Kei Kamara

[Juggy 0]

A lot of us said ''no'' when we thought we were in the market for somebody like Toivanan or Quagrigillia. 

But do we say ''no'' now that we have Elmander? 

Or do we think that £800k Kei may have offered a little bit more playing in that deeper role? 

Because I''m tempted to say ''Yes''. 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

Elmander is a far better footballer than Kei - and certainly better in the deeper role. He also has a wealth of experience having played numerous games at international level as well as in the Champions League.

 

Kamara is okay as a forward and causes issues due to his physical strengths, he however lacks technical ability which was shown up time and time again last season. Glad to see he has made a bright start at Boro (as he did at Norwich) and hope he can maintain it across a longer period of time (as he did not at Norwich).

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

Nope.Kamara is a good lad. He worked hard, made all the right noises. He''ll do well at Middlesbrough.However comparing him to Elmander is like comparing having uninhibited sex with a supermodel to uninhibited wa**ing over a supermodel. Sure, both will do the job, but only one has the feeling of quality about it.

[snake-eyes 13]

Big LOL![Y]

[Row D Seat 7 0]

Kei''s level is the Championship. Once he''d been here for a few games it was clear he was out of his depth. I don''t mean any disrespect. I just mean not signing him permanently was clearly the correct thing to do.

[Juggy 0]

It''s great to hear that Elmander is so much better, can somebody tell me when we are going to see that?

Will Elmander have this sort of impact then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiB7kcvlbs4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdiPkotlXKA

Have to wonder whether Kei weren''t so bad afterall. 

Plus he can play on the wing. 

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="Row D Seat 7"]Kei''s level is the Championship. Once he''d been here for a few games it was clear he was out of his depth. I don''t mean any disrespect. I just mean not signing him permanently was clearly the correct thing to do.[/quote]

I lean towards agreeing, although really this was Kamara v Elmander.

Is the latter really any better? 

[Row D Seat 7 0]

I actually think Hughton seems unsure how exactly he wants to use Elmander. He doesn''t have a settled role yet. Elmander is a much better player than Kamara IMO, but I see why this has come up as Elmander hasn''t exactly set the world alight since his arrival.

[ryanncfc 0]

The New Boy (Le Juge) wrote: It''s great to hear that Elmander is so much better, can somebody tell me when we are going to see that?

Will Elmander have this sort of impact then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiB7kcvlbs4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdiPkotlXKA

Have to wonder whether Kei weren''t so bad afterall. 

Plus he can play on the wing. 

2 youtube clips doesnt make a player any good, you could find 2 clips of Mark Fotheringham look like Maradonna if you look hard enough! Elmander is a much better player. He may have a few miles in the tank and getting on a bit, but his experience just this year alone could be vital when it comes to the crunch, he wasn''t relegated at Bolton so must know what is needed when it really matters aswell! (and if we going by youtube goals, check out his goal vs wolves, one of the best in PL history possibly!!!)

[Tetteys Jig 830]

I think there would certainly have been room for Kei here, maybe not the ideal signing, but the true way to assess this retrospectively is to ask yourself if he''d have changed any games this season.

Everton - Probably not

Hull - Most definitely, it wasn''t ''quality'' we needed that day, it was someone big and strong with plenty of desire and determination. Sounds like Kei!

Southampton - Nope

Spurs - Nope

Aston Villa - Possibly, we didn''t really struggle for chances and possession, but of 10 successful crosses into the middle 9 (yes NINE!) were caught by Guzan. If there''s one main strength Kei has, it''s his heading. He''d have ruffled some feathers for sure.

Not he got one goal, but who was responsible for Bassongs late winner versus (cant remember who) when KEI won it, it brushed off him and went in off Bassong or the Sunderland match when the ball came in, KEI powered a header at goal and Wes ''made sure'' it went in.

He isn''t ''what we''re looking for'' but he''d have done alright for us and would certainly have made some sort of difference.

I think the club were a bit scared (like West Ham with Carlton Cole) of performing a bit of a political ''faux-pas'' and letting him go only to get him back when it was clear no-one better had been found.

Becchio should have left and Kei signed in my book.

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="ryanncfc"]The New Boy (Le Juge) wrote: It''s great to hear that Elmander is so much better, can somebody tell me when we are going to see that?

Will Elmander have this sort of impact then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiB7kcvlbs4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdiPkotlXKA

Have to wonder whether Kei weren''t so bad afterall. 

Plus he can play on the wing. 

2 youtube clips doesnt make a player any good, you could find 2 clips of Mark Fotheringham look like Maradonna if you look hard enough! Elmander is a much better player. He may have a few miles in the tank and getting on a bit, but his experience just this year alone could be vital when it comes to the crunch, he wasn''t relegated at Bolton so must know what is needed when it really matters aswell! (and if we going by youtube goals, check out his goal vs wolves, one of the best in PL history possibly!!!)[/quote]

They aren''t "two YouTube clips", they are all of his touches in two games - against Everton and Fulham. 

That would be two compilations of a series of clips, each based on a single game. 

Just wanted to make that clear. 

[Tetteys Jig 830]

1:20 on the Everton sums him up, incredible work rate there.

[ryanncfc 0]

Ok, well, it is still just clips from TWO games, I''ll repeat what I said earlier, you could find two games from ANY player and create a montage of clips from those games and say ''''look how great this player is''''. But a good player need consistancy, and unfortunately KK was and is not the type of player to play a blinder 90% of games. Hemce why he has dropped down to a mid table Championship side (no disrespect to ''Boro) and not still in the PL. He''s full of determination and eagerness, but isn''t up to PL standard. To be honest, I don''t think he''s any better than Becchio, and even he is hardly going to ever feature it seems. So it''s a ''no'' from me to your original question!

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="ryanncfc"]Ok, well, it is still just clips from TWO games, I''ll repeat what I said earlier, you could find two games from ANY player and create a montage of clips from those games and say ''''look how great this player is''''. But a good player need consistancy, and unfortunately KK was and is not the type of player to play a blinder 90% of games. Hemce why he has dropped down to a mid table Championship side (no disrespect to ''Boro) and not still in the PL. He''s full of determination and eagerness, but isn''t up to PL standard. To be honest, I don''t think he''s any better than Becchio, and even he is hardly going to ever feature it seems. So it''s a ''no'' from me to your original question![/quote]

So what are the odds that the only two games out of eleven league games that I could find on Kei Kamara would happen to be the ones which showed him in the best light? 

Elmander has played 4 league games and I haven''t seen him have that sort of impact on a game yet, so in 7 games time I shall ask you to present 2 games from Elmander which show him as effective as that and you will be able to deliver? 

I think there is more chance of Elmander losing his place to Hooper in that time personally. 

Still, you seem to be missing the point completely by going off on a tangent about Kamara being Championship standard, my OP was asking whether he was below his level at Boro, the question was asking whether the £1.3m deal to sign Elmander for one year was really a better move than signing Kamara for £800k on a permanent.

And you have managed to attempt to answer to that question without mentioning Elmander once, which makes your contribution completely irrelevant and off topic. You did however manage to mention ''Becchio'', and that itself is a completely different topic.

For if I we were to have the Becchio Vs Elmander argument, then I don''t think any of us have seen enough of Becchio to judge that one either (poor lad).

[The Great Mass Debater 1,073]

Kamara had a great impact from off the bench. Would probably be a better option on the bench than Becchio, in that Hughton might actually consider using him

[Juggy 0]

*my OP was NOT asking whether he was below his level at Boro

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

On the showing from Elmander so far, I would have to agree with the OP that Kei made more of an impact, not just at the start, and could probably offer us a bit more this season as a squad player - which I suspect is all that Elmander will be.

 

I am hoping that Elmander''s quality will show, but haven''t seen it yet.

 

A good example was Tuesday''s game when towards the end we put a succession of quality crosses into their 6 yard box, inviting for a forward to attack and I would have expected a striker who''s good in the air to have buried at least one, but Elmander didn''t manage to win any of them.  If Kei had been playing I think he would have, as for Holt he''d have loved it.

[ZLF 271]

Playing either Elmander or Kei in the number 10 role is looking like a mistake.  Neither really suited to teh role but we have the better option.

 

We need to let go of Kei - he has gone and we have Johan who is a far superior footballer.

 

If there is a question to be asked its whether it should be Kei or Becchio?        

 

 

 

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]

Playing either Elmander or Kei in the number 10 role is looking like a mistake.  Neither really suited to teh role but we have the better option.

We need to let go of Kei - he has gone and we have Johan who is a far superior footballer.

If there is a question to be asked its whether it should be Kei or Becchio?        

[/quote]

On what basis do you believe Elmander to be the far superior footballer? 

Kei Kamara looks to be the far superior athlete to me - faster, stronger, can jump, tackle, pass. 

If Elmander has anything it is the fact that he can finish and possibly hold up the ball - but with Van Wolsfwinkel and Hooper being our natural number 9''s, I wonder whether the problem is actually that Elmander is not a far superior finisher, and is nothing but an inferior number 9 to the other number 9''s at the club.

And whether Kamara''s all round game is actually far superior to Elmander''s, and whether that is a lot more like what we required in a #10 who would drop deep and mix it up.

And whether Kamara''s ability to win the ball in the air would actually have provided a lot more by way of chances to RVW and Hooper than Elmander ever could with his feet.....

[CambridgeCanary 0]

If you haven''t seen anything of Elmander then you haven ''t been looking very hard.

Like Ricky he has worked his socks off finding space for passes. His first touch is good. He wins balls in the air for flick ons and his passing is astute.

Also , he gets into the area. Whenever the ball was played wide he dashed to the area to make a target. We are not

finding him or Ricky well but when we do then we should see an impact.

[Juggy 0]

[quote user="CambridgeCanary"]If you haven''t seen anything of Elmander then you haven ''t been looking very hard.

Like Ricky he has worked his socks off finding space for passes. His first touch is good. He wins balls in the air for flick ons and his passing is astute.

Also , he gets into the area. Whenever the ball was played wide he dashed to the area to make a target. We are not

finding him or Ricky well but when we do then we should see an impact.[/quote]

"He wins balls in the air for flick ons"

"He gets into the area"

"Whenever the ball was played wide he dashed to the area to make a target" 

"He was worked his socks off"

Sounds like a pretty accurate description of what Kei Kamara offered here, are you confusing the two players? 

[4th floor 4]

I don''t understand where the idea that Elmander is technically better than Kamara comes from, perhaps he is in a select few areas but overall his main assets are his nous and experience, and being better at things like positioning. Kei had more raw ability and athleticism, and was better at things requiring this eg dribbling. It''s sad that so many on here are blinkered by a few mistakes (understandable given the step up) and then write a player off with a cliche like "not good enough, Championship standard".