Due to injuries and a complete lack of cohesion I think the 4-4-2 diamond used against Stoke is a no go against Southampton and there are 2/3 ways we could go.
4-5-1/4-3-3
GK: Green
RB: Onuoha
CB: Ferdinand/Hill/Dunne
CB: Caulker
LB: Yun/Traore
CDM: Henry
CM: Fer
CAM: Kranjcar
RW: Vargas/Phillips
LW: Vargas/Hoilett
ST: Austin
Return of the 3-5-2 (I know it didn't work at all vs. Spurs, but it's what our players are meant to be suited to)
GK: Green
CB: Onuoha
CB: Ferdinand/Hill/Dunne
CB: Caulker
RWB: Isla
LWB: Yun/Traore
CDM: Henry
CM: Fer
CAM: Kranjcar
ST: Vargas
ST: Austin
The England Euro 96 (no way we should start like this, but it could be good when we're chasing the game)
GK: Green
CB: Onuoha
CB: Ferdinand/Hill/Dunne
CB: Caulker
CDM: Henry
CM: Fer
CAM: Kranjcar
RW: Isla/Phillips
LW: Hoilett/Traore
ST: Vargas
ST: Austin
I'm sure plenty will disagree with this/add their own suggestions, but I'm really stuck on the best system for this team to play, as all of these have clear weaknesses. We seem too be completely imbalanced for the more conventional systems used i.e. those with a back 4, so maybe we should persist with the back 3 idea and let the players improve at it (which is what I thought pre-season was for, but apparently not). Otherwise we're stuck we're stuck with square pegs in round holes until January.
4-5-1/4-3-3
GK: Green
RB: Onuoha
CB: Ferdinand/Hill/Dunne
CB: Caulker
LB: Yun/Traore
CDM: Henry
CM: Fer
CAM: Kranjcar
RW: Vargas/Phillips
LW: Vargas/Hoilett
ST: Austin
Return of the 3-5-2 (I know it didn't work at all vs. Spurs, but it's what our players are meant to be suited to)
GK: Green
CB: Onuoha
CB: Ferdinand/Hill/Dunne
CB: Caulker
RWB: Isla
LWB: Yun/Traore
CDM: Henry
CM: Fer
CAM: Kranjcar
ST: Vargas
ST: Austin
The England Euro 96 (no way we should start like this, but it could be good when we're chasing the game)
GK: Green
CB: Onuoha
CB: Ferdinand/Hill/Dunne
CB: Caulker
CDM: Henry
CM: Fer
CAM: Kranjcar
RW: Isla/Phillips
LW: Hoilett/Traore
ST: Vargas
ST: Austin
I'm sure plenty will disagree with this/add their own suggestions, but I'm really stuck on the best system for this team to play, as all of these have clear weaknesses. We seem too be completely imbalanced for the more conventional systems used i.e. those with a back 4, so maybe we should persist with the back 3 idea and let the players improve at it (which is what I thought pre-season was for, but apparently not). Otherwise we're stuck we're stuck with square pegs in round holes until January.