Hey everyone. I'm a DC fan that is inconveniently located in San Jose and get most of my recaps of the games from all of you on the east coast (thanks by the way). It seemed for a while that Convey was struggling to find his place. From what I have read, it sounds like he has improved his play drastically in recent games. So how do you all feel that Convey is doing? Also, I read that bobby had played very well in center mid this weekend with the junior nats. Any thoughts on if/when he may replace Etch?
IMHO Convey has been outstanding this entire season. His play down the sidelines has been dangerous, and if I'm not mistaken, he is responsible for DCU's last 2 goals, including the game winner over LAG. I don't think he is the replacement for Etch. No one can replace Etch. Personally, I think Bobby can do the most damage when he's working down the sidelines. When he moves into the middle, he gets a little overwhelmed. TS.
Convey would have better stats if he didn't spend half the game covering for McKinley's slow ass. Stayme, check out the thread on DC fans for the SJ game on 8/17. We would love to see you in our section. I am now in SF. james
That is on target and if Convey didn't have to do so, we probably would have a few more goals. But who wants those?
I too believe Bobby is most effective on the wing. However, his body is really growing, he seems taller and much stronger and physically mature. Maybe if he gets a little stronger he might hold up in the center better. I personally think since his benching and re-instatment, Bobby has been the most consistent player on the team and certainly the most dangerous. His workrate on the outside has been tremedous and he seems to have a gotten more confident on the ball. In addition to the aforementioned coverage of Ivan, he has also had severe problems due to injuries in our frontline. Countless times he has done exceptional work making runs down the line or to the box, and no one is there. Or he'll make a give and go and not get the ball back. You could see him and Tino just beginning to click, to work some great little two man pieces, and boom chino is out. The rest of the pre-Olsen midfield has also been shaky. Villeagas plays in a fog, he seems to have no idea where he is on the field, etch has really struggled this year--his best remaining skill, the devasting long ball is wasted on our frontrunners when Jaime and Tino are out. Richie has been ok and the other guys like Chino and Namoff really aren't good enough players to play much in MLS. This has resulted in Bobby often times stranded with no support in the final third.
I asked Ray Hudson at the All-Star Game party whether Convey might move to central midfield next year if Etch retires. He gave the same reply he had said publicly earlier in the year... that they had already tried it and Bobby didn't "enjoy it" as much as he had expected. Perhaps in a few years as his game develops it will eventually occur. I agree that Bobby has looked very solid on the wing the last two months.
Convey Rules Convey played central attacking mid exactly one game this season, and the Rapids ate him for lunch. His biggest problems were being unfamiliar with the position he didn't know how to properly show for the ball, and he wasn't accustomed to the heavy physical presence given in the center of the pitch. Both of those are correctable, but in reality, it's a mental thing. Once Convey gets experience in the center of the park, he'll learn how to come back to the ball, and receive the ball with a man on his back. Right now his game consists of having space and facing the goal. He'll get used to playing with his back to the goal, and he'll get comfortable with it. He'll practice turning and he'll realize how to use all of the space in the center of the park while keeping an eye out for an onrushing defender from virtually any angle. At first, it is daunting. Without sustained practice at the position, it's pretty easy to rattle a teenager at that position, and the Rapids did just that. In time, Convey will learn to make them pay for that approach. But not yet. IMHO, United has been placing Convey in more practice situations that simulate those conditions. Their intention is to make it a routine situation, so that when he starts playing there in practice, he'll be more comfortable there. But, for now, he still defers to Etch, and fears the competition with Etch at that position. He'll grow out of that. One day very soon, he'll realize that he can be the man. When that day comes, you will see a revelation in his play. He will no longer simply drift centrally when he has the ball and is moving forward ... he'll park his azz there and dare the Dmid to deny him the ball. He'll turn on the Dmid, rush straight into the heart of the opposing defense, and dish for an easy goal. That day he'll realize that he already has the skills needed, and with that realization will come the dawn of another great United era. I believe that. We will see that happen some day very soon. Probably next season, but soon. Convey is getting bigger, stronger (and seemingly slower) and more complete. He has added defending to his repertoire this season and by next season should be fairly decent at it. The next step is demanding the ball. Having personalities like Olsen around can only help him develop that mentality. In this regard he's sorta like Neo in The Matrix ... if he only realized his ability, it wouldn't really be a fair game, but he hasn't realized it yet. Yeah, I think he has a ton of ability, and by 2006 I think he'll be the attacking midfielder for the USMNT. In fact, I included him as the attacking mid in this thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=4994 -Tron
Re: Convey Rules I am not really sure he is slower at all. I think he moves more directly this year not always trying to run away from defenders but attacking defenders more. He used to jitterbug around and try to run around people instead of working at them. Personally I think United's entire attack is slower and more deliberate than the past few years. I have seen plays where Convey has linked up with Tino for example and been extremely fast. He has also carried the ball a lot more this year than run onto it as he did last year.
Not likely to happen anytime soon with Ray Hudson coaching. I would really like to see Convey get more minutes at attacking midfielder and Mapp get the same at left midfielder. They both start at these positions for the US U-20 team, they can't be that bad. What exactly is going to happen that is worse than what is happening now? At least there would be something more interesting to watch. Heck, maybe it would light a fire under some of the veterans. But no, DC United continues to compound being really bad with being really boring.
Yeah, those U-20s did a great job under the fine coaching of Thomas Rongen. Scoreless draw with Mexico, and a loss to Canada. Good show.
Yeah I read that in the SA confidential. Convey was actually subbed after the first half against Mexico. So much for Rongen developing young talent. Actually they may not qualify for the U-20 World Cup, the way they are playing.
Convey is a talented kid when he was playing with kids.TR was totally wrong when he took him to the professional level without any training.He is no mach for a professional midfielder in MLS.He has no physical qualities and no techinical skills to write home about.What in the world is he playing?? 8 out of 10 of his runs end up to the defender or out of play,his crosses have not been used by anybody,so far.He lacks dribbling skills.His shots from outside the box are useless,he never scored by shots from outside the box and despite the common sense, he keep on shooting in the stands. I agree he had no coaching supervision in the MLS.TR was a joke of a coach and RH doesn't seem to be able to improve Convey's game. Soo,I would think he has better chances to make progress in the A-league with a dedicated coach or abroad with an europeean developing team.A career just like Donovan, who gained a good experience playing for a europeean developing team.
Re: Re: Convey's Play? Every time Convey has been in Etch's role, regardless of who has been the coach, he has been a total liability out there. He's much better on the wing. The reason why his crosses haven't come to much is because we don't have an aerial attack, especially with Tino out. Our best headers of the ball are our defenders (Pope, Nelsen, McKinley). Dave
sormun you are spot on. Remember that cross he hit off a volley, left footed in overtime to Ivan McKinley against Kansas City that won the game for us? Didn't think so. Or what about that one to Ivan again just recently when facing the Revolution that only ITT could miss on a perfect diving header. There are so many more that I could name, but do I really need to? I think maybe you used to go out with Becca Payne or someone and he stole your girl, or he stole your spot on some team or something because you have been completely anti-Convey on these boards when aside from Olsen for a total of 50 minutes this season Bobby has been by far our most productive and consistant player.
Convey, you know--the guy that last scored for United oh so long ago--will be attacking a lot against a very compact Wizards back line. Hopefully we'll see some good feeds into the box, and with any luck, we'll actually finish some of his serves. According to Hudson both Convey, who played central creative midfielder, and Mapp, who played left wing, did well in their recent stint with the Youth National Team. -Tron
He owned Burns yesterday! I met Bobby at meet the team day. He was wearing a sling on his right arm. I told him that next time he plays agains the Wizards he should wear a cast, and beat Mike Burns over the head with it! He did not respond, probably though I was crazy!
You must be kidding !!! So what?? He had some lucky strikes.If,you were playing in his place, you could be scoring one time and have one assist.But,we are talking about 20 games here.Why don't you check the performance of other midfielders in the league.You will find that his performance is comparable with one of a substitute midfielder. You guys realy push me on this!! Let me tell you what I really think about this player.A lot of people are considering "talent" the player abillity to run fast with the ball,also,beeing able to control the ball fairly easy and to be able to pass the ball well. Those qualities are recognized by the majority of the people.But,for the professionals those are only the basics. Talent means a certain ability in playing the ball that takes by surprise another player.The way the talented player moves brings a certain unknown factor to the game and this ability is TALENT.A very predicable player is not a talented one.They have qualities,sure they do: speed,ball control,physical strenth etc. but not "talent".Those players can be good players but not talented ones. IMHO, Convey does not have the "talent" as for the professionals,he belongs to Chris Albright type,good speed,head down when running,no briliant playing,nothing to write home about. That's why I believe he can become a good player but never a " talented player ".There was really no reason at all to bring him from the juniors level to play in the professional league.His MLS record proves my point. Sorry guys, I know it sounds logic to have a young american player taking over the playmaker position, I understand that.But, trust me on this one,Convey is not the one. No matter what the coach does,what the fans are rooting for, he just lacks the TALENT to play the playmaker. Do not bother me with Convey anymore, I stick to my guns: he lacks the TALENT,sure he can sing in the quire but never as a " primadonna ".
Heh, well since you're so forthcoming ... name talented players. And, name the best team in MLS and tell us WHY they are the best team. Explain exactly what constitutes good offensive wing play besides scoring goals, because obviously continually playing dangerous balls to people inside the box that the receiving forward flubs or shoots right at the keeper doesn't qualify. If Beckham played 10 great crosses into extremely dangerous positions to players with great opportunities to score, but the forwards didn't score, would he be a subpar player? Let's not even get into the whole playing defense or being beaten-up while playing yet only drawing a single yellow card from Burns part of it. No offense, but I think you simply refuse to give credit where it is due. There is only so much you can tally up to luck. Eventually you need to admit that the guy has skill. Do you think Twellman is all luck as well? You lost a LOT of credibility when you cited Cienfuegos as a good player. Frankly, Cien has lost it, and is in no way as effective as Etch, whom you admit is unacceptably low quality in your mind. Look, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Decent finishing and we would have won 7 of our last 9 games. Without decent finishing, we're in dead last place. While not perfect, it's not the midfield that's the problem. We ARE creating chances, and we're playing solid defense and have maintained great possession. Finishing ... we can't even spell it recently. -Tron
The jury may be out on whether Bobby's future role is in the middle or on the wing, but there is no way any objective person can say that Bobby has not been playing at or near an all-star level over the last two months. Anyone who compares Convey's play this year to anything Albright ever did has no credibility. The areas that I'd most like to see Bobby improve are his shooting and use of his right foot... but I think both will come as he gets older and continues to mature physically.
sormun- I agree with you that a team will play in a match the way they play in training. I also have my doubts about the training methods of the team and have said so to some of my neighbors at RFK. That said, I take issue (again) with your assessment of the talent of young Robert Convey. To suggest that United took 4 months off and San Jose was training hard is patently absurd, unless you were working out in SJ last winter. United continued training throughout the offseason. It began with preparations for the Unity games under the watchful eye of Curt Onalfo (and as I remember, the team played pretty well even when it wasn't an all-star squad out there). It continued as the team prepared for early CCC matches. I don't know what San Jose did, but I don't think it was an intensive training camp as you have suggested. To suggest that John Wilmar Perez is a talented young midfielder at the age of 32 is a wee bit of a stretch. The other young midfielders you mention are indeed good players, but only DaMarcus Beasley has produced at a level higher than Bobby Convey. I would also say that Vaca (8 points) is a wonderful young player that has 1 goal to Convey's (6 points) 2 this season and 6 assists to Convey's 2 due mainly to the fact that he's passing to Jason Kreis, not Ali Curtis in most games. Really, I think they are both great young players and pretty even in talent. The other guys -- Martino and Davis are promising and may turn out to be wonderful, but have done nothing to make one think that they would displace Convey in any lineup. At some point you will have to concede that Convey has skill, vision, and the desire to be a fantastic player in this league and any other league he wishes. With the right players around him he would already be a shining star. I really don't think playing with A-League forwards is going to improve his game, regardless of how 'intense' the training sessions are.
Sormun, it's a bit inconsistent to say that DaMarcus is a great winger and Convey is subpar. While DaMarcus played extremely well in the World Cup, his showing in MLS has been only marginally better than Convey's. DaMarcus has more speed and plays better defense, but does not create as many scoring opportunities. As great a player as Damarcus is--and I completely agree with you that he is--DaMarcus doesn't create as many good goal scoring opportunities as Convey does thus far this season. The only difference, is that Bradley fields teams that have finishers ... we cannot seem to do that. As for the great teams, I totally agree about San Jose and Dallas, two teams that are very well coached and have a lot of talent. But, I don't think that Colorado has the talent. Their midfield is strong, but their back line is weak and their forward line is weak. Good coaching and a strong midfield have gotten them far, but IMHO, they're not a great team. LA has good elements, but I do not consider them a great team either. Simon Elliott and Carlos Ruiz are the real deals. Cobi, when on his game, is also very good. Ezra Hendrickson and Danny Califf are good players. But the rest of the LA Galaxy are subpar players. Their midfield is nowhere near as good as United's IMHO. Cienfuegos isn't any better than Chino at this point in his career, and cannot compare to Etch. Vagenas is good, but no better than Richie Williams. Vagenas is better offensively, but not as good defensively. Ruiz has no partner (Mullan has potential, as does Glinton and Albright, but thus far none are quality). Victorine is pedestrian. Lalas is wiley, but he doesn't have the speed anymore. Hendrickson is the only wing back that LA has. This is not the team that won two pieces of silverware last season ... not even close. We disagree, not a big deal, but that's what makes this fun. -Tron
yeah sorum i have to ask what you seem to have against him. i usually agree with a lot of your assessments (and i even like some of your wilder stuff, its fun) but i think you have a problem with convey. he is plain and simple a classier player than most any kid his age in our national pool. he has a sweet little touch, plays better in tight space than any young kid we have other than donovan. he has consistently shown an ability this year to carry a ball into the area, create dangerous situations and chances. Any night United has had a good night this year has involved him doing yeoman's work on the flank. Moreover he has dramatically improved on defense. He is now a strong tackler and very sure on defense. As mentioned above, he is much bigger and stronger and to me has addressed his formerly biggest weakness. i honestly think you have something blocking you from seeing this (or you just like to f#¤k with the board) or something. i mean he hasn't played poorly at all this year and especially the last 7 games or so.
Just as a distraction to the sormun show, (and I don't know what you guys see in hitting a brick wall over and over again) Convey normally gets the better of Klein since the beginning of last year. To me if a player consistantly outplays another national teamer than that player is good. Convey is very very good.