SAHA INTERVIEW FALLOUT
‘Honesty is not always the best policy. In football, it is
often better to deal in platitudes, half-truths and lies.
This is a lesson that Louis Saha, Manchester United’s plain-
speaking Frenchman, will learn the next time he meets Ruud
van Nistelrooy.
‘According to damning comments by Saha in the French press,
Thierry Henry, the Arsenal forward, is a better all-round
player than his United team-mate. Indeed, the scourge of
Manchester is more experienced, battle-hardened and
versatile, too. For a club that treats any criticism as a
personal insult, United are unlikely to be impressed by
having an enemy within championing their rivals.
‘Van Nistelrooy has been quick to play down his team-mate’s
comments, although the indignation he must have felt may
have been tempered by his own experience of last year, when
he was quoted in the Netherlands as saying that United
players regularly gambled away their “obscene” wages while
Sir Alex Ferguson turned a blind eye.
‘The usual defence of foreign players who are too honest
with the media in their native countries is to say that
something was lost in translation, but even those with sub-
GCSE French could get the tenor of Saha’s words. For an
ailing United side, it is another unnecessary problem. With
the mask of invincibility slipping, Ferguson may tell Saha
that silence is golden. The truth hurts too much.’
But Saha himself claims that the press have taken only part
of his interview, and therefore twisted what he said to fit
their own agenda:
often better to deal in platitudes, half-truths and lies.
This is a lesson that Louis Saha, Manchester United’s plain-
speaking Frenchman, will learn the next time he meets Ruud
van Nistelrooy.
‘According to damning comments by Saha in the French press,
Thierry Henry, the Arsenal forward, is a better all-round
player than his United team-mate. Indeed, the scourge of
Manchester is more experienced, battle-hardened and
versatile, too. For a club that treats any criticism as a
personal insult, United are unlikely to be impressed by
having an enemy within championing their rivals.
‘Van Nistelrooy has been quick to play down his team-mate’s
comments, although the indignation he must have felt may
have been tempered by his own experience of last year, when
he was quoted in the Netherlands as saying that United
players regularly gambled away their “obscene” wages while
Sir Alex Ferguson turned a blind eye.
‘The usual defence of foreign players who are too honest
with the media in their native countries is to say that
something was lost in translation, but even those with sub-
GCSE French could get the tenor of Saha’s words. For an
ailing United side, it is another unnecessary problem. With
the mask of invincibility slipping, Ferguson may tell Saha
that silence is golden. The truth hurts too much.’
But Saha himself claims that the press have taken only part
of his interview, and therefore twisted what he said to fit
their own agenda:
"I made the point that Thierry is quicker [than van
Nistelrooy]," Saha told Sky Sports. "But, you can't just
take the bad points from a comparison between two players.
Nistelrooy]," Saha told Sky Sports. "But, you can't just
take the bad points from a comparison between two players.
"When you say one is quicker than the other it doesn't mean
he is slow. I am not pleased the journalist turned the
interview around and just said the bad things. The only
reason I can think of is because the semi final is so close.
he is slow. I am not pleased the journalist turned the
interview around and just said the bad things. The only
reason I can think of is because the semi final is so close.
"Hopefully it will be a good game for the fans and a win for
Manchester United. We have a lot of belief after the game on
Sunday. It's going to be tough but hopefully it will be a
different story at Villa Park than it was at Highbury.”
Manchester United. We have a lot of belief after the game on
Sunday. It's going to be tough but hopefully it will be a
different story at Villa Park than it was at Highbury.”