Arguably the biggest one of the season, in terms of subject matter.
Berbatov or Tevez?
This seasons question, Berbatov or Tevez? Many fans wonder why this
discussion has occurred, well it's really quite simple. Two strikers
are used in our general formation, we all know Rooney is virtually
first choice, leaving one space left and two players wanting that spot,
those two players are obviously Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov. As
this season has shown, much of the time Sir Alex Ferguson has preferred
one over the other to play with Rooney, hence why a lot of people have
been asking this question.
Two different strikers, Tevez brings
fantastic energy and completes our counter attacking trio along with
Rooney and Ronaldo that proved to be a devastating yet very
entertaining force last season, whereas Berbatov brings a calmness to
the team, which in some instances can be useful.
So let's start
with Tevez. A huge fan favourite among United fans, has shown so much
talent in his last two years with us, shown us a lot of respect, and
even when he is knocked back, is still determined to fight his way into
the United first team and fight for a permanent contract. His energy
and speed on the field helped United to create a devastating force last
season with Ronaldo and Rooney creating lightning quick counter attacks. This attacking trio won three trophies last season, out of a possible five with the team winning the big two of the Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League, alongside the Community Shield.
Now
let's turn to Berbatov, slow start along with the rest of the United
team, has had a few magical moments, is seemingly not bothered by
anything, good amount of assists, a pretty decent goal tally, but still
I'm unimpressed. You can talk about the Actim statistics all you like,
but if you honestly believe than Kevin Davies, James Milner, Denilson
and Agbonlahor are all better than Wayne Rooney, whether it be the
impact made this season, or just in general, well then you'd better
think again.
Berbatov has shown he has skills, he has a great
first touch, great ability to pass, but question is, is this all
neccessary? The answer, in my opinion is no. A great first touch is all
well and good, but if you've only got a handful of players with a great
first touch, it becomes useless, especially if there isn't an out and
out striker with a great first touch. Great ability to pass, doesn't
this just scream out midfielder? Carrick, Fletch, Scholes, Anderson and
Hargreaves are all good passers, some better than others. We all know
Carrick is a magician with his ability to pass, and perhaps isn't
praised enough for that ability, which is why I'm wondering why Berba's
ability is neccessary there.
Ability to read the game, also
great, however because he is also very unselfish, it really doesn't
work. He reads the play, but you can always see him walking slowly
towards the box about ten-fifteen yards outside the area, just as a
cross is going in, even though almost all of his goals have come from
five yards out. It seems like he wastes a lot of his "midfield" set ups
by not being on hand to help finish off the move, so in this instance,
its great to be able to read the game, but to use it to its fullest is
something he hasn't mastered.
It may seem at this point that I
am being heavily biased against Berbatov and to an extent I am, so just
to balance it out a bit, I'll highlight the negatives of Tevez. He's
not the best technically, he doesn't have all the glitz and glam of a
player like Berbatov and also not the best at finishing, but he is a
grafter, and that's what makes him a fan favourite.
People
wonder why Berbatov doesn't score that many, well fact is he doesn't
shoot that often, and while in some instances thats good, he seems to
waste a lot of perfectly good opportunities, opportunities which
someone like World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo would've taken,
hence why we saw Ronaldo storm his way to being the best player in the
world after last season's spectacular 42 goal haul. After all you can't
score 25 goals if you've only taken 20 shots.
Now to the
valuations, Berbatov, is he worth £31million? Put simply, no. It's not
all about his effort, or all about his age, but it's about combining
everything, he was 27 when we bought him, he is in the prime of his
career and yet he's had a mediocre first season and so there are only
likely to be 2 more seasons where he has a great chance to prove
himself to the maximum. I still believe that we could've bought a "back up" striker for £10-£20million and do just as well as we have done this season. Whereas Tevez on the other hand, is £32million,
you know he's trying, he had a great first season, he is 25, so we're
going to get the better years of this kid, whilst he's improving at the
same time and improving along with the team and learning to play the
fast counter attacking football along with some of the best players in
the world.
Recently Tevez has seemingly been upset as to how the
club have been treating him, by not using him when he could be used,
and by not committing to signing him up, even though he's proven his
worth and quite rightly speaking out in my opinion, but when it's
Dimitar Berbatov, speaking out against Tottenham because he's given up
trying to help them (which began at the end of his first season) and
wants to move on, even though, when he was at his best, helping Spurs
out by actually trying, they were certainly in with a chance of
breaking the top four grip.
We've got a Bulgarian striker, who
is more of a midfield player, and then an Argentine work horse, who'll
never give in until he's got the job done. So to conclude, who would
you rather start up front alongside Rooney- Tevez or Berbatov? I know
who I'd rather.