Misunderstood

Today's main story is on Berba's comments yesterday in which it seems like he's dissing Sir Alex.  Not sure where the problem is here - all Berba is saying is what everyone else was saying for ages.  Those who didn't like him would say, "why keep him, he's rubbish and you never play him," while those who did like him would say, "why keep him, you never play him, let him go somewhere where he can get games and show his talents.  Either way there was the perception that Sir Alex had got it wrong with regards to Berba.  And that's all Berba seems to be saying (You can watch the video of him making the comments here).  Here's his quotes from The Guardian:

"I don't think I deserved such treatment at United – not playing in the last year," said Berbatov. "I went more than 10, probably 15, times to ask the coach if they need me. And every time I was told that I'm an important player and should not leave, but then again I was not in the team.

"Maybe I should've gone when he [Ferguson] left me out of the squad for the Champions League final [in 2011]. I know he's the boss, but he has lost, to some extent, my respect because of the way he treated me." ...

"He [Ferguson] tried to explain to me that the team will be using a more direct style, with more speed," he said. "But I've never been among the fastest players, I like to hold the ball, this is my style.

"I found it hard to accept his decision – I still have my dignity. I scored many goals, I won the league two times, and I was the league top scorer, so it's not bad.

"I'll have no problems playing against United as this already happened in my career. But there's no point to look back again. I said goodbye to the people, who deserve it. I couldn't say goodbye to Ferguson."

Yes, it's a little strong in places (and there's always the problem of translation, as we'll see), but considering how well he took his treatment when he was with the club I'm sure we can allow him a little blowing off of steam.  And even then he still stays within certain bounds, saying he's only lost respect for Sir Alex "to some extent."

The Daily Star and The Mirror obviously got someone who didn't understand Bulgarian to translate Berba's Bulgarian, as The Daily Star come up with this:

The striker, who made a £4m switch to Fulham last week, said: “The manager told me that the game is changing and that I’m becoming a little useless. I don’t think I deserved this.

“I have my dignity, I tried to fight but it didn’t work out.”

And The Mirror very similar, I'm very confused where that comes from, unless it's from the imagination of an asshole.

The Sun are the only other paper (perhaps suggesting that it's a tabloid thing to go for the sensational translation, so kudos to The Mail for drawing back on their tabloid tendancies) that go anywhere close to that translation, but they add words to make it less silly:

“I feel bad about all that’s happened in Manchester. I didn’t deserve it. But the coach decides.

“He told me he is changing the way the team will play and I’m not useful any more.

“I have my own pride. I saw things were not going as expected. There is nothing to be ashamed of. I won two titles, I became the top scorer.

“I said goodbye to many people at United who deserved it. Not to all, because I didn’t see them all.

“I didn’t speak to Ferguson. Maybe I should send him a letter.”

Here, he's only useless in the context of the way Sir Alex wants to play, which is better, and they've added the letter bit, which is kind of funny, whether he said it or not.  The Sun do go a bit overboard by calling it   "one of the most vitriolic attacks on Sir Alex Ferguson by any former Manchester United star."  If that's the worst he's had then he's pretty lucky I'd say.

The only other thing about is some comments from Vidic, on Sir Alex and van Persie:

"The manager is an inspiration for us," Vidic said. "Every year he has that hunger to win. He has set up that mentality in the dressing room. It is no coincidence that Manchester United have won so many games in the last minute … this is what the manager is asking from the players, to always go for the win. You are never happy with the draw. You are always going to the end and you never stop." ...

"He is a fighter and he is not scared to play a hard game as well," said the captain, Nemanja Vidic, who knows a thing or two about hardness. "We like him at United for that, I think. Away from home against Southampton he is not scared to receive the ball and have defenders on top of his back. This is important if you want to be top goalscorer here."