Hey guys, I haven't seen Dempsey in many New England games, but when I have seen him play for NE, his finishing skills looked very good to me. However, in his game with the Nats against Costa Rica he had a couple of chances where he hit the ball straight at the GK. What are his real finishing skills? Is he average, good, or what I've seen tonight against Costa Rica?
I'd echo that, Dempsey has the skill to finish well but seems to lack accuracy and power sometimes. He finishes best with his head off of quality crosses. Hasn't seen many during the GC and you can see his frustration on his face after a cross goes high or wide. Like Bruce says, he's not a finished product whatsoever but the experience is definitely good for him.
I agree with yall. I think he hasn't gotten used to the level of roughness for lack of a better word that is allowed (albeit inconsistantly) in the international matches. Alot of hacking and grabbing that I don't think he sees in the MLS. He'll learn to cope with it. I think he has a much better chance than Noonan to be successful for the Nats, IMHO.
he is on the national team. that should answer your question. very unlucky against cuba where he should have scored about 5 goals and costa rica where he should have finished at least one... he will get back to form soon...
Being on the USM national team doesn't automatically qualify you as quality. Not in this country anyway. I agree however that he is a quality player. Noonan seems to be much more along the lines of a player who performs well at club level but falls short of making the jump to the USMNT. Maybe he'll turn into Steve Ralston who had something like 8 years between caps? In any case, as big a fan as I am of Noonan's, he didn't impress whatsoever in the GC. Too bad, he's really missed his chance to make a mark.
I don't think he's hurt himself - he just hasn't helped himself as much as he could have (by burying that bunny of a header he blew by the post). For a forward, half the job is getting yourself in position to score and the other half is burying the chances you get. I think he's done pretty well in the first (and has a decent record with the Revs at the 2nd). He's still in the mix.