Editing Clint Dempsey (section)

====2008–09 season====
Dempsey made the Fulham XI only once in the first eleven fixtures of the [[2008–09 Premier League|2008–09 season]] but scored his first goal in a 1–1 away draw at [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] on October 26 after coming on as a substitute.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nabil |last=Hassan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7674167.stm |title=Portsmouth 1–1 Fulham |work=BBC Sport |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=October 26, 2008 |access-date=October 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030023350/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7674167.stm |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> He replaced Zoltan Gera in the side and scored his first home goal of the season in a 3–0 win over [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] on December 20.<ref>{{cite news |first=Saj |last=Chowdhury |date=December 20, 2008 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7775562.stm |title=Fulham 3–0 Middlesbrough |work=BBC Sport |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222020822/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7775562.stm |archive-date=December 22, 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Eight days later he scored twice in the [[West London derby]] against Chelsea which included a last-minute equalizer in a 2–2 home draw.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Stevenson |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7788414.stm |title=Fulham 2–2 Chelsea |work=BBC Sport |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|date=December 28, 2008|access-date=December 28, 2008|archive-date=January 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112072229/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7788414.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On February 24, 2009, Dempsey scored the first FA Cup goal of his career in a 2–1 home win over [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] in the fifth-round.<ref>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Shuttleworth|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7899650.stm|title=Fulham 2–1 Swansea|work=BBC Sport|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|date=February 24, 2009|access-date=December 5, 2013|archive-date=February 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226142816/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7899650.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref> His final home goal of the season came in a 2–1 defeat to [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] on March 11.<ref>{{cite news|first=Marc|last=Vesty|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7922053.stm|title=Fulham 1–2 Blackburn|work=BBC Sport|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|date=March 11, 2009|access-date=March 11, 2009|archive-date=March 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316000925/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7922053.stm |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Fulham came from a goal down to beat [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] 3–1 away from home as Dempsey scored two goals on April 12.<ref>{{cite news |first=Chris|last=Bevan|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7978876.stm|title=Man City 1–3 Fulham|work=BBC Sport|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|date=April 12, 2009|access-date=April 12, 2009|archive-date=April 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415080259/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7978876.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

For the second successive season, Dempsey ended as Fulham's top Premier League goalscorer joint with [[Andrew Johnson (footballer, born 1981)|Andrew Johnson]] with seven goals.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1055&teamTabs=stats&season_id=138|title=Fulham Player Stats 2008/09|work=Soccerbase|publisher=Centurycomm Ltd|date=May 15, 2011|access-date=December 5, 2013|archive-date=December 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213163326/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1055&teamTabs=stats&season_id=138|url-status=dead}}</ref> These goals helped Fulham secure a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, the highest in the club's history, and confirmed their qualification for the newly formed [[UEFA Europa League]] for the following season.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 24, 2009|url=http://www.fulhamfc.com/match-centre/2008_2009/league/home/everton|title=Fulham v Everton|work=FulhamFC.com|publisher=Fulham FC |access-date=December 5, 2013|archive-date=December 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212160341/http://www.fulhamfc.com/match-centre/2008_2009/league/home/everton|url-status=dead}}</ref>