Ex-professional footballer Bobby Convey

[Ark Royal]

Went to Toyota Park in Chicago on Saturday to see the Fire take on San Jose Earthquakes. I wanted the opportunity to see Bobby Convey turn out for the Quakes and the possibility of glimpsing any part of his 05/06 form for the Royals. Sadly, I have to report that Bobby should now be known as The Ex-Professional Footballer Known As Bobby Convey. He came on as sub, did nothing, barely had a touch and looked totally disinterested. The same could be said for Darren Huckerby, who looked at best a total parody of an ex-Prem footballer.

The Fire won 2-0 and are top of the MLS Eastern Conference and if that is so then the MLS is in a sorry state indeed. The standard of play was atrocious and not even Div 3 standard. Fire were shockingly negative for a home team and it was not surprising to discover that they had previously won just one home game - despite being top.

Europeans and ex-Prem players going there just to pick up a final cheque is not going to improve the standard at all. Was looking forward to seeing Brian McBride, because I always thought he was a class act, but unfortunately he was injured.

Nice little stadium though, in a Lego-type sense of the word.

[Arch]

Kind of stadium that will make US football work, pioneered in Columbus. I wish we could get a franchise here. STL is a big soccer town, and an MLS club could almost certainly groundshare with St Louis U, who are a perennially top college team.

Too bad about Bobby.

GF, btw

[SteveRoyal]

So he looked much like he did when he left us?

[Ark Royal]

So he looked much like he did when he left us?

Yep, that's about it.

Also, LMFAO at Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco, a so-called MLS 'legend' and in this year's MLS All-Star team, who looked liked someone's fat arthritic uncle pretending to be a footballer. Somehow managed to make one goal and score another. Two guys behind me from Spain were pissing themselves laughing.

[moo]

After the 106 season he was the 'one to watch' i recommended to my mates for our first season in the Premiership... merked.

[FiNeRaIn]

I don't see why people are speaking at this with a tone of disgust.

There could be a million reasons why he played the way he did in the end of his reading career. I still remember him playing in a game mis-controlling an easy pass and then absolutely slamming the ball against the advertising boards in frustration- he cared, he was frustrated. Players get injuries, personal issues happen, confidence goes, that's just the nature of football. Some people reach a height then never play the same again. The list of footballers who fell off the map or never came through is bigger than the bible.
The highlight of his career was that 106 season, he wrote himself into the history books of a small English town forever, its one he can always show the videos to his family of and im grateful he was part of that. He now plays in his home country with ex european pro's and people who will never be good enough to play to the highest standards in the world. I suspect he might not play with the same confidence or hunger anymore, but that's up to him. Sad it may be, but whose to say any of us wouldn't fall into that category if we were in that position?

The MLS will always be a poor standard, I really don't know why people continually slate it and find it surprising. They don't have the history and its not in american blood to be a " soccer" player. All the sporting legends and media cover baseball, NFL, basketball and NHL, that's what everyone grows up watching and there is a lot more history and passion for those sports than people here actually think. They aren't all popcorn eating, soul-less cardboard cut-outs who attend said sports. There is actually a lot of passion behind the various towns/cities that are represented, the way they feel about their teams is more similar to the way we feel about Reading FC than people give them credit for.

MLS is MLS, its an exhibition league for most ex-european pro's and it produces a number of decent American youngsters all who will try their hand in Europe to progress their careers. Some will make it, most won't. Convey did in my eyes because of 106- he just never came on to play in the top league ( arguably) in the world. Thank you and have a nice life BC.

[SLAMMED]

I don't see why people are speaking at this with a tone of disgust.

There could be a million reasons why he played the way he did in the end of his reading career. I still remember him playing in a game mis-controlling an easy pass and then absolutely slamming the ball against the advertising boards in frustration- he cared, he was frustrated. Players get injuries, personal issues happen, confidence goes, that's just the nature of football. Some people reach a height then never play the same again. The list of footballers who fell off the map or never came through is bigger than the bible.
The highlight of his career was that 106 season, he wrote himself into the history books of a small English town forever, its one he can always show the videos to his family of and im grateful he was part of that. He now plays in his home country with ex european pro's and people who will never be good enough to play to the highest standards in the world. I suspect he might not play with the same confidence or hunger anymore, but that's up to him. Sad it may be, but whose to say any of us wouldn't fall into that category if we were in that position?

Excellent post FR.

[Arch]

That really is an excellent post.

[Scarface]

He came on as sub, did nothing, barely had a touch and looked totally disinterested. The same could be said for Darren Huckerby, who looked at best a total parody of an ex-Prem footballer.

Why are you surprised, that's what he did in his last 2 seasons at Reading.

[PurpleTurtle]

Yeah, I always thought he was awful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKNEo3iMHDA

Sometimes pro footballers get injuries they never overcome. Dropping down the leagues, in this case to MLS is inevitable. Just surprised people find that such a difficult concept to grasp.

[windjammer]

Yeah, I always thought he was awful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKNEo3iMHDA

Sometimes pro footballers get injuries they never overcome. Dropping down the leagues, in this case to MLS is inevitable. Just surprised people find that such a difficult concept to grasp.

Thanks for those reminders of what a player he was once. He will for ever be a Reading legend like the rest of the 05-06 team. You're right about his injuries, what a shame he never fully shook them off with Royals. Bobby Convey in his prime or SHunt? Let's face it there was no contest.

[PremAddict]

To be fair, BC is coming off of a hamstring injury. He hasn't been in the form hoped by Yallop but then the whole club isn't doing well.

But please feel free to make judgements based on one attendence. Thanks FR for adding a sense of reality to the issue.

For real fans of the game, it's the best thing going that we can see live week in and week out and I support it.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

The MLS will always be a poor standard, I really don't know why people continually slate it and find it surprising. They don't have the history and its not in american blood to be a " soccer" player.

MLS is MLS, its an exhibition league for most ex-european pro's and it produces a number of decent American youngsters all who will try their hand in Europe to progress their careers. Some will make it, most won't. Convey did in my eyes because of 106- he just never came on to play in the top league ( arguably) in the world. Thank you and have a nice life BC.

MLS really isn't that bad. People only think of it as a retirement league etc because for some reason the media just assume it's the same as the dying NASL of the early 80s, which was a joke.

People hear and read sports journalists slating it as a pub league, or no better than conference standard etc, and take their word for it, forgetting how utterly clueless sports journalists and TV pundits are about any league not immediately within their little bubble of experience.

The better MLS players are probably at least on par with the better players in the championship. Where it suffers though, is a lack of depth. Squads are pretty small and injuries and international call-ups really wreck a team.


As for Convey, he'd have almost certainly made it in the premier league if he hadn't done his knee in. He was never the same player after that.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Cheerz for the report from the scene Arky.

As for some of the things I'm reading here...y'know, it really only pisses me off for the inaccuracy and/or lack of breadth and depth of knowledge (not infrequently of the bleeding obvious) that affords useful perspective; when you hail from the land of the world champs at just about everything else, you learn to bear with grace the slings and arrows lobbed for lobbing's sake --but I'll allow that what's said that's just not true does grate, and it's my natural inclination to call time on it and spell out the facts with an intention not of being a dick but rather to share the knowledge for the benefit of anyone who feels that one could use it.

But I'm kinda tired of fighting the battle, and nobody listens anyway. So whatever.

[crossie]

I'll listen/read. Go for it, Chi.

[FiNeRaIn]

when you hail from the land of the world champs at just about everything else

Like what?

[leon]

when you hail from the land of the world champs at just about everything else

Like what?

baseball (the WORLD series)??...american football??...errrmm quick running??...winning wars in foreign countries?

[FiNeRaIn]

when you hail from the land of the world champs at just about everything else

Like what?

baseball (the WORLD series)??...american football??...errrmm quick running??...winning wars in foreign countries?

lmao

[RoyalChicagoFC]

I'll concede the point --everybody hates us just, you know, "because"

At least they usually spell our name right

[FiNeRaIn]

Lifes too short for hating. One race at the end of the day-- the human race. I don't buy into this nationality garbage.