Good read. Clint Dempsey is a beast that has just woken up from hibernation! This tooth and nail attitude is something we could use more of for the Nats. It seems like, at least for now, Dempsey has relegated Donovan to RM. Is it just me or does it feel like players are catching up to Donovan in quality? Isn't it terrible to say that our best player plays for a bottom of the table team in MLS? Maybe we won't be saying that for too much longer. Go Deuce!
i liked it until the last line....no need to even whisper the word injuries when talkinga bout one of our most important players.
I was at the game on Sunday and Dempsey was very quiet until that goal. I was screaming for him to get more involved all game long. That's my only beef with him. He seems to let himself drift out of the games sometimes. It's as if he's bored.
I was there too and to me it seemed like he was doing a good job making runs and winning headers, but maybe that's just me. I certainly wouldn't describe his performance as very quiet. It was more a matter of Brazil having more possession and a lack of quality service from the US midfield than Dempsey being quiet.
really good article, thanks. i think part of Dempsey's drive is the need to prove himself. living in New England, I've quite a few articles and interviews he did for the Revs. he was never the chosen one, and he always had to work his way onto whatever team he was a part of. and that has carried over into this stage of his career. i feel since the desire to prove himself has been with him for so long, he'll keep going. at least i hope so for the Nats.
Thanks for posting this; a great read. In semi-related, I was in the section this past Sunday as well and someone had a shirt with Deuce's face on it that read "Straight Ballin'". Anyone have any idea where this came from? As I want ten. (Not actually ten, but you know...)
Good article. Dempsey does need to be an attacking mid, as he said. Forwards have somewhat of a disadvantage in that the amount of time they have on the ball in large part depends on the play of the defense and midfield. To the extent that he's quiet, much of the responsibility falls on the failure to get the ball forward. Dempsey needs the ball at his feet with space in front of him where he can either go at people using his skills or distribute the ball. He is developing quite the finish as well.
this is a great thing happening to the us nat team ever. young guys are becoming starters in their euro clubs (dempsey, beasley, etc.) to keep them self competive and improving at the international level. and with promising young talents moving up the ranks (adu, jozy, etc.), guys like Donovan and EJ will soon realize that they need to head oversea to improve their games, otherwise they will be watching the us team on tv rather than playing in it. gone are the days guys like them can cruise along in the MLS just on some talents and expect to be starter on the nat team. with the emergence of Dempsey (and soon Jozy) at fowards, EJ would soon spend his time on the bench at most. and if there's any talented right winger that emerges in the next two or three years, i wouldn't surprise to see Dovonan hitting the bench as well. i just love what's taking place now, and in the forseeable future of the us nat team.
I will agree that went up for a lot of headers but I didn't see him win any to be honest. Don't read this as a hater post either. I love Dempsey's game when he's on. He one of the only guys on the roster who will willingly take guys on straight up. You are 100% correct on the possession and when we did finally gain it, we didn't do much. The service balls to him that he could run to were poor to begin with. Can't fault him for that.