A lot has been made in the past few days regarding the move back to MLS by Clint Dempsey. Questions have been raised about whether he has taken a step back with his move to MLS? Questions have even been raised as to whether he is too good for MLS.
Courtesy: Fox Sports/MSN
What a complete and utter load of tosh! I will come clean right now, I have been preaching to everyone who would listen that Clint Dempsey, and not Landon Donovan, should have been the US role model when it comes to soccer from day 1, and this is why. He moved to Fulham in the English Premier League in December 2006, just before is 24th birthday and has been there up until his departure from Spurs earlier this month. During that time he has played over 200 games in the Premier League and scored about a goal every four games, and was the first American to score a hat trick in the Premier League. He received a runners up medal in the Europa League competition, playing 32 games and scoring 7 goals. At that level those stats are something a lot of top European players would love to have. As far as proving himself in European competition and a top European League, I think he has done that. Had Spurs got in the Champions League I think he might have stayed but what would another year without CL competition really have proven?
So is he too good for the MLS? I would say to that particular argument that it actually shows you how far the MLS has come that guys like Dempsey feel like they can come back and be competitive. When Beckham arrived at LA in 2007 questions were asked, and rightly so. Although Beckham didn’t set fire to the League as much as was expected to on the field he certainly lifted the MLS onto a world stage. Since then a lot of big name players have come from Europe to the MLS and I don’t think it is seen as a major step down. Don’t get me wrong it is still a step down from the top European Leagues, but not as much as it was seen pre Beckham. So a step back? At aged 30 I don’t think so.
Now will it affect Klinsmann and whether he will pick him for the National team. I think the fact that Beckerman, Donovan and fellow current MLS players make up a good representation of USMNT selection proves that you will be picked on performance level and not performance location. That said, he is 30 and next years World Cup could be his last. That is not a reflection on his move, it is reality.
The fact of the matter is that he has been in the Premier League just over 6 years consistently and has put in good performances on a consistent basis. He is almost a Centurion with regards appearances for the National team and will no doubt break that 100 mark and go on to get more. As regards the friendly coming up in Bosnia next week, personally I would leave him home, just because of the air miles traveled already and to let him bed in with his new team. Whether he goes or whether he stays I don’t think anything can be read into either event.
In my eyes Dempsey has made a great move at a great time to get back to his homeland while he still has a lot to give on the field. For Tottenham a $9 million transfer a year after paying $6 million allowed them to make a profit on a guy a year or two down the line they would almost be giving away I think. However the real winners in this transaction are the Seattle fans who get to see a real home grown hero and in my opinion the best American player to ever kick this little round ball in the game we all love.
