The good news coming out for us today from the Bulgarian is that he will be a United player next season despite rumours of his pending exit. That basically means that should Carlos Tevez decide to stay at United, then he will know what to expect.
Berbatov actually joined United in September as the transfer window was extended by a couple of days. His arrival immediately drew comparisons with King Eric Cantona--which was rather unfair as there will always be one King of Manchester. He was signed to give height to our otherwise dwarfed attack of Wayne and Carlos but by the end of his debut month, it was clear that the Bulgarian was more of a link-up player for United. Not the job he was signed for but still a good job nonetheless. Much as many viewed him as a player who slowed down United, he actually did bring fluidity to our game.
He certainly did start his OT career with a bang--setting up an assist for Tevez to score at Anfield within two minutes.
His first goals for us came in the Champions League against Aalborg and after another r quiet spell, he came up with an amazing assist for Ronaldo in the league game against West Ham. He did it with such skill that Ronaldo was almost embarrassed to score it.
Berba however saved his best contributions to our season for the middle of the campaign when United were beginning to tire. He set up a vital goal for us at Stoke on Boxing Day and then scored the winner in the league game against a Boro side that had come to pick a point. The Bulgarian then scored an injury time winner against Bolton that propelled us to the top of the league--a position we defended well since. Fourteen goals as well as 10 assists in total is not bad for a player who is supposedly lazy. The thing is, Berbaatov is world class and therefore does merit his place at United. If you think that Berba has done poorly at United, then look at his hardworking mate Robbie Keane who couldn't last the season at Anfiled. The two were unbelievable for Spurs but given that our man has thrived in his first season without his usual partner, a little more adaptation should make him much better for us in the next few seasons. Having said all that, I think he will have to fight for his place if Tevez stays as I believe the 'honey moon' for welcoming a new player is done for him!
