Fergie welcomes Saha back

[Natalie]

Sir Alex Ferguson insists that Louis Saha is ready and raring to go in Saturday's FA Cup fifth round clash with Arsenal.

The Manchester United striker has not featured for the first team since picking up a knee injury in the third round tie with Aston Villa and has been restricted to just 19 appearances in all competitions this season.

However, having now made a successful return to training in the past couple of weeks, Ferguson is delighted to have the French international back in contention entering the business end of the campaign.

Different

"He's a fantastic player and I'm glad to have him back at this particular junction of the season," said the United boss.

"He adds something different from what we have as a team as everyone knows and therefore, it's welcome back.

"There's no question that he is fully recovered, he's done a lot of training now, he's through that 10 days of intensive football so he's okay."

Balance

With United and Arsenal both still involved on three fronts this season Ferguson expects both sides to ring the changes ahead of the weekend showdown at Old Trafford.

"I don't think either side will play the side that everyone expects. We'll make a couple of changes," he admitted.

"The view is that with massive games like Arsenal and then Lyon (in the UEFA Champions League) on Wednesday you have to have a lot of consideration about how you balance out your team and hopefully we'll get it right.

"I think the game will be a normal Arsenal, Manchester United game full of great commitment, feisty, competitive but full of a lot of football because both teams certainly play good football."
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ive gota good felling about this :)
see him being the diffrence

[reddwarf]

I'd be stunned if he starts against Arsenal or Lyon but it'll be good to have another striker on the bench for a change.

Let's hope he can stay fit for a sustained period this time.

[Jazz 16]

We can always use him if things arent going to plan.
As we all know he offers us something different up front,
which could prove crucial over the next few games.
lets hope he hits the ground running and stays well away from injuries.

[CROoney]

ok - it's official - this guy is the most injury plagued player in the history of SPORT - not football - but sport ! I've actually become tired of all the "saha's back, no he isn't" news... or "saha should go, no he shouldn't " ... i don't care anymore...so, so tired..... bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[reddwarf]

ok - it's official - this guy is the most injury plagued player in the history of SPORT - not football - but sport ! I've actually become tired of all the "saha's back, no he isn't" news... or "saha should go, no he shouldn't " ... i don't care anymore...so, so tired..... bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ah, c'mon. You love him really ;)

I know I will if he comes off the bench to score the winner tomorrow :D

[Stephen]

YES! WAHOO!

Let's hope he stays fit and gives Rooney and Tevez a break when needed.

Still think he should go as soon as the summer rolls around.

[donthered]

Lets hope he scores before he is injured again,lol

[haggler]

bad news i am afraid he was opening his wage slip and has sustained a very nasty paper cut . the medical staff said all it needed was a plaster but the sight of his own blood sent him into deep trauma and he has booked in with the club quack for counselling

[carlyluvsunited]

I know I will if he comes off the bench to score the winner tomorrow :D

Probably get the same odds for him to come off the bench and score ...

As you would for him coming off the bench and getting injured before he reaches the pitch ... :p

He's managed that before don't forget ... :eek:

[yangch0000]

i just hope he is half as confident as ronaldo.

[BALROG]

Saha should only be used when we have a serious lead. tevez or rooney should be sub'd and we can all watch saha jog for awhile!

[NateR]

Our Lord who art in Heaven, please don't let Saha get injured again, Amen.

[Fergaiste]

I truly believe saha is vital to the destiny of our season. As Fergie says he offers something different-strength,pace, good in the air and a poacher's instinct. I think he is now due a run of games having had his customary injury period for the last month. Fingers crossed he remains fit as a healthy Saha is as good as any centre forward in gthe premiership.We missed him definitely in the run in last season so i have a feeling he'll be around for the next couple of months well hopefully anyway. aS for tomorrow Tevez needs a break so I think Louis could well start tomorrow.

[owenrooneyruud]

WICKED...he changes the game coming off the bench..look at the game we played against arsenal

[Devilsnevercry]

Optimist - He gets back to his form and plays to the potnetial he could

Pessimist - who cares

[red devil_forever07]

dont care SAHA will play or not..
i jst want UNITED to win ths match.. ths all

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GGMU

[Stephen]

dont care SAHA will play or not..
i jst want UNITED to win ths match.. ths all

-------------
GGMU
If GGMU stands for Go,Go, Man U. I will scream :mad:

[slap u lar]

who gives a **** bout saha. hes let us ,himself ,and football in general down, how can some1 be so injury prone and expect fans to be bothered if hes fit or not. we should of got some sort of player to cover the striker position by now and coz we havent ,if rooney or tevez get injured now ,were bollixed and thats that im afraid .

[burnzy1987]

who gives a **** bout saha. hes let us ,himself ,and football in general down, how can some1 be so injury prone and expect fans to be bothered if hes fit or not. we should of got some sort of player to cover the striker position by now and coz we havent ,if rooney or tevez get injured now ,were bollixed and thats that im afraid .

thats abit harsh!
he scored a fair few goals last season(that priceless goal against chelsea springs to mind) and we wouldn't of won the title without him
although he has frustrated me this season i would like him to get fully fit.

i rekon saha thrives off confidence, more so than other strikers, so if he can get a goal or two in the next couple of games it will do him the world of good.

[NateR]

who gives a **** bout saha. hes let us ,himself ,and football in general down, how can some1 be so injury prone and expect fans to be bothered if hes fit or not. we should of got some sort of player to cover the striker position by now and coz we havent ,if rooney or tevez get injured now ,were bollixed and thats that im afraid .

It is hardly his fault if he is so injury prone. He's a great player for us when he's fit and firing on all cylinders. If he hadn't gotten injured last season, he would have scored lots of goals for us.
Give him a break. :rolleyes:

[Jazz 16]

It is hardly his fault if he is so injury prone. He's a great player for us when he's fit and firing on all cylinders. If he hadn't gotten injured last season, he would have scored lots of goals for us.
Give him a break. :rolleyes:

Exactly, well said Nater.
When Louis starts banging in the goals, most of you will change your tune.
He gets a hard time but its undeserved. Just wait and see what happens ;)

[slap u lar]

It is hardly his fault if he is so injury prone. He's a great player for us when he's fit and firing on all cylinders. If he hadn't gotten injured last season, he would have scored lots of goals for us.
Give him a break. :rolleyes:
give him a break .... you jest surely, hes had a break for the last 12 months ,how much of a break do you want him to have, 99% of other employers wouldve of sacked the useless no mark by now , why cant he step up and be counted when needed. ill tell you why , he aint got it in him , get rid now.

Exactly, well said Nater.
When Louis starts banging in the goals, most of you will change your tune.
He gets a hard time but its undeserved. Just wait and see what happens ;)
when firing on all cylinders , when was that exactly 12 months ago?? time has moved on ,its time he moved on , useless to the cause end of

to nateR and jazz16, be honest could or would you rely on saha or some average premiership foreward eg carew ,martins,benjani, to fill in when rooney or tevez are out or rested . i think you will find the majority would sacrafice balsawood boy for another .theres bein loyal and bein blinkered ,i think you both are blinkered

[CROoney]

who gives a **** bout saha. hes let us ,himself ,and football in general down, how can some1 be so injury prone and expect fans to be bothered if hes fit or not. we should of got some sort of player to cover the striker position by now and coz we havent ,if rooney or tevez get injured now ,were bollixed and thats that im afraid .
i can't believe the things i see on here - it's like blaming some1 for being ill. or blaming fat ronaldo for being injured constantly ... that's beyond any common sense.. although i blame ronaldo for constantly being unfit, fat and laisy...had he wanted to work more seriously none of that would have happened i think... his tendons can't hold his weight and constant speed changes...

[Stephen]

He's not just injured though.

His mind isn't in the right place. He seems lazy.

[Jazz 16]

He's not just injured though.

His mind isn't in the right place. He seems lazy.

That remains to be seen. We dont know what goes on behind the scenes.
He is just unlucky with injuries, it happens.
I thought he looked sharp enough tonight and could have scored one or two.
He definitely offers us something different and I feel he could make the difference in the run in of the season.

[Because I'm DC]

Saha is a good player when fit, don't forget that he kept Ruud out the team for half a season, and it wasn't for nothing! But, his performances in the remainder of this season will decide whether he stays with United or not. He's had a tough time with injures, yes, but he needs to prove he is worthy of the United shirt. When Rossi can't get into the United Squad, why should Saha? Who knows, maybe he'll be sold and it will open up the doors for Rossi to return...

[NateR]

give him a break .... you jest surely, hes had a break for the last 12 months ,how much of a break do you want him to have, 99% of other employers wouldve of sacked the useless no mark by now , why cant he step up and be counted when needed. ill tell you why , he aint got it in him , get rid now.


when firing on all cylinders , when was that exactly 12 months ago?? time has moved on ,its time he moved on , useless to the cause end of

to nateR and jazz16, be honest could or would you rely on saha or some average premiership foreward eg carew ,martins,benjani, to fill in when rooney or tevez are out or rested . i think you will find the majority would sacrafice balsawood boy for another .theres bein loyal and bein blinkered ,i think you both are blinkered

The person that suffers most due to injury is the player himself. You can sure as hell bet, Saha must be very frustrated due to the number of Injuries he has sustained which has prevented him from playing for his team. Lay off him, it is foolish to blame the player for being injured all the dam time.

He was excellent at the start of last season, when he wasn't injured. Once he gets some continuity in games, he'll step up to the mrk.

[Fergaiste]

SAHA'S brief cameo showed his worth to united. He looked very sharp and the only thing lacking was his finishing which has never been his fortee anyway.in fact when coming on as a sub this season he has been largely effective in thst he offers another dimension to the red's attacking play. His pace could prove a vital weapon against tiring defences as we approach the run in .probably best using him as a sub anyway as he is less likely to get injured.

[haggler]

SAHA'S brief cameo showed his worth to united. He looked very sharp and the only thing lacking was his finishing which has never been his fortee anyway.in fact when coming on as a sub this season he has been largely effective in thst he offers another dimension to the red's attacking play. His pace could prove a vital weapon against tiring defences as we approach the run in .probably best using him as a sub anyway as he is less likely to get injured.the only thing lacking was his finishing which has never been his forte ?
hes a bloody striker so if he isnt much of a finisher whats the point !!!!!!! he is an excellent finisher when fit which is very rare since joining utd , your post is like saying van der sar doesnt save much which he never was any good at but he looked tall :confused: :confused:

[slap u lar]

to rite haggler. stop this nonsense refrence saha, yea he werent to bad when fit, but he never is fit anymore , and he kept ruud out 2 yrs ago , im on about now , we need cover now not when hes ready ,do you get it , even if he starts and plays the next 5 games and scores 5 goals ,you can bet blacks black the weakling will not be there after that for amonth or 2 .you know it i know it and so does every 1 else

[Fergaiste]

the only thing lacking was his finishing which has never been his forte ?
hes a bloody striker so if he isnt much of a finisher whats the point !!!!!!! he is an excellent finisher when fit which is very rare since joining utd , your post is like saying van der sar doesnt save much which he never was any good at but he looked tall :confused: :confused:

what i meant was is that like Andy cole or wayne Rooney his conversion rate of goals to chances is pretty average compared to someone like Van nistletroy. however as his movement, pace and positional sense is first class he gets into positions to score more than most other strikers I am aware of. Therefore along with his teamwork and general attitude there is so much more to his game than simply being an out and out goalscorer. that is why he was favoured over Ruud towards the end of the latter's united career and why Fergie still rates him as a player despite his absenteeism.

Hope you now understand as fair enough it sounded nonsensical:)

[Fergaiste]

to rite haggler. stop this nonsense refrence saha, yea he werent to bad when fit, but he never is fit anymore , and he kept ruud out 2 yrs ago , im on about now , we need cover now not when hes ready ,do you get it , even if he starts and plays the next 5 games and scores 5 goals ,you can bet blacks black the weakling will not be there after that for amonth or 2 .you know it i know it and so does every 1 else

I sense a personal animosity for King Louis poring through your threads. Look He was as integral as anybody to our march to the title last season. as for this season well in fairness he has been fit for most of it he just simply hasnt been able to get into the team such has been the form of Rooney, ronaldo and tevez. His performances as a sub have been quite effective such as last Saturday and whilst his peformances as a starter have been disappointing which have only numbered half a dozen that is due to lack of confidence as much as anything. hopefully Saturday will herald a resurgence in form and goals for Saha

you may think differently but we are all entitled to our opinion and what I will say in short is that Louis has the class,attitude and ability to still justify his place in United's squad

[slap u lar]

listen mate ,i dont hate any utd player , but he dont play hardly so whats the point , hes just wasting another players squad place and every ones time and patiance and wishes for success , please admit any other player in his position would be better than his previous record of appearances and health state . maybe if and a big if it is ,he proves me and a lot of other people wrong i will apologize ,until then i remain steadfast in my views

[Fergaiste]

listen mate ,i dont hate any utd player , but he dont play hardly so whats the point , hes just wasting another players squad place and every ones time and patiance and wishes for success , please admit any other player in his position would be better than his previous record of appearances and health state . maybe if and a big if it is ,he proves me and a lot of other people wrong i will apologize ,until then i remain steadfast in my views

fair enough lets wait till the end of the season and suspend judgement till then. saha above all people recognises his injury problems cannot guarantee a first team place or even a squad place come the summer so he knows he has to fight to remain at utd. Besides he hasnt misses that much of this season missing a month at the start of the season and the preceding month before Saturday.He was quoted earlier in the season as saying he will remain injury free for the whole season if he could just take the aggression out of his game!!In other lesss ironic words his commitment to the cause means inevitably injuries occur.With all due respect you make it sound like his ill health is self inflicted . in fact his injuries could be a blessing in that 1. he seems to perform better this season as a sub where his pace can trouble tiring defenders and 2. he will not grumble one bit at being a squad player given that no way does he deserve a starting place given the form of tevez etc and his enforced absences. If we had signed someone like anelka in the window would he have been happy to make up the numbers on the bench? I dont think so .

At the moment there is noone of saha's class available that would be content to be a squad player that would be good enough to play for Manchester united. I would not swap anybody for rooney and tevez with the possible exception of drogba- and we are not likely to get him

if saha has a half decent remainder of the season I dont see Fergie getting rid of him even if Manucho and campbell prove themselves in the intervening period and come back from their loan spells.

[slap u lar]

ok everybody has there opinion , im just goin on my career ,football wise, i played a half decent standard ,b.a.o.r. selected , west mid league ,west mid interlink, county premier , county div1 , sunday league until last season , im 44 now so i played a long time sat,and sun, all up front as a striker ,goal scorer.now if i couldnt play for those various sides consistantly id got bombed out of each side, i played at thats what its all about kid. wanting it ,desire to play and win, he CANT have it or he would be more readily available mate . he gets payed ks for it , my best pay day was 25quid a week ,i played for the love , he dosent love it enough .

[Fergaiste]

ok everybody has there opinion , im just goin on my career ,football wise, i played a half decent standard ,b.a.o.r. selected , west mid league ,west mid interlink, county premier , county div1 , sunday league until last season , im 44 now so i played a long time sat,and sun, all up front as a striker ,goal scorer.now if i couldnt play for those various sides consistantly id got bombed out of each side, i played at thats what its all about kid. wanting it ,desire to play and win, he CANT have it or he would be more readily available mate . he gets payed ks for it , my best pay day was 25quid a week ,i played for the love , he dosent love it enough .

i don't think we can compare like with like here. i think its safe to say that professional football with all its training,conditioning etc places a lot more demands on the body than the level you or I would have played at no matter how much saha or his ilk get paid for it. He may well get paid 40-50 k a week but I don't think anybody can question Saha's endeavours on the pitch- he is as committed as anyone.

secondly there are just players that are injury prone period. it could be worse- imagine if we had darren Anderton who must have played little more than a dozen games for Spurs in 10 years. From what you are saying I conclude your argumet is that its all in the mind and I must admit I heard a rumour last year that saha is a hypercondriac- that Fergie had sent him for psychiatric help. I don't personally believe this drivel but its amazing what sets tongues waging.what I will say is that Saha seems to be one of these all or nothing people where unless he is fully right he feels he wont do himself justice therefore declares himself unfit.Maybe he's being overly hard on himself but I can see where he is coming from in that to play for Man united you cannot settle for second best. I know in contrast you have john terry for the renties but he is a one off.

finally its not like Saha is throwing away his talent.we've had our fair share in best & Mcgrath of great players whose united careers were curtailed by excessive drinking,partying etc.as I said before lets not barrick him just yet until the end of the season as going by 3 of the 4 seasons he has been with us he usually has a good 3-4 month spell over the course of the campaign so hopefully he is due one now;)

[haggler]

i have it on good authority that sahas now on the road to greatness and will destroy lyon at old trafford in the return . he did have his toenails cut today and the third one on left foot is catching slightly on his sock so he must consider wether to make himself available for selection . i do understand what you meant fergiaste i was just being an arguementative sod to further the debate hence the name haggler if the fella says its 50 quid i want it for 5 45 says he nah 10 then when hes down to his last knocks i slowly count out less than he settled on in cash and say take it or leave it and walk away . nine times out of ten the deal is done . i even ask the guy in the paper shop if i can have the paper cheaper than price on the front . he tells me to feck off first english word he learnt so he tells me .

[Fergaiste]

i have it on good authority that sahas now on the road to greatness and will destroy lyon at old trafford in the return . he did have his toenails cut today and the third one on left foot is catching slightly on his sock so he must consider wether to make himself available for selection . i do understand what you meant fergiaste i was just being an arguementative sod to further the debate hence the name haggler if the fella says its 50 quid i want it for 5 45 says he nah 10 then when hes down to his last knocks i slowly count out less than he settled on in cash and say take it or leave it and walk away . nine times out of ten the deal is done . i even ask the guy in the paper shop if i can have the paper cheaper than price on the front . he tells me to feck off first english word he learnt so he tells me .

:D i like it mate.Didnt really fall for it mate as i just explained myself better.Have to say i thought you might have been taking the **** but couldnt be sure. I nearly got wound up but I enjoy the craic as much as anyone.;)

[CROoney]

listen mate ,i dont hate any utd player , but he dont play hardly so whats the point , hes just wasting another players squad place and every ones time and patiance and wishes for success , please admit any other player in his position would be better than his previous record of appearances and health state . maybe if and a big if it is ,he proves me and a lot of other people wrong i will apologize ,until then i remain steadfast in my views
he's not wasting anything to anyone... if anyone - SAF's wasting it for thinking that an injury prone player is better than most of other attackers in the club.. and he's right.. I'd play Saha with a broken leg ahead of Dong tbh.. I love Saha, and at the moment we have no one better... We can use him when he's fit

[slap u lar]

hes had 1 good 4 month spell and that was the begining of LAST season , period. he aint been fit any other time ,not bad seeings hes been here for 4 and a half seasons , jesus h christ how much more do we as fans have to wait to see IF he can hack it .he cant as history proves ,period ,end of .