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McCarthy's Musings: Kamara's Inevitable Dynamo Departure
In a surprising move, Houston shipped former starter Kei Kamara to Kansas City ahead of the roster-freeze deadline. Kyle McCarthy writes that Kamara's departure makes considerably more sense upon deeper inspection.
Sep 16, 2009 3:55:24 AM
By Kyle McCarthy
From the moment Luis Angel Landin hit the ground in Houston, Kei Kamara's future in Houston looked doomed.
There was, however, still room for mild surprise when the Dynamo shipped Kamara to Kansas City on Monday afternoon simply because it's rare for a MLS Cup contender to deal away a striker so late in the season.
Kamara, however, isn't a standard case. The same moodiness and intensity that makes Kamara occasionally dangerous on the field (14 goals in 80 MLS appearances) often makes him a handful to deal with off of it, as evidenced by his frequent address changes. Whispers of a conflict between Kamara and manager Dominic Kinnear had circulated recently, no doubt related to Landin's arrival and Kamara's correspondingly decreased prospects for playing time. Kamara isn't content to sit on the bench, so his dissatisfaction with the arrival of a superior striker ready to take his place was to be expected. With the playoffs on the horizon, Houston couldn't afford to carry a disgruntled player. Sending Kamara elsewhere made sense for everyone, even if Kamara wasn't thrilled with the prospect.
The rather hamhanded and deceptive manner of Kamara's departure apparently increased the Sierra Leone native's displeasure about swapping a title contender for an also-ran. Houston left Kamara off the travel roster for Sunday's loss in Columbus, oversold a pre-existing injury to explain why he didn't travel and told him to stay away from training on Tuesday when it was apparent a deal would go down. To top it all off, Kinnear and Dynamo COO Chris Canetti described the Kamara deal as a financial decision, even though Kamara is on a Generation adidas deal (though he'd count against the cap next year if he chose to re-sign), new striker Abe Thompson ($60,000 base) counts against the cap and the allocation money money Kansas City sent to Houston probably isn't much more than Thompson's cap charge for the rest of the season. The story made little sense and Kamara called the Dynamo onto the carpet in the Houston Chronicle for the way it handled his departure.
Once the dust settles, Kamara should probably send Kinnear and the Dynamo an apology and a thank you note for trying to obscure the fact that they desperately wanted to dump him. All of the deception may fool a few people into thinking this deal was actually about getting value for a player who would have been exposed in the Expansion Draft later this season and who wasn't likely to be offered the required deal when his contract expired at the end of the season. MLS player personnel gurus likely won't be among those who buy the story, but Kamara should appreciate the attempted subterfuge in his contract year anyways.
From the moment Luis Angel Landin hit the ground in Houston, Kei Kamara's future in Houston looked doomed.
There was, however, still room for mild surprise when the Dynamo shipped Kamara to Kansas City on Monday afternoon simply because it's rare for a MLS Cup contender to deal away a striker so late in the season.
Kamara, however, isn't a standard case. The same moodiness and intensity that makes Kamara occasionally dangerous on the field (14 goals in 80 MLS appearances) often makes him a handful to deal with off of it, as evidenced by his frequent address changes. Whispers of a conflict between Kamara and manager Dominic Kinnear had circulated recently, no doubt related to Landin's arrival and Kamara's correspondingly decreased prospects for playing time. Kamara isn't content to sit on the bench, so his dissatisfaction with the arrival of a superior striker ready to take his place was to be expected. With the playoffs on the horizon, Houston couldn't afford to carry a disgruntled player. Sending Kamara elsewhere made sense for everyone, even if Kamara wasn't thrilled with the prospect.
The rather hamhanded and deceptive manner of Kamara's departure apparently increased the Sierra Leone native's displeasure about swapping a title contender for an also-ran. Houston left Kamara off the travel roster for Sunday's loss in Columbus, oversold a pre-existing injury to explain why he didn't travel and told him to stay away from training on Tuesday when it was apparent a deal would go down. To top it all off, Kinnear and Dynamo COO Chris Canetti described the Kamara deal as a financial decision, even though Kamara is on a Generation adidas deal (though he'd count against the cap next year if he chose to re-sign), new striker Abe Thompson ($60,000 base) counts against the cap and the allocation money money Kansas City sent to Houston probably isn't much more than Thompson's cap charge for the rest of the season. The story made little sense and Kamara called the Dynamo onto the carpet in the Houston Chronicle for the way it handled his departure.
Once the dust settles, Kamara should probably send Kinnear and the Dynamo an apology and a thank you note for trying to obscure the fact that they desperately wanted to dump him. All of the deception may fool a few people into thinking this deal was actually about getting value for a player who would have been exposed in the Expansion Draft later this season and who wasn't likely to be offered the required deal when his contract expired at the end of the season. MLS player personnel gurus likely won't be among those who buy the story, but Kamara should appreciate the attempted subterfuge in his contract year anyways.
 Luis Angel Landin | Kamara's departure increases pressure on Houston's DP to produce the goods in the postseason |
Kamara should also appreciate the chance to make a fourth fresh start in four MLS seasons in a manner that benefits all parties involved. In Thompson, Houston acquired a good soldier who will sit on the bench behind Landin and Brian Ching without complaint and without damaging team morale. Kansas City acquired a much-needed striker for a reserve who wasn't going to play and an almost assuredly negligible amount of allocation dollars. Kamara found a spot where he might play a few games and have the chance to impress enough to earn a new deal if he doesn't decide to continue his career overseas.
The only real surprise is that Kamara landed in Kansas City. The Wizards dealt away Scott Sealy and his expiring contract last season (though Kamara probably stands a better chance of re-signing than Sealy ever did and the Wizards didn't given up anything significant here) and probably won't have room to protect Kamara in its Expansion Draft list. As a rental, Kamara would have made sense for a team with more realistic playoff chances and Toronto FC was interested, according to the Chronicle. Then again, the price was certainly right for Wizards technical director/interim coach Peter Vermes to take a gamble to improve his striking options. The fact that Houston could conceivably face Toronto FC in the first round of the playoffs shouldn't be discounted either.
In the end, the inevitable occurred and Kamara packed his bags. Time will tell whether Houston made the right call for its 2009 MLS Cup hopes and whether Landin can play the influential role Kamara never could. For now, the deal looks like an astute piece of self-preservation at a time when the flagging Dynamo could use a boost.
Around The League
- All of the midweek action focuses on the CONCACAF Champions League, though New England travels to New York and San Jose hosts Colorado on Friday night.
 Christian Gomez | Argentine playmaker's 14th minute penalty handed United a long-awaited Champions League victory |
- D.C. United sent a mix of starters and reserves to Trinidad and Tobago and used a Christian Gomez first-half penalty kick to earn a 1-0 win over San Juan Jabloteh. The win gave United its first victory in 11 tries in Champions League play and set up a must-win clash with Marathon (Honduras) next Thursday at R.F.K. Stadium.
- Columbus left Eric Brunner (suspended), Frankie Hejduk (rested), Chad Marshall (knee), Alejandro Moreno (rested) and Gino Padula (illness) off its travel roster for Wednesday's date with Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica) (2a.m. Thursday morning, Fox Soccer Channel). Guillermo Barros Schelotto probably won't see much, if any, action on that horrible turf down there either.
- Houston will travel to Mexico to face Pachuca on Wednesday night (10p.m., Fox Soccer Channel). Games between these two bitter rivals are always worth the time spent, even if the Dynamo faces long odds (MLS teams are 0-16-1 in Mexico, with Houston grabbing the lone point at Pumas last September) to come home with points. With a host of absences and suspensions to Andrew Hainault and Stuart Holden impacting the travel squad, Kinnear will likely have to blend starters with reserves in this one.
- In addition to Houston and Kansas City, other teams across the league made minor changes before Tuesday's roster-freeze deadline.
- United placed Ely Allen, Greg Janicki and Ange N'Silu on the inactive list and activated Thabiso Khumalo (wrist) to ensure he was available for the stretch run. The three inactive players will not be allowed to play in MLS, but can still participate in Champions League play.
- Chivas USA activated Claudio Suarez (calf) from a puzzlingly long DL stint. After watching Suarez train this weekend, it looks like the former Mexican international could contribute if called upon. Don't expect to hear his name called, however.
- New York released Alfredo Pacheco from his loan deal and sent him back to FAS (El Salvador). Pacheco never settled in New York and wanted a chance to return to his home country. The Red Bulls won't miss him.
- San Jose sent Fabio da Silva packing without a MLS appearance. Hint to those who may follow da Silva: show up in shape if you want to have a chance to win a long-term deal. Once Bobby Burling arrived last week, the Quakes could safely end what amounted to an extended trial earlier than planned.
- FC Dallas was expected to re-sign Steve Purdy prior to the deadline, according to the Washington Post, though no confirmation had arrived as of Tuesday night. Purdy would replace Anthony Wallace, who went on the DL after suffering a left knee injury.
- From the “We Saw This Coming” Dept., Cuauhtemoc Blanco told AOL Sports that he would like to play another year for Chicago. The smart money is on Blanco returning for a final Fire swansong before the World Cup.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes
opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New
England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him
with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com's MLS page.
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