Over 70000 spectators watched this game which the home team won through a goal from Frenchman Louis Saha. The pitch can be seen to be in excellent condition at this early juncture in the season. Copyright John Harvey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978 in Paris) is a French international footballer. He currently plays for the English Premier League club Everton, who he joined in August 2008 for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal from Manchester United. Saha was transferred to Manchester United for a fee of £12.8 million in 2004 having scored 15 goals so far that season and impressing Alex Ferguson in Fulham's 3–1 win at Old Trafford. Fulham were reluctant to sell Saha[5] but he pushed for a deal and it eventually went through on 23 January 2004.[6] Saha impressed early, with 7 goals in his 10 starting appearances of the 2003–04 season and scoring on his debut against Southampton.[7] In the next match, versus Everton, Saha and Ruud van Nistelrooy each scored two goals in a 4–3 win.[8] On 28 February, he faced his former team for the first time, scoring the only goal for United in a 1–1 draw.[9] He then got an international call-up for French national team, scoring on his debut versus Belgium and made the Euro 2004 squad for the tournament in Portugal. Unfortunately, he was unable to play in the FA Cup final win over Millwall, being cup-tied due to an earlier appearance with Fulham. The 2004–05 season was a stop-start season marred by constant injury. Saha never really got going making only 11 starting appearances, 11 from the bench and scoring two goals. In September, he picked up a knee injury playing for France against the Faroe Islands which cost him a month. Then in November he picked up the injury again, also playing for the national side and costing nearly two months out. At the end of February 2005, the problem recurred, again leaving Saha out for a further two months. Over the summer Saha suffered another hamstring strain which ruled him out for the first three months of the 2005–06 season. He finally returned in November 2005 and eased back into side as a sub, making appearances in League Cup matches. To the surprise of many, the French striker recaptured his initial good form and started banging in the goals. Six goals in the League Cup run saw him usurping Ruud van Nistelrooy as the first choice strike partner for Wayne Rooney. Saha was named a starter, over van Nistelrooy, in the final against Wigan Athletic, and scored a goal. Saha scored 15 goals during the 2005–06 season and was chosen by Ferguson to partner alongside Rooney for the next season, after van Nistelrooy's exit for Real Madrid during the summer transfer window.
