Premiership Player Profile – Clint Dempsey
Its back to the Premiership player profiles, as I and fellow blogger 5stars will bring you a profile every Monday and Wednesday until we run out of ideas. Today’s player is Fulham’s American star Clint Dempsey…
The Premier League isn’t even halfway through yet, and already Clint Dempsey is on course for his most successful season in the Premier League. Dempsey has cemented a place as a fans favourite at Craven Cottage, as many youngsters have been seen with his name on the back of there shirts this season. The winger/striker is having a brilliant first half to the season, he has scored five Premier League goals so far this season, and surely he will beat his best goalscoring record for Fulham which came in the 2008-2009 campaign, where he was able to score seven times.
Dempsey has established himself as a goalscoring predator this season. Dempsey hasn’t scored a single goal outside of the eighteen yard box in the Premier League in 09/10. The American’s first goal of the season actually came in the Europa League, where he scored in the 3-1 win against Amkar Perm, Dempsey then failed to score for Fulham in eight games however in the last two months Dempsey has shone to form. Clint Dempsey has also shown fans that he can score headers, on the 25th of October this season he eventually found the net again, as he scored a well directed header in the 2-2 draw against Man City. A week later Dempsey was able to score again as Fulham heaped misery on a struggling Liverpool as Roy Hodgson’s men won the game 3-1 at Craven Cottage.
This month Dempsey has shown why he is one of the better players in the Fulham team. His passing, his skill and his finishing have all been outstanding. His next goal came against Wigan as he found the net from the penalty spot in the 1-1 at the DW Stadium, recently Clint Dempsey has been able to extended his goalscoring tally in all competitions to six, both of Dempsey’s goals against Blackburn were quality finishes as the Cottagers ran out 3-0 winners.
In some games this season Clint Dempsey has been used as a Striker by Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. That was the position where he was able to score the two goals against Blackburn, also only this weekend it seemed that Dempsey was leading the attacking line with Erik Nevland, against Bolton Wanderers in the 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage. As I have mentioned above Clint Dempsey has everything in his locker, his heading ability is very good as a header from him against Bolton was cleared off the line. Clint Dempsey also reminds me of Mikel Arteta for Everton as he uses his skill to gain his team free kicks. I can guarantee that Clint Dempsey will be involved in the Fulham set up for many years to come; the American international signed a contract extension in August as he can remain at the club until the year 2013.
As the World Cup approaches and the United States has qualified for the event in South Africa, the 26 year old will most likely be chosen in Bob Bradley’s squad, and Dempsey will most likely be an inaugural figure in the USA line up. In the middle of this year the United States were able to make the final of the Confederations Cup, and in the latter stages of the tournament Clint Dempsey was able to become one of the stars for the USA national team, as he scored three goals in three games. His first was one of three goals in the final group match, as the United States defeated Egypt with ease. Most notably Clint Dempsey bagged a goal against Spain as the United States shocked the Euro 2008 champions 2-0; his final goal of the tournament was against Brazil in the final however Dempsey was on the losing side as the Samba boys defeated USA 3-2.
Overall Clint Dempsey has been a real hit with both Fulham and the United States this year, as the winger/striker is hoping to have his most successful season with the Cottagers.
Wednesday Premiership Profile – John Carew(will be written by 5stars)
That’s a good blog about Dempsey, whom I’ve been watching for years since he became a star in the MLS. When he came to Fulham, I thought it was a match made in heaven. Dempsey was and is young and needed a better platform on which to improve his ability, and playing the premiership afforded him that chance. As for Fulham, they were getting an American with huge potential for a cut rate (compared to English players).
But when Dempsey arrived, it was made quickly apparent that while he had the talent, he wasn’t quite ready for the Premiership’s intensity. I’m not sure if it was concentration or fitness, but he just wasn’t putting in the work rate, particularly on defense. I remember watching one of his first games: Ronaldo came up the wing and, but rather than tracking back to cut him off, Dempsey made a risky gamble to steal the ball from the Man U star, only to see Cristiano dance right on by him and set up a teammate for an easy goal, a mistake that cost Fulham the game a point.
Yes, he scored the winning goal against what was essentially a Liverpool reserve team to save Fulham from relegation that 2006/2007 season, but I doubt he was please with his contribution to the team.
The following season he learned to work, but still didn’t take his defensive responsibilities seriously enough. It’s only after he started the 2007/2008 season on the bench watching guys like Zoltan Gera playing ahead of him that Dempsey started playing by Roy Hodgson’s system, tracking back and making a real effort on defense. Only then did he start getting the playing time his talent and warranted.
In the 2008/2009 season, Dempsey blossomed into one of the top three or four players for Fulham. This year he looks even more determined.
As for his future, I doubt you’ll ever see Dempsey as a starting midfielder for a big-four team, but he’s rightly getting recognition now for his creativity, toughness and talent out there. The more he succeeds, the more confidence he gets.
Need to have a bit on his early history there is nothing about where he came from except for the statement that he is from America.
Yes he is becoming a star good to see him get selected as I have been keeping an eye on him for a few seasons and seen him progress(brian dines commented this progress)
Leave your response!
Recent Articles
Categories
Popular Articles
Popular Today