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Dempsey delivers in vital Tottenham win

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By IVES GALARCEP

Clint Dempsey has never made it a secret that playing UEFA Champions League Soccer is the biggest remaining unaccomplished goal of his career.

On Sunday, he showed just how badly he wants to achieve that goal.

Dempsey played arguably his best game of the season, scoring a goal and setting up an Emmanuel Adebayor winner to help lead Tottenham to a 2-1 victory vs. Stoke City on Sunday.

Dempsey equalized for Tottenham in the 20th minute with an outstanding goal courtesy of a terrible Stoke City clearance attempt. He one-timed a left-footed shot from 30 yards out, into an open net after Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic came out to the top of the penalty area to deal with a ball that Jermaine Pennant wound up clearing right to Dempsey.

Dempsey had some more magic to deliver late in the match when he raced onto a pass in the penalty area and picked out Adebayor on the back-post for the 83rd-minute winner.

Tottenham win vaults them ahead of Arsenal for fourth place and the final UEFA Champions League place that goes with it. Arsenal has a game in hand and faces Wigan on Tuesday. Spurs can clinch fourth place with a victory in their season finale vs. Sunderland if Arsenal drops points in their final two matches, against Wigan and a Newcastle side that clinched relegation safety on Sunday with a win vs. Queens Park Rangers.

Here is video of Dempsey’s goal:

What did you think of Dempsey’s performance? See Tottenham beating out Arsenal for the final Champions League place?

Share your thoughts below.

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Dempsey is no Gary Linneker, he is a poacher +. Every team needs a poacher; Clint not only gives you that, but adds a little extra with his flair and invention. True, he rarely beats defenders on the dribble, but he is very deceptive and creates time and space with the ball at his feet. And, for God’s sake you have Bale, Dafoe, Holtby, Sigurdsson, and Dembele to stretch teams anyway. Notice I didn’t add Lennon to that list because Lennon may beat defenders with speed but is otherwise a terrible soccer player. Brits just love him because he is one of theirs. As for Dempsey, it is true that your attacks would fizzle if there was more than one of him out on the field, but he plays a valuable role when the conventional Bale attack is not working. Barring his injury issues this year he would undoubtedly be the second leading scorer on Spurs. Deuce is the man, Spurs fans need to just accept that.

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  2. Bruce Arena on Clint Dempsey: “he tries (stuff)”. Makes something out of nothing. Remember the Europa league final run by Fulham? Only problem he has was where does he for on modern tactics- especially when systems try to play with only one forward.

    Dont know why people compare him to Donovan. Different type of player.

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    • So difficult what Clint does there. First the immediate recognition reading the play. How fast that happens in real time to know exactly where keeper is. Amazing. Second the technical ability to lunge with the left. Lot elevate the ball and loop it right On frame. So Deuce so dope.

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  3. It’s been fun to watch Dempsey’s improvement over the years. He’s always had technical skills, but the mental part of his game just continues to get better, even this year. His field awareness and poise in this game was really amazing to see. Oh and he had a bit of defensive bite too. Might be the best game I’ve ever seen him play. He’s at top form and the US is lucky to have him. And a belated +1 to JK for naming him captain in the last US WCQ’s.

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    • @the original jb: agree with every word in your comment. I think bypassing Clint and naming Michael Bradley as captain for the last WCQ’s, as a few fans and media talking heads were lobbying for, would have been an insult to Clint, who leads quietly by example on the playing field. I have no doubt that every player on the USMNT, especially the younger ones, not only totally respect Clint as a player, but also like him as a person. He is without a doubt at the current time the only player on the team who if forced to sit out cannot adequately be replaced.

      And as a previous supporter of naming Donovan captain, I can now say I would be very happy to see Dempsey wearing the armband in the next round of WCQs and I bet you that Tim Howard would have no problem being deputy captain.

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  4. Dempsey has accomplished more at the club level by playing and excelling at a higher club level than Donovan. Donovan has accomplished more at the international level. Looking at the two, they play different styles. Dempsey is the opportunistic poacher. Donovan finishes and sets up others. Different styles, but both needed on USMNT. What is this face of USSoccer talk? Must be a good conversation with the media.

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    • I’d honestly figure more people are inspired by Dempsey than Donovan. what has Donovan accomplished at NT level? 1 more Gold Cup? 2 more goals in a WC? what has Donovan done in Europe? He had a limited run with Everton. I’d like to see what a season long run with them would produce.

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      • Donovan hasn’t done more with his club, but he’s more visible to American fans who aren’t deep into things because he plays for MLS. Galaxy games are much more likely to be on TV than Spurs games, and your local teams commentators are more likely to compare to players within the league. Plus Donovan has an entire extra World Cup cycle behind him from 2002, which also happened to be a spectacular performance for the country and Landon. He came of age with the sport in this country.

        Much like Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach may prove to be a better player, but she won’t ever get the same recognition Hamm had. No one else can become the face of the generation that brought the sport into the American consciousness. It seems (to me at least) that Donovan has that on lock, although way less so than Hamm.

      • Both Donovan and Dempsey have scored in multiple World Cups. Donovan definitely has more goals for the US, can’t really argue that.

      • You are damming LD with faint praise. His World Cup record is arguably the best all time of any individual US player. He has been to three World Cups and was outstanding in two of them. In 2002 he was a crucial part of the US’ best finish ever in a World Cup. Later on he was named best young player of that tournament In 2010 it was Donovan who keyed the rally to tie Slovenia and he scored that goal against Algeria.
        Dempsey scored in goal in the 2006 World Cup but did not play that much of a role otherwise. He played his usual vital role in 2010.
        This desire to put down Donovan in order to raise up Clint is unnecessary and ignorant The US needs both of them. Hopefully, 2014 will be Clint’s coming out party.

    • To call Dempsey an opportunistic poacher can only mean you haven’t seen him play very much. He has had a number of great goals, a few spectacular. Because he is usually a midfielder, most of his goals are from outside the 6 yard box and a number from outside the 18.

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      • Very, very few players deserve to be called opportunistic poachers.

        Most goal scoring opportunities come from the kind of situations where opportunistic poachers earn their name.

        Dempsey is one of the few who actually earns that name. It is no insult to be called that. In fact, it is why he has a job in the EPL today and I can promise you AVB calls him that.

      • Some of us Spurs fans refer to Dempsey as the Garbage Man, and we do not mean that in an insulting way – he finds ways to manufacture goals from broken plays and defensive mistakes in the blink of an eye, and he does it consistently enough that it’s no fluke. We have a lot of talented players, but I don’t think there’s anyone we’d rather have in a spot like the one Clint found himself in today.

        http://i.imgur.com/6speCuj.png
        (made by a prolific photoshopper at Spurs’ SBN site who goes by a01chtra)

      • Joamiq,

        Clint has probably been the premier garbageman in the EPL over the last two seasons.

        Deuce’s US fans seem to want to deny that as if there was something wrong with it. Deuce can score goals in any number of ways but most of them come from being close in at the right place at the right time. This is almost certainly because that is where most chances happen. Not pretty but efficient. To paraphrase Cobi Jones, “it’s not how but how many”.

        Clint has no shame. He will take the kind of chances that would get him labeled as stupid or selfish…until they go in. First and foremost he is about making sure the ball goes in the net by whatever legal means possible. And he does not care how he looks or who gets the credit.

        People on SBI seem to think poachers or garbagemen are an unskilled, lower form of life. Apparently penalties ( curiously, Clint is not a great penalty taker), taps ins and stupid mistakes by defenders in the box count for less than 35 yard bombs, overhead bicycle kicks or dribbling past half the team and then putting it between the keepers legs.

        Fortunately, Clint’s various managers have not felt that way.

        Clint is a very skilled soccer player but chances are Spurs paid 7 million for him because he scores as many goals as he does, when he does. Probably the poster boy for the goal scoring attacking midfielder is Frank Lampard who scores goals at a rate of one every 3.3 games. Clint, however, scores at a rate of one every 3.6 games so he is catching up.

        Like Lampard, Deuce is efficient in that most of his goals are important timely ones.

        To me the main difference in their goals is that Clint scores more “striker style” goals than Lampard who goals are more “midfielder” goals if that makes any sense. But then Lampard is a true box to box MF type while, AVB has said in the past that he considers Dempsey to be more of a striker.

  5. Forget Donovan. US SOCCER needs to make Dempsey the face of US SOCCER. He is what kids should emulate to be. Add Bradley and Altidore to that as well. Show the country these are our heroes, our stars and how they are consistently performing at the top level.

    No disrespect to Donovan, but Dempsey should be at the forefront for promotion of the NT

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    • He’s awesome on the field and has been our best player for some time, but he’s too quiet. Donovan’s all over every media presence he can be (partially because he’s been on top for longer) because he chooses to, while Dempsey is a more quiet kind of player. Donovan and Bradley will be the public face of this team, but Dempsey is still the best player on the field for the US every time he’s in.

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      • In the post game interview Dempsey down played his play today. On the goal he said he was lucky the ball bounced to him and then on the assist he said he saw Ade on the far post and made it sound so matter of fact and simple. He’s not exactly someone who toots his own horn a lot.

  6. the Spurs announcer said of Dempsey’s equalizer “what a marvelous bit of invention” while the color-man went on to say “johnny on the spot, clint dempsey, he doesn’t hesitate and its a splendid goal because he is a quick thinking player” … nice heads up goal one for his 12th in all all competition…

    … and the game winning striker-style goal by Rio Ferdinand was pretty sick too

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    • Yeah, and I think that is the same announcer who earlier in the season was not happy with Clint forcing his way free from the iron grasp of Martin Jol in order to move to Tottenham. The guy back then could not Clint’s name in a normal tone of voice, almost choking on it. I guess time heals all wounds, because, like you say, he was complimentary today

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    • lol ur crazy

      Dempsey has been a let down at Spurs and we don’t love him. Despite his goals he was also responsible for our first goal against and tends to kill most build up play we have. Perhaps he is clicking now tho… hopefully

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      • If you think Dempsey was responsible for the first goal you were not watching the match… it was was Bales mark that was left completely free to nod in the goal at the near post… some Spurs fans are just morons.

      • You seem to have not watched much of the games lately. Yes, he had an adjustment period to start. If it was not for Dempsey, Spurs would not be fighting for champions league. Just off the top of my head – goals against Man U, city, and today proves that.. He shows up in big games.

        12 goals this season. Majority of them have been extremely important and timely. Third in goals is not a disappointment. And he missed games and not started for a few.

        As far as disappointments for Spurs, there are others that fit that bill. Hello, Adebayor. Huddleston is frustrating.

        I see where your coming from though. He has not been flashy, doesn’t open up the defense as much as you want, and more often then not, plays too simple. He had a slow start and was not sharp.

        Watching him as the year went on, he has displayed his greatest strength – efficiency and knack for consistently being in position to score goals.

        Sure, he has not had the year he had last year. That was high expectations and a different circumstance.

        Killing build ups? There has plenty of guys on that team during periods of the season that you can say that about. If you watched the game today, he definitely was active and moving to provide a target for that boring CM pairing of Parker and Huddlestone.

        Following Spurs closely, I strongly argue that he has been key. After all of the clutch play, I am surprised that the Spurs faithful have not warmed up to him yet………

    • Totally agree. The one thing I’ve always noticed that’s wrong with this website is that we don’t talk enough about Higuain. He should have his own section dedicated to him.

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