Did you compare Dempsey to Bellamy (I must be dreaming) your argument was that you wanted a valid reason why we should not buy Dempsey, well he is a Midfielder, not a striker or a winger, we have enough midfielders and Dempsey would not be able to force his way into our strongest midfield.
I appreciate your obviously a big fan of his but think and be able to intelligently back up your comments with sensible reasoning.
Please stop mis-construing what I'm saying. I compared Dempsey's
age, to Bellamy's
age. In no way was I comparing their abilities as players. You interpreted that the way you wanted to see it. I was merely saying that if Bellamy is still a key player for us despite his advanced age, we shouldn't discount Dempsey for that same reason. I'm just asking you to apply the same reasoning to all players equally. Stevie is also older than Dempsey, and again, a key player for us. As are Kuyt and Maxi (not so much key players, but older). Dempsey is about a year and a half older than Skrtel and Agger, who will probably be in our back line for 5 more years. To suggest that a 28-year-old couldn't bring anything to the team is strange. I'd rather sign someone like Dempsey than someone with "potential" (aka someone who's a huge f*cking project) like Carroll. In any event, age shouldn't be that much of a factor for us when our chief aim should be to get into the Champions League this year or next, not win the league in 2047.
As for the midfielder thing, one of the great things about Dempsey is his versatility. As I said, he's been played centrally and on the wing, and up top a bit this season. He's no Gerrard or Lucas (ability-wise, and because their playing styles are completely different), but I'd take him ahead of Adam, Henderson, Downing, Maxi, Spearing, and Jonjo. Like you said, that could be my bias creeping in, but I'm having a hard time figuring out who I
wouldn't pick him over. I don't know how much more "sensible and intelligent" you want me to be but I think that just about covers it, no?