Is Kaoru Mitoma Our New Star Boy? | Brighton 0-0 Newcastle | SEAGULLS SOCIAL – S3 – EP.2

He's so underrated Mitoma

Mitoma makes you guys happy.

Hi, guys. Glen from New York , born in. Ecuador..im follow you channel. For sometime , i want to tell something about Pervis estupiñan he excellent this guy can go forward like another striker he defense good plus. . He was the only player in South America qualifying to play all 18 games for Ecuador. Now you think moises run all pitch , pervis. Never see tired. This guy is another athlete…like moises

think we in for some fun times

Things I worry about with Maupay – the myriad losses of possession in promising situations and the number of frustrating chances he squandered in front of goal. Things I absolutely love – his passion, running through brick walls for the team (often alone up front instead of his time at Brentford, as you said), his irreverent jiving of opposition players & fans alike (wind-up merchant). I often think our team are just a bit too “nice” – desirable son-in-laws as I think Graham Souness said about Arsenal ! Maupay provided that “edge” we all loved ! Some of his goals were close to worldies, especially the numerous last-minute ones and all his goals have helped put Brighton in the position we find ourselves in today – unprecedented & exciting times. So, I think there’d be a yawning gap in the stadium portraits if Maupay didn’t appear (surely he’s bound to) and I rate his influence even higher than some of the others up there. So, yes, he’s of course established himself as a Seagulls legend even after only 3 seasons. Surely that says it all?

I was there and seeing Mitoma at the byline is such a beauty

Your pronunciation is not too far off! As a Japanese native, I would say it's Ka-oh-loo, Mii-toh-ma to be pedantic. It's a pleasure to see him in such an expansive team with a great manager!

Has anyone seen Mitoma’s performance reels on YouTube? They’re insane !!

https://youtu.be/lzs3AE_GxEg

Only point I would disagree on is that Mitoma is an "unknown quantity up to now". The truth is, those of us who have watched him since he joined Kawasaki as a 22-year-old rookie have always known what he would eventually become. And trust me — no disresect but — Brighton is nowhere near the limit of what he will eventually become. Indeed, many in Japan were surprised when that deal went through because he was widely expected to go to a much bigger club than *a feeder club of* Brighton (it was always understood that he couldnt get a UK visa). Most thought the Bundesliga would be his first stop.

Anyway, enough preliminaries. The point I want to make is that Kaoru Mitoma is a truly unique player, who cannot be accurately compared to anyone you have "heard of". Im not suggesting that he is going to be a superstar (maybe he will, maybe not). But he has a quality that I have never seen before — and I was a LIverpool fan when Kenny Dalglish first signed. You noted in your discussion that Mitoma is "direct" in his play. He likes to take on his man and create space for others. But the underlying skill that makes him so "direct" is his ability to suddenly run past a defender, as if they are standing still. Most see it one or two times and say "he's really fast". But in a footrace with the ball nowhere in sight, Mitoma is not THAT fast. His "speed" comes from something that I have described as "continuously variable transmission", because thats really what it seems to be. Most people run in one of three postures – jog, dash, and all-out sprint. When they "change gears" it is immediately obvious based on their stance and movement.

Mitoma seems to be able to accelerate, decelerate, accelerate again, etc. without ever altering the "gear" that his body seems to be using. So he will be running along shoulder to shoulder with the defender (who thinks "I can keep up with this"), and then suddenly without any apparent change of "gear", Mitoma starts to pull away (the DF panics and tries to change gears) edges in front (the stumbling DF has to pull up to avoid a foul), and gets into the clear. He does this repeatedly, at every level, against some of the quickest defenders in the world. Dont take my word for it – ask Takehiro Tomiyasu how many times he's seen Mitoma's heels. Another interesting thing I have noted is that – perhaps because he never really changes the "way he runs" – Mitoma seems to have just as good a touch when he's sprinting full out as when he is standing still. But this brings us to the drawbacks.

As I noted, Mitoma joined Kawasaki at age 22 – he is a university grad. and very bright (destined to be a coach, if he doesnt go into business first). The Japan university league is very competitive (look up Japan's record in the world Universiade games), but it obviously isnt the same as playing as a professional from around age 18. His tactical sense is improving, but still not what you would expect of a 25–yr-old NT player. He sometimes wastes chances by not knowing where his teammates should be. However, I think that he is still improving and can only get better as he has more exposure to truly top-shelf competition.