New York City FC will compete in both the US Open Cup and Leagues Cup in 2025, but it's not so cut-and-dry for a lot of other Major League Soccer teams.

Both those Cup competitions just got new and slightly complex qualification criteria, and we spend the early part of Episode 23 trying to make sense of who gets into the Open Cup, who gets into Leagues Cup, and who gets left out. Given that we're talking trophies, we also answer the burning question: Which Cup would we pick if we had to choose one for NYCFC to win in 2025?

Another big topic this week is another player leaving New York City FC, this time 18-year-old Homegrown defender Christian McFarlane. There's talk of what's in store for McFarlane now that he's a Manchester City FC player, how his departure impacts the 2025 NYCFC team, and what to make of another deal between two City Football Group teams.

We wrap up this episode by starting in on a series of position group previews ahead of NYCFC's 2025 season, putting a spotlight on the team's goalkeepers. There's a no-doubt starting goalkeeper in place in Matt Freese, but with Luis Barraza gone, questions linger over who serves as Freese's backup on NYCFC matchdays. Will it be Alex Rando, or Tomás Romero, or maybe Greg Ranjitsingh?

After you’ve listened, make sure you’re following Hudson River Blue on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads, and reading all our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com.

The transfer market is hot elsewhere in Major League Soccer, but there's not a lot of exciting transfer movement going on around New York City FC.

This episode starts with an attempt to get to the bottom of why we've seen so little transfer activity from NYCFC during this offseason, an offseason that has seen lots of big-name talents – like Wilfried Zaha and possibly Miguel Almirón, to name two – make the move to the MLS Eastern Conference.

We cover NYCFC's tendency under Sporting Director David Lee to make their winter signings closer to or after the start of the MLS regular season, but also wonder if this quiet winter is a side effect of the team's heightened transfer activity during the winter of 2024 and summer of 2023.

There's also the Pascal Jansen factor, as in: Could NYCFC be holding off on making more roster changes until the new coach has joined up with the team for preseason and has had a chance to get a better feel for his new squad?

After our big transfer window chat, we wrap this episode up with a discussion of the United States men's national team, specifically how little we saw of NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese during this January USMNT camp. Freese didn't play a single minute in either of the team's two friendlies and was the only previously uncapped player in January camp to not make his senior national team debut. Mauricio Pochettino, that is no way to treat the 2024 MVP of New York City FC!

After you’ve listened, make sure you’re following Hudson River Blue on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads, and reading all our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com.

The 2025 preseason officially started for New York City FC, with the team jetting off to Santa Barbara, California with a 34-player preseason roster, but a roster that does not include striker Jovan Mijatović.

The 19-year-old is still in Europe and not joining up with his teammates for preseason while rumors swirl about a potential loan transfer from NYCFC to a European club. Hosts John Baney and Mark Radigan have lots of thoughts about the difficult Mijatović situation, wondering why it's gone so poorly for him with New York City while also speculating on how this drama between Jovan and the team will resolve itself.

Not content to only discuss a potential Jovan Mijatović transfer, things then shift to the moves New York City has already made, like re-signing Maxi Moralez, adding a backup goalkeeper, and formalizing Homegrown contracts with two young players. There's also some discussion of a possible Matt Freese transfer since the NYCFC goalkeeper finds himself in the rumor mill, linked with interest from clubs in the Netherlands and Germany.

Episode 21 wraps up with the show's producer Andrew Leigh running through numerous changes to the MLS roster rules the league announced before the start of the 2025 season. No MLS podcast episode is complete without a discussion of new twists on player trading and allocation money, contract buyouts, and oh so much more.

After you’ve listened, make sure you’re following Hudson River Blue on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter (X), and reading all our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com.