A year in to his Tottenham Hotspur career, Dimitar Berbatov decided he wanted to play for Manchester United. He let Daniel Levy know his desires but Berbatov was told he wouldn’t be going anywhere. He had just seen United finish Champions of England, reaching the FA Cup final and European Cup semi-finals. In contrast, Spurs finished 5th in the league, eight points behind Arsenal, reached the 6th Round of the FA Cup, and the UEFA Cup quarter finals.
Had the deal for Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid been completed earlier in the summer of 2006, he would probably have already been at Old Trafford, but this wasn’t to be, and he was left with no winners medals.
Regardless, Berbatov got on with it, dedicated to help the cause, and scored 23 goals for Spurs the following season. This was 5 goals more than Wayne Rooney, 4 goals more than Carlos Tevez, yet he had the memory of just the League Cup final to cheer him up, opposed to the League title and European Cup the United strikers had.
He had done his bit, but the club weren’t doing theirs. Why should a player scoring over 20 goals a season be stuck at a club that doesn’t even finish in the top half of the table, when the current Champions of England and Europe want him to play for them? It was no contest. Yet the blame for Spurs’ dreadful start to the season, coupled with all the bitterness and resentment that came with it, was dropped on Berbatov’s doorstep.
Robbie Keane, who had pledged his future to the club, seem to get off fairly lightly though.
“There’s always speculation that I’m going here, there and everywhere but I’m very content with my life and with my time at Spurs,” Keane said at the end of May, just a month before signing for Liverpool. “I will continue to play there for as long as I am happy and for as long as I am wanted.”
In contrast, Berbatov was very honest with his intentions. At 27-years-old, he wanted to take possibly the once in a lifetime opportunity to play for the Champions of England Europe, and let this be known. He didn’t put on some front like he was this dyed-in-the-wool loyal supporter of the club, who would stay at Spurs for as long as they wanted him. He was up front. He’d scored 46 goals in two years and now he was ready to move on. Keane tried to keep the fans sweet, knowing all along that interest from Liverpool would be enough to get him out of London. Yet Berbatov is the villain for Spurs’ fans.
In a month’s time, United will travel to White Hart Lane, meaning Spurs’ fans will be given the opportunity to let Berbatov know exactly what they think of him, but Berbatov insists he has nothing but good things to say about Tottenham.
“I will always have special feelings for Tottenham,” said Berbatov. “They showed me the way in English football. I will never have anything bad to say about the club. I watch every game they play. I was just surprised the team got off to such a bad start because Juande Ramos was a very good coach. Now Harry Redknapp has come in, a very experienced manager, and I am pleased they are going up the table.”
Man Utd News 24/7
What a load of rubbish! Firstly Utd sort of wanted to sign Berba when he left Bayern but Berba chose Spurs over Utd realising he’d have more first team opportunities and because Spurs showed a firmer interest in signing him. That is well documented. Secondly it is a known fact that Berba went on strike at the beginning of the season, refusing to play in Spurs games and agitating for a move to Utd, even signing Utd shirts whilst still a Spurs player. Ask yourselves if you (as fans) would be happy with this behaviour and attitude. Be honest. Thirdly, he’s obviously relieved that Spurs have started improving as the onus is not so much on the way he left and therefore he feels he can ingratitate himself to the Spurs fans before his impending return. Such a player you are welcome to. He’s an undisputed talent but lazy and selfish. Enjoy him for the 3 season’s you’ve got him for!
This article just about sums you lot up. Who the fuck do you think you are? Berbatov decided to sign for spurs and had a contract which he agreed to when he joined Tottenham.
How dare spurs hang onto a player who Man Utd wants, we should have rolled over and said Berba, you have your wish, and we are going to let you go, even though you still have 4 years left on your contract, I’ll tell you what Dimitar, we will even let you go for 15m, even though your value is 30m, just because we dont want to upset Mr Ferguson at Old Trafford!
Is it any wonder that the vast majority of football fans think that you lot are so far up your own arses, that when you get beaten or go out of competitions, the whole country celebrate!
Stop with all this superiority complex!
What a pathetic post. You’ve got Berbatov now, there’s absolutely no need to keep on justifying his abhorrent behaviour in refusing to play for the club he was contracted to – which he obviously would never have done if he had not already illegally been promised a job at Manchester United. Oh well, another Man U player, another 30-million pounds. I wish for once you lot could get a good player without adding to your 800-million pound debt.
Spurs4eva – Click.
“It is true that Manchester United wanted to sign me. They had a problem with Ruud van Nistelrooy but I could not wait so long, so I said no.”
Scott the Red, Keane gave us six years of 100% service and would of stayed if his boyhood club hadn’t wanted him. Berbatov was making noises about man utd after his first season. He used us as a stepping stone. That is why we are angry.
Just like Ronaldo has been honest with his intentions. He wants to go to a BIGGER club..So why the F*ck dont you guys just roll over and let him go..You have what you want having payed over the odds so just enjoy it and leave us alone..hypocrites!
Brad – you mean the ‘boyhood club’ he turned down when he was 16-years-old? Can you think of anyone who would say no to their ‘boyhood club’ when they were a teenager? He fed you lies to soften the blow, as no proper fan shuns the opportunity to play for their team when they’re a kid.
Do you not think Spurs has plenty of players who used their former clubs as stepping stones too, to get them to a Premiership club? Isn’t that what ALL footballers do?
Dee – how are we hypocrites? When the time is right to sell Ronaldo, we will do. You didn’t sell Berbatov last summer when he said he wanted out just as we didn’t sell Ronaldo this summer. You thought you could push for the top 4, so you convinced him to stay. When you didn’t even finish in the top half of the table, he wanted out. Do you blame him? Do you think a player who is good enough to play at the highest level should pass up on the opportunity, what might be his last, to play Champions League football?
I would laugh my c**k off if I won the league with the mighty Reds while my old pal Berbatov missed the boat again!!!
Regardless, Berbatov got on with it, dedicated to help the cause – absolutely brilliant! Man U fans – the authoritative voice of all knowledgeable football fans!!!
I expect most players to be mercenaries, but that doesn’t mean I support their venality and greed. Obviously Man U supporters feel differently.It’s sad.
Spurs fans only hate Berbatov coz he admitted he wanted to United rather than stay at their poxy club.
The fact that Robbie Keane was joining his boyhood club is perfectly ok, despite saying he was going to stay.
shannon-we have got another good player without adding to our”£800m in debt”and hes on loan at your club,gaining experience and keeping you in the premiership.
jog on.
Paddy, I wonder what’s going to happen to your debt-ridden club now that the credit crunch is getting rally serious. I mean, if even General Motors and Ford can be threatened with bankruptcy in the new economic order, Manchester United must be sh***ing themselves about how deep they’re in debt. My “poxy club”, on the other hand, is very well run and has very little debt. So we’ll stay around, don’t know about you lot.
Shannon, how the fuck can you bang on about money spent? How much have your shower of shit paid close season? Furthermore you spent ridicoulous amounts based on players who had a good euro s hardly proven talent!
No wonder Spurs are hated up and down the country! Bore off Yids
King Eric, never mind, when they play well for us we can always sell then to you for three times what we paid for them
It makes me laugh how bitter spurs fans are about the whole thing, We’ve got Berbatov you’ve not, We’re Champions of england and Europe and your not
you say ‘keane gave us years of 100% effort’ blah blah yes he did which makes it worse that he just jumped ship and went to livershite he had a connection with your club and you spuds loved him he always stated he wanted to stay for aslong as spurs wanted him etc etc yet he went anyway and your still naive enough to think he gave a flying fuck about you lot.
Berbatov told you the truth he wanted to leave he never gave you fans any false idea’s that he was going to stay, he then left and even after all the shit levy and ramos said about him he still has good things to say about your club and you still slate him? Pathetic.
GET OVER IT! you signed some good players in modric corluka pavlychenko and we gave you Campell on loan who just got you through to the next round of the Carling Cup.
spurs = another ABU team, ahh well.
Red Manc, we didn’t bring this rubbish up, you did. As I said, you’ve got Berbatov so why all the protestations? You can’t have the moral high ground as well after tapping up the player and then hijacking him and transporting him under a dog’s blanket from the airport! You seem to be saying that because Manchester United do better than Spurs its OK! Which, I suppose, is the sort of twisted reasoning one should expect.
‘we didnt bring up this rubbish you did’ your on an MANCHESTER UNITED FORUM! if you dont like what is on this forum then fuck off and dont come on it, its simple as that. if we tapped him up why did spurs drop the charges against us and liverpool? yes thats right liverpool were accused aswel but yet your not bitter towards them? ABU bullshit thats why, how did you get ramos again? oh yeh you tapped him up, how did you get that kid from crystal palace? oh yeh you tapped him up aswell. and you accuse United of double standards
and no its not ok because we do better than spurs even though we havent done anything wrong, i thought if you lot want to act pathetic then so will i, so i brought up how were more sucessfull than you
there are alot of hasty spurs fans here. hey guess what, berba didnt want to stay at ur club cos he scores 20+ goals, and wins one cup trophy. while we at man utd win the league and the UCL in one year. and you lot have the right to winge. berba was clear he wanted out, so stop hanging on to someone that doesnt want to be at ur club. and start worrying about making it in the top 10 not the top 4. good luck
Hey, watch it, the bank is coming! hehehhehehe