He was wank at Swansea though wasn't he?
Here's a good read about that, by a Korean poster in a Sunderland forum in January. I can't quite recall where Ki was played when he was with Swansea, so I'll take the poster's word for it. He certainly wasn't eye-catching for them, for sure.
If Sunderland stay up and he remains in charge, I wouldn't mind seeing us loan him one of our youngsters needing minutes next season.
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Hello Sunderland Supporters,
Nice to see Sunderland turning its fortunes around. And for a Korean like myself looking ahead to the World Cup, its encouraging to see Ki getting into form.
I support another club, but living up somewhat to the notoriety of my countrymen (who become instant fans of whichever team that buys a Korean), I do go around to the team forums of Korean EPL players to gauge the latest opinions of our players. And these days, there is no better club to lurk in than Sunderland's.
Given that Ki Sung Yueng (actually pronounced Gi Song Yong) was known as somewhat of a prodigy when he made headlines at FC Seoul, I've followed his career with great interest. I read the Celtic forums for a while, and the Swansea forums after, and now I'm here.
I'm here out of the shadows for once to give my view of the player. You may read this, think nothing of it, and move on with your day, and that's perfectly fine. But for some of you, it may confirm some suspicions, or dispel some as well. Take it for whatever you will.
For the first time in Ki's career abroad, I'm excited for him because Poyet is the first manager to put him in his best position. Despite what Lennon, or Laudrup or even Ki himself believes, he is a mediocre defensive midfielder. He lacks a certain bite and courage to his game that would make him a proper screen. That's why, in defensive midfield, Catts is definitively better and always will be. I think Poyet has correctly determined that you can't really change a player's character, and Ki will never have the adequate combativeness to be a good defensive midfielder. Like any player with advanced ball control, he will chase and fight for a lost ball, because there is certain pride factor involved with losing the ball yourself. But if his teammate loses the ball, it won't be as big of a concern for him. And therein lies the ceiling to his potential as a defensive midfielder.
Because Lennon and Laudrup failed to see that, they kept playing him at defensive midfield, and what Swansea fans saw was a player who didn't defend all too effectively, and passed the ball in a 20 yard radius. That's like throwing Agbonlahor at left wing and telling people that he's a mediocre winger. I cannot recall how many times I've been frustrated at his managers over the past 4 years for keeping him at defensive midfield, especially considering what I have witnessed from him being further up the pitch for our national team youth set-ups. All the crap you hear from Swansea fans of him being lackadaisical or not having the right attitude is a by-product of misuse of talent. I get furious when I hear such criticisms, because I've followed him longer than Swansea supporters, or Celtic supporters, or FC Seoul supporters, and a lax attitude is not in his make-up.
Ki's best qualities are his passing and vision. I have seen 40 yard, 50 yard through passes from him that other players would never see. To that end, I think he is finally playing where is supposed to be playing, and I think his development will be evident for all to see if he stays at Sunderland until the end of the season. Furthermore, once he puts in that one belter, you will see that this is a player who has a cannons on both feet. He has the potential to score 10+ goals a season from midfield. However, like many, he does have a confidence issue with his shooting. And that is why when he is on the upswing, as he is now, you will start to see that he will start to get his long shots on target, instead of dragging them wide as he did for the first 4-5 months of this season, or even during entirety of his stay at Swansea. In other words, as long as he is in that same position for Sunderland every week until the end of the season, the best is definitely yet to come.
Despite his lanky frame, he is a shockingly flairful (not sure if that is a word) dribbler and I think that he doesn't do his tricks anymore because he's been played so long at the back. Once he starts showing that again, you will see an entirely different player to the one who labored at Swansea. And despite me bashing his defensive qualities earlier, he's actually gotten surprisingly better under Poyet. Not in the sense that he's gained some bite, but more that he's found his ability to play defense effectively in a very Michael Carrick-esque way. It helps him become more well-rounded.
Anyhow, hope some of this is actually interesting to at least one or two of you. At the end of the day, my point is that I'm glad that such an important player for our national team is playing at a team that has found the best way to use him and bring him back to form. I truly do believe that he will finally develop towards his potential under Poyet. And long may it continue. Sometimes players need to understand that its not the standing of the club that is crucial to their development, but the environment and importance their club gives to them. For my own selfish purposes, I hope he stays at Sunderland and helps this club out of the relegation zone.
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