How good was Louis Saha?

[El Jefe]

His allround game was fecking excellent. Give him the ball in any situation or part of the pitch and he would be comfortable. Great hold up player in the air or feet but what I loved most was his ability to keep the ball in tight spaces.

His two major flaws were keeping fit and missing easy chances. Those two things kept him from being in the first tier of strikers at the time but I still loved him and was one of the few who preferred him to Tevez.

 

[led_scholes]

I loved his style. A great talent but in the end because of his injuries his career was below average for what he could have achieved. SAF knew his potential and he trusted him as our main striker in a post-Ruud United. Losing him and Neville in the second half of the 06/07 season, cost us a CL title IMO. Scholes admitted that Saha was one of his favourite strikers to partner because of his movement and his understanding of the game (and space). Unlucky for sure, perhaps a little bit weak mentally though..

 

[Inter Yer Nan]

He was one of my favorite players. Such an entertaining player to watch. Like many, I feel if not for the injuries he’d have been a great player. Had a lot of ability and a good all around game so could work with other strikers.

 

[204Red]

Didn't he miss the 2006 World Cup final by picking up a silly yellow card (his 2nd of the tournament) very late in the semi final?

IRC he wasn't a starter, but they were quick to go to him off the bench during the campaign.

 

[acnumber9]

Not half as good as this forum thought he was. Poor finisher and mentally weak.

 

[acnumber9]

Was certainly prolific for that time.

The Ronaldos and messis have skewed people's opinions on what's prolific these days.

Never scored more than 13 goals in a Premier League season. His best for United was 8. Tammy Abraham would skew those statistics.

 

[Jeppers7]

He wasn’t great for us, or even more than decent. He complimented Rooney and Ronaldo but he want good enough to be in their league. Overrated for sure but he was the type of forward we needed.

 

[cyril C]

Saha remind me as a mini-Lukaku. He is strong in running with the ball, got speed. But he is also poor on finishing, particularly some easy chances

 

[JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo]

Genuinely one of my favourite United players. He could have been special had he a little more luck.

 

[Dante]

World class outside of the box. Average inside the box.

 

[thepolice123]

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

That was a hell of a ball by Silvestre. Great finish too.

That was during one of his 3 great half seasons for us. 2nd half of 03/04, 2nd half of 05/06 & first half of 06/07. If only he could have kept they form/fitness up for a couple of full seasons.

 

[Based Adnan]

Rooney said Saha was his best striker partner. Ferdinand and Scholes also said similar. Shame about the injuries.

 

[FrankDrebin]

To be fair to Saha he did score one of the more important goals in SAF later years at the club during the 06/07 campaign.
That goal being his,slightly deflected effort granted, stunner away to Benfica who,in the previous campaign, comfortably beat us in the CL group stages and fundamentally knocked us out.

That Saha goal and eventual victory ,in my view, gave that United squad a much needed confidence boost and a certain steal that was severely lacking in our previous Champions League campaigns.

That vital victory alone gave me the confidence that United had turned the corner and from there on it was the case.
United were back.

 

[balaks]

He was a bit meh.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Saha remind me as a mini-Lukaku. He is strong in running with the ball, got speed. But he is also poor on finishing, particularly some easy chances

With a 10x better touch.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

He can be as good as Eto’o if he’s not injury prone. Can score with weak foot, quick & can hold the ball. He’s not underrated to me but his talent is underrated because the potential he had was incredible if injury doesn’t block it, can go further.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Saha remind me as a mini-Lukaku. He is strong in running with the ball, got speed. But he is also poor on finishing, particularly some easy chances

No way. Saha was brilliant and could score against any team (if and when fit). Lukuku can’t score against any half decent defence. Lukuku has very rarely been injured, Saha was constantly injured. These two players are nothing alike.

 

[MrMarcello]

Never scored more than 13 goals in a Premier League season. His best for United was 8. Tammy Abraham would skew those statistics.

He scored 20 in 03-04 - 13 with Fulham, 7 with United. But that was probably his best overall season.

 

[choiboyx012]

Ighalo kind of reminds me of Saha. Strong with good technique, movement, and touch. Saha did miss a lot of easy chances though

 

[acnumber9]

He scored 20 in 03-04 - 13 with Fulham, 7 with United. But that was probably his best overall season.

Fair enough. I forgot he moved mid season. Never understood the love he gets on here. Gets a lot of credit for our revival in 06/07 which coincided with the emergence of Ronaldo, signing of Carrick and Evra and Vidic finding their feet.

 

[galwayfa]

Without injuries he could have been a legend, very good player for us imo, i thought on his day a very good player

 

[lsd]

Rio calls him the best striker he ever played with at Utd which is high praise to say the least .

All i know is despite Ruud's goalscoring once Saha replaced him the line up we played better football . Rooney and Ronaldo looked and played better in the team and we won more which is the aim .

Fergie made a few mistakes in his time but trusting Saha was a brainwave and paid off in style

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

No way. Saha was brilliant and could score against any team (if and when fit). Lukuku can’t score against any half decent defence. Lukuku has very rarely been injured, Saha was constantly injured. These two players are nothing alike.

They are both black, that’s all some people need to make the comparison sadly...

 

[Web of Bissaka]

World class outside of the box. Average inside the box.

That's weird.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

EDIT: Ronaldo's reaction for the final goal #1

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Key Player!

 

[Nani Nana]

Good friend of mine so I cannot be objective.

A lot of criticism can be levelled at him, but not that he did not take care of himself. The injuries had nothing to do with his lifestyle.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Good friend of mine so I cannot be objective.

A lot of criticism can be levelled at him, but not that he did not take care of himself. The injuries had nothing to do with his lifestyle.

Nanners!!! How are you, mate?

 

[Nani Nana]

Nanners!!! How are you, mate?

Hi mate, fine and you? Thanks for asking

Oh and Louis is also in quarantine, this time like the rest of us

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Hi mate, fine and you? Thanks for asking

Oh and Louis is also in quarantine, this time like the rest of us

Doing well thanks. Give my best to Louis, he's one of my favourites.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Really really good player

Deceptively good in the air, rapid, strong and genuinely two footed. Not as smooth to watch as Berbatov or as clinical as RVN but when fit his all round game was excellent, I can't think of a single season he completed without injury so we'll never know but given he got 40 odd goals in 120 odd games as a crock, you'd think he'd be up there with our top players especially when you think of the team that was developing around him at the time.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He was ahead of his time and would light up the Premier League today.

How was he ahead of his time exactly?

 

[Bondi77]

Decent footballer who was injury prone.
On his day he was good but there are plenty around with that tag.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

He's a good player but I honestly think Martial is better, I imagine that will prove quite a controversial statement on here. Just to offer a small semblance of reason, watch those top 10 goals above and tell me honestly they are better than Martials, they aren't even close. Obviously I appreciate that isn't the only metric in judging a player but still worth mentioning.

 

[Physiocrat]

Far from great. His first touch was terrible. I remember calling him Teflon Louis because of it.

 

[LDUred]

Been watching old games and I think he was quite like Ighalo is. Maybe a bit more skilful.

Definitely. He was a lot more technically gifted than Ighalo. No doubt a result of his scholarship at the Clarefontaine football academy.

I thought he was pretty good for us but that his injuries and lack of self-belief held him back. I definitely agree that he improved our style of play when he came back into the team.

He should still feel proud of what he contributed during his time at the club. It's just that with the raw attributes he possessed it could certainly have been more.

 

[lsd]

He's a good player but I honestly think Martial is better, I imagine that will prove quite a controversial statement on here. Just to offer a small semblance of reason, watch those top 10 goals above and tell me honestly they are better than Martials, they aren't even close. Obviously I appreciate that isn't the only metric in judging a player but still worth mentioning.

I wouldn't say controversial . Stupid perhaps

 

[Hansa]

He scored 20 in 03-04 - 13 with Fulham, 7 with United. But that was probably his best overall season.

Loved his early days. Gave us a bit of the Dwight Yorke impetus when he first came. Scored in a classic game at Goodison, the one where Ruud got a late 4-3 winner.

But ultimately spent too much time in the treatment room.

 

[Hughie77]

Very good.

Would have been elite bar injuries.

Agree, his injuries set him back , he was top top striker, would fit our side now perfect I think.