Is Convey ever...

[readingbedding]

I stick by the question.

When he joined he was skilful, but too lightweight to make a real impact.
Improved and really played well in our Championship season, very good player, got used to the rigours of English football.

Now, looking at him I feel that he's got a long way to go before he gets to the standard that he showed previously.

Saying that, he'll now play a blinder against Liverpool on Saturday.

But last Saturday, he was muscled off the ball time and time and time again.

[Wycombe Royal]

Saw Convey today (and Kitson) at the RBH. They were going round the childrens ward seeing the kids, including my son.

If I'd have seen this thread earlier i could have asked him how he though he was progressing.

They spent quite a lot of time wandering round and it must have cheered up some of the kids. Although at 4 and a half months of age Connor was really bothered.

[URZZZZZZZZ]

Going to recover 100% and finally look like a player who can compete against strong players again?

I'm a bit worried about him.

Im worried he had to play the whole second half on the right wing.

[JC]

What on earth do people expect. Convey had played precisely 93 minutes of Premiership football up to the Wigan game. He then had a few weeks out and came back as a sub for 15 minutes against Fulham. He managed 70 minutes against Arsenal and completed his first full game of the season aginst City.
So before Saturday he had played precisely 268 minutes or 2 minutes short of 3 games in over 3 months. I would defy anybody to perform at anywhere near full capability given that amount of time on the pitch.
And before that his last Premiership game was at Portsmouth in October - 2006 that is!

[loyalroyal4life]

i think more emphasis of worry should be put on the fact that players who havent been injured and are more than fully fit and acclimatised to playing prem football are absolutely shocking week in week out atm!!

Namely: Gunnarsson, harper and hunt 3/4 of our current midfield!!

[Royalee]

At least the last two posts indicate there is some mental capability among posters.

[Wycombe Royal]

Namely: Gunnarsson, harper and hunt 3/4 of our current midfield!!

Harper and Hunt are not shocking week in week out. If you truly believe that then I can only assume that your eyesight is crap.

[loyalroyal4life]

Namely: Gunnarsson, harper and hunt 3/4 of our current midfield!!

Harper and Hunt are not shocking week in week out. If you truly believe that then I can only assume that your eyesight is crap.

You have to compare to performances in previous seasons and imo yes they are. hunt may try and harper may cover more ground then most players but in terms of what they donate to the team on a weekly basis it is not up to standard!!

Hunt definately is not the same player who managed to squeeze his way into the team regularly from being a deputy to convey!!

[brendywendy]

Namely: Gunnarsson, harper and hunt 3/4 of our current midfield!!

Harper and Hunt are not shocking week in week out. If you truly believe that then I can only assume that your eyesight is crap.

You have to compare to performances in previous seasons and imo yes they are. hunt may try and harper may cover more ground then most players but in terms of what they donate to the team on a weekly basis it is not up to standard!!

Hunt definately is not the same player who managed to squeeze his way into the team regularly from being a deputy to convey!![/quote]

no, mostly he is better
occasionally he falls back to previous levels,but mostly he is better

[Wycombe Royal]

Namely: Gunnarsson, harper and hunt 3/4 of our current midfield!!

Harper and Hunt are not shocking week in week out. If you truly believe that then I can only assume that your eyesight is crap.

You have to compare to performances in previous seasons and imo yes they are. hunt may try and harper may cover more ground then most players but in terms of what they donate to the team on a weekly basis it is not up to standard!!

Hunt definately is not the same player who managed to squeeze his way into the team regularly from being a deputy to convey!!

Harper is having to run ther midfield almost on his own, due to the invisible Gunnarsson. Harper is the best passer in our team but he needs people to pass to. If no-one makes themself available then it really isn't a surprise that he gets caught in possession or makes a backwards pass.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Namely: Gunnarsson, harper and hunt 3/4 of our current midfield!!

Harper and Hunt are not shocking week in week out. If you truly believe that then I can only assume that your eyesight is crap.

You have to compare to performances in previous seasons and imo yes they are. hunt may try and harper may cover more ground then most players but in terms of what they donate to the team on a weekly basis it is not up to standard!!

Hunt definately is not the same player who managed to squeeze his way into the team regularly from being a deputy to convey!!

Harper is having to run ther midfield almost on his own, due to the invisible Gunnarsson. Harper is the best passer in our team but he needs people to pass to. If no-one makes themself available then it really isn't a surprise that he gets caught in possession or makes a backwards pass.

I like Harps. But he's not been running any midfeild at all this season. No one has and that's the problem. Harps could do with replacing, as with all our other midfeilders. His game would improve with better players around him, in a way the others just wouldn't. There's many better centre mids than Harps out there, who would have had more of an impact on the team this season.

Our midfield is just non existent and that's such a great worry.

[RobRoyal]

As for Convey, he's still grabbed an assist in the last two games, which is an assist more than Hunt

What were assists known as before 1992 and before Fantasy Football League?

Yeah, 'assists' are so plastic

[Uke]

As for Convey, he's still grabbed an assist in the last two games, which is an assist more than Hunt

What were assists known as before 1992 and before Fantasy Football League?

Yeah, 'assists' are so plastic

I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that question.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Harper is having to run ther midfield almost on his own, due to the invisible Gunnarsson. Harper is the best passer in our team but he needs people to pass to. If no-one makes themself available then it really isn't a surprise that he gets caught in possession or makes a backwards pass, while indicating for the defender to pass forwards as he doesn't have the bottle to take responsibility for a forward pass himself

There, i've corrected it for you

[Dickie Davies]

Harper is having to run ther midfield almost on his own, due to the invisible Gunnarsson. Harper is the best passer in our team but he needs people to pass to. If no-one makes themself available then it really isn't a surprise that he gets caught in possession or makes a backwards pass, while indicating for the defender to pass forwards as he doesn't have the bottle to take responsibility for a forward pass himself

There, i've corrected it for you

James Harper - A poor mans David Batty.

[who are ya?]

and indeed that Sonko IS superman and not just another player that looked good against average players.

To be quite honest with you, I think we should be more worried about this than Convey.

[tom_t69]

I don't know why everyone is getting on harper and conveys back all of the time. Harper will be better when he has someone of quality next to him in the middle and i don't think he has played that bad anyway. Convey will be better with a few more games under his belt as he has never really had a run in the first team.

[Wycombe Royal]

Harper is having to run ther midfield almost on his own, due to the invisible Gunnarsson. Harper is the best passer in our team but he needs people to pass to. If no-one makes themself available then it really isn't a surprise that he gets caught in possession or makes a backwards pass, while indicating for the defender to pass forwards as he doesn't have the bottle to take responsibility for a forward pass himself

There, i've corrected it for you

Have you? How very intelligent and witty. So basically because Harper has no one to make a forward pass to and therefore passes it back you think he is at fault.

So what would you think if he "took responsibility" and made a forward pass and we lost possession? Would you congratulate him for taking responsibility or would you berate him for giving away possession? I know which it would be.

[Archie's penalty]

Harper is having to run ther midfield almost on his own, due to the invisible Gunnarsson. Harper is the best passer in our team but he needs people to pass to. If no-one makes themself available then it really isn't a surprise that he gets caught in possession or makes a backwards pass, while indicating for the defender to pass forwards as he doesn't have the bottle to take responsibility for a forward pass himself

There, i've corrected it for you

Have you? How very intelligent and witty. So basically because Harper has no one to make a forward pass to and therefore passes it back you think he is at fault.

So what would you think if he "took responsibility" and made a forward pass and we lost possession? Would you congratulate him for taking responsibility or would you berate him for giving away possession? I know which it would be.

I agree with you WR. Harper is not an amazing player but he is not bad. Playing with Gunnarsson makes him seem useless. It's like at Spurs when Dawson has to play with Anthony Gardner. When King comes back Dawson will be a good player again. When someone good plays alongside Harper he will improve likewise. I like Gunnarsson as a man but as a player he is a liability...

[Dawn]

Article about Convey in today's Telegraph:

Convey a star at Royal Berkshire hospital
By Martin Smith
Last Updated: 1:43am GMT 07/12/2007

In a corner of Lion Ward stands a table football game. When Bobby Convey pays one of his regular visits it is in almost constant use; it is the closest some of the long-term inhabitants of the children's ward at the Royal Berkshire Hospital get to playing football.

Convey is a Premier League footballer, mid-twenties, and something of a local celebrity. There is nothing in his contract with Reading that says he had to become a volunteer, popping into the hospital as often as twice a week, fixtures permitting. "I do it as a choice," he says. "I'm blessed in my life. I have a lot to be thankful for.

"Coming here's not for my benefit. It's for the benefit of the little kids. One girl today didn't get out of bed until I came, and then she was up and playing. It helps them to take their minds off sitting in a hospital all day. I did the same thing when I was playing in the US."

The beds in Lion Ward are full of children suffering from a variety of ailments, from leukaemia to appendicitis to broken limbs. The tonic of a visit from Reading's American winger cannot be over-emphasised.

Ashley Zdanowicz, a senior play specialist on the ward, said: "The children think it is great to have a football star coming to see them. It gives them something to look forward to. Their faces light up when he comes into the ward; it really brightens their day."

Convey's association with the Royal Berkshire began earlier this season when the community-conscious club asked him to visit a teenage girl at the hospital. He said: "I saw her the first time and gave her my Reading polo shirt and signed it for her. She slept in it, which is good, and it gave her a little happiness. She passed away two weeks later. She had three brain tumours and leukaemia. It was unfair, and it really puts life into perspective. You realise that when you have a bad day, there's a lot of other people, and a lot of kids, who are having a way worse day than you are.

"I was brought up visiting hospitals. My next-door neighbour when I was growing up had leukaemia and he was in hospital for two years. I think that's why, for me, it's a comfortable environment. Not that I think it's ever too comfortable because you don't want to see little kids sick."

Though he has not spent significant time in hospitals himself, Convey knows the boredom and helplessness of recuperation. He has just recovered from two operations on his right knee, which have restricted his appearances in the Premiership over the last two seasons.

"Yes, I had visitors," he acknowledged. "I was in a cast for six weeks; I couldn't walk for four, so I just kinda sat and did nothing. It's not fun. I know what it feels like not to be able to walk, and some of these kids can't even get out of bed."

Convey's rehabilitation has been slow, though he has managed a concerted run in the past month, starting all three league games during November. The highlight of an interrupted season was his goal in the Carling Cup against Liverpool. "It was a big 'up' game since coming back," he says.

Liverpool return tomorrow in the Premier League. Back in September, Fernando Torres destroyed Reading at the Madejski Stadium with a hat-trick in the Carling Cup. "You can't compare the two teams," Convey says. "Liverpool can spend £30 million on one player. But we are improving and we're advancing. We're a club with ambition and the chairman has said there is money to strengthen the squad. You always need to get better, you always need to advance, you always need to bring in better players."

Convey has a big date in his diary on Dec 23 for the children's Christmas party at the hospital, along with a group of team-mates. Next summer he hopes to be accompanied on his visits by fiancée Sloane, who is in her final year at the Medical School of South Carolina. She plans to become a doctor; her intended may have opened some doors already.