I would also like to see this question answered. If possible can someone post the answer. Thanks in advance.
Wow-what a deal!! A chance to meet Ray Hudson and ask questions along w/the DC fans!! In what other sport do you get to interact w/the coach and ask serious ??s!! I can't make it d****it (I contract in Long Island 4 days during the week-this week I'm there Tues-Fri due to the holiday) but you guys (and gals) who go let us know how it went!!
He's a nice guy. I chatted with him very briefly at the golf outing. I wish I had more time to rap to him. Thanks D.C. United. I am unable to attend but it's nice they are doing this. Bill-DC
At last! Now I'll have the opportunity to ask Ray the big question! Ray, do you think the star in the logo really counts as a star, or does it not really count as a star? -G. Rex PS- OK, think about it. White jersey, two stars, and look at our road record. Coincidence?
Damn, I've got birthing classes with the preg wife. Very uncool to miss out to go chat with Ray... Could someone please mention to Ray that I'm sick of hearing about how things are like/unlike the Fusion from last year. This is basic relationship protocol, man. Your current squeeze doesn't want to keep hearing about your previous one - especially when you're obviously still in love. Long live DCU, R.I.P. Fusion.
...and when ray's done answering questions (ray, in episode 12, when utd took on the big fire-breathing horse, what was it you whispered into your communicator?) you can all come downtairs for a happy hour fundraiser for everyone's favorite WISL club - THE CAPITOL LOUNGE ROVERS! $10 gets you beer, some pizza, lots of fitba talk, and the occasional dancin' o' the jig. 6:30 - 9:30, all downstairs space in lounge. ps-the patio is fine, nice, redone last year, and quite comfortable (television hookups as well). KNOW YOUR LOUNGE, PEOPLE!!
(PeeWeeVoice) Yeah, ... it's about as nice as... the basement... of the Alamo! (/PeeWeeVoice) -G. Rex
yeah i went there. nice event, thanks ZackDCU for the event and thanks much to Ray, Dave Kaspar, Catherine and the rest of the DCU staff. i'll also give Sorum credit, he showed up, identified himself and gave old Ray the business about the midfield, even buttonholed him afterwards. i still don't agree with him about Convey but he stayed true to form. there were some sharp questions. one dude asked Ray about tactics and formations road vs home, rightly dogging the one forward road shell. someone else pushed the lassiter thing on Ray. Daglish came up and apparently once United sat down to talk turkey his price came way up and it blew the deal. another dude asked about olsen going on loan again per his recent statements. ray rather swooned over tino. another person asked about this year's player moves and characterized them as "reactive" which i think Ray somewhat agreed with. there were other questions that came up as well. i know ZackDCU took some notes and drank less beer than me, so he can surely give a better account. oh yeah, ray brought up thomas rongren also.
Great! Thanks for the quick overview Red & Black! I'd be very interested if anyone else remembers any other/more specifics. I wish I could have made this one. Glad to hear Sormun spoke his peace. What exactly did Ray say about our Dmid situation and our forward/finishing situation? What was said about Coach Rongen? Thanks again, -Tron
Just to add a couple of names to Robs comments. Ray talked a little about Richie Williams and gave him a thumbs up. But when he spoke about Ian Bishop, he practically got misty. Ray said the Gazza deal is dead and done with. Daglish and the Brazilians upped their price once they got here which was a major source of frustration. He's crazy about Tino and has seen Convey mature alot over the course of the season. Kind of off the record I asked him about Castillo and Tyson Nunez. Castillo would be way to expensive(I think he's going to the MFL anyways) but said MAYBE to Nunez. I'd also like to thank Steve Zack and the staff for a job well done......Chico
i asked ray if a bigger, more two-way player was needed at dmid. he seemed to agree and waxed on a bit about bishop. he indicated that all player decisions were going to be based on marco's status at the end of the year. he talked about thomas as a great tactical coach but said that the team needed a guy like ray, who can motivate, etc. there was also a lot of talk about finishing, about the need to take shots at the edge of the area, to quit walking the ball to the net.
You know, I wouldn't mind it so much if they actually walked the ball INTO the net. But since they walk the ball to the 6, it's frustrating. I didn't get a chance to go, but it's a great way to connect with the fans. How about a couple in the offseason?
Great stuff guys, thanks! And thanks to DC United for doing events like this. I must give Zach and Hudson credit (and all of the rest of the DCU Staff), they really do allow a LOT of interaction and dialogue with the fans. BTW, the website is awesome. You guys update it several times a week, which is wonderful for keeping up our interest in United even in the down times. I'm glad Hudson recognized the good and bad of Rongen, who often goes under-recognized here on BS I think. Rongen's (and his assistant Dave Dir's) U-20's have been dominant thus far. That includes dominating defensively. In a tournament in Spain where Italy, Brazil, Uruguay, Ukraine, Costa Rica (I think), Spain and the US all participated the US was only defeated by Brazil--twice, with one of the two being in the finals and both games being by one goal. The first loss to Brazil was when the US played most of the match with 10 men and actually pulled ahead of Brazil ... but then lost. -Tron
There were a good number of people there - the patio was full I would say about 20-25. Thanks to Ray and Zach for doing this. The most fustrating answer was when Grillmaster asked who was going to take the next PK and Ray said Moreno. AGGGGGGGGG
come on Vic, you know he spent quite a bit of time saying that Jaime is having some confidence problems and hasn't gotten psychologically over the injury (Ray mentioned he isn't mentally ready to really rip and run on his leg), how is he not gonna say Jaime, a vote of confidence so to speak.
A quick summary of the evening as I saw it [followed by a narrative of the points]: 1. SORMUN is serious. He has the cojones to jaw with those that he criticizes, unlike many wankers who anonymously bytch and moan the loudest and lack the courage and/or commitment to actually make sure their points strike home. Good to meet you! 2. Proud of Convey and Tino. 3. Nelsen and McKinley will be back. 4. Still searching for a "hairy chested" leader. 5. Onalfo may not be back. 6. One or more of the team's icons will not be back. 7. If Etch returns, the most important player choice will be the midfielder behind Etch. 8. Moreno at 50% is still very valuable to the team. 9. Moreno will take the next PK this season. 10. Kasper likes a good cigar and seems quiet but very approachable. 11. I think Ray truly has his finger on the pulse of the fanaticos. GM's "Unabridged" narrative: The scene: a 9x12 with three square picnic table 4 tops and plus a 10x6 patio with a 6-8 top picnic table. Patio was covered with a red, white and blue panneled canopy. The canopy drooped ominously in a couple of places from pools of water from the recent rains that threatened to burst through. One waiter diligently made several trips from the taps. It was warm and very still with cigar and cigarette aromas. In attendance were: FANS: BroonAleMagpie and spouse, CHICO13, Red&Black, Jay, Marcel, MikeMeg, K, Sormun, Paul Cannel, Pete von Elling, SE ticket mistress, Brian Rittenhouse, Bob Bilko, and six or seven others (apologies if I didn't remember your name). DC: SZack, Ray, DKasper, Catherine, one other staffer. Ray began answering questions at 6:50. The team bought everybody there a beer even though Ray insisted that he was "just joking". Ray was finally 'pushed out the door' by SZack and Kasper around 8:00 (otherwise he would have stayed with the fans all night). SZack indicated that he was conscious of the need to keep Ray healthy. DCU unanimously said that Nelsen will be a DC player for the next couple of years. It was said with such conviction that there must be some contractual options that the team holds. My take on what Ray's comments indicated: If Etcheverry decides to stay, the team will bring him back for another season. Etcheverry commands the respect of his team mates. (Like EF Hutton) when he says something, people listen. Marco is not the "hairy chested" leader, but leads "in his own way" (no specifics). If Etch is back, probably the highest priority will be to find the right player to play behind him (which means he would replace Williams, IMO). Extemely important is to find the "hairy chested" leader. He is very proud of the players for not caving in to the disappointments presented by this season. He rues a couple of personnel moves he's made. While he steadfastly accepts responsibility for the unspecified moves, he overly relied upon input from others (not named). [Interesting was the juxtaposition of this just after talk about Roy Lassiter.] He feels great about St. Nick and knows that there were plenty of fans upset with the level at which he was chosen in the dispersal draft. He feels very good with Villegas, but wants him to shoot more from 18 to 25 yards out. He feels that Moreno will score on Saturday, even though Jaime has told Ray that he is still a little afraid that really letting go on a shot attempt might hurt his knee. That's why he has been primarily dishing the ball instead of shooting. Ray's recipe for success is that complimentary players (i.e., team players) are perhaps more important than sheer talent. He feels the talent level is too low on this year's squad. He feels extremely good about the youth on the team. Tino may be the next Fowler, for example. Bobito has shown his mettle by not mailing it in this year despite only recently feeling 100%. His abilities will sharpen --we were reminded that such honing is a long-term process. The team has learned from Convey's injury and will bring Tino back very slowly and carefully -- we will see glimpses of Tino in the playoffs. Mapp has made significant steps lately since being a raw, raw egg when drafted. Namoff was mentioned (once all evening) as one of the storied youth on DC United when Ray and Trask "parachuted into the middle of a battle" (aka a hot LZ) when they got the jobs at the last minute. He said that DC is plenty young enough. McKinley will probably be back, but may not be a starter. He brings locker room leadership and the lads all love him. He feels that we've finally got some depth, and/but that it is on defense. He understands SORMUN's criticism and agrees with some of it. I took that to mean that he expects more scoring from the midfield. He disagrees with S regarding Convey and about our wide players. Thanks to Ray (who has been looking for a couple of weeks to get a meeting with the fans), SZack and DKasper for making it happen. See CHICO13 and Red&Black posts earlier. If more comes to me, I'll try to post it. GM
Thanks for the summary. My wife and I are both fighting colds, I didn't feel right asking her to stay home and watch the boy when she isn't feeling any better than I am--she's the one who had to work this morning. So I had to take a pass. I really appreciate the passing along of info. Still looking forward to meeting some other fans--I just moved to the area.
Wow sounds like it was tons of fun! I wish I could have made it! I wonder if sormun got his midfield questions answered to his satisfaction-seems he at least got to ask those questions
Ray revealed some Revs game tactics that I will not post here until Saturday afternoon. Don't want to give the Revs any intelligence. I ask all the others in attendance to be conscious of not giving away pregame secrets. GM
Thanks for the summaries. DC may have the worst record in the league, but can you imagine the Metrostars having such a meeting (with Zambrano and their ego tripping GM)? Let's hear it for the candor of DC United's management and their willingness to endure a question hour with the back benchers.