City can confirm @keikamara's loan has now ended and will return to @sportingkc with immediate effect. #ncfc twitter.com/NorwichCityFC/…
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) May 4, 2013
In a move that will be considered shocking by many, Norwich City FC announced today that Kei Kamara's loan has ended and he's returning to Kansas City. The loan was set to end on Monday after Norwich's game today against Aston Villa. The announcement today after Norwich's 2-1 loss to Villa is a little surprising that it came so soon.
While the announcement from Norwich doesn't state that they won't be purchasing Kamara's contract, the fact that it states that he's returning to Kansas City speaks to them not purchasing Kamara's contract at this time.
I'm a little surprised that Kamara will be leaving the Canaries, he'd played in 11 games for Norwich, starting 7 of them, scoring a goal and adding an assist in that time. But Norwich has struggled for form while Kamara is there and now find themselves only 3 points above the relegation zone, with Wigan, the team occupying the last relegation spot, having a game in hand on them. They've gone 2-5-4 since Kamara joined the club.
So Kamara returns, at least for now to Kansas City. I'm still not sure of Kamara's standing in KC long term. Peter Vermes has mentioned that other clubs have shown interest in Kamara since his loan move began. So I expect the transfer rumors to ramp up for Kamara, especially once the summer window opens for European clubs. I also wouldn't be surprised if Norwich City enters the bidding again later once they've secured their safety. I don't expect Kamara to be with KC by the end of the summer window.
In the mean time, Kamara adds a dynamic aspect to Kansas City's attack that they have lacked a little bit this season. A guy willing to take someone on one-v-one and can cause match up issues, especially on the wing. At this point I think we could see CJ Sapong being the one that makes way for Kamara to enter the starting 11. Another thought is to drop one of the midfielders to the bench, drop Graham Zusi back and insert Kamara in the lineup that way.
Lets slide Zusi into attacking mid in place of Benny.
ReplyDelete- Kei for CJ
ReplyDelete- Bench Feilhaber
- Zusi in midfield
- Soony up front
Sporting needs to shake things up. I'd love to see these changes on Wednesday.
No way Kamara would be ready to start Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteNagamura has to sit, he has been horrendous the entire season.
ReplyDeleteFeilhaber is #28 on the Castrol index, and the 5th midfielder on the Castrol list. I often wonder if commenters even watch the games. Feilhaber hustles, plays defense, puts the ball in dangerous spots. What else can he do besides score hat tricks?
Nagamura scored a penalty kick last year, on the second chance. This year he has done squat, he doesn't play offense or defense.
He doesn't make good runs, doesn't move into space off the ball, can't beat anyone on the dribble, has no vision, doesn't press on defense and on offense either passes back to Collin or gives the ball away. His crosses are horrible.
If he had a whistle it would be hard to distinguish him from the ref jogging back and forth, except the ref doesn't give up possession 15 times a game.
Nags wore a bandaide for 4 months as a good luck charm, I can only guess Vermes will play Nags for 4 months as his good luck charm.
Anon, you need to read Gooch's post from the other day, http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/03/4216229/sporting-checkup-two-months-does.html
ReplyDeleteIn case you don't wanna read it, I'll quote the important part.
Player A: 124 defensive actions*, 58% passing, 810 minutes, 15 fouls committed, 19 fouls suffered, 1 yellow card, 13 shots, 0 goals, 0 assists.
Player B: 93 defensive actions, 78% passing, 809 minutes, 14 fouls committed, 14 fouls suffered, 1 yellow card, 8 shots, 0 goals, 0 assists.
*Defensive actions: Cumulative tackles won, defender blocks, interceptions, clearances, blocked crosses and recoveries. They aren't "perfect" indicators of individual performance -- they don't account for ground covered or how well positioned the player -- but are pretty instructive.
Besides the extra 31 defensive actions for Player A and the 20% increase in passing for Player B, those resumes are fairly identical on paper, right?
Player A is Roger Espinoza from KC's 7-2-0 start in 2012. Player B is Paulo Nagamura from KC's 4-3-2 start this year.
Espinoza, generally, is a beloved figure for his high-octane performances. Nagamura is, generally, derided for by the best I can tell "not being Roger Espinoza."
The difference being Espinoza closed down the ball, pressured opponents with the ball, made tackles and had a positive effect on the team.
ReplyDeleteHe also played a defensive position. Having Nagamura making runs into the 18 so the ball can bounce off of him, he can pass to the wrong team or otherwise ruin an opportunity is no help.
He has no first touch, is too slow on the ball. His strength is with the ball/play in front of him breaking up plays, not playing attacker.
Play him at Dmid or don't play him.
Or what the hell, start Kempin at Striker, play Zusi at CB, sign Frings to play lw, go to town. Maybe Collin could try midfield for a while, hes just as good as Nagamura with the ball at his feet.