Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, England, Featured, Manchester United

It was one of the most protracted transfer sagas in Premier League history.

Even the turmoil that surrounded Carlos Tevez’s move to Old Trafford last season didn’t last as long as this.

But, finally, Sir Alex Ferguson has his man. I use the term ‘his man’ strictly, because, whilst it would have been much easier to buy a Santa Cruz, Eto’o or Huntelaar, Ferguson was adamant that only the Bulgarian would suffice in his attempts to perfect his front line.

The Scot has stated many times that the higher up the ladder you go, the more difficult it is to bring in players of equal or better quality. And whilst the aforementioned strikers would surely all have scored goals for United, Ferguson was singular in his direction, to go and find one of the leading lights of world football. A player who could not only find the net but bring out the very best in others.

And what a player Berbatov is. In case you haven’t yet fully appreciated his talent, just go to any compilation of his skills on YouTube. Most of these videos could be described as works of art, and not because of the editing.

It has become cliché that United lack a centre-forward in the traditional sense of the word – a physical presence that can hold the ball up and bring others into the attack. Recent success negates this suggestion to a certain extent but in Berbatov, perhaps United have found the last number in the combination lock – the player who can finally bring the European domination that Ferguson has always craved.

The last time United won the Champions League they couldn’t sustain that level and floundered in the competition for most of the following decade. But the current squad, packed with youth, outrageous skill and Berbatov, surely compares favourably to United of ‘99.

As usual, the bookies have backed Chelsea to win the League and Champions League this season.

Indeed, the Blues have added to their already formidable squad with Deco and Bosingwa, but will this really give them the spark to go the final few yards?

Last season they ground out scores of crucial results but never really impressed as a football team. And this season they seem to have started where they left off, looking decidedly uncertain after taking the lead. Of course, it’s early days for Scolari but it usually takes a few years to develop a team that plays with fluency and apparent telepathy.

United still play more like a team and this could be decisive come the Spring. They might well be playing catch-up at the turn of the year, but with away games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool already out of the way, United’s run in will be far easier than that of their main rivals.

So, despite the assertions of the bookmakers, I firmly believe it is United who will again dominate the honours list this year. Chelsea, and perhaps Arsenal, will come close but United seem more complete in every area of the pitch compared to their peers. And in Berbatov, they have another of the few players in world football that can make an audience gasp. His debut at Anfield this weekend should be one to remember.

Murray is Mint

Regardless of whether Andy Murray beats Roger Federer in the US Open Final, the England team surely has a lot to learn from the sulky Scot. Because, at the top level of sport, skill and psychology are equally significant. Whilst players like Lampard, Rooney and all of our goalkeepers consistently succumb to the pressure to perform and the antipathy of the fans, Murray has confounded the critics by breaking into the tennis elite. Murray beats players that are regarded as better than him while England can’t even tonk Andorra, and regularly lose to seemingly poorer relations.

The main difference between Murray and the England team is that the Scot really doesn’t care if everyone hates him. He just wants to win. He beat the world number one on foreign soil in a stadium that was overwhelmingly behind Nadal. The England players need to develop this thick skin if they are going to start commanding respect on a world level.

Tags: Alex Ferguson, Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, Dimitar Berbatov, England, Liverpool, Manchester United

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