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With Javier Hernandez grabbing all the headlines at the moment and Wayne Rooney enjoying a decent return to form, Dimitar Berbatov has been confined to a reduced role on the periphery despite being the Manchester United’s and the Premier League’s top goalscorer. With the Bulgarian overlooked for selection in their recent crucial Champions League knockout fixture against Marseille and in the FA Cup tie against Arsenal, it does beg the question, will Berbatov ever earn the full trust of his manager Sir Alex Ferguson to perform against the most difficult of opponents?

In recent seasons, and to great success it has to be said, Man Utd manager Alex Ferguson has opted for a 4-5-1 formation against his nearest and greatest rivals as well as in important European games. Berbatov has often proved to be the fall guy in such tactical shifts as the Bulgarian does little to shed his flat-track bully status with his lacklustre performances to date when he has been given a chance.

Man Utd’s surprising 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the beginning of the month cannot be attributed to Berbatov’s presence, for the striker started on the bench, but the crucial change was not in personnel but in tactics and formation, with the Scot switching to a 4-4-2 formation with Hernandez partnering Rooney up front.

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This move not only exposed the frailty and lack of urgency in the Man Utd midfield, but also highlighted what a poor move it was to shift away from the tried and tested 4-5-1 formation in big games such as these. The formation’s success was born out of necessity earlier on during Berbatov’s Man Utd career due to his relative lack of penetration and influence on games of consequence. Ji-Sung Park, so often derided by some, has proved pivotal in making the 4-5-1 formation work in recent seasons and the South Korean is undoubtedly a big-game player; his absence may have forced Ferguson into the unwise formation change against Chelsea and to dire effect.

It is rare for a player to top the league’s goalscoring charts yet not be completely assured of a place in his own side’s starting eleven. Berbatov is undeniably having his finest season in a Man Utd shirt, brought about by his insistence on being in and around the penalty area for longer spells and a deliberate focus and refusal to drop deep to instigate play quite so often.

Everyone knows that Berbatov has the touch of an angel and that he’s capable of producing the sublime out of nothing, but in the big gameshh as Shcteve McClaren aptly named them, he has been found wanting at times and despite his successful season so far he still fails to garner the full faith of Ferguson it would appear.

He boasts a more than respectable return of 41 goals in 91 league games for Man Utd yet in Europe, Berbatov has rather shockingly failed to trouble the scorers for the past two seasons and he has a fairly pitiful record of 4 goals in 20 games overall.

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On the continent, Ferguson often relies on the 4-5-1 formation discussed on the previous page, yet without the magicial Ronaldo or the in form Rooney of last season to make the telling difference, Utd have struggled to excite in Europe this term and they look far from a side capable of winning the competition at present.

Berbatov is presenting his manager with a headache though. His goals in the league are difficult to ignore, even for someone as stubborn as Ferguson. Berbatov was top dog earlier on in the campaign, but with the clinical Hernandez coming to the fore recently and Rooney’s re-emergence beside him, there is a school of thought that Berbatov’s lethargic playing style only serves to prolong Rooney’s insipid displays further on the pitch.

This is of course through no fault of his own; Berbatov has had a great season so far and without him, Man Utd would not be the frontrunners for the title, yet Rooney remains the club’s key man and the system which gets the best out of him remains the system of choice for Ferguson.

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At the moment, the fantastic movement and energy of Hernandez has helped spark Rooney back into life and Berbatov will have to make do with cameo appearances like he had against Bolton – what will force Ferguson into a change of thinking though, is to continue to make telling and crucial contributions to the team like he did against Bolton with his 88th minute winner from the bench.

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Until the aforementioned Chelsea game, Ferguson had made changes to 165 consecutive match day line-ups, making a complete and utter mockery of the media’s fascination with Rafa Benitez’s rotation style. However, it appears rotation is the name of the game at Man Utd at the moment and if anything is certain around Old Trafford these days, it is ever-changing make-up of the starting eleven.

The continued stream of goals has made what was once an easy decision to drop him a difficult one, but the secret behind his success has been a subtle reinventing of his game from one that instigates attacks to a player that finishes them off – herein lies his route to big game redemption; the role of the consummate poacher, a tag he’ll have to wrestle from Javier Hernandez first to prevail. Rooney remains bafflingly undroppable despite evidence to the contrary for most of this season, yet while he retains this lofty status, it is up to Berbatov to provide something different in what has turned into an intriguing contest for a first-team slot with signing of the season Hernandez.

Berbatov will get his chance once more in a big game, such is the relative weakness of Utd’s midfield and the comparative strength of their attack; but until Berbatov starts to make a telling impact against these bigger sides, he will not gain the full trust of Ferguson to do so on a consistent basis.

Check out Man United’s representative in the Top TEN solo goals of all time…

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It’s always a good feeling to blow out the cobwebs. When you’ve spent the last few weeks running on almost empty and you’ve only just been managing to get through the day, it’s nice to sit down, relax and take the load off your feet. And, as Manchester City showed last weekend, footballers are just like the rest of us when it comes to that arena. The demolition of Sunderland resulted in City’s biggest winning margin of the season and, coincidentally, the biggest since they had demolished Burnley at Turf Moor exactly a year to the day earlier.

In the last few weeks, it’s been very difficult to see just where City were going to get their goals. Tevez was stuck on 50 and whatever he tried just didn’t come off. Dzeko has looked isolated when played as a lone striker – he can’t play the Tevez role because very few players can; the little fella’s quite unique like that. Balotelli has weighed in with the odd one, but attention has been distracted by his new hobbies of darts and karate.

In fact, I’ve said several times that, when Tevez isn’t scoring, City have struggled. True, the solidity of the defence has come in handy in those weeks – if you can only score one goal a game, clean sheets are vital and Joe Hart has 23 of the buggers so far this season (he’s closing in on the club record held jointly by Joe Corrigan and Nicky Weaver). So, while City have been out of form, it hasn’t affected the league position so badly.

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Now, though, one international weekend later, and a rest for some of the City players, and it’s almost as if a completely new Manchester City have emerged. One that has pace in the attack, rather than one that would keep possession well but rarely trouble their opponents. One that was happy to move the ball quickly, rather than one that wanted three or four touches per player. One that looked dangerous, rather than one that looked toothless.

Ignoring the obvious performers, for once – because it does feel like the plaudits (and quite rightly, too) always end up going to the usual suspects in de Jong, Kompany, Tevez, and Hart – the game with Sunderland produced some good performances from players that have, for one reason or another been missing recently.

To start with, Yaya Touré wasn’t playing football like he was a metaphor for an elephant trying to disco dance. Instead, he was sharp, his passing was on target, his runs weren’t laboured and lethargic, and, not only did he use the ball well, but he used it intelligently. Since the end of January, it was almost as if he couldn’t work out what he should be doing with it: he was taking it from the defenders and, when he had the opportunity to turn, he would play the quick return pass to try and open the space for someone else. When it needed that quick ball to the other centre-back, he’d try and turn on it. His passes would go astray and he looked knackered.

Fast forward to last Sunday and you could see the effect that a weekend off had had on him. He was actually injured for the Ivory Coast’s game after picking up a knock at Stamford Bridge and so didn’t feature for his country, but it was clear that he had needed it. He was an ever-present in City’s packed run of fixtures – eased now due to no cup replays and elimination from the Europa League – and, for the last month, it had looked like he could barely run.

Not anymore, if Sunday was anything to go by.

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Then there was the reintroduction of Adam Johnson. On his first start since his injury, he was instrumental in City’s victory. He scored the first, and then he continued to supply dangerous crosses and create numerous chances. He wasn’t afraid to take on the full back and he was there to stretch the Sunderland defence. While Silva and Balotelli and Milner and Kolarov can do a job in the wide areas, none of them hugs the touchline in the way that Adam Johnson does.

Without him, City tended to look very narrow because… well, because they ended up playing very narrow. With him out on either flank – because he is comfortable on either left or right foot, meaning no-one knows when he’s going to head for the line or cut inside – the opposition defence can’t sit as tightly and pack the middle as much as they would like. This gives Tevez et al slightly more space to do their work.

And, if anything, Tevez’s touch just hasn’t been right recently and that’s down to, in no small part, the number of opposition players he has around him and the lack of support he sometimes finds himself with.

With Johnson dragging the defence out to one flank, and, on Sunday, Balotelli dragging them out to the other, not only was there space for the little forward to exploit, but plenty of room for the midfield to get into the box and support him – Silva scored because of a break from midfield, Yaya Touré scored because of a break from midfield…

Despite such a good attacking performance, though, it seems very unfair not to comment on the strength of the defence. I wrote at the top of this article that Joe Hart is closing in on the club record for clean sheets in a season, but he has, in no small part, been helped out by his defence. Vincent Kompany has been drawing the plaudits, but it’s Joleon Lescott who has really stepped up to the plate.

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He was shaky when he arrived and shaky for the most part when called upon last season, he has looked a completely different player since the turn of the year. He was a surprise inclusion in the derby squad in February and has barely put a foot wrong since coming into the team, looking strong and solid. In fact, I would go as far as to say he has formed the best centre-back pairing with Kompany in the Premier League in the past two months, despite my obvious bias and limited viewing of other pairings.

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There should also be a notable mention here for Dedryck Boyata, too. He isn’t a full back, though you’d never have guessed with the way he played there on Sunday and against Chelsea way back at the start of the season. The future’s bright for this one.

And all this after a weekend when Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal dropped points! This isn’t what City are supposed to do: surely, the correct thing to do would be to miss out on yet another opportunity to grasp onto that Champions League place? Third isn’t exactly out of the question, but it’s quite a challenge, despite City sitting there at the time of writing (it all depends on how many eggs Chelsea put in the attempting to win the Champions League basket, in my opinion). Meanwhile, fourth is looking increasingly difficult for Tottenham. Not only do they find themselves six points behind City, but, should they win that game in hand and beat City in their upcoming tie, the goal difference is still a large obstacle.

With an FA Cup semi final to look forward to and the heels being dug into the top four positions, everything appears to be coming up roses for City. Which begs the obvious question: who are they?

And what have they done with the real Manchester City?

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It is win or bust for Arsenal at the Reebok tomorrow afternoon as two consecutive draws has all but killed off Arsene Wenger’s hopes of ending their six year trophy drought. The French boss is confident that his squad is more than capable of winning honours and therefore is unlikely to be spending big in the summer.

At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Arsenal blogs that includes the six things we learnt about the North London derby; Wenger’s temper tantrum embarrassing, while we look at Arsenal’s biggest transfer battle this summer.

We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week.

*

The Greatest Premier League Goals Of All Time…YOU DECIDE!

The TEN positives to take from Arsenal this season

SIX things we learnt from the North London Derby?

Arsenal’s biggest transfer battle this summer?

Are local derbies losing their sense of occasion?

Will UEFA initiative ensure equality for all football clubs?

Temper tantrum at the Emirates was embarrasing

A major influence over Wenger’s transfer policy?

What actually makes a BIG club then?

Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs do battle for £15m Serb

A real sign of things to come at Arsenal FC?

Arsenal and Chelsea on transfer alert as French ace keeps options open

*Best of Web*

There are only three things wrong with Arsenal… – Online Gooner

Arsene Wenger ready to serve up another quiet summer – Le Grove

Two faces of Arsene Wenger – Adams to Squillaci, Henry to Bendtner says it all…. – Highbury House

Spending Big Is Not The Right Answer. Spending Wisely Is. – A Cultured Left Foot

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How would you spend Wenger’s £40M summer transfer funds? – Have your say – Gunnersphere

EXCLUSIVE: Ray Parlour’s take on our season of woe – Arsenal Insider

Transition or change? – Online Gooner

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Click on image below to see Riccardo’s good lady

Avram Grant believes his West Ham side is playing so well they deserve to stay in the Premier League.West Ham are three points from safety and bottom of the Premier League table and face Blackburn at Upton Park on Saturday with the chance of moving within three points of their relegation rivals.

“We want to stay in the league, we believe that we can stay in the league, we believe that we deserve to stay in the league. We are playing football that deserves to stay in the league,” Grant said.

The West Ham manager called for focus ahead of Saturday’s game and does not want his players to be distracted by the string of poor results the East London club have endured in their previous six league games – leaving them with one point from 18.

“The most important thing is not what has happened but what will happen, because we are at the end of the season and there is no time to correct anything – we need to do our best,” Grant said.

Grant was unable to confirm whether or not Footballer of the Year Scott Parker (Achilles) will be fit for the game, and will have to wait until the day of the game before he can make a decision whether to select the midfielder.

However, Grant is willing to risk Parker even if he is not fully fit.

“If he (Parker) can play I want him to play,” Grant said. “But you know Scotty; even if there’s a small chance, he will do everything he can to play. And we support that because we are short in midfield.”

Midfielders Mark Noble (groin), and Gary O’Neill (ankle) will miss Saturday’s game. Grant will also have to wait until Saturday to find out whether Matthew Upson will be fit, having been substituted in the opening minutes against Manchester City last Sunday.

West Ham have a potential advantage in being the home side. Grant understands how much of a boost the Upton Park crowd can provide when they get behind their team.

“When we played against Wolves at home it was very important. And against Liverpool, and against Stoke. We played well, and we scored goals,” he said.

“You say that supporters are a 12th player. The supporters are more than a 12th player at Upton Park when they are in good shape.”

Comeback kid Charlie Davies inspired DC United to a 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders, while the Colorado Rapids stole a comeback victory.Two losses in succession had shrouded United’s MLS titleaspirations in doubt, but they began the match at Washington’s Robert F KennedyMemorial Stadium with plenty of vigour.They received the reward for their efforts when Davies’cut-back from the right gave strike partner Josh Wolff the easiest of finishesto put the home side up 1-0.The advantage was doubled on 52 minutes when the roles werealmost identically reversed, with Wolff this time finding an onrushingDavies for a simple tap in.It was the sixth goal in seven MLS games for Davies, havingonly returned to competitive action this season after 17 months on thesidelines during his recovery from a serious car accident.Brad Evans pulled one back from the penalty spot for theSounders but – with United goalkeeper Bill Hamid otherwise impassable – Unitedhung on to arrest their two-game losing streak and move to fifth in the EasternConference.In Houston, reigning MLS champions Colorado appeared brieflydestined for their fourth loss of the season when Colin Clark’s left-footstrike from inside the area handed Dynamo a 1-0 lead in the 72nd minute.But the advantage was to last just three minutes.Scottish midfielder Jamie Smith’s free kick from deep andwide was horribly misjudged by Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Smith, whose attempts toscramble back to his line were futile.And Smith’s folly was compounded when Scott Palguta stabbedhome in a crowded penalty area to make it 2-1, with Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens showing hisopposite number how it was done when he saved late from Alex Dixon.The victory snapped a four-game winless streak for the Rapidsand moved them to second on the Western Conference table, while Houston remain third in the Eastern Conference.Seattle’s loss and the Rapids’ win drops them to fourth inthe Western Conference.

Newly crowned Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund have staged a charity match in aid of the victims of the recent Japanese earthquake.Most of Dortmund’s stars turned out for the game, played at the home of neighbours Duisburg.

Dortmund’s Japanese midfield star Shinji Kagawa played for the opposition team, which was made up of Japanese players currently playing in the Bundesliga, and German players who’ve played in Japan.

Around 10,000 fans turned out for the game, helping to raise more than a million euros for the relief fund, with the help of club sponsors.

Kagawa played a key role in helping Dortmund to their first German title since 2002 this season.

Head coach Jurgen Klopp said his presence was key factor behind the decision to set up the friendly game which ended 2-1 in favour of Dortmund.

“There was a real need. Of course if you have a direct connection with it then it you feel it more strongly,” Klopp said.

“We thought it was terrible. It was terrible, but more so because we have Shinji (Kagawa). We were really worried about him and about how his family was. We were involved in a different way.”

Money raised from the game will go to the charity Save the Children, in aid of those in need in Japan.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11 left nearly 25,000 people dead or missing in the north of the country.

Arsenal’s Robin van Persie has launched a scathing verbal attack on Chelsea and Barcelona.The Dutch international is preparing for Saturday’s friendly clash against Brazil but accused his club’s London rivals of complaining to match officials and the European champions of trying to get opposition players booked.

Van Persie said Chelsea, who finished runners-up in the English Premier League this campaign, needed to turn their attentions to playing the game.

“People who are watching the game on television and fans really do not want to see these kind of things,” he told Dutch TV.

“If you want to witness a lot of complaints, you should just go to the bakery or something. There’s always people nagging there as well.”

“Chelsea players are always bitching against the referees. I really cannot understand that. Just shut the f*** up and focus on playing football.”

The 27-year-old, who was sent off in Arsenal’s Champions League loss to Barcelona in the round of 16, also criticised the Spaniards for unsporting behaviour.

“They always go up to referees in an attempt to get an opponent booked,” van Persie said.

“They are trying to screw colleagues. That really annoys me.”

“The Barcelona players nag about everything that happens on the pitch. I was disappointed with that.”

Meanwhile, van Persie has called on national coach Bert van Marwijk to stay on with the Netherlands until the 2014 World Cup.

The former Feyenoord coach’s contract expires after the European Championships next year, but he has indicated he could move back to club management.

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But van Persie said he wanted the 59-year-old to stay on beyond mid-2012.

“Every time I have been with the national team, he challenges us as a group and me individually,” he told Voetbal International.

“He keeps everyone sharp and demands that we are on top of our game. That’s clever as not every coach knows the right chord to strike with their players.”

Reigning champions Borussia Dortmund will kick off the 2011/12 Bundesliga season at home to Hamburg on Friday, August 5.Dortmund will open the 49th edition of Germany’s top-flight in its current format under lights at Westfalenstadion, taking on a fresh-look Hamburg under new sporting director Frank Arnesen.

The former Chelsea director has seen overseen a shake-up of Hamburg’s squad, including the departure of veteran striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and the signing of four youngsters from his ex-English Premier League club – Michael Mancienne, Jeffrey Bruma, Jacopo Sala and Gokhan Tore.

Dortmund, meanwhile, have added Club Brugge goalscoring midfielder Ivan Perisic as they look to defend their league title and aim for new heights in the Champions League.

Elsewhere on the opening weekend, German giants Bayern Munich host Borussia Monchengladbach at Allianz Arena.

The match will give Bayern fans their first glimpse at new goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who fended off overtures from Manchester United to join the Munich club from Schalke.

Bayern are undergoing a period of rebirth after finishing third in the league last term, and will soon welcome one-time caretaker manager and Jupp Heynckes as the permanent replacement for former boss Louis van Gaal.

The club have signed Genoa right-back Rafinha and Germany Under-21 international Nils Petersen in addition to Neuer.

Meanwhile, 2010/11 runners-up Bayer Leverkusen will travel to Mainz to kick off their season under new manager Robin Dutt.

One player certain to get a hostile reception at the Coface Arena will be Germany international Andre Schuerrle, who signed to Leverkusen from Mainz in the off-season.

Bundesliga II champions Hertha kick off their top-flight campaign at home to Nuremberg, while fellow promoted club Augsburg mark their first-ever Bundesliga match with a visit from Freiburg.

In other opening weekend fixtures, VfB Stuttgart play host to Schalke at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Kaiserslautern travel to Werder Bremen, Hoffenheim visit Hannover and Cologne clash with Wolfsburg.

The on-going saga of Luka Modric’s proposed transfer to Chelsea took another twist yesterday as a Sunday paper claimed that Chelsea were ready to offer £27m plus Daniel Sturridge for the Croatian playmaker. Spurs and Daniel Levy have made it very clear this summer that they do not want to sell Modric and have already rejected two offers for the 25-year-old but doesn’t this new proposal make sense for the White Hart Lane club?

Modric looked a completely different player last season and was vital part of Tottenham’s run to the Champions League Quarter Finals which brought him to the attentions of Europe’s biggest clubs. His dynamic displays in Spurs midfield have led Chelsea to believe he is the man to bring the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge. Whether or not Levy will actually sell Tottenham’s player of the year is unknown but an offer like this will turn heads in the boardroom as it could save them spending big on a much needed centre-forward.

Sturridge, who is an England U21 international, looks a fine prospect after his impressive loan spell at Bolton towards the end of last season. He has all the attributes to become an excellent Premier League striker in the future with blistering pace, silky skills and a natural finishing ability. Signed by the Stamford Bridge club from Manchester City in 2004, he hadn’t really had the chance to shine until his loan spell at the Reebok where he scored 8 goals in just 12 matches which will have impressed Redknapp who is known to be a huge fan of the youngster.

Spurs certainly need to boost their attacking options after the disappointing form of Defoe and Crouch last year with Robbie Keane looking nothing like the player he used to be and it is definitely one position that Redknapp will be looking to strengthen this summer and this transfer offer could be a solution.

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Considering the fact that their North London rivals Arsenal are looking at selling Cesc Fabregas for around £35m to Baracelona, this proposed deal looks very attractive with the prospect of using the money to sign Modric’s replacement. However selling another player after Dimitar Berbatov to a rival top-four club will probably hinder their attempts to qualify for the Champions League again this year and it will be hard enough already without selling one of their most important players.

Modric reportedly handed in a transfer request which although the club have denied still confirms the sort of feeling around that he has decided to leave and keeping an unhappy player at the club is not the best scenario. Levy values Modric at around £40m however if Chelsea could chuck in the young striker as part of the deal then maybe he will accept nearly £30m for the former Dinamo Zagreb player.

Maybe they should hold out for a bit more than £27m but bagging the highly-rated Sturridge as part of the deal looks like a sensible thing to do and would soften the blow of losing Modric. However I cannot see Chelsea wanting to sell Sturridge as he looks like a great prospect and instead they will probably be looking for a season long-loan which will help to aid his development rather than selling him to one of their league rivals.

This could well be a typical red-top newspaper transfer story that fails to materalise but if it Chelsea did decided to make an offer involving Sturridge and if he was happy to move to White Hart Lane, why couldn’t this be the answer to Tottenham’s current dilemma over Modric?

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Do you think that this deal would be right for Tottenham or should they hold out for more money or even try their best to keep an unhappy Modric at White Hart Lane?

Follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney for even more interesting football debate.

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At one time last season David Ngog was Liverpool ’s top scorer. That time lasted for several months, despite barely starting a game. There will be those that will use the argument that more than half of this goals came in Europe but to me, that is neither here nor there because at a time when Liverpool were having a rough spell, Ngog stepped up when the like of Torres, Gerrard and even Dirk Kuyt weren’t delivering the goods. Without his goals, we would never have made the latter stages of the Europa League, that much is a fact.

During those months the young Frenchman went unchallenged at the top of the Red’s scoring charts. And during this time, there wasn’t a murmur of discontent in his direction. Sadly, that’s as good as it got and that’s about as positive as a lot of fan’s feelings toward him have ever been. But why? He was never bought to be a Torres or a Drogba and he certainly cost nowhere near as much as either of them. He cost us around £1.5 million in 2008 and has played the same role for the past 3 years: bench warmer. Unlike a lot of players though, he’s played that role without complaint, he appears happy to learn from those more experienced around him and to play wherever it’s required of him, yet he still can’t please some fans.

For the fee we paid for him, I believe we’ve got more than enough back. Particularly, if he does end up being sold at any kind of a profit. He has managed 8 goals in each of his last two seasons and when, in the past season, the Reds scored 70 goals overall, in all competitions, Ngog contributed 12.5% of these. That’s 1/8 of our entire haul for last season. For somebody who has made twice as many substitute appearances in his Liverpool career than starts, that is a pretty impressive contribution as far as I’m concerned. As always though, there is a section of fans that expect every single one of our players to be world class and score 20+ goals a season regardless of their own situation.

If we look at it from another angle, we have here a young French striker who, at the age of 22 has scored 19 goals in his Liverpool career; it’s not hugely impressive, sure but weren’t we just prepared to pay over £10 million for a young English striker who’d scored about 3 goals in his entire career? And Ngog has played less than 100 games for Liverpool so that’s about 1 in 4, which is not bad at all.

Just two years before we signed Ngog, Chelsea paid £9 million for Salomon Kalou ; a young Ivorian who had just joined off the back of 50 goals in 99 games in 3 seasons in Holland. A lot was expected of him. Has he delivered? Well, it depends on how you look at it really. He’s managed 55 goals in almost 230 games for Chelsea; a relatively decent amount for a 3rd, 4th or sometimes 5th choice striker. Compare his rate to Ngog’s and you have the same ratio of 1 in 4, so why the massive disparity in the way they’re perceived in the press and by their respective groups of fans?

At the age of 22, David has already been playing Premier League football for 3 years and while he may not be the most talented Frenchman to walk these shores, he never shies away from hard work; he’ll play where he’s asked and, I’m sorry, but he’s a bloody good young striker. His only problem, as far as I can see, is that he’s just not a great striker. But who’s to say how he’ll turn out, if he isn’t kept on and given the chance? He’s been relatively prolific for France: scoring 24 goals in 46 games at all youth levels. The potential is still there and he is still only 22. The vitriol often aimed in his direction from some quarters is truly hard to fathom.

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Whatever you think of Ngog personally, the argument that ‘he just isn’t good enough’ just doesn’t wash with me, as the statistics and physical facts during his performances would seem to argue otherwise; just look at his two goals against a Malaysian XI on Saturday: real poacher’s goals, showing real quality in the second one, in particular. Now, I should make it very clear that I’m not trying to argue from the point of view that Ngog is an amazing player. He isn’t. What he is, is a great squad player with a top attitude. He’ll never be a world-beater and may never be an international striker but you’re unlikely to find a better young player who will put in as much effort from the bench and do whatever is asked of him when called upon. And that, is why I feel that David Ngog should be given much more credit and respect that he has ever been given by our fans.

Read more of David Tryer’s articles at Live4Liverpool