This defeat can be blamed on several things, but selections, substitutions and tactics probably cover them all.

Nigel Adkins tinkered and got it badly wrong, those that have read my previews and verdicts over the years will notice that there is a recurring theme, that good players dont become bad players overnight or as in this case vice versa, that if you do the same things you get the same results, be that winning or losing and that continuity is a good thing.

We had none of that on Saturday against Sunderland and you have to question the managers selections, whilst at the moment the back four is picking itself and the midfield four was a bolt on as well, why the sudden introduction of Mayuka  a few weeks ago I questioned why Adkins didnt throw him on in the final minutes against Liverpool to try and rescue a point, I said then if he cant get off the bench in a game like that, then he is perhaps never going to do so, but I was wrong, after nearly four months at the club without a league start and six games where he hasnt even managed to get off the bench and on to the field, suddenly Mayuka is given a start ahead of not just Jay Rodrigues who must feel that after a solid performance against Reading he was worth his place, but ahead of the likes of Guly or Tadanari Lee who now seems to be right out of contention.

But perhaps even stranger was Steve De Ridder on the bench, here is a man who couldnt get a game in the Championship, why suddenly was he not only selected for the bench, but brought on ahead of the like of Jay Rodrigues, Guly, Tadanari Lee and others, how this game cried out for Billy Sharp, De Ridders emergence probabaly spelled out that something is wrong and once again begged the question about whether the manager is making his own selections, I actually hope that he isnt, because if he is then his selections on Saturday were seriously flawed.

I just cant get my head round selecting Mayuka, afer seven weeks in the wilderness has he suddenly improved so much in the last fortnight that he is worth a start ? his first ever one at that, after a big defeat yes managers suddenly make drastic changes, but surely not after a solid home win.

But it was more than just a few poor selections and substitutions, the fighting spirit and confidence just wasnt there, with the exception of a few players the rest didnt play with the belief that they could win the game, we had no attacking thread down either flank, I know im being harsh but its easy to forget how young Luke Shaw is, defensively he is strong but on Saturday he offered nothing going forward first half, just after the break he had a really good run, but that was about it in the second, a lot has been put on Shaws shoulders, on Saturday it seemed to weigh him down a little, he didnt have a bad game, but he didnt have a great one either, unfair because at his age he should be able to rely on more experienced players to lead by example and too many of them didnt.

This was a very very important game lost, with the run of fixtures coming up, if we arent careful we could be on a four game losing streak now, the manager has some hard work to do, over his tenure Nigel Adkins has always had to learn as he went along and that often means that at times its two steps forward and one backwards, Saturday was a backward step that was for sure, but the real disapointment was the manner in which we took it, the mistakes we made and the lessons we should learn from them, really should have been absorbed a long time ago and should not be being repeated now.

For their part Sunderland came and put in a performance that you feel that as it stands now Saints could not do, they came into the lions den, kept it tight, rarely looked troubled or made mistakes and took their chance when it came, this is the sort of performance that we now need to put in at both Fulham and Stoke, can we do that, I truly hope so but I cant see it after Saturday.

A day later Im still perplexed by the roles that Mayuka and De Ridder played in this game, its something I cant quite put my finger on, but I feel that it is at the heart of all that has gone wrong this season, perhaps Nigel Adkins has been under pressure to use them both, perhaps he was using this game to prove a point, if that point was that neither are of the quality needed in this division, then he has proved it, if the choice was the managers and the managers alone then Im sorry but I am very worried.              

Photo: Action Images

DJI added 10:58 - Dec 23 Couldn't agree more Nick. I was confused to see J-Rod back on the bench when against Reading, he bullied their defence, chased every loose ball and put in a good stint? Mayuka lacked a first touch and apart from one clever run, offered very little. As for SDR, I don't think he's good enough at this level and although it excites some when he runs fast in a straight line, I feel he doesn't offer a great deal as an impact sub. I too felt Tadanari would have been a better option. It was also noticeable (and not for the first time) that we lacked a true counter-attacking threat too, often slowing down in the final 3rd and waiting for others to join in? The lads need to learn to use those opportunities when they come and be decisive; none of this pretty Arsenal-like football around the 18yd box when a good old fashioned strike would be better. How many goals in the Prem this season have gone in from a deflection or rebounded to someone else for a tap in? All in all a disappointing day which has put more pressure on us for the next two games; both away and against difficult teams to break down.

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saintmark1976 added 12:32 - Dec 23 I did not go yesterday but did listen on Solent.In truth it sounded like a disaster waiting to happen from start to finish. I am a great supporter of Mr Adkins but you have got to ask exactly what on earth is going on with him and his (or somebody else's?) team selection and tactics. A very important match and we start with Mayuka who is completely untried over ninty minutes at this level together with De Ridder on the bench whilst our seven million pound signing Rodrigues is dropped from the starting eleven after a good game against Reading. I think the expression which best sums it up is "have a holiday"! According to Dave Merrington our most gifted player Ramierz was played out of his best position for all of the first half and Spiderman(our best midfield player on the day) was subbed because he needed to avoid being booked, having four yellows to his name at present. Never mind that we were losing at the time! Talking of bookings did we have any of the team yellow carded or do they no longer care enough to get stuck in and fight for the cause? We are now above the relegation places but then only on goal difference having played three more home games than away. Come on Nigel. Stop messing about with team selection and the bookings situation, play your best team available and in their best positions. Install some fight and spirit into the team and justify our faith in you and the players please.

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slynch added 13:04 - Dec 23 I was playing football myself and only saw the last 30mins. I thoughts Saints looked good. Sunderland hardly got the ball, something like 70% possession. De Ridder looked fast and a good replacement for Lallana, Saints could have scored 3 in that period just from corners. But somedays they just don't go in. A must win game that they didn't and it made no difference - survival continues. HAPPY CHRISTMAS

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Sanguin added 13:18 - Dec 23 In fairness to Luke Shaw, he had nobody in front of him. I don't know if Ramirez was just incredibly uncomfortable on the left wing or if he resented being played there but he did the job terribly and we were toothless on that side. Honestly, I'm surprised Sunderland didn't push us there more as although Cork and Schneiderlin were clearly told to cover that side there were still a couple of occasions where it was two Sunderland players against Shaw. Ultimately we really missed Lallana, his ability to take it past players on the wing and his delivery sets up loads of chances. Mayuka was poor but there is a slight sense that perhaps this was a one off and he has some potential. I think the right move would have been to either play Ramirez on the wing with Rodriquez up front or to play Guly on the wing with Lambert up front and Ramirez just behind him. This games shows we do not have adequate cover in many positions. Looking at Sunderland's squad it is a lot stronger. We have to sign a Premiership quality winger in January, otherwise we'll be seeing a lot more of De Ridder's poor delivery.

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Fordy added 13:23 - Dec 23 It's easy to be critical but if you buy someone for £3m+ you'd expect them to be good enough to start. Everyone was very critical of Mayuka but he wasn't as bad as some others. Rickie had probably his worst ever game in a Saints shirt. Won nothing in the air and offered very little otherwise. The fact is we miss Lallana, we always do when he is out. It's a shame that Sharp is gone because when Lallana is not there he seems the only one who will gamble on Lambert's flicks, etc. Gaston and Lambert really didn't work yesterday they were miles apart and on completely different wavelengths. Ultimately, we lost because we didn't get the first goal. I was at the Emirates on the first day of the season where Sunderland shut up shop and Arsenal barely got a sniff of goal. They are very organised and hard to break down when they have the lead. It was just one of those days. They got a lucky goal and we had a clear penalty not given. Our free kicks and corners were League 2 standard at best and hopefully we won't see them as bad as that again this season. I don't think it was really down to team selection it was just a below par performance from everyone.

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Fordy added 13:23 - Dec 23 It's easy to be critical but if you buy someone for £3m+ you'd expect them to be good enough to start. Everyone was very critical of Mayuka but he wasn't as bad as some others. Rickie had probably his worst ever game in a Saints shirt. Won nothing in the air and offered very little otherwise. The fact is we miss Lallana, we always do when he is out. It's a shame that Sharp is gone because when Lallana is not there he seems the only one who will gamble on Lambert's flicks, etc. Gaston and Lambert really didn't work yesterday they were miles apart and on completely different wavelengths. Ultimately, we lost because we didn't get the first goal. I was at the Emirates on the first day of the season where Sunderland shut up shop and Arsenal barely got a sniff of goal. They are very organised and hard to break down when they have the lead. It was just one of those days. They got a lucky goal and we had a clear penalty not given. Our free kicks and corners were League 2 standard at best and hopefully we won't see them as bad as that again this season. I don't think it was really down to team selection it was just a below par performance from everyone.

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Fordy added 13:23 - Dec 23 It's easy to be critical but if you buy someone for £3m+ you'd expect them to be good enough to start. Everyone was very critical of Mayuka but he wasn't as bad as some others. Rickie had probably his worst ever game in a Saints shirt. Won nothing in the air and offered very little otherwise. The fact is we miss Lallana, we always do when he is out. It's a shame that Sharp is gone because when Lallana is not there he seems the only one who will gamble on Lambert's flicks, etc. Gaston and Lambert really didn't work yesterday they were miles apart and on completely different wavelengths. Ultimately, we lost because we didn't get the first goal. I was at the Emirates on the first day of the season where Sunderland shut up shop and Arsenal barely got a sniff of goal. They are very organised and hard to break down when they have the lead. It was just one of those days. They got a lucky goal and we had a clear penalty not given. Our free kicks and corners were League 2 standard at best and hopefully we won't see them as bad as that again this season. I don't think it was really down to team selection it was just a below par performance from everyone.

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Whatsforpud added 13:43 - Dec 23 I was at the match, and also listened to Solent's commentary. The general consensus of opinion was that Ramirez is far more useful in the hole behind the striker(s) that wide left, although it was pointed out that he plays there for Uruguay. So in Lallana's absence, who should we put wide left? It has already been established that Rodriges is not the answer. Re Mayuka, the manager can't win. If he doesn't play, why was he bought? Now he has played, perhaps that is what some are saying. I suppose the idea of bringing on de Ridder, is that he is one who can beat his man. Unfortunately there was little end product. Why can't we learn to cross a ball better - high loopy balls are easily dealt with by keepers or CBs. Keep them more direct to give Lambert a chance.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 13:45 - Dec 23 Adkins said that he picked Mayuka because he looked really good in training on Friday, was linking up well with Lambert and Ramirez and he thought he would get in behind the Sunderland back line. Mayuka wasn't that bad. Saints had a good first 40 minutes. We dominated but didn't create any good chances. The Sunderland goal was a sucker punch. They scored at the perfect time. The game then played into thier hands. They knew they could shut up shop for the 2nd 45. The most worrying thing for Saints was the lack of quality in the final 3rd. We need an end product from Ramirez. He's obviously talented but we need him to put in a killer cross for Lambert to attack and we need him to get into positions in and around the box where he can shoot. He needs to be playing in the middle of the park behind Lambert. We rely too much on Lambert winning long balls, and even when he does win them there's rarely anyone close enough to win the 2nd ball. This where someone like Sharp, Lee or even J-Rod is needed in the box to feed off the scraps and knock one in. If long balls are going to be pumped forward to Lambert then someone needs to be right up there with him. I'm not sure why J-Rod didn't get brought on, surely he would've been a decent option? Yesterday kind of showed how we have relied on Puncheon in recent weeks to produce in the final 3rd. He wasn't quite as effective yesterday and we suffered becasue of it. Lallana was obviously missed. De Ridder has no quality final ball and isn't good enough at this level. A disastrous result, and now we need a win at Fulham.

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sidsaint added 13:49 - Dec 23 I agree with your views Nick. Martin O'Neil way ahead of Nigel on tactics and nouse. Lucky goal, no penalty it was going to be his day and his substitutions were spot on.I'm not sure what the tactics were for Ricky I think he would be better if Sharp was with him looking to poach a goal. We also missed our captain. Nigel complained we were flat, well Nigel it's your job to lift us if we are. Not a lot of fight from the team especially if you compare us with Reding at Man City, maybe a few yellow cards would help the cause with a little more passion and bravery. The only bright spot was the bad luck for the likes of Wigan and Reading as well as us. It's true that the teams at the bottom don't get the breaks. Finally a disappointing game from our £12m player, maybe he wants to go back to Italy. Lets hope we can keep things tight at Fulham and grab a point. I can't see us getting anything at Stoke or at home to Arsenal. Not looking good.

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LostBoys added 14:46 - Dec 23 Dreadful performance overall and so I do not want to attribute blame on any single players. This was a six pointer and so you play the strongest squad even if you have to rotate for Fulham and Stoke. To play Mayuka and then De Ridder and lastly Guly in a game of this importance was madness. a question is with the last of the chances which fell to Guly, would Rodriguez or Sharp have scored with it. On a lighter seasonal note, in the Dell supporters Club the team is now shown as an overlay on top of whatever is being shown on the screen. I already had the team from Twitter but they replaced Luke Shaw with the on loan Seaborne. I think the Club should know what team is being played but from what you are saying it apareas Adkins does not know either. Seasonal greetings bt my view remains survival is still only 50:50 at best and this is due to naivety and lack of tactical experience.

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thegeneral added 17:06 - Dec 23 I think that could well be the last we see of Mayuka and de Ridder with the transfer window looming, i think NA probably had to make a point or give a final chance before January, players in is going to mean players out as well. We are always going to struggle against teams that stick 10 men behind the ball, look how well we played against both manc teams and how badly against wigan and sunderland, we can only hope to pick up away points against these teams when they have the home confidence.

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VeloSaint added 17:34 - Dec 23 De Ridder looked okay when he came on imo, he was double marked but was reasonably productive, even if it was mainly winning free kicks. Was disappointed in the amount of times he knocked it back to Shaw who could have got an early cross in, but instead elected to take a touch or play the easy square ball into midfield or back to the centre halves. Shaw needs to be more positive going forward. The major problem for me was first half we worked the ball into good positions numerous times with good expansive play, but the final ball or shot was woeful. Puncheon and Ramirez particularly guilty. Once they scored they were very well organised and were happy to limit their ambition going forward, so consequently we got into few decent positions apart from the last few minutes. The wide players were double marked, very little space between central midfield and the forward lines. You could see Adkins logic with the players he brought on, but the reality was his players were too often trying to get balls direct into Lambert, usually in the air. He would have been better of bringing JRod on and going 4-4-2, he would have naturally tried to pick off the scraps. Lambert wasn't winning many headers but often the ball would drop and there was never a Saints player within 5 yards of him. Agree on comment above re Sharp, the chance that Guly had would have been buried (though I'd have fancied JRod to take it as well). Mayuka may not get another chance soon, its one thing looking great in training, but he needed to put in a decent performance. He had a good opportunity to show what he could do, had a decent chance fluffed the shot. Not good enough. Not confident now going into the Xmas period.

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BlackRod added 20:58 - Dec 23 Most entertaining part was the two Santas trying to get the ball in the net at half time. Looked like they had taken their inspiration from the Saints players in the first half. More seriously I'm not sure where Nick is going with this idea of a conspiracy theory over who gets picked for the team. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that Mayuka should come in because Adam was injured. He is fast, enthusiastic and an 'unknown' as far as Villa were concerned. Well worth a punt. Previously you have bemoaned the team's inability to change the game. At least this time Nigel gave it a try. He can only use the tools he's got. De Ridder is effective as an impact sub, but only for ten minutes or so, then he turns into a spectator. Guly is prepared to have a go and Davis brings added pace/determination. On another day this might have worked and we would be hailing his tactical nous.

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schatfield added 23:14 - Dec 23 Rickie was the odd thing for me - guy gets picked every game, never ever gets subbed, despite how bad he plays. Is the untouchable one, but for me, was truely awful. Why doesnt Adkins ever rest, or god forbid drop him and try J Rod?? He must be given a chance when rickie is in this kind of form.
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SaintNick added 18:21 - Dec 24 All Im going to say about being productive is how many chances or shots did either Mayuka or De Ridder have or create, in thw case of wingers they are judged on what they create, farting about in midfield doesnt create goals, if Lambert was so bad why didnt the manager deal with that ??? People are very quick to slag off those that they dont like but not so quick to criticise those that they do hence Guly a man who this time last year had 11 goals and many assists and in all his 2 1/2 years at the club has done nothing other than play wherever he has been told is booed on the pitch and Puncheon who threw his toys out of the pram and refused to play for the club is lauded as a hero after three goals against the three worst sides in the division

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