THE INDIE - SAHA LEAVES BAGGIES SWEATING ON SURVIVAL
A fixture notable for high scoring - invariably in Manchester United's favour - ought to have followed tradition in every detail yesterday.
Having put six goals past West Bromwich in the previous two meetings, Sir Alex Ferguson's team should have maintained that average at the very least. Instead, to Ferguson's frustration ,they eased into a winning position with two goals by Louis Saha, who continues to keep Ruud van Nistelrooy out, then allowed an outplayed Albion back into the game.
Nathan Ellington's header offered unlikely hope, but the revival petered out and news of Portsmouth's romp at West Ham brought groans to The Hawthorns as their plight at the bottom worsened. Only Birmingham's defeat by Tottenham later, improved the mood.
Emerging as moral victors from last week's derby at St Andrew's was still only worth one point, when three were there for the taking. Had Albion accepted just one more of the numerous chances created there, they would have entered yesterday's game in even better heart, but there was no real carry-over.
Many home supporters were critical of Bryan Robson's decision to stick to the same starting XI as last Saturday, with Kevin Campbell again left isolated in attack as the five-man midfield failed to offer sufficient support. Once again the plan unravelled when the opposition scored first and it took the emergence of Ellington and Kanu from the bench to offer a threat.
"Once United get in front, they'll make it difficult," Robson said of his old club. "They're at their best playing counter- attacking football." He declined, however, to blame West Ham for fielding a weakened side against Portsmouth, admitting he would have done the same in a similar situation.
Ferguson's fury would have been something to behold if Albion had managed to deny his team a fifth successive League win. "From a position of real authority, missing chance after chance, you start to fret a bit," he admitted. "The team is playing very well but it could have turned out a real disaster." On the subject of Saha, who now has five goals in eight games, and Van Nistelrooy, he said: "It's one of those difficult situations. But Ruud's a fantastic player and he'll get his opportunities."
THE OBSERVER - SAHA DOUBLE LEAVES RUUD IN THE SHADE
Two goals from Louis Saha kept up Manchester United's challenge for second place and took their mind off the absolute misery of having to fork out for their own Carling Cup final tickets, leaving Ruud van Nistelrooy wondering whether he will have to pay to get back into the team.
United again started with Ryan Giggs in central midfield, but once more it was the attacking personnel that attracted most attention. Saha has a busier allround game than Van Nistelrooy, goes the argument. He certainly does at the moment. While Saha gets a prolonged chance to demonstrate his undeniable pace and mobility on the pitch, Van Nistelrooy is glued to the bench.
This fixture gave him the opportunity to compare notes with Nathan Ellington and Nwankwo Kanu, the two West Brom strikers whose starting opportunities have become limited, although whether Kevin Campbell is ahead of them on account of his pace and mobility is a matter for Bryan Robson to judge.
Nevertheless, it was Saha's pace and mobility that resulted in United taking the lead in the 16th minute. Showing a willingness to charge up the left wing rarely exhibited by Van Nistelrooy, Saha did well to keep in a long punt upfield by the corner flag and won a corner from Steve Watson as a result. Heading in Giggs's cross was a simple matter for the Frenchman once the West Brom defence had decided not to bother with anything like a challenge, though without Saha's ability to chase a lost cause the position would not have been gained in the first place.
Not really learning the lesson, Paul Robinson needlessly gave away another corner 10 minutes later and this time Nemanja Vidic reached Giggs's cross, only to see his header fly over the bar. The problem for West Brom soon became clear. With Rio Ferdinand and Vidic easily looking after Campbell, the home side found breaking out of their own half difficult, let alone setting up an equaliser.
Apart from a brief chance when Diomansy Kamara denied Campbell a shooting opportunity by crossing fractionally behind him, every home clearance came straight back, with Saha, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo taking turns to run at the Baggies' hardpressed back line. The only time West Brom threatened was from set pieces, and Edwin van Der Sar had two sharp saves to make before the interval from a Kamara free-kick and a Curtis Davies header from a corner, but United had only themselves to blame for not being out of sight at half time.
Rooney swaggered into the penalty area unchallenged after 40 minutes, only to spend too much time setting himself up for a shot and seeing Martin Albrechtsen whip the ball off his toes. Then Saha played Giggs clean through to be denied point blank by Tomasz Kuszczak, though with the whole of the goal to aim at Giggs could have done better than shoot almost straight at the goalkeeper.
SUNDAY TIMES - SAHA DOUBLE SINKS BAGGIES
The main talking point at The Hawthorns yesterday was not Louis Saha's seven goals in his past eight starts — a run threatening to render Ruud Van Nistelrooy redundant — but the weakened West Ham that subsided too easily to defeat against West Brom's relegation rivals Portsmouth.
Saha scored two more here, fully justifying his continued inclusion, but for the majority in the crowd the news that West Ham had left out six of the players used in the midweek FA Cup victory over Bolton was of greater concern, and had the Albion fans booing their disapproval.
For United, it was another case of who needs Van Nistelrooy? Their leading scorer was again on the bench, although this time his exclusion from the starting line-up was said to be for personal, as much as footballing reasons. The Dutchman had attended a family funeral on Friday.
After leaking 11 goals in their previous four games, Albion sought defensive security in a belt and braces 4-5-1 formation, only to concede again, in embarrassing circumstances, after 16 minutes.
United took the lead from a set piece, which was bad enough from Bryan Robson's viewpoint, but the way in which his players went missing under Ryan Giggs' corner will give the old warrior nightmares. When Giggs took the kick, from the left, Saha rose unattended ten yards out to score with a near post header that was too high for Paul Robinson's attempt at a goalline clearance.
"It was a shocking goal to give away, especially that early," Robson said. "Once United get in front, they keep the ball so well that you're always going to be struggling."
And so it proved. United might have scored earlier, when Junichi Inamoto got away with handling a cross from Gary Neville deep inside his own penalty area. West Brom had created the first chance of the afternoon, when Curtis Davies headed just wide of the far post from a Jonathan Greening corner, but thereafter they were trapped on the back foot, in damage limitation mode.
After 35 minutes, however, the relegation battlers stirred themselves to test Edwin van der Sar twice in a matter of seconds. Their first accurate goal attempt came from Diomansy Kamara, whose 25-yard free kick evaded United's defensive wall, sending Van der Sar plunging low to his right to turn the ball round the post. The consequent corner, taken by Greening, was met powerfully by Davies with a header that had the keeper sprawling to his left to pull off another notable save.
At this stage, the United supporters called upon their old favourite, Robson, to give them a wave, and when he clapped his hands in response, there was loud booing from the home supporters, calling to mind the apology Steve Bruce had to make to outraged Birmingham fans earlier this season when he fell into the same trap.
How sad. As Robson said: "What was I supposed to do — flash the Manchester United lot a V sign? I owe them more respect than that."
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - ROBSON RUES FERGIE'S FAITH IN SAHA
It would be too dramatic to say that Manchester United dealt a fatal blow to old servant Bryan Robson's hopes of keeping West Brom in the Premiership. But on a bitterly cold afternoon in which we witnessed a familiar demonstration of the gulf between the two ends of the table, Albion felt the chilly fingers of relegation tightening round their throats for the first time.
They could not even warm their hands on other results, the news that Pompey had beaten a weakened West Ham side at Upton Park to move three points behind them, meaning that, having already accepted the inevitability of a protracted dog fight with neighbours Birmingham for 17th place, Albion now also risk neck ache looking over their shoulders.
However, they refused to bow to United's superiority and the apparent comfort that a 2-0 lead afforded the visitors, pulling one back with a headed goal from substitute Nathan Ellington 12 minutes from time. That they were able to do so, though, said as much about the vulnerability that still afflicts United, even if they are now enjoying some of their best form of the season.
Louis Saha, surprisingly inthe side ahead of Ruud van Nistelrooy since last month's Carling Cup final and scorer of both United goals, is a big reason for that, proving that, while many supporters believe manager Sir Alex Ferguson has lost his marbles, he can still get some things right. It also proved that he is still not shirking the difficult decisions.
He will be grateful for three points which keep his side bubbling along in second place and closing in on automatic qualification for the Champions League, something that used to be taken for granted, more often than not through winning the title. But, once again, West Brom were as much the authors of their own downfall, neglecting the basics when Saha was allowed to head in Ryan Giggs' corner unchallenged for an early goal.
A touch of class settled the game just after the hour, Giggs switching from central midfield to relive his glory days as a rampaging left-winger before slipping the ball into Cristiano Ronaldo, whose flick left Saha with the easiest of chances. That made it 13 goals in 15 starts for Saha, justifying Ferguson's decision to give him the previously unchallenged striking role of Van Nistelrooy, who sat on the bench.
Last week, Robson appeared to be in pessimistic mode when predicting that the relegation battle would not be resolved until the last kick of the season. But that could now be viewed as the height of optimism since his side, with a fixture list from hell and having won only one of their past seven home games, could be relegated long before then.