Where were you the day a 700-pound, five-story-tall inflatable New York City FC-branded pigeon floated all around New York City?

The club's floating pigeon publicity stunt got even some of the most soccer-disinterested people in New York City's attention, so we had to open the latest Hudson River Blue Podcast by weighing in on the latest Big Bird in the land of NYCFC.

The big old pigeon was exciting, but it definitely wasn't the biggest news discussed on Episode 46. That distinction goes to recent reports that NYCFC will sign Nicolás "Nico" Fernández as their next Designated Player, with the team poised to pay a sizable transfer fee to acquire the 25-year-old Argentine currently of Elche CF, a Spanish club freshly promoted back to the top-flight LaLiga.

Is Nico the answer, or is Sporting Director David Lee about to repeat his recent history by paying a big transfer fee for another less-than-stellar player who fails to live up to the expectations that accompany his signing? Hosts John Baney and Mark Radigan, plus producer Andrew Leigh share interesting perspectives and background on NYCFC's new Designated Player and the possible like-for-like replacement for departed Santíago Rodríguez. Before we wrap up all our Transfer Talk, we also discuss a recent rumor linking one of Pascal Jansen's former Ferencváros players, left-footed center-back Raul Gustavo, with a move to join his old coach at NYCFC.

Transfer talk sorted, we then spend some time reviewing the comfortable 3-1 win New York City FC earned over Toronto FC on a pre-4th of July match at Yankee Stadium before taking a break and returning to do our version of a postmortem on the United States men's national team and their run to the Concacaf Gold Cup final, and a 2-1 loss in that final to hated rivals Mexico.

There are attempts to take a big-picture view of the entire summer of USMNT training camp, friendlies, and a runner-up finish at the Gold Cup, while we also single out some American players who helped their cases and will hope to now stick in bigger roles and in Mauricio Pochettino's future plans, such as those for the 2026 World Cup – it's a list that includes NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese right at the top after his breakout showing this month.

Speaking of Matt Freese, with the Gold Cup over, he'll likely rejoin his NYCFC teammates for their trip to face Charlotte FC on the road. Episode 46 wraps up with a closer look at what to expect from a Charlotte team that's underwhelmed ahead of the first 2025 meeting between these teams.

Dean Smith's team is led by reigning Goalkeeper of the Year Kristijan Kahlina, and they've got a coveted (by PSV Eindhoven, reportedly) young center-back in Adilson Malanda, but the club has been leaking in goals throughout the first rounds of MLS action. Will the tide finally start to turn for New York City in its four straight road matches, or will the club's bad head-to-head history against the team from Charlotte, North Carolina, feature one more loss added to the ledger?

Listen to the full episode, and find more of our coverage by following Hudson River Blue on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads, and by reading all our work at HudsonRiverBlue.com.

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