Dempsey on Liverpool-website

[Oiseau]

Well, if he has gone, I hope they paid through the roof for him.

[TonyGilroy]

None of us know which clubs have expressed an interest but Dempsey will know what possibilities he has.

If Arsenal aren't interested and he wants to stay in England then his choice is staying with us or going to Liverpool.

A MUCH bigger club with a massive profile in the USA,  significantly higher wages and a better prospect of playing Champions League football in 2 or 3 years time. Something that we all know will never happen at Fulham.

We can all be disappointed but which of us, in his position, would commit to Fulham.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

None of us know which clubs have expressed an interest but Dempsey will know what possibilities he has.

If Arsenal aren't interested and he wants to stay in England then his choice is staying with us or going to Liverpool.

A MUCH bigger club with a massive profile in the USA,  significantly higher wages and a better prospect of playing Champions League football in 2 or 3 years time. Something that we all know will never happen at Fulham.

We can all be disappointed but which of us, in his position, would commit to Fulham.

He doesn't owe us anything, but it would show that what he was spouting about playing in the CL being his dream was rubbish.

[TonyGilroy]

What he said about the Champions League was actually more nuanced.

He said there'd be no point in going just to play in a few qualifying rounds. I took it as a euphemism for a big club. In other words better Liverpool say than a Champions League club in a smaller league or a club that scraped 4th place and had little chance of progressing very far.

Liverpool's US ownership must be a massive incentive as well.

The suggestion that we might get Joe Cole in exchange is interesting. Bang in the Duff and Murphy category. Potentially.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

What he said about the Champions League was actually more nuanced.

He said there'd be no point in going just to play in a few qualifying rounds. I took it as a euphemism for a big club. In other words better Liverpool say than a Champions League club in a smaller league or a club that scraped 4th place and had little chance of progressing very far.

Liverpool's US ownership must be a massive incentive as well.

The suggestion that we might get Joe Cole in exchange is interesting. Bang in the Duff and Murphy category. Potentially.

Regardless, the thought of Dempsey scoring against us (particularly for Lpool) is enough to make me feel ill.

Add to that, that he will now always be known for the rest of his life as 'Liverpool midfielder or Former Liverpool Midfielder' and it just makes me sad. Most other clubs would not have this change, but Liverpool will co-opt him as their own (or destroy his career) and he will probably revel in it.

[TonyGilroy]

That's all true but the better the player the less likely they are to stay with us.

To a significant extent my attitude, one they've left, is "sod them".

[AlFayedsChequebook]

That's all true but the better the player the less likely they are to stay with us.

To a significant extent my attitude, one they've left, is "sod them".

But I dont want to dislike Dempsey.

I think the issue here is not so much that he is leaving (as was expected) but that it is to a team who, over the last few seasons, I have really disliked. And a team with some of the most self important and needy fans in the world.

[Basil]

I dont think he will ever have a golden season like last year again, we have to cash in especially if he wants to go and try himself  somewhere else. This is the issue for clubs like Fulham when they player stars for them, this wont change anytime soon. It's all about getting the highest price and reinvesting wisely now.

[TonyGilroy]

I certainly dislike Liverpool but can't say I like the Manchester clubs, Chelsea or Arsenal any more.

[cottage cheese]

essentially to me if we do buy two good strikers and a midfielder we are on par with liverpool. Think about it, the players they have apart from the C**t up front are average players who would play in the first team for the likes of us, aston villa,sunderland,everton etc and not the big boys..well maybe agger thats about it. (im not including stevie g as he will never leave)

Liverpool will finish below city, united chelsea,newcastle spurs and maybe arsenal if podolski and giroud do the business.

That leaves the next few spaces for the likes of everton, them and us IF we sign the players we need. All in all if dempsey goes it will be for money alone and its been a while since we have got the "judas" flags out  :scarf:

we will have no choice but to hate him unless he leaves the country for a champs team

[cmg]

I dont think he will ever have a golden season like last year again, we have to cash in

This is the key question, isn't it? It's a bit of a gamble, but, presumably, we have a sensible figure in mind at which we would be prepared to deal. It's a tricky one to work out quite what that price might be, if indeed he is willing to leave. If no one comes up with the right price he stays where he is for a year.

Clint Dempsey is not a Fulham fan (at least not in the way that we are), he is a professional sportsman. Whatever is decided he has been an absolute diamond for us. A terrific signing and a proper Fulham hero. He was, for a long time, denied (in some quarters) the respect he deserved, that respect should not be deminished should he go elsewhere. Any departure would be, at this time, a two-way process.

[cottage cheese]

but going to liverpool makes no sense..they will not offer more than 75k a week for him due to his age and thats a fact. Its well known that our highest wage is 50k. Selling him for 6 million will not get us very far these days.  This club needs to start showing some ambition. We have released aj,riise, ive heard ethuhu and baird are on their way as well. We could easily up dempseys wage by what 15-20k to rival liverpool. This wont break the bank nor ruin us as the wage limit is there. By keeping dempsey there is no need to buy another player to take over therefore it is sensible to do all we can to keep him.

[Berserker]

That's all true but the better the player the less likely they are to stay with us.

To a significant extent my attitude, one they've left, is "sod them".

My feelings exactly.

Also Liverpool are going to the USA for their pre-season so maybe Clint will have a medical out there with them.

I think the noise is too loud on this rumour, usually when it's like this means that it is imminent IMO.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

but going to liverpool makes no sense..they will not offer more than 75k a week for him due to his age and thats a fact. Its well known that our highest wage is 50k. Selling him for 6 million will not get us very far these days.  This club needs to start showing some ambition. We have released aj,riise, ive heard ethuhu and baird are on their way as well. We could easily up dempseys wage by what 15-20k to rival liverpool. This wont break the bank nor ruin us as the wage limit is there. By keeping dempsey there is no need to buy another player to take over therefore it is sensible to do all we can to keep him.

This has nothing to do with 'ambition'.

Dempsey doesnt want to sign a new contract. Why would he turn down an extra £25k A WEEK to stay here when he wants to go anyway?

[Peabody]

Why should we "hate" him or call him "Judas". I have never understood this mentallity. Clint gave his all for FFC. If he goes then good luck to him but to me, as with any one who plays for us, he deserves our best wishes. Plus, he hasn't gone yet.

[cottage cheese]

Wenger has said he would ratehr let rvp go for free next year than sell him for a small fee. DW has slapped a price on moses and refusing to budge..spurs did the same last year with modric.. Yes they had longer on their contracts but we show no intention of making it hard for teams sniffing around.
Why the hell cant we? What have got to lose by doing so? If the fee is £6 million...that will not buy us a replacement suitable to step in and take over from dempsey so why bloody accept it.
What have we really got to lose..dempsey won us 17 points last season..that is far to great to just let him go

That is the ambition this club lacks.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Wenger has said he would ratehr let rvp go for free next year than sell him for a small fee. DW has slapped a price on moses and refusing to budge..spurs did the same last year with modric.. Yes they had longer on their contracts but we show no intention of making it hard for teams sniffing around.
Why the hell cant we? What have got to lose by doing so? If the fee is £6 million...that will not buy us a replacement suitable to step in and take over from dempsey so why bloody accept it.
What have we really got to lose..dempsey won us 17 points last season..that is far to great to just let him go

That is the ambition this club lacks.

How is keeping a player then losing him for nothing = ambition?

It is a rational calculation - if the Board think they will be better off selling and reinvesting than keeping they will sell. If not, they will keep Dempsey and let him go on a free.

[mangoputney]

Agree with Cottage Cheese, wish we would put our foot down & refuse to budge

FFC seems massively undesirable at the moment, concerned we are haemorrhaging too many players

Thought 12/13 would be a year of progression but with all this movement looks like another year of consolidation

Know we do our business quietly and are run correctly but not looking forward to starting a new season a lot weaker

Fergie may have won with kids, cant see us doing it

[Lighthouse]

The question is not Fulhams ambition but Clints. If he goes to Liverpool and talks about ambition etc then we know he is going for the money. Fine and good luck. But hardly the Champions League side he had hoped for. Still if Liverpool spend big on players and put Carroll out on loan as has been suggested. Then he may find his gamble works. But money is the be all and end all to most players.

[TonyGilroy]

We actually know the square root of f*** all about who the club wants to sign and what the position is with any of our players who might leave.

Time to get upset is in about 6 weeks time when it will start to be clear as to how weak we are IF good things haven't happened by then.