Why Dimitar Berbatov has every right to feel bitter about his exit from Man United:

One of the more predictable moves of the transfer window was lanky Bulgarian striker, Dimitar Berbatov, he of Man United fame for the last four years, making a swift move down south to join up with Martin Jol’s Fulham. The 31-year old was shipped into Craven Cottage towards the end of the window on a two-year deal and will, obviously, be a like-for-like replacement for the recently departed Clint Dempsey, who has defected to fellow London club Tottenham Hotspur.

Now, I say predictable as it seems that Berbatov’s departure from United has been on the cards for quite some time now. Some might say it’s been coming for over a year – consider that the leading scorer for United in the 2010-11 season was left out of the Champions League final squad of the same season and you can kind of piece together Berbatov’s scenario.

He had fallen way down Sir Alex Ferguson’s pecking order, behind Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez, and the emergence of youngster Danny Welbeck (who Ferguson often started with Rooney last season) further confirmed that he was surplus to requirements at Old Trafford. Doesn’t it seem a little harsh, though? It seems, from the outside looking in, that with the way Man United have been playing in the last couple of years, Berbatov’s style never suited the way the team played. Fast-paced, to the wings, deadly service to the front men – the classic United way.

The Bulgarian’s languid style was said to have slowed down the tempo of the team’s attacking play. But, come on, who’s denying his general class? Great first touch (one of the best in the top flight), superb awareness and he knows where the goal is. He’s very similar in style to Eric Cantona before him – if he could fit into the United way (he was the epitome of it) then why couldn’t Berbatov? Maybe Ferguson just didn’t like the look of him – and we all know that if you fall out of favour with the ruthless Scot, you’re halfway out the door anyway.

Now, following his departure from the Manchester club, Berbatov stated that he said goodbye to the people that mattered but opted to renege on his farewell to Ferguson, stating: “I know he’s the boss but he has lost, to some extent, my respect because of the way he treated me.” Some may say it’s sour grapes, a sulky snipe at his former employer. I’m inclined to disagree, as the man was brought into Old Trafford to plunder goals – and that he did. To have fallen so far down the strikers pecking order so soon after finishing a campaign with 20+ goals, it just strikes me as very strange.

A tad harsh on a man who – I feel – can be unjustly referred to as a ‘lazy’ type of player. Hey, we all love a chaser – a player who never gives up a lost cause – but strikers are paid to put the ball in the net. If Berbatov doesn’t cover as much grass in one shift as, say, Antonio Valencia but scores a hat-trick (as he did on a couple of occasions for United) then surely he’s earned his corn.

The Bulgarian international will be no stranger under Jol, as he worked under him during his stint at Spurs, so you can imagine he will take no time in getting used to the Dutchman’s methods and tactics down in west London.

He’ll certainly enjoy a better run of first-team action and it’s a chance for him, if anything, to prove a point to his former employers that, even though he is 31 and coming towards the end of his career, he can still cut it in the top flight. Not many walk away from Ferguson and become better off than they once were but, on this occasion, I think it might be the exception to the rule. The Fulham faithful might not miss Clint Dempsey too much after all.

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