nah, Lee EY's a midfielder, not a CB to play in a 3-back defense line. The best position for Lee EY is Lee YP's spot, or Kim NI's DM position, I think.
Then we can have Lee EY in Kim NI's position and have Kim play the right wing back and send Cho to the left?
well, Kim NI isn't a defender either - neither Kim nor Lee can play in that CB position. They've never played there for NT, and besides they don't have the build to play as CBs. The 3 CBs will have to come from the likes of Yoo KR, Cho BG, Kim HY, Kim JK, Gwak HJ, Park DH Park JH et c. Or hitherto untried defenders from K-league, which I think the forthcoming EAFF will be a good place to try them.
Lee EY in Kim's spot as the lone DMF? Surely you jest. I think we've all went over this one time... there is no way in hell he can fit that position effectively. Unless you have fitness, stamina, Aerial abilities and physical prowess of those such as Viera, Makalele, Gattuso, etc., lone DMF is not a position for you. The closest thing we have is Kim NI (Yoo SC as well, but he's declining in stamina and speed too much for a LONE DMF), and I think playing Lee EY there would be a disaster. He has average fitness/stamina, below average speed, is fairly weak physically/weak in the air and aveage in defense at best... he doesn't really fit any of the requirements well. Granted, he'd be a good playmaker/passer in the midfield, but not worth the defensive hole we would be leaving. Let's keep him at where he is best, a left side SMF or a left wingback But like the other point you made, I think Lee EY is a perfect fit for Lee YP's position (and was his position in WC2002)... so I guess he can be a backup to him. If he's needed at central midfield, Lee EY should play as one of TWO DMF's at best, not as a lone one. Actually, I'm not really a big fan of 3-4-3 Diamond. I'm more of a fan of 3-4-3 with two DMF's or CMF's, which was what Hiddink used in WC 2002.
well you need someone to cover for Kim NI should he be injured or suspended, as Yoo SC is aging ad such, and Lee EY was tried in that position before. But yeah, he's best at left WB position, but if one was really keen to start him in the match alongside Lee YP, then I think that's the only spot left for him on the field (other than Lee YP moving to the right). But then there are always Kim Sang-Shik and Kim Jung-Woo as well, I guess.
Yup. While Kim Jung Woo and Kim Sang Sik are by no means a great fit as a lone DMF either, they would be hell of a lot better fit than Lee EY would be at that position. Kim NI is probably the only one who can be decent in that position, and even he is sketchy as a lone DMF in my opinion. Once again, this is one reason why I'm not a big fan of a lone DMF formation for Korea; we don't have many players that are adequate for it. With that said, Lee EY needs to be brought back to the team. If not to start, then as a solid versatile backup. Why not put two CMF's or one DMF and one CMF? (Sure, CMF might not be Park JS's best position, but he sure filled it well when he had to during WC 2002) We already have three attackers; I don't think there is a reason to have another attacker as OMF unless we REALLY need to push forward. Then again, we all know about Boner's questionable philosophy of 'all attack!!'.
I think the return of Lee EY will depend alot on the performance of Kim DJ, who Bonfrere seems to have a lot of faith on.
bonfrere doesn't like lee EY and ahn JH, which is probably why we're not seeing too much of them on the KNT and is also why kim DJ and lee DG are having a great time with a lot of undeserved playing time. (lee DG is good, mind you, but fumbles a bit against difficult competition..)
Well, hate to rain on anybody proposed lineup's, but keep in mind that LEY and KNI are out of favor with Boner, so forget tossing those 2 names on any lineup fellas. Only way those two are gonna be on the WC roster is if Boner leaves.
well, that's the likely case for LEY, but not for KNI - lol, fans will riot on the streets if he was left out for no appparent reason
what makes you think that Kim Nam-il is out of favor with Bonfrere? Bonfrere likes him actually. only time when he was dropped from the squad was because of all these injuries he's been having. he always started for our NT when he was healthy and played great except during the Asian Cup. he just got a sergery on his knee and it is said that both him and Song Chong-guk are comming back on september.
I've just read through most of the posts and I agree with Elliad's opinion with our defensive line. The most likely starters as of now are Yoo KR, Kim HY and maybe Kim JK. Personally, I love Cho Byung-guk's style of play and how he leads his teammates but he hasn't played professional football for over half a year if my memory is correct. Guys like him and Song need to come back from injury, regain their form in the K-League and only then can we consider including their names on the KNT.