I'm curious what everyone thnks about putting Convey at left back. In my estimation, it could be a very good move, and likely the only place Bobby could expect to get many minutes in 2006. In center midfield, he's behind a pretty good number of guys, who are not going anywhere for a few years, with Donovan and O'Brien being at the head of the pack. On the left, Beasley's not going anywhere anytime soon. Unless we get hit by a string of injuries, I just don't see Convey getting time in any big games, or in Germany 2006. He'll be lucky to lock up a backup spot behind Beasley on the left. However, in the back, he's instantly one of the quickest, most skillful players we've got. His size should not be an issue on the outside. The key is if he can play solid enough defensively. If he can, this may end up being a good career move for him internationally, unless he'd prefer to wait until after 2006 to play a role on the US team. Now, of course, injuries may shake this thing up, but as it stands with everyone healthy, Convey's looking like a left back or left out unless he improves drastically over the next four years.
Improve over the next four years? But since he's all of nineteen! Arena should call up some new talent instead of these old guys.
i don't like convey playing left back... not b/c of his size (just look at Roberto Carlos) but he's too skill offensively... I dunno how Bruce ranks him in the central midfield but after Donovan and Reyna, who's better than Convey in the middle? Martino? Olsen? Maybe if Cory Gibbs was here last nite, we would of see Convey in the middle and Gibbs at left back...
Convey's position will be detemined by a number of factors that are not immediately noticeable. In a 442, you will probably have a an Olsen/Klein-DMB-JOB-Mastro midfield. In a 3-5-2, if Reyna returns and is still in good form, the center mids will be JOB-Mastro-Reyna. The only situation where I see him in midfield, barring injury, is if Reyna doesn't come back well or gets too old, and we go 3-5-2.Of course in that situation, it may well be LD that plays the midfield. Plus there are questions about the back spot Barrett? Gbandi? Do they step up and push him back into the midfield?
In front of Bobby in the center of midfield would be Donovan, O'Brien, and Martino for forward thinking guys and Pablo and Armas at least defensively. That's 5 guys for 2 spots and the odds of even a rash of injuries taking 'em all out is slim. He's got a better shot on the left wing, hoping for Beasley to go down. But, Beasley's looked pretty sturdy and ain't mcuh older so he's not going anywhere for a long time. Now, I'm not saying that Convey is not good and young. He is. I'm saying that he's not good enough, right now and very possibly until after 2006 to be a big part of the US midfield. That's not all bad for a kid his age. He'll still only be what 23-24 in 2007? That would put him in great shape for spot in 2010. I guess the real question to me becomes, is he better off playing left back with a decent shot at getting time in 2006 or waiting his turn to play in midfield for 2010.
I guess it depends on if you think his time at left back will help him improve his overall game. I think we'll have natural left backs available in the coming years who will need time there, and I wouldn't want him to take away their development. In all honesty, I think he could have played center midfield last night, it's not like we maintained our shape well.
ghost is right. barrett, gbandi, (and even gibbs) may be more natural left backs than convey, and might beat him out for that spot. i think we all agree that he is behind several pretty good players in the midfield as well. imho, i don't see convey with a shot at making the team in '06, but this is a good problem to have. in fact, i predict that in this next cycle, we'll have a lot more people - like suarez and keller, for example - who will (depending on available options of course) choose another country, or simply not answer bruce's call because they feel they are being used as practice fodder and never get to play in the real game. signs that we are (slowly) developing as a soccer nation.
At a-mid, you've got Reyna, O'Brien, Mathis, and Donovan who will all be ahead of Convey in 2006. On the left, you've got Bease, Olsen, and possibly Quaranta, possibly Lewis, if he's still around. O'Brien also played left mid for us, IIRC. I think it's at least worth trying Bobby out at left back. The fact is, we've got a lot of talent competing for the front six positions, and it is a real shame to have someone as talented as Convey sitting the bench, or worse yet, not even making the team. My main question about Bobby at left back is whether he has the speed to be a competent wing-back at the international level. He never struck me as particularly fast. But maybe he's faster than he looks (IMHO, he always looks a little funny when he runs -- arms and ankles flailing, etc.).
from the wanderer: Just curious, what do you mean like Keller? --------------------------------------------------------------------- it's known on these boards that keller has been very upset that whenever he and brad are called up, brad seems to play in the game and he sits. he has a beef with bruce in that regard.
At this point, I think the most important thing is for Convey to get (international) game experience wherever and whenever possible. I really don't think Bruce sees him as the left-back of the future, but as we saw last summer, he likes his players to be able to fill a variety of positions. If he can show some versatility, I would say he is a lock to make the squad in 06. Think Eddie Lewis or Frankie Hejduk type roles (remember, nobody knew if either of these guys would see a minute of playing time, pre-WC).
Bobby's getting a good look Whether or not Bobby's the best to play left back, or whether he should be center mid or whatever position he's at.... He's getting some incredible experience at every level of the game. I think that as he jumps around from positions (i.e. Left Mid with United, Center Mid with U-20s and 23s, Left Back with Men's Nats), he's developing the skills that can help improve his Center Mid responsibilities, not to mention the experience to become a valuable "utility" sub. And Bruce loves to have players who can fill in all over the field. One thing for sure you can say about Bruce is that his field roster is always one that prompts conversations. During the WC, it seemed nobody was a sure thing for one spot (aside from whose in goal). Lot's and lot's of changes. 2006 is still a few years away and Convey's 19. It will be very exciting to see where he ends up with the Nats.
I remember the US/Brazil game a few years ago at the Rose Bowl which had a good amount of overseas talent and Bobby was the standout player of the game as pointed out by the Brazilians. He has more skill and vision than almost any player in his peer group, his pace is improving as well (having to cover back for Ivan the slow as mud last season did that). The fact that Bobby gets the call-ups that the other guys you all mention is really important. Bruce is grooming Bobby for 2006, if he wanted other players in that position (or any position) why would he not have called them into this camp. I think pairing Bobby and Landon in the midfield would be the ultimate pairing providing Claudio doesn't play in 2006. james
these days the left and right back becoming more important, those positions need someone w/ attacking ability, i think thats why BA put him there and also because we have too many midfielders ( Reyna, O'Brien, Mastroeni, Armas ) at this time.
Exactly, so why do you put him at left back then? Because we're so cluttered up with ACM types? JOB and Reyna are holding mids, and they're not going to be playing in these piddly friendlies. Why not try Convey in the center in these types of games? I'll defer to Bruce since he sees him in camp.
My belief is that Arena sees Convey as sort of a "swiss-army-knife" type of player. Perhaps his true role is in the center of the midfield, but Arena wants him to be able to slot into other roles as the situation requires. Also, the biggest knock on Convey is a lack of defensive presence. Perhaps this is Arena's way of getting the message across. Sachin
Personally I think when you get right down to it Arena didnt have a heck of a lot of room to maneuver at the outside backs if Saurez has not been 100% and with Barret leaving camp. Lets see if its repeated.
has Convey played game at positions other than lefft back for the Nats? I can only think of last night and Brazil, and he was left back in both.
The situation seems somewhat similar to that of JOB at Ajax last season. He is most suited to play central midfield, but Ajax has loads of talent there, so they put him at left back. It gets his skills on the field and covers up what would otherwise be a weaker position for them.
I think it's kinda crappy that Convey played LB. No big deal, but Boca or Victorine could've played there, we had options. But remember, Canada had one or no forwards for this game. I'm sure Bruce planned to have both wingbacks getting forward as much as possible. In that case wing midfielders work great. Morrisey> Convey played well against Brazil, but if you watch the game again there's a guy called Mathis who was the US man of the match.
I have to disagree with a lot of this conjecture. First off, on why Convey played left back last night. Notice that only two players played left back last night, one was central defensive midfielder Peter Vagenas, and the other was Convey, arguably also a center midfielder and definitely a midfielder. Without Gibbs, Arena had significantly reduced options, so he went offensive by inserting a second left winger--Convey. The way Convey played left back last night was exactly how he played left wing against Brazil. Both times he was very aggressive box to box but probably played more offensively than defensively. With DaMarcus' versatility it allowed the two to play interchangably, and for the most part, they did. DaMarcus played the wing on counter-attacks, and drifted inside when gaps opened. Convey stayed wide and concentrated on serving crosses. Both tracked back. As for who is "ahead" of Convey for 2006, I'm not sure anyone really is. Certainly Reyna is ahead of Convey for 2004, but by 2006 Convey will no longer be the teenager he is today, he'll be a 23 year old man. By contrast, the oft-injured Reyna will be on the down side of his career most likely. I love Reyna, and expect him to make the team, but I wouldn't necessarily say that he'll still be ahead of Convey at that time. Let's look at the other candidates. John O'Brien will likely be a mainstay of that team--if healthy. But he will likely play holding mid with license to move forward. He can play with or in place of Mastroeni. Also, he can play left winger or left back, much like Convey and DaMarcus. Assuming O'Brien is healthy he's a starter, but not necessarily at central attacking midfield. IMHO, Donovan will be the creative forward in 2006, not the central midfielder. Guys who can score goals are priceless, and I don't see Arena requiring Donovan to spend most of his time in midfield. Saying Martino is ahead of Convey is highly speculative. Currently it is debatable that Martino is better than Convey, and Convey is 19 and Martino is several years older (22?). Frankly, I think Convey is significantly better now, and will be far better than Martino by 2006. Judging on how each of them played recently for the National Team, I think it is clear that Convey outperformed Martino, and neither really played central attacking mid. Plus, if Arena builds this team the way I expect him to build it, he'll have most of his attacking players who can shift positions and unbalence opposing defenses. This allows him to take advantage of any gaps that might arise. Because it is so difficult to score on international defenses, this is a very big advantage. I liken the "American Style" to a basketball fast-break offense of all 6'7" guards. It's not quite the Dutch "Total Football" but it does mean that every player takes up space depending upon where the gap appears, and is fully equipped to play whatever role (creator, passer, finisher) that is appropriate for that situation. Guys like Donovan, Mathis, Convey, O'Brien, Beasley, Olsen, and Reyna can all play that type of game. There are other players who may be added to the mix as well, such as Oguchi Onyewu, Ryan Suarez, Chris Gbandi and Steve Cherundolo who can play that game as well. So, Convey will play. I don't think he'll be the left back, but in this particular game Arena wanted to get Donovan some time in midfield and allow Cunningham and Twellman to get some time up top. When 2006 arrives, I expect Donovan will be a forward. But, Donovan may be the back up center mid. When we are protecting a lead Donovan may be moved back into midfield as we play with only one striker. Or, if we need to equalize and overload on offense, we may take out a midfielder and add a forward with Donovan sliding back. So Donovan definitely needs practice in central midfield. But, by 2006, I think it's Convey's position. -Tron
Here's an evaluation of the players from the US v. Canada friendly. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/NationalTeams/1043013906/view -Tron
I agree with this, as well as nobody's post. It may be a matter of finding room for him with the LD, DMB, JOB, Captain America bits running around. And remember two things: 1. It's always good to be versatile. Look at how much lineup shifting was needed during the World Cup. 2. You never know, we may have Bobbito Carlos....
Remember Leonardo, the guy who fractured Tab Ramos' skull in 1994. Well he was a pretty skillful player. Started as an attacking mid for AC Milan but played LB for Brazil in 94. Convey is our Leornardo. It is a great sign that a player of Convey's caliber can't crack our starting midfield and is being used at LB. Under Arena's system, the outside backs do a lot of attacking, and we'll be a much better team with skillfull teams at that spot. Canada was not a real test for Convey. We need to see whether he is a defensive liability against a team like Argentina.