Clint Dempsey impressed for the Yanks, as they came from behind to beat Guatemala 3-1 yesterday. He scored twice and set up the other goal, as he seems to be regaining his sharpness, after missing any sort of pre-season football due to his transfer saga this summer. Highlights: [video=youtube;QzUCgSHmOhU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzUCgSHmOhU[/video] Carlos Ruiz is out of contract, by the way... Dempsey celebrates in front of Dempsey: please log in to view this image
He's 33, which limits his chances of being signed (unlike, for the sake of argument, nine months ago...) Most importantly, though, who the hell designed the US kit? Red and white hoops is NOT a good look!
good to see some goals and an assist from one of our players!! can only be a positive for us when he returns! I agree on the kit, it's nice. would have been good if they could have got the stars on there somewhere too !
Ruiz would fit better at Liverpool that way el pescadito could flop around with Suarez whenever a defender gets within a 5 yard radius.
They called him a midfielder, and I think he usually played on the right--though I could be wrong about that. He seems best used as a striker to me (too). But he's also a very good tackler--led Prem forwards in tackles 2/3 years, I think. I also like the red hoops. This is the first decent kit I remember US having. I'm thinking someone decided stars on blue shorts was too much, and they were probably right.
Left midfield? Was looking at his record and since he has been at fulham, each season he has matched or bettered his previous scoring record in league goals. 1, 6, 7, 7, 12, 17. Assuming he has now our first choice CAM, we need him to get between 12-17 goals, do you think he can be as effective through the middle?
Dempsey typically started out on the left of a 4231 when Fulham was fully fit, but really had more of a free role from what I could tell. When they lines up in a 442 he was either wide left or playing in a deep forward role.
I think Dempsey can actually be more effective through the middle. He's aggressive, he's dangerous with both feet and his head and he works exceptionally hard, never shirking a tackle or giving up on a lost cause. If he can get up to full fitness quickly and can build up a good understanding with Defoe and/or Adebayor, then I think he'll have an impressive season. Having Sigurdsson as competition for his place can't hurt, either.
I just see him as being better on the ends of passes than making them, so I'm not convinced he's the best choice at CM. I think AVB wanted to get Spurs heading in the right direction, had a ferocious competitor in Dempsey and put him at CM since he wasn't happy with Gylfi. They've been winning, so he's stayed there, but I still think we'd do better with more a of a playmaker. But don't get me wrong. Spurs have been playing well, and I think his effort and commitment have been a major factor.
I wouldn't say that he has been playing as a central midfielder, RWAEB. He's basically been playing as a striker, just more in the Robbie Keane mould than someone like Defoe, which gives him more freedom to drop deep or go wide. Dembele's replace Modric and Dempsey's replaced van der Vaart, in my opinion, though both players have a different style to their predecessors.
Fair enough. But my problem with Dempsey is that having a more creative player like VDV in that role seems like a better idea. (Though Dempsey has it all over VDV in terms of fitness, running, tracking back, tackling, etc.) I'm very pleased with how well Dembele's taken over the Modric role, though. I was just thinking, Modric was flashier and did more eye-catching things; he may have helped us play at a higher level, at our best, than Dembele could. But the better the opposition, the better Dembele is, whereas with Modric it was just the opposite, so so far I think Dembele might even be a slight improvement.
Dempsey reminds me of the goal hanger of old.To some it comes naturally.Picking up crumbs that comes your way allbeit crosses,rebounds,etc. Bent is the same.. I see Dempsey facing the camera and my mind goes back to watching Dragnet.He looks so much like Jack Webb. "The facts ma'am.Just the facts!" God,I'm old!!!!!!!!!
