He's still a very good player, but it seemed clear to me this year that he has lost that 5th gear that allowed him to run by even world class players. Wouldn't it be nice to 'lose' your speed, still be one of the fastest guys on the field and have to rely on great technique and vision? I wish I had aged that way. Now Beasely, he's just doing the Energizer Bunny thing...
Okay everybody, we need to define this. My guess: it's an attacking move with the ball that involves flicking the ball up with your heel, pinching it with your butt cheeks and then backing into the goal while the keeper is too grossed out to do anything but grimace.
I didn't get to see the game but from the reports he hardly had many touches and the few chances he got in scoring positions he didn't do so well. Sounds like current Dempsey. Should we make another line in the sand?
I watched the whole game. If you changed his shirt to green and increased the crowd size, it would have been no different than any of his Seattle games last season. His work rate continues to be average at best and for what ever reason, his ability to create a shot window for himself continues to be almost nil. He is just so slow with the ball at his feet around the box which is likely a combination of his skills eroding and his confidence at an all time low.
Klinsmann was on a call yesterday where he again talked about Altidore, Dempsey, Jones, Bradley and Howard as the spine of the team. He said that those are the players he expects to pick up the others, that when things aren't going well on the field to make something happen. Clint needs to get to 90 minute fitness to fulfill that expectation.
Would've been a decent showing if that was his first or second match of the loan. Least he got a chance to play a final game, though.
How often have you heard the match commentator calling a player "a stroller on the pitch"? That's how he described Dempsey in the second half and I couldn't agree more. To be honest, Dempsey has been strolling a lot in the last year and a half.
To be fair, Tony Gale is an ex-Fulham player who must be concerned of their position at the bottom of the table so likely to be hyper-critical of perceived lax effort by any Cottagers. He is also an ex-defender which may have had something to do with his frustration and comments on the play where Clint has the ball around midfield and LB Richardson had just sprinted 40 yds to support him square towards the touchline. Clint gives him a pass that slows the entire play down and then kind of stands there and looks at Richardson like he should just start sprinting again and dribble down the wing another 40 yds instead of making a run to support him. Richardson has no options to pass, throws up his hands like "WTF?", and winds up knocking it backwards. This probably brought back some bad memories for Gale of unappreciated runs up and down the flank and lazy effort by a few prima donna middies and so the comments. I think Clint was gassed very early in the second half, and that had much to do with his lack of touches and ability to do much with the ball the few times he did get it. One of the trainers for the USMNT during the BB regime pointed out that Clint is not a natural runner like Donovan and Bradley and had to work extra hard (which he did) to achieve a similar level of fitness. I wouldn't doubt that work is even harder for him at age 30.
The Richardson play kind of sums up Clint's decline in the past 8 months; he would never have made that kind of chance-killing pass back in his Fulham heyday. It seemed to indicate a loss of basic football smarts as well as a loss in form and fitness, and Dempsey, if nothing else, has always possessed sound football intelligence on the field.
The Ukraine match will be huge for Clint. If he doesn't put up a decent performance, I think Johansson take his spot.
This brings me great joy... Craven Cottage homecoming. @FulhamFC welcomed back @clint_dempsey today. #ThankYouDeuce x #Fulhamerica pic.twitter.com/qfWgZWKFnc— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) September 22, 2018 although on second watching his body language suggests he's a bit lazy and doesn't want to be there...
I was hoping he'd walk out, rip off his jacket and show that he's wearing a Fulham jersey and has just re-signed for them.... oh well....nice dream...
14 years to the day since we signed the brilliant @clint_dempsey! 🇺🇸This dipping half volley or that free kick? #FFC— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) January 11, 2021
totally forgot he went to Fulham again after Spurs.... yeah a great player - not just the quantity of goals but the quality and in big games too... scored against Juventus, Man U, Chelsea, etc....