Monday, May 2, 2016

Weekend Recap April 29th

So safety accomplished for Ki's Swansea but Son's Tottenham fell short of title and still some relegation risk for Augsburg and Hoffenheim.  Down to final handful of matches so let's hope our guys finish strong, just as Son did on Monday.


Hong Jeong Ho -- An unused sub as Augsburg struggled to crack a 10 man Koln and only earned a point when they probably should have gotten three and guaranteed safety.


Ji Dong Won -- Came on late to try to break the deadlock but not too much in chances for him.


Koo Ja Cheol -- Playing mostly out wide, Koo was industrious and played well even if he struggled to provide offensive input.  He's been very reliable and his continuous re-positioning every match shows Weinzierl's confidence in Koo.


Park Joo Ho -- Still out with injury.


Kim Jin Su -- Too soon for a return.


Lee Chung Yong -- Lee Chung Yong spoke out in an interview on his problems with Pardew.  It was good to see him voice complaints on the lack of playing time.  But he did probably go too far, revealing many of Pardew's flaws including: losing track of the number of subs used; complete lack of rotation; and dropping him at last minute for another player who hadn't trained and just returned to fitness.


Suk Hyun Jun -- An unused sub as he looks like third forward option.  As Porto remain inconsistent, perhaps he'll get a chance before the season is over.


Ki Sung Yueng -- I guess we can write off the rest of Ki's season.  While Swansea won and assured themselves safety, Ki was an unused sub yet again, despite Fer being out with injury.  With Guidolin rumored to be headed to Watford, it leaves Ki in a rough spot.  He could stay and work with a new manager and with a clean slate, earn a spot back in XI, or leave to a market where his value is very uncertain.  But Guidolin is in the managerial seat for rest of season and Ki is not a part of his plan.


Son Heung Min -- Finally Son gets a goal and it was a good one.  Receiving a through ball from Eriksen, Son almost lost the ball but was able to get a great shot past the GK and score a confidence inspiring goal.  He came close a few other times too so a good showing.   But he looked to tire (perhaps after his first extended showing in a while) and could have done more to prevent Chelsea's first goal off the corner kick and was subbed off. He should get some more chances over final couple weeks to help Tottenham solidify a Champions League spot.