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The Kimbo conundrum is alive and well at Cardiff City.

In my opinion we would never have beaten Manchester City without Kim Bo-Kyung – in fact we probably wouldn’t even have scored.

Although he was only directly involved in one of the goals when he beat Gael Clichy to put over the cross leading to Aron Gunnarsson’s equaliser, it was Kimbo who enabled us to break the siege on our goal and get the opportunity for Fraizer Campbell to score twice.

Besides that, the South Korean created our best chance against Everton and caused an impressive and in-form Spurs team more problems than any other Cardiff player.

Also, his contribution after coming off the bench at Stamford Bridge saw him go past opponents in a manner which suggested that we could add to Jordon Mutch’s early goal.

Kimbo has proved that he has the ability to cause top teams problems this season, but it must be remembered that while he was sometimes making John Terry and company look pretty ordinary, we conceded three goals without scoring in the 35 minutes he was on the pitch that day.

In short, this offers the dilemma which must be concerning Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay ahead of this weekend’s South Wales derby.

The Manchester City match is the undoubted high spot in both the team’s – and Kimbo’s – season.

Being charitable, City’s results have been patchy since then, but the difference between what happens when Kimbo is on the pitch and when he isn’t is eye-catching.

In the seven games since we beat Manchester City we have scored once and conceded eight with Kimbo on the pitch and scored four and conceded once with him off it.

Now, even with the caveat about it being a team game, those figures provide a very strong argument for Kim being nowhere near the first-team squad from now on!

The trouble is, who else besides Kimbo do we have that has shown an ability to create chances from open play against Premier defences?

Mutch, Peter Whittingham, Kevin Theophile-Catherine, Don Cowie and Peter Odemwingie have all had their moments.

I’d argue that it’s Kimbo who has the potential to cause the most damage based on the evidence so far.

Therefore, if the game-plan is to start off with something more than the intention of containing our opponents (as seen at Stamford Bridge), then you can understand Mackay’s willingness to play Kimbo – even with those sickly-looking stats.

I know there are those who believe otherwise, but I think Mackay’s selection at Norwich on Saturday was that of a manager looking for more than a 0-0 draw.

The inclusion of Kimbo, Odemwingie and a more attack-minded Mutch in a five-man midfield was a signal of intent and, for a while, they had their moments as we threatened three or four times early on.

However, in a league where you need all-rounders who can provide perspiration and inspiration, we still seem to have too many who can come up with only one of these elements.

When we are under the cosh players such as Kimbo and, when used in midfield, Odemwingie, are unwilling or unable to operate with the strength, discipline or defensive techniques needed at this level.

One of the reasons we were battered in the first half at Norwich was that we had two ‘luxury’ players in our midfield five.

Replacing them at half-time with the more pragmatic Cowie and Gunnarsson did not end the home side’s dominance.

At least we looked more solid – but can you remember us looking remotely like scoring after the break?

We all have our views on what the team should be against Swansea on Sunday, but all I’ll say is that I believe that we can only field one ‘luxury’ player in midfield.

If Kimbo and Odemwingie both start, then the latter has to be up front.