Palace we played a back 3 and it was part of a long run of poor results.
We're not going to get into Europe but this thread is about Long and Jelavic. There's no reason why we couldn't be in a similar position to Southampton and Newcastle above 30 points but outside the top 6, just comfortably inside the upper half of the table, if we'd had this squad all season. We played without a striker for most of it so far!
We might lose to Southampton on Tuesday, we might win. A win won't mean we're going to finish above them this year and a loss won't mean we're going down. I would hope we'll play a 442 again and give them more of an even game than last time we met though.
Livermore is the only player we lose in the summer. If we can sign him again, and perhaps add 1-2 more in key positions, we'll certainly have a squad capable of a top half finish. Whether or not we fulfil that potential is another thing.