Quote:
Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf
there are a huge amount of differences in comparing this but most importantly in this case
Spurs were the initiators in this, they told teams Dempsey was for sale and gave the price, according to reports multiple teams met the price (Seattle in the MLS, a few in England, and possibly more in Europe)
Once that price for sale is met it was basically Dempsey's choice where he wanted to go (or even if he wanted to go)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moon
Except that Kovalchuk was a top level player and Dempsey was a guy that will sit on the bench and maybe play in 2nd tiers tournaments like Europa and League Cup.
Also, Tottenham were fine with him leaving and he left by the traditional soccer transfer ways that 100's of players/teams use every year.
There is basically 0 similarities between the two other than they both went to inferior leagues, after that the situations are completely different.
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Well as I said, him ging to an inferior league was enough to fill people up with rage. That derision wouldn't have changed even if Kovalchuk had been an FA (see Burmistrov). People complained that, if they were professional athletes, they'd ALWAYS play in the highest competition possible.
Well, now Dempsey chickened out of meaningful football, and no one says a thing. He was only a squad player for spurs, but surely would be a solid contributor for lower level sides in the big 4 leagues, or even a star in the french, dutch, portugese or even russian leagues. He chose light competition, money and home over testing himself as a player. I don't blame him for it; just like I didn't blame Kovalchuk. But if you lose respect for one for playing in an inferior league, like many stated they have, it is the same for Dempsey.