A match at Old Trafford is always something of a draw, but this is getting ridiculous. For the third home game running the European champions finished on level terms with the most average of opposition, only adding to the sense of malfunction disturbing Manchester United at the moment.
The last thing Alex Ferguson needed on Saturday was for United to enrol in the Inspector Clouseau school of defending. The constant change of defensive personnel cannot help. With Mark Bosnich injured and now seemingly out-of-favour, Raimond van der Gouw has performed impressively as an understudy in goal. Yet Ferguson spent Stg£4.5 million on Massimo Taibi, who is ineligible to play in Europe at the moment but is the number one choice in the Premiership.
However, on Saturday Taibi let in a goal which raised immediate doubts about his consistency and concentration in a position where those qualities are most vital. Fielding a shot from Matthew Le Tissier which was so poorly struck that the Southampton player had turned away in disgust, Taibi allowed the ball to squeeze between his hands and legs with lackadaisical ease.
That was the first time United threw away their lead as hardworking Southampton levelled at 2-2. The second time was caused by another defensive howler by another new signing, the £4 million full back Mikael Silvestre. He committed the textbook error of taking the ball across his own goal, was caught in possession by Marian Pahars, and Le Tissier converted a difficult chance with typical poise.
There is one other area of defensive concern: Jaap Stam's vulnerability in close-quarter combat. Pahars cleverly nut-megged him to give Southampton an early lead, while in the closing minutes the visitors almost snatched victory when James Beattie, no twinkling ball-player, easily pushed the ball past the Dutchman and nearly scored. Crucially, Taibi produced a stop to rescue a point and some of his reputation.
United created enough chances to have won comfortably. Just past the half-hour Teddy Sheringham turned in David Beckham's cross for his first goal of the season. Three minutes later Dwight Yorke put United 2-1 ahead with a close-range header.
And on 64 minutes Yorke finished superbly to put United ahead at 3-2. Mark Hughes, making perhaps his last appearance on his old patch, hit the bar, as did Henning Berg at the other end.
But an exciting match of brilliance and blunder ended with Southampton taking their first league point from Old Trafford in 10 visits.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Taibi, Irwin, Stam, Berg, Silvestre, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Solskjaer, Yorke, Sheringham. Subs Not Used: Bosnich, Wilson, Cruyff, Neville, Fortune. Booked: Berg, Scholes. Goals: Sheringham 34, Yorke 37, 64.
SOUTHAMPTON: Jones, Dodd, Lundekvam (Marsden 69), Richards, Benali, Ripley, Soltvedt (Le Tissier 45), Oakley, Kachloul, Pahars (Beattie 90), Hughes. Subs Not Used: Moss, Colleter. Goals: Pahars 17, Le Tissier 51, 73.
Referee: S Dunn (Bristol).
