Why Pick Lee?

Young-Pyo Lee has joined Dortmund after the club agreed to terms with Tottenham Hotspur for the South Korean fullback.

Lee’s survival at Spurs this long has been something of a oddity for us Lilywhites as he had fallen behind Gareth Bale, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Jamie O’Hara and Gilberto in Juande Ramos’ estimation. He had been a Martin Jol favorite, but for some reason the Spanish boss didn’t rate him. And it couldn’t have been for effort, because Lee was a tireless runner. His continued omission from the squad, when BAE, Bale and Gilberto were all injured last winter, led to the use of nickname he was given in the title of this thread.

So when the rumors of him returning to PSV, from where he had been bought in 2005, or joining Jol at HSV, especially after Sorin was dumped, never came to fruition, Spurs fans were rather surprised. He had been a good steward in his time at the club and the thought of him rotting on the reserves bench was sad.

I am very happy to see him get a chance to play again. Here’s my take on what BVB are getting. He’s a decent defender with good lung power, who relies on positioning rather than tackling. His height can sometimes be a disadvantage. He’s good at getting forward, but he is a right footed left-back, which teams figure out quickly and know they don’t have to guard the by-line when he attacks. He would seem to be a sound partner for 20 year old Marcel Schmelzer, who was thrown into the fire when Dede was injured. If the two share the role, it will allow Scmelzer time to grow, while having an experienced player to rotate with and learn from.

Lee is a consummate professional, and has never complained about his treatment at Spurs. I think he’s a solid pickup for Klopp and I wish him all the best. And I do hope he realizes that while Ramos and Comolli never rated him, most Spurs supporters did and liked him.