Dimitar Berbatov | 2009/10 Performances

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He won't get another great striker unless someone like Benzema comes along again. Welbeck, Macheda, King.. we might not have to get someone else if Owen is still in one piece at the start of next season.
 
Some words in that interview that would endear even his critics to him as a person there.

"I am just Dimitar"

And he well recognises that he needs to score mroe and he didn't say that in interviews last season as i recall.
 
Thought on that interview with the sun:

He acknowledges he must score more, and it seems he is trying

He was and clearly is still suffering from a loss in confidence and is trying to regain it.

He is not yet playing to the best of his capabilities.

He obviously doesn't feel loved by eh fans, for me this is so important, if old trafford could give him their hearts he would flourish, i feel he needs to be loved to perform to his best, he is trying but i dont think his efforts are reciprocated, tpp many people want to hate rather than give the full supprt to a man that needs it and thrives on it. He loves this club and recognizes it for all its history and success and is giving his all.

As a complex character for him to perform to the best of his ability he needs to be playing off instinct and not be worrying about the pressures of winning over the fans, not think about the expectations of being a man utd striker. He is an intelligent bloke and this has got to him, but i think there is light at the end of the tunnel, he is playing himself into form.

If only the old trafford faithful would sing his name it would make him feel wanted and make him feel at home which would put him in his element. Give Dimmi love and he will give you it back with his finesse. We are seeing him at about 70% at the moment.
 
Thought on that interview with the sun:

He acknowledges he must score more, and it seems he is trying

He was and clearly is still suffering from a loss in confidence and is trying to regain it.

He is not yet playing to the best of his capabilities.

He obviously doesn't feel loved by eh fans, for me this is so important, if old trafford could give him their hearts he would flourish, i feel he needs to be loved to perform to his best, he is trying but i dont think his efforts are reciprocated, tpp many people want to hate rather than give the full supprt to a man that needs it and thrives on it. He loves this club and recognizes it for all its history and success and is giving his all.
As a complex character for him to perform to the best of his ability he needs to be playing off instinct and not be worrying about the pressures of winning over the fans, not think about the expectations of being a man utd striker. He is an intelligent bloke and this has got to him, but i think there is light at the end of the tunnel, he is playing himself into form.

If only the old trafford faithful would sing his name it would make him feel wanted and make him feel at home which would put him in his element. Give Dimmi love and he will give you it back with his finesse. We are seeing him at about 70% at the moment.

Well said! Hope he gets cheered even louder next time that he knows he has our support! That would boost his confidence
 
Well said! Hope he gets cheered even louder next time that he knows he has our support! That would boost his confidence

He'll get the support but it can't be expeced for the fans to love him after last years performances. He was sublime at times, it just happened too rarely. He needs a few more performances like he had on Wednesday night, then we'll give him all the love he could ever need. It's a 2 way thing.
 
a touch of class my arse,it takes more than a few flicks and tricks to make me happy.

3 goals in his last 24 games.i can not understand to this day why we bought him.:confused:

So you don't think he played well against Wolfsburg? You don't think he changed the game at all when he came on? Personally, I thought he was awesome, especially in the first half. I don't know how many times he played somebody else in which could have resulted in a few more goals but it wasn't exactly Berba's fault that the player(s) couldn't put the ball in the net. He's been better already this season, his performances have improved. He's getting forward a lot more and there's more determination and hunger there, the only grievance I have is I wish he'd score more goals but even at that, he's never been a prolific goal-scorer so all these people wishing for 30 goals a season are never going to be happy. I'd be happy with 15-20 goals myself from him plus the numerous assists you just know he'll get. He knows himself he wants more goals and I still say he'll beat his tally of last season. If he does that plus keeps up his improved performances, I don't see how anybody could possibly complain.
 
Berba has had several great passes in key moments. Time we cut him more slack. He'll find the net. My only worry is that the rest of the team could try to feed the ball to him more than they should, to compensate his lack of scoring. We can't give up a win because he's getting all weepy about what we muppets have to say.
 

That's an interesting read. It also fits in with what people were suggesting about him not taking enough shots at goal last seaon, he was a player riddled with self-doubt. If I'm honest, that does raise concerns about whether or not he has the mental toughness to play for a club like United. A large part of what makes Ronaldo such an amazing player is his cast-iron self-belief and all our best players have always had huge confidence in their own abilities.

Still, he looks a lot sharper and more direct this season and a lot less reluctant to have a crack at goal, so he's obviously feeling a bit more positive. If and when he finally starts to play with the same sort of confidence he showed in his previous clubs I think he'll go up another level again. A bit more love from the stands would help too but that'll come naturally if he keeps performing like he did in the first half against ze Germans.

This bit also stands out:

"I looked at our ProZone stats and saw that I was ninth in distance covered.

"I am kind of a nerd. I looked at them too much, maybe. By the end of the season I was fourth. Maybe this season I will be first!"

By rights, this should explode the myth about him being lazy (although for certain caftards it still might not be enough) It's staggering that one of our strikers would cover the fourth most distance of any player in the team. It also tells me that he was, if anything, working too hard last season. He was so determined to prove he wasn't lazy that he ended up tracking back all over the pitch and losing that selfish streak that all strikers need to ensure they're in the right areas of the pitch when there's goals to be plundered.

In other words, a bit more arrogance and a bit less graft is what he needs to add to his game, ironically two of the qualities he was slaughtered for the most last season!
 
We were a diifferent side when he came on t'other night. Nobody can deny that.

Cracking first half lead to Wolfsburg sticking a player on him which is why he tailed off a bit in the second.

Surely all this lazy stuff has been exposed as absolute bollocks by now?
 
I remain firmly unconvinced by Berbatov. Yes of course he has his moments but that's all they are - moments. It's his general demeanor that gets me. For example, to watch him just standing around after laying off the ball is really annoying. Not always to be fair but that's why he is so enigmatic. Is he really a United type player ? Maybe not. He seems the complete antithesis of Rooney - some may suggest that's a good thing but I'm not so sure. Living in fantasy world for a moment, can you imagine if the opportunity arose to swap him with Torres ? Torres and Rooney? Better not go there !
 
don't tell me you had rather we kept the poison dwarf?

I will not be surprised if a section of the fans prefer someone who runs up and down the ground like a headless chicken rather than someone "lazy-looking" even if classy, like Berbatov...
 
We were a diifferent side when he came on t'other night. Nobody can deny that.

Cracking first half lead to Wolfsburg sticking a player on him which is why he tailed off a bit in the second.

Surely all this lazy stuff has been exposed as absolute bollocks by now?

Which created space for the rest of our team to exploit.

This is why hell almost froze over again when Anderson got a brillliant save out of their keeper (right before we conceded:() and again, later on, when Giggs and Carrick combined for our goal.
 
I remain firmly unconvinced by Berbatov. Yes of course he has his moments but that's all they are - moments. It's his general demeanor that gets me. For example, to watch him just standing around after laying off the ball is really annoying. Not always to be fair but that's why he is so enigmatic. Is he really a United type player ? Maybe not. He seems the complete antithesis of Rooney - some may suggest that's a good thing but I'm not so sure. Living in fantasy world for a moment, can you imagine if the opportunity arose to swap him with Torres ? Torres and Rooney? Better not go there !

Err... No. No I can't.
 
That's an interesting read. It also fits in with what people were suggesting about him not taking enough shots at goal last seaon, he was a player riddled with self-doubt. If I'm honest, that does raise concerns about whether or not he has the mental toughness to play for a club like United. A large part of what makes Ronaldo such an amazing player is his cast-iron self-belief and all our best players have always had huge confidence in their own abilities.

Cantona needed to feel loved too. Imagine if he'd gotten as mixed a reception. Fine, Cantona exploded straight away for us, but they may still have the same sort of mentality.

Still, he looks a lot sharper and more direct this season and a lot less reluctant to have a crack at goal, so he's obviously feeling a bit more positive. If and when he finally starts to play with the same sort of confidence he showed in his previous clubs I think he'll go up another level again. A bit more love from the stands would help too but that'll come naturally if he keeps performing like he did in the first half against ze Germans.

In other words, a bit more arrogance and a bit less graft is what he needs to add to his game, ironically two of the qualities he was slaughtered for the most last season!

But if he's looking better for us this season, and if he has adjusted himself due to the skepticism that United fans have towards his work-rate, then shouldn't he keep up? Whatever he's doing, he should keep doing it, because he's contributing far more consistently this season, thus far.
 

Some good quotes in that - in fact it is worth posting them ...

Berbatov, 28, said: "In my first year I was disappointed in myself. I need to say that.
"It was a big pressure for me and maybe I failed myself. I think I wanted to prove myself to these supporters.
"You must remember, they are used to Best, Charlton, Cantona. I am just Dimitar.

"I got a number of assists, but I must score more goals."
He added: "I don't know what I am doing wrong sometimes. Maybe it's luck, maybe it's me... who knows?
"At nights I have stayed awake thinking, 'You could have done this instead'."

Berbatov revealed: "I will be honest. This criticism did affect me, but not in a negative way.
"I looked at our ProZone stats and saw that I was ninth in distance covered.
"I am kind of a nerd. I looked at them too much, maybe. By the end of the season I was fourth. Maybe this season I will be first!"
He said: "This is my style of play. I don't run for no reason. I am always alert and ready."

But Berbatov recognises some fans have not been happy with him since he arrived and insisted: "That is my fault, not theirs. It is me who must change.
"Manchester United are their club. They have treated me perfectly since I came."
He added: "I am more pleased with my overall game in this second season already.
"I feel that I have integrated myself better into the team. I am much stronger, much fitter. But I still wish I could score more."

He said: "Who can live up to that sort of money? Nobody can. If I think about that money it is crazy to me. I can't believe it."
He added: "I am a footballer playing for the best club in the world.
"I am playing with legends like Scholes, Giggs and Rooney. Being coached by a man like Sir Alex Ferguson. How can I not be happy?"
 
he is like 28 years old already - doubt he'll be in the team playing regularly at 33. If he doesn't start scoring more regularly by next season SAF will get another striker and he'll end up being another so called "supersub :rolleyes:"

I don't think we'd get another striker. I think we'd promote from within but Dimitar can play here for a long time yet and 5 years down the line is a long way away....
 
I am going to bump this thread through the season with examples of Berba's class - hopefully it will be a long thread ...

 
That's the sort of goals we were dreaming of when he was signed. So quickly taken and such precision, reminded me of his goal against Middlesbrough for Spurs.
 
I thought he and Rooney were largely toss for the most part, albeit not really brought into the game much by their fellow players

But what a quality goal, real moment of class

And Rooney a lovely finish at the end too. Sign of quality players in a sense
 
I thought he and Rooney were largely toss for the most part, albeit not really brought into the game much by their fellow players

But what a quality goal, real moment of class

And Rooney a lovely finish at the end too. Sign of quality players in a sense

I don't mind seeing that in strikers. If you can do absolutely nothing for most of the game, but deliver when it really matters, then you've donne your job.
 
I thought he and Rooney were largely toss for the most part, albeit not really brought into the game much by their fellow players

But what a quality goal, real moment of class

And Rooney a lovely finish at the end too. Sign of quality players in a sense

I agree with this completely. Both scored with great quality, but once again neither was really involved in the other's goal, highlighting the still-poor nature of their partnership.
 
I don't mind seeing that in strikers. If you can do absolutely nothing for most of the game, but deliver when it really matters, then you've donne your job.

That's fair

But you have to be scoring a lot of goals to get away with that

Berbatov doesn't score enough for that yet. Rooney is, he's a goal every other game right now
 
We quite clearly have yet to figure out how the two should play together, as have they.

I'm still not convinced that Berbatov isn't another Veron, in the sense that he's pushing our best player out of position just because of his price tag. There is no doubt about his ability, which is why it's so disappointing that him and Rooney haven't really clicked.
 
I thought he and Rooney were largely toss for the most part, albeit not really brought into the game much by their fellow players

But what a quality goal, real moment of class

And Rooney a lovely finish at the end too. Sign of quality players in a sense

Sadly I agree with this. Apart from the two goals, both our strikers and the wide men were pretty poor. That sums up the season for me. Barring Rooney's early purple patch and Berbatov's good start (without much goal threat), we've generally not looked a team full of goals and exciting attacking play.
 
He frustrates me.

Has sublime skill, but a lot of the time, slows everything down too much, and still has moments when he is so laid back he may as well be lying down. There are times when he seems to make no effort to get to a ball, especially in fifty-fifty situations.

Superb goals like the one he scored tonight do help obviously, but I'd love to see a bit more cut and thrust in the attack.
 
Absolute class goal from him. Once again, he has a match where he's had enough chances to score a hat-trick. If he can start taking more of those chances, then happy days. It's good he's getting chances like that but start and bury them more Dimitar please.
 
He needs to work on heading. Against City and today, he had a couple chances to head a couple of goals, but directed them straight to the goalkeeper essentially.

Berbasex for the goal though.
 
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