Breaking news: Dempsey wants to leave and spitting his dummy out (merged)

[SG]

This is a sorry end to a fine Fulham career. A player that we have seen develop from a Coleman gamble to one of the most popular and talented players of our PL era.

Had he have kept his head down and waited to be bought at a decent price or even just stuck it out for one more season and left on a free then he would have managed to maintain a shred of credibility amongst the fans who have been with him on his journey over the last 5 years as opposed to alienating us or at best leaving is scratching our heads.

In an ideal world he would have seen out his career here and gone down in Fulham folklaw, remembered for his grit and dedication. Single handedly winning us points against Chelski, keeping us in the PL with his goal against Liverpool, his stunner against Stoke and the chip that wrote history.

Good luck Clint and thanks for the memories. I hope you take some with you as you won't recognise SW6 when you return in a red shirt.

A sorry end indeed to a fine career. It would seem that his or his agent's head was turned when he was in the States on international duty by the Fenway Group only for their new manager to say he does not want him. Not wanting to undermine their new manager they have retracted their promises leaving Clint stitched up as it appears that in the meantime he went and discussed this with the FFC management. So no offer from LFC and none looking likely and no English CL clubs are seemingly interested either. Certainly seems that he rates himself higher than most managers in this country rate him. Bit of an impasse for him. There was a way back for Tevez so maybe there will be one for Clint.

[Oiseau]

I don't blame him in the slightest for wanting to leave. He deserves Champion's League football and has been a loyal servant to Fulham. We shouldn't let this difficult moment cloud our memory of a loyal player and who scored some of Fulham's best ever goals. It's important to remember as well that we don't know exactly what's going on behind the scenes. I hope it doesn't upset the rest of the squad too much. Hopefully Clint will bow out sooner rather than later so that Jol can find a replacement.

I wish him the best of luck. He seems like an incredibly nice, genuine and down-to-earth bloke. Hope he retains fond memories of his time here and I wish him all the best for the future.

[TWFL]

I don't blame him in the slightest for wanting to leave. He deserves Champion's League football and has been a loyal servant to Fulham. We shouldn't let this difficult moment cloud our memory of a loyal player and who scored some of Fulham's best ever goals. It's important to remember as well that we don't know exactly what's going on behind the scenes. I hope it doesn't upset the rest of the squad too much. Hopefully Clint will bow out sooner rather than later so that Jol can find a replacement.

I wish him the best of luck. He seems like an incredibly nice, genuine and down-to-earth bloke. Hope he retains fond memories of his time here and I wish him all the best for the future.

You put it much more elegantly and coherently than I did. A big :plus one: from me.

[cebu]

Dempsey's attitude stinks even in this age when loyalty is not what it was.
He always seemed to me a selfish player who has shown no affinity to the club over the years. He has worked hard to improve his game, which in turn has been to the benefit of the club he is contracted to, but it has been business like rather than affectionate.
His actions make him IMO one of the biggest shits in Fulhams history, not that he will give a toss what the fans think.
Maybe he will only have doubts about his actions if MAF demands what he thinks a fair price and lets him rot until his contract runs out if any offers fall short. 

I fear that this will be how the majority of Fulham supporters will read this episode and will interpret Clint's time with us. All I've ever seen of Clint in a Fulham uniform is someone who wants to play every game, who plays every game hard, and who gives everything he has to Fulham on the pitch. But, as is often the case with me, I will be well in the minority.

And so it goes.

Yes HD, but you won't be in a minority of one! 

[Grant]

What I'll always remember about Clint is how he stopped Chelsea taking three points from us on at least two ocassions.
Clint was a Fulham hero, but that doesn't seem to be enough for him. I agree that he deserves a shot with a better team, and if it was one of the top four clubs who wanted him then I could understand it, but Liverpool? they were good once, but they ain't much cop anymore are they? Look how they treated Konchesky and Roy Hodgson. If Clint goes to Liverpool, I hope they win nothing, and if Clint comes back and scores against us while playing for them, I will be gutted.

Our one priority should be to hold on to Dembele, he's way better than Clint anyway.

[cebu]

Jim ...................have you seen the Jol interview ??
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=23851.30

I have, Ms. Kat. Can you give me the minute and second where Jol says that Dempsey is on strike and that the club is fining him as a result? I watched it a couple of times and I must have missed it.

You too, eh? Only the interviewer saying it, with Jol's long-winded answer avoiding concurring! Management careers are full of mine fields like this!!!   092.gif

[HatterDon]

Jim ...................have you seen the Jol interview ??
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=23851.30

I have, Ms. Kat. Can you give me the minute and second where Jol says that Dempsey is on strike and that the club is fining him as a result? I watched it a couple of times and I must have missed it.

.......................................and have you seen this Donny Boy
http://www.fulhamfc.com/the-teams/first-team


File all under the heading : the games people play

yep, I saw Clintthere. I know he was frowning and everything, but pretty much everyone else looked serious. So I guess he's still a member of the first team squad.

[YankeeJim]

 :dead horse:
:Get Coat gif:

[Senior Supporter]

Jim ...................have you seen the Jol interview ??
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=23851.30

I watched this interview earlier, and have tried to find it again. Your link is now telling me that it appears to be "missing", and I can't trace it on the Fulham website.
Has it been removed, or can others still find it? The plot thickens.

[Berserker]

Jim ...................have you seen the Jol interview ??
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=23851.30

I watched this interview earlier, and have tried to find it again. Your link is now telling me that it appears to be "missing", and I can't trace it on the Fulham website.
Has it been removed, or can others still find it? The plot thickens.

It's still on the Fulham FC website under Jols Press conference

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

Jim ...................have you seen the Jol interview ??
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=23851.30

I watched this interview earlier, and have tried to find it again. Your link is now telling me that it appears to be "missing", and I can't trace it on the Fulham website.
Has it been removed, or can others still find it? The plot thickens.

here you are
http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/august/jols-press-conference

[NickW]

Jim ...................have you seen the Jol interview ??
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=23851.30

I have, Ms. Kat. Can you give me the minute and second where Jol says that Dempsey is on strike and that the club is fining him as a result? I watched it a couple of times and I must have missed it.

You too, eh? Only the interviewer saying it, with Jol's long-winded answer avoiding concurring! Management careers are full of mine fields like this!!!   092.gif

0.15 - MJ: "Clint told us that he wanted to leave and that he was not ready to play for this club anymore"

0.57 - SB: "So, to be clear, Clint has told the club that he does not want to play for the first team again?" MJ: "Yes"

1.36 - SB: "Clint refuses to play"

1.57 - MJ: "He doesn't want to play"

Seems pretty clear from these quotes that Dempsey is not just unwilling (ie. reluctant), but is actively refusing to play for the club. No comment from club or Dempsey about the reported fine though.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

No one can deserve Champion's League football. And it seems the view English Champions League club managers that Dempsey is not going to be part of their campaigns.

Players don't have to be loyal until there is an opportunity to move. Here it looks as though Dempsey, through his agent, was speaking to Liverpool with one year left on his contract and has subsequently said that he is leaving for Liverpool, has refused to go on the club pre-season tour and doesn't want to play for Fulham again. So, at the first opportunity, he proves himself to be disloyal.

I don't blame him in the slightest for wanting to leave. He deserves Champion's League football and has been a loyal servant to Fulham. We shouldn't let this difficult moment cloud our memory of a loyal player and who scored some of Fulham's best ever goals. It's important to remember as well that we don't know exactly what's going on behind the scenes. I hope it doesn't upset the rest of the squad too much. Hopefully Clint will bow out sooner rather than later so that Jol can find a replacement.

I wish him the best of luck. He seems like an incredibly nice, genuine and down-to-earth bloke. Hope he retains fond memories of his time here and I wish him all the best for the future.

[itombomb]

I'd rather he didn't refuse to play, but it was always clear he wanted to leave. Could have been handled better by many different parties.

This is a bit of a downer. Why would a player like demele want to stay after seeing a mass exodus (including our best player Dempsey) and sub par replacements.

Dempsey isn't our best player, Dembele is, followed by Hangeland.

[Senior Supporter]

Jim ...................have you seen the Jol interview ??
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=23851.30

I have, Ms. Kat. Can you give me the minute and second where Jol says that Dempsey is on strike and that the club is fining him as a result? I watched it a couple of times and I must have missed it.

You too, eh? Only the interviewer saying it, with Jol's long-winded answer avoiding concurring! Management careers are full of mine fields like this!!!   092.gif

0.15 - MJ: "Clint told us that he wanted to leave and that he was not ready to play for this club anymore"

0.57 - SB: "So, to be clear, Clint has told the club that he does not want to play for the first team again?" MJ: "Yes"

1.36 - SB: "Clint refuses to play"

1.57 - MJ: "He doesn't want to play"

Seems pretty clear from these quotes that Dempsey is not just unwilling (ie. reluctant), but is actively refusing to play for the club. No comment from club or Dempsey about the reported fine though.

There seems to be a very fine line between being "not ready to play for the club again"/"not wanting to play" (Jol's words) and Sarah Brooks use of the word "refusing", but I expect Tony Gilroy will tell us it is significant.  I would imagine that the wording was carefully scripted before the interview took place.

The reported fine is either speculation by the media, or a leak from an unattributed source.

[itombomb]

Brookes is very good at her job and she was obviously leading the witness in the questions she was asking Jol. If she was using any untruths it would be a very clear defamation case, so I imagine the language was very carefully considered.

[PaulUMD]

Amazing how quickly people are trashing this guy.  60 damn goals in 4.5 years. 

Watch every one of them.  Clint Dempsey's 60 Fulham Goals 2007/2012 | QuickfireGoals Episode #18

He was leaving this year no matter what.  He gave every last bit of himself to this club, give him his due.  If your feelings are hurt, well, put on your big boy pants.  This is football, and unfortunately business is business.  Seems to me the big villain here is Liverpool and Fenway for convincing Clint they were going to sign him when they were not.  Now it's a shitty situation for all parties. 

Be mad at him if you wish, but don't diminish his accomplishments here. 

[Scrumpy]

Amazing how quickly people are trashing this guy.  60 damn goals in 4.5 years. 

Watch every one of them.  Clint Dempsey's 60 Fulham Goals 2007/2012 | QuickfireGoals Episode #18

He was leaving this year no matter what.  He gave every last bit of himself to this club, give him his due.  If your feelings are hurt, well, put on your big boy pants.  This is football, and unfortunately business is business.  Seems to me the big villain here is Liverpool and Fenway for convincing Clint they were going to sign him when they were not.  Now it's a shitty situation for all parties. 

Be mad at him if you wish, but don't diminish his accomplishments here. 

This is why it's such a shame. None of us can deny that he was an absolute legend for Fulham. A great player, but this has taken the gloss off I'm afraid. :016:

[Ordar]

What I can't stand through this saga today is how people seem to believe that Clint is immune from criticism. I can guarentee that if this situation involved Senderos or Kelly people would be going mental.

At the end of the day, Dempsey is a disgrace. The fact he had a decent season for us is totally irrelevant. Him leaving is by no means the end of the world, and if anything, will actually balance our side.

He's a very difficult player to accommodate as he's not a wide player, nor a striker. He needs a team built around him having a free role. Which is exactly why Riise was getting exposed 2 on 1 early on in the season. No side, especially not a CL side are going to provide him with that free role.

What he has done over the post season will forever tarnish his legacy at the club, much like a certain Mr Bullard. (and that worked out fantastically for him).

He said he wants CL football. Liverpool have never been further away from obtaining that, and certainly won't this season. Let's ship him out the sooner the better overseas to anyone, reinvest any money we get for him on a player that wants to play for the club, target Whittingham or Javis and move on.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

Posters are not trashing his achievements (although those are constantly over-praised). They are assessing his behaviour which is, if as reported and I don't see why not, worse than that of RVP and Modric.

Yes, Fenway and Liverpool behaved incorrectly and presented the temptation but it looks as though Dempsey leapt to grab it with both hands and has found it too late to be an illusion. He has then behaved unprofessionally by refusing to train and undermined his relationship with the club, his fellow players and the Fulham fans. He could not have made a more comprehensive mess of it.

Get real.

Amazing how quickly people are trashing this guy.  60 damn goals in 4.5 years.  

Watch every one of them.  Clint Dempsey's 60 Fulham Goals 2007/2012 | QuickfireGoals Episode #18

He was leaving this year no matter what.  He gave every last bit of himself to this club, give him his due.  If your feelings are hurt, well, put on your big boy pants.  This is football, and unfortunately business is business.  Seems to me the big villain here is Liverpool and Fenway for convincing Clint they were going to sign him when they were not.  Now it's a shitty situation for all parties.  

Be mad at him if you wish, but don't diminish his accomplishments here.