The departed 9

The whole will he-won’t he, when will he, why hasn’t he saga is done. Craven cottage’s new number nine is Manchester United‘s old number nine. That much, is known now. The murmurings, however, will go on for a while to come.

In the red corner, are the never-really-convinced fans who always had felt that Berba never made the cut; they always felt that the golden boot season was a mere flash in the pan. In the white corner are the Berbatov-the-God-who-was-poorly-treated-and-deserved-better fans who always felt that he was given the raw deal, so to speak; the short end of the stick. The attacks and counter-attacks amongst the sets of fans seem to be something that might just go on for a while yet.

One must, however, follow a middle path, perhaps. This chronicler attempts to do just that.

When Berbatov was brought in on transfer deadline day for a record fee, Manchester United fans were ecstatic. After a couple of years of near-nothingness in terms of high-profile signings, the capture represented a coup of sorts. It must, however, be pointed out that fans, in their welcome, were not unequivocal. There were the doubters who questioned how he would fit into the system.

His performance over the next season did not really do much to swing the naysayers with Ronaldo stealing the show and Sir Alex opting to use Berbatov fairly sparingly, certainly not as extensively as a 30 million signing would have been expected to be used. However, he did show flashes of absolute and sheer brilliance; something that just gave a glimpse of why Sir Alex had elected to splash the cash. Particularly memorable were this outrageous piece of skill against West Ham, and the second half of this incredible game against Tottenham when Tevez, Ronaldo, Rooney and Berbatov played together and it just clicked. The scoreline tells you the rest.

The next season was what was to be Berbatov’s chance at Manchester United. Tevez and Ronaldo were gone. There was no replacement of note. The season, however, did not really pan out as he or United fans quite wanted it to. Rooney stole the thunder that season, hogging pretty much all the limelight until his fateful injury. Berbatov did not really step up to the plate as United fans hoped for and United ended up losing the title, winning only the League Cup. Again, his performances were brilliant in patches but his naysayers were not swayed.

His third season at Manchester United was a watershed one for it was the season when he finally came good, or so it is thought. 20 league goals; the golden boot; a Premier League winner’s medal; not bad, one would think. What should’ve been a crowning season was ended on something of a sour note when he was not even included in the squad for the Champions League final with the pretty much non-existent, for most parts of the season, Michael Owen in his place. A blow, if there ever were one.

To his credit, Berbatov did not really make too much of it. He did not badmouth the club, nor did he take Sir Alex head-on in public. What went on behind closed doors, one can only speculate but in public, Berbatov did express his displeasure over the event but, to his eternal credit, did not do much else.

The next season, what would prove to be his final at United, was something of a slow dance towards the inevitable death with only 21 appearances in all competitions and only 12 in the Premier League. In the end, it was a question only of when rather than if he would leave. Again, for the entirety of his stay, he did little or nothing to express his displeasure and perhaps, and not unacceptable, disgust at his situation.

Now that he is gone, there are fans who are most unhappy with Sir Alex and his treatment of Berbatov. Perhaps they have reason to be riled. In Sir Alex’s mind, the thinking was quite clear. United’s pace was to be upped and in this scheme of things, Berbatov did not really go well into. As a result, Hernandez and Welbeck went ahead of him in the pecking order. In the limited chances that he did have, he did not do himself any injustice but the fans who expected more will always want more.

It is said that he is lazy but in truth, he is languid. There is this lazy elegance that not everyone possesses; he does. Time seems to stand still when the ball is at his feet. This is graceful and is likened to poetry in motion. Perhaps it is. However, in the overall scheme of things and build-up play, beautiful as it is, it is simply counter-productive.

Fans slag Sir Alex off for being utterly unfair to Berbatov and never giving him a fair chance. If truth be told, he did give him the chances. In his first three seasons, Berbatov made 43, 43 and 42 appearances and scored 47 goals. Not a bad return but not something exceptional either. However, the gripe that most people had was that he was lazy and did not really try hard enough. He’s just not Tevez was a common cry. That is indeed the truth. He is not Tevez. He is Berbatov. Sir Alex is wise enough to not let these accusations cloud his judgement. He knew what he was getting for the money he was paying. The not-trying was not a reason. There is something more.

If one watches Berbatov on the pitch, one will watch him idle around the halfway line, loitering aimlessly from time to time. It does indeed look like he does not care but he really does. All that is beside the point. The other factor that Sir Alex most definitely would have noticed was his attitude and the influence he exerted on the younger players.

Watch Berbatov play. He will pull off something that one can scarcely believe; he will bring the ball down with an absolutely exquisite piece of control that will leave most gaping. However, when things are not quite going right, he becomes cranky; and extremely so. He starts wanting every ball played to his feet; not an inch away; and if it is slightly off, he goes off on a tangent and starts exuding negativity. Now this is not something a young player wants on the pitch, especially when things are not going right. This is what must have played on Sir Alex’s mind.

Dimitar Berbatov was brought in with a purpose. He was to provide that something else. He was to fit in like a hand into a glove. He did provide something else; unfortunately, that something was not the something that was envisioned. He fit like a hand in a glove; but the glove proved to be changing, and, unfortunately, the size of the hand stays static. Such is life.

Dimitar Berbatov is a wonderful footballer. He got to play for a club that fit his stature. He was seen as a successor to the king. In the end, he did not end up being quite that. Yet, he gave us some moments of pure and unbridled joy with exasperation in equal amounts.

Dimitar Berbatov, is an artist, much like George Valentin. In the movie, the world moved from silence to talkies. In the real world, United moved on. Eventually, Dimitar did too.