Blog: Berba chips in

ManUtd.com's Nick Coppack befriended a Berbatov unbeliever in the pub on Tuesday, who soon came round to reason after the Bulgarian's double...

Just before 9pm last night I found myself standing in the rain outside a pub in Chorlton, Manchester, sharing my fish and chips with a stranger.

I was watching United begin the second half against Aalborg through the pub window (I’d left at the break to grab a bite to eat) when this guy approached me and asked if I was “red or blue”.

“Red,” I replied. “Blue tonight, though,” I added, pointing at the TV. He blinked a few times, unsure of what I meant before realising I was referring to the new third kit.

“You almost had me there!” he chortled.

“So, looks like Scholes might be out for a while,” I said, offering him a chip.

“Aye, but our biggest worry is Berbatov,” he said. “He’s too slow, he’s lazy and he misses too many chances.”

“Maybe he’s started a little slowly,” I conceded, “but he’ll come good. Fergie’s usually right, you know.”

“I don’t really eat chips from a chippy," he said. "I prefer mine cooked in lard rather than oil. That’s how I have ‘em at home. Hey, what about Veron? He wasn’t a great signing.”

“Hmm, I guess he didn’t quite live up to expectations.”

“And that other South American. The one starting with K. Krayola?”

“Kleberson?”

“Yeah, him.”

“Don’t worry. Berbatov will be fine. Sir