Should We Be Concerned About our Backline?

[narduch]

I'm more concerned about our keeper depth right now.

[Jack1997]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

I'm more concerned about our keeper depth right now.

Why? We have 3 MLS starting keepers, St.Clair and Crepeau have both been 2 of the best in the league in the past and Sirois is 22 years old and playing well as well as McGill who seems to be pretty good for Brighton. Frankly I’d much rather have a 1 world class defender (Tomori) and a MLS goalkeeper than a world class keeper and a MLS Defender. We totally should be worried about our backline Johnston, Laryea, Adekugbe, Davies and Buchanan are plenty good to be our FBs/WBs and I rate Cornelius very highly and think that maybe that US game is a different story if he plays, Miller and Kennedy are good enough defenders to be your 4th and 5th CBs but that leaves us with needing probably 1 CB that is better than Cornelius and 1 on Cornelius level. Everytime this comes up it makes me think about what Tomori could’ve done for this program but that ship has likely sailed (please fifa change the rules) so that leaves us hoping that one of Bombito, Smith, Stefanovic, Pearlman, Campagna, Knight-Lebel or some other young guy we haven’t heard of yet becomes a top class CB and 1 more become pretty solid I’d like to stay optimistic but it seems unlikely to me. I’ll make sure that if I have a kid I’ll make him a CB.

[Norrin Radd]

8 hours ago, Grandbloke said:

But will he play for us? Correct me if I’m mistaken, but he was born in the USA and has always lived there.

The picture he tweeted of his citizenship card seems to show some interest in Canada. Given he has not been on the USMNT radar, I think there’s a good chance he’ll accept a call.

[narduch]

20 minutes ago, Jack1997 said:

Why? We have 3 MLS starting keepers, St.Clair and Crepeau have both been 2 of the best in the league in the past and Sirois is 22 years old and playing well as well as McGill who seems to be pretty good for Brighton. Frankly I’d much rather have a 1 world class defender (Tomori) and a MLS goalkeeper than a world class keeper and a MLS Defender. We totally should be worried about our backline Johnston, Laryea, Adekugbe, Davies and Buchanan are plenty good to be our FBs/WBs and I rate Cornelius very highly and think that maybe that US game is a different story if he plays, Miller and Kennedy are good enough defenders to be your 4th and 5th CBs but that leaves us with needing probably 1 CB that is better than Cornelius and 1 on Cornelius level. Everytime this comes up it makes me think about what Tomori could’ve done for this program but that ship has likely sailed (please fifa change the rules) so that leaves us hoping that one of Bombito, Smith, Stefanovic, Pearlman, Campagna, Knight-Lebel or some other young guy we haven’t heard of yet becomes a top class CB and 1 more become pretty solid I’d like to stay optimistic but it seems unlikely to me. I’ll make sure that if I have a kid I’ll make him a CB.

Crepeau's recovery seems to be going very slow. Every few weeks they keep pushing back his estimated return back further. 

St. Clair is very inconsistent and has had a bad last few weeks.

Sirois is still just a prospect. Granted he does seem to have stepped up.

McGill still needs to prove himself as a professional. 

[VinceA]

Right now I'd rather see Sirois start over St. Clair.

[Ruffian]

9 hours ago, SirBobsaget said:

YES!!! Its insane the imbalance, everywhere else is euro top 5 quality then on defense we are at MLS starter but not MLS DP/TAM quality. So average MLS which would not get a sniff at USMNT

Walker Zimmerman started last night and is a regular starter for the USMNT. This just sounds like " I hope they move to Europe" as if that makes the player a better player.

[costarg]

10 hours ago, MauditYvon said:

Cornelius is a big piece missing, and Waterman should get a call.

Waterman is not the answer.  He is not above anyone playing for CANMNT at the moment.  Just as shaky as the rest.

[Bison44]

Well Zimmerman is a multiple allstar, best 11, defender of the year in MLS.  All our MLS CB have a ways to go before they top MLS guys let alone jumping to bigger things in europe.  Let some of the newer faces mature and grow a bit in MLS (Bombito/Heibert etc) And if having an MLS defender is good enough for the team that just dominated us, why isnt it good enough for us?  

[InglewoodJack]

55 minutes ago, VinceA said:

Right now I'd rather see Sirois start over St. Clair.

Don’t know if last night has me feeling particularly negative but I think it’s fair to say that at this moment, Sirois is our #2 best keeper and honestly it wouldn’t take much to convince me he’s our best. 
 

Quebec excellence in nets, once again

[blueseeka]

*i put this in the game thread but it should be in here instead*

It is obvious we won't be a top nation with our CB's.

There is no way that Johnston should be playing in a back three. It is just not his position, he isn't big enough for it. He struggles so much on jumping set pieces.

Kennedy is playing a level above his talent. He isnt that good. I thought he was bad versus Panama and was shocked when he started tonight. Need the calming presence of Vitoria. But Herdman was probably woried about the speed of the US.

Kamal had such a wonderful pass on David's goal but i have never been a huge fan of his. Everytime they attack down his side, i am expecting a goal or a corner kick.

I truly like Cornelius but i think of him more as a moving the ball forward type of CB. But it would of been so nice to see him play these two competitive matches and figure out if he is up to the challenge. His injury was very disappointing

Hopefully someone moves into these positions. Herdman is obviously trying. Calling up Bombito and possibly McGraw. Two huge guys over 6'3. It was obvious how calm, big and talented the US CB's were under attack. Hopefully we get there soon

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

1 hour ago, Jack1997 said:

Why? We have 3 MLS starting keepers, St.Clair and Crepeau...

MLS teams usually don't spend big at that position due to the salary cap so being an MLS starter doesn't set the bar high enough in terms of having someone that could cut it against World Cup finals level opposition. Alex Bono was able to carve out a career at that level after all.

The problem the CMNT has had historically is that there isn't a lot of depth in quality so there are usually two or three weak links in the starting XI that top level opposition can exploit. For a few magical months during the octagon that wasn't the case and everything came together, but three key players down the spine of the team were way too close to retirement for it to last through to 2026 without a significant rebuild.

[Floortom]

49 minutes ago, Ruffian said:

Walker Zimmerman started last night and is a regular starter for the USMNT. This just sounds like " I hope they move to Europe" as if that makes the player a better player.

Zimmerman is on a whole different level than Miller / Kennedy etc

having an elite MLS CB would be awesome for our program. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by Floortom

[VinceA]

Zimmerman is arguably the best CB in MLS. Robinson is right there with him.

Miller is in the class below that. Which we've seen at the biggest level will struggle.

[SirBobsaget]

On 6/19/2023 at 10:08 AM, Ruffian said:

Walker Zimmerman started last night and is a regular starter for the USMNT. This just sounds like " I hope they move to Europe" as if that makes the player a better player.

Zimmerman is a DP.  I wrote MLS starter but not MLS DP/TAM quality. A backline with all MLS DPs would be great.

[costarg]

I'm putting my money on a Bombito / McGraw CB pairing.  Love VItoria and all, but this is just so exciting and hopeful.  I wanna take the new car out for a spin!

[narduch]

19 minutes ago, costarg said:

I'm putting my money on a Bombito / McGraw CB pairing.  Love VItoria and all, but this is just so exciting and hopeful.  I wanna take the new car out for a spin!

That's not Herdman at all. He will play the most obvious starters

Maybe if the 3rd group match is meaningless others will start

[dyslexic nam]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

That's not Herdman at all. He will play the most obvious starters

Maybe if the 3rd group match is meaningless others will start

Yeah it might have been different if we had won NL - I could see him being more experimental.  But with the loss in the finals I suspect he will use the GC to be as competitive as possible with the squad at his disposal.  

[BearcatSA]

17 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

Yeah it might have been different if we had won NL - I could see him being more experimental.  But with the loss in the finals I suspect he will use the GC to be as competitive as possible with the squad at his disposal.  

I think we'll see a back four with Vitoria partnering a newbie.

[clamlinguine]

I think Johnson is our only reliable defender. I'd like to see Kone converted to a central defender. He would look good back there imo.

[dyslexic nam]

3 minutes ago, clamlinguine said:

I think Johnson is our only reliable defender. I'd like to see Kone converted to a central defender. He would look good back there imo.

That is an odd take. 
 

Vitoria is extremely reliable and played better than Alistair in NL.  And I have seen nothing from Kone to suggest he would be a good CB.  Conversely he has the tools to become a dominant CONCACAF midfielder.  

[clamlinguine]

10 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

That is an odd take. 
 

Vitoria is extremely reliable and played better than Alistair in NL.  And I have seen nothing from Kone to suggest he would be a good CB.  Conversely he has the tools to become a dominant CONCACAF midfielder.  

I see agility, height and strength. The agility part is what we lack and he could bring to the table. Then of course there is the skill...

[dyslexic nam]

9 hours ago, clamlinguine said:

I see agility, height and strength. The agility part is what we lack and he could bring to the table. Then of course there is the skill...

Maybe - but it is really just a thought experiment.  He is a central mid who is advancing his career in that position.  There is 0% chance he converts to a new position just because we may have some roster spots back there. 

[Bigandy]

11 hours ago, clamlinguine said:

I see agility, height and strength. The agility part is what we lack and he could bring to the table. Then of course there is the skill...

None of those 3 traits are reasons alone to convert a CM into a CB. Kone glides around the field with the ball at his feet. Although his work rate is good, he isnt the type of player who thrives in defending 1v1. All of his attributes, and the depth chart of CMNT suggest he is best utilized as a CM. 

Bombito has those 3 qualities but also possesses many more traits of a defender. Mcgraw is similar. Now factor in Cornelius, Kennedy and some future prospects and height, strength and speed are not much of a concern. 

A back three of cornelius mcgraw and bombito with kamal and kennedy on the bench is a massive upgrade in height and strength if thats all you want. 

[canuckgbp]

We need the Kone of CB’s to emerge. Still hoping for a young diamond in the rough. 

[Bison44]

Well in the last 6 months we have had Heibert, Bombito and McGraw come into the picture.  Zator has been upping his game in europe, Cornelius is back in the fold and Waterman has solidified his spot in MLS.  No diamond yet, but we are getting a nice collection of garnets and emeralds.