Berbatov v Cantona

ThatOldRedMagic

OK you guys, bearing in mind that I have always admitted that I am no football tactician, and that neither am I versed in the finer, nuanced points of individual play, I'd just like to ask those of you who are more expert than I in these matters whether you think there are potential similarities between our latest signing and King Eric? Could Berbatov develop a similar role, and in fact achieve similar status in terms of his performance and contribution?

What thinks the Caf on this matter?

bcubed

Doesn't appear to have much of a chest to stick out!

Jury's out for me, time will tell.

Red_Jamie

Yeh time will tell... I'll stick my neck out and say that he'll get the number 7 should Ronaldo leave though...

Ole_Gunnar

Red_Jamie

haha... er .. when?

Ole_Gunnar

ThatOldRedMagic

But leaving Ronaldo aside...

A1Dan

Not exactly cutting tactical analysis, but:

I would expect more goals from Berb... looking for him to get at least 1 in 2, which is above what Eric managed.
I would not expect him to have nearly the overall influence on our play, or create as many. He doesn't have to, given the other players we have, so he can stay further forward and get goals.
I'm not sure that he'll actually kick any oposition fans in the chest.
He may say interesting htings, but they probably won't quite achive that air of gallic mystery that Eirc managed.

ThatOldRedMagic

How disappointing!

Yes, the Seagulls and so forth are unlikely to be repeated I guess.

Red_Jamie

I'd agree with most of that.. But i would say that he's probably as close to the reincarnation of the King as we're gonna get

born&raisedred

the charisma and ........nope can't think of much more.....wait both are pretty cool, didn't cantona smoke. footballing wise cantona on another level, but berbatov hasn't kicked a ball yet my mind is ther to be changed

Red_Jamie

Not just the charisma.. there's an ease, an essence and a swagger about them on the pitch that creates an illusion that they're not trying as hard but are still better than most others.

ThatOldRedMagic

Well put.

Giggsy PO

Giggs said he is very similar to Cantona.

A1Dan

While there are definite similarities with Eric in attitude and style, I think an article I read that said he is actually more like the new Teddy Sheringham may have got it about right. Combination of guile and intelligence with physical presence in the box etc...

kanchelskis14

Not sure if Cantona is 'on another level' footballing wise to Berbatov. I reckon Dimitar has every chance of being at least as good a player for us as Eric, i feel they have similar levels of ability too, maybe Cantona being a bit better, dunno.

born&raisedred

cantona was big and strong like a clasical english centre forward, deceptively quick, good in the air, cool at the penalty spot, aggresive and got stuck in (a little too much at times). this was combined with galic flair, superb touch and vision and a penchant for the incredible. i'm not saying berbatov won't be great for us but the lad hasn't kicked a ball yet, so i'll with hold my judgement

djemba's arse

Footballing wise, Eric shades it for me.

As far as personality and charisma goes, it's not even a contest.

A1Dan

More than shades it for me - he's head and shoulders above what we've seen from Berbatov so far. As many people have said, only time will tell what we eventually make of him, and he certainly has the potential to become a great, but he's got a lot of work to do to be talked about in the same breath as Le Roi...

Scholesy_LEGEND

If Berbatov can get anywhere near Cantona's influence, it'll be a great achievement already.

Hope he can influence the kids i.e. nani, anderson, fabio, rafael, foster, wellbeck, campbell and evans too. Rooney and Ronaldo are still kinda young, mind. Hope he has a great training discipline and ethics.

lao

I think the addition of Berbatov is vital for the progress of Rooney. He's been having to hold the line, and while he's only 22 years old he's been our most experienced forward the past year. He's had no one to learn from or look up to, and this hasn't improved his eye for goal or composure in goal scoring positions. Berbatov is suave personified, and if Rooney doesn't get influenced by his calm then he never will.

VII

Agree, the only other being di Canio. All 3 do the unconventional, the unexpected, things mere mortal players do not even have the courage to try.

It's a shame we missed out on di Canio because Yorke refused to go to Middlesboro.

Instant Karma

If he didnt learn that from Ruud and Ole, he probably wont find anyone who is better to teach him.

Sultan

Cantona had a stand out presence about him which made him unique. On the playing field he was a catalyst which transformed United into champions.

Ever since it had been speculated United were interested in signing him, I took an interest and watched Berbatov closely, and he definitely has reminded me so much of Cantona. He has somewhat similar footballing qualities - vision, close control, and an eye for the spectacular.

I very much doubt Berbatov will ever match the character, charisma, and give the presence what Cantona gave the team, in that sense he was unique.

Dominant

Feck, I was shattered we couldn't get di canio. He would have been majestic for us.

EZee

cantona would take him in a fight...

hope this helps...

Spoonatov

Ibrahimovic also has that Cantona-like presence.

Striker10

I reckon Berbatov will be our catalyst in europe where as Cantona did it mainly for us in the league. I think he'll give us more confidence to play our game in europe.

With English teams strong in europe now and with ourselves in the last two years getting to the semi finals and then winning it, I think his biggest impact will be felt there.

I'm sure he'll do well in the league naturally but just a suspision, because the team is there . When Eric came we hadn't won the league and we obviously weren't as confident as we are now and certainly it took us a while to develop composure in Europe but we never quite made it

Berbatov comes with a bigger reputation then eric had but he made his legacy on the park and as Berb said, his time is now.

KingEric7

He won't come close to impacting the team as much as Cantona did, but that's an unrealistic thing to expect of any potential signing.

I would agree that Ibrahimovic is the closest you would get to that.

RedDevil#26655

Spoonatov

djemba's arse

Eh? Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but I strongly disagree. Zlatan has the presence of a cocky teenager.

The only player I can think of that had the same kind of effect on a team was Zizou late in his career. Just having him on the field gave your team a boost, and had the opposition already wondering how much they were going to lose by.