Tuesday 27 November 2007

Diomansy Kamara: Man of Mystery

The riddle of Diomansy Kamara continues to convolute. Against Blackburn on Sunday he spawned perhaps his most infuriating performance so far.

He has had adequate time to “acclimatise”, to “gel”, and to “find his feet”. What he has failed to thus far, is “click.” At Sunday’s game there was a conspicuous sense of patience running out amongst the Fulham supporters.

He does not appear to be a player lacking in confidence. However, each time he receives the ball, he contrives to charge forward like a lobotomised clockwork toy, suggesting action before thought. He continues on, attempting to introduce himself to as many of the opposing team as possible (the Fulham players on these occasions becoming mysteriously transparent), until he collides with a defender and is brought to his knees. Cue wounded looks in the direction of the referee.

It’s true that on Sunday he covered a lot of ground, at speed, as he chased back when the Fulham attacks broke down: it was endearing, and encouraging to witness. In truth, however, it delivered little reward, and still does not absolve him of his primary responsibility: performing an effective striking role.

Yielding possession by way of a few one-touch return passes to his team-mates would not only render attacks more effective, but would signal a greater sense of integration with his colleagues: something that appears lacking at present. Selfishness in a striker can be a worthy trait when the goal is in sight, but not when he is 50 yards out.

This may seem a rather damning view of a man who scored a goal and earned a penalty, and Sanchez may consider those contributions a good return on 83 minutes of football. However, my disquiet arises not from the disparity between his price and his goals, as it appears to with many, but that between his quite overt ability and his performances.

Perhaps his post-scoring “loco” gesture is more apt than we imagine, but instead of his previous employers, it’s his own psychological mechanisms that require a little tinkering?

2 comments:

Chopper said...

I think you're right about Kamara, he's probably been the biggest disappointment of the season so far. That said I reckon he, like Healy, would benefit from playing alongside McBride or someone similar. For all the excellent work Clint does wherever he plays he's not an old fashioned centre forward.

smfifteen said...

It may indeed be down to finding the correct partner, as you suggest. But what really concerned me was the manner in which he squandered the chance laid on for him by Dempsey on Sunday. I think it's fair to consider such opportunities as almost a kind of litmus test for a striker: one against one, you versus the keeper. It should have been in the back of the net without thinking. My suspicion is that that is exactly what he did do: think about it.