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Louise
Saha getting his Premiership scoring boots on |
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The arrival of Louis Saha last summer heralded
a radical change in not only the front line of Fulham’s attack, but
also the way in which the rest of the team played.
Jean Tigana’s philosophy of having a quick and mobile attack had its
doubters at first. In the rough and tumble world of First Division football,
the unwritten rule stated that fast and tricky players should stay wide
to supply the big men up front.
Perhaps the mistake that many made in their first judgements were to assume
that change would only be limited to the front line.
A full season later and the grand plan is now clearly evident. Saha is now
the country’s top scorer, has fully settled in to Fulham’s style
of play and will be a Premiership player next season.
Yet still he refuses to look too far into the future, instead preferring
to concentrate his efforts on this season’s remaining fixtures, and
most importantly for him now – breaking the points record:
“If it’s possible to get the last six points we need, it would
be great to get the points record. This is the only target we have left.”
Saha revealed.
To date, this season has been his most prolific in front of goal, however
Saha is the first to mention that it does not come without work:
“When you work hard every day in training you expect to improve in
front of goal, I’ve worked hard with Luis, Barry and Karl so it’s
normal to expect that we would score some goals.”
The question on everyone’s lips now is how will the top scorer handle
the prospect of playing against Premiership defences? His previous spell
in the country’s top flight with Newcastle certainly gave the footballing
world a sneak preview of what was to come.
However, Saha is quick to point out that making such assumptions based on
his spell at Newcastle would not give an accurate indication:
“I think I’m now a better player now then when I was at Newcastle.
“For a striker, you get better as you get older. I have worked really
hard with Jean Tigana, he has given me some good advice. Also with players
like Karlheinz Riedle around, you learn very quickly.”
Over the past few seasons making the transition from top scorer in the Fist
Division to making a mark in the Premiership has not been easy from many
players. Due to his nationality, many are now comparing Saha to the likes
of Henry, Anelka and Wiltord.
Clearly Saha’s pace and ability would certainly put him in the same
category as those players, but does he see himself emulating their goalscoring
feats? Saha responds in uncomplicated terms:
“Why not if you have the same sprit.
“I talk a lot about spirit but it’s really important, you have
to keep things very simple and focused.
“This season has been very good but next season will be different.
It’s a tough league with some very good defenders so we’ll need
the right spirit.”
Having already vastly developed his game this season, it could be said that
under Fist Division conditions, Saha has reached the pinnacle of what he
can achieve. The Premiership on the other hand, will offer Louis a different
challenge.
Not only will the quality of the opposition enable him to better his game
but Saha also pointed out another factor in his evolution as a player:
“When you have a good team around you, it makes it easier to improve
your game. So I think the Premiership will be a very good test for us.”
Acknowledging that the quality of the current squad creates a better environment
for development. The strengthening that will no doubt take place during
the close-season can only be of benefit to Saha.
With the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool guaranteed opposition
next season, Saha’s first appearance in a Fulham shirt in a pre-season
friendly against Tiverton Town now seems well in the distant past.
And only now does he reveal the potential he saw at the club when he first
joined:
“I expected to be playing in the Premiership that’s why I came
to Fulham. I wouldn’t have come if I was not sure that Fulham would
get into the Premiership.”
With the journey from Ladysmead to Old Trafford now completed what next
for Fulham’s French hit man, an International call-up perhaps?
Cautiously Louis replies: “I don’t know about International football,
I’ll just have to play and see what happens…”
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Source Soccernet by Leo Spall