Premier League 
/ Michael Lintorn / 02 February 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Clint Dempsey scored his 16th goal of the season against West Brom
"Given that this is the stage of the season in which players are usually hassled for their PFA Player of the Year picks, it would be great if Dempsey proves to be peaking just in time to earn a surprise place on the shortlist."
Michael Lintorn is hoping that there is a shock spot on this season's PFA player of the year shortlist for Fulham's American star Clint Dempsey...
Pavel Pogrebnyak signed too late, Andy Johnson and Moussa Dembele were injured and Bobby Zamora left for QPR on deadline day. None of that mattered though, because as long as Clint Dempsey is fit, Fulham look likely to find the net right now.
Cottagers fans probably won't appreciate the comparison, but Dempsey is becoming a bit of a Frank Lampard figure for the less fashionable west Londoners: critics arguing that he has no outstanding qualities, yet he continues to prove utterly prolific.
The American being a reliable source of goals isn't a new development, scoring at least six in each of his five full Premier League campaigns, however after achieving a personal best of 12 last term, he has scaled new heights this year.
While everyone around him has performed fitfully, the 28-year-old has fired 16 times, reaching double figures in the league with his strike against West Brom on Wednesday to show that he is a serious contender to be one of the division's top four goal-getters at [14.0].
Those ten are three more than Johnson, Dembele, Bryan Ruiz and Orlando Sa have hit between them, and twice as many as Zamora, and it is over the last two months that he has truly flourished, grabbing 11 in 13 appearances.
Given that this is the stage of the season in which players are usually hassled for their PFA Player of the Year picks, it would be great if he proves to be peaking just in time to earn a surprise place on the shortlist.
Charlie Adam and Scott Parker made it in 2011 while representing soon-to-be relegated clubs - the latter also scooping the FWA Footballer of the Year prize - signalling that it's not all about the stars at the top of the table, and Dempsey's feats deserve similar recognition.
The Premier League's all-time leading American scorer is available to back on Betfair, where Manchester City's David Silva is currently a [2.12] favourite.
Opta stats confirm that if the Premier League season had started on the December day of Martin O'Neill's first Sunderland fixture, they would be top of the table right now......
There were hefty prizes up for grabs for correct-score punters who called the Arsenal, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Lazio outcomes on Betfair......
Cisse announces Premier League return with early goal but Villa fight back turns match on its head. Meanwhile, north east teams march on, Blackburn's misery continues and Roy bags a point at the Cottage......
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