Keller, Bocanegra, Dempsey: Wigan v Fulham (09/15) [R]

He intentionally didn't look up. He was trying to catch the goalie napping in a sense.

I think the whole gamble Clint made was to shoot the ball quickly and catch the keeper still coming out to narrow the angle (thus my comment about dead foot on the goalie...a valid gamble by Clint..I won't guess the odds, but one does see this work), VERSUS settling, taking a 1/2 sec and blasting.

The latter a strategy can also can also work, but you can also get the ball stripped by an on-coming defender, blocked by goalie or sky it either high or wide.

I agree with you he could have done a little (not a lot) better, but since he did a really good job in getting in position to create the chance from midfield to begin with- can't fault him too much. It never was silver platter stuff, and he didn't totally blow the shot either. Oh well...

I am not sure if I believe this is all anti-American driven, but I do laugh at how even on our own precious BS board, people focus on all of the misses. I mean, 3 games --> 3 goals. Best player on the Fulham squad so far. One of the better finishers in the EPL at this point. And people are critical of his work product????

I dont get it.. what strike % are people expecting? I would think 10% in the goal is pretty damn good.. 4-5 shots/game, that is a goal every other game. What would make people happy? 60%? 80%? 100%? (oh no, that last one is waaay too unrealistic).. At least the f'er is taking shots and scoring in the Prem.

So far this season, the general impression of Demps from Fulhamfc.com and British media is as follows:

1. over-rated, unmotivated, cant kick his way out of a paper bag -->
2. unbelievable, magic on the ball, great finisher, most exciting player on Fulham-->
3. how many easy shots can the wanker miss?

I predict, over the next 2 rounds, he will be called the next Ronaldhino (or Ameridhino). Then over the next 2 rounds he will be called the most wasteful, flash in the pan ever in the Prem. And the cycle will continue. For ever.

So, I dont buy into it. I just watch him, smile when I see his name on the scoreboard, and continue hoping that he will grow in skill and stature over the next few seasons.

Just for the record, BBC mentions Howard's two missed headers in the first 3 or 4 paragraphs and discusses Miller's "stage fright" in the box or some such hackneyed cliche in the opening paragraph or two.

So, I sit back and read the "us poor Americans, they all fixate on how we suck and no one" and then I spit warm Pabst Blue Ribbon out my nose (while firing a semi-automatic glock, of course) and beat my wives.

It was actually the way he settled the ball.

Him being a right-footer, he should have settled Kamara's pass with the outside of his left foot (without letting it rebound too far toward the defender). That should have allowed him to shoot the ball in stride with two more steps.

He took it with the inside of his left foot and that pushed him too wide and far right. Kirkland saw that, came out to cut down the angle and managed to get his foot on it.

I am not sure an experienced striker takes that shot. With the keeper coming out that far, many would hit it hard and high and try to blow it past him.

But, if you wanted to go low to the far corner, you need to hit it with the outside of your right foot or with the inside of your left and aim into the side netting. Clint chose the instep/top of the foot, which resulted in a straight shot.

http://www.footytube.com/2007/09/15/wigan-vs-fulham/

Are you talking about the chance from this video? If so, I don't understand several of your comments (they don't make sense in this context)

Hehe ... he did take take it with his right instep, which took him to his right and only took one step before the shot ... for some reasons, it seemed more ... I think I was right on the shot however.

I must stop watching those one inch Flash videos off Fox's site.

Glad I got to see the highlight. 'Sitter' my arse. To beat the keeper he would he have needed to go upper 90, like Owen in WC France '98. Definately not 'standard'.

Oh it was definitely a kick save on a shot heading low and to the far post. It was basically a coin flip whether a shot like that gets past the keeper, which is why I thought Clint was unlucky on that one.

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/7107088

It made the 3rd best "Save of the Week" (small video screen but they slo-mo the replay).

Not sure if it was as deserved as other saves ... Kirkland stood his ground and didn't really move much ... Clint semeed to have scuffed it a little ... but it was definitely going in.

PS. Guess who made the "top save"?

Same guy who made the 5th best save.

The beauty of not having established himself as Wayne Rooney is that he also hasn't established himself as Andriy Shevchenko in the EPL. To the extent that you believe that Rooney deserves different standards for having established himself as a proven striker, Dempsey would conversely deserve to be shielded from being over-scrutinized since he hasn't established himself as a bad striker.

Yes, Dempsey hasn't established himself in either direction...b/c he really just started playing in the EPL. Go figure.

He's establishing himself as we speak. He may very well turn out to be a dud. But given his record so far, there's no logical reason to be any more critical of the guy than one would of any other player in the EPL.

4 goals in the equivalent of 7 full games on a crap team like Fulham, often playing out of position. What a scrub. Back to MLS, Clint.

Did I say anyone said anything like that?

Who said you said anyone said anything like that?

I just have to say "what he said." Which is not to say "I just have to say what he said."

10% is horrible, 17% is average, 20% is good, 25% is great, 33% is Ruud van Nistelrooy territory.

Yeah, analyze away. Take note however that one aspect of analyzing US players is how they are generally scrutinized as players in Europe by the press/fans here and abroad. That is the aspect which I'm addressing.

If the phenomenon that I speak of is hard for you to understand, then I'm not sure how to help you with your failure to comprehend. Fact is, many recognize this issue and I've even heard of it mentioned by the players themselves from time to time. Nobody's saying you don't have a right to deny the existence of the problem. You're free to do so.

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/jozy-altidore-patience-patience/

50% would be in Gerd Müller's territory.

No, you just sound like you are a preening, argumentative, nitpicking killjoy.
Which, in fact, you are. About everything.