It was a tough call in midfield between Romeu, Wanyama and Clasie, maybe they would all start in away games with Jay or Dusan dropping out. It has to be 4231 for me with Dusan on the left. please log in to view this image
I still need to see more of Clasie first before I make a firm call, but if he is indeed capable of scoring/creating a few (whilst not being the best DM around), then I would be inclined to push Clasie forward into Jay's position, push Jay forward into Pelle's position, and bring Romeu in to partner Wanyama. I'm also assuming that more than just "fit", we are actually going with "fit and on form". For the likes of Tadic and Jay, simply being "fit" will not always be enough to get them in.
That's a very smart layout SA. I wouldn't be putting Clasie in any position just yet, as we have no idea how well he'll do. Romeu has shown us enough, to be honest. He's pretty good. Maybe it's a little early to be suggesting out best line-up.? And Jay is still nowhere near yet.
I think we have a number of options depending on opposition. For example against 'stronger teams' like the top 6, I'd expect VW and Romeu as DMs with Classie just in front (or Davis, if Classie not fit). Against 'weaker' at home, expect like you put, but maybe JRod right, Mane central.... Away I'd expect maybe Tadic to drop out, JRod and Mane wide, pacy for counter attacking.
Here's the back up XI, all internationals at some level...not too shabby. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Forster Cedric Van Dijk Fonte Bertrand Wanyama Romeu Clasie Mane Pelle Tadic 4-3-3 with Clasie just infront of Wanyama and Romeu or 4-2-3-1 with Clasie in Jays place from the op. Clasie wouldn't work as a outright dm.
Now it needs for the players to start clicking!!! As I suggested on another thread, with the Europa League done and dusted for the moment, with the monkey off the back, Saints are able to focus on their football.
A fit and in form Jay Rodriguez would get in my strongest XI every time. Goals are vital to any team and I think in form he is guaranteed to get them. Not only that, he adds pace and mobility up front as well as pressing from the front.
As Jay gets fitter and stronger then I believe he becomes a more credible option to lead the line. He definitely looks to have bulked up and while he doesn't have that natural presence of Pelle, he will offer more movement
Same. When healthy, playing Jay up top and Mane nominally playing wide would be a recipe for a lot of mayhem. Jay loves an inside-to-out run; Mane loves diagonal runs from wide areas. Defenses don't like the combination of those two predilections.
Rodriguez has only ever led the line a few times for us and didn't set the world on fire. If he's going to play there regularly he'll need to have improved substantially. With Lambert and Lallana having moved on we'll need to hope Clasie and Tadic can provide passes in behind the defence for him to run on to.
That, I think, is where Mane (and potentially Soares) comes in. When played centrally, Jay (and Rickie, for that matter) had a real fondness for making early, angled runs across the face of the CB, creating a passing angle and forcing the defender to either go with him, or allow him to effectively pick up the ball close to the wide edge of the box unmolested. The biggest issue was that we generally didn't make much of it...Jay's a pretty miserable crosser, and he often didn't have much early support. Half the time it seemed to end with Jay standing over the ball and a defender standing off him, waiting for something to develop (but mostly allowing the defense to recover and set up). Add Mane, however, and now he has close support in the form of a player who loves a good complementary run. Jay also has shown an increased willingness to take on strikes beyond the confines of the box, which makes standing off a little more dangerous. Might not work as well in reality as it does in my version, but I'd like to see it in action for a few games when Jay's back to full match fitness. Long + Mane was the discount version, but looked pretty good the one time it was used in the league.
