Yeah he downed tools as well, but I think it was Ferdinand who said he never gave any effort in training, even before the Berbatov signing. Good player, but terrible professional, and glad we got rid of him.
Berbatov's Appreciation Thread
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Yeah he downed tools as well, but I think it was Ferdinand who said he never gave any effort in training, even before the Berbatov signing. Good player, but terrible professional, and glad we got rid of him.
That was a mistake from Fergie. He had Owen on the bench. Fergie needed someone to hold up the play against Barca and Rooney was not that man and he left the one player in our squad who can actually do that. We would have been more effective if the likes of Rooney and Park were running off Berbatov.
Just a point that you lot seem to forget.
Berbatov had world class positioning.
But in Spurs he had lesser teammates always trying to find him. In United we always have stars who want to shine. 8/10 times Nani or Rooney, or any other forward to be fair, would try the screamer or to finish by himself instead of passing to Berbatov. Just watch 90% of our screamers or individual effort goals while he’s on the potch. Always finds the position to receive a pass and easy finish.
If he had received more passes in the box, he would have had at least 6-7 goals more per season.
People also underrate his debut season because of the Everton penalty. He provided A LOT of assists and was a great instrument in our success in 08/09!
Berbatov had world class positioning.
But in Spurs he had lesser teammates always trying to find him. In United we always have stars who want to shine. 8/10 times Nani or Rooney, or any other forward to be fair, would try the screamer or to finish by himself instead of passing to Berbatov. Just watch 90% of our screamers or individual effort goals while he’s on the potch. Always finds the position to receive a pass and easy finish.
If he had received more passes in the box, he would have had at least 6-7 goals more per season.
People also underrate his debut season because of the Everton penalty. He provided A LOT of assists and was a great instrument in our success in 08/09!
I think his biggest problem is that our football did not suit his.
This was the start of United's demise. Sir Alex build United by himself and kind of destroyed his legavy by few very questionable decisions during last 3, 4 years of tenure.
I was at that game, saw it live.
He destroyed his legacy at United while stil winning leagues and keeping us very competitive?
Rob Smyth account.
Exactly. I said the same thing even then. He was one player who could hold the ball up and also create. We never got hold of the ball in areas forward. To this day I believe something happened between them. I think it was the save by the City keeper in the cup game against Berba. He didn't even let him win the top scorer position by not playing him.
Just like Barca's demise started with the sale of Neymar, even though they still won the league and did reasonably well in Champions League. Not signing proper midfielders and Replacing Ronaldo and Tevez were Sir Alex's glaring errors, even more so than appointing Moyes.He destroyed his legacy at United while stil winning leagues and keeping us very competitive?
Unfortunately he didn't. I'm actually gutted about it.
Berba teamed up with Stilian Petrov and Martin Petrov (used to play for Wolfsburg and City just before the take over). But as it is there's too much corruption going in Bulgarian football. Which had alcoholics for presidents in the past quarter century.
Great player and servant to the club but he was on/off when playing for us, gets you 5 goals per game/hat-trick against liverpool and then goes on a heskey-esque drought, his omission from the CL final starting 11 showed how much Fergie doubted him (you always play your best players)
While I agree that transfer window and the ones that followed were a complete shitshow by SAF (bar DDG/RVP), the guy won even more with those players, so what tarnishing are you tarnishing?
As mentioned above it hurts to say since Berba loves us and Tevez is a Cnut but SAF signing Berba over Tevez was one of the worst decisions he made and ruined the way we play
I'll never get the Berba-mystery: his background and upbringing suggest he'd be a hard as nails, tenacious, motivated worker of a player. But on the pitch I always found him outrageously passive given his talent. He talks an amazing game, but for me just didn't live up to his talent.
I remember when we signed him hoping he'd be our 10 and everything would go through him given how good his touch and vision were. Instead he was a somewhat emphemeral striker that didn't score that many goals.
I remember when we signed him hoping he'd be our 10 and everything would go through him given how good his touch and vision were. Instead he was a somewhat emphemeral striker that didn't score that many goals.
Just watching his goals with Gary Neville. Miss him so much. Don't think we ever got the best out of him or maybe he just wasnt suited for us.
I still don't understand people saying he was passive or lazy. He was economical and calculative, that was his style of play. Not every player needs to run around like a dog. But I guess when you're losing, players like him get the brunt of the criticism because most people only know football to be played one way.
My thought was always: Don't buy Rolls Royce and expect it to drive like a kitted up Nissan Skyline
I still don't understand people saying he was passive or lazy. He was economical and calculative, that was his style of play. Not every player needs to run around like a dog. But I guess when you're losing, players like him get the brunt of the criticism because most people only know football to be played one way.
My thought was always: Don't buy Rolls Royce and expect it to drive like a kitted up Nissan Skyline
This isn't an Ole related thread bump. What's going on?
Just watching his goals with Gary Neville. Miss him so much. Don't think we ever got the best out of him or maybe he just wasnt suited for us.
I still don't understand people saying he was passive or lazy. He was economical and calculative, that was his style of play. Not every player needs to run around like a dog. But I guess when you're losing, players like him get the brunt of the criticism because most people only know football to be played one way.
My thought was always: Don't buy Rolls Royce and expect it to drive like a kitted up Nissan Skyline
Don't put on a United shirt and not be prepared to work for it
Ronaldo not running around like a dog... He's not working for it?
We bought Berbatov at the peak of his career knowing his style. At that age, he was never gonna change... Why buy him and try make him be something else?
Slagged off all the time here and everyone seems to have forgotten. Now seen as some kind of legend. Weird. Classy player, a crime we displaced Tevez for him.
A solid player who never really suited United at the time and Fergie made a mistake signing him and essentially letting go of Tevez.
I like the guy and he was a talented player, but he wasn't good enough for that United team to be more than a bench player.
I like the guy and he was a talented player, but he wasn't good enough for that United team to be more than a bench player.
I never slagged him here. He was exactly what I thought he'd be.
We've just got back Ronaldo, I knew he's going to play as a poacher so I'm not shocked when I don't see him running the wings and beating 3 men with stepovers.
Better players than Berbatov came to United and yet they still put in the work because they knew what playing for United meant.
Berbatov seemed to think we should just accept he doesn't run or work hard and thats just not the attitude of a truly world class player at a big club
What amazed me about him was just how assertive while at Spurs compared to here. He used to want to put on a show, them got here and kinda just ent through the motions.
He’s still got it. Love that he’s wearing his United training kit.
Sorry but I really didn’t like him as a United player. He was not a good fit and this is one time when you could say SAF got it wrong. Badly, as it then impacted the Tevez situation and a whole lot of other parts of the football.
Okay. Then why are you writing in the Berbatov appreciation thread?
Ultimate Youtube highlight reel player. Absolute shite, lazy, ineffectual, hand waving berating prima donna for 85 minutes, the other 5 minutes was absolute class and world class talent. And you'd see the 5 minutes highlight reel and think this guy was wayyyy better than he really was. Much better player at Spuds and Leverkusen. Genuinely felt bad for him when after tying for the league lead in goals (with all his goals in like three matches of course), Ferguson left him off the CL final squad. I think that more than anything symbolizes his time at United. Much more talented than Tevez, but half the player. Such a disappointment the amazing side of 2007/2008 turned bland when Fergie gifted him Tevez' place and damaged the both of them. Up there with Ferguson's biggest gaffes as a United manager.
I’m appreciating the fact that he wasn’t very good here
Loved him, could have played for that Barcelona lineup imo.
Possibly the sexiest move I've ever seen in football.
One of my favourite United players if I'm honest.
His touch, poise, elegance, swagger was just sublime.
Unfairly categorised as a player that didn't want to run, which wasn't a fair reflection.
A brilliant goalscorer and classy player.
His touch, poise, elegance, swagger was just sublime.
Unfairly categorised as a player that didn't want to run, which wasn't a fair reflection.
A brilliant goalscorer and classy player.
Probably the only world class player who can play football while walking. He literally scored a hat trick against liverpool without much running. His style just doesn't fit our team play and therefore stick up like a sore thumb when the team don't get a favourable result.
0:52
I would like to go against the thread sentiment for a moment. Berbatov was a wonderfully talented player who never did much here. Even his 10/11 season is severely padded with 11 goals in 3 games. He was useless in the CL and useless when we lost Rooney in 09/10 when we desperately needed him. I particularly remember him missing a 1v1 against Blackburn in a 0-0 in that run in which ended up costing us the title, and missing a late chance to equalise at OT against Chelsea that year too in the 2-1 loss.
Wonderful player in ability though and I'll always remember that goal against Liverpool and the touch against Blackpool - just didn't have the head to truly make it here and I don't think he ever really did make it here.
Wonderful player in ability though and I'll always remember that goal against Liverpool and the touch against Blackpool - just didn't have the head to truly make it here and I don't think he ever really did make it here.
0:52
Oosh. That is not a move that sticks in my memory but so, so tidy. He is a football aficionados footballer. So tidy, so clean, so vision. Classy guy
Yep, Chicharito was far more important than him over the course of that season. He scored way more goals that changed the outcome of the game in our favour than Berbatov did.