A Plea To United Fans To Start Appreciating Berbatov

     Hmmm.... I am still wondering why most United fans don't appreciate Berbatov. It's probably the price tag and true, it may have been a bit on the higher side. But Berbatov can't be criticized because Sir Alex paid over the odds for him, a player who oozes class and makes everything look so simple, who should be making the crowd chant his name all the time. He can't seem to head a football and hasn't hit the goals expected of him as a striker but he makes things happen. People just don't seem to notice other aspects of his game.

And whats really harsh on Berbatov are the comparisons with Rooney. Rooney, the darling of the media wasn't subject to a lot of criticism when he didn't pump in the goals or wasn't inspirational. He wasn't compared to the clearly better CR7 because he was selfless. I really irritates me when, people come out and say that Berbatov isn't any good since he doesn't run around the pitch like Rooney or isn't hitting as many goals as him. There isn't any need for everyone to run around so much. Even the great Zidane used to amble around the pitch like Berbatov. Don't remember too many people commenting about him. 

While Rooney is important to United for the goals and the inspiration, let us not discount Berbatov. Barring Scholes who is pretty inconsistent these days, he is by far the most creative player in United now. Forget the goals and the assists and all the stats. Berbatov is United's link between the midfield and the attack. I have noticed umpteen number of times when the Berbatov makes the pass which leads to an assist. Sadly the pundits don't remember these small passes which opens up space for people Valencia or Evra to cross and Rooney to head. Berbatov is pretty much United's play-maker. Next time you watch a United game, try not to see whether Berbatov scores or whether he does a skill. Try instead to see how he brings others into the the game, and makes United tick. See how he draws opposition defenders to him, opening up gaps for others to run into. Watch Dimitar Berbatov without expecting the world of him, and you will appreciate his contribution to United's game.  United's games without Berbatov are dogged defensive displays played only on counter attacks. Not the kind of football I want to see from the best club in the world.

[PS: don't blame Berba for yesterday's lackluster performance against Wolves. United in general were useless. He hardly got the ball]