NO BLAME

The Fulham manager Martin Jol has said that he will not be blaming the goalkeeper David Stockdale for the 2-1 defeat suffered by Fulham against Swansea during the weekend. After a great start to the new season, Fulham have been struggling in the last few weeks.

As a result, they have slipped out of the top half of the table and they are currently closer to the relegation zone. The 2-1 defeat against Swansea has left the team with just one victory in the last 12 matches. This has increased the pressure on the manager, who was instrumental in bringing Dimitar Berbatov to the club.

David Stockdale did not have a great game after he made mistakes that led to the two goals scored by Swansea, but the manager refused to blame him for the defeat. He has said that it is normal that players make mistakes and he does not criticise them. He has also praised David Stockdale by saying that he is a very good goalkeeper, who just happened not to have a great Christmas. Jol has also said that both goals scored by Swansea were extremely simple, which could have been prevented easily. The defeat has now left the club in the 14th position.

“I can’t blame 90% of my players. They gave everything, they did everything. The only one who didn’t have the best Christmas Day was my goalkeeper and he’s a very good goalkeeper. I won’t blame him but you can see that we gave them the two goals – simple. I feel that the first goal we presented to them and the second goal was almost a Christmas gift,” said the Fulham manager, whose team and just four points clear of the relegation zone. They will face highflying West Brom, who are in the seventh position, next weekend.

BERBATOV DOES WORK HARD

The Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov has dismissed the suggestions that he did not work hard when he was at Manchester United by saying that he gave his all for the Red Devils. The 31-year-old Bulgarian striker recently completed his move to Fulham in the summer after growing frustrated at the lack of first-team opportunities at Old Trafford.

Only a few seasons ago, he was £ 31 million signing from Tottenham. However, the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson did not pick him off and due to his lack of interest and work rate. Ferguson has always relied on players like Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher, who have immense work rate.

Yet, Dimitar Berbatov has said that he did work hard while he was at Manchester united, but he was simply not given the opportunities during the tail end of his career at Old Trafford. In the four years he spent at Old Trafford, Dimitar Berbatov made 149 appearances for the team. He scored 57 goals in the process, while also becoming the Premier league top scorer during one season. He has made an excellent start to life in West London after helping Fulham secure a lot of points from losing positions this season.

“I left Manchester United with my head held very high. I gave 100 per cent and no one could doubt my performances, especially when you compare how many minutes I actually played. I was the Premier League’s top goalscorer in 2010-11 and never wanted to be on the bench. Perhaps I needed to play more but I always accepted the manager’s orders. I never considered myself to be a star – only a forward working for the team,” said Berbatov. Berbatov came extremely close to leaving England altogether after almost signing for Fiorentina before joining Fulham on the transfer deadline day.

BERBS HAPPY WITH FULHAM MOVE

The former Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov, has said that he is very happy to have signed for Fulham. He was not enjoying his time at Manchester United at all and he should have taken the transfer one year ago.

Berbatov joined Fulham on 31st of August which was the last day of the pre season transfer window. Berbatov has joined the club on a contract of two years. According to the Man Utd news, Fulham has paid a transfer fee of 4 million pounds for buying Berbatov.

Berbatov made his debut for Fulham against West Ham United. That match was played on 1st of September at Boleyn Ground, London. Fulham had to suffer a comprehensive defeat in that match. West Ham United won that match by a profound margin of 3-0. Berbatov didn’t start that match, but, he came to play as substitute at the start of the second half. He didn’t look in great touch, but, that was only his first match of the season and he could be expected to play better in the further matches.

The West Ham team was playing on its home ground. A large no. of fans was out there to support the home team and they would have been delighted with the performance of their team in the match. The West Ham took the lead in the very first minute of the match when Kevin Nolan latched on the cross of Andy Carroll and blasted the ball into the goal post. Winston Reid doubled the lead of West Ham in the 29th minute with a fantastic header.

Fulham got into deep trouble when Matthew Taylor found the net just a few minutes before the half time. The West Ham defenders did a brilliant job for their team and didn’t let Fulham score even a single goal throughout the match. Fulham will play its next match against West Bromwich Albion on 15th of September at Craven Cottage.

Signing of the Summer

There have been many eye catching signings over the summer; many obvious due to their big money nature and some less so due to their relative understatement. Three of the real bargains that could have a huge impact on this year’s Premier League are Moussa Dembele (Tottenham), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham), and Michu (Swansea).

Dembele has been acknowledged as great player for a long time during his stint at Fulham. He’s powerful and direct driving the play forward from deep positions. He’s the kind of great out-ball a defender looks for when camped out in his own half.

He doesn’t necessarily play as a deep lying midfielder although this could become his position after Modric left for Real Madrid. He probably fits best into the final third and could feature as one of Andre Villas Boas’ four attackers. Villas Boas needs something of a reprieve from one of his new signings or his tenure at Tottenham could be as difficult as his brief time at Chelsea.

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Dembele doesn’t score a great deal of goals but where coming to expect less conventional return from the old fashioned positions. He’s a man that instigates moves and commits players from deep.

Clint Dempsey will be the man to score most of the goals from midfield giving Tottenham a seemingly nice balance in the centre of the park. Dempsey plied a quiet and hugely effective trade at Fulham scoring a deluge of goals from the midfield (21 goals in all competitions 2011/12). Dempsey was Fulham’s player of the season last year and was much in demand this summer.

Michu has already scored 4 goals for Swansea this season, joining from Rayo Vallecano for an impossibly cheap £2m. Michu scored 15 La Liga goals in 2011/12 making him the most prolific midfielder in Spain’s top flight. Potentially bargain of the season.

BETTER TO MOVE ON

Manchester United’s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov has said that it is in the best interests of all the parties concerned that he leaves Old Trafford this summer. The 31-year-old has been linked with a move to Germany and Turkey in recent months.

Even though manager Sir Alex Ferguson said during last season that he expected Dimitar Berbatov to stay at Manchester United, the former Tottenham star has grown frustrated with life on the bench. Despite having scored many crucial goals for Manchester United at over the past few seasons, the 31-year-old has been left on the bench by the manager Sir Alex Ferguson due to the presence of younger players like Danny Welbeck and Hernandez.

Even though Manchester United signed him for as much as £ 31 million back in 2008, it is thought that they are willing to accept an offer of just £ 5 million for the striker. Turkish club Galatasaray have been linked with a move for the striker, but the Bulgarian failed to disclose any details about his next club in the new press conference. However, he said that it is in the best interests of all the parties that he moves away from the club in the summer.

“The truth is, I love this club, but I am not going to be useful to anyone if I am not playing. And I want to play, I want to help. But for unknown reasons it’s not going to happen, or my chances will be limited, so it’s better for everyone if we say goodbye. If not, I am professional and I will keep doing everything I can to help my team and my team-mates, whenever I have opportunity to do so,” said Berbatov. Bayern Leverkusen were the first club to show an interest, but they have dropped out of the race.

BERBS WILL GO

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has been linked with a move away from the club for quite some time now, but manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that the club will not be looking to sell the player for a low transfer fee.

Manchester United paid £ 31 million to Tottenham for his services a few years back and it looks like they are not willing to part without receiving some of the money back. Even though the 31-year-old striker will be allowed to leave the club, Sir Alex Ferguson has said that none of the older players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes will be allowed to leave the club.

Sir Alex Ferguson managed to convince Paul Scholes to come out of retirement at the age of 37. Many thought that the Champions League final appearance last season would be the fitting finale for Paul Scholes to retire, but huge number of injury problems during the middle of the campaign required Sir Alex Ferguson to bring back the veteran.

However, it is thought that Manchester United would be making a number of signings in midfield in order to strengthen this area, which has raised doubts regarding the future of Paul Scholes. Ferguson, however, has said that he wants to keep the older players in order to provide experience to the younger players.

“We won’t be letting him go for nothing. Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs will be here next year and, unless someone makes an offer we want for Berbatov, he will, too,” Ferguson told The People regarding the future of players like Dimitar Berbatov, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs. It looks like just United will not be able to celebrate their 20th Premier league title after they saw Newcastle United lose against Manchester city on Sunday. City can win the title if they win against QPR on the final day of the season.

BERBS MIGHT MOVE ON

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov could leave the club in the summer according to his agent.

Manchester United recently took the option to extend the contract of the Bulgarian, who could have left the club as a free agent in the summer, by another year. It was expected by many that it was a move that ensured another season of football at Manchester United for Dimitar Berbatov.

However, his agent has recently confirmed that the Bulgarian is more likely to leave the club at the end of the season, with United already in agreement with the player over the proposed move.

Dimitar Berbatov’s agent Danchev met Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. According to him, Ferguson is in the process of building a new team at Manchester United and that he does not see Dimitar Berbatov as part of it. Due to the fact that United are looking to build their next team based on speed and agility, it seems that Ferguson has decided to leave out the likes of Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen in this process. Hence, Danchev revealed that United will not be posing any troubles to Berbatov in his attempts to leave Old Trafford.

“We should accept that he’ll try to build a team for the next three or four years and Berbatov will not be part of this team. Ferguson wants to change the playing style, to implement more speed. I was pleased with United’s position as they said they’ll not oppose Berbatov’s move in the summer,” Danchev said in a recent press conference. It is not known whether United will demand a transfer fee for the Bulgarian, who signed for Manchester United for a record £ 31 million back in 2008. He has been largely marginalised this season due to the arrival of Danny Welbeck.

JOL DISTANCES FULHAM FROM BERBATOV

Fulham manager Martin Jol has said that his club will not be trying to sign Dimitar Berbatov in January.

Dimitar Berbatov played under Martin Jol at Tottenham and was extremely thankful for the Dutchman for reviving his career. Berbatov became one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League under the guidance of Martin Jol and it has been very much thought that the Fulham manager will be trying to sign the Bulgarian striker from Manchester United. Dimitar Berbatov performed exceptionally well in the initial few months at Manchester United, but he has been extremely marginalised this season.

There has been a lot of rumours regarding the future of the Bulgarian at Manchester United. Even though Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that there have been a lot of interest from European clubs, Fulham are thought to be one of the front-runners for the Bulgarian. However, Fulham manager Martin Jol has now ruled out the speculation that he is trying to sign Dimitar Berbatov. There is no doubt that Fulham are looking to sign a new striker in the January transfer window, in the hopes of moving clear of the relegation zone and also challenging for European qualifications. Other strikers linked with Fulham include the likes of Raul, Hugo Rodallega, and Andre-Pierre Gignac.

“Dimitar Berbatov is at Man United and is quite happy. And if he moves I don’t think it will be possible for our club to get him, you know? He is certainly a very good striker, he was very good for me, but it is just paper talk,” Martin Jol said in response to the question regarding the paper speculation about Dimitar Berbatov moving to Fulham. He also said that Fulham will be looking to sign a much younger player than Dimitar Berbatov.