Reuters Soccer Blog

Soccer Break Monday

Welcome back to a new week of football stories but not before we’ve taken you through our roundup of the weekend’s action around Europe.

What was your highlight? Milan’s loss in Italy which breathed new life into the Serie A title chase, or the ability of the leaders in England, Spain, France and Germany to win no matter what?

Dimitar Berbatov’s late strike for Manchester United certainly produced a large sigh of relief from the red half of Manchester as well as several of my colleagues.

The Bulgarian is an interesting character. Read here for a look at a player who could well be a shoe in for the player of the year award but who remains a little difficult to work out.

There were few if any highlights from the last few days as far as Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is concerned. Hit by luggage, dropped from the Italy squad, when will it ever go right for the gifted yet temperamental youngster?

Would you like him at your club? Which manager do you think would have the best chance of taming him? Surely Roberto Mancini has as good a chance as anyone with his Italian.

Now this week is a first for Soccer Break with internationals on the horizon. Any Wolves fans out there? proud to see Matt Jarvis in the squad? Well deserved we say, there’s not been a harder worker in the Premier League over the last 12 months and Jarvis will be hoping he can help Wolves avoid the drop.

Brilliant Berbatov finally arrives for United

Dimitar Berbatov chose the perfect moment to finally endear himself to the Old Trafford crowd on Sunday with a superb hat-trick that earned Manchester United a much-needed 3-2 victory over fierce rivals Liverpool.

The mercurial Bulgarian, whose Premier League career has been peppered with sporadic moments of brilliance at both United and former club Tottenham Hotspur, began the new season under pressure to find consistency and, most importantly, the back of the net.

Seven goals in six games suggest the United number nine is intent on ticking both boxes this time around.

Ever since swapping Spurs for United back in September 2008 for a reported 23.4 million pounds, Berbatov has split opinion among British media and Premier League fans.

A total of 26 goals in his first two seasons with United would normally be seen as a steady start but too often Berbatov attracted criticism for a poor contribution in matches where he was not finding the net.

Questions were asked about the 29-year-old’s languid playing style, which can be interpreted as genius when he is at his best but quickly morphs into disinterest and laziness when he fails to make any impact. His ability to create a useful partnership with United and England talisman Wayne Rooney has also been under scrutiny.

This season though has begun very differently. Berbatov, fresher after deciding to retire from international soccer and sporting a new trim and tidy haircut, seems intent on being the all-round striker Alex Ferguson’s side need if they are to successfully topple champions Chelsea.

UPDATE: Predicting the scores — round 12

TUESDAY UPDATE: Whatever you think about the penalty which gave Liverpool a 2-2 draw with Birmingham, it certainly made a difference to our prediction league.

Miles Evans got a full five points for correctly predicting that score while he was even more pleased that John Terry ignored some newspaper headlines and secured a 1-0 win for Chelsea over Manchester United.

That game was our double pointer for the weekend so Miles received 10 points and finished as our top scorer for the weekend with 16 overall to jump into fifth place.

One of our contributors, Sean, did even better because he even specified that Terry would grab the only goal with a header. Where’s your crystal ball, Sean? I desperately need it! Have an extra five points.

Here are the updated scores for the Reuters Soccer Blog panel. Please let us know how you did in the comments.

Reuters Soccer Blog panel: Patrick Johnston 117, Paul Radford 102, Mitch Phillips 93, Mike Collett 88, Miles Evans 86, Simon Evans 85, Kevin Fylan 78, Mark Meadows 77, Julien Pretot 74, Neil Maidment 67, Asia Sports Desk 55, Justin Palmer 38, Martyn Herman 28, Sonia Oxley 26    

North London derby offers little hope to prediction paupers (UPDATE)

******Monday morning update, by Kevin Fylan: This was the weekend that the Reuters Soccer Blog panel struck back. Mark Meadows managed a stonking 22 points from the 10 games, the first time we’ve really had a score to shout about. Can anyone beat that? Leader Patrick Johnston got a solid 13, while Neil Maidment has made a great leap forward with 18. In any other week, Neil…******Remember, you bag five points for getting the score spot on, and just one if you got the result right but the wrong score. Here’s our updated league table. Where do you stand?******Reuters Soccer Blog panel: Patrick Johnston 105, Mitch Phillips 89, Paul Radford 87, Mike Collett 76, Simon Evans 74, Mark Meadows 72, Kevin Fylan 71, Miles Evans 70, Julien Pretot 69, Neil Maidment 62, Asia Sports Desk 53, Justin Palmer 38, Martyn Herman 20, Sonia Oxley 10 (plus belated bonus from last week, =15)******Original post from Friday: It’s that time of the week again. Yes time to humiliate ourselves by hopelessly trying to guess which Liverpool side will turn up, how many players will be out with swine flu and whether Dimitar Berbatov will actually resemble the good player he is supposed to be.******Apart from Mitch Phillips, who downright cheated, last weekend’s Premier League predictions contest was a sad tale of woe for all and this time it looks just as tricky.******Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur is always a feisty affair, just ask any North Londoner (not that there will be many on the pitch). ******Even avid Spurs fans (you know who you are) would be hard pressed to deny that Arsenal play the most beautiful football in England but Tottenham are seriously threatening to break into that top four this term and what better way to show your worth that to win away at the Gunners.******The derby will be our double pointer for this week. Remember one point for the correct result and a massive five for the correct score.******Below are the running scores for our not-so-expert panel at Reuters Soccer Blog Heights followed by this weekend’s fixtures and our predictions. Please play along in the comments and see if you can rival our top contributors like Chipking, Sean and maid.******Playing Saturday:******Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur: Patrick Johnston 5-2, Mitch Phillips 2-2, Paul Radford 2-0, Simon Evans 1-2, Mike Collett 2-3, Kevin Fylan 2-4, Miles Evans 3-1, Julien Pretot 3-1, Mark Meadows 1-1, Asia Sports Desk 3-1, Neil Maidment 2-1, Justin Palmer 2-2, Martyn Herman 3-1, Soxley 2-2******Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea: Patrick Johnston 1-2, Mitch Phillips 1-1, Paul Radford 0-3, Simon Evans 1-2, Mike Collett 0-2, Kevin Fylan 1-2, Miles Evans 2-2, Julien Pretot 0-2, Mark Meadows 1-2, Asia Sports Desk 1-3, Neil Maidment 0-2, Justin Palmer 1-1, Martyn Herman 0-2, Soxley 0-2******Burnley v Hull City: Patrick Johnston 2-0, Mitch Phillips 2-1, Paul Radford 2-0, Simon Evans 3-2, Mike Collett 4-1, Kevin Fylan 2-1, Miles Evans 1-1, Julien Pretot 1-1, Mark Meadows 2-0, Asia Sports Desk 1-2, Neil Maidment 2-0, Justin Palmer 1-1, Martyn Herman 2-1, Soxley 1-1 ******Everton v Aston Villa: Patrick Johnston 1-1, Mitch Phillips 1-1, Paul Radford 1-2, Simon Evans 1-2, Mike Collett 1-2, Kevin Fylan 1-0, Miles Evans 2-2, Julien Pretot 1-1, Mark Meadows1-1, Asia Sports Desk 1-2, Neil Maidment 1-1, Justin Palmer 2-0, Martyn Herman 2-2, Soxley 1-1            ******Fulham v Liverpool: Patrick Johnston 1-0, Mitch Phillips 2-2, Paul Radford 1-2, Simon Evans 0-1, Mike Collett 1-2, Kevin Fylan 2-1, Miles Evans 0-1, Julien Pretot 1-2, Mark Meadows 1-1, Asia Sports Desk 1-4, Neil Maidment 1-2, Justin Palmer 2-3, Martyn Herman 2-1, Soxley 0-2            ******Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic: Patrick Johnston 1-1, Mitch Phillips 2-0, Paul Radford 1-2, Simon Evans 2-2, Mike Collett 2-1, Kevin Fylan 0-1, Miles Evans 1-2, Julien Pretot 1-0, Mark Meadows 0-0, Asia Sports Desk 0-1, Neil Maidment 1-2, Justin Palmer 0-0, Martyn Herman 1-1, Soxley 0-1         ******Stoke City v Wolverhampton Wanderers: Patrick Johnston 3-0, Mitch Phillips 2-0, Paul Radford 2-0, Simon Evans 2-1, Mike Collett 1-1, Kevin Fylan 2-0, Miles Evans 4-1, Julien Pretot 2-1, Mark Meadows 1-1, Asia Sports Desk 1-1, Neil Maidment 3-1, Justin Palmer 3-1, Martyn Herman 0-0, Soxley 0-0******Sunderland v West Ham United: Patrick Johnston 2-1, Mitch Phillips 2-0, Paul Radford 3-1, Simon Evans 2-1, Mike Collett 3-1, Kevin Fylan 0-0, Miles Evans 1-2, Julien Pretot 2-0, Mark Meadows 2-2, Asia Sports Desk 1-1, Neil Maidment 2-2, Justin Palmer 0-1, Martyn Herman 1-2, Soxley 3-2******Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers: Patrick Johnston 2-1, Mitch Phillips 3-1, Paul Radford 1-0, Simon Evans 5-0, Mike Collett 3-0, Kevin Fylan 4-0, Miles Evans 2-0, Julien Pretot 4-0, Mark Meadows 2-0, Asia Sports Desk 3-0, Neil Maidment 3-0, Justin Palmer 3-0, Martyn Herman 1-0, Soxley 2-1          ******Playing on Sunday:*** Birmingham City v Manchester City: Patrick Johnston 0-1, Mitch Phillips 2-1, Paul Radford 0-3, Simon Evans 0-2, Mike Collett 1-1, Kevin Fylan 1-2, Miles Evans 1-2, Julien Pretot 2-2, Mark Meadows 1-2, Asia Sports Desk 0-3, Neil Maidment 1-3, Justin Palmer 1-2, Martyn Herman 0-3, Soxley 1-2******PHOTO: Robbie Keane (L) of Tottenham Hotspur is tackled by Arsenal’s Bacary Sagna during their English Premier League soccer match at White Hart Lane in London February 8, 2009. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Vlog on the pitch — transfer deadline day

Owen Wyatt is joined by a sober-shirted Jon Bramley to discuss the deadline day transfer deals.

Will Manchester United be unstoppable now they have added Dimitar Berbatov to their line-up? Can Robinho cope with the whole rough and tumble of life in the Premier League? And speaking of which, are Manchester City the new Chelsea?

Feel free to leave your comments below, or send us a video of your own looking at this or any other issue in football. Let us know the url and if we like it we’ll host it right here.

Old Trafford is just the place for a maverick like Berbatov

Manchester United has proved the natural home for maverick showmen in the past and Dimitar Berbatov can become a worthy successor to those who have graced Old Trafford before him.

The 27-year-old Bulgaria captain, who joined United after two memorable years at Tottenham Hotspur, should instantly win over United fans who have previously worshipped strikers like Denis Law, George Best and Eric Cantona.

Berbatov has outstanding balance and control, is capable of devastating finishes and boasts the deftest of touches. He displayed all those qualities in Tottenham’s thrilling 6-4 Premier League win over Reading last December when he scored four times.

Among his goals was a superb shot on the turn, executed in a way that made it look simple when it was anything but, and he blasted home another shot that nearly took the net off its supports.

Read Mike Collett’s full appreciation of Berbatov’s talents on our main website here.

PHOTO: Dimitar Berbatov looks back during Bulgaria’s friendly against Bosnia in Zenica August 20, 2008. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj