Kamara trade right move for Crew SC

Where did things go so wrong?

It almost seems like yesterday when we could turn on the television and watch Kei Kamara and Columbus Crew SC lighting the league on fire. But like so many relationships a small argument seemed to underscore many other issues going on between the two parties and before both sides know it the situation is beyond repair.

Instead of calling a relationship counselor Crew SC called the New England Revolution and shipped Kamara off. Although the move is certainly going to bring up some hurt feelings on both sides the move appears to be for the best.

The Kamara trade seems to be in part due to the recent argument (friendly discussion?) between the Sierra Leone international and midfielder Federico Higuain. In Saturday’s match against the Montreal Impact the two players engaged in an argument on the pitch over who would take a penalty kick. Higuain would take the kick and make it but it appeared to cast a shadow over the team. Despite being up 4-1 the Impact would come back and get a tie.

After the match Kamara would be very candid about the situation to the press saying

"I haven’t really had to depend on [Higuain] at all. How long have I been here? How many goals have I scored? How many have come from his assists? One, maybe two. I don’t depend on him. I depend on Ethan [Finlay], I depend on my outside backs to pass me balls."

Now one has to understand something here: very rarely do players speak candidly about their issues with other layers to the press. More often than not there is a bit of a curtain between the press and the players. One can call it canned responses, but generally speaking players are very reserved when it comes to expressing their issues with other players.

This was not the first time that Kamara and the Crew have had issues. Remember: Kamara also sat out preseason training due to contract issues. But it was still a bit shocking to see the deterioration of the relationship in such a quick fashion.

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If the situation was as bad as it seems then the club made the right decision. It is difficult for players to play on the same team if they cannot work together on the pitch. It would be one thing if Kamara was a goalkeeper and Higuain was a midfielder as the two would not have to directly work with one another on every play. But given that Kamara is a striker and Higuain acts very often as an attacking midfielder they would have to have at least a functioning relationship.

So now that Kamara is off to New England what does this mean for Crew SC?

In the short-term there will be some questions as to who can take over Kamara’s goal-scoring output. Over the past two seasons Kamara has totaled nearly forty-percent of Columbus’ goals (27 of 69). He also served as a hold-up forward taking on multiple defenders allowing midfielders Ethan Finlay and Justin Mearam to create.

Without him the club will likely turn to Conor Casey in the interim. Casey, an MLS lifer, has scored 71 goals in 9 seasons. Crew SC coach Gregg Berhalter may also look at a 4-4-2 option with Finlay joining Casey up top to help ease the workload off of the aging attacker.

Although this might not sound like a great idea it is a short-term solution. With the club acquiring General Allocation Money, Targeted Allocation Money, and New England’s international roster spot the club seems to have made it clear that they are not satisfied with their current roster. The club has had some interest Radamel Falcao in the past and may rekindle their interest with their additional assets. Falcao might not have the best current form but would be a significant upgrade over what they currently have.

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Even if someone of the caliber of a Falcao does not come in, Berhalter and Crew SC management have shown in recent years that they have an eye for international talent. In the last year that club has picked Cederic Mabawati, Harrison Afful, Mohammed Saied, and Gaston Sauro each of whom has become a valuable asset to the club. Although none of these players are a flashy name they are serviceable. So although Kamara might be gone supporters should have some amount of faith that their club can find a diamond in the rough.

Still it does put the pressure on Crew SC management. Dropping your leading goal-scorer for unknown quantities of money and draft picks will never sit well with supporters. When a club also appears to choose a side between players that also should raise some red flags. For a side that currently find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings (2-4-3, 9 points) this whole situation could not have happened at a worse time.

But clubs have to make difficult decisions sometimes and unfortunately this is one of those situations. Columbus clearly felt that there was no coming back in their relationship with Kamara and thus had to sell him to receive the highest return. Now the question is can the club use these new pieces to get someone of equal or greater value than Kamara?