Ki Transfer? Tavern Catches up / Weekend Listings

BLAM! BLAM!  Take that!  Oh, hello there Tavern readers. Let me put my proverbial gun away. The Tavern owner has been busy fighting the time bandits that’s been fucking with me – but that fight has been taking me away from updating properly on all the good, bad and weird news happening in the world of Korean football – with emphasis on the Koreans in Europe now that that the different leagues are in full swing.

First apologies are in order but as Jae explained very well – this is a volunteer Tavern. My day job is pressing me for time. Jae’s got kids, job and a pending move.  I can’t reveal too much for privacy’s sake, but Jinseok has achieved ULTIMATE KOREAN SON STATUS – that is, entrance into a damn fine university.  But to the headlines – Ki Sung-Yeung, if reports are to be believed – is on a collision course with… Sunderland?
A transfer has been requested -as Ki is not a happy camper in Swansea land, what with not being part of Ladrup’s starting XI last weekend against Manchester United.  Maybe he senses a sinking ship – being part of the last few minutes of a miserable 4-1 loss AT HOME in Liberty Stadium. He didn’t appear last night for their Europa tie, fueling speculation about a transfer. But why Sunderland? DiCanio’s side is lacking…something. Maybe it’s midfield presence. But the prospects of both Ki and Ji Dong-Won being on the same team – it’s both promising and bewildering. To explain the latter: Sunderland isn’t a dream destination for KPA’s – Ji had to flee the Blackcats last season to the shores of a Bundesliga team in need of his services. A season and a different manager later and it is an intriguing prospect that another Korean duo-ship could form again – this time in England. Last season was Koo & Ji to the rescue of Augsburg to stave off relegation. This season- could it be Ki and Ji to save the day at Sunderland? Would this be in the form of a loan or something permanent -say to the tune of £6 Million? Stay tuned…

Catching up — holy shit, Kiu’s debut utterly rocked last Monday. It was only the last 10 minutes of Almeria’s close 3-2 loss to Villareal, but when he came in, other than a nervous underweighted first touch, he was absolutely dynamite. Fast, pacy, composed on the ball, flair, style — did I mention FAST? He set up 2 good scoring opportunities for the equalizer, close but no cigar.  I thought he was 18, but in fact he is 17 – close to his 18th birthday. AND he is now the 3rd Korean to play in La Liga. Kim Young-Kiu will be part of Almeria’s 18 man squad on Friday when they play away at Getafe.

I just saw my man Jae Chee post his Watching this Weekend at the Tavern a moment ago. Both games will be in Germany. Good picks to watch, find out why here.

…and now to cheat a bit. I’m going to have to sign Skimmilk up to join the Tavern officially (let the negotiations start). He’s been on the ball with a great concise blog, Korean Footballers Abroad that lists weekend and midweek games featuring KPA’s. We worked an arrangement to mirror his listings -but goddamn it, he needs to join the Tavern – I know a Tavern man when I see one. So without further ado, we’ll finish catching up with the weekend summary / midweek action with Park Ji-Sung at PSV vs AC Milan in a return to Champions League football and forecasting to the weekend with the weekend listings. TOO many to choose from — such a heavenly problem to have!  Take it away…

Recap and projections:

Kiu came in as a sub at 84′ and created a FK and another good goal scoring chance but Almeria had some defensive lapses and went from 2-1 to 2-3 in a few minutes.  He’s still training with the first team and hopefully his minutes grows over the season.

Lee Chung Young was apparently pretty poor Saturday.  He’s been a regular starter so hopefully its just rust after a really long summer break with little preseason.

Yun Suk-Young sat on the bench so I imagine more bench time this weekend though you never know.

Son had a pretty poor outing but so did all of Bayer, though SHM had a hand in the goal creating space and the pass leading up to the cross that resulted in the OG.  Son will most likely start again.

Park Joo Ho was ok in a win  for Mainz.  Should start.

KooJa-Cheol started off really roughly but pulled it together in a 4-1 win for Wolfsburg.  He should start.

Ji Dong-Won came off the bench and missed a reasonable header chance just over the crossbar.  Most likely will be sub material again for the weekend.

Park Ji Sung looked good midweek, finding confidence perhaps from loyal PSV fans.  Still his legs betray his age so I imagine he will be benched with the return leg vs AC Milan looming next week

Kim Bo Kyung had a so-so weekend… probably one of the better players though Cardiff were pretty poor in a loss.  Turning around and facing the firepower of City won’t be a confidence booster but Kim Bo Kyung should start. [Tavern Owner: slight disagreement, he looked fairly decent in his Premier League debut -but agreed – one of the better players for Cardiff on Saturday].

Ki Sung-Yeung came in as a sub vs Manchester United and his pressing helped start the sequence leading to the one goal.  He seems to be out of Laudrups starting 11, but they do have Europa tomorrow and they have a variety of injuries so he may start in whichever match that he doesn’t between Thurs/Sun, or at least be one of the first off the bench. [Tavern: not in 18 – possible transfer?]

Korean Footballers Abroad listed everything in US eastern standard time and broadcast/streaming channels for US. In Korea, you’d need to forward times listed ahead by 13 hours.

Day Time (ET) Player Club Opponent TV
Friday 2:00:00 PM Kim Young Kyu “Kiu” Almeria @Getafe BeIn Play
Saturday 7:15:00 AM Lee Chung Yong Bolton QPR BeIn
Saturday 7:15:00 AM Yun Suk Young QPR @Bolton BeIn
Saturday 9:30:00 AM Son Heung Min Bayer Leverkusen Gladbach None
Saturday 9:30:00 AM Park Joo Ho Mainz Wolfsburg None
Saturday 9:30:00 AM Koo Ja Cheol Wolfsburg @Mainz None
Saturday 10:00:00 AM Ji Dong Won Sunderland @Southampton NBCSN
Saturday 1:45:00 PM Park Ji Sung PSV Eindhoven Heracles Almelo ESPN3
Sunday 11:00:00 AM Kim Bo Kyung Cardiff City Man City NBC Extra Time
Sunday 11:00:00 AM Ki Sung Yueng Swansea City @Tottenham NBCSN

And in the US – we can add a game in South Korea, Daegu vs. Suwon 10 a.m. broadcasting at One World Sports

 

Oh, you still here?  Tavern owner here. I was battling time villains, so it’s back to the good fight. Where’s my proverbial gun? My time villains are /have been (in no particular order):

Kids. Two adorable ones. The 4 year old I’m training to be the first Korean American KPA. His interest in football is losing out to watching Curious George and Transformers on TV. Asian Tiger dad sez “Time for Hanguk 축구 com-bo. Today, we review Cha Bum-Kun. What was his nickname at Eintracht Frankfurt?”

The New York Times. I had been working on my last ‘secret’ project for their Soccer page for far too long. Just sent my editor the draft. Jae has contributed. We’ll see how much I need to edit. Then I will go into the freelance writer’s sunset, never to return…

The weeds growing outside the Tavern have enveloped the building. I’ve had to use machetes to get to the front door. I refuse to use Monsanto’s Round Up. The Tavern will continue to be pesticide/herbicide free.

My day job. I’m a special education teacher – and shit I’m supposed to get up in 5 hours…

BLAM! BLAM BLAM BLAM!!

 

 

 

 

 

About Roy Ghim 454 Articles
The old Tavern Owner

9 Comments

  1. I think Ki will do well in Sunderland, I would love to see him link up a lot of goals with Jozy Altidore… Both of these players have potential to do very well for both club & country if the team chemistry works out…

  2. Good on ya for not using Roundup, that stuff is literally poison. Appreciate the always insightful blog posts, particularly considering the time bandits at work.

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