SUPREME football talent though he was, Ruud Gullit had something of a chequered record as manager of Newcastle, especially when it came to assessing the ability and character of others.

Kieron Dyer apart - the England midfielder was a shrewd £6m signing from Ipswich - Gullit was invariably found wanting in his dealings with players.

The Dutch superstar dropped captain Alan Shearer, with disastrous consequences, for a home derby against Sunderland; stripped Robert Lee of his squad number and his dignity; paid a total of £10m for Spanish misfit Marcelino and fellow defender Alain Goma (the latter accused United of lacking ambition and joined Saturday's opponents); and failed to fully recognise Louis Saha's untapped potential.

French striker Saha spent a six-month loan spell with United three seasons ago. Admittedly, during that time, he hardly set the football world alight.

But he was troubled by injury and he did score one memorable goal of unequivocal quality at Blackburn to help the Magpies reach the 1999 FA Cup final.

It was painful to watch, therefore, for the 3,000 or so travelling Geordie fans, when Saha struck another superb goal in the black and white of Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Saha, whose last League goal had been in the 2-0 home victory over Sunderland almost three months earlier, has shown at Fulham that he was worth a second chance with Newcastle.

The former Metz forward's 32 goals last season made him the country's leading scorer and, more importantly, fired Fulham into the Premiership as runaway First Division champions.

France legend Jean Tigana, Fulham's inspirational manager, felt that Saha's pre-match makeover - a bleached blond look - might have brought the 23-year-old a change of luck.

Saha, who cost the Cottagers a relatively modest £2.1m when he became Tigana's first signing in the summer of last year, had gone four games in all competitions without a goal.

But his fifth of the season in the 20th-minute knocked the stuffing out of a Newcastle side who simply can't win in London.

Bobby Robson, on his first competitive return to the club who launched his managerial career but sacked him almost exactly 33 years ago, had a feeling that this fixture on the banks of the Thames would see the tide turn for Newcastle.

Until Saha intervened, with a goal out of nothing, it looked like his hunch might be right.

United more than matched the home side in the opening stages, but a loose header from Robbie Elliott left them exposed. The ball was worked to Saha and his curling, left-foot effort from around 25 yards looped away from the despairing Shay Given.

Eight minutes later, Elliott was at fault again and Saha was involved in the move, feeding Steed Malbranque who played the ball inside the United left-back for Sylvain Legwinski to stroke home an angled shot.

Given, following his heroics for the Republic of Ireland in their two-legged World Cup play-off triumph over Iran, produced two great reflex saves from Malbranque and Barry Hayles to keep United in the game, while Aaron Hughes cleared off the line from Legwinski.

After the break, Given saved from Saha and Hayles before Gary Speed gave United hope in the 66th minute with his second goal of the season, an angled header from Hughes' arrowed right-wing cross.

But Fulham effectively killed the game off in the 71st minute when Malbranque's inswinging corner from the left brushed the head of United defender Andy O'Brien and Hayles nodded home from close range.

Saha was only inches away from claiming a second goal moments before winger Laurent Robert won a penalty for Newcastle in the 79th minute.

Frenchman Goma was harshly penalised when countryman Robert ran into him on the left of the 18-yard box.

But after giant Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar's fingertip touch had diverted Shearer's spot-kick on to a post, Goma was immediately lucky not to give away another penalty when he sent the United skipper crashing to the ground as he attempted to score from the follow-up.

Referee Eddie Wolstenholme would have none of it, and Robson argued: "Alan should have had a penalty. It was clear-cut - twice the penalty of the original decision.

"We shouldn't have got the original penalty to be fair, but there was no doubt Alan was bundled off the ball in an attempt to put it into an empty net. He (Goma) took his legs completely; he could have been sent off and we could have had another penalty.''

It was the first time Shearer had failed from the spot since Sunderland's Thomas Sorensen denied him a year ago to the weekend.

The excitement was all too much for one spectator, who shed his inhibitions and everything else to set off on a late streak across the pitch.

United's winless streak in the capital now stretches to 27 games.