The following is a list of US players who MLS coaches, GMs, and agents think can make it big in Europe http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=265853&cc=5901 Once you figure out the rather prominent name missing from this list you'll lose respect for these guys just like I did. and If you can't figure it out within 5 minutes then you need to make yourself more aware of US Soccer
Bobby Convey?????? This a kid who has more talent and skill than anyone on that list then Landon Donovan. And he is only 20 years old!!!! How can GM's, Coaches, and what not even THINK of the kid??? Arena had him starting every game since World Cup hasn't he? And he has absolutly no chance to make it big in Europe? I want to know MLS Coaches can justify not mentioning him, yet justify voting for players like Dema Kovalenko? Or Justin Mapp and Arturo Alvarez, who has what, 3 whole games under his belt while being fed with passes from Landon Donovan, while LD is being triple teamed everytime he touches the ball?
oh i was just messing around but i thought you were talkin about mathis. same thing about convey as beas. put on some muscle and get a little more experience, but i could definately see convey going to europe in a few years once he finds a position on the field.
by using a ? i'm not sure if you mean Convey or not. if you do, one problem for Bobby is he's being played out of position. he should be in the center of the pitch where he could demonstrate his skills better. also, his productivity hasn't exactly been stellar. but at least he was mentioned.
no, he says he was mentioned by "one GM". it's kidn of an ambiguous sentence, but at least i think that's what he said. by the way, i think mulrooney should be added to the list. i'm not saying he could play for real madrid...or even valencia...but i think he could land for a decent team somewhere in europe.
Alright, it is a joke that Dema and Mapp get mentioned above Convey. But, Convey, IMHO, isn't quite all people want him to be. I know he is still young, but he seems to have plateued (sic?). The guy hasn't really improved much from his first year. I don't think he will ever amount to much more than a player who consistently makes the top 11. Nothing wrong with that, I just fail to see his star potential. And just so you know, I'm a die-hard DC united fan and have seen him play a ton.
Convey's going to have let go of his timidity and let it all hang out or he risks becoming a permanent left back candidate. Beas needs to learn how to cross.... I also wonder how many of these guys have seen leagues other than the EPL or the Bundesliga....
I don't think many of them have considering the list. I'm assuming they are talking about the big 4 leagues when it comes to these players. One of the things that annoys me about the Convey situation is that the coaches force him to play out on the flank. You can't blame Convey's MLS game on "timidity", I blame it directly on Ray Hudson and Marco Etcheverry. He isn't allowed to use his full skill set, and thats a loss for DCU. I mean the difference between Bobby Convey in MLS and the difference between Bobby Convey with the full national team is like Night and Day. I think is the direct influence of Coach Arena. Remember, he was probably our best attacking player vs Argentina...out of the Left Back position! I love the kids game, if you look at it, he would probably be more adaptable to Spain and England than Donovan because Bobby shows better skill on the ball. He is a better crosser to. Wow am I gonna be hung out to dry for this post but whatever
outside of a few runs against argentina he's been a ghost with the national team. and of course those runs amouned to exactly nothing, but that's besides the point. here's my scale by which I judge: on end you have landon donovan and the other you have chris albright. both hyped young players who have taken different routes. landon's living up to the hype, albright has been a flop. convey is closer to albright than he is to donovan. i've seen very little from convey that comes close to matching the hype that seems to follow him everywhere. Perhaps if his play were to reflect this hype just once ... now wouldn't that be interesting?
Comparing Convey to Albright is way too harsh IMHO. Convey has proved he can play in MLS and at least looks like he belongs when he plays for the Nats. You can't say the same for Albright IMHO.
i wasn't comparing him directly to albright. i'm just saying he's closer to having his potential unfulfilled than fulfilled. albright was just an example of wasted potential.
I'm not sure Albright ever had that much potential. Being hyped does not equal having potential. And therein lies the problem. People had unrealistic expectations of Convey, I think, partly due to the hype (of, at the time, being the youngest player ever in MLS). They wanted Rivaldo, and so far he's been Ralston. Nothing wrong with being Ralston. Put Convey in perspective. He's 20 years old. He's a seasoned veteran of pro soccer. He is faster than hell. He has good ball skills. He's smart. And, despite some claims here that he's plateaued, appears to improve his game each year. He may never be Rivaldo, but that's okay.
back tot he point at hand....No matter what people think of Convey, MLS coaches STILL have no justification for only voting for Convey once. I mean they obviously include US Youth squads, of Which convey is the Captain of the U-20 squad right? They include Adu and other Youth stars.