CLINT DEMPSEY?!
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In Dr. D's humble guess-timation, Clint Dempsey is the greatest American soccer player who ever lived. He's 30, in his prime, and suddenly he is playing for your Seattle Sounders. "Fuutball," anybody?
With this signing, you are talking about a shot heard 'round the world. It's more of a "popgun" sound, but make no mistake - for the MLS in America to land a fish of Dempsey's size is a game-changer. For the Sounders and for American soccer, at least.
There are very fine soccer blogs peppering the NW landscape. SSI won't be able to much speak to fans who are ex-college players themselves, but can (now) serve as a type of concierge for fair-weather soccer fans like himself, helping perhaps to show them the door. The door in, that is.
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How Good are Dempsey and Donovan?
Ask an English bloke this question and you're guaranteed a fun afternoon. For some reason, it grotesquely pains him to admit anything good about any American soccer player. I can't relate to this -- I mean, of course the NBA is worlds better than European basketball, but why should it pain me to admit that Dirk Nowitzki is a great player?
A few years ago, Landon Donovan joined Everton -- a .500 English Premier League team -- to the general hilarity. Now we'd see the cheeseburger-chomping American put in his place ...
Donovan hit the pitch and in exactly three games, had the Everton fans eating out of the palm of his hand. "A classic English winger!," was the verdict, meaning a forward who pressurizes the game 70 yards vertically. One crusty old Toffees fan watched Donovan run down an enemy attacker from 40 yards away and grumbled sourly, "I thought he'd be slower." You get it? The guy could not bring himself to say, "Donovan is fast."
Donovan was widely conceded to be Everton's best player during the time he was there. Fans started a campaign to retain him, but he wanted to stay and star for the MLS' glamor team, the LA Galaxy.
...............
Clint Dempsey is, also, a difference-maker in any league in the world. True, he is not in the world's top 100 footballers, is not comparable in skill to a Luis Suarez or a Neymar or a Xabi. But he was routinely Fulham's player of the season, finished #4 in the EPL in scoring two years ago -- from midfield. In my view, he is a "box-to-box" midfielder who is so good on the ball that you can play him at striker if you want - even in the EPL.
When Arsenal were considering him last winter, one English fan again tried to minimize him. "He's fine, but he has no set position. Where do you put him?" Another fan shot back, "Where do you put Clint Dempsey? You put him on the pitch."
After 2011-12, Dempsey finished #4 in England's version of the MVP voting. Lot of my mates over there never thought they'd see the day :- )
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MLS Impact
So it's very unusual for an impact European player, a minor star, to come over to American soccer before he's over the hill. How dominant do you expect Dempsey to be?
Well ... in Major League Baseball. Who are the players who fit these criteria?
- Not perennial All-Stars, not $20M/year players ...
- ... but The Best Player on a .500'ish team
In the AL, you're describing players like Billy Butler, Kyle Seager, and Shin-Soo Choo. In the English Premier League, that's right about Dempsey's current level of value.
The interesting thing is to have a player of this caliber stepping down to a league so far beneath his level, because MLS is to the EPL as ... well,
- MLB -- > NPB Japanese baseball
- EPL -- > MLS soccer
You'll hear English chaps claim that MLS is more like the minor leagues, but I'll go with the NPB. I think the MLS is about like the Championship in England, and that's not AAA. It's closer to the big leagues than that.
In any case, suppose you had Billy Butler, or Matt Cain, coming off a 30-homer or 200-strikeout season -- > go over to Japan, to see how things went? That would be pretty interesting, wouldn't it?
The more so, if he went to your NPB team. The Sounders club heard about Dempsey's signing before the game, blew out of the tunnel and destroyed Dallas, the team just ahead of them in the conference, tonight. They've got a Seahawk-type fan base to turbocharge the coming run. Let's watch some soccer, gentlemen.
Be Afraid,
Dr D