We begin this episode by talking about the big recent news involving us: Hudson River Blue is shutting down. You get to hear it from us, and we do our best to update you on what’s coming next for our coverage.

That coverage is uninterrupted, at least as far as this podcast is concerned. After the housekeeping, it’s on to a deep dive into the epic clash between New York City FC and Inter Miami CF in front of an announced crowd of 45,845 at Yankee Stadium.

Miami won for a third straight time against NYCFC, but the 3-2 victory for the visiting Herons was filled to the brim with talking points and controversies. The non-call on a possible handball outside his penalty area by Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was a major point of contention, and so too was the fact that every in-game break and call from the referee seemed to go Miami’s way.

While it was still the first loss of the season for New York City, there were positives even in defeat. We do spend some of our breakdown highlighting the good things that happened even in defeat, specifically that both Nico Fernández Mercau and Maxi Moralez continued their white-hot starts to this season while carrying the NYCFC attack.

Once the Miami game is wrapped, we discuss the latest big development at Etihad Park, as the new permanent home for NYCFC in Queens is set to celebrate its “topping out” with the placement of a final structural beam. The new stadium really looks like a stadium, though we’re here griping about having to wait another 16 months or so for it to open.

We also fill you in on all the NYCFC players to receive international call-ups for games played during the late-March FIFA international window, and that includes a few players mentioned who should have received national-team calls, but didn’t — looking at you, Jamaica national team, for not calling up Trayvon Gray.

The episode closes with a more big-picture reflection on where things stand with the NYCFC squad as the MLS Primary Transfer Window comes to a close on Thursday, March 26. Was it enough to only add one new senior-level player to the roster from outside the club, Kai Trewin? How do we feel about the prospects of an Antoine Griezmann-level star joining New York City during the summer’s Secondary Transfer Window? Transfer and squad-building chats always bring out the strongest takes and emotions, and this was no exception.

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New York City FC made it three straight wins by beating Colorado Rapids at Yankee Stadium, so that 3-1 victory and Nico Fernández Mercau's two goals in it are big topics to open this episode.

Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh review the standout performances against Colorado, like Nico continuing his early goal binge, Maxi Moralez picking up yet another assist, and Talles Magno getting a confidence-building goal to seal the result. Discussing the win over Colorado and the club's red-hot start to the MLS season also means stopping to consider: How serious of a trophy contender is this year's NYCFC squad, really?

From the Colorado win it's on to a less upbeat topic, as we discuss James Sands suffering another season-ending ankle injury with FC St. Pauli in Germany. Despite a solid year as a regular starter in midfield, it's unclear what the future will hold at club level for the first-ever NYCFC Homegrown, whose loan to St. Pauli expires at the end of June, but who has now had back-to-back Bundesliga seasons cut short by injuries.

While the injury definitively rules Sands out, another NYCFC player is in for the United States men's national team, and that's goalkeeper Matt Freese. We discuss Freese getting called up for the USMNT's March friendlies and size up the state of the race for the title of "starting keeper at the World Cup," with it looking likely to come down to Freese or New England Revolution stopper Matt Turner.

After a break, we run through the changes made to the schedule for this year's MLS Cup Playoffs. It's across-the-board praise for the decision to stop letting the playoffs be interrupted by a FIFA international break, though opinions are less clear-cut about a Friday night MLS Cup final that also could take place on the chilly East Coast on the wintry date of December 18.

Finally, it's time to shift attention to the marquee match at Yankee Soccer Stadium: Inter Miami CF coming to town for a rematch of the 2025 Eastern Conference Final.

Is New York City catching Miami at the right time, meaning when they're vulnerable and there to be beaten? Miami is juggling the start of the regular season with the Concacaf Champions Cup, and they've not clicked in league play so far in the early days of the 2026 season. Still, they soundly defeated NYCFC in back-to-back meetings late in 2025, and they've got one of the deepest squads in the league. How much will we learn from these teams playing this early in the season?

Get ready for the big Sunday matinee in the Bronx by listening to the full episode and by catching up with more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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New York City FC won another home opener, but the way they wrecked Orlando City SC while winning 5-0 surprised even the most optimistic members of our Hudson River Blue Podcast crew.

This episode starts with a fond look back at the big win over Orlando at Yankee Stadium, as we attempt to zoom in on what had more to do with the 5-0 scoreline: Orlando's badness, or New York City's greatness? Really, Orlando was quite bad before and after the tragi-comic early red card shown to goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, but is that the real reason NYCFC looked so good in this win? And will Pascal Jansen's team ever come across an opponent who can finish a match with all 11 players still out on the field?

After singling out some top performers and top moments from the Orlando victory, we try to take stock of where NYCFC stands three matches into their MLS season. In taking seven of nine available points to start the year, it means the club is off to its best start since 2018. Have we seen enough to definitively say this team is legit and good enough, as constructed, to win a trophy this season, or is a striker still a must-sign to be considered a true contender?

Then it's a brief detour into the land of Leagues Cup, everyone's favorite mid-summer tournament. New York City learned the identities of their opponents – Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna, and Club Necaxa – and the logistics of the three Phase One matches they'll play in this year's tournament. Spoiler Alert: They're all taking place in Harrison, New Jersey, and thus our excitement for the early-August, post-World Cup tournament takes a big hit.

Finally, it's time to preview New York City FC's Matchday 4 when Colorado Rapids come to the Bronx. New York City is unbeaten through three matches, but can they rise to the somewhat less-anticipated occasion of an early-season Colorado visit and maintain the momentum that they gained from their home opener?

Listen to the full episode to hear where our optimism levels currently reside, then find more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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It was as wild a win as wins get for New York City FC in their second match of the 2026 season, so this episode begins with lots to be said about the last-gasp 2-1 win over Philadelphia Union.

That includes some choice words about the controversial refereeing decisions that influenced the match, from two contentious penalty-kick decisions to the quick-trigger second yellow card that reduced the Union to 10 players shortly before Tayvon Gray's dramatic winning goal. Gray is one of a few players we zoom in on, including Agustín Ojeda and his match-winning assist, and Keaton Parks in his first Starting XI appearance since May 4, 2025.

Following a thorough unpacking of the Philly win, the episode switches gears and focuses on the wide-ranging, eye-opening interview given this week by NYCFC president and CEO Brad Sims.

We digest some of the biggest things shared by Sims, including why Etihad Park is opening in July 2027 instead of during the 14-match mini-season held next spring, some of the ins and outs of how New York City FC executes player scouting and transfers while inside the City Football Group apparatus, and that the club still might sign a high-priced Designated Player during the current MLS Primary Transfer Window.

To wrap up this jam-packed episode, it's a preview of the 2026 home opener against Orlando City SC at Yankee Stadium. Orlando is winless and looking far less dangerous than their 2025 selves, and NYCFC is off to a rare unbeaten start through their first two games: Is confidence too high, or just right heading into the season's first home match?

Listen to the full episode, then find more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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New York City FC started the 2026 season with a 1-1 draw vs LA Galaxy, a slightly frustrating but respectable result while playing thousands of miles away from home.

Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh all agree that the Galaxy game served as another reminder of how badly New York City FC needs to sign a new striker or versatile forward to fill in at the No 9 while Alonso Martínez rehabs from his knee injury.

The NYCFC striker situation once again is a big topic of discussion, with Nico Fernández Mercau getting the start at striker vs the Galaxy and enjoying a strong game with a penalty-kick goal scored, but all while not playing like much of a true center-forward. We break down Nico's role and tendencies against the Galaxy and wonder what could make Pascal Jansen turn to Talles Magno or promising 17-year-old Seymour Reid while searching for the team's ideal answer at striker.

After diving in deep on the Galaxy match, the pod's attention shifts to NYCFC's soon-to-open soccer-specific stadium and the announcement that Etihad Park will first open for the Summer-Spring portion of the 2027/28 MLS calendar. Is it a wise move for the new stadium to entirely skip the brief 14-match "Sprint Season" MLS has planned for the early part of 2027?

With one point on the board, NYCFC's season-opening road trip now shifts to Chester, Pennsylvania, and a Matchday 2 clash with Philadelphia Union. It's a very different-looking Union team from the one NYCFC dispatched to reach the MLS Eastern Conference Final last November, so we lay out what to expect as New York City reacquaints with one of the club's biggest rivals.

Listen to this super-sized, season-opening podcast, then find more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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It's a big season preview episode involving bold predictions made about New York City FC and the players we expect to play big roles during the 2026 season.

Before the predicting and previewing, hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh put a bow on the preseason. There was one final Coachella Valley Invitational friendly played, and there were many updates about the health of some key members of the NYCFC squad shared by Pascal Jansen.

After catching up on the state of the team as preseason ends, we move into season preview mode, and that involves laying down some bold predictions about the season ahead. We each share where we think New York City FC will finish in the Eastern Conference standings, then all call out our choices for who will be NYCFC's top goal-scorer, breakout player, and overall Player of the Season, across the entirety of the 2026 campaign.

The big-picture predictions finished, this episode wraps up with our first match preview of the 2026 season, a look ahead to the inaugural Justin Haak Derby when NYCFC plays LA Galaxy. You might know all about Justin Haak already, but he wasn't the only big roster addition made by the Galaxy this offseason. We cover the new faces and dangers posed by LA and each try to predict how we see this first meaningful match of 2026 playing out.

Listen to this super-sized, season-opening podcast, then find more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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The New York City FC preseason is nearing its conclusion and the Coachella Valley Invitational friendlies are happening, giving us more and more clues about how Pascal Jansen might line his team up when the 2026 season kicks off on February 22 in Southern California.

To start this episode, hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh revisit the 1-1 draw between NYCFC and LAFC to open the Coachella slate. The review includes some analysis of the first Coachella Starting XI rolled out by Jansen, a lineup that included usual defender Kevin O'Toole as a defensive midfielder.

Nico Fernández Mercau scored in a second straight preseason friendly, but this time while playing as the team's starting center-forward. The pod is bullish on a Nico breakout in 2026 during his first full MLS season, and his performance during preseason is reinforcing that bullishness.

While Nico is looking good in preseason, some key players have been looking on from the sidelines while injured and unavailable to feature in any of New York City FC's preparatory friendlies.

It's easy to wonder about how the New York City FC midfield will hold up while both Aiden O'Neill and Jonny Shore are out recovering from injuries, and it's similarly easy to wonder why Talles Magno has seemed so absent since playing that friendly at Austin FC earlier this month.

To wrap things up, there are some serious and judgmental takes offered about NYCFC's new 2026/27 away kit, the All Nations Kit. The show has generally positive feelings about the new jersey, but it's not all must-cop sunshine and roses for the new shirt, which gets explained as part of our animated discussion on the pros and cons of those All Nations Kits.

Listen to the full episode, then find more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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Moussa Sylla of FC Schalke 04 looked all set to become a Designated Player striker signing for New York City FC, but instead of wrapping the transfer up, the move went up in smoke and in dramatic and contentious fashion.

The first portion of this episode is spent unpacking all the dramatic twists of the Sylla transfer saga. This is the first time in recent memory a New York City FC transfer fell apart due to a medical exam, so there's lots discussed about this Sylla medical, and about Schalke and their fans having very strong and very anti-NYCFC reactions to the transfer breaking down.

A ripple effect of Sylla not signing is that it now remains an open and unanswered question of where New York City FC will turn next, to the transfer market or to their own roster, as they try to find a solution at striker to hold them over until Alonso Martínez is healthy again.

After lots of Sylla talk, hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh shift to some preseason observations coming out of NYCFC's friendly against Austin FC, and as the team sits on the verge of starting the Coachella Valley Invitational. What players and positions on the roster are we keeping closer eyes on as the preseason games start ramping up, and as the MLS regular season draws closer?

Finally, we can't overlook the one big signing that New York City FC did successfully make this week: Sky Scraper, the team's new pigeon mascot. How are we feeling about the club's new big bird in not-quite-Timberlands? Opinions are mixed and varied, but there are plenty of opinions to be had about MLS mascots and Sky joining their ranks.

Listen to the full episode, then find more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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