Classie vs hojbgerg

[Mr X]

Why is Classie starting over hojbgerg? Really don't rate classie far to lightweight & seems to give away a lot of stray passes putting us straight under pressure.

 

Do you think he has shown enough over the two years he's been here to warrant a starting place? Thoughts

 

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[ALWAYS_SFC]

Why is Classie starting over hojbgerg? Really don't rate classie far to lightweight & seems to give away a lot of stray passes putting us straight under pressure.

 

Do you think he has shown enough over the two years he's been here to warrant a starting place? Thoughts

 

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He gets a place due to the many games we have and the squad rotation,He has good games and bad ones..should he be first choice, probably not

[beatlesaint]

Puel obviously wants Hojbjerg to start against Inter Milan, no mystery really.

[Shroppie]

Why is Classie starting over hojbgerg? Really don't rate classie far to lightweight & seems to give away a lot of stray passes putting us straight under pressure.

 

Do you think he has shown enough over the two years he's been here to warrant a starting place? Thoughts

 

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I'm not impressed with Clasie. He can look quite neat on the ball when he has time, but I agree with your points.

 

I think he's starting with Davis as part of the player rotation. Claude seems to have the two pairings - Davis/Clasie and Hojbjerg /JWP. If he's resting these players in alternate games it avoids having a JWP/Clasie pairing, which I would think is too weak.

 

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[Noodles34]

Classie has been here two years now, I am afraid he just doesnt cut it, i think we have seen enough of him to judge now.

He was, by all account absolutely superb in Holland but there you go, he has not adapted to the PL.

I am also unsure of what is role actually is, is it supposed to be one of creativity and getting into the box? Because he fails on both counts there.

H ehas had some good games but all in all, we just have not seen enough in the other games.

[Shroppie]

Classie has been here two years now, I am afraid he just doesnt cut it, i think we have seen enough of him to judge now.

He was, by all account absolutely superb in Holland but there you go, he has not adapted to the PL.

I am also unsure of what is role actually is, is it supposed to be one of creativity and getting into the box? Because he fails on both counts there.

H ehas had some good games but all in all, we just have not seen enough in the other games.

Before we bought him, I saw him on TV a few times and struggled to see why we were interested. Very much a Koeman thing, I guess.

 

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[Shroppie]

I'd like to see Reed given a chance in that position, and Hesketh when he's fit again.

 

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[so22saint]

I'd like to see Reed given a chance in that position, and Hesketh when he's fit again.

 

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It's been a few years since big Les has played a game but I agree he can't be much worse than Clasie

[whelk]

Classie has been here two years now, I am afraid he just doesnt cut it, i think we have seen enough of him to judge now.

He was, by all account absolutely superb in Holland but there you go, he has not adapted to the PL.

I am also unsure of what is role actually is, is it supposed to be one of creativity and getting into the box? Because he fails on both counts there.

H ehas had some good games but all in all, we just have not seen enough in the other games.

 

Been here 2 years has he?

[Batman]

Just dont think Clasie will ever be suited to the premier league

[The Cat]

Claise is OK but Hojbjerg has so much more about him. Can do what Claise does and then some. Better strength, tackling and far better at driving forward. If you had to pick our strongest eleven he'd always be in it but with the number of games I can understand the plan.

[Toomer]

Clasie or not so as he called in the dressing room.

[mrfahaji]

I like that you've made a thread about two players, and spelt both their names wrong

 

But as many have said already, Puel is rotating the squad, and this week was Hojbjerg's turn for a rest. I thought that was something every Southampton fan knew...!

[Greenridge]

PEH is in a different league to Clasie.

[Jai27]

Why is Classie starting over hojbgerg? Really don't rate classie far to lightweight & seems to give away a lot of stray passes putting us straight under pressure.

 

Do you think he has shown enough over the two years he's been here to warrant a starting place? Thoughts

 

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No, basically.

 

As you say, he's guilty of at least one stray pass a game which the opposition always seem to then break on and he doesn't have the physicality to hold off other players. He's tenacious and must be annoying to play against, but we need more than that really. If fitness and resting players didn't come into it, then we'd start every game with Romeu and Hojbjerg without a doubt.

 

Overall though I'm fairly happy with our current midfield options, but if we had to upgrade a player in Jan / next summer then it would be Clasie (I'm not including Martina because he really shouldn't be allowed to play at this level anyway). Maybe Koeman can come and take him and we'll get Cork back when Swansea go down.

[DuncanRG]

Clasie's a pefectly fine squad player but hasn't adapted physically yet. With a little time on the ball he can make us tick but too often he's outmuscled or beaten to second balls.

 

Hojbjerg has potential to be stronger, a driving force to get us forward more, like Davis.

[saintant]

Clasie is not good enough for the Prem in my opinion. I've watched him closely in the last two league games and his contrubition has been sadly lacking. He seems to patrol areas in the midfield where he almost knows he won't receive the ball or have to engage opponents. His passing is nearly always short and without any risk, he does not make anything happen offensively. To sum up he is a player who I believe realises he's out of his depth and so hides making him somewhat of a passenger - unfortunately you cannot carry passengers at this level.

[Dusic]

From the excitement when we signed him he is one of the most disappointing signings since we moved back to the PL.

 

Very average going forward, physically unsuited to the league. Would rather have Jack Cork in the squad. He just doesn't do a lot and also struggles to complete 90mins or take part in more than one game per week.

 

Seems to be a good pro and works hard, just looks like this level and the speed of the game is really hard for him.

[Noodles34]

Been here 2 years has he?

 

[Heisenberg]

I've not been blown away be either TBH

 

Thankfully Romeu has stepped up

[S-Clarke]

Neither are first choice, we rotate them. I like Hojburg, Clasie still doesn't impose himself enough in the 'big' games. There's no doubt he can pass the ball and has good technique, but he struggles up against players like Matic etc. Not sure that will ever change, but he's a good tactical player in terms of holding a position and tracking players.

[Dusic]

Neither are first choice, we rotate them. I like Hojburg, Clasie still doesn't impose himself enough in the 'big' games. There's no doubt he can pass the ball and has good technique, but he struggles up against players like Matic etc. Not sure that will ever change, but he's a good tactical player in terms of holding a position and tracking players.

Its not just the 'big' games he doesn't impose himself in. He is, as you say, good at tracking players and most likely does what the manager says, but he just doesn't look like he has what it takes.

 

If he hasn't adapted by now then I doubt he ever will. If he can't play 90mins regularly after well over a year then will he ever?

[captainchris]

Its not just the 'big' games he doesn't impose himself in. He is, as you say, good at tracking players and most likely does what the manager says, but he just doesn't look like he has what it takes.

 

If he hasn't adapted by now then I doubt he ever will. If he can't play 90mins regularly after well over a year then will he ever?

 

Don't usually rate Clasie at all but he had a good game against Burnley! Enough said I suppose....

[ally_uk]

He is gash......

[DuncanRG]

From the excitement when we signed him he is one of the most disappointing signings since we moved back to the PL.

 

Very average going forward, physically unsuited to the league. Would rather have Jack Cork in the squad. He just doesn't do a lot and also struggles to complete 90mins or take part in more than one game per week.

 

Seems to be a good pro and works hard, just looks like this level and the speed of the game is really hard for him.

 

I don't think he struggles to complete 90 minutes, it's just an area where fresh legs will always help after 70 minutes and we have good options off the bench.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Clasie is a bit more disciplined at holding his position than PEH , so that's maybe why Claude starts him in league games . He's a decent squad player , a better version of JWP , but that's about it. Clearly long term PEH will be ahead of him in the pecking order, but it's early days & he's still a nipper . The issue for me is that JWP should be pushing himself ahead of Clasie by now , it's one thing being kept out of the side by Morgan or Big Vic but if he can't get in ahead of Clasie , will he ever become a starter when we play our first choice side .

[PeteCampbell]

I'd personally prefer Ward-Prowse over both of them

[Chris27687]

Clasie has been ok. Hojberg has been decent in spells, was dire against Inter, but certainly looks like he has a higher potential.

 

This is one of those good problems though - most of the rest of the league has significant holes in their midfield and nowhere near the depth we have. It's proof that the selling of players to add depth/value to the entire squad works well.

[SonicBoom]

I agree he probably can complete the 90 but doesn't as to be fair to him he probably covers a lot of ground and why not keep that position fresh if we have the opportunity.

I like him he's neat and tidy but he just doesn't influence the game enough for me. I also think that any team should have some sort of goal threat from centre midfield and we have been very light there for several years. Hojbjerg, Clasie and Romeu barely seem to have a goal between them and Davis is little better in that department. I often wonder if this is why we seem to pass sideways a lot when in the opposition half. They simply don't want the ball near the opposition goal.

[SKD]

I'd personally prefer Ward-Prowse over both of them

 

Ward-Prowse is our weakest option in midfield, by far. If he wasn't from our academy there is no way anyone would want him anywhere near our squad. He literally brings nothing to the team at least Classie brings high energy (for 70 mins) and Hojbgerg, although still a little raw, brings that bit of class.

[Shroppie]

Ward-Prowse is our weakest option in midfield, by far. If he wasn't from our academy there is no way anyone would want him anywhere near our squad. He literally brings nothing to the team at least Classie brings high energy (for 70 mins) and Hojbgerg, although still a little raw, brings that bit of class.

JWP has significantly more energy and stamina than Clasie.

 

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[IronCitySaint]

For me, Clasie has come nowhere near the level everyone hoped when he was signed and seems relatively invisible during games. Because of that I made an extra point of watching him on Sunday and can't say that I remember him making a single forward pass in the game. It is always the safest option, either sideways to a midfield partner or backwards to one of the back four. He never seems to either want or be capable of a forward pass to a runner. In the rare instance he gets forwards his shooting is usually terrible (although that is something much of the squad suffers from). Add to that, he never appears to come out on top in a 50/50 challenge. Agreed that he does hassle the opposition but it is within a limited area of the field and good passing teams (like Chelsea) are not particularly bothered by that as they move the ball quickly enough to nullify the threat. Despite the 'mixed' opinions about JWP, they both do similar things in hassling the opposition with little end product, but I think JWP offers more in that he does have a decent dead ball and has at least scored a few goals. Thank goodness Romeu has picked up the mantle in midfield this season. He was terrific against Chelsea again. Just hope he doesn't get injured.

[Nordic Saint]

For me, Clasie has come nowhere near the level everyone hoped when he was signed and seems relatively invisible during games. Because of that I made an extra point of watching him on Sunday and can't say that I remember him making a single forward pass in the game. It is always the safest option, either sideways to a midfield partner or backwards to one of the back four. He never seems to either want or be capable of a forward pass to a runner. In the rare instance he gets forwards his shooting is usually terrible (although that is something much of the squad suffers from). Add to that, he never appears to come out on top in a 50/50 challenge. Agreed that he does hassle the opposition but it is within a limited area of the field and good passing teams (like Chelsea) are not particularly bothered by that as they move the ball quickly enough to nullify the threat. Despite the 'mixed' opinions about JWP, they both do similar things in hassling the opposition with little end product, but I think JWP offers more in that he does have a decent dead ball and has at least scored a few goals. Thank goodness Romeu has picked up the mantle in midfield this season. He was terrific against Chelsea again. Just hope he doesn't get injured.

 

You do realize how few goals Ward-Prowse has scored? 1 from open play in 114 games plus a couple of penalties which weren't particularly well taken and 1 from the 50 or so free-kicks he has taken around the penalty area. That's it. I'll admit he is slightly better than Clasie but both of them are fairly ineffective at the highest level and contribute little against the top teams. They'd both be more suitable for the Championship or one of the lesser European leagues.

[Charlie Wayman]

Neither Clasie or Hojberg are world class midfielders which is why they are playing for Saints and not Real Madrid. They both have good games and bad games as you would expect but a section of our so-called fans never have a good word to say about the Dutch lad whereas to them Hojberg can do no wrong. Very strange that Puel seems not to agree with them isn't it.

 

In football people see only what they want to see.

[L1Minus10]

Clasie is symptomatic of the Koeman years when we signed players before looking in the Academy. Reed is as good as him easily and would contribute more. He's small too but at least he gets stuck in and could play more than 60 minutes. Clasie doesn't create, he doesn't defend much. A bit of a nothing player. Not suited to English league and never will be. My dream is punting him to Everton for £10m.

[Saint IQ]

I think he's good but if we got good money for him and got Morgan back we'd have a much stronger, more balanced squad.

 

Morgan, Romeu and possibly Hojberg could both play DM and we'd have Hojbjerg, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Morgan and Reed for the shuttle positions

[Ewell]

Clasie is symptomatic of the Koeman years when we signed players before looking in the Academy. Reed is as good as him easily and would contribute more. He's small too but at least he gets stuck in and could play more than 60 minutes. Clasie doesn't create, he doesn't defend much. A bit of a nothing player. Not suited to English league and never will be. My dream is punting him to Everton for £10m.

 

Agree with all of this.

[Saint86]

Classie has been here two years now, I am afraid he just doesnt cut it, i think we have seen enough of him to judge now.

He was, by all account absolutely superb in Holland but there you go, he has not adapted to the PL.

I am also unsure of what is role actually is, is it supposed to be one of creativity and getting into the box? Because he fails on both counts there.

H ehas had some good games but all in all, we just have not seen enough in the other games.

 

Is this another of these threads where we lose to one of the best teams in the country/world... and then as a result rewrite history to condemn a player who in fact has been here for 1year - and missed the start of both seasons due to injury niggles. Despite that, I can see the class clasie has, as could Koeman, as could Les Reed, as can Puel.

 

But no. lets just write him off.

 

Forget the chapel end, fans who can't even acknowledge the facts before they get on the players backs are what is wrong with this club. Embarrassing.

[Dangermouth]

I rate Clasie and still think we've not seen him at his best although I do wonder if he can reproduce it in this league. He's another I think we should look at at the end of the season.

 

PJH will be a very good player and listening to him talk you can see he has a good appreciation of many things, not just football. I also liked his comment about the need for SMS to be louder.