
@Mikekelly12
What you don’t realize mate, is that a missed Berba opportunity in one game is a bigger cause for us losing the title than a severe injury crisis, Vidic absent for many tough away games, referee decisions, as well as Fergie’s weird team selection in the said game.
Yeah, lets blame it on Berbatov. It’s not like he made up for that missed opportunity this season…
Im not so concerned with Berbas misses as I feel a striker has done two thirds of his job getting into a scoring possition. What I am more concerned with and its not neccessarily a Berba thing is that our chances on goal have dramatically decreased over the past 3 or 4 seasons to a level that sometimes resembles a lower table team. Last season there were a few games where we only managed 3 or less shots on goal all game. Thats a fundamental break down of Uniteds principles.
GoatinaUnitedshirt – Hello mate. Hhmm not sure I agree. Yes in tight games we created very little but in most games we created a hatful of chances.
I really couldn’t understand why he wasn’t even on the bench against Barca. Surely against a team like Barca, you need players with great touch, passing, vision, control and technical ability. Fergie knows better than me but he had FOUR midfielders as subs. Ditch one of those and put Berba on the bench with Owen.
Anyway, doesn’t really matter anymore. Glad to hear he’ll not be going anywhere. Always been a big fan of the Berb. Love his languid style. Plays football while walking – how many players can do that! Technically superb and only idiots think he’s shite. Personally I hope he stays longer than two years.
Darth-Redder
You “can’t forgive him for those missed chances @ Blackburn and against Man City (FA cup)”
Take your forgiveness and stick it up your arse. No United player will ever need your forgiveness or your blessing.
Actually the truth is that you don’t like Berbatov, no matter what he does.
Also, you don’t understand football or pay attention to matches, but merely regurgitate others views that align with your intention to discredit our player.
. He’s too Lazy and tries to excuse that fact by saying that “Great Quality doesn’t require much effort”.He want’s to score beautiful goals huh?. Does Rooney not score beautiful goals too. I like the guy but let’s face it he’s a Square peg in a round hole!. What i don’t understand is Scot’s love affair with this guy?!.
Just the way all this is handled the ECF Wording of Gills statements i still always think Berba
could be dropping down the pecking order got a feeling could be a last season in a red shirt gents
phildo – Absolutely spot on. Loved the line “he plays football while walking”. Superb.
smartalex – Well said pal.
Even Darth Redder is trotting out the “square peg in round hole” line. Come on Denton we know its really you!!
Why is it that when another united fan expresses his/her thoughts on berba that are in any way negative, they are roundly condemed as cunts, pricks etc. I know many match going reds, who have different opinions on the bloke, none of them who like him don’t call those who don’t cunts pricks or know-nothing twats who have never watched a game football in their life.
To me they are expressing an opinion, no problem.
feedemscraps – Hello mate. I assume you mean me? I said I am sorry for appearing agrressive but some folk will go to great lengths to discredit Berba. “That sitter at Blackburn”. Err which sitter? Tony V missed it. “Too lazy”. Oh because the red tops say that. “Only scores against small teams at home”. They all count. As I say its clutching at straws and I am getting pissed off with getting shit for fighting OUR, you know United players corners then been made to look the cunt for having a pop. Half the posts arent even constructive but as smartalex says just regurgitated shit. People need to think for themselves more and by this I don’t mean you pal.
feedemscraps – Yeah and the “match going reds” that sit around me and slate Berba, Carrick, O Shea etc are a fucking disgrace. Dont even know why they go to the games to be perfectly honest.
feedemscraps
It is not true to say ‘when another united fan expresses his/her thoughts on berba that are in any way negative, they are roundly condemed as cunts, pricks etc.”
They’re only “condemed as cunts, pricks etc.” when they lie about or unfairly attack our players.
When they express an opinion that is not a vicious or unfounded attack, but rather a reasoned view, they are engaged in conversation.
We don’t see every player in the same light, but we respect the shirt and those who are chosen to wear it. Fair, true and considered criticism and views are welcome.
Sorry KE, I’m not having a go at any one In particular. I know what you mean being surrounded by people you wouldn’t piss on if they were onfire.
My mates,for the most part, aren’t dickheads tho. Personally I’m not too b9thered what other reds think as long as it doesn’t involve booing and the like.
By the sounds of it- Berba is effectively on trial this season. Others have had their contracts extended…yet for Berba we’re gonna “assess how it goes, talk to him, see how he performs and see what happens”?
I also think this is related to how Welbeck etc perform this season. If they do well, then Fergie will probably be more comfortable in letting Berba go next summer. If they don’t, then he’ll activate the clause and extend his deal by another year.
Phildo … good line about playing football while walking. Like that a lot. I remember a quote years ago by Sir Alex himself about the difference between “running speed” and “football speed”, and how it is football speed (speed of thought, coupled with intelligent movement and clever use of the ball) that matters most.
Well lads — SmartAlex, King Eric, MikeKelly, Balaji, phildo — I am thrilled to see the continued support for The Berb. It warms my heart that our great club, this great institution, has fans such as you guys. Cheers mates!
Goat — to me, the fact that we seem to be creating fewer chances is a reflection of our midfield, plus the ultra-defensive tactics adopted by some of the PL minnows. I looked for some data on this but couldn’t find any. Unfortunately, the PL official site’s stats page is a joke — not a patch on those offered to fans of baseball, hockey etc in the states, or the official cricket stats.
feedemscraps – No worries mate. I take your point.
Stateside – Thanks alot mate. Likewise with you. Cheers!
Firstly its 100% utd will extend the contract won’t let berba leave on a free,secondly just a point on what drives me mad about the berba haters its selective judging only see or remember the negatives.
alot say well he just dosen’t fit hasn’t quite made the impact at utd??????????????????
8 mom,7 game winners,top scorer,how the fuck is that not fitting in,berba was massive last year and was sacrificed for rooney although at the time he was dropped was scoring goals for fun.lets be clear here berba didn’t deserve to be dropped and rooney didn’t deserve to be playing,99% of players would’ve had a hissy fit and wanted out berba took it in his stride then to be left out of the CL squad was atrocious,yet again berba accepted it,i’m shocked he still wants to stay just shows what kind of class person he is and how much he loves the club.
Everytime utd was struggling and berba came on made a difference in nearly every game,i think berba gives utd better shape than rooney because he keeps his position rather than running all over the place,his first touch is the best in the team,he’s way ahead of anyone in holding the ball and bringing others into play,his vision and interplay is top quality.everyone raves about rooney and no question rooney is world class but berbas overall skill set is just as good.
Can we please also get off berba is slow,berba doesn’t try, its all bollocks,berba plays his position he’s not a rooney or tevez running all over the place but lots of times that can be a hinderence.all this nonsense about berba missing sitters has to stop aswell all strikers miss chances again with the berba haters its always the ones he misses not the great ones he scores.
in berba utd have a world class striker who’s prepared to be a squad player because he loves the club,have you any idea how rare players like berba and park are and how hard it would be to replace them almost impossible.park is now getting the appreciation he deserves and berba deserves the same because utd are lucky to have him.
so get off the lads back and start giving him the love he has for the club,start enjoying his amazing skills instead of watching to find fault.
wayne – Nail on the head mate. I have said before he is one of the best players at United I have paid to watch in recent years. I love watching him. Think he will only be missed by some when he gos.
wayne’s tremendous comment at 14:41 should be re-read and remembered by all who post bullshit and rhetoric in an attempt to falsely discredit the truly brilliant Dimitar Berbatov.
@wayne, I think it is more about human psyche mate. For a long time, I was a Nani-skeptic (quite different from a Berbahater but still…) and still carry a little part of that with me to this day, even though Nani has become the best creative force in our team. I love all the tricks he pulls off but whenever he does something infuriating, it is bound to irritate me more than it does some of you guys. Of course, I don’t whine about his negatives in every topic on the man, so I am not really putting myself on the same level as the idiots that whine about Berba, but just trying to make sense of why they act like they do. I have no idea whether that made sense.
As for me, Berbatov for this United team is like Rahul Dravid (non-Cricket fans, look away) has been for the Indian cricket team. He toils for the team, never complains about anything, produces the goods when nobody expects them to, saves the team out of rough spots whenever needed and acts with a level of class you wouldn’t expect from such highly paid sportsmen. Yet, as soon as someone marquee like Rooney (or Sachin in India’s case) comes along, they are immediately forgotten and made to look like has-beens. I guess they are not too bothered about it but, as fans of their abilities, I am bothered when they are treated as such by fans and media alike.
Despite Berba’s tremendous performance and contribution last season, people still trash him. What does the man need to do, for heaven’s sake? I’m glad that there are the likes of King Eric, StatesideAussie, Costas, Balaji, MG, et. al. I love you, guys.. And I agree with King Eric, regurgitating the same shit ain’t impressive… it’s at best boring…
I’ve been lucky to have met and talked to Berba several times last year and this year at the tour. He is very sweet and accommodating, yet for someone of his stature very shy and unassuming.
Costas, I think it’s time you give me back Berba….
This place has went Berbanuts!
Hello RedGem? Still banging Berba’s drum? Lol.
willie…. HELL, YES!!!!! can’t you tell? I left this site a while back coz I could no longer stomach the berba trashing… I come back here and it’s still going on…
how are ya, buddy?
RedGem – I’m fine. You haven’t been on here, for a while. Yeah, the berba bashing is boring. He was our top scorer, but that ain’t good enough for some. He’s got a lot of support as well though. As you can see lol. Good to hear from you again.
Thanks, willie… yes, great to see folks staunchly supporting him. I’m still on cloud 9 from my last meeting with the berb…. hahaha…
In boston a spurs fan was mean to Berba during the autograph signing and the following day at the game he booed him loudly when his name was called. I told him off, but he didn’t stop… a United fan behind us called him a p*ick and insulted spurs.. that shut him up… lucky for me coz I was so enraged and was ready to punch him in the face (and I’ve never ever hit anyone in my whole life)…
Wayne … the strange thing is that when the Berb does track back, then he’s criticized for straying out of position. I have seen that on here, too.
Balaji … I guess everyone has players that annoy them or that they just don’t like. But what’s different about the Berb is the sheer fanaticism of those who dislike him. What was it Churchill said — “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” Seriously, they just won’t let it go.
Nani is an interesting case. I did reach a point, a couple of years ago, when I was losing patience with him. It wasn’t his tricks that annoyed me — it was his selfishness and immaturity. But he has improved out of sight. He still sometimes does things which look silly — tricks that don’t come off and were probably unnecessary anyway, that sort of thing. Still sometimes takes a shot when there are better options. But Nani is one of those guys who was born to push the envelope — and more than anything, that’s what makes him dangerous. And when you have a guy like that, you have to accept that sometimes it won’t work. It’s the nature of the beast — if you’re going to push the envelope, by definition, you have to take risks. That’s what allows him to bust a game open. And by and large, it works for him. Not always, but he has improved both his decision making about when to try it, and his execution in making it work, and even when it doesn’t work, it ultimately results in very little damage to the team. He isn’t Mr Safe And Reliable. But if he was, then he wouldn’t be Mr Game Breaker either.
What I’ve always said about players like Nani and The Berb is that they add a different dimension to our game — and that fact alone is valuable to us because we can’t afford to be one-dimensional. The variety of teams and styles and tactics that we have to face and overcome each year, means that one-dimensional won’t work for us. Like a lot of others on here, I love it when we play fast football on the break, counter-attacking with width and speed. But what good does that do you if you’re playing a team that won’t ever leave their own 18-yard box? If they’ve dug the trenches, manned the ramparts and battened down the hatches, then you’ve got a different type of problem to overcome.
That’s why it’s annoying when people slag The Berb by saying he only scores against crap teams. The whole point is that those teams make it difficult to score against them, by their negative tactics. Fuck, we all saw how even the mighty Barcelona utterly failed when Inter pulled that stunt. But that’s the thing — Barca are brilliant (chokes when I say it) but they are one-dimensional. They don’t face that sort of thing often, and when they did, they couldn’t cope. I reckon we would have done a much better job against Inter that day — because we are used to it, we know how to deal with it, and we are equipped to take it on.
We see that shit every second week in the PL. And what some people fail to understand is that these days, beating the other “top teams” isn’t enough to win you the PL. The dippers proved that a few years ago, in the FSW’s last year. Great record against us and the other “contenders”, but still lost overall because they consistently dropped points against the mid to lower teams. Whereas our head-to-head against the other top teams wasn’t so great (or not against them that year, anyway), but we did a much better job against the journeymen of the league — the guys who have learned how to grind out draws against the leading teams.
Of course I love it when we play the top teams. We all do. Those are the days we live for. But in terms of winning the league, recent history shows that the overall record against the lower teams is at least as important and possibly more so.
Dumping on The Berb because he shines against those teams is shortsighted, ignorant and fucking ridiculous.
Sorry. Rant over.
RedGem … great to see you back. Cheers!
RedGem … “I left this site a while back coz I could no longer stomach the berba trashing.” I know how you must have felt — I’ve felt like that a few times myself, recently.
RedGem – What do Spurs fans know? Lol. They’re clueless!
@Stateside, The rant to end all rants. Brilliant mate. Especially loved the analysis on how Nani and Berba make it work against the Stokes, Norwich, Boltons of this world.
Yeah, regarding Nani, that is why I said I don’t put myself on the same level as those who whine about Berbatov. I love everything that Nani does, but a dislike for his selfishness and decision-making is so ingrained in my psyche that each time he does that, I get irritated a lot more than anyone else. But I understand that is because of my personal prejudice and leave it be. That is something I don’t see the Berbahaters doing.
Stateside… thanks…and as I told you the very first time I read your post, I enjoy reading your very intelligent and well thought-out comments..
I had gotten more sensitive to those hateful comments about Berba since I met him last year. He was so kind to me… he might never remember, but I will never forget..
StatesideAussie – Hello mate. What a fantastic post at 15.47. Nice one.
willie..LOL..yeah, really…. I used to like Spurs but now I hope they rot in the europa league till kingdonm come…
..Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool fans (and they were wearing their jerseys, too!) who went to the Utd tour events have been very impressed with the friendliness and professionalism of our boys.
Wayne @ 14:41: “its 100% utd will extend the contract won’t let berba leave on a free”
You’ll hardly be surprised to hear that I’m “sceptical” about your interpretation of David Gill’s statement.
For me – obviously – the key sentence is: “We have until the end of the season [to extend his contract], so we can assess how it goes, talk to him, see how he performs and see what happens.”
For some of you guys the other sentences sound like a vote-of-confidence; to me this sentence sounds like they’re shopping the guy and waiting to see if they can get a decent return for him.
Like the rest of you, I have no clue what a “decent return” would be but I’d reckon that it won’t be another striker/attacking player. To me – surprise ! – the key issue in this pre-season is whether (or not) Anderson can step up in the midfield and then if Danny Welbeck can make a transition to the first-team.
IF SAF (and his advisers) get a very positive response to the first question then the “target” for an additional transfer gets focussed;
IF SAF (and his advisers) get a very positive response to the second question then the logjam of strikers/attacking players gets focussed and someone (or some-two or maybe even some-) get deemed surplus-to-requirements.
IF SAF (and his advisers) get a muddled response to those questions then it’s back to the drawing board in terms of personnel.
To my way of thinking – and focussing on David Gill’s “key sentence” which I’ve highlighted above – it’s not guaranteed that Dimmy’s future is certain. Like all players, he’s an “asset” and the managerial team’s responsibility is to make the best use of their assets. Play him ? Keep him as “insurance” ? or flog him/use him as a makeweight in some further tinkering ? As I see things, all of these options are possible. Very positive answers to the two questions I raised concerning Anderson and Danny Welbeck change the emphasis; so, too, do very negative answers to those two questions.
Additionally, Chicharito’s concussion – repeated ? or a freak accident ? – will play into those decisions – and don’t expect that we will have any “inside knowledge” about the Mexicutioner’s medical issues.
What’s striking about the ten sentences in David Gill’s comment is that he gives optimists and pessimists and also “Sceptics” food for thought – or reasons to believe that their prejudices are correct. My point is that it’s foolhardy to dismiss any of these options on the basis of having “knowledge” about what SAF (and his advisers) are thinking – and more so, based on the very equivocal nature of David Gill’s comment.
StateSideAussie @ 15:47: “Dumping on The Berb because he shines against those teams is shortsighted, ignorant and fucking ridiculous.”
Agreed, BUT there’s more to BerbaScepticism than that.
The eloquence and passion in your “rant” is powerful but not the whole story but there’s no reason to re-hash the alternative interpretation of his time at OT. It’s been done before – and if I can control myself, I won’t be doing it again.
Suffice it to say, I don’t disagree with what you have written but it’s only part of the story.
In a typically disingenuous retort denton davey says to wayne at 16:27
‘ Wayne says “its 100% utd will extend the contract won’t let berba leave on a free”
You’ll hardly be surprised to hear that I’m “sceptical” about your interpretation of David Gill’s statement.’
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wayne was not interpreting Gill’s statement., he was stating an opinion.
RedfGem. Welcome back girl. Good to hear from you. Thanks for the mention love.
The Turkish Airlines jingle has to be the worst I’ve ever heard, and I include “We Buy Any Car” in that. Just sayin’.
Thanks, King Eric…
That said, it’s still better than the Barcelona “hymn”. I hope we muller dem cunts today. NFT.
Denton … From a purely financial perspective, a “decent return” would be any transfer fee that’s higher than the “book value” of his registration at that time. I know a lot of fans don’t understand or agree with that, but that’s the way the business side of it works. A player’s transfer fee is written down over the life of his contract. In the Berb’s case, that was about 30 million over four years, so it is currently valued on the books at around 7.5 million. At the end of this season, it will be valued at nothing — except that the club has this unilateral option to extend for another year. In short, to get more than 7.5 million for him now would, in purely financial terms, be considered a “win”, and to get anything at all for him after this year (assuming the club invokes that extension) would be a “win” too.
I know that sounds like meaningless gibberish to a lot of folk, but it actually makes sense, given the impact of the Bosman ruling. It also makes sense from an ordinary perspective. We all know that if you buy a car for 10 grand today, it will lose value over time. A year from now, it isn’t worth 10 grand any more, and two years on, it will be worth even less. If it’s worth only 4 grand three years from now, does that mean you’ve wasted 6 grand? Well no — because you’ve also had the use out of it for three years, and that’s worth something (the 6 grand, plus gas, registration, insurance and maintenance etc). With a personal vehicle, it doesn’t matter, but for a business vehicle, you need to account for the “lost” 6 grand somehow. You can’t continue to say your company truck is worth 10 grand (because it isn’t), but you can’t just ignore the 6 grand that was “lost” either. So you account for it as depreciation. But if the truck is worth 4 grand three years from now, and you sell it for 5 grand, then technically you have made a profit of 1,000. If you sold it for only 3 grand, then you made a loss.
Fred … I’m really looking forward to today’s match, but in one sense, we’re on a hiding to nothing. If we do well, or even win, everyone else will say, “Yeah, but it was only a preseason friendly”, and if we lose, they will say, “See — Barcelona really are better”.
Same for the Berb. If he does well today, they will say it was only a preseason friendly. And if he doesn’t, they will say — told you so, can’t cut it against quality opposition.
StatesideAussie … let’s hammer Barca 5:1. Then people can say what they like.
I agree with your “hiding to nothing” logic. Also, I think we’ll give them a wake-up call tonight.
If he was that important,the club wont allow his contract to get to 1 yr.goodbye,Berba.great footballer but definitely UNITED calibre
Stateside… sadly, you’re right, but I no longer give a damn what others say or think about this barca thing. btw, fans who watched the US-Spain friendly recently said that the Spanish players, except Casillas, are very arrogant.
smartalex.. I’ve read some of your posts before… you’re one witty dude! I’m very impressed..
Stateside – also; if we beat them, it will be used by some as proof that we don’t need a new midfielder after all. If we lose, it will be used by others as proof that we do need one!
denton i’m assuming gill is telling the truth when he says utd don’t want berba to leave,most of the conversation is discussion whether utd extend the contract,what i’m saying regardless if utd decide to sell him or not next season still going to extend the contract.nothing to interpret mate just common sense,utd will have nothing to lose.i’m assuming you’re still talking about this season and that gill is actually lying about utd wanting him to stay?.He’s not going anywhere before the start of the season although you’d like utd to swap him for almost anyone,you have such tunnelvision when it comes to berba just see things that’s not there.
Fred … yeah, in the end, people will say whatever suits them, won’t they? As for the club’s attitude over The Berb’s contract … as much as I love The Berb and hope he never leaves (except to retire), I do think the club is handling this sensibly from their point of view. If United didn’t have that option to extend for a year, then I think the current refusal to negotiate a new deal would be a clear sign. But as it stands, there is no need for the club to do anything right now, so why would they? He will be 31 by the end of this season, and the reality is that strikers often begin to decline around then. And we do have a number of young players coming through in that position. Who knows where he, or they, will be in the relative scheme of things a year from now? If it wasn’t for that extension clause, the club would need to take a gamble on way or the other: either extend his contract (which may have implications for the younger lads who, let’s face it, are our longer term future), or don’t extend it, in which case he could leave if he chooses (even if he’s scoring 300 goals a year and the youngsters aren’t progressing).
Plus throw in the Berb’s continued (and seemingly genuine) stated desire to stay here for the duration of his career, and the fact that our club has certain policies for players over 30 which are rarely broken, and that other clubs are unlikely to be breaking down the door for a player who’s already 31 by then, and it all makes perfect sense — they are looking out for themselves, which is what they’re supposed to do. My own view (and hope) is that he’ll stay on one-year rolling contracts for as long as the club wants him, but we’ll see.
Meanwhile I hope he puts 5 past Barcelona tonight (even if that will mean blog comments tomorrow about him always scoring in clusters), and goes on to have a cracking year.
RedGem
Thank you! I can tell by the company you keep and the way you carry yourself that you’re one classy lady whom I’m proud to make acquaintance of. I remember reading your input during a previous era on RoM, and welcome you back with open arms!
Welcome home!
StatesideAussie
I had simple, logical thoughts on the recent Gill statement on Berbatov’s contract status.
When I considered how best to express them, I thought of you! So I didn’t express them, and
now thank you for doing so with simplicity and eloquence at 18:12.
awww… thanks, smartalex.. that’s so sweet…
Fred. “We are turkish airlines. We are globally yours“. Annoying as fuck isn’t it.
Fergies gum. Not United calibre. Seriously? He is one of the most naturally gifted and talented footballers I have paid to watch at United. Infact having read your post again you say he IS definitely United quality. Apologies for that although I suspect you omitted the word not!
Like a mid 90s rave on here. So much love!
Brendan Block on the decks!
Just watching some athletics on the box. Anyone remember the Barcelona Olympics, 1992? Class.
We’re gonna swallow disco busquets tonight, and no one has to parkalona.
Party people!
Any news on whether this is going to be a full-strength vs full-strength match, or one of those passable friendlies where either team does not want to give any tricks away? I hope it is not the latter since we are not even in the same League to begin with and there is no reason to suggest we’ll meet at all in the season.
Hold on there Balaji, I’ll phone the boss and see what the crack is with the team selection.
Not in the same league figuratively or literally. #oooff! *Tin hat on*
Balaji … I suspect SAF will treat this as a serious work out and field the strongest side he has available. I hope he does. I guess there might be one or two surprise selections off the bench though.
@Stateside, Yeah, that is what I hope as well. King Eric was raving about how they looked like shit without Messi in their last game. So, I am more interested about what they field because we can have a certain idea as to how Sir Alex will treat this game.
@Fred, That is why I said “League” with a captial-L mate.
@willie, Get Costas on it ASAP.
@Balaji – Haha, let’s hope Barca are left looking like Losers with a capital L tonight.
(Like we were at Wembley.)
@Fred,
smartalex @ 17:38, “Also, I think we’ll give them a wake-up call tonight.”
That gave me the saddest deja-vu ever as it reminded me of what we talked about here in the day leading to the 28th.
So this is where the wee Wes gang have been hiding….. Thought you can stay out of my sight eh?
Pipe down kooky monster.
The fucking idiots running the show put berba on trial and give carrick a four year contract ext when they should have shown him the door .How can u put your top scorer on trial .
@Balaji, pre-season has felt noticeably different today, as each time I’ve thought ‘Barcelona’ I’ve been reminded of the after-math of that game.
The only way to free us of these reminders is to beat Barcelona in the Champions League.
Fred
If you are referring to what I think you are referring to than I agree
Willie
Piping as we speak!
Pipping as you speak?
You trick of sending me agents to keep me busy on other threads eventually failed. I found you, hence you have been pipped!
I’m down here Cedric.
Caught you on the other thread with in a minute……
Says a lot about the strength of your clique, I appear and all your compatriots run and hide
Here, there, everywhere!
I told them to take pity on you. Being old and all.
One man army fighting for justice
Blah. Yawn. Carrick. Yawn.
Brandon Block mate. Fuck me what a clown. Remember when the cunt was caught redhanded selling pills on a documentary about Ibiza! Shit dj back in the day. I was a sasha and graham park fan myself. God those WERE the days.
Balaji. Hello mate. Wooaahh. I didn’t say they were shit. I just said they were nowt like the same without him and Xavi. Don’t wanna end up eating my words.
Why the fuck should Carrick be shown the door? Its not like he has been our most regular midfielder for the last five seasons and helped us to win four out of five league titles. Seriously pritch do you EVER havbe anything positive to say? All you do is fucking moan.
Do you know what Brendan Blocks nickname is? Breeze.
pritch the red always throws a can of worms over the fence when he walks past.
He has become a bit of a bore.
So, Brendan Block’s the guy they talk about shooting at the water-cooler.
Paul Okenfold takes some beating.
Belting DJ.
Willie. Yeah mate. He was a decent dj was oakenfold. Cannot believe there is still a dance scene. It must be fucking shite. That ship sailed in ninety five.
Wayne @ 18:03: “gill is actually lying about utd wanting him to stay”
C’mon, get serious. David Gill is talking out of both sides of his mouth – he quite clearly contradicts himself in those ten sentences. My point was not “disingenuous” (to quote SmartAlex @ 16:47) but, rather, to make it clear that David Gill was, indeed, talking out of both sides of his mouth and it would be naive to believe anything he said beyond the clear fact that UTD have control over Dimmy for two years – if they so wish to exercise that option.
What David Gill did is what any/all sports executives do all the time. They dissemble – to call it “actually lying” is to hold him to a standard of behaviour that is even more strenuous than a counsel of perfection.
Oakenfold is a fucking legend! As for Graham Park, he DJ’d at our local on the night of the CL final, played classics all night, took my mind off the result, for a while anyway!
@ Sparkz
That is the key point you made, especiallu after the way he played against Barca, it is difficult to see Wellbeck as lower than 3 rd choice, he is hopefully a shoe – in for 2nd striker after Rooney. I think how he and Machaeda do will determine whether Berb stays.
I am not going to get into another debate about the guy because you just get abuse by people hiding behind screens, but I would HATE to see Wellbeck or Machaeda leave for lack of chances and Pea and Rooney are young enough to play for at least five more years and are not going anywhere and we have more youngsters coming through so something has to give. I also think people underate the style and quality of play Wellbeck brings to the table, given chances I expect him and Cleverly to break into the first 11 more often than not. Machaeda on his day has also scored some spectacular goals like he did Villa.
Gill’s position is common sense, the Club has a policy about older players anyway and SAF rates the current first choice strikers and the younger players highly, some one has to move on to let them through if they earn it.
NBI Red Onion
I’m glad to hear that you no longer wish to abuse people from behind your screen.
Well done lad!
I hope that your new-found maturity extends that wish to our players, and that you will no longer hurl vile abuse at them. We are so much better than that!