Since Maya made his debut in that dreadful defeat to Arsenal, I must say he's been nothing but 100% committed & professional. Never one to moan when he's out of the team, but always ready to come in and do a job when called upon. Signing a new contract when not being first choice and risking your international place, that's not an easy decision to make. I know he's got the odd mistake in him, but I'm really pleased we have him as part of our squad. In a day of age where someone will leave for an extra 5%, I'm pleased we have the unfashionable but loyal Yoshi.
IMO that's slightly hypocritical as you made a poll on who's the best right back, with Cedric, Cedric, Cedric and er........who else.........oh yeah, Cedric!
The great thing about Maya is he's a one player covers all eventualities in defence from the bench. Therefore it's good to give him playing time in all positions so he's comfortable whenever a situation arises when we really need him i.e. whenever one of our preferred back four gets injured during a match. This means with a fully fit squad Ron can go with a bench including keeper, Maya, DM, + 4 options to change the game in AM, attack. Matt Targett is good but not a good use of bench space if he's only there to cover a Bertrand injury. I'm not saying this is why Maya played right back against Sunderland, just that it might be a consideration when Ron uses him as a starter.
I thought Koeman chose to play Yoshida because it allowed him to switch to a back 3 as Sunderland often play with 2 strikers? If you watch Bertrand's positioning in build up phases of play he's definitely further forward than LB. Not sure it's Koeman preferring Yoshida over Cedric, rather pragmatism against an opponent varying FW zones.
Or up front....Pelle would make a great RB....though the opposition might score every time he falls to his knees pleading with the referee.
