Clint Dempsey is good at......

[RichSpur58]

Why is everyone hammering Dempsey.

If I remember rightly, Dempsey is this years Rasiak. This thread should be "Is Levy taking the piss?...again?

 

[AngerManagement]

He was poor today, again

Sig looked considerably more classy when he came on, but then it was probably easier to look good when fresh against 10 men who were pretty much beaten.

Dempsey puts the effort in and he's a useful member of the squad, he probably wasn't worth signing and I am certain we could have found better but now he's here we should support him for what he is (a decent and hard working squad member who will be useful during his time with us)

 

[Khilari]

I really disagree with all the Dempsey hate here. He's not a liability. He's also popped up with rather important goals to pick us up points.

He isn't Rafa - I don't think anyone expected him to be, but now in hindsight it is rather more obvious as to why we had to sell VdV.
He's also been played out of position from his preferred role and now, having to step up as lone striker which clearly is hard for him doesn't make it fair to judge him on these performances.

I don't think he's necessarily good enough to help us secure 4th but, neither is Sigurdsson, Holtby has only just joined and needs time to bed in and the Defoe / Adebayor combination just hasn't worked for us thus far.

Most agree he isn't one of our better players with regards to our style of play, the overwhelmingly negative comments are a little excessive. He's our player till the summer at least and still provides us with an attacking option, more importantly now given JD's injury.

 

[lol]

him and defoe are perfect as super subs. just to come in and nick a goal at the end. not starting quality though

 

[WiganSpur]

him and defoe are perfect as super subs. just to come in and nick a goal at the end. not starting quality though

Yes, with Holtby/Sig behind Ade as starters

 

[Khilari]

Dempsey was a desperate last minute purchase by Levy after he had sold VdV and subsequently failed in his 'attempt' to sign Moutinho. Completely pointless signing.

Apart from his vital goals against Man Utd and Southampton away. For having scored the goal which had us injury time away from an away win against Everton.
For scoring twice in the FA Cup tie against Coventry?
For equalising in the 93rd minute against Man Utd?
For scoring our only goal as we were dumped out of the cup by Leeds and giving us a chance of a comeback?

Or the 4 assists, one of which was a delightful chip for a Defoe finish this season...?

I don't normally bother 'disliking' or 'disagreeing' but your post really is the typical kneejerk reaction that annoyed me today.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

He was poor today, again

Sig looked considerably more classy when he came on, but then it was probably easier to look good when fresh against 10 men who were pretty much beaten.

Dempsey puts the effort in and he's a useful member of the squad, he probably wasn't worth signing and I am certain we could have found better but now he's here we should support him for what he is (a decent and hard working squad member who will be useful during his time with us)

He doesn't work hard, he doesn't put a shift in and he is no use to the squad. I have been totally underwhelmed by him and this is me being generous.

 

[louisg]

I really disagree with all the Dempsey hate here. He's not a liability. He's also popped up with rather important goals to pick us up points.

He isn't Rafa - I don't think anyone expected him to be, but now in hindsight it is rather more obvious as to why we had to sell VdV.
He's also been played out of position from his preferred role and now, having to step up as lone striker which clearly is hard for him doesn't make it fair to judge him on these performances.

I don't think he's necessarily good enough to help us secure 4th but, neither is Sigurdsson, Holtby has only just joined and needs time to bed in and the Defoe / Adebayor combination just hasn't worked for us thus far.

Most agree he isn't one of our better players with regards to our style of play, the overwhelmingly negative comments are a little excessive. He's our player till the summer at least and still provides us with an attacking option, more importantly now given JD's injury.

Why did we have to sell VDV?

Also what is Dempsey preferred position?

 

[SelbYido]

Why did we have to sell VDV?

Also what is Dempsey preferred position?

His wife lives in Germany and he wanted to spend more time with her. And Dempsey was most effective cutting in from the left at Fulham, I think.

 

[Khilari]

Why did we have to sell VDV?

Also what is Dempsey preferred position?

As above (SelbYido)

Seems Rafa and his wife were having marital issues and there were quite a few rumours prior to his sale that he wanted to go back to Germany to be closer to her, as she had continued her TV career there.

You would have thought though that Dempsey would flourish more in the No. 10 role rather than cutting in from the left, but he hasn't so far.

 

[Dembele'Disciple]

It should be clear by now that Fulham is his level. Nowhere close to good enough for a club of our level.

 

[KILLA_SIN]

It should be clear by now that Fulham is his level. Nowhere close to good enough for a club of our level.

that case could be made for walker, Defoe, Dawson. And yet Dempsey has probably secured us more points than those three.

 

[Colonel Dax]

Apart from his vital goals against Man Utd and Southampton away. For having scored the goal which had us injury time away from an away win against Everton.
For scoring twice in the FA Cup tie against Coventry?
For equalising in the 93rd minute against Man Utd?
For scoring our only goal as we were dumped out of the cup by Leeds and giving us a chance of a comeback?

Or the 4 assists, one of which was a delightful chip for a Defoe finish this season...?

I don't normally bother 'disliking' or 'disagreeing' but your post really is the typical kneejerk reaction that annoyed me today.

Kneejerk? I don't think so. My response wasn't impulsive. I didn't approve of the signing of Dempsey and I still hold that view. My opinion has not wavered. Hardly kneejerk.

As I said previously, rather than signing Dempsey we should've acquired a proper striker (or a No. 10). Dempsey chips in now and again but who's to say we wouldn't have scored more goals had we signed a different sort of player?

So yeah, pointless signing. Should've bought a proper striker or a better No. 10 instead (like Holtby). Hopefully Holtby will replace Clint soon.

 

[The Spurs Lad]

I really disagree with all the Dempsey hate here. He's not a liability. He's also popped up with rather important goals to pick us up points.

He isn't Rafa - I don't think anyone expected him to be, but now in hindsight it is rather more obvious as to why we had to sell VdV.
He's also been played out of position from his preferred role and now, having to step up as lone striker which clearly is hard for him doesn't make it fair to judge him on these performances.

I don't think he's necessarily good enough to help us secure 4th but, neither is Sigurdsson, Holtby has only just joined and needs time to bed in and the Defoe / Adebayor combination just hasn't worked for us thus far.

Most agree he isn't one of our better players with regards to our style of play, the overwhelmingly negative comments are a little excessive. He's our player till the summer at least and still provides us with an attacking option, more importantly now given JD's injury.

Nobody said he was Rafa, he's not being played out of position he played the same role at Fulham. Look up the stats if you disagree with me. Nobodys judging him as a striker, he has played about 2 and a bit games there. We are judging him on his ability to pass, control and link up, any of which will do. I have never witnessed a player consistently get the ball in a vital position only to either fall over the ball or run back, then fall over the ball so often.

Nobody can fairly judge Sigurdsson yet. He played attacking midfield from the start in about 5 games at the start of the season when the entire team was gelling, we never had Dembele(arguably our best player in the most key position in the team) fit either. Sigurdsson when he has played has been given 5-15 minutes on the right or left wing which aren't his positions and has regularly looked twice the player Dempsey has both on and off the ball. Usually, in his short sting out of position he nearly scores with a good shot/header on target every time he comes on.

Apart from his vital goals against Man Utd and Southampton away. For having scored the goal which had us injury time away from an away win against Everton.
For scoring twice in the FA Cup tie against Coventry?
For equalising in the 93rd minute against Man Utd?
For scoring our only goal as we were dumped out of the cup by Leeds and giving us a chance of a comeback?

Or the 4 assists, one of which was a delightful chip for a Defoe finish this season...?

I don't normally bother 'disliking' or 'disagreeing' but your post really is the typical kneejerk reaction that annoyed me today.

This argument is what for me, sums up whether somebody understands the game or not, you cannot simply have a player in the most creative position on the pitch and base an opinion of him on tap ins and goals against lower league sides in the cup. The second choice striker may have stats similar to Dempseys here, the attacking midfielder in a 4231 formation? No chance. It's probably not worth explaining as you have already decided to base your opinion on stats and not actual gameplay however an attacking midfielder needs to drive the team forward, control the tempo, link up with everyone, create chances. 4 Assists from attacking midfield in the league is pretty damn poor.

Watch any attacking midfielder, damn watch the difference Holtby made. In that Norwich game alone, Holtby come on and had more passes in his 20 minute stint than Dempsey did in the entire 70 he had. The team as a whole doubled in playing standard and we got the goal when Holtby come on. The guy is everything an attacking midfielder should be and Dempsey simply isn't. For Dempsey to play that role he needs to be at a mid table club, not a club that needs to be able to pin teams back and create around the box. Watch back our games this season and you will see that our possession is based in the 2 banks of 4 at the back and neither Defoe OR Dempsey get involved but when they do, the usually mess it all up be either simply losing the ball or shooting recklessly.

Simply put, Dempsey isn't good enough to start for a top 4 challenging side on a regular basis and quite honestly if it wasn't for Arsenal/Chelsea getting worse yet again we wouldn't be near the top 4.

Stat time however since most Dempsey fans love these

Dempsey 5 goals 3 assists 1341 minutes.
Sigurdsson 0 goals, 3 assists 671 minutes.

Thats without mentioning the influence Sigurdsson has on actual ball retention, creativity and the amount of fantastic shots/headers hes hit that have ended up being top quality saves.

 

[WiganSpur]

I've tried to give Dempsey a chance and he's shown very occasional glimpses but for me he just doesn't suit our style of football. Some argue that linking up with Defoe is the reason but IIRC he played up top with Ade at the Etihad and he was still horrifically bad. He always seems to be the one who loses the ball because he doesn't have quick feet or much elegance. Yes, he's scored some important goals but we need a flair player in that role and Clint isn't the answer. I can only see him as a useful super sub coming in from the wide positions that could offer us something a bit more direct, but no more than that. Holtby and Sig are the ones that should be occupying that no10 role.

 

[Real_madyidd]

Stat time however since most Dempsey fans love these

Dempsey 5 goals 3 assists 1341 minutes.
Sigurdsson 0 goals, 3 assists 671 minutes.

Thats without mentioning the influence Sigurdsson has on actual ball retention, creativity and the amount of fantastic shots/headers hes hit that have ended up being top quality saves.

So Siggy hasn't scored. Bad stat.

 

[Khilari]

This argument is what for me, sums up whether somebody understands the game or not, you cannot simply have a player in the most creative position on the pitch and base an opinion of him on tap ins and goals against lower league sides in the cup...

Bit harsh - I was responding specifically to the suggestion he was "a pointless signing". Your comment sums up that you didn't take my post in context.

"Pointless" means we'd be no worse without him.
The stats above suggest he has contributed something. Aside from which the alternative options till recently haven't really added much more.

I'm not trying to suggest he's brilliant / amazing / good enough - just that the criticism against him is so over the top that some perspective was required, which was my intention.

Personally, I happen to think he's been a bit crap and doesn't do what we need but had hoped he could replicate his goalscoring exploits at Fulham and agree that someone like Holtby may add the spark of creativity we need. But the assertion that his signing was pointless is absurd.

If pointless is the assertion the other poster seems to want to stand by, then I'd simply say we'd be at least 7 points worse off if it were not for Dempsey's goals and I fail to see an alternative source of those points in the last 3 months.

 

[Khilari]

Kneejerk? I don't think so. My response wasn't impulsive. I didn't approve of the signing of Dempsey and I still hold that view. My opinion has not wavered. Hardly kneejerk.

As I said previously, rather than signing Dempsey we should've acquired a proper striker (or a No. 10). Dempsey chips in now and again but who's to say we wouldn't have scored more goals had we signed a different sort of player?

So yeah, pointless signing. Should've bought a proper striker or a better No. 10 instead (like Holtby). Hopefully Holtby will replace Clint soon.

I'd agree that we should have looked at someone more creative, but I still think your use of the word pointless is a little silly. He's not pointless as illustrated by his contribution so far. Good? Average? Below par? Crap? Well that's all a matter of opinion, but the extreme negative description was in keeping with the general crowd mentality of slagging him off, which I thought was ridiculous.

 

[The Spurs Lad]

Bit harsh - I was responding specifically to the suggestion he was "a pointless signing". Your comment sums up that you didn't take my post in context.

"Pointless" means we'd be no worse without him.
The stats above suggest he has contributed something. Aside from which the alternative options till recently haven't really added much more.

I'm not trying to suggest he's brilliant / amazing / good enough - just that the criticism against him is so over the top that some perspective was required, which was my intention.

Personally, I happen to think he's been a bit crap and doesn't do what we need but had hoped he could replicate his goalscoring exploits at Fulham and agree that someone like Holtby may add the spark of creativity we need. But the assertion that his signing was pointless is absurd.

If pointless is the assertion the other poster seems to want to stand by, then I'd simply say we'd be at least 7 points worse off if it were not for Dempsey's goals and I fail to see an alternative source of those points in the last 3 months.

The emboldened lines support the statement of mine you questioned.

 

[RichSpur58]

Is Dempsey gonna take over from Jenas as abuse magnet? Certainly looks that way.

Ya'll know it will only destroy his confidence and make him play worse.