Berbatov ready for United lift-off

December 31, 2008

Dimitar Berbatov

IT will take more than one close range strike against Middlesbrough to convince detractors that he’s not a £30m flop.

But Dimitar Berbatov’s festive form has gone a long way to repaying the record fee United laid out to bring him to Old Trafford.

The Bulgarian star’s winner on Monday followed fast on the heels of his late intervention at Stoke when he set up Carlos Tevez for the crucial goal on Boxing Day.

It is debateable whether Berbatov would even have started against Boro, if not for Tevez being granted compassionate leave to return to Argentina.

But he seized his chance with one of his best performances in a Red shirt.

The United manager has been full of praise for the former Tottenham striker even in the face of some unconvincing form since his arrival in September.

Seventh

His goal against relegation-threatened Boro was only his seventh of the season, his third in the league, with the others coming against fellow strugglers West Brom and Stoke.

Even Berbatov admits there is more to come from him, as well as the rest of the United team, that have proved unusually wasteful in front of goal of late.

“I have plenty more to show and I will keep working,” he said. “With the help of the guys I know we can do a lot.

“I’m not worried about the chances we are missing. Maybe we must work on our concentration in the last third of the field.

“The boss tells us all the time not to lose our concentration because it will be very important in the crucial games. We will keep working on it, but as long as we are creating chances it is good.”

It was for games like Boro that Berbatov was bought – tight encounters when one moment of magic can make all the difference.

While his strike on Monday could hardly be described as magical, it was nonetheless crucial in keeping United in touch with Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Boost

United are now seven points behind the Anfield club with two games in hand. If not for Berbatov’s strike it would have left them nine points adrift, handing Liverpool a significant psychological boost going into 2009.

And the importance of victory was not lost on Berbatov.

“It was a must win game,” he said. “I am glad that we won it. It was obvious that we were the better team, we had so many chances. We only scored one, but that was enough.

“Sometimes you miss a lot of chances and lose concentration. But Middlesbrough are a very good team and 1-0 was enough.

“No matter if you win by one or two goals, three points is the most important thing.

“We are there in the title race. We can win our two games in hand and then it will be all good for us. In the end it is in our hands.”

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Private Fraser, Warmington-On-Sea (31/12/2008 at 10:33)

Fergie, thanks for kidnapping this waster from Ringway. Would hate to think of him in Manchester's team rather than Robi.

Teresa20, Norwich (31/12/2008 at 10:47)

Villa won with a late goal last night and the radio commentor said it was the sign of a good team to keep going until the end. When United grad a late goal, its not good enough. Why?? We are finding it hard to break down teams at the moment, but every one is afraid of us and just defends. The goals will come, we know we have the ability. I wish people would get off the backs of our players.

Alias Smith, over the moon (31/12/2008 at 11:22)

Teresa, good comments. It's too early to judge Berb, let's see what he and we have achieved come the end of the season. I think the naysayers will be pleasantly surprised.

Ben'sDad, WA4 (31/12/2008 at 11:55)

It's one of the most enduring football cliches - it's a sign of a good team to win while playing badly. I think the sign of a good team is to play good football - which United have not managed in recent weeks. The first half against City was the best we've played for a while, but the first 10 minutes against Spurs (remember that?) were pretty good too. We either improve our form and go on to win the Prem, or we continue to stutter and hand the title to Liverpool or Chelsea. It's not enough to play badly and win, because it can't continue. Nobody has that much luck.

joey (31/12/2008 at 12:02)

While I agree with the point you're trying to make Alias, in fact I'll say Berbatov has already been judged. We all know he is a very gifted and technically excellent footballer, hence that long transfer saga and exorbitant transfer fee. How he performs within the team depends on multiple factors, like training styles, injury avoidance, camaraderie with teammates, amount of pressure etc. Whether he succeeds or not at United is one thing, but regardless he is a superb footballer.

danny, WILMSLOW (31/12/2008 at 12:11)

Brebatov is a class player,who should be given more of the ball than he gets.
HULL were very very unlucky just shows how refs can cost you,we have had some good goals not allowed.
However no need to worry as FERGIE knows the solution.
Alex Ferguson reckons United’s ‘Three Amigos’ — Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes — will lead his team to another title-winning Samba.
The Old Trafford boss pointed to the trio’s experience and composure under pressure as key ingredients for a successful Premier League defence.
Ha haah who is he kidding we have leaked 3 golas in nearly every game Neville has played in.GIGGS gives the ball away so often you could think he was playing for the other team.

Alias Smith, over the moon (31/12/2008 at 12:23)

joey, I agree that he is a very talented player but if he is the wrong type of player for us and/or he fails to integrate into and improve the team then he will be judged a failure regardless of his individual ability. And rightly so.

I'm fairly confident that won't be the case however.

Gilly, Belgium (31/12/2008 at 12:26)

Neville is now way beyond it
Scholsey is ok still and so is Giggsy tho neither of those two will tackle sooooooooo its a bit of a gamble !

Teresa20, Norwich (31/12/2008 at 12:51)

Bringing on Neville and Scholes on monday calmed the team and hence the goal came. Sir Alex knows exactly what he is doing. We have a great mixture of youth and experience, and are lucky that the players show such loyalty to the club and vice versa.

latiy2k, Toronto GTA (31/12/2008 at 13:26)

Will there be a sweeter victory than to chase the scousers and overtake them to be crowned champions?

Calm down and support the team everyone, your best season may be just around the corner.

Berbatov is fine. Starting without pre-season is always troublesome, as is the case for Ronaldo. But the balance is there and we will come good. By the way, we got sx points out of six.

george (31/12/2008 at 14:05)

Have no fear Berbatov is here.He is not a failure and will not be a failure.His footballing talent won't let him down.Ronaldo was the best player in the world last season but Berbatov has better touch.Class is permanent and these guys will put on a show in 2009.

oddpeder (31/12/2008 at 14:16)

Well, I said all summer that berbatov was perfect mach for us. Still stand by that. Think the day Ronaldo, Rooney and Berbatov makes it click we will be very difficult to stop.

A more critical point will be to play Anderson more, we need to find someone to play alongside Carrick when Scholes are resting. Or do we need a new CM? Comments?

Just be glad we are only 7 points behind (maybe 1?) and if we can beat Chelsea we will have 5 points on them, then we are in a very good position for the PL. Can't wait to gp into Old Trafford when we face Liverpool in march, that will be a killer game.

ENGINEER, Heywood (31/12/2008 at 14:45)

I agree with all comments with regard to Berbatov's football ability, which he has in abundance. Problem is he it exactly like Rooney and Tevez in that he likes to play in the hole between the defence and midfield, look at when he was at Spurs Keane did all the work against the back four leaving him to roam and use is skills.
But at United we have 3 players trying to do the same thing leaving no one to occupy the central defenders. Point in case is the amount of times we have had the ball in wide positions but there has been no one it the box for the cross. Also when the ball is when needed just humped away Berbatov is to close to our goal to trouble the defenders it is usually Rooney who cometimes gets on the end of it or at least put them under pressure.
With regard to the comment about midfield, Anderson is more than able to do the job of connecting the middle to the forwards but every time he play well he gets dropped, he should be allowed to form a partnership with Carrick or Scholes, but we definately miss Hargreaves for his ability to break up play.
People go on about Park who always gives more thatn 100% but the player I feel would more than compliment us is Frank Ribery. Also we should always have Manucho on the bench at least to create a bit of a problem for the other teams.

RED RAZOR-THE PUB RED (31/12/2008 at 15:46)

He should of signed for the bitters aghhhh.

ribery's ankle, Amsterdam (31/12/2008 at 16:15)

ENGINEER, Heywood -
Fair comments. I would also like to see more of Anderson - he's quick, direct (his goal will come...) and ..yes why not Manucho!! (or more of Welbeck!)
SAF needs to change it at the crucial times 60mins - usually 0-0!!!
As for Ribéry, I expect city have made a bid already!!, Yes please! he's passionate and direct and more than a handful!!

Jimmy the Red, Winnipeg (31/12/2008 at 16:17)

It seems we'd still have some fans moaning even if the Christmas fairy told them we'd win all 4 competitions this season.

We are right in it again this year but the drama is not for the faint of heart. It seems to me that the quality throughout the league is as high as it's ever been with so many very good teams quite capable of taking points off everybody else. Some of the comments posted of late give the impression of people wringing their hands in despair at the thought that they have wasted THEIR millions on underperforming players. Maybe if these same people were given the opportunity to strap on a pair of boots for United they'd adopt a different view after realizing just how difficult it is to play at this level never mind score goals.

There is no escaping the fact that United have achieved such a lofty status that every team who turns out to play them has a major plan of action looking to nullify it's strengths. I don't think United is perceived as having ANY weaknesses that can be exploited. I think ALL teams fear United but I don't get the sense that the same can be said of the remaining "Big 4" teams. This season, teams know that Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal give up late goals and Terisa highlights a good point that good teams play to the end. It's always been in United's character to be relentless and other teams know that (remember how United have won countless games in overtime).

Consequently, it's always going to be hard to score against teams prepared with incredible determination to deny United's players the room to be creative and the time to calmly take quality shots. Neither Carrick nor anybody else is ever going to score from 30 yards out because there are usually a bazillion players clogging the channels.

I am convinced that we are bereft of goals because of our style of play. United aim to control games with good possession and movement both on and off the ball. The up-side of this is we don't give away too many opportunities. The down-side is we don't try to score goals by attacking in waves with a swashbuckling style like we used to. These days we seem to rely on goal-scoring opportunites arising from clinical passing, a psychic understanding between players confined to limited spaces and sheer genius of execution. All of this has to be done in a nanosecond. Rooney's goal in the final in Japan was an example of that and he could have had another with the volley in the Middlesbrough game. Right now, it's not working out but that's not to say it won't.

We have the quality in our front four to prevail......it'll just take time for them to gel with Berbatov. The introduction of Berbatov has created a different dimension to United's approach to goal-scoring. He'll need time to get used to other players and they'll need time to get used to him and what he can do.

There is no question in my mind that Berbatov is here for the long-haul and will be a key figure for United in the future. I have been critical of his work rate which still seems to be in question but has improved. However, the glass-half-full side of me thinks about what he offers and what he does. Brillaint athletes have this ability to slow down time so that at critical moments everything around them stops. Berbatov is one of those players. He doesn't panic and has the skill and touch to play in a phone booth. When you look at how he took the goal against Middlesbrough you saw a very composed player unhurriedly react and extend his body vertically so that he could get on top of the ball (it had top-spin) and PLACE it in the goal. All of this happened in a second or less. Many players, including some of ours, would have just slashed hopefully at that ball.

I have an abiding faith in United succeeding this season. We have tremendous depth in all positions sufficient to allow SAF to present different looks to different teams we face. In the big games, however, I believe the results will depend upon how well the talents of Berbatov can be integrated alongside and combined with the talents and style of United's other forwards (at the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious). For me, the future looks exceedingly positive.

I'm off to play indoor golf with Jake. Happy New Year everyone.

Basil Fawlty, sweden (31/12/2008 at 17:41)

why was Hull unlucky due to the ref...both freekicks were fouls aganst the goalkeeper,and the penalty that was not given was not a penalty. The ref got it right in the end.I am swedish and a United fan since the sixties,but honesty is not what is used to be. If you don,t get a result blame someone else.............like the ref.......yes of course..I love football and I worship Manchester United...but please...have an honest opinion, don,t blame your own pathetic life on someone else...Fotball is unpredictacable ,thats why we love it and Manchester United is our religion. We live and die by the result of how United do .... BUT PLEASE BE HONEST WITH YOUR OPINION.............

Lord Wah-Wah, not cholmondeley plantagenet out of christ church (31/12/2008 at 17:56)

The lift-off you are referring to must be the casting couch, where he his frequently seen reclining. Method acting can be an exhausting occupation, especially those european noir movies where even smoking a cigarette can take an entire day to shoot.

Solskjaer20Legend, Epsomville (31/12/2008 at 18:28)

ENGINEER Heywood, great post took the words out of my mouth, you hit the nail on the head pal.

Happy New Year to all in Red!!

Al (31/12/2008 at 19:27)

Hey Danny not that I actually think you are a Man United supporter (no one can be that bitter and call themselves a fan)....but at the very least I hope you have never been hypocritical enough to actually celebrate the umpteen trophies Fergie and the "old brigade" have delivered.

danny, WILMSLOW (01/01/2009 at 12:44)

I have been to three Euro finals attended the funerals with my dad of several of the Busby babes.Several players past and present are friends of mine.
No one can ever dispute what FERGIE has done but he has always done it with a decent number two.His private secretary Lynne Lavin who was Sir Mats before is also a good friend of mine.
Sometimes people need to be criticised football is changing and having to rely on three old men is stupid.

Raju, Katmandu (01/01/2009 at 14:27)

Danny,

Well, if you would just show some respect for "our" players and "our" manager when you choose to disagree, it would help a bit. You comments appear off color for those of us who care about ManU because of the people and what they stand for. Look at Scholes, Giggs, and Neville, they are characters I can look up to.

Who is the Arsenal team will you look up to? Percious few. Not Wenger, that's for sure. They do play good football, that's for sure!

Al (01/01/2009 at 16:10)

Well, if the past contributions of Fergie, Giggs, Scholes etc does not merit them getting respect your history as a Man Utd "fan" is also meaningless in light of the constant barrage of bitter broken record comments you spew. If you are that unhappy where all you can do is criticize maybe its time you found a club you can actually cheer for.

I saw Duncan Edwards play, Walton Le Dale (01/01/2009 at 17:09)

Some of you guys are incorrigible; have faith and BELIEVE!!

Jimmy the Red, Winnipeg (01/01/2009 at 17:59)

Nothing quite like name dropping....eh Danny?

As for comments about Neville et al, I have to completely disagree with the idea(s) that (a) it is stupid to rely on them and (b) they are old. Granted, neither is a spring chicken (and isn't asked to play like one either) but all have tremendous experience and are very good at dependably playing very specific roles at critical moments in games when it is required (strategy, tactics,injuries etc).

Neville has had a long-term injury sign on him but, of late, he's put in some steady cameos. His substitution in the Middlesbrough game was very important in giving us more composure and shape down the right. For all his skills and promise, Rafael is a bit of a loose cannon. As the game wore on, Rafael became a liability. What a wonderful thing to be able to bring on Gazza to calm things down. It is clear Neville has a big fight for his place but as he gets more games his rhythm will return and he'll likely play an increasingly important role in the latter part of the season.

Scholes is the same. He is valauable because he can very quickly change the point of attack. His creativity is built around timing and quick movement. Once he's firing on all cylinders with improved fitness and snap he'll be incredibly important. When Scholes came on last game he added a little more "shake and bake" to United's mid-field and effectively gave Middlesbrough yet another headache to deal with.

According to SAF, Giggs is the fittest of the lot and it would be laughable to think he can't be useful.

Danny, I don't know how old you are (the perspective of your comments would seem to place you as someone much younger than they but your name-dropping suggests otherwise) but please do not think for one moment that a 30-something Neville, Scholes or Giggs is not a formidable animal.

Given your OT connections, maybe you could strap on a pair of boots and arrange to go one-on-one against each of them during training. Maybe then you'd see just how "old" they are.

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