http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~588144,00.html Straight from the club, and interesting comments about how they're looking for more Americans. "Our man in America" again rates Convey as one of the three best products of the US youth system, btw. At least this is an in depth look at convey by the club.
que 500 people to bash and ridicule Rob Barberi as an utter moron who has no idea what he's talking about. Afterall, he's saying that Convey is going to be a great player. That makes him an idiot
So he thinks an epic clash between Reading and Cardiff City is more taxing than, say, USA vs. Mexico? Bollocks. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's looking at Americans and still is optimistic regarding Convey, but that quote of his rubbed me the wrong way. Arrogant Brit.
when has Convey been involved in a USA match vs Mexico that actually meant something? Our qualifiers would be pressure packed, He's only played in one of them thus far
He's an American, a lawyer, and not a soccer expert. He's hired to negotiate contracts with American players identified by the team, so he speaks for the team, but his soccer experience, coaching his kids and ref-ing, leave a lot to be desried. What I find interesting about the comments, is that he's saying everyone knew convey would have a long break-in period, but that they expect to see great things by the end of the season, and they expect him to grow with the club if they can get promoted.
Emphasis mine. Convey's dynamite when he plays against children. When he's matched up against men, he's produced a bare handful of compelling performances in five years as a professional and two years with the national team. AJ Wood was a great youth player, too.
It's in the free section of their website, but you may have to register (the link works for me, but I may have a cookie. i didn't think so, but...) The interview is interesting and much more detailed, but that's in the pay section. rEading are offering a free month trial for that, and it comes with radio broadcasts for most games in england.
Be careful, Matrim. Try to make it seem you kneel at The Altar of the Golden God, Bobby Convey. Apoo, Superdave, and a host of Convey apologists/DCU fans will neg rep you if you don't. Don't point out the obvious, Matrim; Everyone knows that the game is played entirely inside press clippings and not on the pitch.
USA vs. Mexico ALWAYS means something. I get what you're saying, but my point is, the physicality, passion, toughness, blah blah blah of the April friendly in Dallas MORE than matched anything Division 1 is going to throw at Bobby.
Chris Albright may be an even better example. Chris was a genuine butt kicker at U17 and U20 levels, as well as an immediate scorer for the senior national team with almost his first touch of the ball. We all know where Chris ended up -- pretty good MLS defender but no international star, after some very rough transition years. But I don't think that this is very relevant to Bobby, who was in fact not much of a youth star but who also hasn't flopped as a pro as spectacularly as did Albright.
The guy has potential, but top 3 best? Please.... Donovan, Adu, Beasley, Spector, Onyewu, Dempsey, Marshall, Eddie Johnson, and Gaven are all better prospects than him.
Basic PR piece... I question the lines about how very few americans have gone through the process. Sorry but there have been plenty of Americans playing in England. They have another one on their team for goodness sakes. I just dont' see how you can possibly lump him with Donovan and Beasley as one of the best 3 the US Youth system has produced at Bradenton. First Landon and DaMarcus's games are a step or 2 above his. Other from the Bradenton program include - Onyewu, Johnson, Marshall, Gaven, Spector, Adu. But to claim the atmosphere and quality at Reading is superior to what any players in the USA have experienced is laughable.
C'mon appoo, you still can't believe what he said is actually true. Colaship games are more taxing than internationals for US players? LOL you have to be having a laugh over that one.
Bugmenot -- hah, that's clever. Worked fine, thanks. C'mon guys, how can you take this stuff seriously? It's a feel-good interview with a guy who had a hand in the Bobby Convey deal, of course he's going to be pleasant and positive. That he name-drops in Donovan & Beasley as if their achievements are comparable and that Convey deserves to be thought of in the same way, is 100% proof that this guy is in salesmanship mode. Give me a crusty manager talking about how Convey looks in training and how he sees him fitting in the club, OK that works. But this guy, he has me holdiing my wallet.
That's not how I interpreted the comment. The style in the EPL (and presumably it's moreso in the CCC) is to quickly close down players and to quickly move the ball. Here, because of the weather and the Latin influence, the pace is alot slower. I took it to be like people discussing the transition from NBA rules to FIBA rules.
I think the comment relates to the entire Colaship atmosphere. The compressed week-in week-out battle for promotion as a team and playing time as an individual. National teams play fewer games, meet less regularly and and yet are often a more familiar environment (all Yanks) for players than their club teams. Breaking in and getting settled at a club overseas is a different process for all players (See Reyna, Keller, Moore, McBride, Kirovski, O'Brien, Donovan, Bocanegra, Razov, Beasley, etc.). Convey is in a good situation, IMHO, and yes DC United is doing well without him, but that doesn't take away from his quality as a player. DC will do well next season when Stewart returns to Holland. Beasley and LD were the premier and first examples of Braderton success, Convey was in the next two year cycle. We'll see if he can be as impacting and successful as those 2. Just as we'll see how Gaven will do once he moves on from MLS. And then Adu, and then who knows who. That's what makes this fun.
Actually, according to this website... Convey was in the same class at IMG. http://www.free-definition.com/IMG-Soccer-Academy.html I think that they were all in the same class leads to tehm being grouped together much of the time.
They were all in the same class along with guys like Beckerman, Akwari, Onyewu, and Cila. He's certainly toward the top of the list from that class, but it's hard to ignore the potential of a guy like Onyewu who has all physical gifts that make big clubs drool. Convey continues to show with Reading what he did in MLS. He has talent, but he's by no means a finished product. I don't know how we could have expected more. He never dominated at the MLS level.
LD and DMB both have '82 birthyears, BC has '83 as his. This lead to the first two's success at the U17 level in 1999, and BC's success at the U20 level in 2003. So yes, they were in the same IMG class, and are therefore grouped together, but clearly their development was/is slightly different. but if i had to group guys from that class, i'd throw these three together, and then list the next best set as a different group in both skill and potential. i've also claimed that Convey is most like JOB in terms of being a total footballer, and should not be grouped with the offensive-oriented LD and DMB.
He's American, unfortunately, but his tone in the interview is interesting. I would say it would be classified as Eurosnobbish: CONCACAF isn't strong, "the MLS" doesn't have the same "quality, pace of game, etc" and my favorite, the US is "dodgy when it comes to producing field players." At one point, talking about Soccer America, he says something to the effect of "the most important soccer magazine, and probably our only magazine." In general, he ways cautious in predicting how Bobby would turn out because "he's American, he's unique, and no one really has gone through this before". That's "dodgy" logic if you ask me.