This week Pascal Jansen met the New York City FC media for the first time since becoming the team's Head Coach, so this episode starts with close readings of some of what Jansen – and NYCFC Sporting Director David Lee – had to say in their preseason press conferences.

That included Jansen laying out his goals to give his team more edge, intensity, and sense of invincibility, a "bulletproof mindset" as he put it, which all made him sound, to us, like a coach ready for the challenges of Major League Soccer and New York City.

Our hosts John Baney and Mark Radigan also sounded encouraged by David Lee's insistence the team will be signing some new players, but they wonder whether the Sporting Director is making the right move by waiting until possibly beyond the start of the new season to bring any major new reinforcements in for Jansen and company.

Talk then shifts to one player who will not be reinforcing Pascal Jansen's squad: Jovan Mijatović, as we discuss the young striker's departure on loan for OH Leuven in Belgium. With the Jovan saga concluding (for now), we took a few more minutes to offer shakes of our collective heads over just how badly his time with NYCFC went.

Episode 24 wraps up by continuing to preview the 2025 New York City FC squad, this time by taking a deep dive into the defense. We single out the defenders we expect to stand out this season and all share our preferred defensive lineups. That lineup-making also leads to us continuing the years-long debate over who should be the team's starter at right-back: Tayvon Gray or Mitja Ilenič?

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.

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