TORONTO – Kansas City no longer felt like home for Bobby Convey. So the veteran winger is ecstatic to have a new address – and a club that wants him.
The 29-year-old left-sider was acquired by Toronto FC from Sporting KC in exchange for a pick in the first round of the 2014 Supplemental Draft (third round overall) on Thursday, and arrived at TFC’s training facility on Friday sounding very much like a man who couldn’t wait to get out of KC.
“I know that Sporting KC wanted to get rid of me, so it was more of a difficult situation," he told reporters. "They just didn’t take care of the issue at the beginning of the season, so I was just sitting there waiting. I’m very happy to be here. I was kind of just waiting to come here.
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“For me, [the trade] is just going from somewhere I wasn’t wanted and wasn’t playing to somewhere I am wanted. You get instant confidence from that and from a coach who tells you that he wants you to come in and play tomorrow.”
Whether Convey gets to take the field on Saturday vs. Columbus (5 pm ET; TSN in Canada, Univision Deportes/MLS Live in the US) is another story. Sounding very much like a player with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, the former US international nonetheless insisted that there are no hard feelings with his former club, and explained that he exchanged a few brief words with Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes after he learned that he was heading north of the border.
“I guess they just moved on and brought in other players," he said. "No one said anything to me. I literally had no idea. I walked into training yesterday at 9 in the morning and they had my locker cleaned out and they said, ‘Hey, Toronto called. You’re off to Toronto.’
"I talked to Peter for 30 seconds. Hopefully in the next CBA, we can sort that out for the players, so that doesn’t happen to more players. It’s not a fun thing to go through.”
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While he hasn’t played many minutes recently, Convey said he is ready to go and confident that he will be able to make an impact with a club that has seen its share of struggles at left back and in the wide midfield positions this season.
“I can play on the left, on the right, as an attacking midfielder," he said. "I can play as a left back as well. I’m just excited to get back out and play. Once you have played for a long time you don’t want to be sitting around. You just want to get into games as much as you can."
“I’ve played in MLS for a long time. I know how games go and I know a lot of the players in the league and kind of know their strengths and weaknesses. I think I can definitely contribute and get some assists and goals.”
