Manchester United fans are furious with the performance of
Dimitar Berbatov.
The Times says fans slammed Berba's performance in
Sunday's FA Cup semifinal defeat during a phone-in on MUTV,
United’s official television station.
But while it is common for fans to find a scapegoat when things
have gone wrong, the misgivings did not centre simply on a lame
effort from 12 yards, rather on the wider contribution this season
from a player who has polarised opinion since signing for a
club-record £30.75 million from Tottenham Hotspur last
September.
Berbatov has been responsible for setting up a sixth of United’s
54 goals in the Barclays Premier League — only Frank Lampard, the
Chelsea midfield player, Robin van Persie, the Arsenal forward, and
Steed Malbranque, the Sunderland midfield player, have as many
assists — while four of his 13 goals in all competitions have been
winners.
Dig a little deeper, though, and the picture becomes less
flattering. Only one of his goals has come against a team in the
top six — in the 3-0 win at home to Chelsea in January — while he
has found the net once in his past nine matches and has not scored
in the Champions League since October 21, the one arena in which
Ferguson felt the forward would bring an added dimension to
United’s attack.
