It was true that Saha and others (Osman, Pienaar) on the left missed a few opportunities for incisive passes. Not once but twice, Cahill AND Donovan were unmarked on the right going forward on counter with Arsenal stretched, but the final ball didn't come... I'd put part of that down to poor visibility on the pitch due to the swirling wind and snow.
i think Saha just have very bad visions. he should have his eyes checked by a doctor. i didn't see the wind/snow having a factor on Donovan's corner kick, nor the break through pass that send Pienaar in for the 2nd goal.
The guy can play at this level. Is he world class? I don't think so. But he can be a very VERY good player for Everton.[/QUOTE] There are over 240 million soccer players on earth. I would say anyone playing in arguably the best league on earth has earned the label "world class".
Vision and unselfishness aren't really big aspects of Saha's game. When you play Saha, you pretty much consign yourself to playing a guy that rarely sets up others, but is usually pretty dangerous himself.
Perhaps, but unlikely. Keep in mind that wind and snow varied in intensity throughout the match- as Donovan pointed out in his post match interview....
Yeah. Kind of the exact opposite of Ching when he was more in form (a guy that you consign yourself to getting few goals out of, but who can set up his teammates). Or Zamora. Or Hesky.
Well, it may mean different things for different people. My personal definition is: a player who is equivalent to the best players in the world, at his position. In other words, if you're picking a World Best XI, the player would legitimately be in the argument for consideration. I would say the there are probably 50 or 60 players that would be considered world class by that definition. So Donovan is not world class, but he's pretty close, same with Dempsey.
Well, it's all in the mind of the beholder, isn't it? He fits my definition of "world class" in that, IMHO, he would improve each and every team in the world, or if he didn't the quality would not go down.
I suppose it is. In my mind that judgement is a bit speculative; I could think of a few top teams whose quality he would not improve, based on his resume up to this point. I think if he consistently plays at or above the level he played against Arsenal, then I'd be willing to say he's World Class (and I think alot of clubs would agree with me by attempting to buy him on the cheap). I believe he's capable of playing at that level, but he just needs to prove it. And you know what? I think he will prove it at Everton. But I'm not going to say he's world class until he does.