Kim Bo-Kyung @ Cardiff City F.C. 2014-2015 [R]

I'm not sure if Skim made this point, but if you are joining a team in Europe from Asia... I hate to say it, but you aren't going to be bought by stable club. Better yet, most join relegation or financially crippled clubs. I constantly see Dortmund, Benfica and etc be brought up when it comes to Kimbo, but were there any credible links to him? When Ji was wanted by Dortmund, it was clearly evident from statements from Zorc and etc. I haven't seen such articles/comments in regards to Kimbo..

Even Swansea.. might be stable now, but when Ki joined them from Celtic.. that was only their 2nd year in top flight. Koo & Ji at Augsburg? Again, they were at the bottom of Bundesliga when they joined. Bolton under Megson was nothing but stable when LCY joined them.

 

Completely fair point. You're definitely right in that those truly good offers from stable clubs are very rare for KPAs as of now. Again this is just my personal opinion, but I don't want to see young players who still have growing to do struggling to play well in relegation teams that do things like parking the bus every game or hiring four different coaches in two seasons. I can't blame these players for chasing after their dreams, but I feel like the smarter option is to bide time in more favorable conditions back home when there isn't a good offer on the table. In KBK's case, I think that both going to Dortmund/Benfica/Celtic and staying at Cerezo would have been better options than going to Cardiff. I wonder what Klopp could have gotten out of him. Yeah, KBK could have failed miserably there, but IMO he would have been much better off having failed at Dortmund under Klopp than having failed at a club like Cardiff. I feel like KBK took on a lot of unnecessary risk by transferring into such an uncertain situation.

Source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/.../cardiff-city-locked-three-way-battle-2027270

All valid points without a doubt, but to counter I would say that Swansea was playing much better than Cardiff, and Ki already had experience in Europe by then. Koo & Ji played far bigger roles in offense than I remember KBK being allowed to play. Again, I thought KBK was a horrible fit style-wise to Cardiff as the article backs up; I wouldn't say the same for 지구특공대 and Augsburg. Plus the competition is relatively easier at the Bundesliga and the transition is nowhere near as difficult compared to the Prem. As for LCY, I think that he's on a different level from KBK, as much as I rate KBK. I think it's telling that LCY is the only KPA to date to have succeeded after transferring directly to the PL. IIRC almost every other KPA who has transferred to the PL directly from Asia has failed. Even LCY wasted a few seasons in the Championship because Bolton couldn't stay up. If YSY succeeds at QPR he's going to be just the second, but he also went through quite an ordeal before he got his chance. The Premiership is no joke. There must be many ways for a young player to succeed in Europe, but IMO going the way of transferring to a PL team locked into a relegation battle is too risky. Those kinds of teams are usually not in a position where they can help a KPA blossom as a player...

 

I agree with many of your points. I didn't think & I still don't believe Cardiff is good fit for Kimbo. But Cardiff paid the transfer fee while "supposed" interest from "Dortmund & Celtic" didn't. You can make a case Cardiff really wanted Kimbo over other clubs (as in, in the end.. it wasn't his choice).

Again, KBK is my favorite player but opportunity to make the jump to Europe doesn't come often.

 

Yeah, that's the truth. I think KBK and his agents really appreciated the fact that Mackay really wanted him. I think that KBK ultimately valued that over worrying about the negatives that I've mentioned and I can't blame him. I hope he can move to the Bundesliga for now and try again in a few seasons. It's not too late for him - thank goodness he got exemption.

It's a bit of a shame though that we have now missed two opportunities to have a KPA grow under Klopp (for whatever that's worth).

 

Sorry guys. My final words on the subject

At the start of the '13-14 season, KBK had everything at the top tier one could want from a KPA opportunity, albeit with a lot of luck to get to the PL in the first place. He had a manager who trusted him, a year to acclimate to his teammates and language and country, impressed his teammates/fanbase/press and got many chances to impress.

More than Koo in his first years in the BL
More than Ji at "stable" BL Dortmund (or moderately stable Sunderland at the time)
More than PCY who took a slower route to PL.
More than HJH at a fairly stable Augsburg now.

And forget the asian thing. There are plenty of players of all origins who don't get a real chance with their club including his teammate Cornelius.

Yes Cardiff sucks in many ways and even more so post Malkay blowup, but so do most clubs at all spots in the table. You have to take your chances and find a way to stick like Ki post PDC.

And at the end of the day he's got his career still ahead of him. Its not like he was released. He's still in Europe and he may get more opportunity still.

 

Yep. KBK also was lucky to avoid KPA managerial kiss of death at least for his first 1.5 seasons

 

I hope this next generation of KPAs can learn from KBK's failure and realize that even the support of your club and manager isn't enough sometimes. They need to find a club that can afford to bring the best out of them on a tactical level. Cardiff and the Championship may have been a fine destination for someone like Cho Won Hee. Not so much for someone as gifted as KBK...

 

There has been plenty of players who were more talented that KBK and failed miserably. Fact is there is no "right" way to do it. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. When PJS moved to Manchester United, there were plenty of people who thought it was huge mistake, including Gus Hiddink who was openly critical of the move.

It's really a gamble on both players and clubs in hopes that things will work out for them. Only thing a player can do is play well when given the opportunity, something KBK failed to do.

 

But is it really all on KBK when he clearly didn't have the right teammates who could play to his strengths? As written in that Wales Online column above, KBK was the only guy on that team who could create against Premiership defenses... which means that KBK joined a Championship team that really played like a Championship team.

KBK isn't good enough to get things done by himself in the PL, but he still managed to look quite impressive against top defenders on a few occasions. I think his talent is underrated and I can say for certain that he would have played much better with more skilled teammates. Duerden, who's from Blackburn, said multiple times before and after the transfer that he thought KBK was not the right type of player for a Championship team like Cardiff, so KBK's failure was definitely foreseeable in a purely footballing perspective regardless of Cardiff's promotion.

When a player is stuck in a situation like this, the player's confidence, reputation and career all suffer as a result. You see things like this happen all the time in sports, and usually the player is the one you should be feeling sorry for. KBK is well known as a guy who work his ass off and it's a shame for Korean football that his career is stalling like this. I think he actually deserves a lot less blame than some of you believe...

 

Facepalming about KBK aside, Cardiff may be returning to blue after fan meeting today in attempt to get fans back on board.

"Vincent Tan will give this a great deal of consideration" - Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman as fans urge club to return to blue at meeting

— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) January 8, 2015

 

Tan Sri Vincent Tan has confirmed that our home kit for the remainder of the 2014/15 season will change to blue, starting v @FulhamFC.

— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) January 9, 2015

 

he did???

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-citys-red-legacy-iconic-8408681

 

TEAM NEWS - #CardiffCity subs: Wilson, John, Connolly, Kim, Ralls, Harris, Revell.

— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) January 10, 2015

 

Cardiff may offer Celtic South Korean international Kim Bo-Kyung in possible swap deal with Adam Matthews

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/celti...ternational-kim-bo-kyung-in-194145n.116038246

 

Sounds like KBK is being pushed out (SWFC is Sheffield Wednesday btw)

For those asking, Kim Bo-Kyung one of several players suggested to #SWFC. But I'm told no truth he's set to sign.

— Rob Staton (@robstaton) January 13, 2015

 

would that be on loan?

and your usual article of player clearance at Cardiff

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/.../great-cardiff-city-clear-out-russell-8440646

 

I imagine Cardiff is doing anything to try to get value for him though this early in the window, I'd expect them to try to sell.

 

something about new team soon...

http://sports.media.daum.net/sports/worldsoccer/newsview?newsId=20150114110506035

 

I was half-expecting Mr. 정통한 to show up in that story.

 

Luckily KBK out of squad as cardiff keep going backward as losing 0-3

EDIT: fought back to 2-3 so far

 

I just don't understand why Celtic would want another attacking player when they have so many options.

 

Kim Bo Kyung has left @CardiffCityFC

— Simon Davies (@simondavies45) January 24, 2015

 

where...where???