Source: The Evening Standard
Sir Alex Ferguson described him as a “key signing” and said he was “one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football”.
The player himself admitted joining Manchester United was “a dream come true” and that he looked forward to playing his part in “helping this club win more honours”.
These were not the words of Robin van Persie after his £24million move from Arsenal to Old Trafford last week but of Dimitar Berbatov four years ago after he left Spurs to join United.
Most Tottenham fans won’t care to spare a thought for their former hero tonight as he watches from the stands at Goodison Park while Van Persie makes his debut at Everton.
On a crazy final day of the transfer window in the summer of 2008, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had given the Bulgarian permission to talk to Manchester City only for him to brazenly turn up at Old Trafford to thrash out a £30.75m move to United.
Van Persie’s arrival has finally nailed Berbatov’s United career. Ferguson was talking last week about now having four strikers to enable him to party again like it was 1999 but Berbatov was not being invited to the soiree and I find it difficult to work out why.
His stock has now fallen so low that the 31-year-old is available for as little as £8m, a depreciation in value of 74 per cent. This is the same player who won the Golden Boot as the Premier League’s top scorer only two seasons ago when he hit three hat-tricks and even managed five goals in a 7-1 rout over Blackburn.
The 2010-11 campaign should have heralded his arrival as a fully-fledged United player, one destined for greater things. At his best, he was a joy to watch with the ball glued to his foot and a swerve of his hips and dip of his shoulder allowing him to arrow past any opponent.
If you remember his overhead kick against Liverpool you will also recognise that he is also capable of spectacular goals. It frustrates me that he is labelled lazy. United supporters don’t think so and aiming such barbs at him only highlights an ignorance of just what the Bulgarian can do. Ferguson did not sign him to run around like a headless chicken because Berbatov, unlike Wayne Rooney, does not want to play in every position on the pitch.
“His style and ability will give the team a different dimension,” said the manager at that same first press conference of his new signing.
And by and large Berbatov has delivered when given the opportunity and 49 goals in 108 League appearances for United is a scoring ratio that any striker would be rightly proud of.
Yet at the end of the Bulgarian’s stellar season, Ferguson preferred to play Javier Hernandez and Rooney up front in the Champions League Final defeat against Barcelona at Wembley.
Berbatov was even overlooked for a place on the bench in favour of Michael Owen with reports suggesting that Ferguson’s cruel act had reduced the striker tears. He only made 21 appearances last season as he fell further down the pecking order with the emergence of Danny Welbeck and yet he still managed to score nine goals.
“I’m sure he will be a popular player with the fans,” Ferguson also said when he signed Berbatov, and he is.
The fact that he turned down a move to City in the first place was always going to curry favour, so where has it gone wrong for him?
His two FA Cup semi-final losing appearances for the club when he missed a penalty against Everton and a sitter early on against City did not help. The view persists he is too idle on the pitch and too sullen a team-mate but even if this is the case neither should matter if he is plying his trade in front of goal, which he has.
In the January transfer window, Berbatov was linked with a move to Bayern Munich. The rumour was quashed when Berbatov’s contract was extended for another year but now he has been more frozen out than a packet of fishfingers.
There is an obvious move and that is back to Tottenham. Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle showed how much Andre Villas-Boas needs someone who can hold the ball up front — Jermain Defoe is just not that player and even if he arrives on a permanent deal from City, I am not sure that Emmanuel Adebayor is either.
If you are reading, Mr Levy, you could do worse than make a discreet inquiry to David Gill, you might get Berba back for a snip.
Sir Alex Ferguson described him as a “key signing” and said he was “one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football”.
The player himself admitted joining Manchester United was “a dream come true” and that he looked forward to playing his part in “helping this club win more honours”.
These were not the words of Robin van Persie after his £24million move from Arsenal to Old Trafford last week but of Dimitar Berbatov four years ago after he left Spurs to join United.
Most Tottenham fans won’t care to spare a thought for their former hero tonight as he watches from the stands at Goodison Park while Van Persie makes his debut at Everton.
On a crazy final day of the transfer window in the summer of 2008, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had given the Bulgarian permission to talk to Manchester City only for him to brazenly turn up at Old Trafford to thrash out a £30.75m move to United.
Van Persie’s arrival has finally nailed Berbatov’s United career. Ferguson was talking last week about now having four strikers to enable him to party again like it was 1999 but Berbatov was not being invited to the soiree and I find it difficult to work out why.
His stock has now fallen so low that the 31-year-old is available for as little as £8m, a depreciation in value of 74 per cent. This is the same player who won the Golden Boot as the Premier League’s top scorer only two seasons ago when he hit three hat-tricks and even managed five goals in a 7-1 rout over Blackburn.
The 2010-11 campaign should have heralded his arrival as a fully-fledged United player, one destined for greater things. At his best, he was a joy to watch with the ball glued to his foot and a swerve of his hips and dip of his shoulder allowing him to arrow past any opponent.
If you remember his overhead kick against Liverpool you will also recognise that he is also capable of spectacular goals. It frustrates me that he is labelled lazy. United supporters don’t think so and aiming such barbs at him only highlights an ignorance of just what the Bulgarian can do. Ferguson did not sign him to run around like a headless chicken because Berbatov, unlike Wayne Rooney, does not want to play in every position on the pitch.
“His style and ability will give the team a different dimension,” said the manager at that same first press conference of his new signing.
And by and large Berbatov has delivered when given the opportunity and 49 goals in 108 League appearances for United is a scoring ratio that any striker would be rightly proud of.
Yet at the end of the Bulgarian’s stellar season, Ferguson preferred to play Javier Hernandez and Rooney up front in the Champions League Final defeat against Barcelona at Wembley.
Berbatov was even overlooked for a place on the bench in favour of Michael Owen with reports suggesting that Ferguson’s cruel act had reduced the striker tears. He only made 21 appearances last season as he fell further down the pecking order with the emergence of Danny Welbeck and yet he still managed to score nine goals.
“I’m sure he will be a popular player with the fans,” Ferguson also said when he signed Berbatov, and he is.
The fact that he turned down a move to City in the first place was always going to curry favour, so where has it gone wrong for him?
His two FA Cup semi-final losing appearances for the club when he missed a penalty against Everton and a sitter early on against City did not help. The view persists he is too idle on the pitch and too sullen a team-mate but even if this is the case neither should matter if he is plying his trade in front of goal, which he has.
In the January transfer window, Berbatov was linked with a move to Bayern Munich. The rumour was quashed when Berbatov’s contract was extended for another year but now he has been more frozen out than a packet of fishfingers.
There is an obvious move and that is back to Tottenham. Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle showed how much Andre Villas-Boas needs someone who can hold the ball up front — Jermain Defoe is just not that player and even if he arrives on a permanent deal from City, I am not sure that Emmanuel Adebayor is either.
If you are reading, Mr Levy, you could do worse than make a discreet inquiry to David Gill, you might get Berba back for a snip.
