Dempsey had two decent seasons with Fulham and couldn't crack spurs lineup and left, so you counter your Howard argument right there. Dempsey isn't present for entire games either. They played in the same league this year, and Donovan was arguably the better player with 19 assists and Two players don't have to play in the same league to know which one is better though. You can tell by watching Donovan that he's just the better all around player. You can see it when they played on the field together on the field for the national team. I don't see how you can discount the national team when the world cup is considered one of the most competitive competitions in the world.
Sorry, but Fulham was/is bad. Dempsey wouldn't have seen even the minor success that Donovan saw at Everton in 2 months. BTW, didn't Dempsey go back to Fulham and do absolutely nothing in his loan spell?
You also seem to forget how MLS is set up in regards to transfers. The best player in the league is going to go at a premium. PL clubs aren't going to pay over the top for a player when they can get a comparable one at a cheaper price.
All this wimpy talk just cracks me up.
We'll just have to agree to disagree.