McCarthy's Musings: Convey Stabilizes Quakes

By Kyle McCarthy

San Jose general manager John Doyle thought his team deserved a break.

Perched atop the allocation list last season, the Earthquakes used their top allocation on Peguero Jean-Philippe. A clean bill of health wasn't enough for the Haitian striker and he succumbed to persistent knee troubles after playing just three matches with the club.

So when the English press linked Bobby Convey with a return to the United States and the Earthquakes were atop the allocation order once again, Doyle hoped for a bit more luck.

“We had heard rumblings,” Doyle said in a phone interview yesterday. “There were a lot of rumors floating around in the last three or four months.”

For once, the rumor mill churned out truth. Reading released Convey and San Jose snapped him up last week on a free transfer. The move reunited Convey with former D.C. assistant and current San Jose manager Frank Yallop.

Doyle said Yallop rated Convey from his time with United and wanted to bring the midfielder into the fold and keep him there. San Jose is one of the few teams with depth on the left hand side of the field – Darren Huckerby played out there last season for the Quakes – and could have cashed in on Convey to reinforce in other areas.

Teams across the league with fewer left-sided options assembled packages for Convey and tried to tempt the Earthquakes into a deal, Doyle said. Instead of shipping Convey elsewhere, San Jose will keep the former American international and deploy him through the middle of the park, relying on his passing ability and movement to run the show.

“For us, we don't look at it as his natural position is on the left side,” Doyle said. “We like him as an attacking player in this league.”

Convey joins an increasingly crowded San Jose midfield. Huckerby will likely play out on the left, while Arturo Alvarez has the inside track on Shea Salinas for the right midfield berth. Ramiro Corrales is expected play alongside Convey in what might be the league's most brittle central midfield partnership. Ned Grabavoy and rookie Brad Ring will also fight for time. Trialist Simon Elliott might be an option as well, but Doyle said the team hasn't offered him a deal yet and wants to see if he can still cover the ground he'd need to cover to provide veteran depth behind Corrales.

If Convey represents a marquee signing at playmaker, the Quakes' new strikers reflect unproven quality. Former USL1 top scorer Cam Weaver joins from Norwegian club Haugesund, while 2007 PDL MVP Pablo Campos returns to California after an unsuccessful stint with GAIS Goteborg in Sweden. The two new signings will vie with Ryan Johnson, Davide Somma and rookie Quincy Amarikwa for time up top.

The group is deeper than last season and has more size with Weaver and Campos, but there isn't a proven MLS goalscorer in the bunch.

“It's up to those guys to combine to score the ten goals [a proven MLS striker might score],” Doyle said. “These guys have scored goals before. Weaver scored in USL1. Campos scored in the PDL. I think that someone will emerge to give us the goals we need.”

Quakes fans hoping for a break that might drop a prolific forward into their laps aren't likely to get it. Doyle said he's content with heading into the season with his current group of forwards, although he won't rule out a move if the right player became available.

“I think you always keep your eyes open,” Doyle said. “We're getting close to the cap at this point. We're strengthening position-by-position. But if something comes along, we'll certainly look at it.”

Revolution search for defenders in Ecuador

New England boss Steve Nicol and assistant coach Paul Mariner traveled to Ecuador over the weekend and scouted three games. The goal? Bring home a central defender.

With the loss of Michael Parkhurst and a switch to a four-man back line likely, the Revolution are in desperate need of options to complement Gabriel Badilla, Jay Heaps and Rob Valentino in central defense.

“We clearly need some defensive cover,” Nicol said. “Then again, if we see someone who is better than what we've got, we'll try and do that too.”

If the Revs do bring someone into the fold, Heaps hopes the team opts for experience.

“I hope we get a big-time defender if we go out and get one,” Heaps said. “Someone proven, someone who can step right in and play. If we're going to do it, we should do it right.”

The question for the Revs then becomes whether the experienced defenders required will fit into the team's price range. Most of the talent in the Ecuadorian league is concentrated among the traditional powers like World Club Cup runners-up LDU Quito, Deportivo Quito, Barcelona and Emelec. Those teams have relative financial might and could be able to price New England out of a move if the Revs won't pony up a decent fee.

“Possibly,” Nicol said about steep transfer fees. “We won't know until we make some offers and make some inquiries. We went down and identified some players. We'll start asking questions.”

Around the League

- Those English Championship fans hoping to see Inigo Idiakez in a San Jose uniform this season will be disappointed. Doyle said the veteran Spanish midfielder isn't likely to stay with the Quakes after this week.

- Seattle has taken Trinidad midfielder Densill Theobald on trial, the Seattle Times reports. Theobald last played for Hungarian club Ujpest. The Sounders have also booked a July friendly with Chelsea.

- Chivas USA has a host of unfamiliar names in camp with veteran Uruguayan international Diego Scotti the apparent pick of the bunch. Check out this breakdown at 100 Percent Soccer for more details.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kylemccarthy@gmail.com.