Think it might be all over for Saha now

Originally Posted by Fountz

..and how much did we pay his agent ?, when apparantly he would've crawled over broken glass to come to us..

hmmm !

£750,000. It was when we were still a plc so is in the accounts.

What Fergie said -

"That happens with football, especially as Louis is a player built for speed. We can't apportion blame in any way. If you look at his record, he has had injuries. We were aware of that before we signed him. But he's such a fantastic striker that we took the chance. In many ways we're pleased because when he has played he's been a marvellous player for us. We just have to accept it's part of the game."

What Fergie means -

'Dear other Premiership managers - ignore his shocking record with injuries, remember how good he can be when he plays. Fantastic etc etc. He's really not injured that often. Look over there. Nothing to see here. Very good striker. You are feeling sleepy...6million - done sir'

See also - we will be playing our strongest team on Sunday

Originally Posted by Gypsum Fantastic

What Fergie said -

"That happens with football, especially as Louis is a player built for speed. We can't apportion blame in any way. If you look at his record, he has had injuries. We were aware of that before we signed him. But he's such a fantastic striker that we took the chance. In many ways we're pleased because when he has played he's been a marvellous player for us. We just have to accept it's part of the game."

What Fergie means -

'Dear other Premiership managers - ignore his shocking record with injuries, remember how good he can be when he plays. Fantastic etc etc. He's really not injured that often. Look over there. Nothing to see here. Very good striker. You are feeling sleepy...6million - done sir'

See also - we will be playing our strongest team on Sunday

Just what I was thinking. I'm absolutely certain he's off now.

Still can't get over him handing a £#%&!ing Doctor's note in. What a @#%&!.

To be fair to the lad he was limping quite badly yesterday at training but word on the street is that he is staying.
The boys looked proper smart in their cup final suits, all laughing and joking like a proper happy team. Only one not in with the giggling seemed to be lord snooty.
And park obv due to his pretty definite omission from the cup final!
This was before last night's dinner so who knows what may have been said over a nice bottle or 3 of Cotes du rhone...
Allez les rouges

We could & should be looking to get a better striker than Saha anyway...regardless of his numerous injuries.
Of course he's capable of the occasional great game (He wouldn't play for United & France otherwise)....But, he isn't top drawer & we need a top drawer striker to help us defend the Title next year....& go one further in Europe.

I'm not saying we need a '30 goal a season man' we're not the kind of side that relies on that kind of player, but we do need a better version of Saha.
Not to mention a player that's capable of playing for more than just 3 months every season

Thanks for a very promising & impressive August-November Louis, but we need more than that.

Personally I would have thought now was the perfect time to sell him: plenty of managers with large chunks of overseas TV money burning a hole in their pockets, and a dearth of classy strikers on the market. He may be injury prone, but if he does stay reasonably fit he will probably score you enough goals to keep you up. I could see anyone who finished in the bottom half plus the promoted teams fancying a bit of Louis action. Another season of injuries though and you'd be lucky to get 3 million.

Originally Posted by denis lawless

quality

Originally Posted by borsuk

oh ffs. saha was a crucial member of the team for much of the season. perhaps titles can't be won before christmas, but they can be lost before christmas - just ask benitez.

short memories, some of you.

as it happens i think we should get rid and that he lacks the attitude to play for united. that doesn't change what he did in the first half of the season, though.

Title's are not won before Christmas, he didn't play after Christmas...

Saha can pat himself on the back for the fact that, at Christmas, we hadn't lost the league already. He can't, however, take any credit for the events at the business end of the season.

Given Larsson's departure, it is amazing that Saha's lack of bottle didn't end up costing us the title.

Can the club sue him if they can prove that he's fabricating injuries to avoid playing because he's a nutter? Breach of contract surely. Sue the @#%&!.

Originally Posted by TreeFiddy

Can the club sue him if they can prove that he's fabricating injuries to avoid playing because he's a nutter? Breach of contract surely. Sue the @#%&!.

Errrrrr.

No

Unfortunately, reading between the lines it seems he does suffer from some form of hypochondria, but I wonder if there is any point in selling him. When fit he is a tremendous player to have in the squad, so would it really be worth the 5/6m we'd get by selling him? I doubt a club will pay much more than that for a 29-year-old sicknote. What we should do is sell Smith, get Rossi back and then buy another forward. That way we're not overly-reliant on Saha being fit, but if he is we would have fantastic options.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Unfortunately, reading between the lines it seems he does suffer from some form of hypochondria, but I wonder if there is any point in selling him. When fit he is a tremendous player to have in the squad, so would it really be worth the 5/6m we'd get by selling him? I doubt a club will pay much more than that for a 29-year-old sicknote. What we should do is sell Smith, get Rossi back and then buy another forward. That way we're not overly-reliant on Saha being fit, but if he is we would have fantastic options.

good post

Originally Posted by Enjoying Insanity

Errrrrr.

No

So it's ok for a player to say he's not playing but still pick up his wages?

%@#$&!s.

Originally Posted by antonin jablonsky

Yup, we'll be left with him for another season on the treatment table. Must have his arse imprinted on it by now.

More correctly called, by it's modern medical-technical name, a 'Saha'.

Originally Posted by Terry Silver

Title's are not won before Christmas, he didn't play after Christmas...

Saha can pat himself on the back for the fact that, at Christmas, we hadn't lost the league already. He can't, however, take any credit for the events at the business end of the season.

Given Larsson's departure, it is amazing that Saha's lack of bottle didn't end up costing us the title.

borsuk's point, as I understand it, was that the games Saha helped us win in the first part of the season count just as much as the games he was missing for in the second half. And a perfectly fair point it is too.


I'd add to it that the football we played with Saha up front was as good to watch as any we played this season, which counts for plenty too.


I've defended Saha since he arrived, simply because he always struck me as a class act who was unlucky with injuries, and the type of player who would help us play the football we ought to. Now it seems I may have given him too much of that benefit of the doubt. But remember, we still don't know if this stuff about his state of mind is really the case, or Fergie's black ops in action. I wouldn't rule out either possibility. But it's academic, as it looks as if he's toast either way.


In the unlikely event we keep him, it ought to be on a new pay-per-play or at least performance related contract; and if he won't take that, we should £#%&! him off.

Originally Posted by Tropical

borsuk's point, as I understand it, was that the games Saha helped us win in the first part of the season count just as much as the games he was missing for in the second half. And a perfectly fair point it is too.


I'd add to it that the football we played with Saha up front was as good to watch as any we played this season, which counts for plenty too.


I've defended Saha since he arrived, simply because he always struck me as a class act who was unlucky with injuries, and the type of player who would help us play the football we ought to. Now it seems I may have given him too much of that benefit of the doubt. But remember, we still don't know if this stuff about his state of mind is really the case, or Fergie's black ops in action. I wouldn't rule out either possibility. But it's academic, as it looks as if he's toast either way.


In the unlikely event we keep him, it ought to be on a new pay-per-play or at least performance related contract; and if he won't take that, we should £#%&! him off.

Saha was brilliant up until Christmas, and I was a big fan of the move to get rid of RVN and give a pacey, strong, fluid striker like Saha a chance.

One thing that RVN had over Saha, unfortunately, was big game temperament.

Saha has bottled the second half of the season and has worn away the goodwill and patience of Fergie and a sizeable portion of the United support.

When I look back to when the title was won this year, Saha doesn't figure in any of the key moments. Therefore his quotes about "winning the title" and being keen to stay don't hold much water with me, regardless of how lively he looked before he lost his bottle.

if he's not really injured, fergie should not be letting him get away with it. and probably wouldn't be.

and to think there were those who said larsson was playing every game (in spite of not being very good at all) so that saha would be fit for the run-in.

ha!

he'll need to be fit for the run-in with fergie.

We'd be in the European Cup Final if Saha wasn't such a bottler/loon

NFT