Not surprising. What formation do you guys play, and what's Kei's role in it? In my opinion, Kei's career took off when he became a wide forward in a 4-3-3. That role suits him perfectly...he's expected to score but not be "clinical," he's expected to feed the center forward some but he's not expected to be an assist machine, and when a team plays 3 forwards they're going to be pressing very high and very hard, and Kei gives you that. Kei isn't really a striker and he's not really a 4-4-2 winger, and that probably accounts for his erratic early career in MLS. He was always, well, not a square peg in a round hole, but an oval peg in a round hole, not quite fitting but close. In the 4-3-3 he really, really came into his own.
Mowbray played I think a 433 (or at least a 4231), so key for him will be what the new guy is doing. He might be ok as a target paired with poacher, but he's never going to be a 1/2 goal per game guy.
Way to piss on his parade. No doubt Kei had his ups and downs prior to SKC but he's obviously matured (on/off the pitch) and taken his game to another level. I'm sorry you can't see past that and root for him. I don't know what he was then but I know what and who he is today. Kei's been quite the inspiration for a slew of people. I, for one, am super stoked that he is performing well in England. He's earned it. Nothing has been given to him.
Mark Venus has only been in charge for a game, but from Mowbray's time, there have already been some interesting changes. Under Mowbray we played a 4-3-3 with kei either starting wide right or up front, but under Venus, we've changed to a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 type formation with Kei up front and Emnes dropping in behind him, however the front four seem completely interchangeable and rotated well with fast passes and one twos. Currently Kamara is on more than one goal per game, but his finishing has been poor, this is down to lots of chances being created.
I wouldn't call Kei an imposing figure, because he's not really one to be a battering ram against a big centre half. However he does win a lot in the air because he can jump so high. I doubt he scares the other team too, especially some of the defenders in the championship, they're huge! I'd imagine that Curtis Main or Lukas Jutkiewicz would scare the other team more
He's not going to bang a lot, but he jumps as high as anyone I've seen on a soccer field. He's well over 6', but you're probably right, he's not going to be bigger than a lot of champ cb's. He will be active and a handful for anyone though. His finishing isn't good though. He's built himself into what he is, and kudos to him. Even though he doesn't play for the US, we all like to see him do well. That is rare, and speaks to his character.
Sorry to take this thread a bit off topic guys but I was wondering what your thoughts on Seb Hines are? We don't get to see a lot of Championship games over here and I'd be interested to hear your opinion on his level and style of play.
Ah yes of course, Seb is allowed to play for USA isn't he? I doubt he'll ever play internationally though, he's not great. Physically he's weak and gets outmuscled by pretty much anyone over 5ft 10, his positioning is decent but nothing special. He's a fast centre back so isn't likely to be outpaced by a striker. However he is -for want of a better word- a warrior. He'll keep going, for example two seasons ago at Ipswich he broke his jaw in two places and carried on playing. He's the type of defender who head a brick for his team, and he really attacks balls from corners, so he'll get a lot of goals... Unfortunatly he also has a habit for scoring own goals.
2 or 3. 2 came in our most recent game against Doncaster, and the first in particular was a fantastic through ball http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/8991657/middlesbrough-4-0-doncaster I'm not sure if you can view it in the US, but here are the highlights. 2 Kei assists and a kamara goal
Thanks for the link and insight. It's a damn shame that wikipedia barely records assists and comes up even short when it comes for stats on pages for strikers.
Look at what this character @keikamara turned up wearing this morning. Lost for words where to start!!!! pic.twitter.com/ljwikQF58A— Shay Given (@No1shaygiven) December 18, 2013
Out with some ligament damage: Kei Kamara: Medial ligament damage. Not expected to return until early in the New Year.
Dang. Kei's a great guy. Love how he supports the US and MLS. How have his performances been this season?
Speaking of which... Always amazing to see my boy @stuholden Always Positive...ALWAYS. #NoHoldenBack 👊👊💪💪 pic.twitter.com/3O0p11gLQ8— KEI KAMARA (@keikamara) January 1, 2014
Close to fitness. Scored 2 goals for the U21s against Arsenal. Subbed out in the 90th. http://www.arsenal.com/match/report...edium=referral&utm_campaign=arsenalprss.co.uk
An article with some background on his life in Sierra Leone: http://footballsquad.co.uk/i/85/09/...ow-middlesbrough-new-boy-kei-kamara-can-smile
Two video update of his time at Middlesbrough: http://www.mlssoccer.com/sideline/n...referral&utm_content=News&utm_campaign=Unpaid
Hasnt endeared himself to the Boro fans. Caught malaria whilst in Africa, then returned to Kansas. For some reason, he blamed Middlesbrough for not doing anything. http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kei-kamara-malaria-tweet-storm-7273838
Since it comes up every now & then, photographic evidence that Kei is a Yank: After all the screaming, nail biting and close calls, we are still proud to be Americans 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 #WorldCup2014 #1N1T pic.twitter.com/wdH9vakFvk— kristin bock kamara (@kbock2241) July 1, 2014