Zac McGraw

[nolando]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

I have seen him a couple of times now and I think he'll plateau as a good MLS journeyman pro and not a regular international squad member.  But that is a positive because he is a late bloomer type and is a good example for other overlooked guys willing to work hard, earn a place, and make the most of an opportunity.

With both McGraw and Bombito getting good looks at this GC, guys like Zator, MacNaughton, and Waterman are likely viewed as guys who are more on the fringes and would likely be leapfrogged by other newbie/younger prospects.  The latter two always seemed like fallback guys to Herdman.

I'm curious to see if Kennedy gets a atart vs Cuba or any minutes, for.that matter.

Yes, no Kennedy is much more mystifying than no Loturi for me.

[nolando]

McGraw is 26 and, late bloomer or not, he may be the finished product already. Clearly not a savior but happy to have him as part of the squad depth.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

19 minutes ago, nolando said:

McGraw is 26 and, late bloomer or not, he may be the finished product already. Clearly not a savior but happy to have him as part of the squad depth.

I have not been able to see MLS games for a number of years but I'm not sure I am ready to declare that after a couple games.

Remember Vitoria has been playing on average and below level teams in Portugal where the drop is pretty dramatic after the top clubs. Yet he was our saviour in some instances in qualifying. 

I have seen McGraw in two games in a system he is obviously not familiar with, in positions he shouldn't be playing. He is not built to be an outside back in a 3.  

I think Kennedy against the States panicked Herdman and he thought we needed an old guard veteran presence but that's where McGraw should be played, to judge him fairly.  My two cents.

Edited July 2, 2023 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[Kadenge]

2 hours ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

Thoughts on his performance yesterday? I'm neutral. Too small a sample size, so the jury is still out imo.

I was more mystified by the decision to bring him on when we needed to score. 

I think the priority, at the time he was subbed in, was to  prevent a loss which would have been a disaster

[DeRo_Is_King]

9 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

I think the priority, at the time he was subbed in, was to  prevent a loss which would have been a disaster

Our defending wasn't great, but still a bizarre move to use a substitution on someone who was shaky in his debut. 

[Northvansteve]

For all the valid comments about his limitations, McGraw was a very strong force in the air. That should help us shore up our very shaky defense on set pieces.

[Norrin Radd]

I don't think McGraw and Vitoria can play together on the back line. Neither is quick and the combination is just too easy for the other teams to exploit. Watching them together reminded me of Vitoria and Jakovic playing against Jamaica in 2017. Zambrano had to sub in James for Vitoria in order to stabilize the defence.

We should only be using McGraw in place of Vitoria and they should not be on the pitch together.

[costarg]

Vitoria has to be rested for tomorrow's match.  I really hope we get to see McGraw next to either Bombito or Kennedy at some point.  Otherwise when the hell will we get another chance to try new lineups?  We know what Vitoria and Borjan bring, we need to test and see for the future at this GC.

[InglewoodJack]

23 hours ago, nolando said:

McGraw is 26 and, late bloomer or not, he may be the finished product already. Clearly not a savior but happy to have him as part of the squad depth.

This is how I feel. CB is the only position where we have our A team at the gold cup, but I think he’ll shine for those tournaments down the line when no one shows up and we start integrating young guys into the fold. I’m thinking of a scenario where we’re playing St. Lucia or St. kitts, we don’t have Vitoria or Kennedy and so we have to start Bombito or even if we call in Justin smith or Lazar stefanovic (much down the line), McGraw can be a really stabilizing force. 
 

basically, I don’t want him playing minutes at the 2026 World Cup, but if we do have to play games leading up to it and have the freedom or opportunity to bring in young guys, plugging in McGraw to keep the backline steady will really showcase his value.

[Kadenge]

Do yellow cards carry into the QFs?  All our CBs are on a yellow card

[DeRo_Is_King]

Very curious to hear thoughts on McGraw. I personally still think his lack of speed and reflexes are going to hurt us against better opposition. And he's now played in all matches / given plenty of minutes. I just don't know who starts over him from the current squad. Maybe Bombito?  

[PopePouri]

We can't complain about set pieces if we don't have some kind of air-dominant CBs in the team who rely on good positioning and their size to dominate the box. We have too many ball playing CBs who lack physicality. And as we seem with qualifying, you can minimize their issues of defending in space and their pace if they have the right defensive partners around them.

I think he'll be good for us. 

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by PopePouri

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

Very curious to hear thoughts on McGraw. I personally still think his lack of speed and reflexes are going to hurt us against better opposition. And he's now played in all matches / given plenty of minutes. I just don't know who starts over him from the current squad. Maybe Bombito?  

I don't trust Bombito at all for a match like this. He's more comfortable in the back, and most of those turnovers were in midfield, but I perfer McGraw and it's a very easy choice for me. I will take this lack of speed knowing he'll be dominant in the air. He's accustomed to facing guys like Vazquez and Ferriera, over the course of multiple seasons, whereas Bombito has barely played in MLS. 

With McGraw I think if you put speed around him things will be fine. Laryea and Ahmed can help snuff out balls played in behind, so long as they don't get caught too high up the field. Miller is not the fastest, but he's played more with McGraw. On paper you'd think Kennedy would be the better pairing with McGraw, but I will take the familiarity Miller offers.

If we somehow get to the SF it would be a good chance to pair Kennedy with McGraw, regardless of whether it's Panama or Qatar. Considering the opponents, it'd be a low risk opportunity to build up that pairing and should we then get to the final (getting way ahead of myself here) we'd have a bigger sample size of what pair is best. 

These is all assuming McGraw plays over Vitoria. Probably Herdman goes with Vitoria, but I do think it's a good opportunity to get McGraw reps in some important matches. 

[Bigandy]

9 minutes ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

Very curious to hear thoughts on McGraw. I personally still think his lack of speed and reflexes are going to hurt us against better opposition. And he's now played in all matches / given plenty of minutes. I just don't know who starts over him from the current squad. Maybe Bombito?  

I agree. He's the vitoria replacement and has the same weaknesses. Vitoria would struggle hard at RCB too. 
Within a back 4 or central cb he can be a useful addition. 

At this point, hes really our only viable right footed cb (not including vitoria, and if you consider bombito a 6). 

Waterman was horrible against bahrain. Zator has the worst plus/minus in the history of international soccer. 

ZMG struggled as a RCB (not to the extent of the other 2 above) but he was much better in his natural position. Hes the guy we want to replace first in our line up but hes arguably in our best 11 when vitoria retires because he offers a skill set we sorely lack. height and is a bit more commanding than a kennedy is. 

Lets hope one of kennedy or cornelius can become the main guys at central CB, bombito develops into a stud/we find another 6 so he can play CB.  

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

25 minutes ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

Very curious to hear thoughts on McGraw. I personally still think his lack of speed and reflexes are going to hurt us against better opposition. And he's now played in all matches / given plenty of minutes. I just don't know who starts over him from the current squad. Maybe Bombito?  

I liked what I saw more last night,which is not surprising considering he was being played out of position as a outside back (centre or not).

If our A lineup is 3 at the back and includes Johnston and Miller (I hope with increased fitness, playing time and therefore confidence Kennedy could compete with and supplant the latter), McGraw almost has to be Vitoria's heir apparent to give some balance of size. At the other end, corners are huge part of the game, and we have a lot of tricky player who can draw them. 

He needs development, especially playing in a three but there is a base there and centre backs, especially, have time. 

Edited July 5, 2023 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[DeRo_Is_King]

@Obinna @Bigandy 

I hope you're right. It's not an easy decision given the squad we have and Vitoria's form. Maybe it should be a back four with Miller, Vitoria, McGraw and give ZBG a chance at RB. I know he hasn't played much in this tournament, but he has lots of MLS experience as well. 

Edit: Is Kennedy available then? I wasn't sure if he was still an option. 

Edited July 5, 2023 by DeRo_Is_King

[Obinna]

Just now, DeRo_Is_King said:

@Obinna @Bigandy 

I hope you're right. It's not an easy decision given the squad we have and Vitoria's form. Maybe it should be a back four with Miller, Vitoria, McGraw and give ZBG a chance at RB. I know he hasn't played much in this tournament, but he has lots of MLS experience as well. 

I previously brought up Miller as a LB option in another thread. He's played there before, but I have a hunch we've moved on from this option, unless we are in a real pickle.

I think Ahmed proved himself out there on the left, and generally throughout the tournament. In every game he's been reliable, no matter the position. I personally like Laryea on the left and I trust ZBG on the right, but I don't think Herdman does.

And to be fair ZBG has indeed been shaky at the Gold Cup. Remember the mistake against Mexico in GC 2019? I got flashbacks of that when he had that slip against Guatemala that almost lead to a goal. Ahmed meanwhile was comfortable enough on the left and Richie is probably better on the right, so that's what I am expecting. 

[DeRo_Is_King]

2 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I previously brought up Miller as a LB option in another thread. He's played there before, but I have a hunch we've moved on from this option, unless we are in a real pickle.

I think Ahmed proved himself out there on the left, and generally throughout the tournament. In every game he's been reliable, no matter the position. I personally like Laryea on the left and I trust ZBG on the right, but I don't think Herdman does.

And to be fair ZBG has indeed been shaky at the Gold Cup. Remember the mistake against Mexico in GC 2019? I got flashbacks of that when he had that slip against Guatemala that almost lead to a goal. Ahmed meanwhile was comfortable enough on the left and Richie is probably better on the right, so that's what I am expecting. 

Agreed. That could work. 

[BearcatSA]

I am not convinced Ahmed is9 a LB, though.  I am just wondering about the defensive part of the game, particularly situational positioning.  It's more than just 1 v 1 defensive match ups.

He was tried there in preseason and since has been moved to an 8 role in midfield for the club.  I'd keep him in a similar role for the remainder of the tourney.

Edited July 6, 2023 by BearcatSA

[nolando]

McGraw reminds me a bit of former Whitecap Christian Dean.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

I am not convinced Ahmed a LB, though.  I am just wondering about the defensive part of the game, particularly situational positioning.  It's more than just 1 v 1 defensive match ups.

He was tried there in preseason and since has been moved to an 8 role in midfield for the club.  I'd keep him in a similar role for the remainder of the tourney.

I think Ahmed is the best bandaid we have at LB, which is why I called for Edwards in the Raheem thread. It's not too late to call him as an injury replacement, is it?

Ahmed was fine, but it was Cuba. I would be curious to see how he looks against the States. My curiousity aside, Edwards would be the safer choice given his form and minutes at LB for Galaxy. On the otherhand, he'd be coming in cold.

I don't know, reading your post makes me think we should roll the dice and bring Edwards in.

[BearcatSA]

34 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I think Ahmed is the best bandaid we have at LB, which is why I called for Edwards in the Raheem thread. It's not too late to call him as an injury replacement, is it?

Ahmed was fine, but it was Cuba. I would be curious to see how he looks against the States. My curiousity aside, Edwards would be the safer choice given his form and minutes at LB for Galaxy. On the otherhand, he'd be coming in cold.

I don't know, reading your post makes me think we should roll the dice and bring Edwards in.

No Edwards, we can ride with Ahmed.  The big advantage for Edwards is that he is a natural portsider while Ahmed tends to cut in Raposo/Godinho style (but is a way, way better dribbling threat).

Edited July 5, 2023 by BearcatSA

[GasPed]

8 hours ago, Bigandy said:

ZMG struggled as a RCB (not to the extent of the other 2 above)

Richie Laryea plays RCB for club - why not country too?  🙂

[Bigandy]

12 hours ago, GasPed said:

Richie Laryea plays RCB for club - why not country too?  🙂

He actually played the last 15ish minutes at RCB in the second game. He'd probably be great there at the GC but we desperately need him going forward.

[toontownman]

1 minute ago, Bigandy said:

He actually played the last 15ish minutes at RCB in the second game. He'd probably be great there at the GC but we desperately need him going forward.

I agree although we have ZBG who is fantastic going forward too. Hasn't had the best of seasons though. Another one Herdman seems very hesitant on playing.