FanHouse ClintDempsey

Ever since he burst onto the worldwide scene at the 1994 World Cup thanks in part to his unmistakable fiery red goatee and flowing locks, Alexi Lalas has been one of the Apostles of spreading the world on U.S. soccer.

In the 15 years since the U.S. announced its ambition on the world stage, Lalas has witnessed the gradual steps as soccer awareness in America has slowly crept from the fringes, edging closer to the mainstream.

So when his brother Greg decided to host a soccer-themed film festival -- Kicking & Screening -- earlier this year in New York, he jumped at the chance to help. And when Greg Lalas decided to host another event next week in Washington, well, Alexi Lalas was going to be there to both help his brother and help spread the gospel of soccer.

For fans of the U.S. national team clamoring for midfielder Clint Dempsey to move from the right side of midfield to the right side of the bench, well, they've gotten their wish, though the circumstances aren't exactly ideal.

Dempsey has been ruled out for Saturday's 2010 World Cup qualifier at Honduras due to a shoulder sprain. Dempsey picked up the injury in the closing minutes of Fulham's 2-2 draw Sunday vs. West Ham United. His status for next Wednesday's final qualifier vs. Costa Rica in Washington is still unknown.

It's not going to make up for Wednesday's crushing 2-1 loss in Mexico City, but American midfielder Clint Dempsey got a spot of good news Thursday when Fulham extended his contract with the English club until the end of the 2012-13 season.

The contract extension might be considered a late reward for the 26-year-old Texas native, who's goal against Liverpool late in the 2006-07 Premier League season helped keep Fulham in the top flight as his contract was set to expire at the end of this year.

So this morning when I woke up and skimmed through the seemingly never ending tide of European transfer rumors, one headline caught me eye -- "Everton to sign American midfielder." Immediately I thought it might have been U.S. International Clint Dempsey moving from Fulham, which had been talked about during last month's Confederations Cup.

Turns out, Everton's signing was hardly on the profile of Dempsey -- not even close. Instead it was 22-year-old Anton Peterlin who currently played in the American Premier Development League, the fourth tier of U.S. domestic leagues.

Wednesday night in chilly Bloemfontein, South Africa, the U.S. national team lodged one of its greatest victories in its history, beating FIFA No. 1 Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup semifinals. The win snapped Spain's 35-match unbeaten run, denying them a chance to set a new record at 36.

This win almost made me pull out the thesaurus for the proper word to describe it. Stunning? Yes. Unbelievable? Pretty close. Deserved? You bet.

At a time when Americans have become somewhat of an endangered species in the England's Premier League, a bit of good news came down Wednesday when it was announced goal keeper Marcus Hahnemann was signed by newly promoted club Wolverhampton.

Hahnemann, who had spells at Fulham and Reading, was released by the Royals last month after a long stint at the club, helping them reach the top flight for the first time in their history due to budgetary concerns.

A few weeks ago, when it seemed certain that Fulham was doomed to relegation, we speculated on where Clint Dempsey might end up next season. Yesterday, with Fulham one victory away from safety, the American forward/midfielder made clear his future was at Fulham. He signed a two-year contract extension to stay with the London club.

Dempsey is one of five Americans at Fulham, along with forwards Brian McBride and Eddie Johnson, center-back Carlos Bocanegra and goalkeeper Kasey Keller. However, Dempsey is the first of the Americans to commit to Fulham beyond this season. McBride and Johnson are expected to stay, though Bocanegra has been dropped from the starting lineup and will likely move during the offseason.

Keep in mind that Fulham still needs a win on Sunday to guarantee its Premier League status next season. Dempsey's new contract isn't necessarily a guarantee that he will play at Craven Cottage next season. If it does end up being relegated, Fulham could still sell Dempsey's contract to another club for the right price, so this extension could be just a way for Fulham to make a few bucks if they lose out on the Premier League's riches. For now, though, it seems Deuce is staying put.

(H/T: Soccer By Ives)

Previously at FanHouse:
What's Next for Clint Dempsey?

Now that Fulham appears doomed to relegation, it's time to start asking where Clint Dempsey will be playing next season.

Clearly, it won't be at Craven Cottage. For whatever reason, Dempsey has fallen out of favor with new manager Roy Hodgson, who hasn't given the American forward a spot in the starting lineup for the last three weeks, including last Saturday's 2-2 draw against Derby County. Hodgson seems to be dwelling on the fact that Deuce hasn't scored since Boxing Day -- completely ignoring that he's still Fulham's leading scorer on the season with 6 goals. (Jake Delhomme can relate.)

Then again, maybe Fulham is just keeping the former New England Revolution star on ice until the summer transfer window, where he could fetch a cool £3 million to £4 million from another club looking to boost its front line. Where might Dempsey land next season? Let's examine some potential spots, after the jump.

Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur. For one half, it looked like Juande Ramos might have made this Spurs side capable of beating the Gunners for once. Then Emmanuel Adebayor took a ball off Cesc Fabregas' back heel and opened scoring early in the second half. Then after a Dimitar Berbatov equalizer, Robbie Keane missed a penalty that would have given Spurs the lead. Four minutes later, Nicklas Bendtner entered the game, and his first touch was the game-winning header off a corner kick, prompting an angry reaction from Spurs fans. (Warning: Naughty but hilarious language in that video.)

Liverpool 4-1 Portsmouth. Let's just say this now -- Portsmouth is not going to challenge for a Champions League spot. They might have had a chance, but they've dropped too many points early, and with so many key players leaving in January for the African Cup of Nations, the only direction for them is down. Liverpool put Pompey in their place here, thanks to an early goal from Yossi Benayoun, terrible defending by Sylvain Distin, and two late scores by Fernando Torres.

It may be the smallest London club in the Premier League, but Fulham has big aspirations -- namely, to be just as big a brand name in America as the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal. That's one reason why they went out of their way to sign U.S. National Team stars like Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey. Having Americans on the pitch will help pull an American audience and their American dollars.

That can't happen, though, if Fulham gets relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship, where Americans can't watch them play regularly. Fulham has dropped to 18th place on the league table, and their continuing decline resulted in the sacking of Lawrie Sanchez today.

How did the Cottagers tumble into the drop zone? Perhaps it was Sanchez' halftime speeches, because Fulham has had a nasty tendency to fall apart in the second half. Consider this: If you ranked Fulham based on halftime scores in their 17 league matches thus far, they would have 29 points and a goal differential of +5. That would put them 8th in the Premier League, just one point behind the likes of Liverpool, Everton and Portsmouth.

Somewhere in the second half, though, it all goes wrong for this club.