Convey Daydreaming...

[kinstlinger]

I'm trying to figure where I sit on the Convey Daydreaming scale.

Left Spectrum - 0
MOMENTARY RISE IN PERFORMANCE

Right Spectrum - 100
TURNED THE CORNER; LIVING UP TO HIS POTENTIAL.

I'm maybe at about a 62, which means he won't be a scoring machine, but can be a contributor in Germany and beyond.

[nobody]

Bit player for Germany; 2010 is still up in the air.

His best shot for a starting role would have been left back, but it looks like Lewis or an out of position Bocanegra have been settling in there. Maybe he'll get another chance back there as its his only real shot at more than a role as an occasional sub.

Left mid he sits behind Beasley and will for the rest of his career. even worse, if we're up a goal, Bobby doesn't get the sub even if beasley gets taken off since he's more offensive than defensive minded. If we're down, Beasley's staying for sure snce he's one of our most dangerous players.

Center mid he sits behind Reyna, O'Brien, Donovan and maybe even Martino while not even in the competition at the more defensive roles there manned by Pablo, Armas, whoever else.

Basically, he's no more than a minor player until the guys in the center fade and even then, considering he's playing the left as a club player, his odds of getting a spot there may not be all that great. Left side he simply cannot beat out Beasley now or in the future.

I'm not trying to be down on Convey as it has been nice to see the recent improvement in his game, but he's just unfortunate to be a left midfield player on a team who's coaches have mentioned the current left mid (Beasley) as one of if not the best player on the team, who happens to be just as young as Bobby and has way more physical tools that Bobby would have to find a way to overcome.

Face it, his problem ends up being he's a left mid and the comparison is Reading left mid having decent 2nd season on second tier English team against PSV left mid in top Dutch division that led the team in Champion's League goals. Not really much of a contest.

[Jagermeister]

You're just trying to get one of those "less filling" "tastes great" 200 post threads going. You are evil.

I give him 56, which rises to about 70-75 if he can do it for a whole year.

Injuries happen, so I'm glad to see him improving.

You forgot Mapp in the above equation. More so for 2010 comp of course.

[scaryice]

I thought this was gonna be a post by Metrofreak... :)

[AndyMead]

which means he won't be a scoring machine

1. Did you really need to state the obvious?

2. Any coach that calls on Convey ain't doing it for the goals he scores. Those are a bonus.

[ursula]

Next to Clint Dempsey, Bobby has the dreamiest eyes in the player pool.

Yum.

[Scoobs]

Yuck.

Though maybe Arena agrees with you...

[Scoobs]

For an attacking player his inability to put a shot a frame is a major drawback. He's become a competent player for the USMNT in the Frankie Hejduk mold a useful but imminently upgradable player.

[Kaiser]

Bruce seems to like him, a lot, so I'dd bet on him making the roster but I don't think we'd need him. O'Brien is better and proven himself at the last WC and has played on the left. Beasley is the starter unless he gets hurt, which happens often. Then there's Eddie Lewis and I think by next year Eddie Gaven might be a better choice for the roster spot. Convey is unfortuately the next Kirovski.

[Jabberwocky]

In my eyes he is a viable backup to Beasley on the left that could still put some honesty into opposing defenses. His shot could use some accuracy but his passes and crosses appear fairly on target. Right now I'd probably rate him around a 65.

Let's not forget Bobby has a good year ahead of him with Reading. I expect him to keep growing into a reliable and dangerous player. That's my day dream anyway.

What I wonder about is that left back position. There is talk of Bocanegra being too slow on the outside, yet I don't recall Lewis being a barnburner either. I suppose Convey and Hedjuk are our speedy outside options in the back.

[russ]

Does anyone think Beasley's getting through all three group games without a)being injured or b) getting switched to the right?

Lewis may well be staring at left back.

We will see Convey in germany.

[ionprovisioner]

If our attack becomes too one-sided, I could definitely see Convey getting some time in Germany. DMB to the right, Convey serving balls in to McBride. If that's the case, I hope he improves a good bit over the remainder of this year. He needs to keep this level of play day-to-day and keep showing those flashes of quickness and anticipation.

I'm a 57.

[Hedbal]

Beasley can play the right wing, where we don't yet have an obvious starter, which gives Convey a fair chance on the left side. On the right, Beasley will compete with Quaranta and/or Ralston, I suppose.

[blech]

in addition to the right, beasley can, and likely will, also play up front. i prefer him on the left myself, but the real question is whether convey can show himself to be in the top 5-6 offensive players. if yes, bruce can and will find a place for him and the others and continue, as he has done in the past, to take advantage of beasley's versatility.

the point about beasley sitting a game due to injury is also a good one. convey doesn't look to be a star, but he's likely to get some time, and the fact that he also can potentially play more than one position is going to inure to his benefit in the final selection.

[sidefootsitter]

Beasley is horrible on the right, as proven for the 3rd time at Costa Rica.

As to Bobby, he can play left-wing or a left-mid and I'd also try him with Reyna as a back-up to JOB in deep mid in a 4-4-2 Box.

He could also be tried as a central midfielder and I have a feeling that the spring tour of Europe will decide who stays or who goes.

Donovan has the dibs at the AM spot but Landon had better perform well against the top quality competition. So far he is "O for O-Five" with his performances vs. England and Mexico (twice). Anymore subpar appearances and the AM position will be up for grabs again. Bobby could make a claim for it. Ditto for Justin Mapp.

As to the scale - Bobby's a 75% IMO, but his upside is limited a bit due to his size or lack thereof. This is first full year of playing for Reading and it's possible he would be even more improved going into the World Cup.

[H]

Bit player for Germany; 2010 is still up in the air.

His best shot for a starting role would have been left back, but it looks like Lewis or an out of position Bocanegra have been settling in there. Maybe he'll get another chance back there as its his only real shot at more than a role as an occasional sub.



Let's think about this for a minute. In the T&T game where the Lewis at left back experiment began, Lewis starts at left back and Convey starts at midfield. Convey is out because of cards for the Mexico game. In the CR game, Lewis starts at left wing and Convey at central midfield. Now suppose you have two players (predominantly midfielders) who can play both defense and midfield. I would guess that most coaches would play the one they think is the more complete player in midfield. Unless that player is a lousy defender, if the coach has to choose just one of those two to play in the game, it would be the one who played midfield. This is why I would not read Lewis as being currently ahead of Convey on the left back depth chart.

[Sinko]

Next to Clint Dempsey, Bobby has the dreamiest eyes in the player pool.

Yum.
So you obviously give Bobby a 69.

:p

[kingcalcio]

Bobby's in already, barring injury. Here's why:

Bruce expects Lewis to turn out to be a better left back than Dolo is a right back (which is saying a lot). Eddie's ability to get forward, overlap and use the touch line like a midfielder, and his cross and shot, adds one more problem with the U.S. attack for any WC opponent. AND Lewis knows how to defend and has plenty of pace to do so at this level.

Bobby is a potential backup to Eddie at left fullback. He's also the obvious backup to DMB at left mid (the position in which he's having consistently good games for Reading this season--voted player of the month by the fans, third-best midfielder in the league, and to the league's weekly "best 11" squad already, so I'm at 75).

Finally, Bobby has the skill, pace and brain to team with Claudio or Landon if necessary. Although you'd never know it from the Costa Rica game (and take a look at the game again before you say it was Bobby's fault when Beasley did even worse), Bobby is giving great service to Reading's strikers after he's cut into the center of the pitch. Bobby's corners and direct kicks are as good as Landon's and better than Claudio's.

So, Bobby's a backup in central mid as well. IMO, given DOB's fragility lately, central mid is where we're most likely to see Bobby.

That's three positions in which Convey gives Bruce a very credible backup. Apart from those field players you know you're going to start, and assuming Convey isn't one of them, what more do you want if you're putting your WC roster to bed?

PLUS, Bobby is young and should come out of the Fizzy (Coca-Cola Championship) League enormously fit. Bruce knows those are real premiums when considering the bounce-back time required of field players during the WC qualifying round and beyond. (Only McBride can defy mother nature.)

[mickhayafe]

So you obviously give Bobby a 69.

:p
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/mickhayafe/smileys/29_1_9.gif