PRESS BOX VIEW – GUARDIAN

From The Guardian:

‘Ruud van Nistelrooy may as well put his feet up on the Manchester United bench. Goals settle all arguments and at the moment the regularity with which Louis Saha is scoring them presents an unarguable case for keeping him in the United attack at the Dutchman's expense.

Saha scored twice on Saturday as Alex Ferguson's side further strengthened their chances of automatic inclusion in next season's Champions League as runners-up to Chelsea with a victory over a fumbling West Bromwich Albion team who were flattered by the scoreline. The Parisian striker has now found the net 13 times in 15 starts, which is presumably what Ferguson had in mind when he signed him from Fulham for £12.8m in January 2004.

Nevertheless the principal interest will continue to reside in how Van Nistelrooy takes to being dropped. After all, he is one of the game's best finishers and the longer he stays out of the team the more rife will the speculation about his future at Old Trafford become.

If Wayne Rooney was not around, Van Nistelrooy and Saha might have formed a productive partnership, for Saha's game is about making fast, well-timed runs into the penalty area while Van Nistelrooy is more of a goalmouth predator.

Saha, too, was as busy creating chances as he was taking them. The longer the game progressed the more bewildering became United's quick interchanges of position, a whirl of movement between the penalty areas that warmed the afternoon's bitter chill. In the circumstances it was all rather wasted on a West Bromwich team who when faced by an attack with any sort of cutting edge are apt to defend like a man meeting a sabre with a chair leg.'