All of a sudden the trip to Stoke City has become a vital game and Saints have the task of replacing suspended Jose Fonte who will be suspended.

Saints travel to the Brittania Stadium without suspended skipper Jose Fonte and Ronald Koeman now has a massive problem about how he replaces him.

Back in January I warned that Saints should have considered signing another central defender to replace the departed loanee Steven Caulker, when he left for Liverpool that left only Maya Yoshida as fit and experienced cover for regular central defensive duo Fonte and Virgil Van Dijk and to be blunt this is Yoshida's fourth season at St Mary's and he has yet to convince that he is of Premier League standard.

If the suspension had happened a game or two later then Florin Gardos could have come into the frame, but after his 8 month injury lay off he has yet to play even a U21 game and give that last season despite being fit he didn't play even a minute after February there are doubt's that Koeman would have wanted to play him anyway.

So why is playing Yoshida such a worry for Saints ?

The answer is that he is so prone to errors and lapses in concentration, he is a player that can look good for 89 minutes and have you wondering just why you ever doubted his ability, but then he will make a lapse in concentration or error, some that go unpunished and others that don't.

This has been a trait of his game ever since his arrival, this season some have been punished as per his giving the ball away at Manchester City to gift the opening goal and some go unpunished as did his clumsy challenge only seconds after coming on for the last couple of minutes at Swansea City when it could easily have been a penalty.

But sometimes he is just not up to the job as was shown on Saturday when he failed to make a challenge for Sunderland's goal.

Yes it is harsh to single him out in this way, but Premier League football is harsh, I said back in January that our squad now had Premier quality cover in every position, but central defence and now that is coming back to haunt us at a crucial time.

So in my opinion Ronald Koeman has to think outside the square to replace Fonte, he needs to do something different.

My own view is that he should play a central trio of Martina, Van Dijk and Bertrand, flanked by Cedric and Targett.

This is not ideal, Martina is not the greatest of players at this level himself, but he has experience and he can play either in the centre or full back so is versatile enough to cope with the formation, he also offer a little more height.

It is not the ideal scenario, but then again we do not find ourselves in anything near the ideal scenario.

This is a vital game for Saints and defeat would make it very difficult to launch a challenge on the top six in the final games of the season, e find ourselves in adversity so therefore have to do something different to break out of our three game winless spell.

Photo: Action Images

legod7 added 10:51 - Mar 7 Is this the same Maya Yoshida who scored the only goal in the game against West Ham. Is this also the same Yoshida who was magnificent in defence after Wanyama was sent off in the 54th minute. Poor bloke gets so much critisism it is unbelievable. When he plays well there is no praise, people like you are just waiting for him to make a mistake so you can have another go. By far the worst defender so far this season has been Fonte. He has had a terrible season nowhere up to to his usual high standards

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DPeps added 11:26 - Mar 7 I pretty much agree with legod7. On Saturday Fonte made quite a few errors, in particular failing to clear his lines in the first half. These escape mention because most of us don't expect it from Fonte and his mistakes don't often lead to opposition goals - the second point is more down to luck than anything. Yoshida makes mistakes, yes, and these unfortunately lead to goals. In a perfect world I wouldn't have Yoshida playing, but he's decent and I would play him over the departed Caulker every day of the week!

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dirk_doone added 12:12 - Mar 7 Pity we couldn't do an exchange deal with Middlesbrough for one of their young centre backs, Dael Fry or Ben Gibson for Ramirez. But, with Ramirez out of contract at the end of the season, we're not in a very strong bargaining position.
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mesquita added 12:17 - Mar 7 Koeman likes Yoshida. So, the formation will be 3 at the back (Yoshida, Van Dijk and Bertrand), 2 wing backs and 2 defensive midfield and 3 other midfielders with just one striker. The plan will be tight, tight, tight and hope for a break.
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legod7 added 12:26 - Mar 7 mesquita, 3 defenders 2 wing backs plus 5 midfielders and a striker adds up to 11 outfield players. Time for a rethink
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SaintNick added 12:40 - Mar 7 I stand by my opinion, yes it is the same Yoshida who scored against West Ham, but one goal does not make you a decent defender, I have criticised Fonte in the past and yes you are right he was appalling on Saturday and at Bournemouth, but all players have the odd spell of bad form and Fonte has been very good both this season and last. I have not given Yoshida undeserved criticism, I have backed up what I said with fact not fiction, Yoshida can put in some great displays, he is not a bad player. But he is prone to lapses in concentration and error and that means he is not up to the task

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vanmans added 12:41 - Mar 7 I see Sky sports has us down to finish the league in 15 place on 45 points, thats below Bournemouth. We have more upsets to look forward to if we are only going to get 4 more points. Still they reckon Leicester will it. http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11662/10194947/leicester-are-on-course-fo
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mesquita added 12:48 - Mar 7 sorry legod7, I was making the point that Koeman seems to be getting more and more defensive with every game, so it should have read "3 other midfielderswith just one of them acting as striker"
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legod7 added 13:08 - Mar 7 vanmans, Sky are basing that on 1 point out of a possible 9 in the last 3 games. In our last 9 games we have actually got 17 points out of a possible 27. If we could achieve that in the last 9 games of the season then who knows here we will finish up
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bstokesaint added 13:16 - Mar 7 Based on all of the performances post West Ham I'm inclined to agree with the Sky Predictor. I feel like our players have all but given up on this season, which is a shame after such a great run up until the Chelsea game. At this moment in time you'd have to be pretty optimistic to see us get more than the point we got against Leicester, Liverpool, Spurs and Man City in the first half of the season. To tie this back into the Yoshida debate, I don't think it's right to single out Yoshida. There are too many players right now that are underperforming. Last season the pundits said that a team outside the BIg 6 couldn't realistically mount a title challenge and most of us just accepted that as fact, myself included. However looking at Leicester this season, and West Ham also challenging for a CL spot, this season feels like a huge blown opportunity for something special. It could have been us.

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SanMarco added 13:25 - Mar 7 Yoshi is a stylish player - he looks good and poised and has had some good games for us. BUT - the central point of the article is, sadly, true: he makes far too many silly mistakes. There is no point saying "player X makes mistakes too" because that is no argument in defence of Yoshi. And anyway, in terms of serious mistakes per minutes on the pitch he is way ahead. Yes he scored vs West Ham but he also carelessly gave them a penalty which luckily the ref ignored. I am sure he will play against Stoke and I for one will close my eyes every time he is near the ball. Oh, and next time the referee will give the penalty...

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SanMarco added 13:29 - Mar 7 bstoke - if we'd retained Toby to play alongside VVD + kept Morgan and been as lucky as Leicester have been with injuries it could very well have been us, but we didn't so it isn't.
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A1079 added 14:10 - Mar 7 Ok, I will concede that Yoshida may be would not be a first choice defender, but heaven knows, if he does play at the weekend, I hope he plays a blinder and sticks up the proverbial 2 fingers to all those quick to lay all the faults of the current team at his door. I struggle with you sometimes Nick. You lambast fans who have a go at players when you think they have no place to, you lambast fans that leave early, that do moan or dare to criticise and here you are on a main stream forum consistently demeaning a player who may not be the best but is always there to stand in. What about the following failings this season:- - the ineptitude of our so called strikers and midfield who have consistently failed to convert possession and opportunities into goals, thus placing pressure on our defence who is then expected to go 90plus minutes without making a mistake to protect a clean sheet; - what about our failings at crosses and corners - I counted 5 at the Chapel End on Saturday where Steve Davies failed to get past the first man defending or Bertrand overshot; - recent errors by Forster in the last 3 games have contributed to at least 2 goals conceded; - the attitude and lack of commitment by key players - most of those brought in by Koeman who seem indifferent to the club or team; - the poor team spirit - no one has said anything but you can see it on the pitch even from the stands; - Koeman's tactics and team selection at times against some opposition has been debatable and bewildering (why ar Soares and Targett suddenly out of fashion?); - failure to use any youth players - Reed for example when frankly they can be no worse and may at least show some commitment even if they lack experience. Yes, Yoshida would not be my first choice but not sure he warrants the level of criticism any more than a host of other players or even the coach/manager.

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trampslykeus added 14:17 - Mar 7 Sky have added in the points gathered in the reverse fixtures of the remaining games. Stats for stats sake one thinks.
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Toussaint added 16:21 - Mar 7 Over the last few seasons we`ve sold a lot of players that most of us wanted to stay.but the one player,most agree should go is still here,still making critical errors,the stats dont lie
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arthurfane added 18:23 - Mar 7 Is that JACK Mesquita?
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aceofthebase added 18:39 - Mar 7 A1079 Spot on!
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halftimeorange added 19:59 - Mar 7 The bookies have Saints to finish ninth at best behind West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool in that order and at worst, twelth. Be interesting to see whether they are right. I'm sure Yoshida will play. He's not a bottler and you need resilience against Stoke. If we allow ourselves to be bullied we'll get stuffed. Hopefully "there's only one Ronald Koeman" will play a system the players understand although it looks as though he's giving everyone a run out at one time or another which smacks of he thinks we're safe now.

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IWOZTHERE added 23:56 - Mar 7 Don't think it matters so much where we finish, more HOW we finish. I'd like to think we can get some cohesion and attitude back. Stop tinkering Ron. I'm not concerned too much about losing Mane and Vw in the Summer but if the discontent spreads?..........Losing any of Romeu,Davis,VVD or Bertrand would be disastrous. Ironic really that Yosh coming in hadn't really crossed my mind.That's 'small potatoes' when you look at all the other issues.

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JGH added 09:49 - Mar 8 Completely agree that he should have signed more cover in January. Perhaps they thought Gardos was closer to full fitness than he actually was? Despite the above I would highlight that you like to harp on about fans singling out players to have a go at (Pelle, Guly, etc over past few years) but regular readers of this blog will know that Maya-bashing appears to be a hobby of yours Nick! No he's not brilliant and he does make the odd howler but same can be said for all bar a small number of players...

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Big_T added 12:57 - Mar 8 We have four international defenders fit for the game against Stoke, Crisis? If the whole team had the professional attitude that Maya has we would be guaranteed a top five already!
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SaintBrock added 14:02 - Mar 8 Doubt he will put three at the back with roaming wing-backs as Stoke are dangerous with give and run in the final third. He may opt for Ryan alongside van Dyke and bring Targett back as LB. Stoke do not use the long ball so much these days so less need for giants to deal with crosses to Crouch. Maya could be in at LB to give added stability as both Cedric and Martina are not disciplined enough to hold position with their eye on raining down the flanks.

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