No MLS player seems to have fallen farther than Bobby Convey in the past year. After winning the Comeback Player of the Year in 2010 and leading the San Jose Earthquakes to within one game of the MLS Cup final, he once again found himself out of favor with coach Frank Yallop. Now, Convey will try to start over again as he's been traded to Sporting Kansas City in exchange for an international roster spot just days before Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft.
Bobby Convey Traded To Sporting KC From San Jose Earthquakes
Sporting will, no doubt, hope that Convey is willing to renegotiate his contract that paid him more than $300,000 last year and was most likely due to give him a raise. If a new deal can not be worked out, he could once again find himself eligible for the Re-Entry Draft. It’s also possible that some renegotiation was part of the terms of the trade.
For his part, Convey sounded optimistic about going to Kansas City.
“I am very excited to link up with my new club and teammates,” Convey said in a team release on Friday. “The fans in Kansas City are extremely supportive of the team and create a great atmosphere in the new stadium. The team proved last year they are a good team that can win a bunch of games and I hope I can add to that success.”
It's not entirely clear how Convey will be used in Kansas City. While in San Jose, he bounced between left back and left mid, much to his frustration. The inability for him to lock down a position, in fact, seems to have been at the heart of his problems. He has seemed to indicate that he prefers to play in the midfield, but perhaps playing on a team as attack-oriented as Sporting will give him reason to reconsider that position. He would still have to beat out Seth Sinovic, who Sporting only recently re-acquired from the Montreal Impact.
It’s also possible that he could be used on the left side of the attacking band employed in Peter Vermes’ 4-3-3. At times, Vermes’ formation played more like a 4-5-1 and Convey would seem right at home in that formation. The only thing is that Vermes already has a host of attacking options and Convey would likely struggle to find playing time.
For more on this trade, be sure to check out Sporting KC blog The Daily Wiz and Earthquakes blog Quake, Rattle and Goal.
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