There was a lot of furore surrounding Dimitar Berbatov’s goal celebration after he scored for Fulham, in the Boxing Day draw against Southampton, when he unveiled an under-shirt with the words: “Keep calm and pass me the ball.”
People claimed it showed arrogance and disrespect to teammates, but in actuality it revealed the sense of humour that was lacking from some. Moreover, it revealed a truth at Craven Cottage.
Going into their match against Swansea, Fulham sat in 14th place in the Premier League courtesy of a run of form of just one win in eleven league matches, and although that sequence features good away draws at Arsenal and Chelsea, it has undone a decent start to the season that had them at one point as the league’s highest scorers outside the top four.
Manager Martin Jol has put their on-pitch struggles down to injuries. Playmaker Bryan Ruiz has missed several games with a hamstring problem, but returned to the starting line-up against Swansea, while Damien Duff, Mahamadou Diarra and Mladen Petric have been absent for several games.
So Jol’s argument could have some worth, but just as contributory to their downfall has been the failure of available players to step up; all except Berbatov.
The Bulgarian is Fulham’s top-scorer with six goals and also has three assists, but this doesn’t do justice to his overall contribution. Even in terrible defeats like the 4-0 at Anfield, Berbatov was the stand alone performer for The Cottagers, producing touches of class which are, quite frankly, lost on a team which severely lacks a creative presence when only one or two players, such as Ruiz, are unavailable.
The departure of Clint Dempsey was obviously significant here, but Fulham have already proved this season that when their squad is at full-strength they can challenge in the top half of the table. What they need is depth, which is fortunate with January around the corner.
Until then, however, Fulham should consider Berbatov’s message. Yes, it is arrogant, but one of the things that makes him such a special player – one who Sir Alex Ferguson spent £30million on and Fulham snapped up for a bargain at just £4million – is arrogance. He wants the ball and given the things he is capable of why not give him it.
It could be construed as disrespectful to teammates, but for their response to the message, which was more than amiable.
So, despite the fact that Berbatov probably holds the perspective that he is currently a big fish in a small pond (and frequently his play suggests the same), there is no reason why Fulham shouldn’t listen to his advice, at least until reinforcements arrive.
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