Nacogdoches, Texas is a mighty long way from Craven Cottage…and the oval ball maybe slightly more popular than the round ball - but rest assured, the 30,000 odd residents were probably ‘hooting and a hollering’ while line dancing down Main Street after a stunning performance by their favorite son, Clint Dempsey on Saturday.

Just how good was ‘Deuce’ against Spurs – well, in my humble opinion, he played the finest game an American outfield player has ever produced in the Premiership as he literally carried the Cottagers on his shoulders to a surprising and dramatic late draw.

One goal, an unstoppable thumping header plus two assists are his stats over ninety minutes but they don’t even come close to telling the true story. This was a performance that had energy, determination, class, trickery and most importantly a never-say-die attitude stamped all over it. I’m sure his club captain and fellow American, Brian McBride, was beaming from ear-to-ear like a proud Papa back here in the States as he rehabs his knee.

For sure, we’ve seen John Harkes, Claudio Reyna and McBride amongst others light up the green beige before but I don’t believe they’ve ever carried their side the way Dempsey did. It was almost ‘Maradona-esque’ circa World Cup 1986, which is ironic as the Argentine great was a favorite of Dempsey. If you’re going to model yourself on someone though why not pick the greatest player that ever lived.

Obviously I’m not putting Dempsey in that same bracket, however you can see certain similarities. The American has the confidence to take opponents on one-versus-one; he’s always prepared to try something different, he’s aggressive, he’s brave as a lion and he’s a team player - qualities that Maradona possessed in ####s.

I first noticed Dempsey playing for the national team in 2005 against Colombia. There were probably about seven thousand of us inside Titan Stadium, Fullerton but to be honest it felt more like one man and his dog down at the local park. Thinking back now perhaps that’s how Dempsey approached his first international start because he played with a street attitude – an attitude of no fear. The nerves you so often see from international rookies was non-existent – he believed that he belonged. His old New England Revolution colleague, Steve Ralston, may have taken the man-of-the-match award that night but it was Dempsey’s performance that made the biggest impression on me.

Strangely though, I don’t think his old national team boss, Bruce Arena quite fancied him. His playing time under Arena was spotty and rumors of a spiky temperament began to surface. Well, here’s a news flash, you need attitude, you need to be cocky, you need to feel that you’re the best if you’re going to make it to the top of the cut throat world that is top flight football. In a way Dempsey reminds me of his namesake, Clint Mathis, another highly skilled renegade, which could explain Arena’s reluctance to trust the Texan. Current USMNT boss, Bob Bradley hasn’t displayed that reticence yet and after Landon Donovan, Dempsey seems to be the next name penciled in on the team sheet and long may it continue.

The question for me is just how far does he want to take himself. The Premier League, week in and week out is the biggest showcase in the world but will a relegation dogfight be the best place to display his wares. BTW that’s not a knock on Fulham, just a fact because if they can’t start defending that’s the way the season will go down. When the pressure is on teams tend to play safety-first football and I’m afraid that Lawrie Sanchez may begin to see him as a luxury.

The perfect situation and one I believe that Dempsey will excel in is to mimic the displays of another Argentine great. Carlos Tevez, almost single-handedly carried Fulham’s London neighbors, West Ham, to Premiership safety last year. Dempsey has the ability to produce the goods as Tevez did - and who in American soccer wouldn’t be line dancing if the kid from Nacogdoches gets a dream move to one of the ‘big four’. Yes folks…he could be that good.

Until then, get the beers in.