UK Media Blast Bulgaria Striker Berbatov over Blackburn Tie

Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov holds his head after a heavy tackle during their English Premier League soccer match against Blackburn Rovers at the Ewood Park stadium in Blackburn. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian Manchester United striker and football star, Dimitar Berbatov, became Monday the subject of strong criticism in a number of British media over the team's game with Blackburn.

The Premier League football match at Ewood Park stadium in Blackburn ended with a tie and Berbatov failed to fulfill expectations of scoring for his team in the absence of star performer Wayne Rooney. Media reports offer comments that his contract with “Old Trafford” has been a mistake and question Berbatov's future with the team.

Daily Telegraph writes: "While Blackburn’s organization and defensive discipline contributed to their success in emerging with a point, United only had themselves to blame for their failure to win the game. The culprits in red shirts were numerous, but the principal offender proved to be Dimitar Berbatov, who again appeared to be suffocated by the pressure of filling Rooney’s boots.

At GDP 30.75 M, the Bulgarian has been an expensive mistake. Rarely has he delivered on the big stage for United, but it was a painful experience watching the 29 year-old toil against Sam Allardyce’s team... Berbatov failed to inject the inspiration that oozes naturally from Rooney. And when he had chances to score, he displayed anything but the touch of a clinical finisher."

Berbatov is also blasted by "Times": "Nobody encapsulated United’s frustrations or limitations at Ewood Park more than Dimitar Berbatov, who, somewhat fittingly, slipped on his backside with not another player in sight in the 86th minute to roars of laughter from the Blackburn faithful.

In Rooney’s absence, the Bulgaria striker was asked to the lead the line alongside Federico Macheda and, one good pass to tee up Antonio Valencia for a glorious chance in the first half aside, produced the kind of performance that must make Ferguson wonder he is worth persisting with beyond the summer, regardless of the huge financial hit that United would inevitably take.

When Berbatov was not moping around, head bowed, he was tearing into team-mates, throwing his arms in the air in condemnation, even when they had not erred. At other times he was castigating them for minor mistakes. And he wonders why he has a reputation as a sulker? He was perhaps nursing a deep sense of injustice from being overlooked against Bayern four days earlier, when a half-fit Rooney was preferred to him to lead a one-man attack.

His irritation in that respect was understandable, but given the underwhelming contribution he has made to United since his GDP 30.75 M move from Tottenham Hotspur almost 20 months ago, is this really a player who is in a position to start belittling or berating his team-mates?

Macheda, Nani, even Ferdinand, they all got it, but with time ebbing away and United needing a fulcrum for their attack, Berbatov’s response was to drift deeper and deeper and, as such, Phil Jones, Blackburn’s increasingly impressive young centre half, and Ryan Nelsen, on as a substitute for Christopher Samba, were subjected to far less pressure than they might have imagined.

And when the opportunity did arise for Berbatov to make the decisive intervention, he fluffed his lines, first shooting straight at Paul Robinson, the Blackburn goalkeeper, when well placed, and screwing an effort wide. They were the kind of chances club-record buys are expected to convert."

Criticism in "Guardian" is more subdued: "Lacking the injured Wayne Rooney, United struggled in the face of some obdurate Blackburn defending with Rooney's replacement, the deep-lying Dimitar Berbatov, cutting an increasingly frustrated figure.

As Dimitar Berbatov dropped ever deeper, Manchester United fans may have wondered if Sir Alex Ferguson's friendship with Sam Allardyce is exactly healthy. Manchester United's manager and his Blackburn counterpart are great pals – they were together at Aintree last week – and specialize in creating off-field siege mentalities. Indeed they could almost be called soul mates.

Fair enough but as Berbatov at times filled both the right-back and defensive midfield positions, leaving Federico Macheda toiling alone up front, one wondered if the managers' friendship had gone beyond a shared dislike of the BBC and mutual admiration for trade unionism. Is it spilling over into on-pitch affairs?

Increasingly frustrated with team-mates, the Bulgarian lacks the capacityto lift them in the way Wayne Rooney customarily does. Berbatov, for all his technical brilliance, quite simply does not boast the charisma and dynamism of a Cristiano Ronaldo or an Eric Cantona and singularly failed to bring Macheda into things.

Instead Berbatov – gesticulating increasingly despairingly to team-mates in the wrong place and cursing Rovers defenders insisting on clipping his ankles – continued retreating," are just part of the “Guardian” comments.

The UK "Eurosport" version is also very critical towards the Bulgarian striker and captain of the National Football Team: "Recent matches have disproved the theory that Berbatov would be a world beater if he put in a bit more effort. Berbatov is trying harder than ever, and he has never looked more badly out-of-sorts," the publication notes.

Dimitar Berbatov has scored 12 goals in the Premiership league this season and ranks second in Manchester United, only behind Wayne Rooney.

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