Afternoon lads, been a good day/weekend for the reds, but thought I'd try to focus on the future of our favourite languid striker; Count Berbatov.
Berba has said to the Sun:
"It's sad and painful, but you need to be strong and prepared when your team-mates need help.
"It's just about being ready. We are a team and we want to win together."
"I'm ready and waiting whenever the boss gives me a chance to show my quality and deliver.
"I want to do as much as I can to help us win the title"
Sounds like he has the right attitude and looks likes he is committed to the club, but can we afford to keep him just as a bench sitter (and recently, not even this). He has fallen well behind Rooney, Welbeck & Hernandez in striking options. And with the age differences between the 4 of them, he doesn't appear to have a huge long term future at Utd.
Personally I think it's too late to sell him on (for anything more than £10mil) and at this point it makes more sense just to keep him until he retires.
What do you guys think? Should we sell to get anything back, or does he still have a lot to offer?
Future of Berbatov
posted on 12/3/12
I think that if a respectable offer from abroad (PSG?) comes in, we should/will sell him.
There's no way he will stay beyond next season with the same playing opportunities. We will just leave on a free then.
posted on 12/3/12
We have Rooney, Welbeck and Hernandez who are all younger and more suited to the way we play.
Owen and Berbatov should be moved on in summer. You would imagine that between them they are earning in the region of 150,000 a week in wages with Berbatov earning a good chunk of that. That's about 8m per year give or take a few quid.
FAR too much for players that contribute very little.
posted on 12/3/12
He has the right attitude, yes, and I still think we can afford him. But as you say, he has fallen way down in the pecking order.
It's a tough one, as it's nice to have a player as talented as him offering us something completely different. But we do play a lot deeper with him, and Rooney has a bit less space on the ball.
I'd say if a good offer comes in, we should probably sell him for the sake of his career. I certainly wouldn't make moves to go out and sell him unless Fergie had a replacement in mind.
Owen might be gone in the summer, allowing a slot for Will Keane to possibly fill
posted on 12/3/12
He needs to move on and show the world how good he is. I could see him fitting in perfectly in Italy.
It is a shame that he isn't more involved at UTD... but our table position once again shows that SAF knows what he is doing.
At the end of the day though, I want to see him play, even it is for another club... Simple.
posted on 12/3/12
Owen might be gone in the summer, allowing a slot for Will Keane to possibly fill
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I think Owen will go in the summer, he's just got his coaching badges, and even asked on Twitter if any clubs are looking for a player manager.
posted on 12/3/12
I think his time is up. Better for him and the club if he moves on. He has made a contribution but he has never felt like a perfect fit for United. Partly down to luck, partly to incompatible styles, partly his slightly lacking in that 'demented winner' attitude that our best players have had.
Secondly, I think having fewer strikers competing for the first XI wouldn't be a bad thing, in that it would give us the scope to play three in the middle, with Rooney / Welbeck / Hernandez / Young / Valencia / Nani competing for spots in a fluid front three. I'm not saying bring no one in to replace him, but that it needn't be someone in the £30m bracket.