Kinda true. For £6million we can't expect much more than he is offering right now but then Rafa only cost us £8million and he was amazing.
for £6mill, it doesn't matter who it is, they should be getting the fundamentals correct, such as basic passing.
you have to question how good demps is as a footballer, as if two years ago someone suggested we signed dempsey to replace vdv in the future when he leaves, would you have laughed? as i would have! All i expect and i think most fans expect is for dempsey to do the simple things and be a goal threat, that isnt asking the world from him. however this is why he needs to play in his best position yet unless bales injured it wont happen.
We were trying to sign him a year or two ago if the papers were to be believed and 2 years ago you'd have been outraged at the thought of Dembele replacing Modric but here we are. I don't blame anyone for being disappointed with his performances but lets not pretend the guy's crap. Pienaar got no way near the criticism Dempsey gets and no one doubted that he was a good player either. It's not Clint's fault he's having to replace VDV in the line up.
if we targeted dembele two years ago then he would have been signed as one with potential. clint on the other hand is no spring chicken and its only due to his 19 goal season that he was in demand. he was a panic buy and replaced a player that had world class ability so if clint wanted an easy ride, then he shouldnt have signed so i wont feel sorry for him! however now he has the chance to play in his preffered position so there is a chance to really impress.
also yv no one said hes crap but his ability is being questioned in regards to how highly rated he is. personally i see him as a decent footballer that on his day is a very good attacking midfielder yet i felt dissapointed when we signed him and see him as second rate when compared to vdv, yet many players are second rate to vdv so thats not a huge dig.
Both Dempsey and Dembele were linked to us around that time but it was the Dempsey rumours I was referring to. You might not have recognised him as a good player until last season but there were people at the club who had. This is what I mean though, he struggles in his first 10 or so games and that means all of a sudden that he joined us for an easy ride. He struggles in his first 10 or so games and that means that all of a sudden his performances over the whole of last season were a fluke. He struggles in his first 10 or so games and that means he's a write off to some Spurs fans. The insinuation is clearly there from you and others. I'm not sure what you were expecting from him but I saw him as more of a squad player who could provide cover across the 3 behind the striker and perhaps upfront too. Since Sigurdsson(who a lot of fans were hyping in preseason) has struggled too, he's been relied upon more than I'd expected. Much like AVB's finally getting a bit of time because of our league position and despite several questionable performances, Dempsey should be afforded the same as 3 assists and 2 goals in 10 games is quite good. For the record, I think playing off the striker is his best position and certainly more beneficial to the team than having him cutting in all the time from the left, although admittedly he might have only been doing that because Carroll and Sandro were failing to create anything in the middle of the pitch. He looks like he's growing in confidence playing for us and certainly becoming more comfortable leading to some clever assists like the one he set up for Bale against West Ham. He's not VDV and never was going to be so I really don't see why fans are continually bringing him up.
YV when i type " he is a decent player" & "on his day hes a very good attacking midtielder" that is what i mean so if you want to pretend people are saying hes crap, then thats your call. Also i was defending dempsey on here the other day saying he deserves a chance to play in his best position. being linked to a.player doesnt mean its true, unless the gossip section of mewspapers are now run by our chief scouts. The reason VDV name is mentioned often is that we sold vdv and replaced him in the squad with dempsey so of course comparisons will be made.
I said from you and others. He seems to be singled out as the main scapegoat by fans, beit through saying he's not a "Spurs player", dismissing him as having one good season, questioning his commitment, it's all negative and unfounded. It's the same at the games, there's a lot of negativity towards him and most were writing him off a few weeks ago. I said before that it was if the rumours were to be believed but it certainly suggests that there were people at the club that liked him and his reputation as a player wasn't based all on the second half of last season when he was scoring freely and everyone started to take an interest. Dempsey was no more VDV's replacement than he was Harry Kane's replacement. It's an unfair comparison especially since us fans are guilty of remembering VDV with rose tinted glasses and comparing a player joining an unsettled new side with a new manager to another player in a settled freescoring side. My main point is that with all these criticisers of him, there's very little criticism for other players like Sigurdsson and Naughton. Everyone knows he's been disappointing in his start to the season but after each game I see the blame fall on Dempsey's mistakes, on Gallas' mistakes with little comment when Vertonghen jogs back, or Caulker gets turned easily. Even Walker who has started the season poorly and got criticised gets the benefit of the doubt and there's no questioning his effort, whether last season was a one off etc. Dempsey will unfortunately have to accept that he's a scapegoat now and should we lose a game whilst he's on the pitch it will be his performance that fans focus on.
yv you seem to have misunderstood why i mentioned if we signed dempsey 2 years ago as a replacement for vdv, i would have laughed as quite simply he isnt good enough. yet thats just my own view. as for rumours two years ago, im not concerned with if we was interested as what does that prove? someone at the club rated him? someone at the club has rated all of our flops and they have rated all of our top players, but as fans we dont need the clubs backing of a player to back up a personal view of a player. Dempsey doesnt seem a scapegoat, as siggy has been crtised, as has naughton, as gallas, as walker and even dembele has come under attack. However dempsey plays in a position which fans like to see style, class and ability so its natural for fans to maybe be more harsh, especiialy when this season our football has mostly been dour and lacking in flair.
Totally agree with these comments YV. It does seem that Dempsey has far more to 'prove' to fans - which is tough when he has generally been played in roles that are new to him and with a constantly changing set of players around him. In particular, the loss of Dembele will have been very significant as they had been playing together at Fulham. That's not to acknowledge he certainly hasn't over-impressed to date, but at least the last couple of games he has made a much more significant contribution. Hopefully, that is a good sign for the future!
Why would you mention 2 years ago then if nothing's changed? I made the point that whilst you didn't rate him 2 years ago others did and given his last 2 seasons they'd appear to have a point as he's been great for Fulham. 10 games with us doesn't undo that in the slightest. It's the same with Walker this season, yet no one wrote him off or dismissed his performances in the previous season. Sorry but what you're saying about him not being a scapegoat just doesn't stack up from what I've seen on here and heard going to games and talking to friends that are Spurs fans. Gallas is definitely another but I avoided bringing him up as he has been absolutely awful at times and I didn't want to go through every single member of the squad saying whether they get picked on or not. Prior to the Panathaniakos game there was a lot of people praising Naughton and glossing over the mistakes he's been making so I really don't follow you there. I'm not saying that players haven't been criticised but the focus after poor results seems to be on the likes of Dempsey and Gallas' mistakes(Huddlestone too) whereas Vertonghen who's twice been guilty of walking or jogging back after losing the ball whilst the opposition attack and score, are immune to any criticism. I also brought Sigurdsson up as whilst he has been criticised he's received nowhere near as much as Dempsey despite not even being good enough to replace such an average player.
I did point out why demps is seen to recieve more harsh comments and while you may not feel its fair. its just how it is, and why you hear fans say " he isnt a spurs player". Also players such as siggy and naughton arent 1st choice, they come in and out of the team, so they wont be mentioned much until fans see more of their negatives, hence naughton being critised the other night. This new "era" under AVB is in complete contrast to Arry and VDV, so wether you like it, or not, it will take time before dempsey and avb win everyone over and while avb is starting too, dempsey has to up his performance level.
Sorry but you're knackering me out here I'm surprised you can't accept what I'm saying but I'm not going to continue explaining what I've said. As for AVB, jury's out for me. The only points I've made about him is that he needs time before we can properly judge him and also needs to be treated fairly and that means taking into account missing Dembele for a month and other longterm ones without adequate replacements. When we lose against Wigan my opinion might seem like it's a pro-AVB view but it's really not and it doesn't change much from game to game. I do think he's a likable guy but I'm holding back my judgement on him as manager but to put some perspective on it if we're still playing like this in a year's time I will not be happy. Same with Dempsey really, I might seem like I'm being optimistic but I see what they're capable of and I'm happy to give them time to prove themselves for us and in the meantime I'll praise them when they deserve it and criticise them when they deserve it too. I don't see much fair with overlooking Sandro picking up stupid bookings, Vertonghen swtiching off and Defoe being greedy and wasting chances if you're also going to praise them, or ignoring Dempsey taking the game to the opposition when the rest of the team is looking a bit flat.
YV, no one needs to "accept what you're saying" as in just agree, as ive explained to you why fans are more harsh towards him. If you have two differing views then you will be waiting a long time if you just want the other person to accept what you're saying! anyhow, im sure we can both agree totenham are a club with a history of flair and style so players like vdv are easily loved which is why you get "rose tinted views" as you mentioned before. if dempsey carries on progressing and proves his 19 goal season wasnt just a one off, then he can win fans over, but so far he has been below par.
My surprise is because you're dancing around what I'm saying(that you're not being fair to Dempsey) and whilst I don't expect fans to be totally fair at all time, bias is a fairly big part of football. You'll be hard pushed to find me openly praising Arsenal but that doesn't that mean it can't be pointed out to me. Your point about flair is neither here nor there on what I've been saying as all I've been saying is he has been picked on by some fans and become an easy target, I was never talking about why it happens. Since you've mentioned it twice though, Pienaar never showed any great flair or invention for us but there was nothing like the negativity Dempsey has got playing for us. It doesn't make players immune either, Taraabt and Giovanni always showed flair and skill on the pitch but no one was desperate to see them play whilst Dawson, Parker and Sandro were well liked for giving everything each game. This is why I can't understand why you haven't accepted what I've been saying. Dempsey has had a poor start to his career at Spurs, this we agree on. There are other players who have either played as poorly or have made mistakes that fans criticising Dempsey aren't picking up on, this for some reason we can't agree on.
to be fair (seems a key word) gio and adel.had a fair fanbase for players that didnt get look in and youngsters on the fringe but they arent good examples as they both ruined any chance of 1st team football by their attitude. sandro and parkers job is different to a flair player or a role which was filled by vdv or bale. that is why i mentioned the position dempsey plays in and the player he is deemed to be replacing. but as for demps, of course i understand why you feel he is being "picked on" yet because of the reasons i posted, the fans general reaction towards him seems fairly understanable and if demps picks up his form then he will win fans over. maybe we should agree to disgree as when dempsey scores tomorrow we will both be happy
Its not helping that Dempsey is coming off the back of such a great season, if he doesn't hit the heights at Spurs immediately then he will (somewhat unfairly) cop some flak. Sig is ultimately seen as the long-term replacement for VdV I presume, and at 23 he probably has some way to go in terms of consistency but if he can replicate some of the form that we saw at Swansea last year then I think he'll come good. He's had a good goalscoring record wherever he's been so far in his career but I think this is a step up for him. I remember being really excited when we signed him and I really think/hope that he will be really good for us.
