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Americans Abroad: Wednesday Rewind

Clint Dempsey 6 (Getty Images) 

by FRANCO PANIZO

Clint Dempsey just cannot stop scoring.

After scoring three goals in his last four league games, Dempsey added another two en route to helping Fulham bury Blackburn on Wednesday. Dempsey netted both goals in the second half of the 3-0 win, making a well-timed run for the first, and impressively turning his defender on the second.

Dempsey's brace now brings his goal total to five in the Premiership this season, just two shy of his EPL career-high, which he posted last season.

Dempsey's goals, as well as the rest of the Americans Abroad's performances, can be seen below the jump:

  • Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes and scored two GOALS in Fulham's 3-0 win vs. Blackburn Rovers.

Original Video – More videos at TinyPic

 

  • Eddie Johnson did not dress in Fulham's 3-0 win vs. Blackburn Rovers.
  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Everton's 3-2 loss vs. Hull City.
  • Jozy Altidore started and played 75 minutes in Hull City's 3-2 win vs. Everton.

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What do you think of Dempsey's goals? Should he be playing forward with the U.S. national team? Do you want to see an Altidore-Dempsey pairing?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Dooley and Regis were both high quality.

    I expect Pops Bradley to start Ching up top next to Altidoe, with Landycakes and Dempsey as wide attacking mids and Jr. and Ricardo in the middle of the pitch. Jermaine Jones is unlikely to be ready for the Holland match, but if he is fit and in the team in SA, he would replace Ricardo in the starting lineup. As for Bornstein, he will start. Few remember the disastrous 2007 Copa America, when they lost to Argetina 4-1 — and it is something to forget, for sure — BUT, Bornstein shut down Lionel Messi in that match. That is nothing to sneeze at. Oh, and does anyone remember who scored the loan US goal in that match? The one, the only, Eddie Johnson. Do not rule him out. And do not rule out DMB, either.

    The rest of the back line will be Boca, Gooch, and Spector.

    Timmy in goal, of course.

    We’ll get through to the second round, and then you just never know. I do like our chances, though.

    USA!!!

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  2. I am a huge Findley fan, and I think he should be a WC 2010. I think he should be a 65th minute sub. He has proved to be an absolute nightmare for defenses when he comes in with fresh legs at the end of a match. I like the idea of Altidore and Dempsey starting up top, then bringing in Findley in the second half for whoever isn’t making as much of an impact.

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  3. Thanks, didn’t see Nick’s. Bottom line I want Dempsey and Donovan freed up from playing defense all the way back to goal, but not as a strike pair. I would like too see them as Messi and Handry are used, facing goal behind a striker, in a 1-2-3-4 formation.

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  4. correct you are. I was thinking of David Regis and I just misremembered that he played in Germany when he, in fact, played in France. Thanks for the history lesson.

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  5. You are confusing David Regis with Tom Dooley.

    David was the French left back who was brought in by Steve Sampson just prior to the 98 WC. His contribution to the US was not what everyone had hoped for. That competition was notable for Sampson cutting John Harkes and switching to a 1-6-3 formation just prior to the competition. How much Regis had to do with that decision isn’t clear to me but I don’t believe the US did poorly just because of him.

    Tom Dooley came from the Bundesliga in 1992, went on to play 81 games and score 7 goals for the US. He gave the team some much needed credibility and midfield stablity prior to the 1994 World Cup in whihc he played every minute. He captained the US in the 1998 World Cup and remains one of my favorite USMNT players. If Jermaine Jones can do as well as Dooley, the US will be just fine.

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  6. “An yet Bradley keeps trying to force a square block into a round hold doesn’t he.”

    Joey,

    National team coaches are forced to do that a lot. Especially when your player pool is as thin as the US’ is and the number of games and practices the coach has to experiment with are very limited. The US plays maybe 20 games a year and has very short practice times compared to say, Fulham, which has 38 League games, cup competitions and Europa competitions plus a lot more practice time in which to evaluate players.

    I hope you understand how much easier that makes it for Hodgson to evaluate, develop or find good players.

    The US is a national team. This means the coach has use the the players available to him. He can’t buy players like Maicon, or Ashley Cole or Patrice Evra.

    Bornstein seems to be the best of a bad lot. Boca is needed in central defence, as is Spector, who is much better on the right anyway(yes, he has played left back for the USMNT and he did not impress), Pearce did not blow anyone away and Castillo has only just showed up.

    Does that help you understand why Bradley is sometimes forced to stick with a less than wonderful player? Guus Hiddink or someone like him would be an upgrade from Bradley but the facts are that it’s still the same bunch of players.

    Who is your guaranteed, world class left back for the USMNT?

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  7. All of the talk of Jones reminds me of a Bundesliga player who gained US citizenship just in time for a world cup, I think in ’98. I can’t remember his name, but I think he played out wide in the midfield, but maybe on the back line. Despite the hype at the time I don’t recall him being all that significant for the USMNT. In fact, the impression that he left was so unmemorable for me that I don’t event remember his name. This all to say that I am a bit dubious on players naturalized shortly before the cup being the difference maker for our team. Their is something to be said about being part of the team building up to the cup. I’m not saying that you therefore ignore a young player who is lighting it up in the MLS and has not played with the national squad. I just think those cases are rare. And if they are an MLSer then they have probably played regularly with other USMNT contributers.

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  8. The key to the US’s success next year will be Dempsey’s role. Bradley needs to speak with Hodgson and find out how he utilizes Dempsey and then try to employ him in that role for the US. Another thing is the players surrounding Dempsey at Fulham. This is to a much greater scale, but look at Messi at Barcelona vs. Messi at Argentina. Messi looks like two different players because the supporting cast at Argentina works differently than at Barca, plus he doesn’t have Xavi and Iniesta two-stepping their way through the clogged midfield.

    So is moving Dempsey up top next to Jozy the answer? We won’t know until we try it. I personally think this would work best for Dempsey:

    A 4-2-3-1 formation with Dempsey as the central midfield/reserved forward:

    —————Jozy——————-
    Donovan———-Dempsey——–Holden
    ———-Jones——–Bradley———-
    Bornstein—–Boca—-Gooch?——-Spector

    Since Dempsey likes getting forward, having Bradley and Jones behind him will allow Dempsey to concentrate on getting into the attacking third without worrying about getting back every time we lose the ball. He also comes inside a lot since Fulham overlaps their fullbacks. The US does not overlap their fullbacks as much because they just aren’t of the caliber to do so just yet. This allows Dempsey to stay in the part of the pitch where he is most dangerous: around the top of the box.
    Another thing this formation does is put Jozy up top, but not leave him stranded. Dempsey can move alongside Jozy as he pleases with Bradley moving into the central attacking midfield role. This also puts Bradley in a more attacking role similar to his role at Heerenveen, where he scored 16 goals at just 20 years old.

    I hope Bob Bradley is able to bring in Jones and Mo in the January camp. They are key to opening up our midfield since they can hold their own as the lone holding midfielder. He really needs to experiment with Dempsey, talk to him, find out where his best position is in the USMNT. Some say Dempsey is our best field player. He certainly has the talent, but always comes up short for the US. I just hope the coaching staff can figure it out before it’s too late and we have another ’06 repeat.

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  9. I agree that ideally, a speedy, Davisessque partner for Altidore up front would be best. But the Denmark and Slovakia auditions did not show that anyone was ready to step into that role. I do recall in one of the WC qualifying Dempsy being shifted from the wing to forward as part of a second half double switch and Dempsy scoring a goal. So that seems to suggest that maybe we should not be so locked into conventional wisdom about speed to play off of size and strength up top. I would like to see that pairing for a full 45 or 60 minutes.

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  10. Madmax, my argument about a Donnovan-Dempsy pairing up top was in response to nick’s suggestion (which I’ve pasted below). So while my previous post was crazy long, I am not so crazy to as to write long essays debating suggestions that only I have made.

    “nick said…

    —-landon—-dempsey

    -benny—————holden-

    ——–jones–mikey—–

    -boca–gooch–demerit–spector

    ———–timmy”

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  11. An yet Bradley keeps trying to force a square block into a round hold doesn’t he. This is one reason why the NATs are three and out next summer

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  12. I’m not basing my opinion on the friendlies… but even in the Denmark match Jeff held up the ball much better than Jozy, at least in the first half. If we start two target guys up top, there’s is 0 chance of getting out of the group. The style the US plays MUST have a speed based forward. I’d rather see 4 combinations, above one involving Jozy at this point. Dempsey is our best target player, and more effective there. If we don’t start Donovan/Cunningham/Findley next to him, we’re going out in the group.

    Also, Holden has much better service out wide than Deuce.

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  13. My main point is that even though speed kills, Findley is too raw, and Jeff only scored after a mistake by the keeper, and didn’t do much else the rest of the game. We know that Jozy can make some things happen i.e. Costa Rica. Two friendlies don’t prove too much. Cunningham is no doubt in the pool for the U.S. but we can’t jump to conclusions.

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  14. I never said success in MLS is more substantial than in CONCACAF. The main point was: we have to have a speedy forward start, and Dempsey is a much better CF than Jozy. So, you could say, i’d rather see Holden in at RM, and Deuce as the target player, than Jozy as the target and Deuce out wide.

    That said, your line-up could very well be seen at some point (Just swap Jozy and Robbie/Jefferey).

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  15. Not so much in reply to you Isaac, but to not mess up the thread: The question is not whether Bornstein is a great, or even good left back compared to all international left backs, but whether he is the best option available to the >US< national team. The little I've seen of Castillo hasn't been that great(not really enough to be sure about him), though the flexibility of playing both wing and back, which he does for Tigres, may give him an edge to finding a place.

    Certainly that is one of the question marks for the Nats, as is depth everywhere, but given the limited times they're together you have to be careful who and how many players you add in.

    Remember, too, that only MLS and Scandinavian players are likely to be available for the January camp.

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  16. I don’t think it would make that much difference if Dempsey plays forward for the US national team, as fulham is a totally different attacking type of team then the US team. They don’t play with a forward that keeps his back to goal. The entire Fulham team moves forward in attack. So it is that style of play that helps Dempsey to be such a dangeroius threat.

    I would like to see Findley have a chance as a forward for the US team, because that second forward for the US teams style of play needs to have speed.

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  17. —Altidore———-
    ———–Dempsey—
    Donovan——–Holden
    —Jones–Bradley—-
    ??-Boca–DeMerit-Dolo
    ——-Howard——–

    I just dont know about left back. Can Castillo play there? We MUST find out. That, or Bornstein has to get much better. Or Boca needs to go on the juice and get faster.

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  18. Landon.. probably.
    Stu at this point… ah probably not. In MNT games he’s played ok / well but he’s still catching up to speed of play. We’ll know more this spring hopefully

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  19. I like your point’s on Mo/Pablo/Rico. I think that the Bradley-Feilhaber tandem is a good one too, but they need a defensive midfielder like the three mentioned above to balance them out and allow both of them to get forward without serious consequence. Torres is also a good option for this same reason, as he’s excellent in deep positions, which would be a nice reason to play him, Bradley and Rico/Jones/Mo in a trio, that way, Bradley makes the runs forward he normally does, and Torres sits deep with any of the defensive midfielders mentioned(in this extremely long paragraph). It could even be switched up so that Bradley sits deep with Torres and Rico/Jones/Mo get forward. Something like this:

    ————-Altidore—–Dempsey———–

    ——————–Donovan—————–

    ————-Bradley——-Edu————–

    ———————Torres—————–

    Bornstein————————-Cherundolo

    ————-Bocanegra—-Spector———–

    ———————Howard—————–

    yeah….

    Reply
  20. They might not applaud a player’s efforts with the words “[insert name] tallies the assist,” but they certainly give recognition to players who provide passes or crosses that lead to goals (ie. “Gerrard with a pinpoint cross that leads to a wonderful finish”). Whoever is using the SBI moniker here is severely understating the intelligence of EPL fans with regards to their football. Just because you aren’t hearing the word “assist” on a regular basis does not mean the contributions aren’t heralded.

    (SBI-Brett, who’s questioning the intelligence of EPL fans? If anything, the point was that EPL fans in general don’t get hung up stats as much as many American fans, and do appreciate all contributions of players, much like Jozy Altidore’s play that helped lead to Hull’s goal yesterday (That was what started this discussion in the first place). My point in all this was that it didn’t matter if Altidore was credited with an assist because he would still received the accolades and respect for contributing to the goal, and because fans in England don’t lean on things like an assist stat nearly as much as fans here. I suppose that it seemed a bit pointless to me for that one person to point out that Altidore wouldn’t get an assist on the play because it was a saved shot, as if that even mattered.

    And this is Ives, I’m the only one who writes under SBI in comment responses.)

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  21. I didn’t see any comments about playing Dempsey and Donovan as the two strikers. Most comments were, they should be behind Altidore/or ? high in attack. That’s not a huge change in formation or tactics by any imagination. What this does, is lessen D&D’s defensive responsibilities and puts more attacks at the feet of the most creative players. Instead of Clark or Bradley creating, Landon and Clinton create.

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  22. Does anyone really think Bradly is going to all of sudden make major changes in his starting lineup for the World Cup? Moving both Donnoven and Dempsy up top would be a major reshuffling. I personally like putting Dempsy up top where he is playing well with Fulham, but there is something to be said about Altidore playing better when he is paired with a faster forward. Its been working with Donnovan on the wing, but I was reminded of how good he can be when he moves inside when he made that shift in the MLS Cup. So its a bit of a quandry. But I think the drop off in Donnovan when he plays on the wing is much, much less then when Demspy is up top versus out wide. Wo we overall are better moving Dempsy up top then Donnovan. I think Altidore continues to start. He clearly needs to get his fitness level up a bit and his first touch is not always there, but he gives us a dimension up top that neither Donnovan or Dempsy gives us. And today he is better holding/target forward then anyone else I’ve seen play up top for the USMNT in a long time(Ching, Cooper, Cunningham, Conner, etc – why so many C’s). Unless O’Brien is going to turn back the clock like 5 years and baring a significant drop in form then we stick with Altidore. Why has everyone soured on Feinhaber? I like his pairing with Bradly. I think they play well off each other. We play with more fluidity with that tandem then when Clark is in the lineup. But I do agree that Clark is a good defensive presence. Is Pablo done? If Edu’s rehab is back on track then does he get a look at camp? I appreciate all of the MSL diehards who think Holden is the next coming, but who seriously thinks that today he is in the same class as Donnovan? I don’t think Holden can step in and start in the EPL while Donnovan could (for the right team). Holden’s game is too one dimensional (ok, maybe its three dimensional with speed, work rate and a decent cross). I’m not saying he won’t further develop, just that he has not yet. I happen to like Torres and would like him to get more of a chance. (I wonder if he’s opting out of the last camp was really bc of personal reason’s of if there is a falling out with him and coach). He is calm under pressure, quick and a good passer. Maybe he does not have the speed as Holden, but he brings an ability to control the ball and make good decisions with it. Its a different style then Holden, but frankly we need to do a better job of passing in the midfield. I would like to see Donovan, Bradly, Feinhaber, and Donnovan play some extended minutes with Altidore up top with Dempsy. In terms of the back line we need to find a better option then Borenstein. It was not just the goal he gave up against Slovakia. In the entire game he was getting beat. Maybe some of the injured will heal. So the combination of Castillo, Boca and Spector with the healing of either Jay DeMarit’s eye or Gooch gets rid of Borenstein. What ever happened to Cherundolo. Is he done along with Pablo?

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  23. I see Dempsey taking free kicks for the Nats and Fulham… but I haven’t seen him look too threatening. Has he scored any this way?

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  24. I’m sorry but I believe I’ll stay on the bandwagon.

    I also believe that if he goes to Europe, which is a real possibility, he can improve offensively. Bornstein looked fine against Denmark and I don’t see why he’s getting blamed for any of the goals. He conceded a penalty in a friendly, so? Holden conceded a penalty that could have kept us out of the World Cup, I don’t hear many people calling for his head, in fact, I hear more people asking for him in the starting lineup. It was a pair of friendlies, and while he didn’t play well, he played well when it counted, with the full team, and that’s what matters.

    Castillo will got his shot; If he shows us he can do better than Bornstein at left back and with the full team, he’s the new left back.

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  25. Here, here.

    Anyone who can’t see that is either has difficulty seeing or just doesn’t know the game that well.

    More importantly, would Donovan ever do this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMlWpGE0akw&feature=PlayList&p=7C0C0E923A623CED&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=29

    Not only does Bullard always have a massive impact on the entire pitch, he manages to get quite a few shots on goal for a center mid.
    With that being said, Donovan’s performances against Spain and Brazil were very good. He’s still too inconsistent, unfortunately.

    But I have to stick up for Bullard. He’s my favorite Premiere League player!

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  26. From the highlights on youtube, it looks like he played very well. Used his size. Bested two defenders to create situation for the first goal, and added disorganization in the box for the last one.

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  27. 5 Goals in 5 games for Clint. It was 11 months and 2 days ago since he dropped a deuce on Chelsea.

    Lets see 10+ goals this year Clint.

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  28. I agree. Bornstein is garbage for the Nats. Give Castillo a shot because he can provide an offensive spark that no other defender seems capable of. Also Demerit should probably start next to Bocanegra.

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  29. Seriously, Bornstein is not a quality national team defender. I know some people like him because he’s fast, but he’s not a very good crosser of the ball and has been directly responsible for several goes against this past year. (Honduras in Qualifying is jut one example)

    Please get off the bandwagon.

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  30. I beg to differ that assists aren’t an official stat in the EPL. Just look at the EPL fantasy league! : )

    (SBI-My mistake for saying official. I should have said “relevant”. How many times are assists referenced in match reports or even on broadcasts? Hardly ever, so the stat is an official stat, but not one that is all that important over there.)

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  31. strange not having any of our famed forwards up top but right now that might be the best option. I like the line up with Jozy as a sub for any of the top 6. this just would best use all the talent on the US and put two way athletes on the field.
    i would love to see this lineup used maybe vs. the dutch or whatever we have at the beginning of the year.

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  32. If Jimmy Bullard was not having the injury problems of late he would probably be starting for one of the top four clubs. I would rather have a healthy Bullard over a healthy Donovan any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

    Bullard controls the entire game when he is on the pitch, Donovan is top notch player, but he requires that the game comes to him and can disappear if it does not.

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  33. So, you’re trying to convince us that doing well in the MLS weighs more than doing well in CONCACAF?

    Also, I wouldn’t bet against Jozy getting time for Hull now that he seems to be making a bit more of an impact and refining that touch(which I agree is something he’s improved but needs to work on).

    Another thought is that it’s just to early to be geussing anything to be honest. I mean, a couple of months ago, nobody expected us to have lost one of our most promising strikers ever and have Conor Casey get a brace in a game that qualified us for the World Cup.

    You made some good points, and the reason that speed + target combo worked was because Jozy was getting time at Hull and started to gain those target abilities, making him a lot more compatible with Davies. I think that Findley or Cunningham will play a more important role come World Cup time, and either one will partner with Jozy. Possibly(POSSIBLY!!!!) something like this

    ———————Altidore————–

    —————–Findley——————-

    Donovan—————————–Dempsey

    ————–Bradley—-Jones————-

    Bornstein————————Cherundolo

    ————Bocanegra—-Spector———–

    ——————–Howard—————–

    It’s just too early to tell at this point.

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  34. Jozy had a great game against Everton. To be frank, I haven’t seen him play that well before. He brought the best out of Timmy, including the Save of the Match when he took the ball on his chest in the box against two defenders, turned them, and got off a cracking point blank shot.

    He held up the ball well, he pressurized the back four well, his link up play and movement off the ball were good. Against a lesser keeper, we’d be talking about Jozy’s brace even more then Dempsey’s.

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  35. Wow, great goals for Dempsey. Good to see him getting his form. Wonder about offsides on the first one, though. That was very, very close.

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  36. I would prefer him to stay at a solid club like Fulham where he has a prescribed role and has abundant playing time. If he goes to Liverpool he most likely get quality minutes and his developement will stall. He’s still playing against some of the best in the world while at Fulham and holding his own.

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  37. Bradley, and Feilhaber especially, played fine. Dempsey was obviously pissed over the role Bob put him in. He needs to play up top.

    What’s dumb, is the idea of playing two forwards that are more interested in playing over the ball, than running away from defenders. Especially, against top international teams. Bob settled on the Speed + target combo of late for a reason.

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