GRAEME SAUX MISUNDERSTOOD
Bates said: "Le Saux is more sinned against than sinner," and went on to add, "People are still talking about his foul against Danny Mills but they conveniently forget all the fouls that he has to suffer."
Opta is in a unique position to show that Le Saux has been fouled 29 times this season in the Premiership and has committed 26 fouls himself, so Bates is right when he said that Le Saux gets more ill-treatment than he gives out.
However, there are 49 other Premiership players that have been fouled more times than the Chelsea left-midfielder - the most sinned against being Fulham's Louis Saha who has been impeded 66 times this season - so he is hardly a major victim in the top flight.
Le Saux has picked up five yellow cards but that isn't excessive. The argument against him grew when his detractors claimed that he should have been booked for a late tackle on Patrick Vieira on Boxing Day and his argumentative style has won him few friends outside of South-West London. Incidentally, no player in the Premiership has a worse disciplinary record than Vieira this season.
The Chelsea man's style of play has even led to some chest-beating journalists from middle-market tabloids insisting that Sven Goran Eriksson should not ever pick him for England. Should the Swede bother to pay any attention to those paper's opinions then he would also be unable to select Nicky Butt, Emile Heskey, Kevin Phillips, Ray Parlour and even Joe Cole, who have all made (at least) the same number of fouls as Le Saux in the league this season.
While Le Saux will always be a player that fans love to hate, he is also in great form and England are desperate for a left-sided player. The Channel Islander has put in 62 crosses this season and has embarked on 49 dribbles and runs in the 14 games that he has appeared in. With 11 shots on-target so far, it is clear that he can get forward to support the attacks as well as defend and that is exactly what England needs from a left-sided midfielder.
The last thing England will want when they meet Argentina in the World Cup is another player being sent off, but whoever plays on the left will (baring injury) be up against the pacy and skilful Javier Zanetti - who scored against England in France '98. Le Saux could be the man to stop him as well as getting forward himself.
