I think its time to analyze the coach's approach to this. Keep in mind that this is a league where they look on these wunderkind experiments with some skepticism, especially if he is a young Yank. That said, from the games I have read up on, Reading appears to niether especially benefit nor especially suffer from Convey either playing or not playing. In other words, the difference between Bobby and the guy starting ahead of him is still an area of grey to most but the coach apparently must see a distinguishing factor. Or is it that they just want to mentor Bobby some more? The bottom line is that he is simply not getting the PT. This leaves us with two possibilities: a) He hasn't distinguished himself in training or games played. or b) It's the German approach that Donovan ran into of not giving a lot of early PT to the new kid. I have no inkling about which one it actually is, but I will say this: Bobby is the type of player that isn't going to prove anything in short minutes. He will look average to above average in short stints, but he needs a full season of starting minutes to distinguish himself. Again, from what I can see he is not noticably worse than the current starter, but more importantly, he is unlikely to show up as significantly better in the short to medium term either.
I tend to believe there is a 3rd option. c) Bobby was being brought in slowly so as to become aclimated to the game in England... as well as the new teammates and way of life. During this time, he was used as a substitute, and the team has flourished... going 2nd in the table... and with a formula thats working... keep it going. No need to tinker too much with success especially when as you say... he doesn't dramatically alter their fortunes right now (positively or negatively) I do agree though that he's not the type of player that can make a name for himself in short stints.
Beppe, have you actually seen Convey play for Reading? What I'm reading on their message board is: excellent touch on the ball, good vision, but seems to have a mental block about shooting, and still struggles with physical play. The last will improve with time.
The physical play is going to be a problem for a young (and tiny) American, and the guys on the wings are both big (little is large ). He is not, by any standard, a disaster. My feeling is that Convey is not as direct in his play as he needs to be in a very direct league. A lot of his balls are square, or trail, and while Reading do hold possession and he's not the only player who squares, he does it more frequently and with fewer attempts at running at people. I really like his first touch play, I think it opens the field and makes the team better, but he has to mix up his game with Reading. When the ball comes to him just outside the box, and Reading are in the attack, he plays a one touch on, even when he has some space to work. I like his style of play, but it is different from what Little or Brooker would do, which is drive at or by the first man and seeing what the situation looks like then either passing or shooting. I also think he is adjusting. A cross last week on a run was wicked (too hot to handle, but a great idea) , and he did run at a couple people v Crewe. MTC.
Where have Reading fans labelled Convey 'Over priced failure'? In fact it's the total opposite. Just by watching BC on the ball it's obvious to us he's got tonnes of talent and we know it will take him time to settle down after coming from the MLS into English Div 1. I compare his case to Reyes at Arsenal. Reyes took time to settle but now look at him and i'm extremely confident BC will do the same.
Overpriced? So far yes, but he's not been written off by a long shot. He had a curious few minutes after coming on where he didn't seem to know which side of the pitch to play on, but then picked up, had a few runs and even a pretty good shot. It'll take a huge improvement to look a £800,000 player, but that doesn't mean he can't be a decent player in the squad.
It's 'a'. There not much doubt about that. There's no hint at all of him being undeservedly frozen out, or Reading players not pasing to him etc. any player claiming 'b' is either astoundingly unlucky to have joined an unfriendly cliquey team, or is just a whining crybaby. It's not as if signing new and/or foreign players is a rare thing for clubs to do. Any player who is unpopular with his teammates has almost certain done/said things to make himself unpopular.
This is a very good analysis. Why mess up the on-field chemistry of the team now when it's doing so well? I don't really understand all of this Convey bashing. The kid is young, and hadn't been playing well for DC when he left. We know he's not the second coming of Maradona. Soccer fans in the US get very excited when a new talent has developed from our youth setup. British trolls come on here just looking for one of us to overreact. It'll take time for Convey to get going in England. Division 1 is a good level for him right now.
its not the British trolls that cause the problems. We are a fan base that apparently thinks Claudio Reyna is no longer useful to the USMNT.
Ladbrokes Reading's odds moved to 7-1, equal to Ipswich. Better place your bets now before they look like Wigan's at 6-4.
Convey's situation is similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's a year ago. A high-priced signing by the standards of the club, excited executives (SAF gushing over CR, Reading's chairman infatuated with Convey), a young and unproven player. I would judge Convey by the same standards as CR. If the player is among the top players on the squad by year-end, a resounding success. If the player is a reliable starter by year-end, an average result. If the player is fighting for a starting position, a notable failure. Ronaldo was a resounding success. Bobby needs to get some PT soon if he is to enjoy a similar result.
Something missing from this analogy... Cristiano, is a few years younger than Convey, but once he played in front of ManU fans... they said "we need to get him now". The reason his purchase price was "inflated" was because they were afraid of other clubs coming in and beating them to the signing. This didn't happen with Convey - whom was an unknown to most Reading fans prior to his signing, and there were NOT a multitude of other clubs lining up to sign him (based on my recollection of the press at the time of his transfers) Also, Ronaldo made an immediate impact with ManU, delighting fans in his first game with them, showing pace and skill on the ball and making their mouth water for the promising 18 year old. Convey hasn't had that same impression. I agree Bobby needs to get some PT soon if he's going to enjoy a similar result to Ronaldo - but he has to earn that PT first - PT isn't given, it's earned (ok, occasionally it's conceded by lousy play or an injury of the person starting in front of you)
More coin then ever before in the history of the club... You don't spend a record amount if you are expecting a role player. And just to be clear... I don't think Bobby is a failure at Reading... I think he needs a year or so before being judged like that. But I do think Reading expects him to become a star...
Without personally having seen Bobby at Reading, this post is revealing because it sounds like Bobby may be playing stylistically like the USMNT and the Nowak-led DC United: lots of quick one-touch passing into space that relies on teammates recognizing that same open space. Then Nowak has added the element of midfielders completely switching their asigned positions to further confuse the defence. In his short time with DC this year, Bobby did both of those very well.
It's consistantly astonishing, isnt it, though I suppose it shouldnt be by now. Convey will be fine, he just has to keep his head down and work hard, keep a good attitude, and he'll get his chance. Injury, suspension, drop in form...this is why teams have like 30 players on their rosters. Have patience, it's a long season, and in the Championship, it's an especially brutal one. He'll get his chance sooner or later.