Is Yoshida simply not good enough to play as a fullback?

There comes a point in every player’s career when their stay at a club reaches the tipping point, whether that be due to retirement or simply their playing ability. For Maya Yoshida, it is his playing ability.

Much has been made about Maya Yoshida’s defensive ability this season for Southampton. The Japan international has seemingly been at the heart of every defensive mistake that the Saints have made when he has been on the pitch, that’s the key point. When he is on the pitch. When Southampton have played a defence without Yoshida the back-line has looked almost faultless at times. However, it has just been when he has come in to the side that Southampton have begun to falter at the back.

It started on the opening day of the season. Yoshida played alongside Jose Fonte in the heart of the Saints defence. What happened? He was a liability throughout and ended up costing Koeman’s men as he made some silly mistakes and the game ended 2-2.

Southampton then faced Everton at St.Mary’s in the second game of the Premier League season, with Yoshida starting again in the heart of the defence. No prizes for guessing what happened, he made mistakes and it cost Southampton as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Everton. Now, don’t get me wrong, those first two games were not all Yoshida’s fault as other players failed to perform as well but it was his mistakes that were more clear-cut than the rest and were punished by the opposition.

Now, his lack of positional awareness and overall pace was costing Southampton in the heart of the defence but that was plugged by Virgil Van Dijk being bought from Celtic and displacing him in the side. However, for some bewildering reason, Koeman started playing him on the right side of defence. Bearing in mind the comment on his awareness and pace (two key attributes for a right-back), it was a shocking move by Koeman.

This strange tactical decision from Koeman has been duly punished multiple times this season. Yoshida played at right-back for the first time against Manchester United. Straight off the bat, he gifted Manchester United the win. He made some clumsy mistakes throughout the game and looked completely off the pace. The highlight being his dreadful back pass that gifted Anthony Martial a goal as United beat Southampton 3-2.

You would think that Koeman would have learnt from this? Nope. Southampton at home to Leicester and 2-0 up. No need to make daft changes right? Well apparently Koeman thought it would be funny to throw Yoshida on and put him at right-back. Again, you guessed it, he made mistakes and Leicester scored twice, costing Saints all three points.

But surely by then Koeman had realised that Yoshida is terrible at right-back? Again, the answer was no. It brings us up to yesterday’s game against Manchester City. Away at Manchester City, a game in which you do not want any liabilities, and yet Koeman starts Yoshida at right-back. It is still unknown whether Cedric was dropped or whether he was injured as there have been a number reports suggesting either could have been a possibility. Either way, Cuco Martina is still sitting there waiting for a chance. Yet Yoshida continues to get chances to show how defensively poor he is, to which he obliged with another huge error. He dallied on the ball for way too long and may just as well of said “there you Sterling, go and set up De Bruyne to score” because that is what happened. He also showed more poor positional sense as he left Kolarov with half the penalty box of space to fire in a third for City.

So, that brings us up to date with his mistakes this season. There have been plenty to highlight. Frustrating isn’t a strong enough word. Maybe not with Yoshida as much as it is with Koeman. Yes, Yoshida may not even be the best as a centre back but that is his actual position. If he isn’t comfortable playing right-back and isn’t good enough playing there, as he has evidently shown, then Koeman should never ever play him there. Yet, he continues to do so.

A new right-back must a priority in the January window. With Cedric being dropped here and there for strange reasons, Martina seemingly being a wasted signing and Yoshida being a bad player; Koeman must sign a new right sided defender.

Maya Yoshida should also just be let go. His contract doesn’t end until 2018 but I am positive no Saints fans want to put up with his constant lapses in defence for another 2-and-a-half-years, that is for sure. He is not good enough to play at right-back.

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