Louis Saha has lost the backing of a large chunk of Old Trafford attenders, with the fans seemingly sick to the back teeth with Saha and his injuries. What was being passed off as lack of match fitness before is now being called laziness, and it is looking like his days with United numbered.
It had appeared as though Saha had beaten his injury woes of the past last season, making it all the way to March before facing a lengthy spell out on the sidelines. It was a costly injury for United, with the reds just not having the strike power and energy to add to their Premiership final, despite reaching the FA Cup final and European Cup semi-final. The lads ran out of steam, with Rooney leading the attack and Giggs as his supporting striker for the remaining months of the season, and the big games highlighted just how desperately we needed an out and out striker on the park.
With Saha spending the season so far drifting in and out of fitness, there have been calls for United to sell on the French striker in the summer, and bring in someone who we can depend upon to be available to play.
So far this season, Saha has scored the winning goal against Sunderland at Old Trafford, a penalty against Chelsea, and bagged a further two goals against Sunderland on Boxing Day. Throughout this time he has thanked the manager for his patience and support, claiming that he is just on the brink of repaying all that loyalty and kindness. However, he has yet to come up with the goods.
Today, Saha came out with another promise of improving. “I know I can do better, and hopefully I showed that against Sunderland,” he said. “The manager has always shown a lot of faith in me and that gives me a lot of confidence. I’m definitely getting there [overcoming injuries]. I played two full games in a row over Christmas and that was the first time I’d done that for a while. So things are improving and I’m looking to play even more. My target now is to stay fit and keep finding the back of the net. I’m a striker and that’s my job and now I want to concentrate on scoring more goals for the team. I’m very hard on myself and always want to do better, so I’m not very satisfied with how the season has gone so far on a personal level.”
Does Louis Saha have a future at United?
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I sure hope Fergie plays his best team and strike force at Reading, which doesn’t include Saha in present form. Reading are becoming a bit of a bogey team forcing a draw a couple of times. We don’t want another West Ham debacle down there. So hope Ronnie, Wayne and Carlos are firing on all cylinders. Come on you Devils!!!!!!!
i wonder if luis could be in old trafford nxt season then he shallthank his god for that time he is to spend again unless he did something special to convince sir alex that he shall be fit for long enough o else i see him at the exit door. though wen fit there is none better than him to my perspective but gettin him on the cards is the real issue if it can be possible then well left to the gaffer. even though with sha there and stayin fit we berba up there.
hahaha.. I was expecting this to be up when I check skysports news today at work. Unlike your blog about Carrick, thisis one I totally agree with. When he’s good, he is GOOD. When he is bad he is a waste of space, he does lack consistency but that can always be blamed on match fitness, injury layoffs and no real run of first team games but when Rooney is out injured and gets back into the team you see him trying his hardest even if he doesn’t score, but Saha looks quite lost a lot of the time and our system doesn’t really compliment his talent.
The last great run of goal scoring games he had seems so long ago and I have quite a decent memory.
It’s a shame… as mentioned above, when Saha’s on form, he’s very good, but my other worry with him is his mental toughness… I remember the game against Celtic up at Parkhead last season, when he didn’t fancy it at all – maybe it’s the French in him? On the flip side though, he’d scored 12 goals by this stage last season (8 in the league), which wasn’t a bad return, but I reckon he’ll be sold in the summer when Berbatov arrives…
should have bombed him in the summer guy has a heart the size of a pea
all the talent in the world but lacks bottle and is made of balsa wood.
Get someone new in asap
“I played two full games in a row over Christmas and that was the first time I’d done that for a while. So things are improving and I’m looking to play even more.”
You know it’s bad when a player is happy that he played two games in a row.
I say we keep him, but he only gets paid for every training session and game he participates in. Right now he just looks like a bad investment with no return in capital (goals).
I like Saha. He’s quick, agile, and a deadly finisher. The perfect player to complement Rooney and Tevez. There’s no doubt that he’s a good player. The question is: which team would buy a player who’s world class when he’s fit, but is only fit 10% of the time? I know I would rather have a worse player that will give me 100% all the time.
Fair do’s though, I believe if Saha had taken the penalty at West Ham away, United would have been two up. Saha would have scored that penalty for sure. Just my opinion though.
He’s on borrowed time – whether it’s Berbatov or someone else, there will be a new guy wearing the red # 9 next season.
If UTD keep him as “insurance” until the summer it has to be a gamble since he’s really not a very reliable “insurance policy” because he’s injured more often that the other strikers.
Last year, at crunch time, the back four was crocked and, while there were replacements, the gap in quality between Rio/Vidic/Evra/RedNev and Heinze/Silly/Wes and O’Shea was all-too-apparent against Milan in the return leg. Since TheLads are likely to be in a similary situation this coming spring, I’d be really, really pissed IF the injury problem re-emerged again with the strikers and UTD had to rely on LouisLouis.
So, considering what’s at stake – a treble ? – keeping this guy around just doesn’t make sense to me.
Sure he’s a very good player when he’s totally, completely, 100% ift but otherwise he’s a liability.
It’s time, therefore, to bring in a more reliable “insurance policy”.
Oh, yeah, how can anyone suggest that he would have scored that penalty against WestHam ? Saha used to be the main man on spot kicks but lost the job because he was nervous and predictable.
My heart sank when I saw the Saha interview on the web, a day or so after fergie had said he was out for the next few games, after an injury picked up in training. These quote are obviously from before his latest knock and all the more poignant for it.
I seem to have been defending Saha against all sorts of accusations by indignant United fans from about this time last year. He was superb in the first half of last season and was a big factor in our winning the league. I’ve never bought into the lazy/cowardly sh*te about him being fit to play but unwilling. He’s a footballer, he loves playing football, why would he rather sit in the stands? And he’s also an extremely hard-working, brave player who has always put his body on the line for the team, at United and at Fulham before that.
I’ve always believed (and I still do believe) that his injury-record is just really, really bad luck.
BUT, this season, when he has played football, he’s looked a shadow of his former self. He doesn;t seem to have the same spring and agility and looks to have lost a yard of pace. I’m hoping against hope that this is just a lack of match-fitness but it doesn’t look good.
When you take his age into account and the fact that his game has always been about tremendous athleticism (he was never a wily footballer who could play on into his 30s, using guile alone, like Teddy) I’m starting to think we’ll never see last season’s Saha again. Which is a real shame for Saha and for the club. Because he is/was a bloody good player.
have to agree with Denton about the penalty. Who would’ve thought Ronaldo would miss such a low pressure penalty?
He scored a penalty to knock England out of the Euro’s and also Against ‘boro to keep us in the FA Cup, he’s great at taking penalties.. everyone has to miss now and then
He’s proud that he played two games in a row? I’m sure that goes over really well in the locker room with the guys that are playing their hearts out day in and day out, shaking off the knocks and grinding it out. Time to sell him down the league for as much as we can get, and be done with it.
I really for sorry for the lad.but theres no place for sentiment in football,he must leave or if he really wants to stay,united need to put him on a pay as you play contract like mark said.Fergie isnt stupid and he will buy a striker in the summer,no doubt.
Just seen the repeat of the managers press conference.. No Sir Alex, he has private business to attend to in London???
It set me off thinking, London> Spurs> Berbatov. Twisted dream I know..
Ah, Carlos did a good job though!