Berbatov, Tottenham and Manchester United (Round #232093172)
Berbatov’s future is still the subject of furious debate, especially with press ’sources’ (if that doesn’t do a good job of hiding my disgust for the creative bullshit tabloids publish, nothing will) claiming that Berbatov had told Jol that he’d leave as well.
Anyway, Martin Jol is gone and Juande Ramos, a man who is deemed to be tactically more astute than Martin Jol, is in. The man has two consecutive Uefa Cup titles, not a small feat, and with the Tottenham board ready to invest heavily again (new ground, better players and all that), Berba might have ‘reconsidered’ his situation, especially after meeting with Ramos and later, with his agent meeting with Comolli.
Not so - roll out Ramos’s comments a day before Tottenham’s Uefa Cup game against Hapoel Tel Aviv when he said he wouldn’t stop any player from leaving, but that Berba was happy and he needed to stick together with the team and help Tottenham out in their time of need.
The Sun, those of sleazy link-whoring tactics (and other crimes against humanity, although for the record I’m not against the principles behind Page 3), have taken it one step further, now quoting Dimitar Berbatov’s brother as saying that the Bulgarian striker had ‘outgrown’ Tottenham and wants to join Manchester United. He’s also quoted by them as saying that Berba get “grumpy” when he is not the “centre of attention and main man”.
Shock! Horror! A striker, a good striker at that, wants to play at a club challenging for top honours, not one fighting relegation or even the Uefa Cup, and wants to be a hero as well. You could take Berbatov’s name out of this and plug in any striker’s name, and you’d be spot on.
I would fire up my IM and ask my favourite man utd blogger on what he thinks about this, but I think I know what he’ll say - fuck the Sun.
Indeed.
Do Manchester United still need Berbatov? Definitely - but then again Manchester United need another striker. It’s not about Berbatov or Tottenham, it’s about United. Hopefully Fergie will make the right choice next summer with who he brings in, because we really need a third pair of reliable legs up front.
Will Berbatov leave Tottenham? Eventually, yes. A lot of it depends on Ramos and his ability to turn this season around, and I think we’ll know - and IMO Berba will know - a lot more about where he’s going after Christmas. The ifs and buts are clear to all of us, it’s a matter of waiting and seeing how well Ramos does at Tottenham. Berba has to give his best to the Spurs cause till the end, because his temperament will be a big part of whether Fergie deems him suitable for his Manchester United side or not.
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interresting article. i’ll keep my response short and to the point.
United needs another ‘backup striker’ but they definately do not need Berbatov. He undoubtedly has talent and is a ‘class striker’ but not the type of player that would suit MUFC.
He would certainly have a personality clash with quite a few people on the squad.
Berbatov will not settle in MUFC, he would certainly not challenge rooney or tevez for a first team place, in his best form he will replace saha on the bench. What fergie should do is send a bunch of good scouts (when I say good I don’t mean his son) to south america and africa to look for a couple of young strikers and 2 defenders. apart from being rock bottom cheap, 9 times out of 10 they will flourish.
Agree with kratos. Berbatov’s ego is a big as a… well, its big. He will not accept being third or even fourth choice and there is no way he will manage to take Wayne’s or Carlos’ place in the team. I see Ferguson buying an old striker which will be quite happy not playing week in week out.
As for the Sun, you seem to be as disgusted and entertained by it as I am, if not more, but does anyone take any sort of action against them? Is it not illegal to publicize lies about someone?
emilio, didn’t see your post there, but the ‘glorious’ and ‘reliable’ Daily Mail is among those papers linking a young Nigerian striker to Man Utd. He is cheap and good, but when and where is he going to get playing time to develop his game? Surely the reserves wil not suffice and then we will have another Rossi over again.
Andrei, I agree with you 100%
I don’t see Berba wanting to sit on the bench.
I think SAF will go for either an old striker, or give Dong/Cambell a shot on the bench (providing Saha can stay fit till January). Any new young strikers will have to go through the reserves.
I disagree with you guys - I think Fergie can rotate Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov quite well.
Surprise surprise, Berba says journalists (The Sun) are lying.
Actually, man u can give adriano a chance to be one of the best striker again. he’s having difficult times at inter and is still young at only 25. He still having reach his peak of his carrer. I think he will do well at united. Well, just a thought.
Actually, man u can give adriano a chance to be one of the best striker again. he’s having difficult times at inter and is still young at only 25. He still having reach his peak of his career. I think he will do well at united. Well, just a thought.
the reserves man u team is not a bad team and in my opinion is a great steeping stone to the 1st team. The 17 year old nigerian who is linked with utd was the top scorer in the last u/17 africa cup. selling rossi was 1 of the biggest mistakes utd made this year, at least they can buy him again.
I dont understand why everyone always undermine Saha’s ability. Besides his inability to stay uninjured, Saha is a BLOODY good striker, who is good enough to challenge tevez and rooney anytime.So all these talk about bringing adriano or berba in is bullshit.You heard me. Ole would have suited this situation fine. What we need is a cheap, experienced(old)supersub. Cheap, and reliable enough to call on when needed.Any ideas?
United definitely need another central striker. Not now so sure about Berbatov on grounds of character. He needs to take a leaf out of Carlos Tevez’s book. No one could have had a tougher time at West Ham initially than Carlos Tevez. He had an idiot of a manager (Pardew) who was confounded by the challenge of integrating two world class players into an ordinary side. That manager deservedly got the sack. Then Alan Curbishley at first didn’t seem too hot on Tevez, who was was getting slagged off right, left and centre, as being partly responsible for “screwing up” West Ham (and it didn’t take much to screw them up).
How did Tevez react to all the crap and the idiots trying to manage him? He kept his head down, mouth shut and just worked harder. Eventually, the class shone through and he helped keep the Hammers up almost single-handedly. He showed an immense desire for the cause and became a Hammers’ legend.
Now, back to Berbatov. Big test for him. If he’s really interested in joining United next year, he should understand that character, spirit and commitment are pre-requisites for SAF. SAF will want to see some Tevez-like character and desire. United presently have a great team spirit and the youngsters there seem to enjoy each others’ company. The last thing United need is someone who is going to upset the apple-cart; after all, that was one of the reasons that SAF got rid of Van Nistelrooy. And Berbatov is not as good as Ruud was (and probably still is).
Berbatov must throw himself 110% behind the Spurs’ cause and start performing. (He’s scored tonight in Israel, so maybe that’s a start). Unless he does so, United shouldn’t touch him with a barge-pole.
Personally I think Berba is overrated. He hasn’t really done that much considering he is labelled as world class. I don’t think that breaking the bank to get himwould be worth it and would be better getting Adriano at a cut-price
United don’t need Berbatov. United need the new Solskjaer; a player adept at coming off the bench and making an impact, playing one in every 3/4 games yet still having form, and a player who won’t complain at these conditions.
Sadly, 20LEgend was probably unique. I challenge anyone to name his replacement.
Adriano would not fit the bill, RedsOfManchester, he is - in my opinion - worse than Dimi and has a bigger ego.
I agree with Liam in that we should not break the bank for him. If we are to pay extravagant sums, we might as well get a phenomenal striker (Eto’o/Drogba/Zlatan).
Paul, that is a tough challange indeed. I think that the only player in the world who could meet the conditions you have listed is already at United. That man is Saha.
He gets a lot of stick, but truly his own fault is his injury proneness. If he could stay fit, he would, by now, be half-way down the road to becoming a Man Utd legend. His qualities are amazing. Then there is Smith, but he does not have as much quality and Eidur (can’t spell his last name) but I am not sure he would be very happy to sit on the bench most of the time.
we all dream of a team of robbie keanes
1. Ahmed - I dont agree with you. Berbatov is not the type of player that will be happy to rotate, especially at a big club. he is a “1 man team” and i think for health reason’s he should stay away from MUFC or SAF will give him a boot against the head (he can get a reference from becks about that)
2. emilio - i totally agree with you, the MUFC reserver are not bad at all !
3. Kai - ditto. i think saha is a classy player. not only is he a very good striker, he creates so many chances for rooney and ronaldo ! it’s a pitty he’s so damn injury prone :
hi, a liverpool fan here . i think gudhonsen ( bad spelling ?)
u no, the former chelsea player would be great 4 u. has prem experience, is a gud professional n is a van nisterooy type of player. play the ball in the box n he is 80 percent sure 2 score… what yah think
berbatov wil leave tottenham this summer no natter what
he stayed this year in hopes of getting a chance at champions league spot and i dont see them doing that anymore not with teams like man city and blackburn doing so good and with the big 4 already there in the mix
manu Utd can fancy him but not with breaking the nbank and i dont see us spending much next season unless and until we make a double(CL + Premeir league)
And yeah his ego is a problem but then fergie managed cantona so berba’s no big deal can be done i can see him playing with rooney (part of it is i dont see tevez staying put at utd for long /dont know why but the South american vibe still haunts me)
If he’s not for much money i fancy him in a red shirt at ot partnering rooney up front and yesthat gives a good good chance to sell Mr glass saha
talk abt too much foresighting
@Andrei [14] - Strange that I never thought of it that way. Now that you mention it, Saha IS our next Solksjaer. I think our team is fine as is.
As an older/experienced striker, what do you guys think of Ronaldo? I don’t think he renewed his contract at Milan yet. I think he would be perfect (that’s if he is ok with sitting on the bench).
ronaldo will not be good 4 utd, he is an ungrateful son of a b****, the way he treated Inter Milan is unforgiveable, feigning injury after injury then he goes and plays in the world cup. If we should buy an old experienced striker it would have to be Gudjunson. I still say we should buy a 15/16/17 year south american or african player. apart from the portugese the best players in the world are being born in these continents
just curious, anyone knows if Ronaldo still owns his shares in Inter Milan?
I believe he is now on his way to MLS.
Anyone knows what position Tevez’ brother plays? We signed him already (I think 2 weeks ago).
TO KARL
tevez’s brother is a midfielder
Thanks emilio.
@Andrei - it seems that SAF shares the same sentiment of Saha taking over Solksjaer’s role:
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=506025
emilio I still do not agree with you that we should buy a young striker. The Man Utd reserves/youth team is great, but there is not enough competition for the players to develop their games playing against other reserves/youth teams.
Look at Rossi for example, he was scoring for fun in the reserves but as soon as he put on a Premier League shirt he needed a few months to accomodate. He was good when at Newcastle, but he would need at least a season to become ‘Man Utd standards’ and we do not have that much time.
I repeat that we do not want another Rossi situation where we have the next world superstar coming through the ranks but we cannot give him a chance because we already have 3 world class strikers…
WOHOOO!! Do you think he will hire me as a coach?
Despite this, I still think we need a new striker. Klass?
Maybe a scout. I’m actually thinking of becoming an agent like Kia.
I agree, but I don’t think its necessary to break the bank for one now. My ideal would be to get Rossi back. Screw the height up front. I think Rooney and Tevez have proven that it is not that big of a concern.
I have a funny suspicion that SAF read these articles on Soccerlens and takes the comments seriously. Don’t you agree Ahmed?
lol i agree with Karl that saha is indeed our new ole’…injuries and all..however i agree we are need of a striker and i agree berbatovs overated..before the start of the season i would have said benzema from lyon..real talent but right now he’s in the form of his life and lyon wont part ways with him…
RMJ, I think you mean that Lyon won’t part ays with him unless they get enough money. They are known for their ‘raise and sell’ tactics just like Sporting or Ajax. I agree Benzema is special. There are endless possibilities really, we just need money.
Well, Karl, scouting is a start and if you become an agent I’ll be your first client
NB is there a special school for footy managers/coaches/scouts? Or do you have to be a traslator first?
Karl - it could just be that we’re that damn good
@Andrei: Saha as the next Ole? I’d love it if it were true. Unfortunately, we need Saha to be the new Rooney for the next month, so who is going to be the new Saha? Oh, I guess that is the newly injury prone Rooney
some of you may laugh, but if mufc considers buying a striker (which they should) they should try and buy Coventry’s Michael Mifsud. He is no rooney, but at least he’s not old, he’s about 28, technically he’s above average, he supports mufc and he wants to join mufc , about 2 or 3 years ago he even tried out for mufc.
The rate of attrition of strikers is so high in the modern game, that no top level side can start the season without 4 front rank strikers. Look at injury situation already this season: Rooney injured (twice), Saha, Torres, Van Persie, Drogba, Shevchenko. Each of the Big Four has had at least one main striker injured for a period of time, and there is still six months of the season to go. So it would be reasonable to expect more injuries.
There is so little between the Big Four that the absence of your top strikers on any given day could mean the difference between winning the EPL or ending up 2nd; or nicking an away goal which could secure the team’s passage through to a Champions League final.
Come January, Fergie has got to do the right thing and get his chequebook out.
Berbatov isn’t going to Old Trafford.
[...] a decent metaphor. And, of course, the person who considers me to be his favourite Man Utd blogger also wrote a piece. So I am tempted to reciprocate write one [...]
guys have u forgotten dat in 1999 we had four superb strikers. ole at dat time was a super scorer.saha is very good but we cant count on him when it comes to taking chances. he scores 3 out of io chances.
we need berba cos he is a finisher and a huzzler if well motivated. we have rooney and tevez who are not top strikers so we can pair berba with any of the 2.
adriano worst option.
Jones from Sunderland?
I agree that we need a fourth striker. But Berba is not a viable option. We need someone who would be happy/not pissed playing off the bench.
Adriano sounds all right. Larsson again would be fabulous
but I am just dreaming now.
I think City is preparing a swop-loan deal with Inter for Adriano for 6 months.
What about Benni. I think he would fit in perfectly. Also, the way he seemed ‘over-friendly’ with the United guys during yesterday’s game, leads me personally to believe that there might be something brewing there.