It was a shame to see him go but we all know it had to be done and we wished him well. That decision to sell him gave us a boost this week, with him coming very close to scoring a hat-trick against title rivals Chelsea. The two goals he did score against them has moved us to within a point of the top, which is pretty good considering we dropped points ourselves at Villa Park.

Saha has revealed that he is in regular contact with his former United team mates and expects plenty of phone calls after the win.

“I still keep in touch with a lot of the players from United, especially Patrice Evra,” said Saha. “Wayne Rooney and Owen Hargreaves are on the phone a lot and they have a really good bunch of guys. I know I will be getting a lot of calls now, and it is a big boost for them. The main thing has to be Everton and taking us as high up the table as possible. I haven’t set myself a target of goals this season – just to get more than I’ve got at the moment. The main thing for me is to stay at this level now. That’s my only goal. I want to show to every opponent that I am serious. I want to work hard and I want to do well.”

Louis Saha could have had a hat-trick against Chelsea tonight, after scoring two and having his penalty saved. Saha got the better of John Terry for both goals.

Our away draw against Villa and Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat means we are now within one point of the blues at the top and have a goal difference better by two.

We’re coming to get you!

When fit for sustained periods of time, most recently for the first half of the 2006-2007 season, there was no denying his quality. He was the target man United were looking for and I will always have a lot of time for him due to his great attitude to playing whilst Ruud van Nistelrooy was still at the club.

However, if we are to compete for all trophies, we need a player we can rely upon. The season before last he missed the last two or three crucial months of the season, meaning we were playing European Cup and FA Cup semi-finals with just one striker, as well as the FA Cup final, and this proved costly.

Sir Alex Ferguson eventually ran out of patience with the French striker, some time after the majority of fans had, selling him to Everton in the summer on a ‘pay per play’ basis. Does Saha regret it? No. Does he understand why Fergie wanted to sell him? Yes. Does he know how to win his new fans over? Evidently not.

Saha is more than happy to sing our praises, reflecting on the really good times he had at United, and acknowledges that Everton is a step down for him. Not exactly what the Everton fans will be wanting to hear from their new signing.

“I had one choice to make over summer and I didn’t make a mistake,” said Saha. “Whenever you leave Manchester United it is a step down but, if we have to look at it this way, Everton is a good step down. There were some really good times (at United). Of course there were. It’s a great club, the number one in Europe, and it was great being part of such a successful team, but in the end, I could understand why the manager did not want to keep me any longer. I just guess I was unlucky.”

Saha faced a couple of crunching challenges from Nemanja Vidic today and the stretcher I anticipated never appeared. Maybe he isn’t Mr. Glass anymore?

Back in May, I said my goodbyes to Saha and Mikael Silvestre, reflecting on their best bits, but certain that enough was enough, it was time for them to go. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the comedy situation of Silvestre would ensue. Fancy that, being in the middle of a City medical, getting a call from Arsene Wenger, and legging it out of there. Whilst I thought City would be a fairly amusing destination for ol Silly, nothing beats the comedy value of Arsenal “beautiful football” FC taking him on board.

So whilst the Silvestre prediction has come in to fruition, it seems as though Louis will now be departing also. The downside? He has to pass a bloody medical first!

Saha has agreed a two year deal with Everton, with the option of extending that a further 12 months in the future. With no official transfer fee being disclosed, we are just left with speculation.

I don’t mean to come across too harsh on the guy. I actually did really like him as a player. He waited patiently on our bench whilst Ruud van Nistelrooy was our top striker, yet whenever he was called upon, gave 100% to everything, with no grumbling. His brilliant attitude was only emphasised after the dramatics that followed Ruud when he was left on the bench.

If Saha could remain fit, I would honestly love for him to stay. I think he’s a great player who’s had some great moments at the club. However, if we’re looking to seriously compete for the Premiership and Champions League, we need a striker we can rely on to be there, and sadly, Saha isn’t the man for the job.

Goodbye, and good luck!

Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney both contributed sufficiently to our goals tally for the season, however neither of them are out and out strikers, and to play them in that position means we won’t get the best out of them.

Sir Alex Ferguson has seemingly forgotten about Saha in recent weeks, omitting him from all his recent interviews when talking about injuries and our options. However, it seems Fergie has remembered Louis, and is eager to put him in the shop window.

“You don’t want to give up on people like that just because they have had a few injuries,” said Ferguson. “When he is fit, Louis is an explosive player who will guarantee 20 goals a season. Louis is on a programme at the moment which we feel will get him to 100% fitness. It is more about his confidence in doing this programme which will get him back playing all the time. Hopefully that is the case because he is such a fantastic player.”

Fergie is spot on when he talks about Saha’s potential. Even last season, when in and out of the team and getting a couple of 90 minutes under his belt, he still scored more league goals than Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt, who more often than not, was picked to start alongside Fernando Torres.

However, in the ten years Saha has played in the Premiership, he averages just 28 games a season, which isn’t enough. Even in his Fulham days, as the undoubted first choice, he struggled to get more than 30 games under his belt.

Ferguson may very well talk about Saha’s potential for fitness, but this surely is him just heaping praise on the player to get managers interested. Unsurprisingly, Roy Keane has been linked with signing Saha, but he’s not the only one. Fulham, Roma and Valencia all reportedly are interested.

So, time to say goodbye now. Get Saha fit and then get him out.

Like usual, fortunately Sir Alex Ferguson proved my worries unfounded, as we put four past the North East side. Whilst not surprising to see Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo on the scoresheet, it was rather intriguing to see Louis Saha put two away, due to the lack of goals he’s scored this season. Rooney did the hard work for his first goal, playing a perfect ball in to the area. However, it was Louis’ movement off the ball which enabled him to gently guide the ball in to the back of the net. He created room for himself, then darted between three defenders to get that all important touch on the ball. The second came from a penalty, Saha resuming duties with Ronaldo already being subbed off (which begs the question, who would have taken the penalty if Ronaldo was still on the field?), which Nani won.

After being on the receiving end of much criticism, from United fans as much as anyone, Louis Saha has spoken out about the importance of scoring yesterday. “After the last few games, I was a little upset with myself because I had four or five opportunities, and I could not score them,” Saha told L’Equipe. “So this time I am happy. It is very good for my state of mind. It is also reassuring as my team-mates know they can rely on me to score opportunities. The more I play, the more I get opportunities. I am improving, notably on efficiency level. But in the game, I am not satisfied. I want to bring more and I know I still have a lot of work.”

Saha has now put three past Sunderland this season, scoring the winning goal against them at Old Trafford, and when looking at his goals to starts ratio, he hasn’t faired too badly this season. He is still building up his fitness, and more importantly, his confidence, but I’m not under any delusions that scoring two against a team ripe for relegation means an awful lot. He still has a long way to go, and with the Rooney-Tevez partnership developing nicely, I see no reason why Saha should be keeping his place in the team. He’s got a long way to go to win the core of United fans back over, who would be happy enough to see him leave in January.

I think that Ferguson is handing Saha a perfect opportunity to prove himself, and yesterday, he made some progress in doing that. Saha is still not satisfied with his football, but the question is, can we ever be? Or is it too late for Saha to salvage his Manchester United career?

The following season was much more difficult, picking up an injury in September playing for France, which was then aggravated upon return in November, again whilst representing his country. He returned in January to score against Villa, but in February he picked up yet another injury, which saw him ruled out until April. Patience was wearing thin. Memories of his great start with the club were long forgotten by the time it was announced he’d miss the first three months of the following season.

November 2005 saw Saha return to the team, coming on with nine minutes to play against Villarreal in the Champions League, then scored for United the following week in the League Cup. It was his first goal in ten months and was the start of what would be a fantastic run for him in the League Cup. He was used as a sub in the Premiership and Champions League until the next League Cup game came against Birmingham, the quarter final, where he scored two goals in our 3-1 away win. He got his first league goal of the season on New Years Eve against Bolton, then scored again in our 1-1 draw with Blackburn in the League Cup semi-final. He scored the winning goal in the second leg at Old Trafford and United were in the final. What had been looking like a rather bleak season now had some sort of silver lining, and we had Louis Saha’s five goals in four games to thank for it.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was dropped in favour of Saha in the league as we traveled to Ewood Park in February. Saha partnered Rooney up front and scored our first goal two minutes after Blackburn took the lead. But a comedy of errors ensued, and United were 3-1 down at half time. Ruud was brought on for Richardson (oh remember the days, when Kieran Richardson actually used to start for United) after we went 4-1 down, and managed to claw back two goals, but none of our strikers could save us from defeat.

Saha started alongside van Nistelrooy in our next league game, scoring in our 4-2 victory over Fulham. Saha was then started ahead of Ruud in the League Cup final against Wigan and scored, his sixth in five League Cup games. He was also involved with all three of our other goals. I wrote about Fergie’s decision to play Louis ahead of Ruud, questioning whether it was the right thing to do.

A week prior to the final, United were dumped gutlessly out of the FA Cup at the hands of Liverpool. It was their first win over us in the FA Cup in 85 years, and Sir Alex Ferguson certainly wasn’t too happy about being the manager to lose that impressive record. Ruud van Nistelrooy didn’t look up for it, obviously feeling more than a bit miffed at being dropped for Saha in the league. It seemed obvious this spineless and effortless performance from Ruud swayed Ferguson’s decision when making his team selection for the final. Ruud was pissed when he didn’t even get to make an appearance in the final, Ferguson instead opting to bring new signings Vidic and Evra, as well as Richardson off the bench.

This was only the beginning. Saha was picked ahead of Ruud in the following league game against Wigan, after rumours were rife that the Dutch striker had stormed off after the Cup final. It was Saha’s deflected shot that gave us the winning goal in the final minute at the JJB. Saha was played ahead of Ruud in the following league games against Newcastle, West Brom and Birmingham, scoring twice. Ruud was given the nod over Saha against West Ham, scoring our only and winning goal, with Saha retaining his place in the first XI again against Bolton, scoring in our 2-1 victory.

Ferguson spent the remaining few games of the season chopping and changing between Ruud and Louis, with neither doing enough to save us from a second place finish. Saha got thirteen goals in thirty appearances, seventeen starts. Ruud van Nistelrooy left us, the press said Ferguson had gone mad, and a season later we’re the Champions.

Last season, Louis Saha had scored five goals by the end of September, and went on to score regularly for the rest of the year. His most noteworthy goals of that first half of the season came against Chelsea, City, Benfica and Blackburn. He scored six goals in the ten games between November and December, United were cruising in the league, and we no need to look back after the sale of Ruud. Saha had bided his time with us, waiting patiently on the bench for his time to shine, and after two years of waiting, hauling himself back from injury time and again, he got his chance. Ruud had been asked to do this for a few months and didn’t have the character to hack it.

Saha was rewarded with a new contract in the December which would keep him at the club until 2010. However, after signing, in the second half of the season he scored just once, in our 3-2 FA Cup win against Reading, when we scored three goals in six minutes. His injury problems came back to haunt him and thankfully Ferguson ingeniously brought in Henrik Larsson for a three month loan. Saha stayed fit throughout most of February, but played in just three games in the last three months of the season, coming on with no longer than fifteen minutes to go each time.

Come May, Louis Saha was far from popular among large groups of United fans, with rumours circulating that the reason Saha had featured so infrequently was due to psychological issues. It was believed he was too scared to play for fears he would injure himself. United lacked the pace and goalscoring ability in the final month of the season, costing us dearly in the European Cup semi final and FA Cup final. Our players were tired after a match packed season and really could have done with someone like Saha on the park.

His injuries have continued this season, as well as the talk of the psychological effect his injuries have had on him, with Saha rarely available to start a match. He scored our winning goal against Sunderland after coming off the bench in September, and netted an injury time penalty against Chelsea later in the month. He set up Evra beautifully against Arsenal, who laid the ball on to Ronaldo to score our second. Other than these occasions, I struggle to think of much positive he has contributed to our season so far, and it’s starting to look as though time is up for Louis. He had a dreadful game against Bolton, in his first full ninety minutes since last December, and looks a mile off the mark at the moment.

Louis Saha has hit back at the claims that he has on occasion refused to play, claiming he has always played when available. “At United, I have had an incredible amount of bad luck,” said Saha today. “But that does not explain everything. Playing all the time takes its toll on the body. My game is based on speed, quick movements and changes of direction. It’s very demanding for the body. For a long time, I had an injury on my left knee. I changed the way I ran and I injured my right knee. But I never refused to play. Everytime I missed a game I was not able to play. For sure, before playing again, I was a bit anxious. Every player feels that. But it did not go further than that. People are ill-informed. I had six pieces of cartilage in my knee. Can you say this is psychological? Sometimes I would take part in training during the week and feel good and then drop out at the weekend. But you can explain that easily. My knee could support short training exercises, but not the intensity of a game. Should I have played without being 100 per cent fit? That would have been ridiculous.”

However, his effort has been questioned and talk of selling him on in January has begun to increase.

Now, trying to bring in some sanity to the argument, it would be absolutely ludicrous to sell Saha on in January, whether Ferguson brings in a replacement or not. Rooney and Tevez, along with Ronaldo, are just about sharing the goalscoring duties out at the moment, but another injury to Rooney could leave us to regret selling on Saha if he manages to keep up his fitness for another club from January. But is it time for him to move on in the summer?

My patience is wearing thin, but there is still some remaining, and I’d like to see how he gets on for the rest of this season before coming down too hard on him. Saha has worked bloody hard to get his place in our side, never grumbling or complaining at rarely getting a chance to play and prove himself when van Nistelrooy was around. I think he contributed massively to our title winning season, helping propel us high above the other clubs before the turn of the New Year. He fits in superbly with our attacking football, able to score goals for himself as well as set them up for others, the latter being a quality Ruud rarely possessed. When fit, he is certainly worth having around, although I acknowledge, there’s no point keeping a player who is able, but always injured.

So I’m going to give him a few more months yet and if he struggles to remain fit, then it’s time to move him on. Clearly, he will have to go at a knock down price, if he’s able to pass another’s club medical! But for now I believe we should sit tight, support him when he comes on the field, and hope he can repay our faith in him sooner rather than later, the same way he repaid Ferguson over the past two seasons.

Have you had enough of Saha?

Louis has become increasingly unpopular at United due to the length of time he’s spending out injured each season. Whilst initially we were split on our feelings over the Saha vs van Nistelrooy issue, Saha quickly proved Ferguson was right to rely on him. He bagged 15 goals in 30 appearances in 2005/2006, and scoring in every League Cup game we played, the competition we won that season. He started the following season well, and added to the new, slick football United were playing. Rather than having a striker who relied on others to provide him with the ball, Saha would go deeper, collect the ball himself, setting up other players as well as himself.

However, Saha played his last game for United on the first weekend in March, missing the remaining nine league games, two semi finals, and a final. Every time he came close to returning, there was always another set back. With three of our first choice four defenders out injured, the last thing we needed was our striker missing, especially at a time when Chelsea had seen the return of Cech, Terry and Joe Cole. With Solskjaer injured, and Smith making a comeback after eighteen months of no football, we were left playing old man Giggsy supporting Rooney up front, relying on Fletcher, O’Shea or Richardson to pad out the midfield in Giggs’ place, due to the injury of Park.

We won the league, got closer to the European Cup than we had in years, and made yet another FA Cup final, but Ferguson wanted more. Rumours said Ferguson wasn’t happy with Saha, because, it was believed, the problem with him was more a psychological than a physical one. Could United had an even better season if we had Saha in the team to take the pressure of other players? So that Giggs could play in position or be rested, so that Rooney wasn’t left up front by himself, and more importantly, having an out and out striker on the field in our important games. Was it Saha’s supposed decission not to come back which cost us another trophy this season?

As the gossip circulated, Saha spoke out about his feelings on the club. “I want to stay,” he said. “I love this club and I don’t want to leave. If other good strikers are coming to United I find that good, if that helps us defend our title and win others next year.”

Saha sat on United’s bench for two years before he was given his big break with the club, and he did so happily. What swayed him in favour over Ruud in my mind was his attitude, and whilst Ruud was sulking when not getting picked, Saha waited patiently on the bench for a chance. He knows he is lucky to be in the situation he’s in, knows he’s done well, and is grateful to Sir Alex. At the end of last season he was interviewed, and said, “Alex Ferguson’s support means everything to me. There are no words to explain how hard it was being out injured. My team-mates were great, and all the staff too. But the manager was outstanding. I told him after my last injury ‘Don’t look after me when I come back, I don’t deserve it’. I thought there were players that deserved more attention because I hadn’t reached the level I should have. But the way he responded to that was amazing. He reassured me and said ‘No, you’re coming back’. His reaction was the mark of a great man.”

Saha is a different kind of striker to both Rooney and Tevez, but does that mean he should get a starting place in the team? Tevez is the newbie, but does he get a starting place in the team without, like Saha before him, spending time on the bench and earning his place? Would we be disadvantaging ourselves having two similar players up front, rather than having the variety Saha brings? Would bringing Tevez on to the field with half an hour play make us unbeatable?

Solskjaer has argued for the pairing of our new Argie and Rooney, saying, “no single player is exactly the same. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke – everyone said they can’t play together, absolutely no chance, but we all know what happened to those two.” Surely this is the case. Of course I don’t want to tempt fate or jinx our new signing, but you would like to think any top class players have the capacity to be able to play together, and play well. Having two players with similiar qualities should not necessarily be deemed a bad thing, as which club should shun the opportunity to have “two Wayne Rooney’s” on their team. Tevez could, and should, double the effect of our attack, giving us extra strength, rather than serving as a superfluous player.

Tevez is set to get a game on derby day, and due to injuries, shouldn’t have anyone rivalling his place in the team until September. This is his time to shine, and like Larsson before him, gelling with the team straight away is a must to cement a place in the team.

Regardless, whatever problems there are said to be between playing Rooney and Tevez, and of Saha’s reocurring injury, I cannot wait to see our attack in full force. The options of Rooney, Saha, Tevez, Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson are absolutely terrifying, and we need to burst out of the blocks on Sunday. Here’s to a repeat of the first game last season, and our attack to show the country we want to keep our title. We’ve got our trophy back, and with playing the most exciting, attacking football in the league, we intend to keep it.