SAN JOSE, Calif.—No matter who’s the head coach of the Seattle Sounders, Clint Dempsey says the club needs help in the attacking third.
Hours before the Sigi Schmid era officially ended in Seattle after seven-plus years, Dempsey sat down with MLSsoccer.com ahead of Thursday’s AT&T MLS All-Star Game against Arsenal (7:30pm ET; ESPN, UniMás, RDS, TSN) to discuss the state of the Sounders in the midst of a disappointing season that’s seen the club slip from their customary playoff position to ninth in the Western Conference with 20 points from 20 games.
“It’s a frustrating time for the team. We’re not where we want to be in the table,” Dempsey said. “We’re still missing a player or two that could come in and help us, but we’ll fight until the end and try to turn things around.”
Dempsey pointed to the preseason departure of Obafemi Martins, with whom he enjoyed a productive relationship from 2013-15, as a major reason why the Sounders have failed to perform up to expectations this season.
Dempsey and Martins combined for 66 regular-season goals and 43 assists as one of the league’s most dynamic duos during their time together in the Pacific Northwest. Then, in February, Martins made an unexpected move to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League.
“It’s difficult when you have such a quality player in your team and such a good relationship on the field, such a good chemistry and then they leave. It’s difficult to replace that,” Dempsey said. “Once he left as a DP, we didn’t bring in another DP in his place and I think that has hurt the team in the attacking third.”
It appears help is on the way in the form of Uruguayan playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro, who arrived in Seattle this week, as well as former Sounder Alvaro Fernandez. Though the signing is not yet official, the 27-year-old Lodeiro certainly has an impressive resume, with a Copa America championship and extensive Copa Libertadores experience to draw upon.
Still, Dempsey, who has three goals in 13 games in 2016, remains the face of the franchise. And while he acknowledged there’s pressure on him to deliver, he emphasized that any playoff push will be a collective one.
“It’s a team game. It’s on the team’s shoulders as well as myself to try to get things right,” Dempsey said. “It’s one of those things where you keep working at it, working at it until you get it right. Like I said, I think we’re still missing bringing some players in. I think that will make the difference.”
