Episode 463:

Nick Cushing and NYCFC can only face the team in front of them. Whether it be an MLS squad weakened by injury and suspension or a struggling Liga MX side the Boys In Blue have to compete against their opponent and win the points. This past Sunday Queretero, a team that has failed to earn a single point in league play, came to Yankee Stadium and stifled the NYCFC attack earning a point in tournament play.

Mike Anderer, J.R. deBart and Mike Allen breakdown the key moments of the most recent match and highlight the key players of the day including Talles Magno, Maxi Moralez and Justin Haak.

The guys also round out the episode with some conversation about the Canadian soccer controversy and spy scandal that was exposed in the Paris Olympics.

Episode 462:

NYCFC wrapped up their four game road trip with a pair of exciting draws. The pigeons in back to back games would have to earn points after conceding the opening goal.

Justin Haak, Matt Freese and Talles Magno would all have impacts on the games this week. Mike Anderer, J.R. deBart, and Mike Allen take a look at the games from the past week and dig deeper into the odd handling of one of the club’s best prospects in Talles Magno.

Episode 461:

This weekend hosted a magnificent Euro 2024 Final, a chaotic and scary Copa America Final, and a snoozefest of an NYCFC match between an injury-riddled away side and simply a poor home side in Chicago.

This week JR Dibart takes the hosting duties and talks about all the week’s topics with Mike Allen and guest host, Scott Churchson from Steampunk Entertainment.

The guys talk about all of the weekend’s topics as well as the media availability that Sporting Director, David Lee, hosted with the local independent journalists.

Episode 460:

This week’s episode could almost be recorded at any given time in the year. The USMNT under performed under Gregg Berhalter and NYCFC won a home game and then lost a road game. There really is not much shocking about these occurrences.

This week the guys take a moment to talk about Berhalter’s future with US Soccer and possible replacements both from a pipe dream level but also realistic options.

Second segment is all about the home match versus Montreal in CitiField and in the final segment they discuss the loss in Austin.

There is lots of post-game audio shared from the Montreal match.

Episode 459:

NYCFC has a history of bright young players that burst on the scene hoping to secure a spot on the squad and cement their relationship with the fanbase. This year Malachi Jones did both with his speed, talent and smile. Sadly during the 4-2 victory from Friday against Orlando City, the winger suffered a devastating injury that will most likely see him out until next season.

Mike, J.R. and Mike Allen talk through the injury, the impact to the roster depth and what players might see minutes in the rookie’s absence.

The trio also use the second segment to have a quick conversation about the USMNT with that group’s final match of the Copa America kicking off immediately after recording.

Episode 458:

Patrick Vieira had the difficult task of managing the last chapter of Andrea Pirlo’s NYCFC career. It was clear that despite Pirlo’s ability, the player did not fit the system Vieira was crafting for the team. In Pirlo’s final season with NYCFC he started less than half of the team’s regular season games and was an unused sub in 14 of 34 matches. Many fans will recall his last touch from Yankee stadium was an overhit ball in his one minute of play at the end of the Conference semi-finals as NYCFC would win the game but lose the series on aggregate 3:4 against the Columbus Crew.

Before the critics start to yell about my comparisons between Talles Magno and Andrea Pirlo let me be clear that the only comparison I am making is that the two players were both designated players that were not seen by their respective managers as critical components to the team’s success.

In all honesty, I think Talles would be happy to atleast have seven appearances in the first half of the season as opposed to his one.

This week Mike, J.R. and Mike Allen get into the debate of whether Talles will remain and finish out the season with the Pigeons.

They also discuss the two losses from this week and include an exclusive interview from Los Angeles with Malachi Jones.

Episode 457:

What started as a rainy stormy night became a beautiful evening in the Bronx. NYCFC was poised to take on a formidable foe in the Columbus Crew and hope to maintain their record breaking streak of victories.

Unfortunately three second-half goals by the visitors would be too much for the Pigeons to overcome.

This week Mike Anderer and Mike Allen discuss the key moments from Friday’s loss. In the second segment Mike Anderer is joined by Trey Fillmore, another OG podcaster, from Blue Balls Pod to get into the sentiment postgame in the tunnels of Yankee Stadium.

We hear from Santi Rodriguez, Malachi Jones, and making his NYCFC and MLS debut, Christian McFarlane.

Episode 456:

It is a story that Don Garber would like to see go away. It is an MLS story that’s only competition on the global sportspages was a scampering raccoon.

It was the accusation from John Herdman against Nick Cushing. It was the accusation that the league admitted was without evidence.

This week Mike, J.R. and Mike Allen dig into the thin statement that was released to limited outlets.

The trio also discuss the USMNT loss to Colombia in their recent friendly.

Episode 455:

It has been said in creative circles that a key to success is to create to an audience of one. The creative juices flow easier when the distractions of trying to please others are removed and the end-product is better.

This week Mike Anderer tests that theory. J.R. Debart was a last minute scratch from the show due to a work conflict so the decision was quickly made to have J.R. deliver soundbytes on a few topics so they could be inserted into the show during post-production.

This week the guys talk about the thrilling match in Yankee Stadium versus San Jose and the incredible performance by Alonso Martinez, but the real story of this match is the return of 37 year old Maxi Moralez.

Post game audio from Nick Cushing, Maxi Moralez, Matt Freese, James Sands, Mitja Illenic, and Birk Risa round out the show.

Episode 454:

First we saw the emergence of Hannes Wolf, then there was the raccoon in Philly, and in New England it was Big Bird to save the day.

NYCFC is hot. They are in fact the hottest team in the league.

This week Mike, J.R. and Mike Allen take a look at the game in Foxborough and discuss where the difference is between this year’s NYCFC and the dismal team from 2023.