Thomas McGill - (2000 keeper)

[Dominic94]

They rate him and will loan him somewhere he can start. There’s literally no reason to re-sign him if they don’t.

 

also, Verbuggen is just a highly rated young player they’ll likely sell for 50 million in a few years.

[InglewoodJack]

22 minutes ago, Wasp said:

Quick correction here - McGill turned 23 somewhat recently (March birthday I believe) so there's still a ways to go before he's 24.

Even if Brighton doesn't have McGill pegged as a future piece for their first team, you would hope they could loan him out and then sell him somewhere for a profit. For the sake of argument, let's say he follows a similar path as Millar and ends up as a starter in the Swiss league. Wouldn't that still make him the Canadian GK playing at the highest level?

That's why I'm so high on McGill. Even if he ends up settling a level or two below the PL, given our current GK depth chart, he still has a very good chance of ending up our best option post-Borjan.

Agree with this in general, but I have my doubts/curiosities about the type of level a keeper gets loaned to vs. other players. With Millar, he was loaned to Scotland, then League One, then ended up at Basel, still a very solid club in a very solid league, and a big part of that is because scouts had so many opportunities to see him play at Liverpool. With McGill, his loans were to the 6th division of english football, then to League Two, where he barely played, so I guess I wonder- is a move for him to a team in the championship or even League One, considering he's at a very big club and has a lot of amateur experience, realistic, or does he drop down to the national league, Belgian 2nd division, hell, if he's fully Canadian now, a loan to the CPL? Whoever gets him on loan has to trust he can either be your #1 or compete for that spot, and I just wonder at this stage in his career, which calibre of club would give him that trust. You can always drop a player's minutes if he doesn't perform up to par, but with a keeper, either he's good enough to play or he doesn't. No in between.

I'm still high on him and I think he's got quality from the little I see. I just have zero idea of what a realistic loan for him is. At least with guys like Corbeanu you can sorta predict where he might end up, but with McGill, really, maybe it's Leicster city making a moneyball move in the championship, maybe it's to Oldham in the National league, maybe it's to Valour.

[Footyeh]

2 hours ago, Wasp said:

That's why I'm so high on McGill. Even if he ends up settling a level or two below the PL, given our current GK depth chart, he still has a very good chance of ending up our best option post-Borjan.

I think this is the biggest question, how can anyone be high on a player that's never played or you've never seen play.  He's not played any professional football at all.  Anyone who's played MLS whether as a starter or a #2 should be higher on the depth chart than him.  U23 football is not a good level.  We might as well try and call up Odunze from Leceister as well if were going by the name of the club he's signed to.

[narduch]

Just now, Footyeh said:

I think this is the biggest question, how can anyone be high on a player that's never played or you've never seen play.  He's not played any professional football at all.  Anyone who's played MLS whether as a starter or a #2 should be higher on the depth chart than him.  U23 football is not a good level.  We might as well try and call up Odunze from Leceister as well if were going by the name of the club he's signed to.

Didn't Corbeanu perform really well in the Prem reserve league?

Flores too.

[Footyeh]

1 minute ago, narduch said:

Didn't Corbeanu perform really well in the Prem reserve league?

Flores too.

You are right but I'd consider both were 18/19 year old promising attacking players, they were selected to tie them up where they had legitimate interest from other nations.  On Flores, it's a good thing he didn't choose Canada because he's not good enough yet.  Just playing in Arsenal academy doesn't cut it and should be an example for decisions moving forward.  Corbeanu is good but still has ways to go to solidify himself.

McGill is 23 years old and still not played pro football.  Playing a position we have many PROFESSIONAL options in.  He's also so far away from even being considered for England that it doesn't make sense either to say he was selected to cap-tie him.

 

 

[Bison44]

Lots of stuff hasnt made much sense, but when we were flying high in qualifying we all just went with it eh?  I dont mind calling a guy if hes not quite good enough.  Look at Bombito, he isnt the starter on the worst team in MLS, and we left Waterman at home.  Sometimes its all about potential so hopefully they know what they are doing with McGill and its not just EPL sizzle.  

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

5 hours ago, Footyeh said:

McGill is 23 years old and still not played pro football.

He has.  Both Basingstoke Town FC and Crawley Town are professional clubs.

For the latter he played in League 2, the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Papa John's Trophy.

Not a lot but he has played with and against professionals.

[Footyeh]

On 6/23/2023 at 8:29 PM, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

He has.  Both Basingstoke Town FC and Crawley Town are professional clubs.

For the latter he played in League 2, the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Papa John's Trophy.

Not a lot but he has played with and against professionals.

Are any of those clubs or levels anywhere near the level our other GK's are playing?  Again, even at those clubs, he barely played.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

52 minutes ago, Footyeh said:

Are any of those clubs or levels anywhere near the level our other GK's are playing?  Again, even at those clubs, he barely played.

Honestly, that's another debate.

Just pointing out that he has played for fully professional clubs.

[Ansem]

It's like some people don't see the bigger picture like those crying on Twitter about Sirois being left out for McGill. You really want to risk him being a starter for Brighton before getting to him? It be way way way too late at that point. It's pragmatic to bring him now while we don't have youth camps.

[InglewoodJack]

1 hour ago, Ansem said:

It's like some people don't see the bigger picture like those crying on Twitter about Sirois being left out for McGill. You really want to risk him being a starter for Brighton before getting to him? It be way way way too late at that point. It's pragmatic to bring him now while we don't have youth camps.

I’m happy to give McGill a shot because you never know, and we’re not in danger of losing Sirois, but BHA just signed an expensive 20 year old keeper from Belgium, so I’m not sure we’re in danger of him becoming Brighton’s keeper in the near future. 

[Wasp]

On 6/23/2023 at 5:25 PM, Footyeh said:

I think this is the biggest question, how can anyone be high on a player that's never played or you've never seen play.  He's not played any professional football at all.  Anyone who's played MLS whether as a starter or a #2 should be higher on the depth chart than him.  U23 football is not a good level.  We might as well try and call up Odunze from Leceister as well if were going by the name of the club he's signed to.

Maybe because I trust the staff of an EPL club that had seen him progress through their youth setup to the first team for almost a decade? Please explain to me why Brighton would keep him in their setup, re-sign him, and put him on the bench as their backup keeper in EPL games if they thought he was not capable of playing professionally?

[Aird25]

35 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I’m happy to give McGill a shot because you never know, and we’re not in danger of losing Sirois, but BHA just signed an expensive 20 year old keeper from Belgium, so I’m not sure we’re in danger of him becoming Brighton’s keeper in the near future. 

Even if he does become a starter one day, I don’t know if that would automatically be way way too late to call him. His other option is England. They have other premier league keepers to chose from 

[InglewoodJack]

6 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Even if he does become a starter one day, I don’t know if that would automatically be way way too late to call him. His other option is England. They have other premier league keepers to chose from 

Yeah, at this point I dunno- all of Brighton’s keepers ahead of him would have to be injured and McGill would have to lead BHA to champions league on one of the best goalkeeper seasons in recent memory to get into the England conversation, and even if that happened, he’s backing up Pickford who isn’t exactly old either, so to your point I think it’s pretty much us or nothing at this point. 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

On 6/23/2023 at 8:24 PM, InglewoodJack said:

With McGill, his loans were to the 6th division of english football, then to League Two, where he barely played...

Do be fair he was playing until that massive concussion.

----

In the end they did sign Bart Verbruggen for £16 million.

McGill is once again the 3rd choice keeper in the squad. They are doing pre-season in the USA:

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/football/brighton-and-hove-albion/roberto-de-zerbis-32-man-brighton-squad-for-usa-pre-season-friendlies-predicted-including-latest-chelsea-transfer-4214651

Edited July 15, 2023 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[jordan]

1 hour ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Do be fair he was playing until that massive concussion.

----

In the end they did sign Bart Verbruggen for £16 million.

McGill is once again the 3rd choice keeper in the squad. They are doing pre-season in the USA:

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/sport/football/brighton-and-hove-albion/roberto-de-zerbis-32-man-brighton-squad-for-usa-pre-season-friendlies-predicted-including-latest-chelsea-transfer-4214651

Also during the come back he had a relapse where he fell out again, he didn’t just start to suck he just couldn’t come back

[Strait Red]

Article from today’s Athletic, apologies for the large font size.

Brighton’s Tom McGill: The Canadian goalkeeper whose career is on the up… despite hardly playing

 

By Andy Naylor

Jul 27, 2023

Tom McGill is discussing what it is like to be a goalkeeper who does not play.

“I go to bed early anyway, eat the right things,” says the Brighton & Hove Albion and Canada prospect. “It’s not as if I’m doing anything out of the ordinary. I’m quite boring, so I guess that helps.

“If you keep your preparation the same, keep your standards the same and you are always ready, then it doesn’t matter if you play or don’t play. When you are sitting on the bench, you are not hoping for an injury or a red card.”

The 23-year-old is speaking on Brighton’s tour of the United States and reflecting on a curious campaign.

The 2022-23 season spanned a year and a day for McGill. From an opening friendly behind closed doors against Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise at the training ground in Lancing to Canada’s exit from the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup on penalties against the USMNT in Cincinnati on July 10, he made just five appearances.

They were all for Brighton’s under-23s in Premier League 2. He travelled regularly with the senior matchday squads at domestic and international level without making the final cut. On 18 other occasions, he sat on the bench.

And yet, in spite of the relentless lack of minutes on the pitch, McGill’s career is on the up.

He has established himself as Brighton’s second or third-choice goalkeeper under Roberto De Zerbi. He signed a new two-year contract in June, with a club option to extend for a further year through to 2026, when McGill hopes to be representing Canada at the next World Cup.

There is a lot with which to be satisfied and plenty to look forward to considering this is a goalkeeper who rarely pulls on his gloves. “I definitely feel as though I am kicking on and improving under the style (of De Zerbi),” says McGill. “It was the best season for me so far.”

The change in head coach — after Graham Potter upped sticks and moved to Chelsea last September for what proved a short-lived stint — led to tweaks in the way Brighton’s goalkeepers train. “A lot more shape, a lot more tactics,” says the Canadian. “Most of it is build-up from the goalkeeper, goal kicks or when the ball comes back to us in open play.

“Everything is very 11-vs-11, big-pitch scenarios. Everything is very real, whereas Graham would have us in possession (drills) in boxes, stuff like that.”

One of the benefits for McGill of sitting on the bench is that he has been able to study how Jason Steele implements De Zerbi’s precise method of playing out from the back. “The best thing for me is being able to watch Steeley play with his feet because, in my opinion, he’s the best in the Premier League with his feet,” he says. “Ederson’s got the long one (pass), but the short stuff and how we build up? I’d rather have Steeley.

“You get coached by the gaffer where to play at the right tempo, when the press comes, all the little details on how to do it. But being able to watch Steeley do it, he just makes it look quite effortless. Maybe not from a (conventional) coaching perspective, but Steeley is probably the best for me in coaching that, because I just get to watch him.

“It’s 60 per cent watching him and 40 per cent the game because some of the stuff he does, you sit back and appreciate.

“We’ve scored a lot of goals from building up from him. Goals and creating chances.”

De Zerbi’s promotion of Steele to first choice in March, combined with the deposed first choice Robert Sanchez’s refusal to sit on the bench towards the end of the season, saw McGill move up the goalkeeping pecking order from N0 3 to No 2. That may now be rejigged again following the arrival of the Netherlands Under-21 international Bart Verbruggen, who completed a £16.3million ($21m) move from Anderlecht earlier this month.

England Under-21 international Carl Rushworth is also part of the U.S. tour with Steele, Verbruggen and McGill, while England Under-20 international James Beadle has joined League One side Oxford United on loan for the season.

Even with Sanchez out of the picture, the depth of quality in the goalkeeping options is impressive.

“We all have different strengths,” McGill says. “We can watch each other train and pick up little bits. From the little I’ve seen of Bart, he’s really sharp, really clean. Carl and James as well.

“It’s a good group. We all get on and we all push each other. If the three this year is Steeley, Bart and me, we’ll get on really well. It will be a good, sharp group.”

McGill has been with Brighton since joining the academy at the age of 14, working his way into the senior set-up via loan spells with non-League clubs Worthing, Greenwich Borough and Basingstoke, followed by two temporary stints at Crawley in League Two.

Born in Ontario, he moved from Canada to England with his English mother when he was four after his parents split up.

He grew up in Haywards Heath, 15 miles north of Brighton, while maintaining a strong relationship with his Canadian father.

McGill represented England from under-15 to under-20 level, in the same age groups as Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi. When the opportunity to switch allegiance to Canada arose in March ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League, he did not hesitate.

“The England stuff dried up a little bit, at a similar time to Canada getting a lot better,” he says. “This goes hand in hand with me feeling a bit more Canadian. I was born there, I still visit my Dad when we get a break. It wasn’t too much of a difficult decision for me.”

McGill’s elongated season did not leave much time for rest and recovery. He had a week back in England between Canada’s Gold Cup exit against the USMNT. before heading back to the U.S. with Brighton.

“I couldn’t be bothered by that stage to go on holiday anywhere,” he says. “I just needed to lie on the couch, watching telly.”

McGill understudied Minnesota United’s Dayne St Clair at the Gold Cup.

Canada, like Brighton, are an emerging force. They reached their first World Cup in 36 years in Qatar last year under John Herdman, although they finished bottom and pointless in a tough group that contained beaten semi-finalists Croatia and Morocco, as well as Belgium.

The aim for McGill is to keep on improving with Brighton, strengthening his chances of making it to a special World Cup for Canada in 2026, which they are hosting with the U.S. and Mexico.

You never know: he might even get a game.

 

[blueseeka]

Anyone with an update on McGill? Did he not get loaned out? Still with Brighton?

Weird

[jordan]

4 minutes ago, blueseeka said:

Anyone with an update on McGill? Did he not get loaned out? Still with Brighton?

Weird

Sold Sanchez today, just Steele and Bart Verbruggen in the squad with McGill. Might need to bring another in to loan him.

[InglewoodJack]

Mentioned in an interview with BHA’s keepers coach:

https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/3786604/how-life-looks-in-the-albion-goalkeeping-department
 

Says De Zerbi is very happy with his development over the past two years ne that he’s probably going to go on loan soon. BHA have keepers at Swansea, Oxford, and Graz, so hopefully TMG lands somewhere similar. Looking forward to seeing him play first team ball. 

[Aird25]

4 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Mentioned in an interview with BHA’s keepers coach:

https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/3786604/how-life-looks-in-the-albion-goalkeeping-department
 

Says De Zerbi is very happy with his development over the past two years ne that he’s probably going to go on loan soon. BHA have keepers at Swansea, Oxford, and Graz, so hopefully TMG lands somewhere similar. Looking forward to seeing him play first team ball. 

I hope TMG partners Didic at Pacific for another season 

[jordan]

17 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Mentioned in an interview with BHA’s keepers coach:

https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/3786604/how-life-looks-in-the-albion-goalkeeping-department
 

Says De Zerbi is very happy with his development over the past two years ne that he’s probably going to go on loan soon. BHA have keepers at Swansea, Oxford, and Graz, so hopefully TMG lands somewhere similar. Looking forward to seeing him play first team ball. 

GK Coach Jack Stern was Biello's goalie coach for his last season with the Impact.

[InglewoodJack]

12 hours ago, Aird25 said:

I hope TMG partners Didic at Pacific for another season 

At 24, I’d hope he could aim higher than that. 

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

At 24, I’d hope he could aim higher than that. 

Nothing is higher than the mighty Pacific

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

On 11/23/2023 at 4:50 PM, InglewoodJack said:

TMG lands somewhere similar.

Not in January unless they bring in another as @jordan said. He is clearly their 3rd. He is always listed in the Europa League squads (where you are allowed to name 3 keepers instead of the 2 in the Prem)