Zac McGraw

[VinceA]

3 minutes ago, VinceA said:

He comes off as a really great dude with a wonderful family. Happy to have him in the fold.

Also it will be wild in ten years when we do Canadians Abroad and he has a post that's like 

 

"McGraw was deployed for 90 (hours) for the US Army"

[Shway]

9 hours ago, Kadenge said:

We have been using 2 undersized CBs in our back 3...

Argentina won the World Cup with a backline of undersized players and CBs…size isn’t everything

9 hours ago, Kadenge said:

2 of which lack pace, because we didn't have options other than Kennedy, who btw has always been solid playing LCB.

Sometimes with size, it hinders mobility…I haven’t watched much of McGraw or Bombito but that’s something to keep in mind.

9 hours ago, Kadenge said:

Any wonder we suck at set pieces for/against? Let's hope that's about to change with McGraw and Bombito. I really hope that they get solid mins at the GC.  JH cant simply roll out the same group of defenders and expect different results vs top teams. With no friendlies, it's GC.

Kennedy is coming off a poor season, and we saw the form resonate in the final.

Miller is having an equally bad season.

I feel like we know what they can bring, so I’m eager to see how the new boys do in Bombito and McGraw. However in the back of my head, I won’t be surprised if they get limited minutes. 

[costarg]

21 minutes ago, Shway said:

Argentina won the World Cup with a backline of undersized players and CBs…size isn’t everything

That's what she said.

Very mature, I know.

[Kadenge]

41 minutes ago, Shway said:

Argentina won the World Cup with a backline of undersized players and CBs…size isn’t everything

Sometimes with size, it hinders mobility…I haven’t watched much of McGraw or Bombito but that’s something to keep in mind.

Kennedy is coming off a poor season, and we saw the form resonate in the final.

Miller is having an equally bad season.

I feel like we know what they can bring, so I’m eager to see how the new boys do in Bombito and McGraw. However in the back of my head, I won’t be surprised if they get limited minutes. 

I do understand that there have been and are top end undersized CBs or CBs that are not pacey but they make up for that with other attributes: good vertical jump, anticipation, reaction time, ability to get contact/bump without fouling, speed etc etc and it's not common to have a strong CB that's both undersized and lacking in pace. The point  is  if CBs have similar footballing ability, size and or pace is an advantage. We got beat several times in WCQ,  pre WC friendlies and at the WC due to a lack of pace btw Vitoria and Miller with route 1 passes.

[blueseeka]

Watched the 2nd half of the Portland v Chi match. McGraw is such a big man. He plays in the middle right side of a back four. Very comfortable clearing balls in the air. Looks like he ended up with 6 header clearances on the night.  He also is a big target on set pieces. He looks promising

[Bison44]

Sounds like a good guy.  Crazy that StClair got him started down the road to repping us. 

[trc2014]

Any concern it seems like he was completely off the U.S. radar?

[CanadaFan123]

9 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

Any concern it seems like he was completely off the U.S. radar?

I feel like he’s a guy who would be capped by this time next year. 

[Bison44]

2 hours ago, trc2014 said:

Any concern it seems like he was completely off the U.S. radar?

Well it seems like he is doing well starting for Portland.  We qualified for WC with good MLS starters at the back eh?  Even USA GC team is more like MLS best 11, defender of the year guys (Zimmerman/Robinson/Long), so I am not surprised he wasnt getting a look yet.  And when if grows into a MLS allstar in a year or two he'll be in a canada shirt at the WC.   

[VinceA]

Should note McGraw is in the midst of his breakout season as well. 

[red card]

5 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Sounds like a good guy.  Crazy that StClair got him started down the road to repping us. 

Given he clearly knew he was also Canadian, it is puzzling that he didn't proactively reach out way before. He could have been in Qatar.

Or was he just clueless about FIFA eligibility. It seems even with his conversation with DSC, he brought it up casually while it was DSC who realized the opportunity.

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by red card

[masster]

4 hours ago, trc2014 said:

Any concern it seems like he was completely off the U.S. radar?

I wouldn't define it as concern. The US just has a lot more quality and options along the backline than we do.

[Kadenge]

1 hour ago, red card said:

Given he clearly knew he was also Canadian, it is puzzling that he didn't proactively reach out way before. He could have been in Qatar.

Or was he just clueless about FIFA eligibility. It seems even with his conversation with DSC, he brought it up casually while it was DSC who realized the opportunity.

 

Somewhat similar situation re Arfield chatting with David Edgar. Both had a Cdn parent, but perhaps Scott was still hoping for a Scotland call, until it didn't come.

[SoCalTransport]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:52 PM, Shway said:

Argentina won the World Cup with a backline of undersized players and CBs…size isn’t everything

Sometimes with size, it hinders mobility…I haven’t watched much of McGraw or Bombito but that’s something to keep in mind.

Kennedy is coming off a poor season, and we saw the form resonate in the final.

Miller is having an equally bad season.

I feel like we know what they can bring, so I’m eager to see how the new boys do in Bombito and McGraw. However in the back of my head, I won’t be surprised if they get limited minutes. 

McGraw can easily be a starter for us, Kamal has looked horrendous since the World Cup.

[Soccerpro2]

1 hour ago, SoCalTransport said:

McGraw can easily be a starter for us, Kamal has looked horrendous since the World Cup.

This ^. 

All the "Miller is wanted by teams in Europe" talk on here after the world cup was pretty baffling. He's been baaaaaaaaaaad since the world cup. He's a decent MLS player. Anyone who thinks he's more than that is full of it.

Edited June 25, 2023 by Soccerpro2

[Obinna]

5 hours ago, Soccerpro2 said:

This ^. 

All the "Miller is wanted by teams in Europe" talk on here after the world cup was pretty baffling. He's been baaaaaaaaaaad since the world cup. He's a decent MLS player. Anyone who thinks he's more than that is full of it.

I think Miller will end up being a career MLS guy. At best I could see him reaching TAM status when he's in his prime. If Canada and Kamal had a better world cup, perhaps he could have gotten a European chance, then from there who knows how far he could go, but that didn't happen. I won't be quite as harsh and say he's been terrible, but I will put it like this: last cycle Miller played beyond everyone's expectations, now he's regressed to the mean - which is a good-to very good (but not elite) MLS defender. Nothing wrong with that.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

11 hours ago, red card said:

Given he clearly knew he was also Canadian, it is puzzling that he didn't proactively reach out way before. He could have been in Qatar.

He likely felt he wouldn't have had a chance. He has only been a regular starter since late August 2022.

He only started in 2 games in 2021 and 11 games in 2022. He has already played 600 more minutes this season than he did in all of 2022.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/zac-mcgraw/stats/

https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/zac-mcgraw/match-log/

[SoCalTransport]

7 hours ago, Obinna said:

I think Miller will end up being a career MLS guy. At best I could see him reaching TAM status when he's in his prime. If Canada and Kamal had a better world cup, perhaps he could have gotten a European chance, then from there who knows how far he could go, but that didn't happen. I won't be quite as harsh and say he's been terrible, but I will put it like this: last cycle Miller played beyond everyone's expectations, now he's regressed to the mean - which is a good-to very good (but not elite) MLS defender. Nothing wrong with that.

He looked out of his depth in the Nations League final in my opinion. Something mentally going on with him.

[Bison44]

Something mentally wrong? Like these attackers are driving me mental because they are very good???   

[Obinna]

6 minutes ago, SoCalTransport said:

He looked out of his depth in the Nations League final in my opinion. Something mentally going on with him.

I think it was the same at the World Cup and even during the WCQ against Mexico. I remember thinking that Miller is our one player on the field with technical limitations to play against a top international side (which Mexico was at the time). Against the USA in the final it was just the same. He was simply facing a top international side, so again it's easy for him to look out of his depth. I don't think anything is going on with him mentally, I just think Miller stands out in these sort of contests. 

Had he gotten into Europe I think he would have had the chance to grow and be able to handle the jump in quality that is required to hang with a USA, Mexico or Croatia, but I think that ship has sailed for him.

He'll likely be a starter moving forward and maybe playing in this tournament and again in Copa America will help him pick his overall game up, but I think Cornelius could also grab that spot. When time and space compresses, I think Derek will be more capable of keeping up.

[SoCalTransport]

2 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Something mentally wrong? Like these attackers are driving me mental because they are very good???   

I agree, but even in MLS this season, he hasn't looked good at all.

[Bison44]

I dont follow Miami CF at all, so if you've watched the games I'll trust you just this once.  Just like I've only seen McGraw play in MLS a few times and I wasnt paying attention to him.  

[An Observer]

6 hours ago, Obinna said:

I think it was the same at the World Cup and even during the WCQ against Mexico. I remember thinking that Miller is our one player on the field with technical limitations to play against a top international side (which Mexico was at the time). Against the USA in the final it was just the same. He was simply facing a top international side, so again it's easy for him to look out of his depth. I don't think anything is going on with him mentally, I just think Miller stands out in these sort of contests. 

Had he gotten into Europe I think he would have had the chance to grow and be able to handle the jump in quality that is required to hang with a USA, Mexico or Croatia, but I think that ship has sailed for him.

He'll likely be a starter moving forward and maybe playing in this tournament and again in Copa America will help him pick his overall game up, but I think Cornelius could also grab that spot. When time and space compresses, I think Derek will be more capable of keeping up.

I personally think it’s partly down to other sides learning how to play us.  Essentially, sit back on defense, let us attack, we likely loose the ball as we don’t have the 10s or creative wings to break them down, hit us on the counter or play over the top as our back 3 will be isolated, are slow and not the best one on one defenders in space.  

 

[BearcatSA]

10 hours ago, Obinna said:

I think it was the same at the World Cup and even during the WCQ against Mexico. I remember thinking that Miller is our one player on the field with technical limitations to play against a top international side (which Mexico was at the time). Against the USA in the final it was just the same. He was simply facing a top international side, so again it's easy for him to look out of his depth. I don't think anything is going on with him mentally, I just think Miller stands out in these sort of contests. 

Had he gotten into Europe I think he would have had the chance to grow and be able to handle the jump in quality that is required to hang with a USA, Mexico or Croatia, but I think that ship has sailed for him.

He'll likely be a starter moving forward and maybe playing in this tournament and again in Copa America will help him pick his overall game up, but I think Cornelius could also grab that spot. When time and space compresses, I think Derek will be more capable of keeping up.

I think he didn't get into Europe because of the limitations you described.

I have posted this elsewhere before but he is similar to an Andrew Farrell, a mainstay for NE since his first overall 2012 draft year but a guy who never broke through the ceiling to get into the USNT.

Competition is a very good thing and with MacGraw and Bombito getting looks, the incumbents need to up their games.

[SoCalTransport]

5 hours ago, An Observer said:

I personally think it’s partly down to other sides learning how to play us.  Essentially, sit back on defense, let us attack, we likely loose the ball as we don’t have the 10s or creative wings to break them down, hit us on the counter or play over the top as our back 3 will be isolated, are slow and not the best one on one defenders in space.  

 

To be fair to Kamal, as you pointed out in this post. Kennedy and Johnston weren't much better during Nations League.