Kei's got form against the Mancs.

[Zak Van Burger 0]

Nice article in the Sun LinkSeems Kei was a member of the only American team to have ever beaten Man Utd, chipping in with one goal and an assist in a 2-1 win for Kansas City Wizards in 2010.

[Mr Brownstone 0]

Did I read somewhere that he trained with Stoke but they decided not to take him? Amazing decision given his apparent aerial ability.

[Thorny 0]

Seeing how he took a throw on Saturday, that would explain why Pulis rejected him. Not enough height and length in his short game.

[Legend Iwan 30]

We''re also the last Premiership side to beat Man Utd.

[stoke canary 0]

[quote user="Mr Brownstone"]Did I read somewhere that he trained with Stoke but they decided not to take him? Amazing decision given his apparent aerial ability.[/quote]http://oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Potters&action=display&thread=209044

[Branston Pickle 4,145]

The thing about Stoke is that they had big guys like Kenwynne Jones and Crouch already alongside others like Walters, plus Owen is in their squad so they probably just didn''t feel they needed Kei or the potential ''risk'' of him taking another squad place up.

I can certainly see why Pulis didn''t take Kei on, but their loss is our gain...not that we should jump the gun, it is still early doors even if the signs on him are good.

[KSFan 0]

Hello all from Kansas.  Kei is a most beloved player here in the MLS for our team Sporting KC.  Here is a link to that game a few years back.  His header is eerily similar to the one from this past weekend.  Defenders in the MLS always have had a hard time marking him and seem to underestimate his leaping ability!  Enjoy!!

http://youtu.be/39LdRFf1Kb8

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

[quote user="KSFan"]

Hello all from Kansas.  Kei is a most beloved player here in the MLS for our team Sporting KC.  Here is a link to that game a few years back.  His header is eerily similar to the one from this past weekend.  Defenders in the MLS always have had a hard time marking him and seem to underestimate his leaping ability!  Enjoy!!

http://youtu.be/39LdRFf1Kb8

[/quote]

 

Thanks that was good. Almost identical goal from Kamara, as you say.

 

Have you any more gems like that? Expect a stream of Brits. in the Summer scouting for another KK.

Your stadium there makes Carrow Road seem tiny. Is it just used for football (soccer?)

 

With those facilities and such support it won''t be long before the so-called inferior MLS ceases to be  labelled in that way, that''s for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[canarydan23 4,758]

That''s the stadium of the Kansas City Chiefs, an NFL team.

[First Wizard 0]

[quote user="Zak Burger"]Nice article in the Sun Link

Seems Kei was a member of the only American team to have ever beaten Man Utd, chipping in with one goal and an assist in a 2-1 win for Kansas City Wizards in 2010.
[/quote]

 

I like Wizards.[:D]

[a1canary 0]

[quote user="Branston Pickle"]The thing about Stoke is that they had big guys like Kenwynne Jones and Crouch already alongside others like Walters, plus Owen is in their squad so they probably just didn''t feel they needed Kei or the potential ''risk'' of him taking another squad place up. I can certainly see why Pulis didn''t take Kei on, but their loss is our gain...not that we should jump the gun, it is still early doors even if the signs on him are good.[/quote]

Precisely. Cameron Jerome as well. People seem to forget that every team has its own situation, strengths, weaknesses. It would have been a question of where he fits in. The only scenario in which they might have taken him is if they believed he was good enough to get in ahead of Jones, Jerome and Crouch, which would have been a very brave call for an untested MLS player.

[chicken 0]

Rubbish.

There are two clear reasons as to why Stoke didn''t want him.

1) He doesn''t play ugly enough and is too fashionable.

2) He''s too quick for the rest of their team to keep up with.

I respect Stoke for the results that they grind out but Kei wouldn''t fit in there the same way Newcastle''s Cisse wouldn''t, or RVP wouldn''t. They are just not Pulis'' type of player.

[4th floor 4]

Kamara''s goal is at 3m 28s, but keep watching to see him show off a bit of skill too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzQ6HY_PhNE

[Canarygeorge 0]

 

Don''t know if you saw these before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QImV0vOFHA

[KSFan 0]

I think the reason why Kei is so popular here besides his flair and goal celebrations is because he is so down to earth and approachable.  He famously announced on Twitter a year or so ago a impromptu snowball fight at a local park here in Kansas and had many of his followers show up and even some of his teammates!  They had a blast and afterwards he bought lunch for everyone who showed up at his local favorite restaurant.  Our MLS team used to be known as the Kansas City Wizards (horrendous name but an attempt to tie in The Wizard of OZ).  The stadium that is shown in the above Man U game is Arrowhead Stadium where our NFL team the Kansas City Chiefs play.  In 2010 we finally built our own football stadium (Livestrong Sporting Park) and christened the team with a new name, Sporting KC.  That is when football really started to take off in Kansas.  The infamous Lance Armstrong was their on opening day since the park was sponsored by his foundation Livestrong.  Recently with all of his troubles Lance has disassociated himself from the Livestrong foundation and likewise the park is simply named Sporting Park. 

We had an incredible season the past 2 years since the park opened and new interest.  American football and baseball typically reign supreme in popularity but with our local teams performing rather poor over the past decade or so the community was searching for a winner and a team to get behind.  Enter Sporting KC.  Our new stadium is beautiful.  It seats approximately 19k plus and is the most cutting edge in america as far as football specific stadiums.  I know paltry by european stadium standards but for us it is a revelation. 

Our team was/is full of excellent players.  One of Kei''s good friends and team mates during the past few years is now at Wigan, Roger Espinoza.  The loss of these two players will be a blow to the team but thankfully we still have some great prospects.  Graham Zusi had a trial with West Ham United I believe in December but he is busy with the Us National team.  Bobby Convey is fit and ready for this year.  He spent a few years at Reading.

I can honestly say that the whole of Kansas City is following Norwich FC now!  Kei means so much to us and it is great to see him doing well.  While we wish him success it is with a bit of hesitation because we also want him back!  We know he will give 110% effort for you while he is there.  We hope he makes a spot on the team and yet comes back to visit us here from time to time if so.  His fiance is here so we know at some point he will be stateside!

Sorry for the long winded answer but I guess to sum it up.....NO! You cannot take anymore of our players :) Just Kidding. As with Kei I believe every MLS player has aspirations to play in the best league in the world. It is exciting and rewarding to see one of our own players getting the chance to play and hopefully make a roster in the BPL. The MLS is trying to shed it''s image of a "retirement league" (Thierry henry, Beckham, Cahill et al) and with continued success and recognition it will produce quality prospects. I do not mean to say that it is a bad thing that older, some say past prime BPL players in MLS is a bad thing....quite the contrary. I believe they all add experience and skill that teaches younger players how to "up" their level of play and what it takes to succeed. Thanks all for reading!

[TIL 1010 5,246]

KSFan that was a very informative post so please come back again whenever you like with more stories of Kei and the MLS. [Y]

[Zak Van Burger 0]

Cool story about the snowball fight, many of us saw the funny Gorilla suit video before he came, certainly looks a good apple and a tonic for team morale.See the Mancs got their customary penalty out of you, nothing changes there but you did well to beat that lineup. Hopefully Kei will get another chance to put one over on them this week if he does he''ll be running out in front of about 70,000 fans it''s real fairytale stuff.We''ve got a spare Wizard if you need one, just give us the nod and we''ll have a whipround for a plane ticket.

[KSFan 0]

Ha Ha thanks.  Think we will pass on any Wizards.  Another great thing about Kei is he gets embraced by the community and he also wants to be involved.  He would every so often just drive around town and randomly show up at football  practices and games whether at the youth level, women''s, or college.  He would announce on Twitter "will be out on the town....maybe will see you at your practice or game."  He would be swarmed when he would be recognized but he never did it for celebrity or any other reason than he loves the game and if he can pass anything on to players.  This in turn made the rest of the team and players more accessible because they would want to tag along on his escapades.  It was a weekly game of "where''s Kei today" and you could follow the clues on Twitter.  How many people do you know have a Twitter account for their dog?  By the way mouthguards or "gumshields" as you may call them there are pretty much the norm here.  Of course Kei has his own flair on his. 

http://youtu.be/aOMCCZjMP0o

 

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Mr Brownstone"]Did I read somewhere that he trained with Stoke but they decided not to take him? Amazing decision given his apparent aerial ability.[/quote]might be because he has some ability on the ground too.. Pulis likes his Brutes and Kamara doesn''t fit that mould.