Can Berbatov prove his critics wrong with the depatures of Ronaldo and Tevez?

The answer no doubt on most people’s minds when they look at the title of this article is simply ‘I hope so’. The Bulgarian came under a lot of criticism in his first year at Old Trafford as he only scored 14 times in a red shirt.

Despite that statistic though, Berbatov did have 10 assists to his name, with only Robin van Persie to better him with 11, showing that the striker has much more to him than just scoring goals.

With the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, who many suggest is irreplaceable, and Carlos Tevez it may mean that those departures have opened the door for him to take a bigger role. A more traditional 4-4-2 may be deployed, with Berbatov likely to play behind Rooney. That partnership will be even more crucial this time around, as both of these strikers, and indeed Michael Owen, will have to do their best to fill the gap that Ronaldo will leave.

“I think I can do better this season,” he told MUTV. “I think I can do more. That’s why I am happy to be on the pre-season tour. It is always beneficial to start well and have a good pre-season and I feel I am training well at the moment. I am here to score goals and I hope to score more and more for United this season.”

So far, he hasn’t scored a pre season goal but can make all of that right come Friday, when Manchester United take on FC Seoul. Berbatov will be under even more pressure in this campaign and will be under the spotlight throughout the season. Let’s hope he can prove his critics wrong…