Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level Having not watched the game, but watched these highlights, I'd offer up that Dempsey did far more in his goals than Lampard did in his - despite Lampard's free kick being solid. It doesn't take much to run into the ball after the keeper and his centerback run into one another.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Haven't had a chance to see CH since WCQ as Fulham's games are rarely on FSC, and I'm not stubborn enough to look him up on the streams. Followed his game logs enough to know that he is starting regularly. Threw on FSC's replay of the game an hour ago just to watch him, and not knowing his number, couldn't spot him on the field despite knowing he was a midfielder. The hair totally threw me. Interested to know what BSers think about the mane.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] I don't know maybe he could go with something like this
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] OK that header placement - while marked and falling backwards - was world class.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] full game highlights here...http://www.footytube.com/
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] I see Clint playing a little LW, maybe we could slide him over to that position on the national team?
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Since we are now analyzing if a brace is actually dumb luck or what not, I'd say that Lampard really got lucky on his two lame goals. The free kick was decent, but it should have been an easy save for the keeper. It was really a gift. The first goal was a lucky tap in to an open net. My pet cat could have put that one away by simply running straight at the bouncing ball.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level This is my take as well. Some of the descriptions here make it sound as if Dempsey's first goal just required him to stick his foot out. It was a bit harder than that. Definitely more challenging than Lampard's first goal. Yes, it's something you would expect all EPL players to be able to to do; but they still have to actually execute, and I imagine there are quite a few players out there who would manage to make a mess of that. It was a nice goal.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Both of Dempsey's goals were nice. The first was clever and a bit cheeky. Good coordination and a quick decision by Dempsey to slot that home with three big bodies right off his shoulder on the goalline. The second was also very agile and athletic, perfectly placed header. And, Dempsey showed the best composure and skill of any other player for Fulham. It's great to have a US field player capable of such a quality display at this level. That all having been said, Chelsea did dominate the flow of that game and were unlucky to not have scored a couple of additional goals. This happens all the time in soccer, and in all sports. Sometimes the better team misses on its chances. Sometimes the weaker team gets a gritty or lucky result. It's part of what makes sports so much fun. Enjoy the moment.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] My take on CD's first goal (for whatever it's worth, probably zilch) is that while it wasn't exactly Maradona mazing thru the England defense, it was not a simple tap in from 2 feet away. What makes it a little more difficult than a simple tap in was that his back was actually to the goal. I am reasonably sure that the defender (Bosingwa (sp?)?) that was standing between Clint and the goal, and probably Cech too, thought Clint was going to chest it down and then try to turn to face the goal before trying to shoot, but instead, as we all know, Clint very cheekily poked it with the outside of his right boot into the goal. I think it surprised the defender and Cech, b/c it certainly wasn't shot at a blistering pace. That to me is why the goal is a step above the simple tap in that some posters here are making it out to be. The 2nd CD goal was brilliant, shit marking or not.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Well, I strongly believe that Clint's best role is as an AM making late runs...sorta like Baby Bradley did with Herenveen last year, or like Gerrard does so often whether Liverpool is in a 4-4-2 or their new fave, the 4-2-3-1. Having said that, it's a pretty long honking way from Steve Gerrard in that role to Clint Dempsey. Even if Clint is meant as cover to give Gerrard rest from time to time and play when he's injured, don't y'all think Liverpool would be aiming higher???
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Originally Posted by irish56 And 90% of Chelsea fans didn't know who he [Dempsey] was And just under the wire, folks, we have quote of the year. Repped!
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] We have significantly less money than you think we do. Dempsey would be a good option on either flank for Liverpool. I'm not saying it'll happen, I'm just saying.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] It was a simple tap in, if hadn't of scored from 1 yard out whilst not under pressure it would've been a terrible miss. We're talking about a professional player here. The flick with the outside of his right was born out of necessity rather than craft. A player with a good left foot would've swivelled round and faced the goal and would've taken the easier and safer finish. Dempsey is a one-footed player and felt more comfortable with the more akward finsih on his right than hitting the ball on the turn with his left. Not criticizing Dempsey at all, a goal's a goal however it goes in but it was more a display of one-footedness than a shining example of technique.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Some people in this thread are pure ridiculousness. Who gives a crap wow dominate Chelsea looked, or how much possesion they had. Its irreleveant to Demps performance. He did his job and did it well while following the match instructions of his manager. He scored a brace against arguably one of the top 5 teams in the world, who cares if they were tapp ins, routine goals or golazos? His perfoamce was top notch, in the past the manager may have subbed clint off late but he had faith in him because he was doing a terrific job on the right, instead he stayed on and had the focus and the grit to win a difficult header off a corner under pressure for the equalizer and share of the points in a west london derby game. Give the man his due and save the ultra critical and irrelevant bullshit for somewhere else.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Ahh, I meant this as kind of 'Dempsey at Fulham' thread as there really isn't one on this forum. The article was just a way to start things off. I'd expect this to be a thread to discuss subsequent games and news. Imo Deuce has come a long ways in his defense and consistency. He was always 'gritty' but not consistent in his influence on the game. Now he is consistently influential. A look at Fulham's shot charts on soccernet reveals that much of the consequential attack runs through him. On the defensive side he makes play after play tackling the ball away and making the intelligent passes. In terms of moving up to the next level I don't see him as being a Gerrard replacement but rather a true central midielder or a pinched right sided mid. Imo he's more playmaker than playtaker in the run of play. Because he's strong on the ball and can make the mid-range to deep passes, a team can run the offense through him from central midfield. In the attacking third he's a excellent at playing off of others. He doesn't have a consistent shot however.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] I'm sorry, but this is amazing to me. Chesting a ball down on the far post, taking it first time, and flicking in between Cech and the defender (pretty much hit it the only place it wouldn't have been blocked or saved) WITH his back to goal is not a good goal? It's not a golazo, but I'll be damned if that's not a classy, classy goal. Dempsey has also hit some nice shots from distance with his left this year. He's certainly a right footed player, but I would say his left food is decent enough. I'm not willing to look back at post histories, but I'm willing to wager a lot of those saying his 1st wasn't a quality goal were the same people saying Clint just wasn't good enough when he was riding pine. Stop discounting what he did, which is one of the best performances by a Yank in England, ever. 2 good goals against Chelski scum, hugely important. Plus, he's (again) on pace to lead Fulham in scoring, and has (nearly, edit, forgot Zamora had 1) scored more goals than 15+ million worth of summer forward signings. AND, just like last year, he's one of Fulham's best players. I really hope he stays. For as much as I love Clint, he's not finding a way onto a top 4 side unless he miraculous becomes pacey. That said, I could see him do well with Aston Villa and Everton. Both like playing withdrawn forwards, and Clint could definitely find a way onto the side. I want to see Clint in European play, hopefully that can happen with Fulham (unlikely without another forward addition). That's where he will shine, just like in WC06, Brazil, England. He brings it hard for big games.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] I don't get why there's a debate about the quality of the goal. It's not like Dempsey should go out of his way to make it harder just so it can get a higher score for difficulty. Lampard's first goal wasn't hard either. Being there in the first place is a big enough challenge to warrant praise.
Since 2000, the evolution of what U.S. soccer is has been fun to witness To think that an East Texas Mick like Clint Dempsey would travel all the way from far off fields like Nacogdoches, to Furman, to Gillete, to Germany, and to wind up at Craven Cottage fighting for some clock, to then go on to be the Fulham response to Chelsea's Frank Lampard in a solid 2-2 match yesterday is all truly remarkable. His grit and determination to advance in his soccer career is story book material and should be required reading for all youth soccer players in our nation. Like Santi from the movie Goal!; 'cept Clint Dempsey is a real life poor kid from a real life poor side of town in the East Texas woods. A soccer ball was his outlet with his buddies, I recall he spoke in a previous interview years back about growing up that "soccer was like freeze tag in his neighborhood."...everyone played all the time. This type of player in the U.S. National Team pool is a new twist on where our nation is growing its most talented footballers. For too long the knock on the U.S. culture for soccer is that it is too suburban, too soft and very often too unimaginative. These traits, as reported by the ignorant U.S. sports mass media, are said to be a main factor in the U.S. National Team's inability to match the creative and often street smart combativeness in other nation's National Teams filled by poor boys turned pro soccer men. I like to think that in the last 8 years, the U.S. National Team members that have often shown the most creativity and lethal cunning on the field are the exact responses to this claim that our U.S. National Team is too top heavy on the suburban groomed player and not the urban/poor kid type of player. The guys that have come from single working moms and or poorer neighborhoods like Clint Dempsey, Donovan, Clint Mathis, and EJ (when in NT form years ago) are a welcome answer to this critical assesment from the ignorant media and as well the actual correct response from the player development pyramid in the U.S. where too often urban talent is never spotted. btw, both of Dempsey's goals yesterday were tidy. Not upper 90 fully volley finishes from 30 yards or the like but certainly tidy, well taken goals that saw the ball go exactly where he was certain he wanted to place them. To grumble against Clint's finishing versus Chelsea is idiotic.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Umm...wrong. Shining example of technique? Perhaps not, but the opportunity didn't lend itself beautiful technique. Shining example of good finishing, body awareness, and speed of thought? Yeppers. Had he gone with your "technically superior" left-footed shot, it would have taken more time and exposed the ball. A more likely result is the ball being stuffed into the body of the defender or 'keeper...assuming, of course that it wasn't cleared away well before the left foot ever makes contact. It was excellent decision-making under high-pressure, he kept the ball shielded and then placed it in the gap between the defenders...with intent. Gerd Muller would approve mightily.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level It happens quite a bit. It isn't just about the match being a draw, but sometimes you'll see 1-0 results, with the winner having 60-70% of the posession and the vast majority of shots and the better of game-play, cutting the defense open numerous times but whatever reason (poor finishing, spectacular goal-keeping), failing to score as many as they **should**. Having said that, sometimes it only takes a moment to change the result of a match and all of the posession and opportunities are all for naught if on those one or two occasions, you lose focus and concede a penalty or a goal. I remember when Brasil won copa America in 2005 or so, and Argentina controlled the match - it was virtually a route. But... Brasil ended up winning the match because in teh last moments, Adriano over-powered the defense for the last goal, and then they went into PK's and Brasil won. It happens. You must be related to Ricardo LaVolpe. Actually, the only one who said it was a 'garbage' goal was the US fan here that was taking cismerz's comments completely out of context. So there really isn't a point there - I think you may be just a little upset that he's not quite as excited or impressed as some of the fans here are, because the dig at 'several' teams is very silly since a lot of US fans have as many, if not more than he does. IMO Dempsey's first was well taken. He held up composure and did what he should have done - chested it down and just tapped it in. So much of the sport is mental, so that he kept his calm was good to see. There are plenty of other forwards - and US forwards at that - who would have ruined what should have been an easy finish. But, to me, the bigger deal there is what the deal is with Jon Obi-Mikel, who has this horrendous habit of falling asleep at the worst possible moments and did it yet again. His mental lapses really are shocking - from dreadful midfield give-aways to poor marking in dangerous times of the match. He's costed Chelsea a few points now. The last goal was also a good finish. For Dempsey, what's most impressive is that he did it against one of the best clubs in the world. It's good to see because he looks more relaxed on the field this year than he did last, and if the same opportunity were there last season (for his first goal), I'm not so sure he would have finished it.
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Alex_1 could you change the title to 'Clint Dempsey at Fulham:[R]'?
Re: Clint Dempsey: I have showed I can play at this level [Chelsea R] Yes, a professional player who finds himself in that situation should be capable of scoring that goal. That's not the same thing as a "simple tap in". No aspect of Dempsey's first goal qualifies as a "simple tap". He took the ball at chest height - rather unexpectedly - with his back to goal. A "simple tap in" is when the ball bounces right to you a few feet in front of goal as you run towards the goal. Something an unaccomplished high school player couldn't ******** up. That is a "simple tap in". What Dempsey had to do was not that. And promptly smashed the ball into the onrushing Petr Cech, having taken too long to act. What Dempsey did was unconventional and smart. He reacted quickly in a situation where speed mattered. Most players would have opted for what you call the "easier and safer finish", which ironically would have made it a "tap in"... except for the fact that Cech most likely would have arrived on the scene to spoil the chance by then. I hope to god you don't coach, because you probably would have tried to smother the unconventional nature of Dempsey if you ever coached him; something there is far too much of in US coaching already. If one of my kids had done that back when I coached HS ball, I would have been delighted.