Louis Saha’s injury problems in the second half of the season caused many Manchester United fans (and the press) to do a complete backflip in their opinion of the striker. Where Saha was once thought to be better for Manchester United than Ruud van Nistelrooy, the moment Saha got injured and took a long time to recover the fans turned on him, questioning his dedication and his value to Manchester United.
Saha is, and will always be, a decent backup striker at a club like Manchester United. He had a great few months at the start of the season – and he was rightly applauded for his efforts. In an ideal world though, I’d have someone else play alongside Rooney up front.
I don’t think Saha should, or will, leave Manchester United. United don’t throw out players because of injury problems – they do it when the boss is mad at them (Ruud, Keano, Becks, Stam), when they have no future at the club (Veron, Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson) or when the player wants more regular football but isn’t getting it (Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Jones, Forlan).
Saha has no such problems. He’s still needed at the club – he’s definitely ahead of Rossi, Dong, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Alan Smith in the striking pecking order – and he’s getting good football at the moment (when fit) so there are few problems there.
Is Fergie mad at Saha? Is the Manchester United management questioning Saha’s dedication? Ferguson said towards the end of the season that Saha was fit but was not 100% mentally – that he wasn’t fully confident with himself so he was still being rested.
Ferguson is a master of man management – if there’s anyone who can get Saha going again, it’s Ferguson.
If United are going to sell a striker, they’ll sell Alan Smith – Ole is in his final year, we’ve spent a couple of years getting Dong and Rossi is still young. Whether United get a new striker or not, Saha should stay – simply because he would still be our 3rd best striker.
That is, unless you want Alan Smith on the bench as your goal-scoring / match-changing ace. Due respect to Smudger, but he’s not a better striker – at least not after playing an year in midfield and then another year injured.
So – why do you want Manchester United to sell Saha when we need him next season?
