Yeah good stuff. We were very close to picking him here as his quality made him a standout in the pool.
Tactical Draft
- Thread starter Šjor Bepo
- Start date
Count the times the commentator says “stopped by McGrath”, “cleared by McGrath” or simply “McGrath...again”. Decent drinking game, that. No pun intended, of course.
Immense performance, of course. Literally didn't put a foot wrong - defensively.
It's nevertheless interesting to note one thing, which is quite apparent in that compilation – not intentional, but all the more interesting: Within those ten minutes or so, you can see three or four passes by Baresi – at least three of them are long, and precise. Whereas McGrath, great as he was, is clearly a bit hit and miss with his attempts at starting attacks.
No slight on the great man, of course – but just to put things into perspective. And, yes, I realize of course that the comparison here is feckin' Baresi and not some random “ball playing” mug. But in a draft context I think it's important to keep one's feet on the ground, as it were, when it comes to McGrath - because he's got everything going for him as the archetypal “underrated” man. And he is that – in the sense that he was simply better than a number of players whose names are more obvious.
But his claim to greatness lies in his “pure” defending: His anticipation, his tackling, his knack of having just the right burst of pace in him to get there in time, his aerial challenges, etc. As a ball player he wasn't anything special – I guess that's what I'm trying to say.
Immense performance, of course. Literally didn't put a foot wrong - defensively.
It's nevertheless interesting to note one thing, which is quite apparent in that compilation – not intentional, but all the more interesting: Within those ten minutes or so, you can see three or four passes by Baresi – at least three of them are long, and precise. Whereas McGrath, great as he was, is clearly a bit hit and miss with his attempts at starting attacks.
No slight on the great man, of course – but just to put things into perspective. And, yes, I realize of course that the comparison here is feckin' Baresi and not some random “ball playing” mug. But in a draft context I think it's important to keep one's feet on the ground, as it were, when it comes to McGrath - because he's got everything going for him as the archetypal “underrated” man. And he is that – in the sense that he was simply better than a number of players whose names are more obvious.
But his claim to greatness lies in his “pure” defending: His anticipation, his tackling, his knack of having just the right burst of pace in him to get there in time, his aerial challenges, etc. As a ball player he wasn't anything special – I guess that's what I'm trying to say.
Agreed with that, McGrath's long range passing and ability to dictate play wasn't consistent or particularly special to be honest, but he had good technique and was a neat and tidy player on the ball, with excellent (or rather consistent/tidy for lack of a better word) short range passing - which allowed him to thrive in midfield for both Ireland and at times for United. Also he knew how best to utilise his skill-set and even deferred to Babb (who was better with his long-range passing) on the ball when there weren't too many great options on the ball in terms of short passes, despite being Ireland's star player and Babb being a rookie, relatively.
I've said this before, I'm sure, but McGrath was one of those players you really want to see live: The stuff that never gets caught by the camera when you watch a match on TV – the way he'd snuff out danger before you, as a fan watching, realize there is any danger there.
He was one of those players you'd just keep your eyes on – even when he was miles from the ball, because he just oozed football, he read the game like an open book – a trait which isn't always obvious to the observer when you just see a defender enter the picture as the camera follows the action (the ball, that is).
Magnificent player. I've said this before too, but I can't put a single United defender, not even Rio, above him in terms of ability.
He was one of those players you'd just keep your eyes on – even when he was miles from the ball, because he just oozed football, he read the game like an open book – a trait which isn't always obvious to the observer when you just see a defender enter the picture as the camera follows the action (the ball, that is).
Magnificent player. I've said this before too, but I can't put a single United defender, not even Rio, above him in terms of ability.
Stam, for the performances he gave while at United, would in my opinion.
Aye, I agree with that, and I said something similar to Edgar in the British-Irish Draft when we played him:
He's similar to Rio in terms of on the ball ability IMO. Both were adroit technically in terms of stepping away with the ball, evading the opposition's pressing and whatnot, but neither were notably expansive long-range passers in the Koeman/Hierro/Bonucci mould.
I also wholeheartedly agree with this.
Thanks @Šjor Bepo for a great draft. Liked it very much.
Yeah it was a grea draft. Really enjoyed it
cheers, i enjoyed it as well 
the games were disappointing but hopefully everyone enjoyed the drafting process(part that i enjoy the most). We saw plenty of new players we dont usually see so that was great as well, feck, Beppe even won the damn thing
the games were disappointing but hopefully everyone enjoyed the drafting process(part that i enjoy the most). We saw plenty of new players we dont usually see so that was great as well, feck, Beppe even won the damn thing
Kudos to that. One of my favorites who unfortunately failed in the SF's when I picked him beforecheers, i enjoyed it as well
the games were disappointing but hopefully everyone enjoyed the drafting process(part that i enjoy the most). We saw plenty of new players we dont usually see so that was great as well, feck, Beppe even won the damn thing
Great job on the draft mate, was fun to participate.
Thanks @Šjor Bepo for running the draft despite the fixing of my game