Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
The Great Mass Debater

Would KK have made a difference?

Recommended Posts

Found myself wondering about KK the other day. OK so he only scored one goal for us and hasnt done particularly well for Middlesbrough, but it seems we had the option of making his transfer permenant at the end of last season for 2.5m. For whatever reason, Hughton decided against that and brought in other players. KK was preferred to Becchio during that run, so would probably have been vying for the 3rd striker slot. Which in my mind means the player that effectively replaced him was Elmander. Might KK have brought more to the table than Elmander? Elmander is a good player, but did he really offer us that plan B we seemed desperate for last season. We saw KK lift the team and change a game several times when he was with us. He was a buoyant positive persona, able to play as a battering ram up front, or a makeshift winger. After losing the character that was Holt, might KK have offered us something? I know its impossible to say, but Elmander didnt work, nor did RvW and to some extent Hooper. Might the decision not to have KK as a squad player for what is essentially peanuts be one of the most rueful decisions taken? Fact - with KK and Holt up front we survived. They were deemed not good enough, and yet look what happened

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
If we''re comparing with Elmander, hell yes, in a flash.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="KeiranShikari"]Didn''t really impress at Boro this season. I''d take Elmander. [/quote]I agree, I suspect plenty don''t.I have a mate who is a Boro fan, and Kei really hasn''t had a great season.Looks like we were right not to pay that kind of money for him.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
KK ....I know we usualy let Carrow road out for a religious conference in the summer, but letting KK erect a burning cross in thecentre circle would be a bit extreme[:O]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

He started well at Middlesbrough, then picked up a hernia, which eventually required an operation.

There''s nobody else at the club capable of scoring the goal he scored. He also would have scored another, if Wes hadn''t touched it as it went over the line.

He is not a great player, but I believe one who can score the occasional great goal. His very inconsistency makes him more of a threat than, say, Redmond, who teams worked out pretty quickly (similarly to Sterling in the World Cup).

I reckon he''d have scored 4 or 5 goals last year. So, yes, he''d have made a difference.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

When Elmander came in he was billed as the Swedish Grant Holt but unfortunately despite having similar physique and appearance he was a totally different sort of player, offering very little when played up front on his own.  It wasn''t just the complete lack of goal threat (bad enough) but also the fact that he didn''t do much by way of physically competing with the defenders and so on.  The only good performance I can remember was against Stoke away when he did a decent job of controlling the ball up their end as we held on to our lead at the end.  Which isn''t really good enough.

 

KK however actually was similar to GH, the sort of player who will fight for the ball and make things happen.  He would have given us something in games that we lacked.  Plus he probably would have got a few goals.  So on balance he''d have been an improvement to our strike force, and better suited to the sort of football we played last year.  Given how tight the margins were, I seriously believe having him for the whole year would have made the difference for survival.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
A massive difference we would have scored even fewer goals

He cant control a football & we cant cross it

Not set championship alight has he

Another absolutely ridiculous post - get real people

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It''s Character forming:

This x1000!

I got so sick of people saying he offered us up a more physical option up front than out other strikers and was a target man! I must have said to people (who obviously never saw him play) a million times that he was weak, always shirked out of challenges and rarely won a knock down. He was no more physical than Hooper/RVW, he didn''t battle or cause defenders problems that way, it was a complete myth based of his height and likeness to Holt

What he did offer us was great link up play (when he could be bothered) and he found space well, he was just about passable as out no.10...again when he could be arsed. He was much more like an awkward Chris Martin (although without the finishing skill) than a Grant Holt type

Also, yes, maybe a bit of difference, he was unlike any of our other strikers and would have given us another option. But I see why we avoided him, 2.5m is ridiculous for him, 500k and I''d have had him here!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That Everton game he was sensational. I defy anyone to honestly not give him that. Seeing as we got so little from any of the strikers we had last season, if he only played like that in 4 games all season, it might have been worth the 2.5m. Indeed, if he''d played like that against just West Brom it would have made a difference

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Considering the fine margins involved in our relegation in the Worthy era, I remember talk that if we''d kept Iwan as a squad member and dressing room influence, we might well have stayed up that season - another decision saving paltry sums which may have cost millions. I think we could have afforded to have kept Iwan that season. I also think keeping Holt could have made a difference too. Similar arguments will be raised as with Kamara, and I know Holt wanted to go, but again, we never replaced him on the pitch or in the dressing room and for the 2m we got for him, not taking the cash might have been the better option. I know plenty will disagree, but its not like the strikers we went with last season did any better. I wonder how many of our points last season could be directly attributed to our strikers (ie winning goals or equalising goals). I would surmise very few. RvW''s one goal allowed us to draw a game, so his contribution to our season - 1 point. Olsson equalled that with his single goal-line clearence. God knows how many points Ruddy earned us

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest
Kiera Knightly!

Someone will want Oli Johnson next!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I''m now extremely confused; are we discussing Kamara or Elmander? Where did the £2.5m transfer fee come from? Is Darth Catbeard saying KK was weak, always shirked out of challenges and rarely won a knock down? That he was no more physical than Hooper/RVW, didn''t battle or cause defenders problems that way, that it was a complete myth based of his height and likeness to Holt ?? Answers on a postcard ...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I remember (although my memory is hardly reliable) that at the end of Kamara''s loan deal we had the option to make it a permenant transfer for the fee of 2.5m, which ultimately we decided was not worth paying, presumably because we believed we could bring in other strikers who would do a better job. Fail

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="The Butler"]KK ....I know we usualy let Carrow road out for a religious conference in the summer, but letting KK erect a burning cross in thecentre circle would be a bit extreme[:O][/quote]

I believe you are short 1 "K" and possibly quite a few brain cells.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="ron obvious"]I''m now extremely confused; are we discussing Kamara or Elmander? Where did the £2.5m transfer fee come from? Is Darth Catbeard saying KK was weak, always shirked out of challenges and rarely won a knock down? That he was no more physical than Hooper/RVW, didn''t battle or cause defenders problems that way, that it was a complete myth based of his height and likeness to Holt ?? Answers on a postcard ...[/quote]

 

As DC is saying he agrees with my post in which I talk about those weaknesses in Elmander, I think its pretty clear he''s referring to Elmander not KK.  Whatever you say about KK, he was a real physical presence - which we lacked up front last year..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
KK had something we missed he had one point of his game which was world class which was his leap.

Now I have no doubt that Elmander is a better player but being all round good does not cut it in the premier league.

My feeling is thus assume the defenders in the premier league are v good - excellent.

If you all around good your screwed better to either be better then them all round or have a few components to your game which are excellent.

Power - Pace - Shooting - Heading - Technique/Dribbling etc

Now a player with most of those up front is going to cost a packet, what KK had was a excellent leap which did get us points over the limited games he played for us.

Unfortunately the players we did sign where logically better but they did not have any component of their game which made them effective in the system we employed.

I leave Hooper out to a certain extent as his shooting technique is very good, he just is not fast or powerful enough to make his own chances from what I saw....but what is there is worth a punt for lower table Prem teams.

Now look back over the games where we had no plan b up front I refuse to believe KK would not have caused enough chaos in the box in one or two of them as a sub to get us a few more points.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...