A pulsating accounter at St Mary's but once again no points and some worrying sloppy play in defence that leaves Nigel Adkins with some tough thinking to do in the break.

The nation watching on television would have enjoyed a great game and indeed Saints can come off with their heads held high after playing their part in it, but to come within 3 minutes of victory and lose and the manner in which we did so was very disapointing.

Over the last two years the phrase "Saints fit" has been bandied about on message boards, but in the last 15 minutes on Saturday Saints looked dead on their feet and as Gordon Strachan used to say "Tired minds make tired decisions" that was true of us as just when we needed to raise our game and hang on to the lead in the last 15 of the game, we allowed ourselves to be pushed further and further back and rather than try and hold the ball were content to hoof it anywhere.

In truth we were the architects of our own downfall, as the game neared its end we became sloppy and almost determined to hand United an equaliser, Kelvin Davis's kicking was dodgy at times and on more than one occaion he played his back four into trouble, added to that our two central defenders and Fonte in particular were diving in and panicking rather than holding a cool head and leading by example.

But perhaps the moment the game changed was when we made a flurry of subs in a three minute period from the 75th minute, Lambert coming off was an obvious choice, he looked dead on his feet and we needed to put somebody on who could try and stop their back four playing, Manyuka was perhaps the obvious choice for his pace, but in reality it didnt work, part of it was the fact that we hoofed the ball and he was forever chasing lost causes, but I feel that this was perhaps the wrong moment to throw him in, Rodriguez might have been a better option for his experience in English football.

The other two changes were baffling, Lallana and Puncheon had had decent games and were two players on the pitch who could hold the ball rather than kick it anywhere, Lallana might have been a bit tired and there is some merit in that, but Puncheon looked strong, taking him off was definately the wrong decision and weakend the team. If we were going to take Puncheon off then Richardson would have perhaps been a better bet to slot in the midfield and offer cover to Clyne, a look at the list of substitutes showed an imbalance, two defenders and three attackers with only one midfielder in Guly, for a side that is only going to play one up front, what is the point of having three forwards on the bench ?

If Saints had had Richard Chaplow to call upon, his tenacious style of play and work rate was just the thing we needed, in the last 15 minutes instead of being stronger we looked a team totally disjointed and like rabbits in the headlights, all the good work of those previous 75 minutes was undone in an instant.

There were some plus points in that we scored a couple of decent and well worked goals and did well as a unit going forward, but the facts still remain that we have shipped eight goals in only two games and this is far too much, yes some will point ou that in two of those games we have played the two strongest sides in the league, but we get nothing for artistic merit and the hard fact is that we have no points on the board and are bottome of the league.

On another plus side, we have two players coming in who can help address the problems we had on Sunday, Ramirez will add pace and width and Yoshida will hopefully bring some balance and stability to the centre of defence who again although defending manfully at times cost us dearly through a lack of concentration, I have always preferred Fonte over Hooiveld, but  have to say this was Fonte's worst performance in a Saints shirt and his failure to clear the ball cleanly on two many occasions cost us dearly.

Our nightmare run of games is coming to an end, but after Arsenal there can be no excuses, we are already playing catch up we cant fall further behind. 

Photo: Action Images

SingaporeSaint added 14:33 - Sep 3 Nick - true - I have never seen Shaw play but I have seen enough of Fox that I know he will be exposed this season unless he gets tight to the winger. I wanted us to sign a LB and the fact we havent leads me to believing we need to develop Shaw. Dont get me wrong - I want to be proved wrong and Fox becomes the new (Scottish) Ashley Cole but I cant see it.. I'm not having a go here btw either - I think this is a great forum to read the views of our fans and am grateful for it as am 7500 miles away from the action, although I do have the luxury of having every minute of single Saints game live on TV and analysed..

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stmichael added 15:15 - Sep 3 Fox is a defensive nightmare and has been for some time. Yet you have never once taken him to task. Clyne has not been skinned at all. His pace does not allow wingers to get past him and that was evident in the 2nd half yesterday with Nani and Valencia. He did slip twice and cost us a goal and nearly another. That is down to studs NOT ability. Fox you can practically walk past. Needs replacing quick perhaps Shaw is the answer.

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Libertine36 added 17:08 - Sep 3 I agree with Basingstoke saint in that that there were some great performances and some of the football was really good
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thingummy added 22:07 - Sep 3 I was sat listening to it on radio solent - after 2 great years let's not destroy anyone as yet. NA has not become a bad manager but Fonte has remained what he was ..... There was a terrible sense of deja vu though - remember those games in the last premier season when we couldnt hold on to a lead We have the basis of a really good team but being to hold on to a lead will be critical to ou survival - not being able to becomes a habit we dont want All still exciting though - am still very optimistic and dont want to hear our fans slaughtering guys who have been great servants of the club

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slynch added 00:41 - Sep 4 Saints got beat 1-0 by Man U. Did many expects much else??
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jonrog added 10:06 - Sep 4 Scholes changed the game interesting that Man U have to rely on an old man. Shame Benali wasn't on the bench to man mark Scholes Although they nicked a win there were not many Utd players who will not get the wrath of Fergie. I was crying out for fresh legs for the last 20 mins unfortunately NA's subs didn't work. Must agree that I was surprised by his selection. He has taken us a long way, keep the faith

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OldRed added 12:13 - Sep 4 Interesting analysis from a neutral site: After their disappointing defeat to Wigan last week, there was no rest for Southampton as Manchester United travelled to St. Mary’s for Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1000th league game in charge. There have been some hotly contested meetings between the two sides over the years and the Saints were hoping they could cause a surprise and get their first points on the board. The match didn’t disappoint. Nigel Adkins’ team were fantastic, causing the same problems as they did at the Etihad on the opening weekend. They were confident in possession, tireless in midfield and their attacking play saw them breach United’s defence on two occasions as Rickie Lambert and Morgan Schneiderlin both headed in to reward some great build up play. However it wasn’t quite enough as Robin Van Persie stole the headlines. A fabulous hat-trick to make amends for his uncharacteristic penalty miss saw United make yet another late comeback. Again it was Saints’ attacking play that should take all the plaudits. On their day they are without doubt an entertaining team to watch. Rickie Lambert is already proving any doubters wrong not just with his natural goal scoring ability, but his all round contribution. His goal was a standard powerful Lambert header, however his intricate and perfectly weighted cross for Schneiderlin’s effort displayed he can also play a bit too. Adam Lallana and Jason Puncheon in the front three were threatening throughout – United’s once solid defence seems to be shaking a little. Seventeen year old James Ward-Prowse also produced another commanding performance in the middle of the park. As unfortunate as the result was for the hosts though, their defence cannot go unmentioned. Van Persie’s first goal was exquisite – a technique that now goes hand in hand with the Dutchman. His two others, however leave questions over Adkins’ back four. Nathaniel Clyne excluded, the centre back pairing of Jose Fonte and Jos Hooiveld and left-back Danny Fox have looked nervous at times. United’s equaliser and eventual winner resulted from two free headers – basic defensive duties that have to be solid for the full duration of 90 minutes. Results like these produce a whole host of statements that are easily said in hindsight. Yes, maybe Adkins shouldn’t have substituted his entire front three with only a one goal margin. But would they have prevented Van Persie’s late show? This is a player in the form of his life, now at a club that are never beaten until the final whistle. Their comeback may have been unexpected, but it was certainly not a surprise. Southampton can again take great heart from their performance and on this form should be confident of Premier League survival. That elusive first point surely cannot be too far away.

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darkangelv2 added 12:30 - Sep 4 OldRed: It's from a neutral site but the young lady who wrote it is a Saints fan ;) Still a good report.
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OldRed added 16:48 - Sep 4 Doh!
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stwilliams added 17:57 - Sep 4 Only three games into the season and with a two week gap in fixtures coming for most, tired legs should not really have been a problem. No doubt that the game result hinged on the highly questionnable substitutions. Up until his substitution RL was giving Vidic and Ferdinand real problems - if Lambert was tired why not put Rodriguez (cant see him as a wide player) up against the two Man U centre halves - it was no contest against the diminutive Manuka in the middle up front. Surprised like many that Puncheon was a serious candidate for Saints best player, his link up play with Lambert was a real threat until the substitutions. After the subs Scholes was allowed to make the difference. Check this video footage out and ask why Saints didnt pput a man on Scholes or at least close him down and shut down his options. http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/video-highlights-paul-scholes-robin-van-persie Such a shame that so much achieved up until the substitutions was undone so dramatically.

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