Kamal Miller

[JuicyHam]

7 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I think we need a guy who out there who's going to be solid defensively, defending 1 v 1 or as  part of the back line or whole team unit.  I don't want some guy out there who's going to have me holding my breath (or doing the late, great Graeme Leggatt sucking sound) any time an attack gets targetted in his area of the pitch.

I agree. We had shaky defensive moment in every gold cup match but have had almost no trouble scoring goals. As far as I'm concerned sacrificing a little bit going forward for having sound defenders at every position in the back line is very important. Especially considering we can't afford to be any worse defensively as we(hopefully) move into playing better teams and playing bigger games 

[apbsmith]

If he can establish himself as a solid stay at home LB, the man can carve out a solid pro career for himself. Considering at the end of the day he is a left footed defender who could play both CB and/or LB, in a back 4 or a back 3, is something that almost any team would want.

As for a CMNT perspective,  as much of the hype of the "modern day fullback", there will still always be a need for the "stay at home defenders" at fullback. Canada won't always play minnows, or need to actually close out games we are winning, so having both fullback options for the CMNT is massive. 

Reading that article posted a few months back about him, I'm really cheering for this kid, for the CMNT depth & for his overall career.

[shamrock]

7 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I think we need a guy who out there who's going to be solid defensively, defending 1 v 1 or as  part of the back line or whole team unit. 

Exactly.

If we play lesser teams, sure you can put Davies there. Or if they don't play speedy wingers ok I'm fine with Adekugbe and even out-of-position MAK. But if we play in the hex I want to see a strong defender there, most preferably with speed and a left foot. 

TBH I don't know if Miller is that man, yes he'd debuted but it was far from a breakout season for him. Glad Herdman capped him though, just in case he has that breakthrough season next year or so. 

[apbsmith]

Not to overly go off thread topic.... In 2-3 years Davies could potentially become an exceptional 1v1 defender as he's already pretty good. Just needs some more positional awareness etc. as a whole at LB.  I do think this should come as Davies definitely works hard and I'm sure he is studying tons of film. 

Alot of it will come down to Herdman's tactics on how he wants our FBs playing. 

Thinking way down the road , playing in a type of 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 away vs a quality team, but having a very strong "stay at home defender" behind Davies on the left would be outstanding for us. Hoping it all comes together, be it Miller, Adekugbe or whoever.

[Bison44]

Not a breakout year??  Most second round picks dont even get a start and dissappear into oblivion after a year or two of USL.  He is miles ahead of the other CDN who were much more hyped, Montgomery (no games), and Buchanan (10g with a couple starts).  Or guys from previous seasons, Lareya, Shome, Wright, Thomas, Welshman etc etc etc.  Good players but barely got a sniff in the first year.  If he finishes the year with 10 starts and 1000min I would consider that a pretty positive rookie season.  

[Gian-Luca]

11 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I think we need a guy who out there who's going to be solid defensively, defending 1 v 1 or as  part of the back line or whole team unit.  I don't want some guy out there who's going to have me holding my breath (or doing the late, great Graeme Leggatt sucking sound) any time an attack gets targetted in his area of the pitch.

😁 I remember that well!

[Gian-Luca]

2 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Not a breakout year??  Most second round picks dont even get a start and dissappear into oblivion after a year or two of USL.  He is miles ahead of the other CDN who were much more hyped, Montgomery (no games), and Buchanan (10g with a couple starts).  Or guys from previous seasons, Lareya, Shome, Wright, Thomas, Welshman etc etc etc.  Good players but barely got a sniff in the first year.  If he finishes the year with 10 starts and 1000min I would consider that a pretty positive rookie season.  

It reminds us that sometimes it can be about circumstances and having the right coach & opportunity. Buchanan was getting lots of playing time under Friedel but I'm not sure if he's seen the field under Arena - a formation change, new DP's & success for NE has meant that even if Buchanon isn't at all to blame for his lack of playing time, it's also tough to blame the coach. Whereas one of the things that stands out about Laryea is how was it that a perennial non-playoff team like Orlando couldn't have found much use (for about 3 seasons) for a guy with the athleticism and skill level that he clearly has. And yet its the same team in Orlando who have re-energized Akindele's career and found a need for Miller (while Tesho's former team hasn't been a great fit for the higher-drafted CB in Montgomery thus far, and proved not to be for Adonijah Reid since they never really gave him a chance).

[BrennanFan]

If Davies gets serious minutes at LB with Bayern we would be stupid to not play him there. Similar situation to Stalteri, who went to Bremen as a forward originally.  

It will sting less because we still do have Hoilett at left wing.  And if we are being honest with ourselves, David is and will be the goal scoring star of this team, not Phonzie.

Not the end of the world. 

[JuicyHam]

1 hour ago, BrennanFan said:

If Davies gets serious minutes at LB with Bayern we would be stupid to not play him there. Similar situation to Stalteri, who went to Bremen as a forward originally.  

It will sting less because we still do have Hoilett at left wing.  And if we are being honest with ourselves, David is and will be the goal scoring star of this team, not Phonzie.

Not the end of the world. 

I think a lot of people forget when criticizing Alphonso about his defensive play that he is only 18 and is already very capable 1 on 1 against good opposition. He may not be our best full back option at this very moment but he has so much room to grow and If multiple clubs see him as a left back including one of the biggest clubs in the world he might just be a good left back.  

In the end playing time and versatility is key. If Davies can play both wings and left back that's great. If Miller can play centre back and left back that's also great. Versatility is never a bad thing especially if you can become very good at multiple positions. 

 

[Yoginess]

Is LB really more of a position of need than CB?

[JuicyHam]

3 minutes ago, Yoginess said:

Is LB really more of a position of need than CB?

We just need defenders period 

[shamrock]

16 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Not a breakout year??  Most second round picks dont even get a start and dissappear into oblivion after a year or two of USL.  He is miles ahead of the other CDN who were much more hyped, Montgomery (no games), and Buchanan (10g with a couple starts).  Or guys from previous seasons, Lareya, Shome, Wright, Thomas, Welshman etc etc etc.  Good players but barely got a sniff in the first year.  If he finishes the year with 10 starts and 1000min I would consider that a pretty positive rookie season.  

Of course it's positive! But right now he looks like a guy at par with MLS level and not clearly above. Him being at Orlando sure helps, Montgomery is at Dallas where they have a lot of strong defensive options. Yet they picked him and he's been playing lower level and providing back-up. We see what he does next year.  

[Snowcrash]

He played the full 90 in yesterday's 1 -0 win over Sporting KC.  

Miller's never been on a losing side in any of his starts, 5 draws and 4 wins.

Also, he's never been subbed out in any of his starts, which indicates he's getting his minutes based on his defensive play.

Edited August 15, 2019 by Snowcrash

[Bison44]

Another start at LB for Miller, in a loss to ATL.  I think thats his 11th start this year.  Orlando has a couple guys out, so maybe its still a emergency fill in, but he has got to be getting used to playing LB.  

[toontownman]

Had some beastly tackles and blocks in the early going. Didnt really put a foot wrong in the game. Really pleasing and should definitely be in the Cuba squad on this form. 

If I had a complaint it was his complete reticence to overlap and get forward. He called for the ball a lot but didnt really want to attack and rarely pushed far past the half way line. Also he played quite central out of possession leaving the winger space to receive a pass. Both of the above looked tactical though and what he was instructed to do. You could also assume being a natural CB the attacking part wasnt hugely comfortable for him as well. Orlando created so much they didnt really need the overlap either but it is something I would expect more from a fullback. 

Pleased for him and hope Montgomery can start making similar inroads soon.

[BCM]

Nice little article on his rookie year and rise to the national team

 

https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/orlando-city-sc/orlando-city-rookie-defender-kamal-miller-making-most-of-opportunities/

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

On 8/14/2019 at 4:52 PM, Yoginess said:

Is LB really more of a position of need than CB?

Could we move Miller back to Centre-Back for the #CanMNT ?

Could he rival Henry in quality? (Aside for the injuries and red cards).

If De Jong gets back to his old-self and can play for one or two more years or if we get a guy like Cristian Gutierrez at left-back?

[villus]

On 8/14/2019 at 1:28 PM, BrennanFan said:

If Davies gets serious minutes at LB with Bayern we would be stupid to not play him there. Similar situation to Stalteri, who went to Bremen as a forward originally.  

It will sting less because we still do have Hoilett at left wing.  And if we are being honest with ourselves, David is and will be the goal scoring star of this team, not Phonzie.

Not the end of the world. 

Eh Stalteri is no Davies.  Stalteri never had the type of game or ability to beat players like Davies has.  I'd actually argue for the best of Davies career that if he's going to be locked into LB at Bayern he should strongly think about leaving.  He's got way too bright a future playing as an attacker, sure he could be a very good LB but I think his ceiling is so high that it'd be a waste to not target his career there, the way he takes on players and his ability to finish and create is wasted with defensive responsibilities.  

 

Davies is head and shoulders above any attacker we've ever had in terms of dynamism and ceiling, Hoilett is good but maximizing Davies should be the priority for Canada and for his career I'd argue as well.  Its by far what's best for Canada.  

[Kadenge]

I really hope Orlando gives him minutes at CB next season. Of all the young players we have right now, I think that Kamal could be the guy to take one of the CB spots for the Nats if he gets to play there for Orlando. Good on the ball, decent speed and is only going to get stronger.

[toontownman]

All eggs in the Miller/Montgomery basket now!

We will develop more but we need some focus there in development for sure. 

 

[Obinna]

I am quite content to see Miller keep developing as a LB. Easy to look at friday and conclude CB is our weakness and ponder/hope Miller may fix things. The mistakes of last game I put on a lack if familiarity and not quality.

If you change the backline with one player who is young and learning left back, the other not playing in almost a month, you are rolling the dice.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Obinna

[Mikmacdo]

Miller seems built like a cb more so than a left back. I hope he plays at cb but orlando has a couple of decent cbs i think so thats why he was moved to lb. 

[toontownman]

I thought he was very much viewed as a CB learning the ropes and getting experience by playing at LB before being eased back into the centre. I think that is his long term trajectory. As long as he is playing, learning and improving it is not a huge issue. 

[Obinna]

38 minutes ago, Mikmacdo said:

Miller seems built like a cb more so than a left back. I hope he plays at cb but orlando has a couple of decent cbs i think so thats why he was moved to lb. 

I am fine if he becomes a CB too. I am content regardless of where he develops. My point was that we don't need to push him to be a CB just because of that loss. 

That said, I do agree he is built like a CB. To me actually that is more reason to play him at LB, let him round out other parts of his game. If he still becomes a CB he'll be a better overall player for it. Same argument goes for Davies at LB.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Obinna

[Bison44]

Not such good news for Miller as Orlando seem to be stockpiling even more CB. Hopefully he can still get some minutes at LB.   

https://www.orlandocitysc.com/post/2020/01/02/2019-20-offseason-transaction-tracker