Two weeks after signing for Manchester United and on his second game for the club, Louis Saha scored twice against Everton within the first half an hour. He had scored a goal on his debut too so was feeling rather chuffed with himself.

When United went off 3-0 up at half-time, Saha was expected a pat on the back from Sir Alex Ferguson, but instead was given a hard time for not putting away all his chances.

“When I headed towards the changing-room, I was feeling proud,” he said. “As soon as I sat down, I was woken up in a violent way — Sir Alex Ferguson rendered me deaf. I was surprised but yes, it was me he was yelling and screaming at. He was going mad and I quickly understood why — he was unhappy because we came in with only a three-goal lead when we should have wrapped the game up. He was furious about my missed chances and reminded me that this is the very top level. Wow. I woke up even more sharply when 45 minutes later Everton had come back to 3-3. Goodison Park was on fire. Only Ruud van Nistelrooy helped me escape the nightmare — with a stoppage-time goal.”