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

EasternSaint added 09:47 - Sep 3 Both Fonte and Hooiveld are having way too many dodgy moments. Hooiveld has given away two penalties through sloppy tackling in three games. Only for crap penalties and Davies saves the scores would have been much worse. Hope Yoshida can help sort the central defence out, if he can't we're in deep S**t.
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Verwoodsaint added 10:11 - Sep 3 Good assesment Nick and spot on (apart from the 8 goals in 2 games error!) Best performance from Puncheon in a Saints shirt and like you say Worst by Fonte by a million miles, he is a championship CB at very best. Our lack of investment in our back 5 'could' be our achilles heel this season. Hope I'm wrong!
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Santos added 10:16 - Sep 3 Just discussed this very point before I read your article. A midfielder like Chaplow to come on for JWP or Davis was what was needed. To provide that last 15 min burst to see the game out and as for the subs terrible decision by the manager, not like they needed to be rested due to another game soon. Try to end on a positive note at least Adkins seems to have taken on board that Jrod and Guly did not work as the wide pairing in the Wigan match hence people playing there who know how too! Is there any decent loan CB around that we might take ? Lets move on regroup with some new faces that will hopefully add to the excellent 75 mins we did have.

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ThereIn76 added 10:16 - Sep 3 The main problem was that when Scholes came on he was given far to much room. It's easy to blame the centre-backs but they weren't helped by the midfield in the final 15 minutes. Shame as Ward-Prowse, Davis and Spiderman had been outstanding otherwise.
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ExiledSupporter added 10:19 - Sep 3 Completely agree with your views Nick - poor selection on the bench, highly questionable substitutions and sudden decline in Saints intensity reversed a very promising position and gave the opposition hope (particularly bad thing to gift Man Utd of all teams since they are renowned for their capacity to score late goals)
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stmichael added 10:25 - Sep 3 No mention of the woeful FOX again Nick? How do you think he has started the season?
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SanMarco added 10:27 - Sep 3 Yes - poor decisions by NA, not sure it can be put down to 'inexperience at this level', he simply got it badly wrong. In the longer term the failure to properly strengthen our defence is I believe going to cost him his job. Kelvin, Fox and the 2 center-backs are not good enough and it is a great shame because it all looks so encouraging in all other areas of the pitch. I wish we could throw the JRod money back in the pot and buy a goalkeeper, left-back and center-back...

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robmac added 10:38 - Sep 3 Cork was also a notably missing substitute to shore up a tired back four but it should also be considered with the exception of RVP and Scholes the opposition were abject. Hodgson may have come to watch Cleverley and Webleck but it will be JWP whom he remembers
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 10:41 - Sep 3 Yeah good article. Why have Lee on the bench when J-Rod and Mayuka would be used before him. Was Adkins just trying to keep Lee happy? In what circumstances would he have actaully brought him on? Chaplow would've been ideal to bring on with his energy. Adkins should've had him on the bench, brought him on and said 'Just stick on Scholes'. It was pretty clear that Scholes was dictating the game but we did nothing to stop him. Great effort by the lads anyway, just a shame we allowed two free headers when we had plenty of numbers in the box 'defending'.

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sidsaint added 10:44 - Sep 3 Spot on verdict. No one marking Van Persie for his 2 second half goals. Panic at the back in last 10 minutes was embarrassing to watch and this obsession with rolling ball out to defenders with no regard to the circumstances is causing problems as is passing ball back to Kelvin when easier to clear upfield. Good to see 2 good goals again and some great performances in midfield and up front but this was not a great Man U team. Not strengthening defence in the summer is going to come back to haunt us. Adrift in September will make it difficult but NA should be given more time at the moment...

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LostBoys added 10:59 - Sep 3 I am not going to subscribe to the NA out wrist slitters Guly bashers but NA got this one badly wrong. The bench was lopsided as he needed more 'defensive' midfield players to hold the fort for 15 minutes. I agree that if these defensive cock ups continue we will be adrift on the bottom by October and the absence of a further quality defender and a keeper may turn out to be a terminal mistake. On the bright side for long periods we outplayed Manure and made them look second rate - Cleverley and Welbeck you are having a laugh - but we still did not win.

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LostBoys added 11:02 - Sep 3 Missed out Carrick - totally crap - scored a 3 out of 10 on the Manure web sites
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landsdownsaint added 11:49 - Sep 3 Iv rarely seen a game where Fonte doesn't start flapping at about the middle of the 2nd half! United beat us as they should when our midfield has given everything they got and Fergie can bring in the best passer of the ball inthe world for 40 mins to supply one of the top 3 strikers in the world,apart from the obvious mistakes from the same players each week we should be mighty proud of the lads!

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SingaporeSaint added 12:20 - Sep 3 Agree with many of the comments above - still hurting from last night.. I wrote the 'report' below directly after the game last night - apologies for the raw emotion in it and although views mellow over time and I'd be a bit more subdued summing it up today, it may make interesting reading for a few.. I didnt think Scholes was that influencial until we took off Lambert and they started getting the ball to him from their defence - this substitution more than anything changed the game in their favour.. This game was lost because of our substitutions, not theirs and the weaknesses we have not put right in the transfer window! I really hope Yoshida hits the mark btw - there will not be a more important player than him for us this season - if he is not great we are in deep trouble.. ------------- Devastated... There were some heros out there - we deserved to win - to get nothing is scandalous.. I've talked enough about this - we have 3 weak links.. Fonte, Fox and Davis. All 3 were shocking today - the rest of the team were great.. Fonte has cost us this game and not replacing these 3 will likely see us relegated - almost criminal negligent management and I blame the chairman and manager equally. Fonte's performance at the end to first give away the corner and then not mark VP was ridiculous - to not mark Ferdinand 3 mins before was awful.. Again crosses coming in from Fox's side who was a weak link.. No sense at all in taking Lambert off - Guly on the right was rubbish and we missed the energy of Puncheon. Lallana off for J Rod?? Is Adkins watching a different game? Until the changes were made we were great - if you are going to make changes then Mayuka for Punch possibly to keep the energy up on the right... We had hero's out there who dominated the game in Schneiderlin and Ward Prose and S Davis was good too.. Lambert looked great and should never have come off - he holds it up upfront and can also defend... Is awful that these players will go home beaten .. I am left distraught - we have a good unit but have not strenghtened the right areas and rather spent all our time and money while the 'chairman' massages his ego tauting Carlos kickaballs in Italy.. We dominated a game at home and should have let in 4... This is good for the neutral but neglegant mgt of the highest order.. Can not believe we have lost this game...............

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OldRed added 12:25 - Sep 3 Agree with most things here, and I hope Adkins finally admits he may have got the subs (partly) wrong. If certain players in our squad are considered premiership quality then why isn't Chaplow? Hope Jack Cork is fit soon and now that the International break is here perhaps these new signings will have time to settle in. If we've no points on the board after the Villa game then bye bye NA - I really hope not but I can't see our defence keeping a clean sheet all season at this rate.

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vectis added 12:26 - Sep 3 Sorry whilst I agree with most of the article I don't understand this Fonte bashing while Hooiveld gets off practically Scott free! IMHO they both defended manfully and with determination and passion at times but made silly errors. In short, there is nothing to choose between them. They play well for long periods and then mess it all up. Neither one is good enough as anything other than cover. So why just pick on Fonte? Play either Hooiveld OR Fonte alongside Yoshida and sub one in when the other gets tired. But both together is a bit of a mare. However I think Fox is our real weak link. And Kelvin's kicking. It's a shame because I have defended them both many times. But sorry, Cortese should have splashed the cash at the back instead of more darn strikers. (mind you, del Piero on the shirt would be kinda cool for a year or two lol) Incidentally, any free agent left backs who could do job temporarily? And keepers? Alex Manniger perhaps?

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bstokesaint added 12:35 - Sep 3 I thought I was on the Liverpool forum for a moment with all the comments about our eventual downfall and the fate of our manager. Yes, it was gutting to lose yesterday, especially after having the lead and only the last few moments of the game left see out, but there were some superb performances out there. I've seen comments from all different clubs praising our efforts and saying what a good outfit we look. This is the result of two seasons of hard work under NA and NC. I don't think the defenders we've got aren't good enough necessarily for this division, but are simply not experienced enough and have to learn to play at a higher level, and fast. I'm also not convinced that the keeper is entirely to blame, although his distribution yesterday was well below par. If the additions to the squad improve the team as you'd expect them to, and when Cork returns to the team we should be a useful side. The bench will also look stronger and more balanced. Admittedly NA took a gamble yesterday and got it wrong. On another day he could have been a hero. His biggest challenge for me is going to be maintaining the intensity of yesterday's fixture and the Man City game against the likes of lower standard teams, like Wigan. Performances of note yesterday have to be Schneiderlin and Ward-Prowse. That was the best performance I have ever seen from Punch too.

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vectis added 12:43 - Sep 3 Also I would like to say that I agree that last nights game was crying out for more defensive options - Chaplow, Richardson, Shaw, Cork. If Adkins does lose his job it will be due to his inability to change teams to Be more defensive. Let's hope he learns. But too many like for like attacking changes like that and he will be packing his bags I'm afraid. Hope not tho.
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SaintNick added 12:45 - Sep 3 Last season I pointed out on many occasions that ooiveld although committed and passionate in his game, would make an error in every one that would sometimes cost us sometimes not, I pointed out the lack of concentration etc but was shouted down by most on here who would tell me what a great central defender he was etc etc. This season he is getting found out and punished, this was the first time i have taken Fonte to task rather than Hooiveld, but I think it was justified although I could have easily pointed a finger at Hooiveld as well. With regard to Fox, because he didnt wear wristbands and charge around abusing ball boys, some people seem to have taken a dislike to Fox, personally I would like to judge him when he has a decent central pairing along side him and a proper wing back with pace in front of him, funny no one is taking Clyne to task, yet he has been skinned as many times as Fox has been in the three games. Im not going to start Adkins bashing regarding our failure to sign key players, its clear that in our new european style system, Adkins hasnt control over the signings, he makes suggestions but they arent always followed up, ie Buttner, he didnt even make their bench yesterday, but how we could have done with him employed as a wing back

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tiptop added 13:03 - Sep 3 Truley gutting. We can build on this at times excellent performance. Agree with the CB, GK, LB calls Kelvin?! Why!!!! Such bad kicking errors. That got them back in our half just as we were TIRING - the MAIN REASON leading to us conceding . Of course defense didn't do his job in the box PARTLY for THIS (tiring) REASON. (Ferdinand and RVP unmarked?!WTF). Some of Fonte's clearances were weak at best. His legs looked gone! NA did point out the defensive lapses like losing the first ball at the corner twice and he 'can see why premiership defenders cost so much'. He will surely see our fitness need work!... like another 20/30. (Closing down like we did is part of the game at this level. WGS knew that). Agree about the subs ..to a point. Punch looked the stronger to me too. Fitness. Ruthlessness. Defensive Quality. We can work on the first two.I hope defensive quality isn't out of reach.

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bstokesaint added 13:03 - Sep 3 I have to say Nick I don't think Clyne and Fox are in the same league, at the moment at least. Think Clyne will go on to be a future international and I'd be happy with a Clyne carbon copy on the left hand side too. I also think it's a touch naive to be damning on either of the central defenders in their performances against the likes of Tevez, Aguero, Balotelli and Van Persie. As pointed out it was absolutely criminal not to pick up Van Persie for the winner, but we can learn a lot from these mistakes. We've played the best front men in this division now and will have learned a great deal from this. Having had these high profile duels I'll be looking for Hooiveld to match up the likes of Andy Carroll and similar style strikers from teams which possess less tricky attackers.

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geezershoong added 13:21 - Sep 3 A good article, accurate and fair, let down by the Author's snide comment left in reply to his own story.
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SanMarco added 13:50 - Sep 3 I think the problem with Fox and one or two others at the back is that they are not quite good enough at this level. Interesting to see so many people mentioning Chaplow - I like him as a player but is he going to be quick enough to catch anyone at this level?
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SingaporeSaint added 13:58 - Sep 3 Yep agree with Bstoke re Cyne and Fox.. Clyne is learning his trade but his one on one defending is good - he actually gets up tight to attackers, prevents crosses, wants to defend and his pace is a big asset in getting back. To be slightly critical he needs to get it out of his feet better when in posession - as doesnt always play it quickly enough, but sure that will come. I see weaknesses in Clyne too (wearing the right studs would help) but he the BEST of our back 5. Fox is almost the exact opposite when defending - he is either upfield, at times recklessly so - at one stage yest he was in the C Forward position and our furthest player forward, OR tucks in tight to the C Half, 30 yards or so off the winger and lets the wide man pick out his cross.. I very rarely if ever see Fox doing what fullbacks do - i.e. out tight to the winger and trying to prevent the cross. I want my fullback to first and foremost to win the battle with their wideman on a one on one basis and prevent crosses - anything extra re delivery etc is a bonus. To this end I would still like to look to develop Shaw as the fullback, with Fox on the bench as cover as I honestly dont see Fox as a safe option.

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SaintNick added 14:01 - Sep 3 I see your points about developing players, but to be brutally honest in the premier we havent got time to develope them until we can get safely in mid table. People keep on mooting shaw, but he has played 1 full game against a league 1 club and 13 minutes against Coventry in the cup last year, too many people are quoting him as being good enough when they havent seen him play, probably on the baisis that Chelsea were meant to be after him

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