Berbatov and Owen: Mid-Season review

Jordonvito

so how do you think Berbatov and Owen have done in filling the massive boots of teves and ronaldo this season, i think Berbatov has put in more effort this season, he seems to actually care,. I reckon if he stays fit he could still have a big role to play, I think its hard to complain about Owen, hes a fairly good goals to game ratio, and seems to be keeping fit. I still think we need to invest in some creativity over January, maybe another winger or attacking midfielder, aguero or something simlar.

mayordenis

Trying to be as fair as possible from what I've seen,

Owen's goal to minutes on the pitch looks pretty nice he's definately finding the net, which is a strikers bread and butter, but I think these days a striker at a top club needs to contribute more, however a free striker on a pay as you play deal, he's been a success imo, however much I hate it.

Bebatov well I'm not so sure, anyone who knows anything can see he has immense quality, and I don't buy that he doesn't work hard, he just looks reasonably lazy but in fact makes a lot of smart runs and covers a huge amount of distance off the ball, but in the team he's just not fully clicked, he's almost the opposite of Owen, not scoring a heap but being involved in play more.

All in all Owen + Berbatov = 1 Brilliant World Class striker :pac:

noodler

Hard to disagree with the above.

Would love either in our squad (not for 30m obviously). Owen's impact seems to have been greater than Berba's but I am unsure how many Berba has been setting up.

Anyway for a free transfer you have gotten a more than decent seven goal return out of him so far - he looked particularly like the Owen of old in the Wolfsberg game.

Jordonvito

forgot to mention valencia aswell, chipped in with 6 or 7 goals so far, obviously he aint ever going to reach ronaldos level, but hes suprised me.

Mikeyt086

lol mayordennis has it pretty much nailed on.

OWEN: Ill be honest i didnt expect much. But he has come in and offered us a new option to what we have. He misses a few chances, but he gets into positions others cant and usually converts so he is doing well and im happy he is at United.

BERBATOV: I thought this was Berba's chance to step up and be counted. His early performances indicated that it could well be happening, but he hasnt really hit the highs we all know he can. He has flashes of brilliance, and we are all just waiting for it to click for him.

VALENCIA: I was skeptical, but he has just worked his socks off and is getting rewarded. Consistently good, with a few outstanding performances.

Eirebear

I think your question misses the point slightly to be honest.

I havnt really seen enough of Utd this season to make a comple judgement, however what i have seen of them is that they are a completely different unit to the Utd of last season, their style of play has changed to suit that.

So maybe a fairer question, rather than simply relating Owen and Berbatov as straight up replacements for Ronaldo and Tevez, would be something along the lines of "Are Man Utd operating to a level which was as succesful as it was with Ronaldo and Tevez in the side?"

Jordonvito

Eirebear wrote: »

I think your question misses the point slightly to be honest.

I havnt really seen enough of Utd this season to make a comple judgement, however what i have seen of them is that they are a completely different unit to the Utd of last season, their style of play has changed to suit that.

So maybe a fairer question, rather than simply relating Owen and Berbatov as straight up replacements for Ronaldo and Tevez, would be something along the lines of "Are Man Utd operating to a level which was as succesful as it was with Ronaldo and Tevez in the side?"

Hate to admit but I can't see them operating to that level this season at all, hopefully I will be proved wrong. And I think it is a fair enough question, cos SAF himself sais it was up to valencia, berbatov and owen to fill the gap of Teves and ronaldo, he also said Nani, but the less said about him the better!

jank

Owen well he did cost nothing and he does add something to United even though he may not be the player he was. Not a bad option on the bench but could they using that bench spot to blood a younger player?

Berba, Flatters to deceive no way worth the money United paid for him. The fact that he cant get a starting position when he is the 2nd forward at the club says it all.

PHB

Em, who cares that Tevez left? Ronaldo leaving was a massive loss. Tevez leaving was bleh. Owen is already better than he was at United, and imo Owen has not been great.

Have United adjusted to Ronaldo leaving? Not yet imo. Valencia is looking good and getting better. He's also stepping up with a lot of goals, which is a great thing to see.

Nani, Obertan or Park have yet to step up on the other wing.

Rooney has played well in parts, but needs to get more consistant to fully replace Ronaldo.

Berbatov has been good, not great. Owen has been ok, nothing special. Big goal scored against City is great, but his finishing has been poor overall. Hopefully though his hattrick is a sign of his finishing get back to top quality.

Also, the suggestion he isn't a first choice starter is absurd. He is. There's absolutely no doubt about that, I don't understand how anyone could think otherwise.

All in all, United have done ok so far this season. But if we want to retain the league and challenge in the CL, imo there needs to be a step up from everyone bar Fletcher, Evra and Valencia who are performing at their best.

Mr.Nice Guy

I would agree with Eirebear that the style of play has had to change and adapt and so it's difficult to compare the players like-for-like.

In my view the main difference with United is that they have had to become more of a team unit this season. Last season the man himself was still the focal point of the team and there was a bit of tension surrounding who would play, Berbatov or Tevez. This season the squad appears to be more together with injury problems testing the squad to the limit and allowing greater contributions from the likes of Kuszczak and Gibson.

It's quite a contrast from last season where the defence and goalkeeping situation was rock solid, whereas this season only Evra has really been a mainstay in that area.

More further up the pitch the likes of Scholes and Giggs are still relied upon quite a bit but Gibson has done well when needed. Valencia could be doing better in my view but I think there has been improvement after what looked a nervy start from him to the season. Berbatov also I think could offer more though he looks under less pressure this season. Rooney I think has done well as the new main focal point.

I've praised Owen before and I'll praise him again. I think he's been a very shrewd signing by Fergie. I had my doubts about him when he joined but he still looks a man for the big occasions and I actually think some United fans have been a bit too critical of him. He looked almost over-eager to impress early in the season but now he looks more settled and at ease. Someone said on another thread that Owen hasn't done anything that other second string strikers of the top four wouldn't have done. Well I'd love to see Sturridge, Vela or Voronin hit a Champions League hat-trick against the German champions.

I'd agree with PHB above. Tevez wasn't a big loss. He contributed few goals in truth. His main asset was the enthusiasm and energy he brought to the team, however I had no doubts a side of Sir Alex would have enough enthusiasm and energy to survive without him. The real loss was Ronaldo and I said at the time he was like a 3-in-1 player and that we'd need three players to replace him. In my opinion Owen and Valencia have done well but I still feel the club needs another player, either an attacking midfielder or a striker, to be where it needs to be.

Overall I'd say thumbs in the middle for Berbatov, thumbs up for Owen and thumbs in the middle pointing up for the team as a whole.

eagle eye

United have more points in the Premier League after 17 games this season than they did last season. The cruised through a much tougher group in the Champion's League this year with 13 points, last year in a much easier group they had 10 points.

For me United are a better team this year and its because Ronaldo is no longer there. I've said for the last two years that I believed that Rooney was the most crucial player to United, I think that will be proven this year although they still might not win the league even with a better points total than last season.

Ronaldo is a great player but I think he took away from others such as Rooney.

Son Of A Vidic

Tevez is no loss whatever, he was always lots of huffing and puffing with little end result. Berbatov is a waste of space, he reminds me of Veron with occasional flashes of class followed by minutes/hours of nothing!
Owen is certainly a worthy addition if he keeps getting the games and stays clear of injury. SAF needs to stop waiting for it to happen with Berbatov and off load him pronto!

starbelgrade

medicman2009 wrote: »

Tevez is no loss whatever, he was always lots of huffing and puffing with little end result.

As I've often said - he's the priciest bag of wind I've ever seen.

mayordenis

I don't want to get into an argument but he's doing better than either of the players this thread is about, you may scapegoat Tevez however much you like, but he is an Excellent player, I reckon he would of been massive for United in absence of Ronaldo and with a steady run of starts.

Kirby

Tevez was also responsible for some vital, vital late goals over the past two seasons. Whether or not you think he is a great player shouldn't cloud the fact that he had a hand in winning titles for United. He also had a big hand in keeping West Ham up the season before that too.

And Berbatov is a class act. He isn't starting every game and I'm convinced if he did he would prove his class to everyone. You simply have to watch him play. He's a proper footballer. Ferguson not playing him and Rooney together up front for every game is a decision I totally disagree with.

MementoMori

Might be a bit early to judge Owen yet as a lot will depend on whether or not he builds on the hat-trick or not.

By my reckoning he has made 22 appearances playing 816 mins (just over 9 full games) and scored 7 goals. This works out to a goal every 117 minutes, which has to be considered great going.

However even if the hat-trick turns out to be an extreme anomaly and you take it out the figures change to 4 goals in 726 minutes which still works out at a pretty decent goal every 182 minutes. So even if the hat-trick was a once-off fluke, his figures still look pretty decent, purely in terms of goal-scoring.

It's pretty much just been over a month since he has played his first full game for Utd, but since then he has played 3 full games (including his first one) so it would like it's only now that he's back to full fitness.
Overall his play in terms of creativity hasn't been great, but I don't think anyone was expecting him to be setting the assists charts on fire.

In terms of whether his goals have been useful, clearly the goal against City was worth two points which could prove invaluable at the end of the season.
However apart from that his only other league goal was in the 5:0 thumping of Wigan when the game was well over. In addition to the hat-trick in Europe he also got one in the CSKA 3:3 draw so it's fair to say he's made a strong European contribution. His other goal came against Burnely in the League Cup, and and probably be classified useful in killing off the game.

Berbatov by comparison has scored 4 goals in 19 appearances playing 1222 mins (just over 13 and a half full games) with a goals per minute record of scoring once every 305mins he is on the pitch. Even with the fact that he has notched a number of assists, for a £30m striker at Utd that has to be pretty poor going overall.

Basically I don't think you can look at Berbatov and Owen without looking at Rooney's contribution. If I was a Utd fan I'd be sh*tting myself with worry in case Rooney got injured. At the moment he looks to be carrying Berbatov and the whole team to a lesser extent. Owen has done ok (and on a value basis been pretty good so far) while Berbatov has been poor and I think if Rooney got injured and was out for a month or longer, I would expect Utd to struggle massively.

On the basis of the evidence so far I think the team would struggle massively if Rooney was missing for any sort of time period and I would say the odds are against Utd having a successful season (by their standards) unless there is a new arrival up-front in January.

Bandit12

Lol at United fans saying Tevez was a nothing player and windbag at your club.:pac:

ROCKMAN

Think Owen has answered any questions asked of him so far this season , Also I think his impact behind the scenes in training etc with Utd's Younger strikers could be great and benefit the club for the next few years .

Josey Wales

I think Owen has done pretty well with the limited number of chances that he has had. I've been pleasantly surprised that he has managed to keep himself fit for most of the first half of the season. I think he deserves a run of starts now over the Christmas period.

As for Berbatov I can't wait till he has left the club. The man is a complete waste of space. I know all his defenders point out his amazing technical skills and say he is a complete footballer. However the fact remains that his tally of league goals is only about 4 which is simiply not good enough.

mayordenis

It really isn't that simple goals and goals alone are not a reasonable barometer to rate that kind of striker. The words "complete waste of space" wreck your argument, he may not be prolific or even the quality you think he should be, but he's certainly not a waste of space.

Spiritoftheseventies

mayordenis wrote: »

Trying to be as fair as possible from what I've seen,

Owen's goal to minutes on the pitch looks pretty nice he's definately finding the net, which is a strikers bread and butter, but I think these days a striker at a top club needs to contribute more, however a free striker on a pay as you play deal, he's been a success imo, however much I hate it.

Bebatov well I'm not so sure, anyone who knows anything can see he has immense quality, and I don't buy that he doesn't work hard, he just looks reasonably lazy but in fact makes a lot of smart runs and covers a huge amount of distance off the ball, but in the team he's just not fully clicked, he's almost the opposite of Owen, not scoring a heap but being involved in play more.

All in all Owen + Berbatov = 1 Brilliant World Class striker :pac:

tell me you are not singing the praises of Owen after he crossed over to the dark side

Fuhrer

Bandit12 wrote: »

Lol at United fans saying Tevez was a nothing player and windbag at your club.:pac:

Lol at liverpool fan on a desperate wind-up

mayordenis

bayviewclose wrote: »

tell me you are not singing the praises of Owen after he crossed over to the dark side

I hate him more than anything, I know he's reading this so I'm just setting him up for a fall.

mayordenis

Fuhrer wrote: »

Lol at liverpool fan on a desperate wind-up

It's legitimately funny, Tevez is a really really really good player. I'd fit more reallys in but I think it would become pointless.

The Muppet

I'm happy with the three of them. Owen misses a few that he would have buried in his prime but he is a very useful addition to the squad.

Valencia is improving game on game, He 's no Ronaldo but is quick and strong and has scored a few goals. He's better defensively than Ronaldo.

Berbatove is one of those players that never looks to be very involved in the game yet is likely to produce a piece of magic to open up a defence and creat a goal. I like and think he was a good signing. It's easy to criticise Berbatov because of the style of football he plays.

Tom65

PHB wrote: »

Nani, Obertan or Park have yet to step up on the other wing.

I think that's a bit unfair. Park's performances have dropped a bit this season, and we all know about Nani, but they've both been around for a few years. Obertan is new this season, and I think he's done extremely well to come in off the back of an injury and make himself a regular in the side. He hasn't been brilliant, but I think all things considered, he's been very good.


Owen, I think is doing what we bought him two. Maybe he could contribute a few more goals. He's ability to find space is amazing, but he could be a little more clinical, and I think the rest of the squad have to get used to having an Owen-type player.

Berbatov: I'm not sure. I think he doesn't get enough praise for his link-up play. I think it's quite subtlety brilliant, but he needs to get a few more goals too. The problem is more that himself and Rooney tend to drop back quite a bit, and that causes the team problems.

Valencia: I think he's been very good, and getting better all the time. The rest of the squad are learning just how quick he is, and he's been very effective down that right wing.

Xavi6

Fuhrer wrote: »

Lol at liverpool fan on a desperate wind-up

So is Tevez a nothing player then?

antod

eagle eye wrote: »

United have more points in the Premier League after 17 games this season than they did last season. The cruised through a much tougher group in the Champion's League this year with 13 points, last year in a much easier group they had 10 points.

For me United are a better team this year and its because Ronaldo is no longer there. I've said for the last two years that I believed that Rooney was the most crucial player to United, I think that will be proven this year although they still might not win the league even with a better points total than last season.

Ronaldo is a great player but I think he took away from others such as Rooney.

what a load of rubbish utd a better team without ronaldo he scored 117 goals for utd he and tevez were the main men behind utd winning the double,rooney is the same player this year no different without ronaldo and dont forget rooney never turned up for any of the champs league finals.

Fuhrer

Xavi6 wrote: »

So is Tevez a nothing player then?

He might be an important for smaller teams like West Ham and City but United easily replaced whatever contribution he made and more.


Just look what Owen did against City. A big improvement.

Xavi6

Fuhrer wrote: »

He might be an important for smaller teams like West Ham and City but United easily replaced whatever contribution he made and more.


Just look what Owen did against City. A big improvement.

Did Tevez not score important goals for United?

Let's face it, Owen has scored one goal of any real significance so far. It was a good contribution but he has been used sparingly thus far.

The dismissal of Tevez by United fans is quite humorous but unsurprising, much like that of some Liverpool fans towards Owen. Tinted glasses and all that.

Fuhrer

Xavi6 wrote: »

Did Tevez not score important goals for United?

Let's face it, Owen has scored one goal of any real significance so far. It was a good contribution but he has been used sparingly thus far.

The dismissal of Tevez by United fans is quite humorous but unsurprising, much like that of some Liverpool fans towards Owen. Tinted glasses and all that.

Whats so humourous about it?


Tevez had been relegated to a sub for United, a role that he did with very limited success and whole lot of complaining. To continue in this role were he got 5 goals in 30 games it would have cost an additonal 20 odd million.

Now United have gotten for free what he offered while keeping lots of money and not having to suffer his constant complaining. Plus a player who can score a classy hatrick against the german champions.

Headshot

getting back to topic

I wouldnt be berba's biggest fan, I think he's a bad partner for Rooney in terms that they are too a-like for me in some ways

berba has great qualities but I want a striker who actually scores goals, how the hell can he score goals when he goes to deep for the ball or stays on the edge of a box from a cross.

he was talking the other day about the 30m price tag weighing him down, that pissed me off tbh, he's using that as an excuse for his bad performances

The Muppet

Xavi6 wrote: »

The dismissal of Tevez by United fans is quite humorous but unsurprising, much like that of some Liverpool fans towards Owen. Tinted glasses and all that.

Have you read Blue Moon recently, some city fans are pretty dismissive about his abilities too.;)



To be honest he's certainly not a nothing player but I don't believe he is alll that much missed by United. As a striker he was not worth the asking price IMO.

Dempsey

Classing Tevez as a nothing player is the most desperate thing I've read on here in a while.

CR 7

Dempsey wrote: »

Classing Tevez as a nothing player is the most desperate thing I've read on here in a while.

Don't see anyone classing him as a nothing player. The fact is that he's not good enough for a starting place with united, is not happy with being on the bench, ever, and left in search of as much money as possible.

Mars Bar

Park Ji Sung wrote: »

Don't see anyone classing him as a nothing player. The fact is that he's not good enough for a starting place with united, is not happy with being on the bench, ever, and left in search of as much money as possible.

...and then complained about playing too many games there.

Dempsey

Park Ji Sung wrote: »

Don't see anyone classing him as a nothing player. The fact is that he's not good enough for a starting place with united, is not happy with being on the bench, ever, and left in search of as much money as possible.

I suggest you read the thread properly then

Oh how the opinions of him have changed since leaving United.... :rolleyes:

I suppose its to be expected though...

The Muppet

Dempsey wrote: »

Oh how the opinions of him have changed since leaving United.... :rolleyes:

I suppose its to be expected though...

I and many other United fans said he wasn't worth the money being asked for him well before he left. 3 goals last season was not good enough for a striker at United.

Do you think he is a £25 to £40 million striker depending where you get the valuation ?

Xavi6

The Muppet wrote: »

Have you read Blue Moon recently, some city fans are pretty dismissive about his abilities too.;)

That place is up there with RedCafe and RAWK as boils on the arse of decent football forums. I never venture there.

Spud83

Not too sure what the point of this thread is but anyway.


Owen:
Has done what he was brought in to do, and that is allow is to rest Rooney, and Berbatov without being forced to play kids, and to offer us a different option from the bench. He has done both well and scored goals in both roles along the way. No complaints. So far a shrewed move that at this moment is an unmitigated success.

Berbatov:
Was going well enough before his injury with 4 league goals, in 11 games (9 starts), and has only started one game since October due to injury. Didn't see the game last night so I don't how his performance was but the highlights suggested he was involved in a lot of good things, and could have been set up once or twice by other who took the wrong option. He still managed to set up a goal though. Still though I was his biggest defender last year, and to a large degree I still am but I expect more from him in the run, and will reserve the calls to ship him out until then. So to round up decent start, hopefully getting back to form after injury, can still improve.

Valenica:
OK he is not Ronaldo we knew that before buying him so I'm not going to compare. Took a while to settle in, over the last few weeks he has started linking much better with the others around him especially Rooney. Has chipped in with a few goals ( a celebration wouldn't go astray ), Some good performances, and some poor ones. Needs to find some consistency which I think he will do in the second half of the season as he starts to fit in, and learn more. Needs to spend a week in training hitting the ball with his left foot though. Might help him realise that his foot won't fall off if he uses it.

Team:
Ticking along OK, have to deal with a massive injury crisis at the back, and have done that well enough. Still in all competitions, and in touching distance in the league. Can't ask for much more. A nice run of form over the Christmas period and through January is what we need to really get the confidence flowing through the club.

All in all, I'm a happy supporter.

mike65

Xavi6 wrote: »

That place is up there with RedCafe and RAWK as boils on the arse of decent football forums. I never venture there.

606!

Owen has done feck all in truth - the most eye catching moment was against City. The rest were of no great value. A hat trick against a thoroughly crestfallen Wolfsburg doesn't really count for a lot.

The Stroller will never be anything other than overpriced.

Boggles

mike65 wrote: »

The rest were of no great value. A hat trick against a thoroughly crestfallen Wolfsburg doesn't really count for a lot.

Topping the CL group was of no great value?

Your letting yourself down again Mike.

Fuhrer

mike65 wrote: »

. A hat trick against a thoroughly crestfallen Wolfsburg doesn't really count for a lot.

A hat trick against the german champions who needed a win to qualify?

mike65

Wolfsburg may have needed the win but they sure didn't play like it, by the time Owen struck the second they were a spent force.

Mars Bar

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

Not too sure what the point of this thread is but anyway.


Owen:
Has done what he was brought in to do, and that is allow is to rest Rooney, and Berbatov without being forced to play kids, and to offer us a different option from the bench. He has done both well and scored goals in both roles along the way. No complaints. So far a shrewed move that at this moment is an unmitigated success.

Berbatov:
Was going well enough before his injury with 4 league goals, in 11 games (9 starts), and has only started one game since October due to injury. Didn't see the game last night so I don't how his performance was but the highlights suggested he was involved in a lot of good things, and could have been set up once or twice by other who took the wrong option. He still managed to set up a goal though. Still though I was his biggest defender last year, and to a large degree I still am but I expect more from him in the run, and will reserve the calls to ship him out until then. So to round up decent start, hopefully getting back to form after injury, can still improve.

Valenica:
OK he is not Ronaldo we knew that before buying him so I'm not going to compare. Took a while to settle in, over the last few weeks he has started linking much better with the others around him especially Rooney. Has chipped in with a few goals ( a celebration wouldn't go astray ), Some good performances, and some poor ones. Needs to find some consistency which I think he will do in the second half of the season as he starts to fit in, and learn more. Needs to spend a week in training hitting the ball with his left foot though. Might help him realise that his foot won't fall off if he uses it.

Team:
Ticking along OK, have to deal with a massive injury crisis at the back, and have done that well enough. Still in all competitions, and in touching distance in the league. Can't ask for much more. A nice run of form over the Christmas period and through January is what we need to really get the confidence flowing through the club.

All in all, I'm a happy supporter.

Believe it or not, he made one pass (back to Scholes I think), with his left foot last night. I nearly fell off the chair with shock! It's a step in the right direction...

Spud83

mike65 wrote: »

Wolfsburg may have needed the win but they sure didn't play like it, by the time Owen struck the second they were a spent force.

Not too sure what you are expecting from a third choice striker who was brought in a on free.

He has allowed us to give Rooney, and Berbatov games off without forcing us to play the two youngsters (Wellbeck, Macheda) alone. He has scored goals while doing this i.e Carling Cup, and Wolfsburg being two examples.

He has give us a different option off the bench which has secured us vital points i.e City.

What does he have to do before you say he has been a success?

Now we are all taking a short term view here, as we can only judge him on the short term. So far he has been a success. I don't how this can be argued really.

MagicMarker

Personally, I think Owen should be first choice alongside either Rooney or Berbatov. But it's clear Ferguson doesn't see him as anything more than a supersub.

Dave!

MagicMarker wrote: »

Personally, I think Owen should be first choice alongside either Rooney or Berbatov. But it's clear Ferguson doesn't see him as anything more than a supersub.

It could be that Fergie's concerned about him getting injured, dunno though

Owen: For me he's doing fine. He knows and accepts that if he wants to play football with a top team then he'll have to accept his role within the squad. I'd say that was made abundantly clear to him from the start, and he's shown a good attitude and done well when he's come on.

Valencia: He's certainly come on in leaps and bounds. He was always able to beat players with his strength, pace and acceleration, but the concern was that his final ball was suspect at times, and he doesn't score alot of goals. This is improving every week, and he's already doubled his goal tally from his Wigan days. He's also linking up well with other teammates and he's on the same wavelength. In particular him and Rooney seem to read each other well. Unfortunately our defence is fooked at the mo, but once we get the RB position steady then he'll hopefully link up well with them. I think it was Gaz Neville that he played with several times and the communication was quite good.

Berbatov: It's no shock to learn that I love watching him play, I think his general play is very good, he retains possession perfectly, his passing is usually simple and good, and he plays alot of intelligent balls. I think the only thing he needs to add to his game is more goals. Obviously as a striker you'd say that's rather important, but I reckon that'll come with perseverance. His link-up play is brilliant and I'd be gutted to see us let him go anywhere else. His attitude needs to improve a bit also, last night he was getting frustrated and sulking as a result, I've seen this before and it's annoying.

It's been said all along this season that United aren't clicking, they're playing poorly, they've been lacklustre, unimpressive, etc.

I'd agree with all that, we've been terrible at times, particularly in first-half displays

But I reckon once we do start clicking and the team gets on the same wavelength, Berbatov will be a hugely influential player for us.

Anthony16

Headshot wrote: »

getting back to topic

I wouldnt be berba's biggest fan, I think he's a bad partner for Rooney in terms that they are too a-like for me in some ways

berba has great qualities but I want a striker who actually scores goals, how the hell can he score goals when he goes to deep for the ball or stays on the edge of a box from a cross.

he was talking the other day about the 30m price tag weighing him down, that pissed me off tbh, he's using that as an excuse for his bad performances

True,he has not scored anywhere near enough goals and hes gone back to being lazy.At the start of the season he really was workin hard and puttin defenders under pressure.If he was even doin that now,wed forgive his goals per game ratio.Fergie gotta spend big come january or we are in for a tough time.Doesnt matter if the prices are inflated cos its worth it if we overhaul liverpool in terms of league titles

Smegball

Tevez is appearing to be nearing his latter West Ham form and the form of his first season at United which is discouraging, hes hardly a nothing player to be fair but was overpriced for what he does offer.

Valencia is doing great I think so far, just needs to cross the ball earlier at times.

Owen is proving excellent back up and a reliable sub to have.

Berbatov needs more time, been out the last while, I'm still not sure he will ever fully "click" though, seems to me a lil overawed at the responsibility and price tag on his shoulders. Still one of my favourite players to watch mind!

Dempsey

The Muppet wrote: »

I and many other United fans said he wasn't worth the money being asked for him well before he left. 3 goals last season was not good enough for a striker at United.

Do you think he is a £25 to £40 million striker depending where you get the valuation ?

I think the scenario he was in was a huge factor in team selection and form. When United finaly decided that he wasnt going to get a permanent deal, that affected the players confidence and motivation, its human nature so dont give me that professionalism nonsense please.

Tevez scored 15 goals for United last season, Berbatov scored 14.

In hindsight, imo, United coughed up the money for the wrong player. Ferguson must regret that because I believe that he could have gotten far more out of Tevez if his contract problems were ironed out.

Give me Tevez over Berbatov everyday of the week.