Shanghai: Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha says Radamel Falcao’s woes in front of goal may have cost the Red Devils the English Premier League title and that the Colombian has not fitted in at Old Trafford.
The beleaguered striker has scored only four goals for United in 2014/2015, appearing mainly as a substitute, having moved to England on a season-long loan from Monaco last summer.
In spite of his travails, Louis van Gaal’s men recovered from a stuttering start to the season to lie third in the league, with a precious top-four finish securing qualification for next season’s Champions League.
Could they have done even better had Falcao, a prolific scorer for Porto and Atletico Madrid with 93 goals in four years between 2009 and 2013, found his best form?
Saha, who netted 28 times in 86 appearances for United between 2004 and 2008, told media at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday: “Definitely if Falcao was scoring 20 goals, then United would have been up there. But he had an injury and the Premier League is a tough league.
“Maybe he tried to recover too quickly so he was trying to be as fit as possible and starting in such a big club is not easy, so I think it was a really big ask for him. But I still back him up.
“He remains a great player and a great striker and knows where the goal is, but he is the kind of striker who needs the team to play a system for him. If he doesn’t find that system, he will struggle.”
The Frenchman said Falcao had not played at a club of the size of United before – and hence had found the adjustment tough.
“United is definitely not Monaco,” he said. “It’s a great club but Manchester United have big strength up there with [Robin] van Persie, [Wayne] Rooney, [Angel] Di Maria and that system is very difficult to make it nice and simple for one player.”
While Falcao toils and looks set to leave for pastures new in the summer, United have hit a rich vein of form, culminating in last Sunday’s 4-2 home derby win over Manchester City.
Saha said: “I am very pleased [to see them back]. I’m not fully surprised because they are starting to get the basics defending well, starting to score goals.
“We can see that it’s coming, but it’s an immense achievement [to be in the top four]. The Champions League is the most important thing for Manchester United, but you have one or two years to understand because it is a transitional period and it takes time for a manager to understand how it works.
“The Premier League is a different league, so Champions League [would] definitely [be] a great achievement for Louis van Gaal.”
Is Van Gaal the right man for the Old Trafford job, then?
Saha, who retired in 2013 at Italian club Lazio, said: “We will always find criticism because he is a manager who changes everything and tries to put his philosophy in, so sometimes it could be difficult to understand and take time. But he is one of the best out there and definitely has the calibre to bring United back to the top. I was thrilled to see the team getting back to a certain momentum.
“There is still kind of an issue over the style of play, the speed, the attacking side of it, but there are people who are saying the same as me.”
