Who’s creating chances? Colin knows. Possibly. Not sure that it tells us too much yet, but something to keep an eye on. As with most of these statistical looks, it’s another small insight into a big game, but the more we know the more we know, right?
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David Healy -54,000
Love the website
Love the American input and perspective
Think many of the posts are exceptionally insightful
But find the exaggeration of Dempsey’s abilities and potential influence on the team’s fortunes a little bit tiresome
Is this unreasonable ?
I’ve always been a fan of Dempsey from a US national team perspective, but I actually wasn’t too excited when we signed him. Claus Jensen and Michael Brown were playing well, I was still hopeful of Diop returning to form, and Jimmy Bullard was *allegedly* close to returning. At the time, I thought he was a limited but possibly useful bench player. Since then, he’s improved in all of the areas I saw as his shortcomings, and enough to deserve a starting place (or at least an opportunity) in a few Premiership midfields.
I’d still take an in-from Bullard or Murphy any day, but if either of those two (or Davies, or Gera) aren’t at their best, I think we have a more than adequate replacement.
Martin, I actually feel like Dempsey is very much under appreciated. I am way, way biased towards him, but when you look at the contribution he has made, say last year, when he was placed alone at the top with little help, and what he does with the 15 minutes a game he gets now, compared to some of the guys that start and don’t accomplish much, some of us really don’t get why he doesn’t play a lot more.
It leads me to believe in an irrational bias AGAINST him.
However, I do agree that the subject has grown quite tiresome (frustrating), and I really wish Fulham would trade him to a team that would appreciate his efforts.
Derek: a trade from Fulham is probably the worst thing for Dempsey right now. He’s only 25. And a player like him shouldn’t be rushed.
I have long been frustrated by the boostering that we’ve seen of the American players at Fulham by their countrymen, because, like Scandinavian players, they’re generally average. And I am happy that by-and-large we’re staying away from them. But Dempsey is different. To me, there’s something of the Beardsley about him.
Like Beardsley it took some time for him to begin playing top-flight football (Beardsley was 23 when he got into the first division, so was Dempsey) and also like Beardsley there is no consensus as to whether he should be playing in midfield or up front. Although Dempsey doesn’t have Beardsley’s pace, he’s got Beardsley’s control, work-rate, and footballing brain (i.e. eye for a pass and ability to make space where there shouldn’t be any). I’ve liked what I’ve seen of him when he’s been played in the hole and think that’s where he could end up.
Another comparison could easily be made with Eider Gudjohnsen.
So I disagree entirely with those who think he is limited or that he should move. I just think he just needs careful handling and some more games to work the MLS out of him. And in a couple of years, with the right strike partner and a bit more experience I think he could really emerge.
I’m enjoying this interchange. I always smile when I read that we let our biases color our view of football and of Fulham.
I am a huge Dempsey booster, but he can only play at his best directly behind the front two as the point of a diamond midfield. We don’t play that formation — and don’t look likely to — and so we’re doomed to not getting the best of him. I know that Deuce will have a good career before he hangs them up, and I hope that he makes his major contributions with us. If he doesn’t, that’s the way it is.
As for American players, their advantage is that they’re fit, they’re disciplined, they’re coachable, and they’re cheap to purchase and pay. They’re not overly-creative because they’re schooled in the team concept from birth. From what I’ve seen over the last 15-20 years [things were different in my day], each of those positive and negative attributes makes Americans the polar opposites of their English counterparts. As easy as it is for me to wish that an American player had Bullard’s creativity, cockiness, and individual brilliance, it’s that easy for me to wish Bullard had the American discipline and maturity.
Swings and roundabouts.
One of the confounding things about this game is that few people agree with each other about who is good or bad, or what people should be doing on the field. This is even more apparent when you play club ball. I really don’t think any other sport suffers from a greater lack of consensus!
HatterDon: That’s exactly why I likened American players to Scandinavian ones. They’re so similar — particularly with the Scandinavian imports of the 1990s — that it’s quite incredible. If you want a fit, solid pro (or a world class keeper) America’s your place. They make the perfect Premiership squad player or Championship first-team regular. The only reason I’m happy we’ve stopped buying them is that the noise on the blogs has drowned out a fair bit (replaced by madcap frenzy for Hodgson’s head).
Still, I don’t necessarily think Dempsey has to play at the head of the diamond. They said the same about Joe Cole, and look what playing inside-left has done for him. Somehow, though, I see him as a number 10 like Gudjohnsen or Beardsley. The boy can score scrappy goals. That ability should not be underestimated. And, while I think he’s got quality, I’m doubtful that he has sufficient quality to be the man around which an entire midfield and attack is structured, which is the effect of playing the diamond.
Also, funny to hear someone wish their country’s midfielders had the creativity of the British! I suppose things have changed a lot since the days when Gazza and Matt LeTis were the only hope we had of scoring goals through something other than pure brawn or pace.
Yeah, I thought that. We were brought up for years with no other goal than to welly the ball as far as we could!
Dempsey’s ability to score scrappy goals is why I rate him. The game is, after all, about scoring goals. If someone can bag you a few goals he’s worth having around. Shame he’s not getting more of a look in.
Away from home I’d have no objection to playing Dempsey behind Zamora and forcing Andrew Johnson and his pace out on the right. Think it would make us both more solid and more likely to score goals. Johnson would almost certainly object though.