FOXBOROUGH, Mass.—Kei Kamara made it clear following the New England Revolution’s 4-3 victory over the LA Galaxy on Saturday night: He’s frustrated – with himself.
Since being traded from Columbus Crew SC to the Revs last May, Kamara has 12 goals and six assists to his name but feels he is capable of more. Kamara revealed Saturday that he has spoken with the Revs’ coaching staff about possibly moving elsewhere and acknowledged that he simply might not fit at Gillette Stadium.
“If I’m not scoring goals, I feel like I’m not helping the team out,” Kamara said. “[Tonight] I got a goal, but it’s real difficult if I can’t produce for this team because it’s a good team. Maybe I wasn’t the right piece of the puzzle to help the team move forward.”
Kamara’s no stranger to controversy with his club situation, as a dust-up with Federico Higuain last year prompted his move to New England in the first place.
While in Columbus, Kamara thrived off getting on the end of crosses, but the Revs have a different ask for Kamara: Playing through his feet. The former prompted a 22-goal season in 2015 for Columbus, and that electric form simply hasn't translated to his time New England.
“I said I’ve been here for about a year now and scored what 11, 12 goals, and that’s not me,” Kamara said. “I want to be put in positions to be held responsible for a lot of stuff, and I didn’t feel that way. That’s why I told them. But then again, I’m coming in every day and being a professional. If I end up staying here moving forward, no problem. I’m going to give it my all.
"Then again, it’s a business. If something else comes out of it, it’s what’s good for the club and good for the fans.”
An intra-MLS trade is certainly on Kamara’s mind, though he did make a serious impact against LA by helping to halt a five-game losing streak for the Revs across all competitions.
The 32-year-old Sierra Leone international fired home in the 34th minute to make it 2-1, then recorded a secondary assist on Teal Bunbury’s eventual game-winner in the 73rd minute. Despite all that, disappointment in himself and his entire situation under Heaps again seeped through.
“I feel bad for myself and for the club because I haven’t really produced for the club,” Kamara said. “They brought me here to score goals and do stuff and I haven’t had that impact, you know. [The meeting] was really about what’s best for both of us. I want to play here, I want to move forward.
“If I’m not in the right system to score those goals, to move forward and be an impact, it affects the fans,” Kamara added. “It affects them because they want to see the best from me and I want to give this club my all. I want to give the locker room my all. But it was tough to have a sit down with the coaches and talk about that. It’s something that I couldn’t sleep for a lot of times.”
