Injury prone strikers - Who would have been best if they had just stayed fit? Martial? Saha?

I remember Saha used to be a frustrating watch at times. He would miss so many one-on-ones when clean through on goal. But then he'd make the difficult chances look easy: that goal vs Chelsea from outside the box is one that springs to mind.

For me, Saha edges it over Martial because of his off the ball movement. As other posters have highlighted, his unselfish runs helped Rooney and Ronaldo thrive. Martial can be excellent on the ball but he's a mannequin off the ball.
 
Saha would be like Andy Cole if fit.

maybe a bit less goals, but better alround and better in link up play
 
mu4c_20le said:
Saha gets really overrated here for some reason.
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He had one great calendar year 2006 with us. Spent the rest of the time struggling with injuries. His finishing could be inconsistent and he struggled with his confidence throughout his time with us. However he did look a pretty complete modern forward during that year - pace, power, insane athleticism, good in the air, excellent on the ball.
 
Yagami said:
Saha was always overrated for me. Good, but not the talent he's made out to be. Martial all day everyday.
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I concur. We bought Saha in the winter to strengthen our front line which already had Ruud IIRC.

We bought Martial as a teenager from a different league to be our main guy. People seem to forget how much he was rated. It never worked for him but he's definitely very, very good.
 
Stadjer said:
Was Saha in his younger days even seen as a big talent? Or was he just ignored because of other French strikers like Henry, Trezeguet and Anelka?

The Golden Boy award wasnt a thing in Saha his youth but i doubt Saha would have won it. Martial did win it, it doesnt say everything (or much at all) but it does show how talented Martial was considered at the time.

When Saha came to Manchester United he was a more developed player. He was 25 years old, he already played multiple seasons as a starter in France and in England. Its not that strange that he was a more complete, better and more developed player when he came to Manchester United than Martial was when Martial came to Manchester United. If you claim Saha was 'miles better' at 25 than Martial at that age (ruined by managers and injuries) i can understand it. However was Saha at 19 as good as the 19 year old Martial who signed for Manchester United? I dont know but Google tells me that Saha was playing for Metz in France and scoring 5 goals in 47 games. It looks like Saha started scoring goals for Fulham when he was around 22 years old.

Martial came to Manchester United as a hugely talented young player and looked great when LVG was the manager. Mourinho didnt like him and Ole didnt have a clue how to be a manager. If LVG stayed or a manager who liked Martial and knew how to develop players than Martial (without injuries ofcourse) would have been a much better player as he is now. Ole making Martial play through injuries also didnt help much for Martial his development... or long term fitness as we can see now.

Saying that Saha is better (in this what if scenario) seems a bit like looking back at the good old days, forgetting bad games Saha surely had, when Saha played in a much better team for the best manager while recency bias towards Martial is that Martial is always injured and cant even run at times. People seem to have forgotten how good and exciting young Martial was.
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Some fair points in here but I'd still go with Saha personally, mostly because Martial's attitude/approach is far inferior IMO
 
The thing with Martial is that I don't think it's only been injuries that have stood in his way. The wrong manager at the wrong time, perhaps mentality issues etc. have all played their part. In terms of raw talent, when Martial got here I thought he had genuine best in the world potential. Saha amounted to more even with his injury problems, whereas Martial there were more issues than that, so I would have to go with Saha.
 
Too young to accurately remember Saha. But Martial was fit for years here and was never great besides some short spells.
 
Peak Saha was superb. Martial had(/has) woeful off the ball movement which is the most important quality in a CF along with finishing. Saha had it in abundance.
 
Saha had a better record than Rooney and Ronaldo for united at one point.


Saha would have been a top, top striker had it not been for the injuries.
 
Saha. I absolutely loved him, and was delighted when we signed him. Pity about the injuries.
 
Norman Whiteside deserves a shout here. Left Utd at 24 after a spate of injury problems, forced to retire due to injury a few years later in 1991 aged 26. He was always likely to butt heads with Fergie anyway due to his love of the beer, but Fergie did rate him really highly.

Fergie said:
I felt the excitement that is felt by watching a player of the highest class. He had self-assurance that was extraordinary in a 21-year-old. The excellence of his technique gave him easy mastery of the ball and he had the gift of making time for himself in the stamp of quality. He was an island of composure, looking up and unhurriedly making his decisions. He rarely surrendered possession and he increased the angle and weight of his passes so well that the receiver never had to fight the ball. His eyes were as cold as steel and he had the temperament to match. As a player, he was close to the genius category.
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Strange to think that with a bit more fortune he'd likely have been part of our first PL-winning squad as a 27 year old, and could even have been around in the Treble-winning season as a 33 year old.
 
Saha was miles better than Martial, he had great movement , was two footed and good in the air too.

 
Martial has largely been inconsistent at United. When we first bought him he had all the technical ability and a lot of athletic attributes to work with, but it's rather fizzled out.

He still has some of that, but whether it's injuries, questionable drive to improve, a lack of variety in his game (he loves to come towards the ball), it's not really come to fruition. He's had what...a couple of good seasons? Never threatened being one of the world's best at any point and rarely even put his hand up to say he's to be relied upon as a United striker.

Saha was a good player without many obvious weaknesses as a striker but it's a similar story, if you can't be completely relied upon as a striker what good is it? If we were offered the Saha we got now, yes we'd take it but we'd still not be confident of a full season. We'd have to figure out good cover so would it really be worth it over pursuing someone else?
 
Pat_Mustard said:
Norman Whiteside deserves a shout here. Left Utd at 24 after a spate of injury problems, forced to retire due to injury a few years later in 1991 aged 26. He was always likely to butt heads with Fergie anyway due to his love of the beer, but Fergie did rate him really highly.



Strange to think that with a bit more fortune he'd likely have been part of our first PL-winning squad as a 27 year old, and could even have been around in the Treble-winning season as a 33 year old.
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And if he'd had a bit of pace he'd have been talked about like George Best and the ilk, he's my favorite al time United player
 
Carlsen19 said:
Martial not fit to lace Saha’s boots.
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Velvet Revolver said:
Saha by miles.
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M Bison said:
Saha, and by a long distance.
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Pickle85 said:
Agreed. To me it's not really that close.
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Pogue Mahone said:
Saha miles better than Martial, that’s for sure. He had it all.
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Smores said:
I really don't think it's even a debate.
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Martial's best season was 23 goals (with injuries, in a worse team), Saha's was 15 (with more injuries and competition, but in a much better team).
That's not all there is to it of course, but the raw numbers certainly don't show a massive gap in Saha's favour.
 
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Saha’s bordering on a low-key Utd legend for me…

He was fecking ace.

Martial’s impact and place in Utd’s history is closer to Zaha’s than Saha’s!

And I like Martial btw.
 
A motivated injury free Martial. He'd be like a more skillful Kane, and the closest striker to Ballon d'Or Benzema.
 
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Martian’s last game where I thought he could be our starter for the future was against crystal palace on July 2020. It’s been 3 years already.
I am hoping we get harry Kane this summer so that we can finally see what a real striker looks like.
 
The simultaneous overrating of Saha & underrating of Martial in this thread is baffling.
 
I rate fit Martial quite high. Difficult to say if he would be better than Saha, who had longer good spells than Anthony, but also Martial is was with us during the shite years so who knows what could've happened.

There are question marks over Martial mentality so I'd go for Saha. But skills wise that would be close.
 
Saha was good at Fulham and when we bought him, I thought we have excelled again in the transfer market. Martial in his first season looked good as well and scoring THAT goal against Liverpool helped him in the eyes of the fans no end.
Saha for me was the better player and if we had have had both at the same time, Saha starts and Martial would have been the bench option.
 
Saha was a well rounded striker. I do agree he did miss a lot of one on ones but his game around the box is what impressed me most,. His movement, finding space, linking up play and playing with his back to goal were exceptional,. Also his heading ability was superb. Martials dribbling is superior but he is a winger by nature not a striker, I have to say there aren't many strikers who had constant injury problems like Saha did. Alan Smith and Dion Dublin, Solskjaer had that long lay off but he had played a number of years by then and was well established.
 
Rhyme Animal said:
Saha’s bordering on a low-key Utd legend for me…

He was fecking ace.

Martial’s impact and place in Utd’s history is closer to Zaha’s than Saha’s!

And I like Martial btw.
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In Saha’s best 2 seasons for us he scored 15 and 13 goals. In Martial’s best 2 seasons, he scored 23 and 17 goals. Overall, Saha scored 42 goals for us in 124 games compared to Martial’s 85 in 283 (bear in mind, Martial spent years playing wide). Saha was better physically but in terms of all round game, I’d give the edge to Martial. Either way, it’s pure romanticism to pretend that Saha was much better and typical of this forum (not just you) to reduce Martial’s impact to this extent.
 
OL29 said:
In Saha’s best 2 seasons for us he scored 15 and 13 goals. In Martial’s best 2 seasons, he scored 23 and 17 goals. Overall, Saha scored 42 goals for us in 124 games compared to Martial’s 85 in 283 (bear in mind, Martial spent years playing wide). Saha was better physically but in terms of all round game, I’d give the edge to Martial. Either way, it’s pure romanticism to pretend that Saha was much better and typical of this forum (not just you) to reduce Martial’s impact to this extent.
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Never did like "per game" because coming on for 5 minutes at the end still counts as a game played.

Saha: 42 goals in 7,359 minutes: A goal every 175 minutes.
Martial: 85 goals in 18,386 minutes: A goal every 216 minutes.

I do agree with you however that they aren't "miles apart", but I would say Saha was still arguably the better goalscorer, but then you have to consider opposition strength and team strength, and I think it's fair to say Saha was in the better side. Hence, again, I'd agree they aren't miles apart. Personally loved Saha so much because of his attitude, but I like Martial too. Just wish they were both fit more often! I feel like they would have played well together, too.
 
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