PBP: 12/28, Dempsey: Fulham v Chelsea {R}

It was freezing that day! Deuce must have been really pumped (and later cold)

But its not just about Sunday's game. Dempsey has scored 11 goals in approx. 43 starts and 18 sub appearances. That is good performance for an attacking mid/winger, but especially for a player not even 26

Also, the variety of his game makes him interesting as a player. He is strong in the air, physical on the ground, tricky enough on the dribble, demonstrated enough cutting edge and creativity with his passing. (Definitely not a one-trick pony) Dempsey can shoot fairly well with both feet. Now that he has added strong defensive ethic, and improved positioning- its hard to see what currently separates Dempsey from less-than-world class players that have latched onto big/bigger clubs like Sidwell, Joe Cole (!), Cahill, Arteta, Petrov, Benayoon, etc.

Another 3-6 months of performance like the last 10 games, and I think you will see some of these clubs make inquiries...

Fine, but Clint played alot of minutes as a striker. And scored many of his goals then, too.

Fair enough, but playing striker hasn't helped Zamora's goal tally much.

AJ is not a very good player anymore. He doesnt have the speed to shake anyone lose and his creativity is non-existent. Zamora has two stone feet, but he can hold the ball up nicely at least and make long productive outlet runs. I understand why Fulham picked up AJ, they thought they needed a poacher to drop in 10 to 12 garbage goals over the season, but I think now they realize they need some creativity out of that position as well.

Fulham needs to get Nevland in there for him. Maybe they can unload AJ in January.

Davies started on the left, then after the goal moved right. Chelsea then proceeded to get their best chances on the left side, so moved Dempsey back to the right and things settled down. Lampard in particular did well on Clint's side. I dont know that you can plug Clint into the left side and have good results. **actually, now that I watch, Scolari was placing Lampard on Clint's side whenever he could an Hodgs would counter by putting Davies on Lampard's side.

Lastly, I felt Fulham did a very good job of icing the game in the first half with the lead. If not for that mess up with Hughes, I think they might have pulled out the 1-0 win.

Well- Dempsey has now proven himself under three different managers, and supporters perhaps are more cognizant now of what he brings to the table offensively, keeping possession in the midfield, the bit of flair he provides and his overall work ethic. Scoring goals against their biggest rival in the Premiership doesn't hurt either. He also has the most brilliant song of a current Fulham player; and don't forget he's also the man with the most appearances in a Fulham shirt in the XI, outside of Simon Davies I presume.

Just a side note to some of the discussions, I'd love to see Clint improve on his fast break counter attacking play, both this season and last season he's had chances to dribble extended distances that have been closed down due to dithering, hesitation, or over dribbling before passing the ball while on the break. I think that's really the next stage in his evolution as an attacker for me. He can certainly control, move, pass, shoot, and finish with a high degree of quality. Anyone else notice this?

Consistent, sustained production. I think Clint will have to keep us his current form for the remainder of the season to attract interest from better clubs. That said, guys like Benayoon, Cole and perhaps Arteta had proven themselves beyond that of Dempsey before their big moves, and most of us would agree that Cole, Arteta and Cahill are a notch above Dempsey in ability.

But maybe you're right - Cahill was a good attacking midfielder in the Championship before his move to Everton...but I don't think he was lighting up that league any more than Dempsey lit up MLS.

AJ doesn't really ever look too good when you watch him play, but he does have a knack for producing...I think you can consistently count on him for around 10-12 goals per season at the Premiership level. I do think Nevland probably deserves more playing time, though. He has never really been given that much of a chance since arriving in London.

Let's also not forget that Diomansy Kamara should be coming back sometime soon.

Couple of things I noticed on Premiership Review, Clint quite firmly pushed Mikel on the first goal to give himself the space. How Alan Shearer of him. Also, I think he and Pantsil have a great understanding and cover for each other very naturally. In addition, Dempsey gave Ashley Cole some problems when he tried to get forward and got in some great tackles (and toe pokes) to neutralize him. I would be that does as much to keep him in the line up as any goals.

Anyone know of any good Fulham message boards, other than the one on the main site? Thanks.

Here is a link to info from the main site that has links to other fulham sites. http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/Messageboard.aspx?mode=thread&TopicID=59074

This is probably the best Fulham forum, though the layout is ghetto as hell..
http://www.voy.com/13865/

I tried suggesting starting another Fulham thread once and it didn't go over too well.....