By Paul

We started our evening off with a stop at the now famous Cho-Dang GOL! located on west 35th. They serve up a real nice'n spicy Dakgabli, made famous in Daegu during the last Cup. We chased that down with 16 OB beers, dutifully recorded on the Idiots brand new Beir Gergen. The Idiots in attendance: Gegenmeister Ronen, Webmeister Keith, JR Joey and Paul. Jason phoned it in while Greg was a no-show.

With the dinner done we made our way to Stout NYC on 33rd and 7th. Nathan Hales has been dropped from the Metro-Reds-NYRB supporter's lineup in favor of this large, new and stylish sports bar/restaurant. The meet and greet was held downstairs and it was nice to see a good turnout (good being relative to the number of diehard Metro fans.) Mo was seated in the back with some staffers while Lalas made his late arrival in rock-star fashion. We were joined by Kevin (WC bound as well) and Ab (Brian's friend from Euro '04 that is shooting a documentary on NYC soccer culture/support.)

The Metro supporters in attendance were in good voice and sang many a fan favorite as we waited for Mo and Lalas to address the faithful. Finally, Corey from ESC grabbed the mic and introduced our Glaswegian, Mo Johnston. You have to like the way this guy speaks (accent aside.) He is a no bullshit – tell it like it is coach that has placed all the players on warning. "Perform or you'll be looking for a new team." My words, but his point.

This was made clear when asked how Amado was doing this pre-season. After commenting on how he's made up with Lalas he said, "I pulled him midway through the second half against Chicago last week because he wasn't coming back and helping out on defense." When asked how Amado took being sub'd he replied, "I don't really care. We are all grown men – professionals with a job to do!" Mo expressed his frustration at the end of last season during the playoffs, with 20 minutes left against New England; he looked down the bench for help and had no one! Being so thin across the board hurt us down the line. He believes he has assembled a team that is deeper at every spot, except striker, having released Ante to "save 200k" and wishing farewell to the "King of Goal." (Singular implied.) Mo and his assistants are looking everyday-everywhere to fill that void.

When Mo was asked if Gaven was/is on the block for a striker, he confirmed that they had a chat at the beginning of pre-season. He told Eddie that he was going to try and trade him for a striker. Mo then asked us if we'd prefer Edson Buddle or EJ? EJ got the biggest cheer, and may have the best raw talent, but his ego wouldn't be a welcome addition.

Overall, Mo said the new team was doing well. He really likes having players that can play anywhere on the field. He commented on how Henderson and Stammler could, and have been playing everywhere. Mo wants the depth to play any tactical formation given the opponent: 3-5-2, 4-4-2, and even 4-3-3. Mo said Magee was having a great preseason, that Marvell looked like he could start and that Stammler surprised everyone with his ability upfront. When asked if Austria might be a source for talent up front, Mo said that in time as our "relationship deepens" that might become an option, but for now its not.

Lalas took over from Mo, and before he started up his marketing machine he had everyone raise their glass to Doug Hamilton, LA's GM that passed away recently, saying "he would be proud of this gathering..." Lalas asked us to give MSG a cheer, (who were in the back of the room celebrating somebody) since they will be picking up all the NYRB games this season – which is good news for any Idiot that misses as many games as I do…

Lalas talked about RedBull's aggressive marketing approaches and how this will be a great win for all of us. He talked about the free bus trip to D.C., with signup starting yesterday, and putting 80k into the Swamp on opening day. He said that they'll be doing things that haven't been done in the league before. He even said that they will "honor the past!" I have no idea what that means when they've changed the name and switched the colors… When someone asked if Lalas would suggested to RB Corporate to add something Metro on the new uniform, to "honor the past", after an awkward moment of reflection, he said "No! They paid 100M; they can call it anything they want!" And that money will guarantee that we'll be in a new world class stadium by 2008.

Alexi said that if we care about this sport, we'll support NYRB. And if anyone still has a problem, then they should contact him directly and he'll put you in front of the team for 2 minutes, before a practice, so that you can tell them why you won't support them anymore. So far, he only has one taker… "It's Mo and the boys that matter & they'll get the business done. Mo will win the opener!"

Winning will be the best change of all!

Photos

First Row Photos

(click on thumbnail for larger image; You will be redirected to First Row Photos; Images by Keith)