Rio Ferdinand sings the praises of Dimitar Berbatov after his man of the match performance for Manchester United in our 1-0 victory over Wolves at the weekend.
“I wasn’t surprised at Berba’s work-rate,” said Ferdinand. “To be honest if you look at the statistics you’ll see that he’s one of the hardest runners in our team and that he covers the most ground. He’s a bit languid and whatnot, but he really puts the effort in. People see a different side to him, but I don’t think that it actually reflects his importance to the team. He’s appreciated by us and that’s the most important thing. I thought he was brilliant against Wolves. For one player to play up front on his own and occupy their back four the way he did was testament to his quality.”
Man Utd News 24/7
Defiantley agree with Rio, I honestly dont care if Berba score’s 1 in a whole season his overall contribution, assits & class he brings to the match is amazing.
His class is surreal & the lad is just to cool .. I LOVE HIM
Absolutely! He was able to mix his classy close control with a good slice of hard work – best game I remember watchin him in – the guys a genius!
I thought he was bloody awesome on Saturday – some of his touches were out of this world and his hold up play was as good as anybody.
He was awesome. Hats off mate. Why can’t he do it when rooney’s playing?
Nah, I’m not buying it. He does my head in.
As usual, fickle fans wont believe this as it’s not what the media say! Although yet again he was class against Wolves. He wasn’t brought in as a goal scorer, but to build play (As in both goals in CC Final). Think this Berba has been rubbish shite has got far too old and people should start admitting they are/were wrong big time!!
Bullshit. A forward is there to score goals. Holding up the opposition back line and putting goals away are not mutually exclusive. If we wanted someone to hold up the ball and just deliver on that front then Heskey is more than available. To that effect only Roo and Owen were consistent with the opportunities given thus far. A lot more is expected of Berbatov and we should not keep making excuses for him although
I am sympathetic to the fact that he is still due medical attention to his knee.
@Manchuchu… This is the sort of comment that has grown from reading moronic articles in the Anti-United rags. The guy is class, his goal scoring record recently has been improved. He is not in the team as a goal scorer, this is why he has the licence to drop off and build attacks. He is ten times the player Emile Heskey.. He has scored more prem goals than Bellamy and Anelka this year. I don’t know how Scott, the Manchester United players and staff and us real football fans can do to stop this shite being spoken?!
Manchuchu
what you wrote comes across as bullshit
Berbatov has scored goals he’s one more at the moment in the league than the leagues top goal scorer of last season who only plays up front and doesnt create half asmuch as berbatov does. he’s work rate is unreal and his understanding with valencia and rooney is the reason united are top. everything united had with beckham cole yorke
rooney tevez ronaldo
best charlton law
3 players playing seprate roles in the one role to put the ball in the net
also after englands most successful partnr for rooney is owen
but when it came to manchester united owen clicked wonderfully with……… Berbatov
and ive always seen the amazing wonderful skill in berbatov but i was even more impressed with his game against wolves
Real football fans my arse. I am equally entitled to my opinion as you are to yours. There is no doubt that he has the talent but let’s be honest here. When one plays for United nothing less than the very best is expected of your performance. His showing this season is hardly his best. At some stage the “real” fans should quit being Nazis to dissenting opinion and stop trying to rack up excuses for his underperformances. He maybe good but just not good enough. Not for his price. Not given his reputation and certainly not for what was expected of him. And personally
I thought in the Wolves game Ginger or Valencia deserved the credit more.
Now Valencia is certainly somebody who has delivered above and beyond his expected ability at the time to the surprise of all.
Manchuchu
your right everyones intitles to there own opinion
but in keeping with your talk of nazis ,some peoples opinions are up there holes
Stats don’t tell the full story! Berba in my opinion doesn’t affect the game the way he should, get pissed off with him constantly throwing his arms up in the air if a pass is misplaced, his movement isn’t good enough, the lack of goals really doesn’t bother me it’s the rest of his overall play that does! I know I’m gonna get the usual u don’t understand football if u don’t see how good berbatov is but I don’t care!
The issue is, if you don’t know what your looking for, you wont appreciate him. It’s been said here before, “If you don’t get Berbatov, you don’t get football” There isn’t anyone else in the premiership who can do the things he can. I think, from reading your posts that you expect him, as a ‘striker’ to have banged goals in since he arrived. Yet if you read Fergie’s comments it is his link up play that is vital to us. The players know it, as Rio states above the guy is ‘He was brilliant’ .. Paul and Tony did do well, but Berba was outstanding considering he is not a lone striker. It’s difficult to explain, just watch his movement in the next game, his brain works like Rooney’s and that is why their link up play is so effective.
You can have your opinion… Just be aware that there are a lot facts and voices coming out proving you wrong!
Owen was signed to score goals, Berbatov was signed to do so much more than that.
I am all for being proven wrong. Like any true Red I above all else would like to see the boys succeed and if I have to eat my hat to achieve it I gladly will. I do extend the concession that his knee isn’t 100.
Is it just me or does Park look to be adding a few other dimensions to his play?
If the team is scoring goals as a whole, what difference does it make if a defender, midfielder or forward scores them?
is it true brown is out for the season???
Berbatov runs??yea and anderson can strike a ball nicely…Diouf was more lively than berba in the 25 mins he played than berbas during whole game. Flicks are not enough, berba isnt a united player period. Id have diouf missing chances than berba doing….well nothing
I agree, when the goals get spread around it is more satisfying. However I’m desperate for Wazza to hit 30 goals. Manchuchu – I think this is Park’s best season by far… I saw Wenger has been praising him. He has also scored important goals over the last couple of seasons. Has been a snip at 4.5 million or whatever it was?
I agree he played out of his skin against Wolves, always willing to receive the ball in tight spaces. You can see the other players have confidence in his ability to maintain possession, because they’re willing to pass to him when he’s marked.
I don’t want to see him chasing the ball like Tevez. To me, that’s a waste of his energy. Credit to him for his efforts alone up front, but he was just performing a role in the absence of Rooney.
I think playing with Ronaldo bored him. Asking him to just knock it forward or wide for Ronnie to do the rest was an insult to his intelligence. He had to avoid occupying space that Ronnie would run into, then get trounced for not being in the box. A no win situation.
i m a big fan of berba & i m impressed with his performance in last few games. alot more energy. but statistically,
.
“he’s one of the hardest runners in our team and that he covers the most ground?”
really?? even i will be surprise if this statement is true
he’s the player i root most to score in our current team cos he got the most sticks from our own fans (nani is a close second i m sure haha)
Saturdays was one of Berbatovs best performance in a United shirt. He was all over the park and held the ball very well.He dosent score many goals but his vision and passing are a big asset and has developed a good understanding with Valencia and Rooney. Berbas performances have improved in the last 2-3 months and he makes an impact even if he dosent score which isnt really affecting us given Rooneys form in front of goal.
It also is ridiculous to bring his price tag into equation because even a half witted person would understand we paid over the top money for him, but it was our fault considering the way we handled the whole matter.
To some it doesn’t matter whether Berbatov plays well or not as they have already made their mind up about him. Shame – I expected better from United fans
Berbatov’s running off-the-ball is probably the best in the Premier League – he has the ability to keep the opposition defenders pinned down in their own half because of the quality of his running. What annoys me is that we don’t see enough good quality balls played through to him when he’s in good positions, so naturally he scores fewer goals. No doubt Berbatov is class, but does he fit in with the United style of play? Sorry for being cynical but I’ve yet to be convinced!
with owen out, and no ronaldo and no tevez, the run in will prove/ disprove berbatovs worth.
rooney is obviously on fire but i have noticed an improvement in berbatov in the last two games. hopefully he continues this, the cup final he was great and on saturday against a tough tackling wolves side he held his own.
but the important games coming up will show whether berbatov is a flop or not.
He is alot better than he was.. but still No..to me.. 30 millions striker, I prefer to see him flying with loads of loads of goal..!!
Not just Saturday, where I thought he was excellent , but in his last few games he has played well. 5 goals in 6 before Saturday. Just can’t understand why people don’t appreciate him. Some of the things he can do with a ball NOBODY can do. That little nutmeg on the touchline, the ball out wide to Toni, the shielding near the corner flag against THREE defenders and still got a perfect cross in. He NEVER gives the ball away and can hold the ball up. Given time people WILL appreciate him.
Rooney will back on Wednesday “reports” say.
Brilliant in the last two three games, bout fucking time!
Manchuchu – Yeah agree mate about Park, he has been superb of late. He seems to run at players more now. Reckon he has been more injured than we think. This is his best form for some time.
Tony Starks is right. At this point of Berbatov’s United career, fans have made up their minds about him one way or another.
Personally, I think he is United quality and he has had his best run of form for us in the last 2 months. I hope he can stay fit until the end.
Costas – Hello mate. Could not agree more.
@King Eric
Hello mate. Shame about the Wes Brown news. If he is going to miss the season, I hope he misses the World Cup too. The last thing we need is for him to rush his recovery to be fit for a tournament he will probably not play in.
By the way, your friend has said something correct for a change!
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/35183/Collymore_Drop_Lampard_in_favour_of_Carrick_.aspx
@tony starks I disagree I think he has been given alot of time but can u honestly say he’s become an essential part of the team? If so, why isn’t he involved in the big games!? SAF obviously believes that he isn’t having enough of an effect on the game or he would start The big ones!!
I think he did remarkably well alone up up front, but I don’t think the role of play as a single forward suits him.
Good analysis as usual King Eric. I’ve been a Berba Toff since the beginning, and I’m glad at last some people are beginning to see just how much work he does. He never stops moving, dragging defenders around before changing the angle to play others in, which is just what United have lacked when faced with ‘buses- parked-in- front-of-the goal’ defences . Contrary to what his critics are saying , Berba is absolutely a United player, for his skill, flamboyance,vision, and his sublime passing. It hasn’t helped his growth as a player that he’s never really been part of a settled team in the whole of the 18 months he’s been at the club. He doesn’t have the advantage of a Giggs or Scholes who’ve played in every formation United have ever employed and with every combination of team-mates, whereas Berba is still learning what it means to adapt almost every week to a totally different line-up. With players with his apparently ‘languid’ style you’ll always get people who’ll say he’s a luxury we can’t afford (not unlike comments on Ronaldo the ‘show-pony’ in his early seasons, when there was ‘no end product’). No one should shout down others for their opinions here, but the ‘nazi’ comment was a bit over-the-top. There’s a wise old saying, that as soon as someone has introduced a comparison with the Nazis, you know they’ve lost the argument.
ooh, i wish Berba would score more. United have lost only 1 of the 18 games in which Berba has scored and that was the defeat at Everton a couple of weeks back.
The fact that the likes of Rio and SAF sing Berba’s praises means more to me than some of the muppets that post on here. Especially when it has become painstakingly clear that certain sections of our support refuse to get behind the player- truly a shame.
Good morning all.
A strikers main purpose is to score goals; however, there are many other things that they MUST be able to do in order to be effective themselves or to have their strike partner/wings be effective. One of these is to be able to move off the ball and create space for their partner or wings. Berba does this incredibly well but you don’t always see it if you are watching on TV.
The other is to make absolutely sure that you don’t lose the ball unnecessarily. I have not seen too many players that have his field presence. He seems to know where the defenders always are and creates space for himself and his teammates as he checks back for the ball. And when he receives it, he does not lose it. This then gives his wings and partner the ability to go forward knowing that United is in possession of the ball.
Obviously, as Costas says, reading things on this site are not going to change your mind as most people’s have been made up for a while but perhaps your eyes will see him for what he is.
berba is magic manchuchu is shite
Just to be clear, when I said “muppets,” I meant people who say you are a “Nazi” for supporting Berbatov from constant attacks from our fans. Comical.
@Sanj
Yeah, the Nazi thing was over the top. United fans have the right not to appreciate Berbatov and voice their opinion. But fans shouldn’t be called upon for defending him either.
Giles – Thanks alot mate. Hope you are feeling ok, always good to hear your views.
Costas – Bloody hell thats twice now Stan has praised United. This coming from the man who said our midfield was shit.
Off topic but did anyone see the warrior John Terry’s post match interview yesterday? Comical as fuck. For absolutely no reason at all he did it bare chested but the best thing was he kept his fucking captain armband on. If only we had true bulldogs like this at United!!!
Rvp scored few goals when he played,we scored 55 goals in 19 matches with him as cf but when he got injured our goals dried up.he like berbatov drags defenders out of position creating pockets of space which rooney scores from.those ‘flicks’ fans dismiss baffle defenders and some lead to assists.i understand frustration of united fans but i think him not playing regularly is also a factor.good luck for the rest of the season.
@ Giles Oakley
How are you? Good to see you back posting on the forum after quite a long time? Hope you’re doing fine….
I would love to hear your views on the whole debt/Red-knights thing as this debate gets banged on here quite a lot (and vociferously too!) So I would love to know a pure football fan’s view on this one…..
@ King Eric
….true bull dogs like this at United….” Hahahahaha. Quality mate…
I hope Stan goes back to abusing United…..this way we can continue abusing him!
This debate will never go away unfortunately.
But i can say a bit embarrassingly that berbs is slowly making me eat my words which is making me happy.. yes not scoring ronaldo goals but playing well enough for me to get off his back.. i’ve never doubted his ability just the fact that i used to think he’s a bit like ronnie was at 18.. nice tricks but little or no outcome. fair to say thats changing.
I think the main reason pple are on his back tho is because he had tricks, flicks and GOALS at the spuds but at united he is lacking in goals which is a bit amusing for the abu..
Red Devil – Yeah mate, Stan must have heard I am off looking for him in Sam Platts on Wednesday prior to the Milan game as Talksport hosting the show from there!! No to be fair I would probably bottle it as he is quite a big cunt but any bloke that brays women needs a kicking!!
Rio is spot on.
One thing though, didn’t Scholesy get man of the match
The best sign of this Berba debate is that some fans that didn’t really like him are now coming round e.g. Curtis.
this guy wants to be a red he turned down a move to city were his wages would have been alot more he doesn’t give a shit about manchester weather aslong as he can play for utd.his skill vision and passing ability are amongst the best in the league.for whatever reason some utd fans seem to hate him because he doesn’t run all over the pitch which isn’t his job and quite frankly is just fucking stupid.its not his fault sir alex payed 31 mill for him but i think thats been a burden that he’s finally come to terms with.i went to a hockey game were calgary were shit and the fans booed them off the ice.i told a buddy utd fans would never do this because were true and loyal to the team i’m not into haters,haters are not true utd fans
@KIng Eric
Ha, I didn’t see that JT interview! You are right. Man United doesn’t have bullshit like him…
Did you know that he apologised to Wayne? Here, take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4mVFd_w8Ro
Off topic, but looks like Arsenal will face Porto without Fabregas. I hope they go through, because if they get don’t, their Premier League run in will get even easier.
After the Porto game AWAY last year i mentioned that Berba had run the field more than Anderson. No one paid attention to it.
Nothing more to say.
Manchuchu
i’m glad someone has noticed Park. he’s really starting to show his attacking midfielder instincts. which is what i’ve been clamoring for. we’ve always had pacy wingers, but been deprived of quality attacking midfielders. Hope he starts on Wednesday as i hope Rooney starts as well.
Berba should be scoring more goals..simple. He may be there for link up play and what have you but i feel he should be putting a decent amount of goals away. I think the issue with Berba is that when he does get the ball in the area he doesnt look like scoring. He has tons of ability and i agree with those who say if United want to play total football, he is the guy we should be looking at.
Just needs to add that something extra that makes defenders or opposition players something to think about.
I thought he done well against Wolves and put himself about, but i dont think he can play up front on his own. @Costas thats a massive blow for the Arsenal, i think Porto could knock them out.
When people say Berbatov should score more goals, are they forgetting that Wazza is our main striker? How many other teams have a pair of strikers that have combined for 32 goals in the league? Drogba and Anelka have combined for 27, and they play together far more often than Wazza and Berba. People say he needs to score more goals- when will you lot be happy? Honestly, people want goals, and that’s fine, but Berbatov’s passing slices the defense- how many assists from Valencia to Rooney were moves where Berbatov was integral to the goal? Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
berba also gets the defenders,midfielders out of thier position and creates space for the like of rooney and valencia to run into.that cant be taught….and with the lack of creativity in the midfield berba is being used to create some chances.people want goals but berba is here to create.after all its sir alex who’s sticking with him which itself shows his value….
There is not any combination of two players in the rest of England that has combined to score more goals than Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in the league.
“He’s appreciated by us and that’s the most important thing.” Well said, Rio. Thank God Berba doesn’t read this blog, he’d be suicidal.
You won’t appreciate Berbatov until you actually WATCH him play live. His movement on and off the ball is terrific, its unfortunate he hasn’t scored more goals but in the grand scheme of things its irrelevant we won the league last year and are top with the title very much ours to lose. When we signed him Hargreaves could still play football, this debate wouldn’t be happening had we been able to play Carrick Fletcher and Hargreaves in midfield. I must go now and report to meine fuhrer.
Dennis Bergkamp – Dimitar Berbatov . Very similar players.
Welbz@ 12:42: “SAF obviously believes that he isn’t having enough of an effect on the game or he would start The big ones!!”
I believe that this is what’s called “cutting to the chase”. SAF is the main man and, so far, he has been extraordinarily reluctant to choose Dimitar Berbatov for “The big ones” – I think that that simple fact counts for more than all the flicks, running into space and other faffing about that seems to so impress the bloggers who are on Dimmy’s side in this discussion.
When Berbatov starts to do his main job – i.e., a center forward who plays centrally AND forward – then we can say he’s been a success; so far, he’s just not done that and all the sweet talk from Rio is just SWEETFA to distract your eyes from what he’s provided to the team so far.
The issue with Berbatov which seems to be so divisive can be easily summarized: the guy has exquisite skills but what about the end-product ? He wasn’t brought to OldTrafford to compete in a skills competition but, rather, to help TheLads win trophies. And his exclusion from “The big ones” by SAF is absolutely damning.
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/406199995?-11193
Looks like Duck on the menu for Wednesday, hope vida’s hungry.
I see the Berby convo is remaining civil today lol.
I’ve never denied his talent, in fact I’ve been a “Berbatov Apologist” for his less then stella United career ever since he signed.
However, after seeing Alec consistently leave him on the bench in big games I began to realise that he doesnt YET have the confidence of the team to be influencial for us when it matters most.
Its only recently that I’ve started criticising Berbys lack of impact. Seeing how ineffective he was against Everton was the last straw for me bcos we’d been doing just fine with a 5 man midfield.
BUT – After seeing him run harder than I’ve ever seen him at Wembly, and being more influential than I’ve ever seen him at Wolves, I can say faith has been restored somewhat. I’ve always wanted him to succeed its just been frustrating watching him under-perform.
The real test for Berbatov will be where the team finishes this season. If he continues busting a LUNG for us and continues keeping his head up and continues playing with confidence, this might be the season he actually begins to repay us for our patience.
That was what I was trying to get at. You can make space and show vision and hold up the ball intelligently AND still put goals away. A case in point of course was The King. It’s become more and more argued that he can only do one or another. My contention is why can’t he do both. What frustrates me is that it’s plainly evident that he has done more both for Spurs AND the Bulgarian side.
Unfortunately some might think that’s asking too much.
It seems Roo has been doing a large part of the heavy lifting in the goals department. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want the rest of our forward line to chip in. And while he does contribute in other areas, I don’t for one see why wanting him to score more is viewed as such a dirty word.
I guess in that aspect I hope to see more of Kiko upfront because he seems to have both the quality of vision and the ability to put goals away. When they paired upfront between Welbeck and Kiko it was always Kiko who impressed me more
Its not his work rate that bugs me Rio…its the way he rants, raves and flails his arms whenever he doesn’t get the ball…so long as the other lads don’t mind that impetuous behavior…it just seems he isn’t a team player…he plays at his own pace and when things don’t go his way he sulks..i think he should get it into his head that he is NOT a GREAT player just a good one with occasional flashes of brilliance…let’s be honest..he doesn’t complement our best player (Rooney) very well and he doesn’t fit our most potent style of play (counter attacking football)…he does add something different but in my opinion not enough…i think he is a squad player at best with his current attitude…I wouldn’t be sad to see him disappear to serie A and have him replaced with a younger hungrier player who would fit the team better…
@denton davey when i read comments like that i just feel like head butting a wall you have no understanding in what he brings to the team
costas
i agree arsenal have the easiest run in and if they are out of europe thats less games to play, i put a bet on for barca arsenal seville chelsea lyon bordeux bayern and united to go throught to the next round..united are 20/1 on to make it..crazy short price even though we have the 3 away goals!!
@Welbz19 – Well, the manager clearly favours playing with one striker in the big games and that’s why Berbatov ain’t starting the big games… in this form there is probably no striker in the world playing better than Rooney in that position, so never mind Berba, even Villa or Higuain wouldn’t in the team!
@ the above comment. If a fellow pro can’t play a simple pass to feet from 5-10 years. You have every right to throw your arms up in the air. Theres a proverb its called
“More haste less speed” – Bear that in mind next time Berbatov plays. Your comment about him not complimenting Rooney is quite frankly hilarious.
@cdonyi
Rooney does the same exact thing- flailing and getting frustrated. He has done it to Gibson because Gibson took a wild shot instead of passing it to Rooney… the next time Gibson was in the same situation, he passed it and it led to a goal. But of course, no one would criticise Wayne for doing that, only Berbatov.
How the hell can Berbatov being left out of the big games be “damning”? It’s quite blatantly obvious that in all the “big games” we play a 4-5-1. Who is better suited for a 4-5-1, Rooney or Berbatov? Seriously, Sir Alex is not “leaving him out,” he is maximizing the threat of the chosen formation.
Sanj knows the score about Berbatov. Seriously tactics are lost on some people on this site. Its not Pro Evo or Fifa guys!
@Manchuchu
It would be nice for the rest of our forward line to “chip in,” eh? Perhaps 9 goals? Seriously, find another pair of players that have scored more than 32 goals. You’re just looking for a reason to dislike the guy. If he isn’t your cup of tea, that is your opinion, but don’t say he should “chip in” as if he is a waste of space, when he clearly has contributed.
The thing is, as pleasing as it is on the eye, our team isn’t crying out for a deft flick or deft touch, or even a defence splitting pass, but what we ARE crying out for is a constant threat in the oppositions box in the absence of Rooney and Owen…
nothing, I repeat, NOTHING would please me more than Berbatov winning us the game on wednesday after starting up front alone. BUT starting him up front alone is a risk as we all know he plays better when he links up with other skillful players, so we find ourselves in a strange dilema where our talented 30M striker isn’t good enough to play up front alone in a major Champions League game, thats F frustrating.
Im more concerned with the CLUB than individual players, so God Willing Rooney starts against Milan, but if Rooney IS unavailable I think Nani or Diouf or Kiko should start up front with Berbatov in a 4-4-2. Or if we DO play Berby on his own in a 4-5-1 then GOD WILLING our wide players give him all the support & link up play he needs.
Our next two games against Milan and Fulham will TRUELY be season defining and I hope we are still sitting in the strong position we are today regardless of who scores to get us there.
@Tony Starks
Exactly what I was going to post, mate. Who on the planet would you rather have leading our line? I know I’d choose Rooney over anyone, including Ronaldo… yet some of you are claiming Berbatov is “left out.” It’s quite hilarious.
@NotoriousRedDevil
It’s so frustrating! Makes me want to bash my head against a wall.
The point that a player should score more goals is a bit of a daft one to be honest. I want everybody to score more goals. I’d like to see Vidic and Rio score more goals. I’d like to see the PIG score from goal kicks. I want every man in our midfield to get three a game. We’d all like to see everybody score more goals. Nobody would ever say, “Yeah he’s good, but he’s scoring too many goals.”
What Berbatov is doing is scoring goals at a decent rate and on top of this he is getting assists and when he is not getting the assists he is creating chances that other players miss (sadly you only get the stat for a perfect assist if its tucked away). If he was finding himself in front of goal week in week out and missing the target then yeah, I’d find my patience wearing thin. But he’s not doing that, he’s creating.
The stats back this up, he’s scoring as many as a standing off forward ought to score and getting plenty of assists. Playing back from the front striker he is not ideally situated to score, and playing as a long striker he’s certainly not likely to score, and lo and behold his scoring rate reflects that. I mean what do people expect from the guy? When he plays with Rooney it is not a parallel 4-4-2, it’s a staggered front pair, so he’s not playing as an out and out striker because he’s further back.
Aside from all the stats and such I think a lot of the criticism is from people who don’t watch him play enough. Go to the matches, watch it on TV, hook up a fishy internet stream, whatever it takes, but watch the man play. I watch almost every game by hook or by crook, and I watch Match of the Day too just to see what they are saying, and what you miss out on is staggering if you’re only getting the highlights. It’s also somewhat telling in the media that even when they are praising him, even praising his work rate, they can’t not mention a reputation for laziness. He’s tarred with that fucking brush now and he’s going to have to work hard for a long time to get clear of it.
I find it amazing that some people think they know more than the boss, about players and formations. If saf sells berbatov in the summer then ill agree, if he keeps him ill agree with that to, because in the end saf KNOWS BEST.
Wayne @ 15:15: “@denton davey when i read comments like that i just feel like head butting a wall you have no understanding in what he brings to the team”
Well, that’s your opinion. IF you want to consider how/why I come to my opinion then I suggest that you re-watch the video on the winning goal on this blog-site. Take care to look closely for Berbatov’s positioning when Valencia is running down the wing and Nani is driving into the box. Even more graphic confirmation (for me, of my opinion) is provided by the photograph in TheTimesOnline in which Paul Scholes – i.e., the holding midfielder – is striking the ball into the net inside the box whereas Dimitar Berbatov – i.e., the center forward – is watching ten yards OUTSIDE the box.
I’m can’t resist going all smarmy and cute, suggesting that Dimmy’s positioning was “exquisite” and that by being twenty yards outside he was “creating space”.
Gimme a break. Scholes was in the correct position; Berbatov was missing-in-action.
Paul Parker @ 15:25: “nothing, I repeat, NOTHING would please me more than Berbatov winning us the game on wednesday after starting up front alone. BUT starting him up front alone is a risk as we all know he plays better when he links up with other skillful players, so we find ourselves in a strange dilema where our talented 30M striker isn’t good enough to play up front alone in a major Champions League game, thats F frustrating.”
Exactly. IF WayneRooney is absent then on Wednesday, in all likelihood, Dimitar Berbatov will start – by default. This would hardly be a ringing endorsement of Dimmy’s value to the team.
denton davey – what the hell does it matter where Berbatov was – is he suppose to carry Scholes into the goal or something – that is the kind of analysis I would expect Bolton or Stoke to come up with, with their one-dimensional tactics… Our club has always been known for free-flowing attractive fotball where players move around and change positions frequently – heck last year at tiems we even played without a recognised centre forward position and still scored lots of goals… I’m all for having opinions and that, and I don’t post here much, but that is just unfair…
willierednut @ 15:40: ” If saf sells berbatov in the summer then ill agree, if he keeps him ill agree with that to, because in the end saf KNOWS BEST.”
Not exactly convincing logic IF there’s no buyer willing to pay even a discounted price for Berbatov.
If my chef only makes coffee to die for but can’t cook worth a toss then he’s still a failure as a chef.
@denton davey it seemed to me in the second half carrick was the main holding midfielder and scholes was given more freedom to roam.as a lone striker i thought berbatov had a very good game on many levels
Tony Starks Said,March 8th, 2010 @15:17
@Welbz19 – Well, the manager clearly favours playing with one striker in the big games and that’s why Berbatov ain’t starting the big games… in this form there is probably no striker in the world playing better than Rooney in that position, so never mind Berba, even Villa or Higuain wouldn’t in the team! we are still sitting in the strong position we are today.
_______________
Thats not true mate, not to decend the convo into chaos but when you and others say that Berbatov is left out of big games because Rooney is in such amazing form thats pure Bollocks mate – no offence.
If Berbatov had something to offer in a 4-4-2 with Rooney he’d make the starting 11 regardless of how well Rooney plays alone.
Even WITH all our defensive problems this season theres no way Berbatov would’ve stayed out of the team Alec thought he could offer something significant up front with Rooney in a 4-4-2.
Look at our Trinity of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez. Alec changed our formation to accommodate our 3 best and most effective players, which is why we played a 4-3-3 last season.
SO IF YOU really think that a truely class player like Higuain or even the proven talent of Villa would be kept on a United bench for the sake of Rooneys form your deluding yourself mate.
Alec would switch to a 4-3-3 quicker than you could say Berbatov….
Got a couple of questions for all the Berbatov advocates:
1) How many matches can you remember in which Berbatov’s contributions proved crucial to the end result of the game?
2) Is Berbatov an indispensable part of this United team?
@ Sanj
The team plays a 4-4-2 against lesser teams. Isn’t it damning enough for the player that he can’t get into the team when another system is employed. I have made the point earlier also, since this blog is obsessed with Berbatov, that a player can be considered truly great if and only if he becomes indispensable to the team. If he was really that good and indispensable to the team, I really can’t see Sir Alex letting him sit on the bench.
Nothing like a good old Berbatov debate to liven up the day and drive more traffic to the blog…
@Paul Parker
well it’s not 4-5-1, it is more like 433 anyway. And yes Berbatov is different type of player to those you mention – who could be accomodated in wider positions (just like Rooney could)… BUT he is what he is, the manager knew full well what kind of player he was buying… you can’t expect something different to what you bought…
Again, no offence to anybody, I’ll be the first to admit its easy to get a bit carried away when making a point, but seriously, lets not take our defence of Berby too far aye? lol…
If Manchester United had Villa and Higuain on our books as well as Wayne Rooney we’d ALL be celebrating our new TRINITY and Alec would be proudly playing 4-3-3 as our strongest team.
Christ, imagine having Villa or Higuian for the Wednesday game? I don’t think Berbatov would start ahead of either player. DO YOU?
But thats fantasy and we have the team we have. I’ve got no problem winning “ugly” with our current squad. Im in favour of playing 4-5-1 till the end of the season, especially after our crazy injuries and after losing Tevez and Ronaldo in the summer.
All season Alec has been choosing the formation that best utilises his Best players. If Berbatov was a factor he would start, regardless of Rooneys current form. If Ronaldo magically came back do you think Rooneys form would keep him on the bench? Of course it wouldn’t, Alec picks whatever formation that utilises our best players.
So the fact that we’ve been playing 4-5-1 without Berbatov says more about Alec’s opinion of Berbatov than it does about Rooneys great form in front of goal this season. Think about it…
MANY players in his price range could walk straight into our starting 4-4-2 and start against AC Milan on Wednesday. Its up to Berbatov to force his way into the starting 11 so lets not make silly excuses for him – EVEN BERBATOV would admit as much.
Does this mean Im an idiot that doesn’t understand football? lol
Its just an opinion people.
I agree with Rio and the majority of fans who have a brain cell on here.
One thing though, I thought Scholesy boy got MoM no?
By the way – when Spain play with one-striker (which they do sometimes), Torres gets left on the bench – does that mean he’s not good enough to play? No, he’s a world class striker, but the team is more important.
Anyway I hope people can appreciate Berba’s input more, if not then so be it. But I’m pretty sure we are not signing another ‘world class’ striker!
Eh, I don’t buy it. Seems to me that our good Sir Alex Ferguson has some good reason to play him even through the pain in his knees. That shows you something, that if a player can play through the pain and still give that contribution to our best moves, he is a good player.
I guess we will see how things go in the summer. I mean, if he is sold, then you Berba haters are vindicated. If not, it means he has proven his worth to Sir Alex Ferguson, and his opinion I value more.
Tony Starks Said,March 8th, 2010 @16:11
@Paul Parker
well it’s not 4-5-1, it is more like 433 anyway. And yes Berbatov is different type of player to those you mention – who could be accomodated in wider positions (just like Rooney could)… BUT he is what he is, the manager knew full well what kind of player he was buying… you can’t expect something different to what you bought…
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Your right, he is what he is, and he is a great player in my opinion, but rather then write him off as a flop orrrrrrr somehow claim that he is world class, I think we as supporters should be more realistic about the enigma that is Berbatov. World Class players force themselves into starting elevens and force managers to change formations to accommodate them. Sadly Berbatov has done none of these things since he’s joined us, in fact he’s been unable to force himself into the team and he’s been unable to convince Alec that he can be trusted to get results in a 4-4-2. That doesn’t make him a shit player but it doesn’t warrant making excuses for him either.
I just hope that Berbatov DELIVERS tomorrow, thats all I care about mate, not being right. Im not going to call him a flop, I never have, but im also not going to convince myself that he is some kind of misunderstood world class player. Yes he is a great player with great skill, but he isn’t world class just yet, not in my opinion, how can he be? World class walks into ANY starting eleven and makes a difference, but Berbatov cannot walk into ours. I was really happy to see him lift the League Cup because he DID play a huge role in us winning the final. I just really hope he buries his Demons tomorrow and plays a HUGE role in getting us to the Champions League Final, because THATS what real World Class players do.
Wow – this thread has become so long with the Berba debate! Fantastic I really hope the guy can win over the fans. Clearly in the circumstances the club overpaid for him, but that’s not his fault. I hope he can help the team win some trophies this season, because really that’s what it’s all about – the team, not individuals…
@arijc
To answer your (hilarious) question #1, apparently you missed the Carling Cup final? Couldn’t believe you even asked that seriously. You can’t even remember his performance two weeks ago and I’m supposed to debate with you when you ignore things that go against your opinion? Come on now.
As for #2, if Rooney were unable to play on Wednesday, would Berbatov not be indispensible? I’d tend to think so. As for the match on Saturday, you would have been fine with Diouf starting and no Berbatov in the squad? Let’s be serious here.
And how on Earth is it damning for him not being able to get into another system? It’s truly remarkable that everyone here thinks every player should be Wayne Rooney and be able to play at any position. You lot are spoiled by Wayne’s selflessness and you think everyone is supposed to be able to play anywhere. I’m sorry, but football just does not work like that, it’s really quite simple. Nani has been complete and utter sh*te on the left and was magic on the right. Is that “damning?” No, it just means he plays better and more importantly, more CONFIDENTLY, when on the right.
@Dimitar Berbatov is King
I don’t think it would matter mate if Berba played with 1 arm missing, some fans will never take to him.
@Paul Parker
“Sadly Berbatov has done none of these things since he’s joined us, in fact he’s been unable to force himself into the team and he’s been unable to convince Alec that he can be trusted to get results in a 4-4-2.”
Surely that is Berbatov’s fault and not the midfield’s. Hilarious!
@Tony Starks
You didn’t know that the fact that Torres starts on the bench for Spain means that he is a lazy, worthless, piece of trash? That’s how football works, lad. Just ask all the experts on this blog that have a better footballing mind than the greatest manager of all time.
Sanj Said,March 8th, 2010 @16:31
@Paul Parker
“Sadly Berbatov has done none of these things since he’s joined us, in fact he’s been unable to force himself into the team and he’s been unable to convince Alec that he can be trusted to get results in a 4-4-2.”
Surely that is Berbatov’s fault and not the midfield’s. Hilarious!
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Sanj pal, I don’t quite comprede?
Sanj – hello mate. Quality posts as usual.
Are you being sarcastic with my quote or what?
What was your point? I clearly missed it.
denton – “he was brought to United to help the lads win trophies”. One league, 2 carling cups and a club world cup in 18 months mate.
@ denton davey
“Not exactly convincing logic IF there’s no buyer willing to pay even a discounted price for Berbatov.”
And you know this how?
cdonyi – “not a great player” and “just a squad player” and ” he doesn’t link up with Rooney”. Have you even watched him play, he links up well with Rooney and Valencia, excellent infact.
Berbatov @ 16:20 : ” I mean, if he is sold, then you Berba haters are vindicated. If not, it means he has proven his worth to Sir Alex Ferguson, and his opinion I value more.”
That’s simply not true – if he isn’t sold that MIGHT just mean that no one is as free-and-easy with their money as Chelsea was when SAF flogged Veron to them.
The Veron/Berbatov comparison is relevant, too; both are highly-skilful players but neither guy did particularly well at OldTrafford – square pegs/round holes.
As I think Giles eluded to and I have many times he is best used when teams park the bus. The teams we struggle to break down. Anyway I give up on this now!
@Paul Parker
You said Berbatov “cannot be trusted” to yield results in a 4-4-2. My point was that it is rather our midfield that cannot be trusted. Sir Alex knows if we try a 4-4-2 (without Hargreaves), our midfield will get run over. I believe his preference for the 4-5-1 is to cover our midfield’s inadequacies rather than Berbatov’s.
King Eric @ 16:43: “denton – “he was brought to United to help the lads win trophies”. One league, 2 carling cups and a club world cup in 18 months mate”
Lies, Damned-lies, and statistics. He played second-fiddle in the EPL and CL last year and this year, too. OK, he played in the Carling Cup.
C’mon, King Eric, you’ve got to do better than that.
Paul Parker – “If we had Villa and Higuain Berba would n’t be playing on Wednesday”. Are you actually serious? Or if we had Xavi and Iniesta in the middle of the park we wouldn’t need Fletch or Park. Its all fantasy football mate. Do you really think either of these two would be happy sitting on the bench when we play 4-5-1?
@Denton Davey
Im sure there would be clubs in Italy and Spain that would take Berbatov in a heart beat.
@King Eric
Hello, mate. How are you? As per usual, we meet on the Berba posts…
denton – No mate he scored some important goals in the league . Bolton away, The Chav’s at home, Boro I think. Not to mention his 14 assists. Here denton we will agree to disagree pal.
Sanj – Hello mate, yeah am I fine, how are you? The Berba debate rumbles on eh!!
Sanj @ 16:46: “@ denton davey
“Not exactly convincing logic IF there’s no buyer willing to pay even a discounted price for Berbatov.”
And you know this how?”
Obviously, I don’t KNOW this – it’s a supposition aimed at disproving a non-sequitur.
Let me explain: IF SAF doesn’t sell Dimitar Berbatov in the coming summer transfer-window, then there are two equally logical explanations: first, SAF didn’t want to sell him; or, second, no one was willing to meet the (discounted) price.
My response to these non-sequiturs has been to point out that in the event that Dimitar Berbatov is not sold it is NOT NECESSARILY because SAF didn’t want to sell him. That doesn’t seem like rocket science. What part of my reply didn’t you understand ?
@denton davey
“Lies, Damned-lies, and statistics. He played second-fiddle in the EPL and CL last year and this year, too. OK, he played in the Carling Cup.”
Second-fiddle to the world’s best player and Wayne Rooney. Who would have come into our team and not played second fiddle when the team was clearly built around Ronaldo, with Rooney in line to “take the crown” (so to speak) after Ronaldo’s departure? Berbatov is not meant to be the star player here. He is a supporting member of the cast, and the team centers around Wayne Rooney. He is never going to be anything but second fiddle.
As far as Berba not starting the big games, how many big games did Solskjaer start? There is a role for everyone in the side. Ole was an impact sub(until the later stages of his UNited career when he got plenty of starts), Berba is a player best suited for 4-4-2 against teams that park the bus.
fuck this is so frustrating everyone is going around in circles repeating the same things.scott run a article on geronimo terry, shirt off with his armband on so we can have a good laugh at the stupid bastard
WillieRedNut @ 16:53: “@Denton Davey
Im sure there would be clubs in Italy and Spain that would take Berbatov in a heart beat.”
For free, for sure.
But would they pay 15 million quid ? (i.e., a 50 % discount on his previous purchase price). Would they also meet Berbatov’s salary expectations ? These are the real questions and my guess is that SAF found a “sucker” to take J-S Veron off his hands for a 50% discount but he’s unlikely to do so again, in this marketplace. (And I’m not slagging Veron – just making a comparison).
@ Sanj said:
“Berbatov is not meant to be the star player here. He is a supporting member of the cast, and the team centers around Wayne Rooney. He is never going to be anything but second fiddle.”
Exactly. Kind of like Kaka at Real. The sad thing for Berbatov was that he never had someone come at the club with a price tag 24 million more than his to take the pressure of him.
@denton davey
Never said it was rocket science, did I? Just wondering how you think a man who has proved his ability in the Premier League, played in two Champions League finals, etc. would have no suitors in Spain or Italy- whether at a discounted price or not. You said “if” there are suitors, I think there would definitely be suitors. Not exactly “rocket science” with my response either.
King Eric @ 16:54: ” Here denton we will agree to disagree pal.”
One day, we’ll get the chance to disagree over a Boddington – or two. For now – and until then – it’s going to be a matter of opinion.
This discussion is a bit like Arsene Wenger said, “everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home.”
@wayne
Lol, I second that. We need our usual clown to share a few laughs!
Long before this seasons injuries, Berbatov was 4th choice to start behind Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez, so making excuses as to why Berbatov’s main position has been on the bench this season isn’t helpful.
Berbatov has been on the bench because he hasn’t contributed enough to be selected by Alec. Its as simple as that.
And thats all im saying. Regardless of injuries and regardless of the form of other players Berbatov would still be starting games for us if Alec was convinced his inclusion was beneifical to the team. But since he joined United the biggest game he’s ever played for us has been the League Cup final this season, in which he played very well.
I trust Alec’s assessment of Berbatov more than anything. Looking back at our team selections since Berbatov signed, it does seem likely that Alec hasn’t been totally convinced to start him
Eitherway, none of this means Berbatov is a shit player. I’ve never called him a flop and I’ve already said I hope he does the business tomorrow. Also, you’ll notice that I haven’t accused anybody here of “not knowing” football or being “idiots” or whatever. Theres no need to, im not a TWAT, im able to make my point without acting TWATISH… Others should take note.
regardless if you love or hate berbatov sir alex isn’t going to sell him at a discount price of course they’d be lots of clubs interested in him he’s a class player,has anyone seen the transfer market nowadays and the kind of money being paid for ave players i guess untill he scores 20 goals and runs all over the pitch there are some utd fans who don’t get what he brings to the team
@Denton Davey
I think united could get 10 15 million for Berbatov, he’s not exactly past his prime.
Sanj @ 16:50: “Berbatov is not meant to be the star player here. He is a supporting member of the cast, and the team centers around Wayne Rooney. He is never going to be anything but second fiddle.”
I don’t disagree one bit with that argument – but, even as a “supporting member of the cast” his presence has hardly been constant.
Ask yourself this question: if Nani, Park, Valencia, Fletcherinho, Giggs, Scholes, and Carrick are all match-fit, would SAF choose Dimitar Berbatov in a big match to play alongside WayneRooney ? So far, SAF hasn’t done that. IF WayneRooney is absent on Wednesday – and we know that LittleMIkey is crocked – then it’s obvious that Dimitar Berbatov will get picked to play as the center forward but that would not be evidence of SAF’s confidence in the guy; rather, it would be evidence of Dimmy being the last man standing.
@denton davey
“Ask yourself this question: if Nani, Park, Valencia, Fletcherinho, Giggs, Scholes, and Carrick are all match-fit, would SAF choose Dimitar Berbatov in a big match to play alongside WayneRooney ?”
Well, I guess that depends on if we are using a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1. Since we use a 4-5-1 for “big” matches, the answer to your question would be no (obviously). Your point? We use 4-5-1 so that our midfield doesn’t get overrun by quality opposition. How this became “damning” of Berbatov is beyond me.
Don’t want to sound repeative, but in the last 18 months Berbatov has justified his money a lot more than our medical team have theirs. If there’s one Achilles heel to our team this year it’s them. This thing has to get addressed and sorted out soon. Otherwise, we will need 20 defenders, 20 midfielders and 10 strikers to get through each season…
@tony starks
surely is upto berba to make it impossible for SAF to drop him through his perfomances as nani did recently! If he was as great as everybody makes out then why does he get dropped so easily? Also read alot of comments regarding the partnership, but how many of these goals have been scored when Rooney and berba have started the game together
@doghouse my negative opinion does not come from match of the day or dodgy streams but from the stands, also as I said before the goals really do not bother me it’s his overall perfomance that does!
WillyRedNut @ 17:09: “@Denton Davey
I think united could get 10 15 million for Berbatov, he’s not exactly past his prime.”
Let me see about this – UTD paid 30.75 million for him two years ago; next year he will b two years older. Next year he will be 29, turning 30. SO, it’s arguable that while he may not be “past his prime”, he is surely going to be on the down-side of his career (based on the assumption that a top-notch player probably peaks at 25 and his best years are the next four or five).
Bearing that in mind – and adding to it the wages that Berbatov would expect to continue with another team – then I am bemused by your economic logic.
Who, exactly, would pay 10-15 million for a 30-year old striker who won’t play centrally and forward – Spurs ? TheArse ? LiverPoo ? RentBoyz ? ManSHitty ? (well, probably !) Aston Villa ?
What about the Italians – Juventus ? ACMilan – instead of Pato ? Inter Milan – instead of Milito or Eto’o ? Roma are broke so who else ?
What about the Spaniards ? Barca already have the luxury version of this kind of player in Zlatan. TheVirus have CR9 and Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema so I doubt that. Valencia are broke; same goes for Sevilla; who else ?
Oh, wait, now I see it clearly – Newcastle ! They’re probably going to get promoted and we all know that they have more money than sense. The new Shearer !!!!
@costas he already has a semi mohawk wouldn’t it have been awesome if he’d put on war paint “me john terry apache warrior” lol
I’ve been a loyal Nerva supporter from day one. Before even. The guys quality is apparent to the blind but a few more goals would be nice. On the other hand though Rooney had been given other tasks in previous seasons but look at him now. Goal machine. I’ve no doubt berbs can easily take up and challenge or role expected of him.
@Sanj
Glad you found my questions hilarious. Quite frankly I found your answer even more so. Personally I thought it was a good performance, not brilliant as in a match winning performance, but if you could think of that as an example from 18+ months as a United player, I would be disappointed with the investment in him. I think he is a fine player but hampered by lack of pace. Rooney didn’t play against Wolves…Was Berbatov indispensable in that game? Yes he covered a lot of ground and put in a lot of effort but once he started going to the half way line to pick up the ball, we had no presence left in the opposition half. It took the inclusion of Diouf to make us look like some sort of attacking threat. To make my point clearer, I think Berbatov is a fine player but is a player who hasnt made himself indispensable to the United side. If you had anything else to back up your claims you would have done so by now and not changed the topic to Nani.
As for the point you made about Nani, I never said Nani was indispensable. But in Nani’s defense, he’s a young lad with potential and age on his side. Berba is 29 and with a 30 mill price tag on his side. Common sense says the expectations are going to be different in the two cases.
And do you really have to show your ignorance about football by talking about 4-4-2 repeatedly. Watch the United matches over the past few years again…we always revert to 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 in the big games.
Sanj @ 17:16: “Well, I guess that depends on if we are using a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1. Since we use a 4-5-1 for “big” matches, the answer to your question would be no (obviously). Your point? We use 4-5-1 so that our midfield doesn’t get overrun by quality opposition. How this became “damning” of Berbatov is beyond me.”
Now you’re just tying yourself in knots. You might just be able to un-knot yourself by asking why SAF plays 4-5-1 when he has the option to include Dimitar Berbatov in the first-team. That’s my point.
IF Berbatov was ALL THAT then his presence would compensate for the imbalance in midfield; but HE’S JUST NOT ALL THAT and so he gets left on the bench whereas two other “forwards” – i.e., Nani, Valencia, Giggs, or Park – will be selected ahead of him.
If Dimmy was ALL THAT then perhaps SAF might choose to play him at center forward and shift WayneRooney to the left wing – remember, that’s what SAF did to accommodate CR7. BUT we’ve never seen SAF set up his team in this way, this year.
My point echoes Paul Parker @ 17:15 so let me just quote what he said:
“Regardless of injuries and regardless of the form of other players Berbatov would still be starting games for us if Alec was convinced his inclusion was beneifical to the team. But since he joined United the biggest game he’s ever played for us has been the League Cup final this season, in which he played very well.
I trust Alec’s assessment of Berbatov more than anything. Looking back at our team selections since Berbatov signed, it does seem likely that Alec hasn’t been totally convinced to start him.”
@wayne
Lol yeah it would. Ready to go to Afghanistan, just like he wants to!
@costas yeah i’m sure that phoney cunt is going to give up the money and playboy lifestyle to put his life on the line what a total prick that guy is
@arjic
I keep talking about 4-4-2, because that’s the formation he plays in. I have said time and time again that we use 4-5-1 for big games (which is essentially a 4-4-3 since the wingers are pushed forward supporting the lone striker). How exactly is that ‘ignorant?’ Berba plays when we use a 4-4-2, he doesn’t when we use a 4-5-1/4-3-3 in the big games. That is not ignorant, it is a fact.
I wasn’t “changing the topic” by bringing up Nani, I was making an analogy. Do you know what that is? You said a player should be able to get into any system and I disagreed, using Nani as an example since he plays poorly when played out of position (left vs. right). Is that ‘ignorant’ as well?
I am not saying Berbatov has been absolutely fantastic in all 18 months here, you’d have to blind to think that, but I think he has made some contributions. I’ve said time and time again that I’d like to see him score more and all that, I’m totally with you on that. However, I take issue with people saying he is useless and lazy when he is simply not Wayne Rooney. Also, what is the point of his price tag? Is that his fault? The best part of that argument is that people say he hasn’t justified his heavy price tag, but the same people say we need every other striker under the sun. Look at the market- it’s inflated. How much do you think we’d have to pay for David Villa? What exactly does Ronaldo have to do at Real to justify 80 million? Back to back league and European titles?
Sanj Said,March 8th, 2010 @16:49
@Paul Parker
You said Berbatov “cannot be trusted” to yield results in a 4-4-2. My point was that it is rather our midfield that cannot be trusted. Sir Alex knows if we try a 4-4-2 (without Hargreaves), our midfield will get run over. I believe his preference for the 4-5-1 is to cover our midfield’s inadequacies rather than Berbatov’s.
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I agree, kind of.
Yes, we’ve been playing everybody 4-5-1 due to our frailties.
But “formation” is irrelevant here Sanj.
Even before our injury crisis Berbatov wasn’t doing enough to force himself into our first choice squad. He’s never been first choice ahead of anybody for any prolonged period of time. yes he is absolutely class but he hasn’t made himself indispensable. Thats why im saying this whole debate about formations is Irrelevant. Alec chooses formation based on what gets results, so regardless of formation, if Berbatov forced himself into our team we’d be playing whatever formation was needed to accommodate him in our team regardless of defensive problems.
A fifth midfielder has been more effective to our team than Berbatov upfront with Rooney. Thats why we play 4-5-1 and its nobodies fault but Berbatov, because he should be proving he is more irreplaceable than a fifth midfielder. Thats his job, playing for us isn’t his right. Alec picks Rooney because he gets results, and if Rooney stopped getting results he’d be dropped. Its as simple as that, and Berbatov simply hasn’t done enough to warrent his inclusion. I’ve seen interviews with Berbatov where he blames himself for not forcing his way into the squad, and he’s right. You can’t blame our midfield, because how many Strikers could walk into our current team and force Alec to change our current formation in a FLASH to accommodate them?
Berbatov is a great player, no doubt, but blaming the rest of the squad for his absence is utter nonsense. He failed to make himself first choice long before any injury crisis, so you can’t blame our midfield, or even our defense. Berbatov himself is responsbile for forcing himself into contention, and the fact that he’s failed to do that over 2 seasons is nobodies fault but his own. Even he accepts that. Yes he is quality but lets not talk too much bollocks. If Berbatov WAS the business his most frequent position for us wouldn’t be our bench. I hope he does the Business on Wednesday when it matters most.
@everyone who disagrees with me about Berbatov
I give up!
Berbatov is a class act – true
Berbatov needs to score a lot more goals – so true
Fullstop
King Eric Said,March 8th, 2010 @16:52
Paul Parker – “If we had Villa and Higuain Berba would n’t be playing on Wednesday”. Are you actually serious? Or if we had Xavi and Iniesta in the middle of the park we wouldn’t need Fletch or Park. Its all fantasy football mate. Do you really think either of these two would be happy sitting on the bench when we play 4-5-1?
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What do you mean “am I actually serious” ?
Pal, can’t you see I only mentioned Villa and Higuain in response to Tony Starks? He mentioned those two players, I was talking to him.
I simply used Tony Starks post to make the valid point that DAVID VILLA would always start upfront with Rooney in the Premiership regardless of our injuries, or our poor midfield, or whatever other silly excuse people are making for Berbatov being on the bench. Villa would not be on our bench, he’s world class, so he’d force Alec to change our formation to accmommodate him and Rooney in the same team.
Alec decided a long time ago that having an extra midfielder was better than having Berb on the pitch. How can that be anybodies fault but Berbatov? Great Players force themselves into the managers thinking by being effective when given the chance. Berbatov hasn’t done that just yet, and thats why he’s mainly on the bench. For me, against Villa and Wolves he played his best football since joining. I hope he continues his improvement and wins us some more silverware – Maybe then he will become a truely indispensable United player. But the truth is he’s been very easy to keep on the bench all season. Thats nobodies fault but his own.
@ Sanj – welcome to the club, pal.
Sanj Said,March 8th, 2010 @17:49
@everyone who disagrees with me about Berbatov
I give up!
___________________
I only speak for myself, but theres no need to give up Pal.
Just don’t make petty comments addressed to people, I wouldn’t have addressed you had you not addressed my post as “Hilarious”
no worries.
@Sanj
Should have probably used that 30 mil for Robinho or Shevchenko.
@Corea
I’ve noticed you’ve stopped bothering with this a long time ago. Very smart move.
@Costas
Hahaha!
@sanj
Thats the best thing you have said today. Not worth wasting your time trying to convince people how good he is. we know he is a good player
I said some time back.Till he dosent score 100 goals, gets 50 assists and runs as fast as Usain bolt people wont be convinced by him. Its pointless trying to convince some people
@Paul Parker
It’s not as simple as Villa and Rooney starting together, football is more complicated than that as you know. As I already said, sometimes Villa and Torres don’t start together for Spain, depending on the situation and requirement.
Obviously we will agree to disagree on this, but for sure Alex Ferguson has the cash to buy another striker yet I don’t think he will do so…
@Denton Davey
We’ll have to agree to disagree on berbatov’s valuation. Didn’t know Sevilla were skint, makes there decision to pay 8 million on the over – rated Zokora strange.
I have always been a fan of him, since he first signed for us and until now I do believe we have one hell of a magnificent player. His overall contribution to the team is fantastic and he works as hard as Rooney at times; though he doesn’t need to as he can pluck the ball down from nowhere. As for people who have said he doesn’t score a lot, well he has scored 5 in his past 6-7 games or so. I love watching him play, quality player. Hopefully he undergoes surgery in the summer so he can have a full pre-season with the team and be fit for next season.
forget about berba, anyone else think carrick is a complete waste of space??????????????
Sanj Said,March 8th, 2010 @17:49
@everyone who disagrees with me about Berbatov
I give up!
Likewise!!
It is shame to see so many man utd fans being so critical of a player that had worked and played well for our team.
@all anti-berbatov fans
Either u guys played too much football manager or you actually support chelsea few seasons ago. I believe u will like a drogba type striker to your team.
Sanj had mentioned earlier, the reason berbatov will not start in a 451 is not his prob. It is the incompetence of our midfield. How often did SAF played a 3 men midfield when Roy keane was around. You guys seriously think our midfield of carrick and Fletcher can outplay Xavi, iniesta, toure. Or lampard, Essien, ballack or even gerrard and masherano. The only combination we can be on par with those are keane and scholes when they are at their prime. Except for fletcher, most of our centre mids often went AWOL during the big games. We need hargo to come back fast.
What we need is a world class box to box midfielder, not villa or any star strikers. Btw, pls do not mentioned u guys rather see diouf than bebartov.
He might be trying hard to impress last sat, but he is no where near where bebartov is.
King Eric – have you got a link on if rooney will return wednesday because england have screwed united royaly, they almost cost united saterday to play some bullshit friendly wednesday, I am still fuming they had rooney play for 86 minutes
@rtnk
here is one. Dont know how reliable it is. Guess SAFs Press conference tomorrow will answer everything
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08032010/58/champions-league-rooney-fit-milan-clash.html
@ Neonaldo
u must be a “Chelsea fan” due to the fact that u think our midfield is so weak!! Really petty comment just a silly thing to come out with just because we don’t all agree about berba doesn’t make ur opinion more valid or us lesser fans don’t know about u but I watch every home game and a couple of aways if I can so that comment was ridiculous!!
Ur comment was basically one massive contradiction read through it again and u will see what I mean!!
Sanj – well united are 2 players short of a truly world class powerhouse squad that we had last year. In the summer united should sign a CM player and a striker, and this will give united that flexibility in tactics and freshness because welbeck macheda and diouf are not good enough at the moment, and berbatov cant play upfront on his own which means united will need another world class striker.
If united can sign another domminating inforcer like a diarra or flamini united can go back to 442 or 424 even in europe and the big games if you have a fletcher or a diarra type midfielder, and if united can get a pacy powerful striker that is established, not only does it add extra compitition, rooney be rested sometimes, but both rooney and berbatov will both enjoy playing with a strong powerful striker. Because I still dont think rooney and berbatov can play together in the same team they just dont click.
denton – Yeah lets hope we do meet up for a beer one day, preferably at your holiday retreat in the sun!
I think you believe somehow you get my bcak up. On the contrary mate, I enjoy your comments and on most subjects agree with them. There is however 2 subjects we don’t agree on. The first being Carrick and the second one …………………………………well we both know what that topic is!
cullo – Err no mate, not at all. He is key to United’s midfield.
rtnk – Hello mate. No I haven’t a link I saw it somewhere. I think it was in the sun so that means fuck all. I am sure he WILL play. I think Fergie is just proving a point to both Wayne and Fabio. He is saying to Wayne, look Wayne United comes first and he is saying to Capello you could have very nearly fucked Wayne’s and consequently United’s season.
Flamini or Diarra at United? No chance mate.
Neonaldo – news flash for you you complete clown, essien is out for the season you muppet, and barcelona are struggling have you seen iniesta he has not scored a goal this season and xavi has not exactly pulled up trees, have you seen chelsea’s midfield they are nothing without essien. lampard 31 deco 33 ballack 32, mikel is average at best so before you talk about uniteds midfield look at chelsea’s and arsenal’s which united’s is still better than both those 2.
King Eric – alright, I ment that type of midfield player so united can play 442 or 424 in all the big games or the european games we used to do in the 90s early millenium and a phew years ago.
@rtnk
i agree that we need a few players however i feel we need a good attacking midfielder who can score goals.My choice is Marik Hamsik, however he is certain to attract interest all over Europe and with the WC coming up i dont think we can beat the likes of Chelsea,Real,Barca if they show an interest in him.There are other options like Ivan rakitic and Alan Dzagoev too whom we can look at.
Also we do need a striker but there arent many available. I love David Villa but valencia are asking too much money for him given he is 28 years old. Aguero isnt worth 50 million and has struggled this season.That is why i can only see Edin Dzeko as the option who we can get him for 20-25 million
Paul Parker – Yeah sorry mate. Since my comment on your post about Villa and Higuain I saw that it was a response to Tony Starks.
Neonaldo – Oh please. Lampard, Maschrano, Ballack aren’t fit to wipe Fletchers boots mate. United’s midfield shat all over the rentboys at the bridge.
Chelsea have it rough too. They have lost their regular full backs as well as Essien for the rest of the season. The 3 players we’ve lost aren’t considered crucial, but they offered very good back up. Plus, Chesea never lost Terry for as long as we lost Rio and Vidic or had to play Ballack at centre back.
aig – united do not need much, villa is to old now and he will be like shevchencko when he was at chelsea, PPL raved about him that chelsea would win everything with him in the chelsea side and we know what hapened since then. And I do not buy into the attacking midfielder anymore when I would rather the craft come from the wings and the striker situation it is much easier.
It has been proving now you do not need to try and replace the impossible getting a scholes replacement you dont even need a world class CM, you do not try and clone a player when he is not out there, the easiest way to do it is get to destroyersinn the middle, it makes up for the third man in midfield if you have energy in the middle with a bit of devil and dirtyness we have shown with arsenal how we can overpower them with strong tackling midfielders. Do not forget the 1994 side did not have scholes or a creative player in the middle, they had keane ince robson even mclair who could go in there and just destroy play, and let kanchelskis sharpe giggs cantona hughes do the damage and the craft and its far more effective than tryoing to get a player who may not hanlde the premiership, look at how affective hargreaves and anderson were, they were not the most creative but they domminated games.
hahahaha carrick key to midfield, he is like a aston martin witout an engine. looks fantastic but goes absolutely nower, he needs a rocket up his arse!!!!!!!!!
Costas – the beauty of uniteds squad is we have more squad players with more flexibility, which ironically is due to the fact fergie rotates his squad which is anti in england with the media. oshea brown rafeal fabio even de laat hargreaves when he was fit could play in multiple positions which makes our squad more effective when the squad has injurys.
I like the look of Sissoko, not the one from Juventus, cant remember who he plays for. Ive always rated Fabiano but he’s hitting 30 now.
@rtnk
i think we have to try and find someone who is even half as good as scholes.Scholes still dominates matches for us but we have to keep one eye on the future. Anderson still has to have 2 good consecutive games in his entire United career.Carrick is 29 now so he isnt getting any younger. Gibson has to make wholesale improvements in his game if he wants to be a regular so we arent left with much option but to buy a player who can link up play between midfield and rooney.
However if SAF decides to go for a striker i think we dont need an attacking midfielder because we are really dangerous down the wings with Valencia and nani with park and giggs there too. However we still need some cover in midfield.A lot depends on the hargreaves situation too
@willierednut
sure you mean Moussa sissoko. he is 20 years old and plays for Tolouse
cullo – you went full retard in simple jack style, well simple jack is more brighter than you off course carrick is key you muppet, look at who united have in midfield, it is basically carrick scholes and fletcher to choose from, gibson is not convincing anderson is out for the season and hargreaves has not played a game since september 2008, and scholes is 35. Carrick and fletcher can handle the poundings of the remaining season far better than scholes because of the age of scholes, it is simple science.
aig – I still would like to have a physical domminating pair in the middle, we have fletcher get another midfield inforcer and we can go back to 424 in most games.
@rtnk
i think Hargreaves is the answer but his fitness is a major concern.Also how well he plays when he comes back is vital too. i also have a good feeling about this lad paul pogba. Excellent talent and may break in the first team in another 2-3 years.Sissoko is a good defensive player. United are being linked with him too.
@RTNK
That’s true, but the this year the squad has been stretched beyond the breaking point. This team is more vulnerable without our first choice center backs.
As soon as I heard the Brown news, I got to thinking. Hopefully, United make it all the way to the Bernabeu in the Ch.League. Say we get to play against Barca along the way. As a right back(and possibly against Messi) you have two options: Rafael or Neville. Sounds a bit worrying doesn’t it?
Thats him, cheers aig.
@Costas
Hi mate.
Do you honestly think we will reach the final of the CL?.I know you are just assuming here but just want to know. Also messi plays on the Barca right so he will come up against Evra. If we get Madrid it will be Ronaldo against Evra. Not easy but Evra is good enough to well in these situations.
barca have Iniesta playing on the right.Now i wouldnt want Rafael or Neville to be up against him for sure.
@willierednut
welcome mate.
Would be a good signing if we can snap him
he had a great game berbatov is a wonderful player he’s not the problem
look at barcelona for example it’ not ibrahimovic who create chances it’s all about messi xavi iniesta we have a different style of playing this season we don’t have much possession most of our goals this season comes from valencia i think we need someone like diego juventus to play just behind our strikers i mean honestly what does carrick apart from giving the ball to valencia i can do it too. this season we’re much more like aston villa.
valencia cross rooney header a young cross agbonlahor header.
but winning is all that matters.
Costas – if VDS rafeal or neville fit ferdinand vidic evans evra scholes carrick fletcher valencia park rooney are all fit and you get more out berbatov and nani and united will propably win the league. pending if we keep more clean sheets and rooney is on fire. You also have de laat who is effective at the fullback area’s and fabio, add o shea’s return it is not so grim at defence, while one is injured hopefully ferdinand and vidic can be kept together for atleast the remaining 9 premiership games I dont give a damn for europe prem is the holy grail not europe, we can reduce liverpool to the history books.
aig – I would not bank on hargreaves, he is to injury prone he has been out since september 2008 so it is crazy not to invest in the CM area.
@Costas
It’s asking a lot for a 3rd champions league final in a row, ill settle for are 19th premiership crown.
I think Berba is a class act and is starting to be more consistent in both goals and performances. And when he is playing at the top of his game he is fantastic to watch and links well with Rooney and Valencia, he’s top draw!! And when I see people saying for the money he isn’t good enough it makes me think, what if we bought Villa, he would cost probs 45+ million and we don’t know if he would do well, we think he might but we don’t know, look at Forlan, wasn’t prolific for us, but in Spain he is the top scorer pretty much every year!!
cullo – Grow up mate. Who played central midfield with Scholes in the 06/07 season? Aside from the odd dip in form of course he is key. When Carrick plays well United tick. Go on then who would you like to see aside from Hargo?
Has everyone forgotten about cleverly?
aig – rafeal and neville can handle iniesta on the right since iniesta does not have the wing play interchanging pace and movement of a natural winger, someone like valencia could destroy nevile but luckely for us valencia is our player, if barca bought valencia and had messi and valencia out wide they wpuld be devestating. dont forget barca are not half the side they are when they have iniesta on the right, they will look to give it to messi on the right so their main source of attack will come from messi, and with no eto’o they dont have the direct pace through the middle to trouble united no offecne to ibrahimovic he is no etoo very slow and sluggish.
Don’t forget lads we have the likes of Cleverley and Matt James to come back. Fergie knows what he is doing. I see Rodwell scored again, a sweet volley. That kid has got United player written all over him.
@King Eric
Roy Keane lol.
@AIG
Hi mate. Thanks for clarifying the Messi thing. I haven’t watched Barca this season. I was just assuming that they probably rotate their front three and Messi plays at both sides during a course of a game. It would be a good thing for us if we got the likes of Barca or Real as late as possible in the competition. Who knows? Maybe someone like O’Shea or even Hargo will be back by then and offer another option. But the relaistic options until the end of the season are Nev and Rafa.
I really can’t say about the Ch.League. Who knows? If VDS,Rio,Vidic,Carrick,Fletcher and Rooney stay fit, then I think we could make good progress. But it will be difficult to get past the quarters and the semis and focus on the league, because our squad depth is not very strong at the moment. But first thing is first. We get past Milan.
Mohit – Ha ha. Just typed my post and seen yours. Apparantly I haven’t forgotten mate no!
berbatov is good but just not a premierleague player i mean look at drogba no technique but create panic in all defenses i think we had one and let him go like it or not tevez was the perfect guy to pair with rooney i’m still
mad at fergie. a striker i would love to see at OT is pato he’s excellent hope he keeps quiet on wednesday.
@rtnk
Iniesta is a very tricky customer. dosent give the ball away.Also what Barca do now a days because they are missing etoo is they play Xavi Keita and Busquets/toure in midfield so that messi and Iniesta are up front along with pedro/Henry/Ibrahimovic. I wouuld be worried if it is iniesta vs rafael/neville. Iniesta is one of the most under rated players in the world.
@willierednut
Same for me. But should we get past Milan, then the players and the manager will start thinking about it. Especially if we get a good draw. Honetly, I don’t think we will make it to the Bernabeu, but I will be gladly be proven wrong.
aig – hello mate. Of course we can get to the final whether we do depends on things Costas has mentioned. We are Manchester United on our day we can beat anyone. It would appear that teams may have worked Barca out this season. That is why Fergie is the master, he is constantly evolving his teams , formations and tactics.
as people are talking about midfielders… I know I have written him off before, but looking at the reserve game tonight, Rodrigo Possebon looks too good for reserve football, I think he will do ok in a 3 man midfield…
aig – Iniesta under rated? Don’t think so mate, people are always banging on about him, anyway fuck the Barca love in (again) this is a United blog. I sincerely hope we meet them at some stage.
Before anyone says owt of course I appreciate good teams but just get sick of all the bleating about Barca. Substandard league.
In terms of mid field reinforcements over the summer, I think Jack Rodwell would be a good addition. Liked him since the time I saw him last summer at the European u21 championship or something equivalent.
@sanj
I do know what an analogy is…unfortunately yours was so bad that it wasn’t obvious. You could learn from others on this forum on how to address your posts and keep the conversation civilized.
aig – iniesta has been poor this season he has not even scored a goal, united can take this lot out and when barca beat united it was with
iniesta xavi
messi etoo henry
you are overating iniesta who iniesta and xavi have been poor, with iniesta with no real interchangeble pace he is like rooney pinned on the left his best talents are all taken away from him. United’s massive problems with barca in the final was the wonderful patnership of xavi and iniesta that is gone, add iniesta powering his way through the middle thats gone, while etoo’s direct pace was causing united all sorts of problems that is gone, giving messi the spcae to destroy uniteddown the right that is gone, all these main strength’s barca had when they beat united is gone and with united’s backline returning to its best united can beat them especially with fletcher back for those games, a 3 man midfield of scholes carrick and fletcher with valencia rooney park/nani can take beat barca.
King Eric – the pts I have raised about barcelona has made them beatable, they are now disjointed and unbalanced with their main attacking threat is messi. if their attack is messi ibrahimovic and iniesta that will be easy for united to defend against especially with fletcher back for those games.
@ Aig: agree with you. Would absolutely LOVE to see Dzeko in United colours.
And to whoever made the Drogba reference to Berba: Dogbutt is undeniably better. He isn’t always selfish. Can create chances and put chances away and can also operate well outside the box while working well going back to defend also.
Put in a better context, I view Berbatov as kind of a Matt Le Tissier except without anywhere near that goalscoring touch. And Matt was fat and had a face like broken carrots. If Berbatov is supposed to hit some kind of stride, and if some are to say he has already has then I think that is just woeful especially for a player of his supposed calibre.
Anyone watching the Reserves game? Is Fabio playing?
Cullo – you’re talking s**t mate. Carrick is class. Do you really think, if he was a waste of space, we would have won 3 consecutive titles with him as a mainstay in our midfield.
@Costas
Watching bits of it, no Fabio, no Obertan either… 0-0 currently. Cathcart is back from long term injury
@Tony Starks
Thanks for the info. Good to see Cathcart and Possebon back in the frame. Sir Alex will have them at the back of his mind in our injury list continues to grow.
Obertan will probably be in the squad for the Milan game. I hope the same goes for Fabio, but we haven’t heard an update about his injury.
Surprised to see Cathcart. I thought he was on loan? Good to see young Keane playing. That lad does know how to finish.
Just also watching the vermin. Good to see Wigan have nicked our “Giggs will tear you apart” song. Also singing “he plays on the left he plays on the ri-iight, that boy?????”. Every team nicks our songs.
As I type he has just scored!!
Fantastic strike by Keane (Will) to give United Reserves 1-0 lead after 75 mins…
At last we have a Keane that scores goals.
@king eric
think rodwell would be a quality signing, him plus James, cleverley and maybe drinkwater who has been excellent for Huddersfield recently are the future of our midfield (hopefully)
Welbz19 – Absolutely mate. All quality players as is Cathcart. I have hopes for William Keane. Only 17 and knows where the back of the net it. Intelligent player as well. Reminds me of a young Teddy. The abu’s criticise United’s squad even though its the strongest in the league and have no idea whatsoever of the young talent we have. Obviously a lot of them maybe won’t make it at this club but a fair number of them will. Hope we keep Cleverley in the summer. I also wonder what will become of Morrison.
The dippers are getting turned over by fucking Wigan. They have been shockingly bad. The thug has been awful and just keeps giving the ball away. The ladyboy has not been in the game and keeps losing it. Fucking cunts.
well its not official if brown has broken his foot so there is s bit of hope its only a phew weeks
King Eric – lionel messi and ronaldo would lose the plot with the fat waiter incharge lets face it he is the oposite of the beutiful game. And we can resign liverpools history to the dustbin
@King Eric
Ha, I just saw that my man Kyrgiakos picked up a yellow. I had a suspicion that he wouldn’t last the first 45 without getting one!
@RTNK
Sir Alex will tell us what the story is tomorrow, but it’s very rare that these reports are wrong. I hope it’s just something that keeps him out for 3-4 weeks.
@Sanj ..firstly if anybody should have license to complain on the team it is Rooney..he is the hardest worker on the team and our best player…but for the most part he doesn’t…if you’ve noticed how much he has toned it down this year it’s a credit to his maturity…Gibson IMO thinks he is Mr Billy Big boots but is quite a lazy player…he is another who thinks he is better than he really is…he should take a page out of Fletcher’s book…I would say that Berba should have scored many more goals given the service of Valencia and occasionally Nani…he has fluffed countless chances…he was bought as a striker so he needs to start banging them in already…I would say Rio and Fergie keep talking him up cause they know he has a fragile ego and he isn’t used to being in this poor form..(yes i think he is in poor form,,,it might be his injury, but he labors around and he seems to be out of position most of the time hence the ranting at teammates for bad passes when he should have been getting his lazy but in gear)….I won’t tear him down completely but he is one player who does not seem proud to wear the shirt and that he would give everything for the badge and for his teammates…might be due to fitness but until he is up to it we need a replacement…
rooney the new king Said —– im a retard, real mature mate you muppet. what does carrick actually do that any average premier league player cant??? he forever passes the ball sideways, has no skill watsoever and cant tackle if his life depended on it. i guarantee if fergie had better options in central midfield he wouldnt get near the team. i mean how could you could compare carrick to someone like fabregas or xavi
cdonyi – united dont need to sell berbatov in the summer he will be down the pecking order of 3rd choice if united sign a more explosive world class striker which is needed at united. berbatov had a good game saterday, but when united lose rooney uniteds striking options are at worse case scenario, because our other strikers are not doing it everyweek plus rooney is the only striker that can lead the line in a 433 system.
cullo – yes I think you are one you are one of those typical fans who are clueless of the game and united in perticuler. if you think carrick is not a key player you are an idiot, yes carrick is not has good as those 2 but xavi despite how good he is, is vastly overated and has had a poor season actually watch games instead of playing FM. carrick has no skill hmm you are retarded, he is teqnically one of englands most gifted players, he has great vision his passing is crisp and when he is on his game he can pick out some brilliant passes and control games with great eye of the needle passes. He can chip in about 6 to 7 goals a season, carrick has been tired the past month he goes through these spells and with uniteds midfield options down to 3 well 4 if you include gibson his levels have dropped
“technically one of englands most gifted players” so thats why he cant get in the england team! hahaha your dillusional man
also i wouldnt lower my standards to name calling mate, its a discussion not a slaggin match,
@king eric
yeah really believe we have by far the strongest squad, don’t understand how anybody could say Chelsea’s squad is stronger!
With regards to Will Keane can see the Teddy comparisons but I also see alot of Ole in him, he’s an instinctive finisher like Ole! I’m super excited about this bunch of kids believe there are so many who have a good chance of making it! Morrison does look something special although he’s pick a few injuries up this year which isn’t ideal!
hahahahahahaha scouse scum lose again
interesting article on how AC Milan manages to increase the longevity of the playing career of its players…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1256436/AC-Milans-ageing-stars-arrive-Champions-League-clash-Manchester-United-straight–Lab-Gods.html?ITO=1490
cullo – oh yes and ashley young and gabriel villa’s 2 most inform players and maybe one of the premierships most inform players they are not in the england team. steve bruce never got into the england team, no did le tissier and they were outstanding they are crap are they, which shows are dellusional you are.
@cullo
Saf paid 18 million for Carrick because he’s a top midfielder and your point about Carrick not being in the England team, i couldn’t give a fiddlers as long as he produces for us.
saf also paid 30million for berba, great signing he turned out to be.
hahahaha ashley young, are u having a laugh man!! poor mans walcott and dats saying sumtin!!
cullo – you are an idiot simple has that, he is a carbone copy of valencia and has got 8 goals this season. Young has got far more strength than wolcott do not even put wolcot in youngs league, young has better use on the ball when he goes at pace and is great at taking penaltys. You clearly have no clue on the game when you start saying players like young carrick are crap, if they are not iniesta messi or ronaldo you down quality players like young ad carrick
Yes Cullo, he only won 3 trophies in his first season.
Carrick was Englands best midfielder against Egypt on wednesday, he’ll be in the world cup squad so get a clue Cullo.
willierednut – didnt carrick only win the premiership in his first season
@RTNK
I was talking about Berbatov mate.
wtf is carbone, also never heard of wolcot?? best player against egypt, need i say more?
willierednut – oh rite my bad.
cullo – well you are being owned when you dont know the basic english language despite I even said what carbon means in 2 words WOW egypt a useless friendly, have you seen wolcotts performences he has only 2 goals in 18 appearences constantly pushed off the ball he is a lightweight yea he really is better than ashley young
eh i know what carbon means, just not carbone??? also who is this wolcott you keep refferring to??????? any relation to walcott who plays for arsenal. you might want to hit spell check there mate. by the way i think walcott is completely bollox, another over hyped english player
cullo – just face it when you start using PPL’s spellng you know you are getting owned, not all players are like the overated xavi lumpard injury prone essien etc
hahahaha getting owned, are ya from LA or something? have to say im a big essien fan, your right about lampard though. ah carrick just pisses me off coz i just think he could do so much more, he has the ability alright he just needs to be more aggressive maybe show some more passion he looks like a passenger most of the time. anyway we will agree to disagree
KIng Eric and Red Devil, many thanks for good wishes. Haven’t had a great few weeks but I still try to at least read the threads most days. I love a good ding-dong, but it’s a shame to see people knocking verbal lumps off each other here when we’re supposedly on the same side. I love Berba personally, but there are plenty of regulars here whose views I seek out and respect who don’t agree, which doesn’t bother me, except when the abuse cranks up too much. Save that for the dippers, or Tevez, or – best of all, John Terry. Am I alone in finding the sight of his bare torso pretty nauseating at the end of the Stoke game? All that macho posing in the context of his life disgusts me, I must say. When he bared his ugly white biceps to show off his captain’s arm band I had to turn away from the screen…
By the way Gotta Hate, I guess we’re all with you on Emily’s trip to Old Trafford. I couldn’t possibly want United to win then more than I do already, but if I could, I would, if you see what I mean,for your sake, and especially for Emily. Really could be magic…The first time I ever saw United in the flesh was against Fulham, almost exactly 50 years ago. I’ll try and write something up about it, if Scott can find room for it. It was an unforgettable moment in my life.
@Giles Oakley
Hi mate. Add my wishes to the list. I for one would love to read your piece about the first time you saw United up close. And who knows? If I am worthy, in 49 years I will share my first OT experience with you all! Best day of my life.
I hope Emily enjoys her big day and hopefully Rooney will play and score. That will cap off the day for her I assume.
Key word in that from Rio, “Languid and wot not” buddy some time try ,to show you want to be here eh, u appear to Reds you dont give a Fuck.Try bursting a fuckin Gut to get to the Ball eh.But in my humble opinion a class fitbae player, just a languid lazy Bulgarian, that aint suited to fast counter attacking football.
I am more interested in the Match on Wedensday.
I am being myself I think we will go OUT, if there Is no Wayne. Or if Antonio and he can do again what we are viewing, just pure class.
Rant over. away to Piss off a few bindippers and lmao
Would I like to see Berba score more goals? Sure. Of course. I’d like to see all of our forwards scoring t least 20 PL goals a year, and our midfielders chipping in with at least 7 or 8 each. Of course, then the team would have a million goals, but so what? It’s like (for cricket fans) worrying that only 2 or 3 batsmen have scored centuries in their last few outings.
Sadly I can only watch the matches on TV. And it’s not even a widescreen TV, either. But even there I can see the impact Berba has. I think of him not so much as an out and out striker, more as a playmaker at the top end of the pitch, creating space, pulling the defense this way and that, slicing passes through. And if he can score 12 to 15 goals a year as well, great.
A couple of old saws need to be put to rest. One: “Berba has had more than enough time to settle in and produce the goods”. Crap. For mine, the key to him was forming a partnership with Rooney. All last season, it was the Ronaldo circus. The whole team was bent out of shape for that. even Rooney was stuck out on the left wing! How could they form a partnership under those conditions? So for me, this is really his first true season, nd now we’re starting to see his interplay with Rooney and others starting to pay off.
Two: this nonsense about him not starting in the big matches. The truth is, for a whole bunch of reasons that have nothing to do with Berba, SAF has decided to go into those matches with a solid 5-man midfield. My feeling is that he’s done that, partly because of the absence of Hargo, and partly because of aging legs (Scholes and Giggs). We all saw what happened last year against Barca when he didn’t do it! To suggest that SAF only plays 4-5-1 in those matches because Berba isn’t good enough is ludicrous. Really, it is. I’ve been saying for 3 years now that (even when we won the CL) that we have problems in the middle. Berba isn’t the cause of 4-5-1, he’s the victim of it — the sacrifice that has to be made because in those matches, SAF wants two wingers and doesn’t believe the two remaining (in a 4-4-2) can keep big teams at bay. And he’s right. Maybe if Hargo can come back and be at his best, that may change. But until that happens, or we find a suitable replacements, we (and Berba) are stuck with it.
I remember, a couple of months after Berba joined, that SAF publicly spoke about how difficult it was, in training and in matches, to get the players to trust Berba’s ability with the ball when surrounded by defenders. He said something like, “we have to keep telling them, ‘pass to his feet, it’ll be OK, you’ll see”. Because if it was anyone else, you wouldn’t pass to a guy in that position. So it’s taken (and is taking) everyone a lot of time to learn. But it’s getting there.
Cheers!
cullo – Get a clue pal. Ingerlund clicked when Carrick when came on and he was clearly their best midfielder on the night. Of course he is no Xavi but who the fcuk is? It ain’t footy manager mate. I do however agree about Young, I think he is shit.
arijc – Yeah very interesting that Milan link.I have always wondered what goes on in their “labs”. Personally I think there is summat more sinister or “illegal” going on!
Giles – No problem mate. No you certainly are not alone my friend in your disgust of the bare chested warrior Terry. I posted about this on another thread yesterday. Even kept his arm band on. What a twat.
has this article just created the record for most comments on RoM?
P.S. Cullo is a clueless twat.
fullard – No mate. We have had over 400 on dipper threads before and the sale of Ronnie.
Hi Costas, mate, and thanks for the good wishes. I’m going to have a word with my medical team to say, ‘Look, I’ve got to be around in 49 years time to read Costas’s account of his first trip to Old Trafford!’ I’m pretty sure that’ll do the trick.
Good comments Stateside Aussie, especially about Berba’s close control and Fergie’s instruction to the other players to trust him and play it to feet.
king eric i dont play football manager you cunt, also fullard you are a prick
I don’t care if he runs more than usain fucking bolt- if he can’t score goals, he needs to step aside for someone who can.
cullo – Why are you calling me a cunt? I have said fuck all to warrant that. I thought you said to someone you don’t resort to name calling? You fucking cunt.
Cullo – I have had my disagreements on users on here but are you on here just to piss PPL off, I say stay on your scouser shitty or chelski forums and stop pissing real united fans off simple has that.
As much as i would like Berbatov to prove me wrong, im just not a fan of his. I know he has some classy touches etc etc, but in general his work rate and overall contribution is just not good enough. A half fit Tevez would present more problems for opposition. If United got £10M in the summer for him id take it gladly!