I'm pretty sure Convey only had two senior caps at the time, as he had spent most of his time captaining U-20s. In 2004 he earned 9 caps (7 starts) which enabled him to get cleared for a work permit.
It looks like I was painfully wrong. Convey had 1 cap in 2001, 1 cap in 2002, but 15 in 2003 (albeit mostly friendlies and Confed Cup, but still). Either way, the precedent has been set that he should be granted a permit.
Since the Stoke transfer is official, I can't imagine they'd do all that if there was a chance it would all go "pear-shaped" and he'd not qualify for the permit. I suppose it could happen, but I wold guess part of the due dilligence on Stoke's part would be to make sure he'd qualify before doing all this. Otherwise it would be like signing a player on a loan-to-buy agreement and not checking with the player to see if he actually wanted to play for you!
If he got rejected on appeal, I think his agent would find him another spot in Europe. Maybe the Eredivise (sp?).
It's incredible we got within 7 minutes of pks when our entire team, except Reis and Caldwell, put in subpar performances. In particular, Agudelo put in his worst outing in a Revo shirt. I wish Juan good luck at Stoke, but if he plays like he's in a pickup game at the local park, he won't hack it in the EPL.
I just scanned the thread quickly, so may have missed this, but.... We just got manhandled by a more physical team. Independent of the positional needs, which aren't to be minimized, we need to add some size and bite for next year. If we could find a 25 year old version of Shalrie (or even Joey Franchino) and use him as our DM we would be much better off. In very physical leagues like MLS, it's hard to field 3 or 4 undersized players (Caldwell, Diego, Nguyen, Rowe) and not expect to be bodied off the ball. Especially when Caldwell starts at DMid, this is a real concern for the future.
Good point. That's one of the reasons I like Imbongo. He gives better than he gets. We've never adeqautely replaced Shalrie. Dabo, Cisse were busts. Dorman is too old. Caldwell is a munchkin. The search continues. I concede, KC were the better side. But damn they are chippy. Sinovic especially, why can't we get players like that?
It's not just DM. Diego, Rowe and Ngyuen (fairly chippy, fwiw) are also munchkins. We need attacking options off the bench who have a bit more bite. I thought Dorman might find his way out to RM off the bench, but it was not to be. Certainly a better choice than Barrett, who gives up too much in the way of production.
Caldwell was the key to the Revs' best stretch in the game in KC. The problem wasn't being pushed around or man-handled, the problem was getting little time on the ball and being doubled teamed. I agree SKC had Revs outmatched physically, but their speed and stamina and commitment to pressure were more a problem than their strength. When Caldwell came in, he got into good spots and provided an outlet and then moved the ball quickly, and the high pressure was much less effective. Having a Shalrie Joseph is a great thing, no doubt; I'd like to see if Farrell could be that type of dominating force in midfield. But that's not the only way to go -- smaller players in midfield can do fine against physical teams if they move the ball fast enough. I definitely don't want a Franchino at DM -- I liked his attitude but he is not the kind of player Revs need going forward. The one place where brute strength is essential is in the target forward -- in MLS defenders are allowed to knock the beejesus out of forwards. The wrestling matches look like the battles in the paint in NBA. MLS strikers do need to be strong if they are going to play back to the goal (Imbongo Yes, Bengtsen No)
Good observations on Caldwell. Your last point is why Bengtson was never a good fit for this team or league from day one. Unmitigated bust, who will rot the bench again in 2014. Maybe he will play well in Brazil and raise his value but for the revs he's just a bad fit.
For the Revs he's a bad fit, but I still think he could be a 10-15 goal scorer for another team in MLS.
Really? What club do you think he'd fit in best with? Maybe LA to play off Keane or Seattle to take EJ's role? Honest question, if the revs could trade him and get something decent in return that would be ideal. I just think MLS is too physical a league for his poacher style of play.
bengston would fit in at houston, they just bang balls into the box and bengston would knock in some pinballs