I like Clint, a lot. And in the first half he played very well, but kind of disappeared in the 2nd half. He has played very well with Fulham as of late, but for some reason he never plays like he does with them. Maybe because of his position or the formation of the team. Anyway, I think that Clint is not a 90 min player(even though he normally plays 90 for Fulham) with the Nats. I might be wrong but after about the 70 minute mark he always looks slower and isn't involved in the attack as much. It might be because he isn't an outside mid so he has to go up and down a lot. Any thoughts? P.s. his rabona makes up for everything though. p.p.s. mod feel free to move this if it doesn't belong here.
I agree with him not being a 90 minute player with the NATs. Hell, sometimes, I'm not sure he is even a starter (like last night). I disagree on his performance last night. He was slow, his decisions were slow, and he had no real impact on the game (other than diving a couple of times). The only positive thing that I can say was that he was strong on the ball. May be I have too high expectations for him, but other than a few games, I think that he continues to underperform for the US.
I watched the replay of the game last night at 2 in the am and I didn't think he looked bad at all. And he is definately a starter. If you were picking a US team recess style he would be the 3rd or 4th picked.
What? Clint plays outside for Fulham, why would this affect him? If anything, I think the high pressure we played (to take advantage of the wind) in the first half took its toll on players.
Jesus Christ can someone please put up a video clip of Dempsey's rabona that I keep hearing about? For the life of me I can't believe I missed that
you're running with the ball you put the ball slightly ahead of you with your right foot and you bring your left foot behind and around your right leg/foot and pass/shoot the ball with it (with your left) haha, hard to follow? www.youtube.com , search for "rabona"
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpxZmjuxcbc"]YouTube - Ricardo Quaresma - Rabona Compilation[/ame]
That rabona was pretty sick, and he also did some other nifty moves. He didnt have the best game, but you can tell he has improved drastically in England, and he is the most comfortable player on the ball in the midfield and is very good for possesion. Anyone remember that sick move he pulled on Gerrard vs England?
I definitely remember that move vs Gerrard can someone PLEASE find or put a video clip of that move vs Gerrard and his rabona vs Mexico? I hate how these kinds of things are one time views only... where can I download the US vs Mexico game?
Clint should be paired with Bradley in the center of the pitch. He's a good holding midfielder. Much too slow for the outside. We had absolutely no outside attack last night. Peirce and Hedjuk squandered everything. Terrible service all night from the wingback position. Switch Donovan and Dempsey and we would have looked a lot more dangerous.
I've been saying for a LONG time that Demps is the right partner for Mikey in the Middle. We are thin at RM and Landon doesn't belong out there if we want to try to score goals from the run of play.
I haven't been saying it for a long time but I do agree since I saw Clint start out there as a deep lying midfielder for the Revs years back. Simply put, Clint in the middle is like having Tab Ramos back. Cool thing is that Bradley is light years better than Sorber, and at just 21 on top of that. So we've seen this type of pairing before on the National Team. Clint and Mike in the middle with someone in the mold of...say...Freddy out on the right would be the way I move forward for the team. I know Adu needs to be playing but y'all get the concept.
I don't remember Tab playing much in the middle. Didn't he play wide for the nats and in Spain? I'm trying to remember where he played in 1990, but I can't...in 94 he played wide. After that...I dunno. I really can't compare Dempsey with Tab much either...I understand the similarities you are trying to make, but I'm just not so sure. Dempsey is the only "NBA" player I've ever seen on the nats. It will always be appealing to imagine how a Tab Ramos or young Hugo Perez would fit in with the current USMNT.
Style over (but not without) substance...showboating...etc. Dempsey quite often will do something he finds neat when it accomplishes nothing other than putting on a show. You see stuff like this from Blanco from time to time and from players like Ronaldinho.
Perhaps going back to the Peter Vermes and Brian Bliss days but in Tabare's prime he always played at center mid for our National Team regardless of where he was being employeed at the club level. His injuries never allowed his NY/NJ teams to be lead by him as he should have. Tab was our classic #10 type of player with Harkes usually on the left, Dooley and or a Sorber were there in the middle and on the right was Earnie or perhaps Cobi. What is unique with Clint is he is a man that has the upbringing to just play where the coach needs him. Some talented footballers from other nations have to have their egos stroked and positioned where they exactly play for their club. Clint is not one of these type of footballers. He's just like a lot of us in East Texas in that he is a pick up game type of player. Creative, shows up everywhere and can sometimes be a jack of many trades but master of none type of player. His time at the Revs had him coming out of the midfield and he knows how to cover ground in the middle of the field for defensive chores. He has the technical game to play striker in the EPL and for the National Team but like a classic East Texas type of character he is an ideal utility man who can easily be sloted in where he can best serve the U.S.A. I'd just set up shop around Clint in a box midfield with Bradley and Torres behind him and Freddy (if in form) running around with Clint in free roles to pick up possesion, use their one on one skills and get into the attack. Our flank play is supported by our outside backs a la the Brasilian 4-2-2-2 concept they have perfected in that if you are going to dedicate 2 defensive mids than you can be more at ease to pinch your back line forward when the opportunity arises. I don't know if Pearce is this type of guy but 'Dolo is ideal for this role in a Bradley 4-2-2-2 set up.
You do realize that this was his 3rd game (full 90 in all) in the last week, right? Add in the short time after travel. . . and you get a gassed player after about the first hour.
Dempsey is a starter. He is technically skilled and frankly we also don't have other options at RM. Dempsey wasn't a flash of brilliance last night but he had himself a decent performance. It's not like all eleven guys are going to shine game in and game out.
Pace is not really Clint's strength. Where he gets into trouble is when he is not clean on the ball. Last night he almost had too much time at times in space and tried to do too much. When he is successful with Fulham, he plays tight and clean and then mixes up his tricks when need be. The speed of the game in the EPL forces him to play that way.
Pace, or the lack there of, is another thing that can bring Clint more into a central role. He is the best option at RM that's for sure but in Bradley's scheme what is RM these days? From last night it appeared that Dempsey was allowed to pinch in and let Hejduk use his pace and stanima to get up and down the line all night as his game more suits traditional right flank play. Well said.
It's been interesting to watch Clint grow into the speed of the English and international game. Some of what seems like slacking can also be characterized as composure. His speed of thought is so much better than it was a couple of years ago. Last night, his skill on the ball was evident. His passes were mostly quick, simple and to the right player. Despite a lot of jogging in the second half, he seemed to be in the right place for a number of strong defensive plays and was making a very good run when Donovan laid the ball back to Mike for the second goal. While I wish he wouldn't go down so easily around the box, the name of the game is to draw those fouls. Net-net, Clint needs to be on the pitch when the game matters.