BERBATOV TURNS FROM SCAPEGOAT TO HERO

THEY said Dimitar Berbatov would be the new Cantona when he signed for Manchester United.

For 55 minutes at a frustrated Old Trafford it was tempting to wonder if it meant the Bulgarian was being lined up for a role in the next Ken Loach film.

Fans love their scapegoats and the £30million striker was rapidly in danger of becoming a tormented but isolated soul.

He'd missed three acceptable chances in the first half, was strutting around in his usual languid style and was so casual the United physio must have wanted to check his pulse.

Shortly after half-time the patience of the faithful appeared to snap.

"Come on Berbatov you lazy . . ." a voice chirped above the 70,000 disgruntled souls. Fill in the gap yourself.

Five minutes later the striker displayed agility normally beyond the capacity of a man of his stature - controlling, turning and volleying brilliantly past Paul Robinson and making you realise where his talent lies.

By the time he was subbed for Michael Owen 12 minutes from time he was getting a standing ovation. Fickle? As United boss Alex Ferguson would testify, that's modern football.

Berbatov's no Cantona. He doesn't show enough charisma or consistency to deserve to be placed on that pedestal.

But Fergie will no doubt argue the fleeting moments of genius justify his fee.

The timing of his strike here may rate as one of the more important of his United career if it sparks a winning run.

With Chelsea and Arsenal setting the standard earlier in the day, the erratic champions looked in danger of falling off the pace. Instead they secured the kind of scruffy win title challengers rate as compulsory at this stage of the season. Not thrilling, not fluid, but a job done without much fuss.

Of course, you need a sense of perspective whenever you come to Old Trafford. Let's not forget a crisis here means United are in second place.

Such are their standards, occasional setbacks are gleefully pounced upon as evidence Fergie will soon be checking slipper sizes and getting a taste for pipe tobacco.

A glance at his programme notes served warning he's not looking wistfully towards the retirement sunset yet.

"We are the league champions but watching our performance at Anfield you would never have guessed it," he wrote, the Glaswegian scowl virtually echoing off the page.

"Liverpool were deserved winners and now we have to do something about it."

If United suffered at the hands of a wounded beast a week ago, this time you expected them to be snarling tigers.

Their tame start suggested the United players hadn't read Fergie's notes.

They were initially subdued by an organised Blackburn, themselves reeling from a hammering at Chelsea.

The bravery of Sam Allardyce's defenders hinted that last orders must have been served at that so-called 'Old Boys' Club'.

Steve Bruce denied Ferguson victory here a fortnight ago and the United boss' supposed ally-in-chief Allardyce couldn't have asked his players' for much more to try and claim a point.

He had the United faithful sweating until Wayne Rooney's cute second two minutes from time.

Roberto Martinez take note. This was not a good night for the conspiracy theorists. There's been a mounting campaign to pour more criticism on Fergie, demonstrated by the bizarre goings on of 'Martinezgate' in midweek.

United's recent performances offered grist to the mill for some churlish efforts to provoke further investigation into the merits of his outstanding successes.

What his detractors fail to recognise is when you've won 10 league titles in the course of 15 years, it doesn't just make you bulletproof, it creates a ring of steel.

CLINCHER: Rooney makes the game safe

Some would have you believe every trophy Ferguson has won has been due to a joint conspiracy between referees, an old boys' network of managerial allies, the FA and a gushing media. Here's some breaking news those who don't like United ought to let through their blinkers. They've won the league so often because they've been consistently the best side. They've made the best signings, had the best manager, built the biggest stadium and won the most games and rarely lost matches against inferior opponents.

When the slightest chink in the armour is spotted - and there have been plenty already this season - there will be no shortage of excitable upstarts desperate to knock Fergie off his perch.

Until such time, the Premier League rivals would be well advised to end their obsession with United and start dousing the flames in their own homes.

In fact, one suspects Ferguson is secretly delighted he continues to get under the skin of those seeking to displace him. It tells him their attention is shifted in the wrong direction.

If managers such as Martinez deliver one league title during the course of their Premier League career, they wouldn't look like infants trying to take on the senior school bully.

That said, it will have been his own players Ferguson was most angry with this week. He must have needed a replay of his pre-match warnings at half-time to kick his men into gear.

He could point to injuries for the initial lack of ruthlessness, although that's never got in the way of trophy-hunting before.

Both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were sidelined with calf injuries. There was also a suggestion Ferdinand was traumatised by claims his debut film production Dead Man Running was a reconstruction of his efforts to catch Fernando Torres last weekend.

The trio of Rooney, Berbatov and Antonio Valencia gradually established their influence before half-time when the Bulgarian could have grabbed a hat-trick.

Twice he was denied by Robinson and and a Rooney flick ought to have been dispatched seconds before the interval.

The strikers eased any nerves, ensuring a couple of shocking sitters by Gabriel Obertan and Owen didn't matter.

The same might now be said about that Anfield defeat.

• FERDINAND INJURY KO
• VAN'S DER MAN FOR FERGUSON
• UNITED SET TO BUY BACK SHAWCROSS
• UNITED TREATING NEVILLE WITH KID GLOVES

This article has 9 comments