Berbatov vs McCarthy, vote for the better striker
Mark Hughes’ comments about Blackburn’s McCarthy being a better than Tottenham’s Berbatov are based on statistics.
The thing with statistics is though, that they don’t tell you everything.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the goal scoring charts for the 2006/2007 Premier League season, and here’s what I found.
Top scorers from Blackburn and Tottenham (3 goals or more):
Benni McCarthy, 16, Blackburn Rovers
Dimitar Berbatov, 11, Tottenham
Robbie Keane, 10, Tottenham
Jermaine Defoe, 9, Tottenham
Shabani Nonda, 7, Blackburn
Pedersen, 6, Blackburn
Jenas, 6, Tottenham
Derbyshire, 4, Blackburn
Roberts, 4, Blackburn
Bentley, 3, Blackburn
Lennon, 3, Tottenham
To put Lennon’s goals in perspective, Gallas has 3 to his name, O’Shea has 4 and Park Ji-Sung has 5.
The point is, player quality and stats don’t always go hand in hand.
So who’s the better player?
Register your votes below.
Topics: Blackburn Rovers, Features, Tottenham
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There’s no question that Benni knows where the goal is. But Berba has that extra touch of class and brings other players into the game.
May 10th, 2007 @ 17:43i think that mh is point was that berbatov cost 10.9m and benni only 2.5 so when you put that in to perspective you see what he means
May 10th, 2007 @ 17:54With Berbatov its not just about scoring goals, its everything else he does on the pitch that makes him a better player than McCarthy.
May 10th, 2007 @ 17:54Think Benni has had a great season a maybe was a better buy due to price (got to consider age though), but without a doubt Berba is the best player all round and i believe he knows where the net just as good if not better than Benni
May 10th, 2007 @ 18:06They are both excellent players, and Benni has more goals but far fewer assists. I take Mark Hughes’s point: While Berbatov-fever is the current flavour, Benni is an out-and-out finisher who is often under-rated, and also has great all-round skills which are not always on display. He has scored goals wherever he has played, and is a graduate of the excellent Ajax youth academy(which he credits for much of his achievements), as well as being a Champions League winner and a top-scorer at the African Cup of Nations. He is also, however, about 4 years older than Berbatov, and this would come into any price calculation. Hughes did very well to get Benni fairly cheaply and, if the papers are to be believed, Spurs were also interested in him at some stage. As a Spurs supporter, I would appreciate Chelsea and Man U taking note of Hughes’s statement and shifting their attention to Benni!!
May 10th, 2007 @ 18:19You’re only showing league goals – what about all competitions and number of assists for that matter?
May 10th, 2007 @ 18:21Come on; the poll result says it all!
May 10th, 2007 @ 18:45estebanray – I AM reading it in context – read the first sentence of this article again.
but you’ve got a point – the poll asks you to vote for the better striker, not the better player.
However, saying that Benni McCarthy can’t assist is like saying that Ronaldo can’t do a cross-over.
I’ll get you guys the full stats in a bit, unless someone posts them here first.
May 10th, 2007 @ 19:41Berbatov has scored 22 this season in all competitions – more goals and a better player, no contest.
May 10th, 2007 @ 19:55Benni. People that say Benni cannot do anything other than score, GO WATCH HIM PLAY.
When things get tough, Benni is the one player that you feel confident with when he has the ball. Not many players gives you that confidence.
May 10th, 2007 @ 20:15Clearly Benni is a good player, there is no questioning that.
But Berbatov is just a whole other class, his size, power, technique, control, unpredictability just makes him probably the best striker in the EPL.
Time and again he shows great control picking the ball out of the air, running passed 3 defenders who are trying to stop him, or dropping in through balls or passes which rip open the defence… and thats just on the ball skills.
Off the ball he is a threat that he will drag half the opposition team away with clever runs, leaving space for the spurs midfield to move forward in attack. Benni can not offer the same option, he is too worried about his own goal tally and therefore not as much as a team player IMO.
May 10th, 2007 @ 20:44Berbatov has 22 goals, 14 assists this season (11 goals and 10 assists in the Prem).
McCarthy has 22 goals, 2 assists this season (16 goals and 1 assist in the Prem).
For the money paid for Benni, he’s proven his worth in the Prem, no doubt.
But is he worth 30m? I doubt it. Simply because Berba’s going to get better, and is capable of doing 30 in a season (plus his double-figure assists).
Benni? Not as likely.
May 10th, 2007 @ 22:10The problem is your question. Who is the better STRIKER? That is Benni MCCarthy, but who is the better player is a different question. A striker’s job is to put the ball in the back of the net and he has done that more than Dimi. Holding the ball up, going round people etc are attributes of good players but when you’re only discussing striking it comes down to one thing, who has the most goals.
Also, Hughes did NOT say Benni is better than Berba, he was simply pointing out the media circus around the the Bulgarian and how Benni doesn’t get such plaudits. Read Hughes comments again and stop taking them out of context.
May 10th, 2007 @ 18:24Here’s what Hughes actually said,
“Benni’s got a goal tally that hasn’t been achieved at this club since Alan Shearer.
“That shows how long Blackburn Rovers have been looking for a quality striker like Benni who is able to score on a regular basis.
“They are saying Berbatov is worth £30million – so from that you can do the maths on how much Benni is worth. Berbatov has had a great season – but not as good as Benni’s.
“I say that because Benni didn’t cost anything like as much money and he has scored a lot more league goals.
“If you look at the list of Premiership goalscorers, he’s third with 16 and Berbatov is way down with 10.”
All he’s saying is that no one is worth £30 million when you do the maths and he has a point. 2.5 into 30 goes 12 times. Is anyone 12 times better than McCarthy? He is saying you can get quality for much less.
I actually think that overall Berbatov is a better player, but not to the extent that some Spurs fans are saying, nor do I regard him as being worth £30 million (or any player for that matter). It’s a fact that players have “added value†depending on what club they are playing for but their physical worth can only be based on stats.
He does say that Benni has had a better season but that is highly subjective and not saying he is a better striker than Berba. Of course he has seen a lot more of McCarthy than he has of the Spurs man but I’ve read the same kind of biased post from Tottenham fans today, most of whom’s only access to Rovers is the 30 seconds MOTD grant us every week.
But for those fans who claim Berba’s the only one with skills, here’s a couple of clips of Benni McCarthy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zmKM_bPqFc shooting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmwSeQpKPH0 skills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmPdd87N4C0 assist with skill
Toby — They both have 22 (before tonight).
Scot – All the poll says is that there are more Spurs fans than Blackburn fans and that Tottenham get more media coverage, no news there then. Hardly scientific really.
Look, we should all be happy we have strikers we would swap. It’s like a Jaguar enthusiast argueing with a Ferrari fan; they’ll never agree and both be right in their own ways.
May 10th, 2007 @ 22:31Looking at assists is not entirely reasonable because they’re dependent on the quality of other players – I’d reckon more than half of Berbatov’s assists were on Keane goals, and Blackburn don’t have another goal scorer of that quality besides McCarthy.
Plus, I think Berbatov is offsides way too often. Call it a tie.
May 10th, 2007 @ 23:15No doubt Berba is the better player. That is without doubt. The man is pure class: his touch, technique and all round player is simply superb. Having said that, I think he can do much better than he has this season. There is more to come from him.
If I we’re in his shoes, knowing what a good player I am, I would seriously consider my long term future at spurs simply because he is unlikely to win silverware at WHL. A class player like him should be playing for the ‘big boys’. I guess time will tell.
Regarding Benni, I was one of the few who really wanted Utd to buy him last year. That would have been quite a bargain. If we we’re to go for him now it won’t be a bargain. That you can be assured of.
There are other options around and what choice fergie makes depends on 1) whether saha goes or not and b) how convinced fergie is that rossi can step up to the plate. We can all see solskjaer is not half the player he was a few years ago. Smith is at best a backup striker and if saha does leave that leaves us with rooney as our only real recognised forward/striker. A lot of people have spoken of rossi and his potential but that potential still has to be realised at the highest levels and I don’t think fergie can take such a risk and hope that he can deliver week in week out. Not for next season at least.
I do honestly believe that United will make a bid for a striker this season. Saha is forever sidelined and we have been lucky that rooney has remained fit all season and not to mention the help larsson provided when he was at OT. The question is who will we go for…. Given the fact that we’re likely to spend a hefty proportion of our budget on hargreaves and possibly nani, I would put my money on someone like darren bent. Some may say he isnt Utd quality but i disagree. He ha performed consistently at charlton over a number of seasons and since they are relegated he is surely considering a move away….
Any takers…?
May 10th, 2007 @ 23:52What about Berbatov, i think he’ll be a good signing, but mayb a bit too pricey and SPurs will be reluctent 2 let him go. I think UNT need to bring in some fresh new tallent as well.
May 11th, 2007 @ 00:57I don’t think fergie will go 4 eith Berba or Benni as he’s reluctant to go after players currently in the EPL unless they are young, and amazin. Both players aren’t quite your world class striker like Henry, Etoo etc. n MAnU r in need 4 1. I don’t think Fergie will get rid of Saha so easily as he likes him and number 2 he needs him
May 11th, 2007 @ 01:12benni is a far better player full stop
May 11th, 2007 @ 03:17berbatov is stronger has more vision ,less greedy need i go on! the only reason mcarthy has more goals is because he is not a team player he plays for himself ,his small amount of assists shows this. he would struggle to get in the spurs team, berbatov is a better striker and better overall player. mcarthy doesnt come close to the sum of money spurs would expect for berbatov.i think its a insult to berbatov to compare him to goal grabbing players such as mcarthy.who will be marked out the game with ease by dawson, Berbatov has had a good season but i dont think ferguson will pay the price wanted on this evidence alone and is more likely to sign defoe for a bargin price as his talents are wasted at spurs due to there attacking talent
May 11th, 2007 @ 03:23they’ve both been great this season! but…i have to go with Berbatov he’s been more impressive, but thats just my opinion.
he scored great goals this season and caught not only my attention. he has a great touch and untold amounts of induvidual skill. of course…Benni have been a relevelation in his own right, scoring some vital goals for Blackburn’s Prem & FA Cup campaign. but i do feel that Berbatov’s hype is justified this season, i think.
if United did go for either on of these two id rather the Bulgarian be a Man Utd player. although we’d probably have to bid 30M to get him lol
May 11th, 2007 @ 04:09This is like comparing elvis pressley with chesney hawkes!! like comparing vintage champagne to stale warm beer! like comparing a ferrari to a fiesta! muhammed ali to audley harrison!! It is a no contest in my opinion…..dimitar berbatov is playing football to a completely different level to benni mcarthy. We have seen plenty of players like benni mcarthy before but berbatov is one of them players who comes along once in a blue moon. The classy bulgarian just stinks of brilliance. Benni is just a good player having a great season and theres plenty of GOOD players in the premiership, but berbatov is not just a good player, he is a great player and in a few years he will be spoken of in the bergkamp, zola, schmicheal, henry cattegory!
May 11th, 2007 @ 05:41estebanrey
I was at the lane last night and guess who scored! You looked a tasty team and had more desire than us for too much of the game for my liking. I think the linesman on the shelfside might have been your dad but otherwise it was a fair result.
I’ve emailed the club asking them to make an offer for McCarthy. Fancy a Mido swap deal?
Lastly, why do you think we have more fans? (Than you or Chelsea.)
May 11th, 2007 @ 16:00Thinking about it, why not throw Ghaly in for nothing? Straight swap, two Egyptians for a South African. Seems like a deal, and doesn’t Hughes like a prat player?
I tried to add a vote for Benni to make it look a bit fairer too, but I think the poll’s closed?
May 11th, 2007 @ 16:11completely agree with bondy boy, benni is class, lethal finisher, but berbatov has that and so much more….please berba come to united!!!
May 12th, 2007 @ 17:08LOL
More nonsense The fact that Berbatov has more assists only means his Midfield do not work for him as Mc Carthy’s does for him. The fact that Blackburn have two excellent wingers and more ball playing mid-fielders means that he has less work to do on the ball and and what he does have to do is spray it wide and put it in the back of the net.
The fact that a forward has more assists means that he is receiving the ball deeper, that the midfield is not a passing midfield and that there are less crosses coming in from the wide mid-fielders. Berbatov is good but the analysis is faulty when only looking at statistics. You need to take into consideration both teams, the systems played and the actual players.
May 12th, 2007 @ 23:57Hello… A striker is not meant to set/assist other people to score, he is the one that is meant to be assisted to score. Rather judge the player behind the striker on assists and not the striker. Assists just shows that Berbs support is not there for him
Benni for prez!!!
June 25th, 2007 @ 12:34They are both quality… although Berbatov does seem to rely on having Robbie Keane to work with. given the choice i’d have robbie Keane in my side over Berbatov.
Based on this season’s performances so far… we’ve not seen Benni at his best (is he sulking because he wanst to leave?) Roque “Chico” Santa Cruz has come in and has already shown to be better than Benni… If Benni doesn;t buck his ideas up he might end up being third choice to Matty Derbyshire.
United can have Berbatov though… i’d rather Benni stayed at Rovers.
(we’ll have Robbie Keane if he can stand playing for s small town club with bully boy tactics with “violent” tendancies)
August 31st, 2007 @ 15:51