There will be an added dose of intrigue when Columbus Crew SC faces the New England Revolution in Foxborough, MA on Saturday. And it clearly is centered around the Kei Kamara trade that took place on May 12th. It was then that the club was forced to deal him to the Revs after the now infamous penalty kick spat between him and Federico Higuaín a few days earlier in a 4-4 draw against Montreal.
This weekend’s meeting marks the first between the two teams since that deal was made. And a common question that fans will continue to ask going forward is which team is better off in the wake of it. Sure, New England received a proven goal-scorer and Columbus lost one. But does the makeup of the Black and Gold roster as well as their overall team concept have the potential to improve over time?
Columbus Crew SC Will Inevitably Win the Kei Kamara Trade
This is indeed the case. But it may not appear so when taking an initial glance at the MLS standings. Crew SC is currently languishing at ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The club is also second worst in the Supporters’ Shield standings. They’ve won a mere three games all season and just one since Kamara departed. The Revs, meanwhile, have three wins since acquiring him.
But it’s honestly foolhardy to look at this from an instant gratification perspective. Crew SC manager Gregg Berhalter and the front office made this move under the idea that it will bear fruit in the long-term. The fact they received a record amount of general/targeted allocation money and two SuperDraft picks is testament to that mindset.
It’s highly likely that the funds received from the Revs will be used in the summer transfer window which opened on Monday. You might say to yourself that the club will be in the market for a center forward given Kamara’s no longer around. But it may not be necessary since his replacement appears to already be on the roster.
Ola Kamara’s Sudden Emergence
His name is Ola Kamara. And he’s been sensational since he assumed the role of Crew SC’s target man up top. Ola has seven goals in six starts for Columbus. That total is tied with five other players including Kei for eighth-best in MLS.
And it should be noted that the other Kamara hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire since he arrived in New England. In seven starts, he has a mere two goals. Both of them came last Saturday on the road against the Montreal Impact. It was a game in which the Revs lost 3-2 after blowing the 2-0 lead Kei’s brace gave them.
If we compare the scoring form of the two Kamaras in the roughly two months since Kei left, it’s advantage Ola. The following chart which tracks their goals per 90 minutes should make that abundantly evident.
Ola Kamara is Crew SC’s number nine of the future. The club shouldn’t upset the on-field chemistry that’s developed between him and the players providing him service. As such, it should be made clear that he is the club’s bona fide starter even if the team addresses striker in the transfer market.
There may be a future scenario whereby which Ola’s ability to consistently find net makes him a target of bigger European clubs. This would invariably benefit Crew SC in terms of the transfer fee they’d receive. In that way, he could potentially be another Giancarlo Gonzalez. Berhalter has stressed how he wants players to successfully develop while in Columbus. Ola could be another possible example.
Did Kei “Career It” in 2015?
Let’s face it. 20-goal seasons are extremely hard to come by in MLS. It’s a reality for even the most prolific of goal-scorers. And history has shown a repeat performance is highly unlikely. It’s for this reason that a safe assumption can be made that Kei Kamara won’t be able to replicate what he did in 2015.
Ever since 2007 when the designated player rule was implemented, no player has ever followed up a season where they scored 20+ goals with another one. That fact should be pretty clear upon perusal of the following chart.
There’s no doubt that Crew SC was very fortunate to obtain Kamara with their top spot in the allocation rankings back in 2014. It can’t be argued that he gave fans of the Black and Gold a season to remember last year. His 26 goals in both the regular season and playoffs catapulted the side to within a game of a championship.
But if there’s anything the last decade of league play has taught us, it’s that sequels don’t happen. Let’s delve even further into MLS history to prove that point. Crew SC legend Stern John followed up a 26 goal season in 1998 with just 18 a year later. With that in mind, 2015 is trending towards being a quintessential career year for Kamara.
We’re Not Getting Any Younger, Are We?
Let’s also not forget that Kamara is on the wrong end of 30. Though plenty of MLS strikers such as Robbie Keane, David Villa and Clint Dempsey are continuing to produce into their 30s, very rarely do they do it to the tune of 20+ goals. In fact, Kamara, Keane and Marco Di Vaio are the only 30-somethings in recent league history to eclipse that milestone in a season.
With just 16 games left in New England’s regular season, Kamara needs 13 goals to hit the 20 mark. At the current pace he’s going, he’ll finish with 14. In that sense, Crew SC timed the market pretty well in buying and selling him at the right time.
As a result, Columbus will have invariably made out better than New England as a result of this transaction.
