A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
funkdoctorspock | November 10, 2007Come back in time with me to the 2003/04 season. Manchester United have Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Deigo Forlan and David Bellion as their strikeforce, United were in need of a goal scorer since Forlan wasn’t realizing his full potential. The goal scorer Manchester United turned their eyes to was Louis Saha. Highly impressed by Sir Alex Ferguson with 15 goals for Fulham he joined Manchester United January 23rd 2004 on a 12.8 million pounds transfer. 7 goals in his first 10 starting appearances, it looked like Sir Alex had made a great signing.
Then the injuries hit. Knee, hamstring, ankle, toe, fingernail (yes, I’m kidding). Along with these unfortunate injuries came self doubt, Ferguson and United supporters questioning his mental resolve and most importantly, a gaping hole in United’s frontline attack.
You see, the love I have with Saha’s play is simply the fact that when fit, he adds a dimension that Tevez cannot bring to the attacking game. Saha pulls defenses deep into there own box, allowing space for Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes and any other United player who feels adventerous in the attack to operate. He is most adept at playing with back to goal, heading the ball with conviction, strong with possession of the ball. He’s also very gifted with passing the ball and his link up and selfless play with other players make him so dangerous that opposing teams have to pay attention to him or risk having a bunch of goals scored on them. As a United supporter, you know that when Saha is fit, he will be scoring a goal or be involved in a goal being scored.
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The only real downsides to Saha’s game would be his wasteful scoring opportunities, those bloody injuries and most importantly his mental resolve. For every shot on goal Saha takes, he seems to miss the target three times. Ferguson is big on players who have strong mental character. So imagine Ferguson’s mindset at the end of last campaign when United are hit with a mini injury crisis, Saha is fit and easily the best player in training. United NEEDED him desperately to play. Yet, Saha is nowhere to be found fitness wise come match time. “Injured”. I think that is when my “hate” for Saha started to creep in. Mind you, Mr. Saha had this to say about the whispers pertaining to his mental state:
“Anyone who has ever said that I was not willing to play unless I was 100% fit is not telling the truth,” said the France international. “I have never refused to play for the team, yet I have been hearing all these claims about me not being psychologically committed. The truth is something completely different. The people who have criticised me don’t seem to realise that three years ago I was playing games despite having a knee that I couldn’t bend more than 90 degrees.”
It got so bad, I was telling anyone that would listen that he should be sold. Shoot, the injuries got so bad, I swore he was missing.
Have you seen this player?
The van Nistelrooy transfer that I agreed had to happen due to Ruud’s behaviour, I was soon beginning to regret, because I knew that nine times out of ten Ruud would be fit to start.
At my worst, I was praying that Ferguson sign either Eto’o, Adriano, Berbatov or Torres. I had really lost that much faith in Saha being able to stay fit.
United for the end of last season had Rooney, Smith, Ole in Saha’s absence. Smith is nowhere near the class of Saha, but after he achieved match fitness from his horrific injury, he was stated fit to play regularly. Sadly, his conversion to midfielder with the release of Roy Keane, affected his play as striker. Ole was up in years and realistically, couldn’t be relied on to start every game. Smith’s sale and Ole’s retirement put the bullseye squarely on Saha. It also showed the faith and challenge which Ferguson placed in Saha.
The addition of Tevez seems to have eased the pain of not having Saha in the lineup to most supporters during the current campaign. Not me though. Tevez’s inclusion into the starting lineup has only reinforced my mindset that Saha is the striker United need with the players they have in the club. Whereas Tevez is a secondary striker, assisting the midfield in linking up with the striker, Saha is the target man. The finisher. He also has the skill set to play as a secondary striker. To watch Rooney and Saha play together is poetry in motion, because they interchange positions so well, it creates additional stress on the oppositions defense.
Does Ferguson have to look to the January transfer window to bring in another striker? I would say no.
The most likely addition that fans would mention immediately, Dimitar Berbatov, has shown that when unsettled, his performance levels drastically drops. His temperament towards the end of Martin Jol’s managerial period at Tottenham Hotspur was eerily reminiscent of one Ruud van Nistelrooy during his last few months at Manchester United. Do we really want another episode of that club disharmony again?
We have 3 strikers in Rooney, Saha and Tevez, along with Anderson and Giggs in emergency situations. This United squad edition is fully equipped to deal with injuries. Knock on wood that the injuries stay in the minimum and players have career years.
Mr. Saha, if you’re reading, this United supporter has stopped “hating” officially and will be supporting you 110% from here on out. I want you to be fit for every game here on out scoring goals that United supporters have grown accustomed to seeing. United need you very much. There is a thin line between love and hate with any player, but with you it isn’t about playing ability, but rather injuries. And with that I humbly apologize.
Note: Saha quote used from Daniel Taylor’s Guardian blog article posted on September 25, 2007
great article funky. personally i think if saha's injuries continue this
Dirtycheat | November 11, 2007great article funky.
personally i think if saha’s injuries continue this season then we really should replace him. He is 29 and the knocks will be harder to shake off as he gets older. when he is fit and has a few games under his belt he is terrific, but i haven’t seen much of that tbh partly because he is always injured. the guy has had so many operations the doctors should stitch zips to his knees to save time.
i remember when we signed him from fulham he was immense and he probably still is, shame that injuries hamper his progress every time he has a good spell of form.
Nice read funkmeister. :) As far as Saha goes, I get
dada | November 12, 2007Nice read funkmeister.
As far as Saha goes, I get the feeling when watching him play currently that he is being a tad bit too reserved for my liking. Yes he has bags of quality but I think his pace has dropped off a bit as well as just his effort in general. I would love to see us keep Saha but still have a hand in the January window. As I see it now I would not mind the least bit if the Tevez-Rooney partnership is set in stone for years to come. I may not have been the most supportive of the Tevez signing, simply because I thought there were better options out there, but I knew they would achieve some measure of success together. Right now what I think we need is that sort of young all-around striker who could also drop back just a tad and play on the wings as well. Why? Because I want to see Saha getting games but at the same time not deprive the 4th choice striker of playing time and if the player we buy is a versatile type then he could be slotted in elsewhere and still have an impact on the match (not being forced to burn his butt on the bench).
Now of all the names I have read in the news and on manutd.com’s transfer tidbits I must admit I have some interest in a one Jeremy Menez. I will quickly admit that I do not have bags of information on the lad but with what I have available to myself about him, as well as the other rumoured players of interest, I would not disagree if we went and picked him up. The guy is just 20 years old and plays for AS Monaco in France (yes, he is French). He plays on the left, he plays on the right….. you never know, he could turn out into a player we cold potentially starting singing about. Good dribbler, good passer and has enough pace to run with the best of them. Whats most important to me though is that he is not a big name. Why that is important is because for one we probably wouldnt have to get into a bidding war with anyone, unless they just want to be a-holes, and the pressure to perform instantly wont be on his shoulders as he isnt coming in touted as the next so and so. Of course he could well be but at the end of the day if he doesnt turn into a world class he would still be a very serviceable player coming off the bench.
It would be nice to see the Adrianos, Berbatovs, Hentelaars etc don the Utd shirt but if its at the risk of disrupting the potentially great harmony we could have with this current Utd squad then I think it would be wise to rethink that decision to bring them in. At the end of the day I’d love to see Saha stay but we need that young gun as a sort of insurance policy who can come in and really impact the happenings on the pitch with their youthful exuberance.
ps- dada is not responsible if this post seems nonsensical and/or riddled with typos. :p