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Sunday, January 31, 2010

BIG MONEY SIGNINGS !!!!!

A thrilling cup semi-final between local rivals should be the perfect stage for talented, big-money signings. But what were the contributions of Dimitar Berbatov and Robinho, the record buys for Manchester United and Manchester City, on Wednesday night? Absolutely nothing.
It is too late for Robinho to salvage his career at Eastlands. He slunk away back to Brazil last week and I will be surprised if he ever returns. Real Madrid generally don’t sell world-class players and Robinho just hasn’t been good enough. His main contribution was generating headlines for City rather than what he did on the pitch.
The worry for United fans is that Berbatov, who turned 29 yesterday, is going the same way at Old Trafford.
If you pay £31million for a centre forward, you expect him to be picked for the big games. Yet Berbatov was on the bench for the Champions League final against Barcelona, on the bench against City and will almost certainly be on the bench when United play their crucial League game at Arsenal this afternoon.
Infuriating: Dimitar Berbatov has continued to frustrate United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
It suggests Sir Alex Ferguson has lost confidence in the player, never a good sign for someone who wants to be a success at Manchester United.
Everyone rightly raved about Wayne Rooney’s sensational turn and first-time pass that set up United’s first goal against City at Old Trafford. But let’s remember, it was only turned into a brilliant pass because Ryan Giggs made a fantastic run from midfield and had the composure and ability to control the ball without breaking stride.
Sir Alex will have wondered why a 36-year-old can make that kind of run and Berbatov can’t. It is why he is not in the team and why Rooney does not seem to be missing him.
Berbatov is clearly a talented player. Some of his touches and awareness want to make you stand up and applaud. But I watch him and think he could always give 15 or 20 per cent more to the team. And if that frustrates me, it must be sending Sir Alex mad having fought so long and hard to get him from Spurs, and to persuade his own money-men to break United’s transfer record.


Whereas Eric Cantona could get away with not chasing back, darting about and generally letting his teammates do the donkey work, Berbatov can’t because he doesn’t have the same presence or aura as the Frenchman. It has been a struggle for him.
He has five months to sort it out, I feel, or Ferguson may contemplate making a major decision in the summer. Has Berbatov got the self-belief and conviction to turn things around, particularly while he is hampered with a knee injury? We shall have to see. The struggles of Robinho and Berbatov have illustrated once again that there are never any guarantees with big money signings. There have been plenty of examples of that.
When I was a young man, Manchester City broke the British transfer record for a midfield player called Steve Daley. Within a couple of years, he had been virtually given away to an American club.
An Italian called Gianluigi Lentini became the world’s most expensive player in 1992 at £13m when he joined AC Milan. He achieved very little at San Siro before a serious car accident set him back. How many fans remember him? The ‘first’ Denilson is another example. The Brazilian was the world’s first £20m player when he signed for Real Betis but never settled in Europe and, like Robinho, ended up going back to Brazil on loan.

On the money: Betis president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera celebrates Denilson's arrival
Let’s be honest, Robinho has been a fish out of water at City, a huge disappointment considering he is the most expensive player in Premier League history.
The owners made their statement of intent, but I can see why Roberto Mancini has agreed to let him go. He didn’t make sense in terms of the team and didn’t put the work in.
Berbatov has not been as bad for United — he did win the title after all. But in that team, he should be scoring 25 goals a season. We have seen the occasional flicker of his talent but you rarely see him running around the park.
Perhaps Rooney makes him giddy with all the running he does. And when things don’t go to plan, he is the first to shrug his shoulders.
Maybe the pressure of being at United has got to him. I experienced two huge leaps in expectations, when I went from Leicester to Everton, and from Everton to Barcelona. Personally, I enjoyed the added pressure. My weakness was being motivated for the ‘lesser’ games. Berbatov might not feel the same.
He was fantastic at Spurs and the supporters idolised him. They are not a small club but you don’t have quite the same demands there. It must have hurt him to see how the United fans begged Ferguson at the end of last season to keep Carlos Tevez. In his heart, Berbatov must know he has more ability than Tevez but that relentless energy and drive made Tevez more popular.
Berbatov’s own market value is closer to £20m than £30m now. He won’t want to leave – he will want to turn things around at Old Trafford. But that is never easy from the bench.

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