Ferguson and Berbatov bag January gongs
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and striker Dimitar Berbatov have been named Barclays Manager and Player of the Month for January, after a fantastic start to the year in which the Barclays Premier League leaders won four and drew one of their five matches to extend their unbeaten 2010/11 campaign.
Ferguson is certainly no stranger to the award and wins it for an unprecedented 25th time in his distinguished career, after seeing his side pick up wins at home to Stoke City and Birmingham City and away at West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool, as well as claiming a hard-fought point away against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ferguson’s Manchester United teams are renowned for building title-winning momentum after the turn of the year, and this season would appear to be no different after they took 13 points from a possible 15 to finish the month in a commanding position.
Bulgarian marksman Berbatov, the leading scorer in the Barclays Premier League this season, immediately picked up where he left off in 2010 with five more goals in January to take his tally to 19.
He struck a stunning hat-trick as United eased past Birmingham City 5-0 at Old Trafford, and then scored twice to help his side complete a trademark comeback to win 3-2 at Blackpool, having been two goals down at half time.
It is the first time that Berbatov has won the award as a Manchester United player, and the second time in his career after sharing the April 2007 Barclays Player of the Month award with former Tottenham Hotspur strike partner Robbie Keane.
The decision was made by the Barclays Awards Panel that includes representatives from football’s governing bodies, the media and fans.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
‘After Manchester City’s recent form, maybe they’re the underdogs against Manchester United!’ Former Red Devils defender on this weekend’s derby
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression