[MLS] In Saturday's rematch of teams that have already met, New England gets a chance to atone for a 2-0 loss in San Jose, for which Bobby Convey’s excellent form – five assists – kindled faint hopes he might get a call. He didn’t.

When he came back to MLS last spring, Convey discussed how his national-team prospects faded with a change in head coaches from Bruce Arena to Bob Bradley and problems with injuries at English club Reading. Since Bradley took over following the 2006 World Cup in which Convey played all three games, he’s appeared just four times for the USA.

“It’s competitive, but there’s a lot of players in my position on the national team, so it’s been extremely disappointing to not go with the national team,” Convey said in March 2009. “Through the injury situation I was in, I would have loved to have some support from the national team. That was difficult. I played well before and I want to come back and play well now, but it was disappointing to have guys in the same situation as me in Europe and still would be coming in, and I’m the only one who doesn’t. You get on with it. The coach chooses who he wants to choose. It is what it is. I haven’t spoken to Bob. I’ve talked with him a couple of times. Obviously I wasn’t in the plans. There’s a reason behind that. It’s not just playing.”

Convey hasn’t offered details of a rumored falling-out between him and Bradley. His play last year didn’t merit a recall, but this season he’s been fitter and stronger, and the national team is far from deep at left mid.

If he’d been in this form and shape throughout 2009, and was able to play left mid consistently instead of toggling between that position and center mid and left back, who knows if he’d be lower down the ladder than Robbie Rogers and Alejandro Bedoya.