Clint Dempsey has returned from injury to score three times in his last two games and the American, who inspires mixed opinion from supporters, continued his happy knack of finding the net in vital games and at the most important time.
Dempsey scored the equaliser the last time a Manchester based team had travelled to the Lane but this time, he drew us level with enough time left on the clock to put the match out of reach.
“It was a great spell to play in,” said Clint on the club’s official website. “Three different players scored, that gives confidence to the team and hopefully the result will give us that push for the final five matches of the season as we try to get into the top four.”
Dempsey also hopes that such an important win over a top side will help the squad maintain the momentum needed to finish the campaign strongly.
“The result gives us a lift and hopefully we’ll now get on a good run of form. We’ve had a bit of a rough patch and hopefully this will give us the lift we need to finish strong,” he added.
Wigan will be no pushover, as they proved to us earlier in the season and it could be another tight finish this weekend and one that Clint Dempsey could play a vital role in.
As for the player himself, where do you stand on Clint’s contribution this season?
His ability to ghost into spaces time and again, even deep into a match is almost unrivalled in the Premier League. He is similar to Thomas Muller in that regard. They sniff out the chances as play is developing and almost instinctually move into position. He scores a lot of important goals, and that shouldn’t be undervalued.
I’ll let Big Martin Jol have the last word –
“Clint Dempsey scored all our winners last year.”
unrivaled in the league? thats high praise. I agree, he’s great at it, but the real poachers are Berbatov and Giroud. I’m not either of those two have scored any other goals than sitting at the lip of the box and tapping garbage in.
Can’t understand why Spurs fans seem to despise him and discount his contributions. He may not score pretty goals, but he does score big ones. And it’s not like he cost a fortune to buy.
agreed! better here than back at cottage grove
Unfortunately for Clint he is not a striker, but a goal-scoring midfielder. He can operate out wide and drift in, or behind the strikers and arrive late. As a Spurs fan and a Dempsey fan, its painful to see him being used the way he is. The last 2 WC quals he played in were a prime example of his abilities. He needs to operate behind the strikers to be at his best.
I see why AVB wants to play him as a striker, but watching him for those other 89 minutes is terrible. Sure he’ll get a goal out of nowhere in a moment of brilliance, but the rest of the game he’ll be a terribly inept striker. He’s not fast, he’s not a great dribbler, and he doesn’t have much in the way of power on his shot. He’s a marginal passer and above average in the air, but somehow he just keep banging them in.
Clint will ALWAYS score goals, but I think its his contribution over 90 mins that has left me less than enthused when considering his long-term Spurs career.
Dempsey is a tidy enough player, but he doesn’t seem to excel at any one thing other his movement and his ability to score goals. Now that would be fine if he was a striker, but given the fact he is a midfielder I don’t quite think that’s enough, not at a top club anyway.
Can anyone name me another top 15 club in Europe where Clint would be considered a starter?
Indeed the only reason Spurs signed him was because of the late collapse of the Moutinho deal, on transfer deadline day (and his goalscoring record for Fulham last season).
Maybe I’m being slightly harsh given it’s his first season at the club, but I’m not sure that, if AVB gets all the targets he desires in summer, Clint will get a chance to prove me wrong.
thats harsh, top 15 yes. top 10, no. unless you are referring us as the team ranked 11-15. which i believe we fall in there somewhere right behind chelsea and arsenal. dempsey off the bench is pretty good if you ask me.