Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Enigma or Genius?

A lot seems to have been made of Dimitar Berbatov's 5 goals against Blackburn Rovers and the fact that these were his first since the hat trick vs Liverpool earlier in the season.

I've had friends and colleagues tell me how good he is in one instance and yet a few days ago were saying how rubbish he was, doesn't fit the United system, is too lazy ... all sorts of things.

 There are, as I see it, several reasons for his lack of goals in that period.

Berbatov likes to lead the line and he feeds on decent service and while Nani is having a very good season his crossing ability is variable, he does seem to cut in from either flank quite a lot.

Thee are a couple of things that coincide with Berbatov's lack of goals.
1. Ryan Giggs injured and out of the side
2. Antonio Valencia horribly injured and out for possibly the season
3. Rooney's absence - injury or not decide as you like.

The way that Fergie played Berbatov while these three were out meant that he wasn't getting the service he needs, to make up for the missing striker in Rooney he had to drop off and let the more inexperienced Hernandez lead the line with his pace and he had to become the creator rather than the finisher.

So he was basically being asked to play a game that didn't come naturally to him but he played that role because the boss asked him too. Fair play to him - here's hoping he keeps the ratio up, wins the Golden Boot and silences the critics.

1 comment:

  1. To be fair though mate, he got two-fifths of f#ck all service at a Spurs side weaker than the current one, and was far more threatening and imposing...

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