Manchester United: Is It Finally Time for Sir Alex To Sell Dimitar Berbatov?

In the aftermath of a champions league performance Sir Alex called “one of the best of his tenure,” as a proud Man United fan I am happy to make the bold claim: WE ARE GOING TO WEMBLEY!

Yet I digress. The point of this is not to eulogise on the merits of Manchester United’s dismantlement of a team that seemingly decided to play 1-0-0-0, it is to analyse the role of a man who didn’t even travel to the Veltins Arena. Wherefore art thou, Dimitar?

Berbatov has, this season, undoubtedly had his most efficient year in a Red Devils shirt, which has left him as the Premiership's top goal scorer. With three hat-tricks, four goals rattled in against Blackburn, it finally appeared that United’s record signing was starting to justify Sir Alex’s exurbanite outlay on him.

Yet it was, in hindsight, and Indian summer, Berbatov’s star has in recent weeks been on the wane to the extent that he is now essentially a reserve. At 30 years of age, his resale value is seriously diminishing so the imminent decision whether to persist with his misfiring target man or send him out to pastures new must soon be taken by Sir Alex, or his hand will be forced.

With Berbatov’s contract expiring at the end of next season and no rumours in the media sphere over fresh contract talks, perhaps time is about to be called on Dimitar Berbatov’s Manchester United career.

Berbatov has always been a player that can frustrate and delight in equal measure: a precocious talent, castrated by a nonchalance that sometimes proves his undoing. In the early part of the season, Berbatov was a man on a mission, a mission to prove his worth as he harried and chased, flicked and spun, turned and shot his way into the supporter’s hearts.

Now though, with the emergence of Javier Hernandez as possibly the greatest buy of recent years, it appears Berbatov has resigned himself to the failure of his mission. His temperament has dropped, the balls once chased are now left and chances that earlier in the season would have been dispatched are now squandered. Berbatov is a player low on confidence, and it shows.

The situation has become a catch-22 for Sir Alex. To get back the Berbatov we had at the start of the season, he must be regularly starting, but this would inevitably be at the expense of Hernandez or Wayne Rooney.

This was fine at the start of the season when Rooney was hideously out of form, but now with Wayne almost back to his best and Hernandez fully adapted to the English game it is an exercise to nothing and would be quite likely to compromise Manchester United’s progression.

The main downside to Berbatov’s inclusion is that he essentially negates the style of play in which Manchester United are most adept, quick breaks out of defence to use the lighting pace of their wingers and forwards to maximum effect.

Dimitar Berbatov’s game is built upon his nonchalance. On the ball he has few equals, but because of this he often dwells, slowing down the break and allowing the defence to get back. A team must work in tandem if it is to succeed; outliers are not conducive to progression.

Next season, in addition United will enjoy the returning firepower of the youthful Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda, as matured, more adept footballers after spending time on loan this season. It is also not beyond the realm of possibility that Sir Alex could be in the market for an additional striker in the summer window, inspired by the meteoric success of Hernandez.

All this would contrive to leave Berbatov on an increasingly precarious pedestal, his position at United effectively rendered untenable.

This season we have seen the way forward for Manchester United: quick-breaking football based upon speed and skill from the wingers and strikers. Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck adhere to this ethos and would (in Rooney and Hernandez’s case does) shine in this system.

The same cannot be said for Dimitar Berbatov and as such Sir Alex Ferguson must be decisive. Berbatov and the current United are no longer are good fit with one another and as such a decision between style and player must be made. I have my doubts whether it is a fight the 30-year-old Bulgarian will win.