Manchester United sign Saha (1 Viewer)

Zlatan

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2003
23,049
#1
Fulham's Louis Saha admits it is "a dream come true" to finally seal his protracted £10.5m move to Manchester United.

The Frenchman has been United's number one transfer target and they finally agreed a deal with Fulham on Sunday after weeks of negotatiations. United's original bid for the 25-year-old striker was turned down by Fulham boss Chris Coleman, but the deal is expected to be completed this week.

And Saha said: "I am so happy. I never thought this move would happen but I am so pleased it has. I am the happiest man in England.

"Old Trafford is a lucky ground for me. It's where I started in the Premiership and scored two goals. Fulham was a fantastic place for me, but I cannot wait for the challenge of proving myself at the biggest club in the world.
"I want to play in the Champions League and I want to start building up a collection of medals. United was always the choice for me. I have been waiting for this move for more than a month. I knew this was my last chance to sign for United. By June United could have signed another striker."

Saha says he is not worried about the prospect of fighting for a place in the first team.

"In all the big clubs there is competition, I accept that. I just want to play as many matches as possible and I am looking forward to that," Saha added.

United's striking problems were highlighted in Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Wolves, when Ferguson's side looked short of attacking options.

And Ferguson wasted no time in stepping up his move for Saha.

"Fulham can confirm that it has reached an agreement in principle with Manchester United for the transfer of Louis Saha, subject to a number of conditions," said a statement on the Fulham website.

United said they expected to resolve those conditions within the next week.

Saha was quick to praise Coleman despite the war of words between the two and United throughout his protracted move.

The French international said of his manager's reluctance to sell him in the Evening Standard newspaper: "Coleman's was a sporting opinion and so was mine. I understand absolutely.

"If I was in the same position, I would do the same thing. He has done a great job as manager and maybe I should thank him for everything before."

If Saha completes his move this week, the Frenchman will be ineligible for United's FA Cup game next weekend as he played for Fulham in the win over Cheltenham in the third round.

But he will be eligible to play in the Champions League for United.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3408289.stm
 

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Zlatan

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2003
23,049
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread Starter #3
    What about Bellion? They now have Ruud, Forlan, Solskjaer, Bellion and Saha as strikers. IMO they should have invested in someone to partner Ruud properly, not in a bench player.
     

    gray

    Senior Member
    Moderator
    Apr 22, 2003
    30,260
    #7
    ++ [ originally posted by fred weasley ] ++
    i think that dong guy is loaned to a belgian team
    Yeah, it's pretty stupid. He doesn't qualify for a British work-permit and will have to spend his first season on-loan at Antwerp to apply for a work-permit.

    ++ [ originally posted by -CSD- ] ++
    told y'all Saha was good
    pfft i knew before they were in EPL :) I got him in the first week of Yahoo Fantasy Footy and he scored 2 goals.. against Man Utd! :D
     

    Sid

    Senior Member
    Nov 10, 2003
    2,377
    #10
    ++ [ originally posted by IceBlu ] ++
    stop saying "y'all" :embarass:
    :LOL:


    Man Utd is one of the most suck up club I have ever seen:stuckup:

    they only know how to ruin good players:(
     

    Slagathor

    Bedpan racing champion
    Jul 25, 2001
    22,708
    #11
    ++ [ originally posted by -Z- ] ++
    What about Bellion? They now have Ruud, Forlan, Solskjaer, Bellion and Saha as strikers. IMO they should have invested in someone to partner Ruud properly, not in a bench player.
    I'll say.
     

    mikhail

    Senior Member
    Jan 24, 2003
    9,576
    #12
    ++ [ originally posted by -Z- ] ++
    What about Bellion? They now have Ruud, Forlan, Solskjaer, Bellion and Saha as strikers. IMO they should have invested in someone to partner Ruud properly, not in a bench player.
    Forlan is commonly seena s a failure in England, Solskjaer is injured for the season and Bellion is just a kid. He's barely up to acting as their impact sub.

    Scholes (and Giggs when he was injured) has been Ruud's partners for most of the season, and it'll stay that way for now. What they really lacked was a striker who could play as lone striker when van Nistelrooy was injured or rested.
     
    OP

    Zlatan

    Senior Member
    Jun 9, 2003
    23,049
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread Starter #13
    I know Forlan was pretty bad during the start pf his Manyoo spell, but IMO he's improved significantly, he's not really that bad. Maybe he's not Manyoo's class yet, but he still manages to score.

    IMO they should have invested in someone like Mateja Kežman, someone that, like you said, can play alone when Ruud is injured, because they really have no way of replacing hm now. Maybe they could even play together, with Giggs on the left they would be getting plenty of crosses, and Scholes could play behind them.
     

    Zizou

    Senior Member
    Apr 21, 2003
    3,965
    #16
    Well at least now Utd have a good back-up if RvN is out. This surely increases their chances for the CL and EPL as I used to consider their main weakness = lack of dept in attack.
     

    mikhail

    Senior Member
    Jan 24, 2003
    9,576
    #18
    ++ [ originally posted by -Z- ] ++
    Yeah, but he's not really world class now is he?
    Not the point. You don't need world class strikers to beat Wolves, Leicster, etc. Van Nistelrooy can now be rested when important games are looming up, and Saha is good enough to take up the slack up front (witness Andy Cole, a decent but not world class striker who spent yearrs leading the Man Utd line very effectively). You don't score 15 goals in half a season for a team like Fulham only to be ineffective for a team like Man Utd. Next year, assuming he makes a full recovery, Solskjaer will be on the bench with Saha - that's a fair whack of firepower to have to throw on. Fergie's not had that since Sheringham, Yorke and Cole left.
     

    dpforever

    Prediction Game Champ 2003 & 2005
    Jan 12, 2002
    3,794
    #20
    Ferguson seems to like signing players who impress when playing against Man Utd (Ronaldo, Djemba-Djemba, and now Saha). But does it necessarily mean that they would be good playing in the team when facing other opponents?

    Saha would be a great replacement to Van Nistelrooy, though. As he have did wonders when playing for Fulham under Coleman's 4-5-1 formation. The Man Utd fans also seem happy to have him in the team especially after Solskjaer's injury set-back. His eligibility to play in the Champions League also made Saha a good mid-season signing. I can't wait to see him in action in a Red shirt. Will he live to his billing, or will he fall under the pressure and flop?

    PS - I thought Ferguson would be searching for a Ferdinand replacement in the window transfer instead. Wes Brown isn't the perfect defender to do that as it appears (see Wolves match) !!
     

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