Clint Dempsey: What's His Problem?
Probably the greatest US player, Clint Dempsey quit an imposing career at
Fulham then Tottenham to play for Seattle in the MLS. His first game was
Sunday vs. Toronto. Why would he do this to himself?
The Politburo weighed in….
From Silly Point
As a Spurs fan, an American and most of all a fan of the football, this is a disaster. However, I'll take Dempsey at his word. He was homesick. He wanted to be the
American face of MLS football. Messers. Beckham and Henry are nice but they
are a bit long in the tooth and plus they talk funny.
In my very view he's the greatest US international who has ever played. Landon
Donovan scored big goals, but so has Dempsey. While LD couldn't cut it at
Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Everton, Dempsey excelled at Craven Cottage
and White Hart Lane. There have been successful Yanks aboard - John Harkes,
Brad Friedel, Tim Howard... even Michael Bradley is up there for me. But I see
no credible argument for anyone other than our boy from Texas as tops
From BR....
I think he was stuck on a squad that was not building around him and had far
more weapons than they know what to do with... he seemed to score just about
every time they subbed him in for a few minutes... he does not seem at all like the
kind of guy who likes to sit on the bench and wait for his chance, probably would
have been happier with a team that needed him more.
I am sure that he will benefit from being much closer to the USMNT facilities in
LA ahead of the World Cup and that he will be happy to actually get on the field. I am not buying the homesick bs - he is a competitor - he is no homesick pussy
like Donovan. He is the anti-Donovan and I like him that much more for it. He is
our working class, roll your sleeves up, kind of player.
Howard is great... Altidore may redeem himself in his second shot in the EPL...
but Dempsey was arguably the best midfielder in English football in his last
campaign at Fullham. Dempsey is the closest thing we have to a real
footballer and I think it is sad to see him in MLS. He is better than MLS - and
that is not meant to be a slight to the MLS - he should be in England.
I am hoping he has an out after the World Cup run... he is still in his prime - he
should do the victory lap when he is 35.
Oh... and the greatest goal of his career will be the one he scores to get them into
the semis next summer Z!
From Die Scottschaft
And Dempsey's sweet header against Juventus in the Europa Cup semis might be
his biggest.
Big fish in a small pond. I thought Dempsey was a bit more ambitious than that.
From Roy’s Keen
Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again
off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of ……White Hart Lane?
What is the fate of the exiled hero? To endure almost every test and return home
far more a man than he was when he left. .
The parallels between Dempsey and Odysseus are too many to count. Res
medias, his story starts in the middle, age 30, known more for his resourcefulness
and cunning than his strength or youth. Our hero has spent 7 years wandering in
battle overseas, encountering one eyed giants like Balotelli, sorcerers such as RVP
and cannibals (Luis Suarez), been tempted by the deadly siren songs (Champions
League) and despite falling in love with a seductress (the EPL) and breaking
some faces he can still see the futility of languishing on a remote island (the
bench of an average team) when there is an empire to build back home.
Personally speaking, I could’nt give a shyte about this story. First and foremost I
am a Gooner and second, the only league I truly care about is the Champions,
therefore, this is merely a tertiary spot on my radar.
But take note friends, this story is playing out in the most traditional pattern, a
symbol of our collective inner journey. There comes a time in every man’s life
when he must ask himself, who am I and what do I want to be, what am I doing
here? That is the Cyclops we must all confront.
Invoke the muse with your questions and it will reveal Dempseus has been tested,
has triumphed and can finally return home to be born again as king of MLS.