Ironically, I think anyone who has never seen us play before might have assumed Kamada and Pino were our two best players last night (and that Palace fans would think the same). My assessment of the two of them is as follows:
Kamada - Technically very neat however not brilliantly compatible with the English game in most physical senses, including the intensity of the football. Can look a bit too fast for him, leading to misplaced passes and looking useless in close quarter encounters. Positionally and tactically superb though, which is why a system manager like OG loves him. Therefore those that concentrate on him individually (fans) are likely to notice the mistakes and/or perceived weaknesses in his performance. However, they are also unlikely to see his valuable hollistic contribution to the team, how we play and our success (which a good manager or coach can/would) with his tactical awareness and technical neatness.
Pino - Again, somewhat unadapted to English football. Little flicks and tricks which may work in Spain plus the intensity can lead to him looking out of place, a liability and occasionally useless. Definitely techinically very good though and skillful. Quick feet, can hit a ball and yesterday danced around the pitch in an almost Maradona-esque fashion. If he can adapt to the intensity, he'll be a worldy for us. His career path and injuries haven't helped him though, so the hope must be that these do not continue.
So, IMHO and experience, both players catch flack in a PL season as even one mistake can cost you and every game has an intensity which can cause them to appear anonymous or disastrous.
However in cup competitions, particularly in Europe, provided the football is not 5-3-2 vs 9-0-1, we may well see their true value.
COYP.
USA
