Sad to see him leave Old Trafford, but ultimately the right move

Football FanCast guest columnist Paul Hughes was disappointed to see Saha leave Old Trafford, but ultimately felt it was the right decision all round.

Louis Saha was certainly not the first player to fail to make a name for himself at Old Trafford and he certainly won’t be the last, however I always felt a huge amount of sympathy for the guy and his incessant injury problems. I have never known a player to have so much misfortune with injuries like the Frenchman experienced and why it was sad to see him leave Old Trafford it was ultimately the right decision by Sir Alex Ferguson to move him on.

You couldn’t blame Fergie for sending him packing, given that he only played 124 games in five seasons. It is sods law that since he moved to Goodison he has nearly notched up 50 games in just over one season, such is life, and Everton are taking full advantage of a fit Saha, something that was never afforded to United.

Ferguson said of Saha: “He is more consistently free of injury than he had been at Manchester United. We would not have sold him had he been a regular performer for us. Unfortunately, for Louis and for us, he was always injured. It happens that way sometimes. I remember we took Viv Anderson from Arsenal. I looked at his playing record and he hadn’t missed a game in four years, other than through suspension, but he was never fit at United. Then he left to go to Sheffield Wednesday at the tail-end of his career and he played for two-and-a-half years without injury.” (Guardian)

I doubt I will be the only United fan that will be surprised if Saha scores today and I am sure the Frenchman will be doing all he can today to prove us and Fergie wrong for dispensing of his services. I don’t think there is any question that he’ll be afforded a decent reception at Old Trafford as he always conducted himself with an air of class about him whilst at the club. I am sure there is a part of him that accepts that Ferguson was left with little option when Everton came in with a bid, but in many ways the move was the best for all concerned, no more so than Saha as it has proved.