We are still not at the WC and it is impossible to know how he's going to play. In 02 Henry was in the best club form of his career and had a terrible WC. But there was plenty of evidence, like, say Clint's entire career, to suggest to anyone paying attention that if the guy could possibly keep it together physically, he had the competitive tools and soccer skills and wiles to contribute better than anyone else available for his role on the team. I will still be crossing my fingers all the way to the cup, but the "Clint is for sure finished" camp was always more about Chicken Little and less about real analysis of the guy and his soccer career. And again, we ain't there yet - and just because he's putting in good shifts at Seattle and for the USMNT doesn't assure us of anything. But he will be there and will contribute a bit at least. Just don't let him take PKs.
The OP was stupid given the timing. If he'd had poor form in April then that would have been the time to worry.
He still May... (see what I did there!) All of the "Dump Dempsey" crowd fell into a couple of traps - they believed the (incorrect) hype about how poor his Spurs season was (as opposed to how exceptional his final Fulham season was) and overly discounted the niggling injuries and big move. That still doesn't mean that Demps' age and the inevitable decline of his physical ability won't catch up with him - maybe even in June. But to have been so adamant that August or October '13 form was inevitably going to be even worse in June 14 was the mistake. Again, there is always reason to be concerned with any player, esp. an older vet, but if anyone has the mental focus to contribute for 3 of the most important games of his career, it is Dempsey.
Dempsey is nowhere near the same player that he was at Fulham and I think he's finally realized that so he's not trying to do things out there that he was doing 4 years ago. As has been said all along, Dempsey's game was never predicated on speed so the impact on him is fairly minimal, now Donovan on the other hand, I think as we're seeing, when he hits the wall it's gonna be ugly.
Thought he had good season with Spurs especially the second half. Dempsey turned 31 in March, so age shouldn't be an issue. My interpretation of what happened is he didn't have much of a preseason with Spurs before the move to Seattle. He then suffered various niggling injuries which prevented him from training hard over the winter break. He lacks strong natural stamina so it's taken a while to build the fitness back up.
When the thread was made, there were a few more months until the roster selection, so Dempsey had an important few months upcoming. If his form continued, he probably deserved to be left off the team. It looks like the poor form won't continue, so its not much of a discussion anymore, but it was a real concern at the time the thread was made. You are right though, still a lot of time left before the roster selection. Three goals against Portland doesn't mean his form is back to what it was. All it means is that it looks like its trending in the right direction.
I'm not backpeddling. What I originally said when I made the thread was that if his form continues, then he should be left off the squad. I said that if he regains form, then its a pretty silly discussion. There is still a month and a half before the roster is selected. The three goals is only a step in the right direction. It doesn't mean that he is back to his top form.
CK and many of the Dempsey chicken littles were naive, shrill and showed they know little about soccer, form and Dempsey in particular. It was silly to think he would have completely lost the form that he has consistently shown for the US and in the EPL unless he had some sort of injury (or psychological/addiction issue) that there was little evidence of. It is always possible to get hurt, but to think that Demps would have completely lost his skills, wiles and desire in a few short months was just people looking for a reason to crap on him not real analysis.
He does not need to be "back to his top form." I doubt he ever will be - that Fulham season was lights-out a career best for many players. He just has to be better than whomever else we might take. It would have taken a real, serious loss of form, injury or mental collapse for that to be true (or a serious jump in form from one of our other "joker" fwd/ams)
I think he is regaining some of his "mojo" back but I wouldn't put too much weight on his hat trick....1st goal, ridiculous blown coverage which he is never going to see that in the WC. 2nd, a nice finish of a deflection. 3rd. a penalty kick that went right down the middle, could Neuer (Germany goalie) have blocked it? He is improving but he still runs out of gas at minute 70. I think to get the most out of him is to sub him out at around that time with Johannsson.
I don't agree. You don't think players at around 30 years old sometimes lose their skills? Thats around the age where a lot of players start to decline. It would have been a huge decline for Dempsey if he never regained form, but I saw it as a possibility. I knew that we had to give him a little more time, but I certainly didn't dismiss the possibility.
The form that he was in from August to March was not at a level of a player that deserved to be on the World Cup squad.
He will, of course lose form. But he is not competing against Clint Dempsey circa Confed Cup or Fulham 11-12 for a spot. He is competing against real players. He still could lose his edge by June, but a realistic review of his career and competition make it a relatively low percentage play, unless he gets hurt (spit, cross, touch wood, toss salt) or something unexpected. He has always shown lots of grit, focus and wiles - matched with skill.
I agree, but when you look at his form from August to March, that was what worried people that he could never regain any form. He was awful in that stretch. He definitely didn't deserve to be part of the World Cup team if the roster was selected during that time. Thats why, when you review the early posts of this thread, its not so silly. His form from August to March was awful.
If he is on the squad, then you are wrong. There is no "minimum pre-WC by 6 months form" test in the professional soccer world. It's a silly benchmark that doesn't exist. As I posted someplace, it was clear Demps was not a Gazza in China situation. Some folks thought he came to MLS because he lost his "drive" or "grit" or something. I bet it's cause his kids were at that age you want to start thinking about where you will spend their school years - and he had a great opportunity. Anyway - Demps is clearly upping his game for the USMNT and Seattle and my guess is he has a very good sense of his own clock and what he has to do to get his 31 year old self at the place he needs to be to give Brazil his last, best WC go. We shall see.
Some folks thought he came to MLS simply because he was offered more money, period. Same thing with Bradley. To me Dempsey upped his game when he played vs. Toronto and Bradley schooled him in the first half on how to play for what you are getting paid for. In the second half he came out a different player. enough said.
Enough what said? If Demps had the ability to up his game simply after being schooled by a good player, he was going to up his game after the Mex friendly anyway. I'm not going to belabor this, because it will play out how it plays out, but there were any number of sane, rational folks who posted more than once that it was silly to make any pronouncement on Demps "form" based on a few months after a big life/career change, esp given his clear previous history as a soccer player. My guess is those that held that view will out.
He could have upped his game at Fulham, not sure why it took him this long, maybe is just coincidence that it happened vs. Bradley, maybe not but I noticed it. Bradley didn't missed a beat when he came back, why it did for Dempsey? Did he think he was going to get specially treatment in a league where is played more physical? I think he finally saw himself in the mirror for what he really was and decided to make a change, Bradley was his wake up call, I think.
I was just amused people question Dempsey. If people have followed his career or were old enough to follow his career, he always (i mean always) has found a way to succeed. Only other player who seems to have had this trait is the player who might be a robot.
It's like a movie! A man at the desperate precipice of his career. He faces his old demons - is near death, but a half-time look in the mirror transforms him! I will not be abused by Michael Bradley! To be schooled by a hairless cyborg - that is beyond all that human. I must stand up for rural rapping soccer players everywhere. I am THE DEUCE! Music swells as the teams return down the tunnel - and Clintinho is back!! Or, maybe it's just not so easy to flip a switch and play brilliant soccer every single time to walk on the grounds. Maybe you have to adjust a bit. Maybe you can't maintain top intensity every outing. Maybe you sat on your balls at breakfast. Who knows. But it was pretty clear to many of us that writing off Clint based on a few months of MLS play and a couple of games for one of the worst EPL teams in recent history was premature.
Or he was just injured last season and finally got back into form. This is the guy who played games with a broken jaw before telling someone it hurt.
For some posters, there was an ulterior motive of having their guy usurp Dempsey's spot, so there was some investment in the storyline of Dempsey being past it overnight, despite how implausible that was.