[arsenal7403]

I do think Fulham fans appreciate Dempsey's hard work when he is on the pitch. That is why they liked McBride. I do not know if Dempsey has as strong leadership qualities as McBride, however. Dempset could play for most middle to lower table teams if he continues to progress and things do not work out at Fulham.

[cardiffrover]

I think that's true for the most part.  As I am not in London (or England, for that matter), I have to gauge the fans' evaluation largely by message board banter.  A lot of people seem to realize that Dempsey was actually one of the better more consistent players on the squad (which many take as an indictment of the team's quality), but there are still a fair few who claim he is not good enough and very average at best.  To be honest, a lot of American fans were excited to have him play there and I think a lot of the negativity/ambivalence that does surface is due to that factor and less his actual skill. 
I realize Dempsey wouldn't get anywhere near Arsenal's starting 11 or bench, but I agree that I think he would be able to compete for playing time with most of the teams from mid-table down.  As with a lot of American players, I think it took him some time to adjust to the pace and style, but he's finally figuring it out.
And McBride is/was extraordinarily popular.  Quite a credit to the game (and the U.S.).

[arsenal7403]

Arsenal kicks off the EPL season with a 1-0 victory against West Brom. Not a tremendous result against a newly promoted side, but 3 points is 3 points. Football is the greatest sport in the world.

[arsenal7403]

Well, well, well, Arsenal stumble and lose to Fulham 1-0. The midfield was lethargic without Fabregas there and Fulham basically controlled the game from start to end. American, Clint Dempsey, made a substitution appearance late in the match. Sunderland pulled out a victory and look as they are going to be a solid mid-table team. Liverpool wins with a Gerrard screamer.

[pregra]

Although I'm a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, my favorite team is actually Aston Villa. We had agreat start to the season, beating Man. City 4-2 on opening day, but managed to loose against Stoke today. I'm absolutely gutted as I tought this was gonna be 3 easy points. Watched a little bit of the Arsenal game. They need to get Fabregas back in action as soon as possible and buy another central midfielder to play alongside him. Denilson isn't good enough (yet) and Eboué is definitely not a central midfielder.

[cardiffrover]

Quote:Well, well, well, Arsenal stumble and lose to Fulham 1-0. The midfield was lethargic without Fabregas there and Fulham basically controlled the game from start to end. American, Clint Dempsey, made a substitution appearance late in the match. Sunderland pulled out a victory and look as they are going to be a solid mid-table team. Liverpool wins with a Gerrard screamer.

Very pleasantly surprised at Fulham's resolve, considering they were coming off a fairly poor performance at Hull, where they never seemed up to it in the second half.  Arsenal looks a bit dodgy, at least by their standards, although I am aware that they are dealing with some personnel issues.  I imagine they'll get it sorted soon.  Regardless, any win against Arsenal is fabulous. 

[arsenal7403]

Arsenal's midfield is way too thin in depth and experience. Denilson is not ready to start weekly, Diaby and Rosicky are always injured. However, Samir Nasri is a tremendous talent. They always compare him to Zidane. I only hope he becomes that good. Well maybe we should be worried as we have mighty Newcastle next week.

[cardiffrover]

I agree about Nasri.  He looked pretty lively.  Denilson's performance was shocking -- way too many wayward passes for someone of his supposed caliber.

[drunkflyfisher]

im united thru and thru, of to a slow start but whats new!  It will be interesting no doubt!

[bfleischer]

brisco10 Wrote:This is always the best part of the season.
Right now there is hope for a Spurs top 4 finish!!!!!
Talk to me again in December and see how I feel about Champions League.

With regards to Spurs, I know you said Champions League, but did you mean Championship?