Mike Allen returns to the NYCFC press box and to Blue City Radio. The relationship between Mike and NYCFC head coach, Nick Cushing, has improved greatly since the last time the two met tet-a-tet in the Citi Field press conference room, but the results are eerily similar.
NYCFC continues to get the chances and shots, but this continues to be the season of “almost moments”. As the final nine games approach and the magic number for making the playoffs looms, the team is in desperate need of a breakout moment.
This week Mike Anderer and Mike Allen look back on the disappointing result from Sunday and the key choices from Cushing that might be impacting the results on the field.
This past week was a tough one for NYCFC fans. Add to that the loss of the US Women’s National team to Sweden and it compounds the misery. Only the return of NYCFC legend, Maxi Moralez, can lessen the blow to fans.
This week Paul Harvey (@Thundering165) and Chris Campbell (@SoupInNY27) from The Outfield (@OutfieldNYCFC) join the show to share their thoughts on the NYCFC loss in League’s Cup and the USWNT ending their bid for their third straight World Cup.
League’s Cup has arrived. NYCFC hosted Atlas on Sunday at CitiField and that’s not even the biggest news story of the week.
Forward Gabriel Pereira departed the team the day before to continue his playing career in Qatar.
This week Mike welcomes Christian Smith from Five Borough Footy and John Baney of NYCFC Pigeons to the show to discuss what the departure of NYCFC’s leading goal scorer means for the rest of the season and the remainder of League’s Cup.
The criticism might sound too harsh. NYCFC held more of the ball on Saturday at Subaru Park. NYCFC created more goal scoring chances in the game. In the end, the two goals they conceded made the team appear very weak. Ultimately, it is a match most NYCFC fans and the team will quickly want to forget.
This week Mike and J.R. welcome in for the first time on the podcast Scott Churchson. Scott is co-owner of Stream Punk Entertainment and has been covering NYCFC since 2021. Together they talk about the new roster moves, the probability of NYCFC making the MLS Cup Playoffs and recap the key moments from Saturday’s loss.
It was another week for NYCFC with two consecutive draws. Nick Cushing’s squad was hopeful to build off the momentum of the first road win away in Montreal but a poor clearance by defender, Justin Haak, in the Charlotte game would prove to be costly. NYCFC did earn a point in that match thanks to a late goal by Braian Cufre. It was more late heroics in Columbus as Justin Haak entered the history books being the first home grown player to score in a competitive match. Sadly the intensity of Columbus even down a man would prove to be more pressure than NYCFC could absorb.
This week Mike, J.R. and Mike Allen look back at the crazy two games and even touch a little on the USMNT as they continue their Gold Cup run.
Everyone knew the moment would come eventually. Everyone knew that NYCFC would not go the rest of the regular season winless, but the streak kept creeping along, through May and then through most of June.
This week Mike Anderer and Mike Allen jump on the microphones to discuss the victory from Stade Saputo against CF Montreal. There’s also audio from Nick Cushing and Justin Haak in the episode. Our resident Justin Haak critic, J.R. deBart was oddly unavailable for this week’s recording. We are sure he’s on scripting some eloquent praise for the NYCFC homegrown player that he will share on an upcoming episode.
Nick Cushing’s haters are growing louder and louder as NYCFC continues to look for the next victory. Now winless in eleven MLS matches and hovering at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table, the team came within three minutes of a victory this past week in Atlanta. The draw from down south was probably one of the clearest moments where the outcome was connected to Cushing’s in-game decisions.
The Boys from the Bronx then flew from Atlanta to Portland and returned to the stadium where they hoisted the MLS Cup back in 2021. It was a match played with resolve as they clawed back a draw after trailing late in the first half.
This week the guys look back at the week’s two matches. They also discuss the question on many fans’ minds, “Is Cushing on the hot seat”?
The issues with the roster are real. The mistakes by the team on the field are real. Missing key players due to injury and international duty is a real barrier to getting results. Despite all those factors the excuse making from Nick Cushing is wearing the fanbase down and it’s curious to wonder how his approach is impacting the locker room of young talent. NYCFC left yet another two home points on the table as they drew Columbus Crew at home in Yankee Stadium. The dismal road performances have now carried over to the home form and the team remains without a win in ten games.
This week Mike, J.R. and Mike Allen do their best to find optimism, but the challenges are real and looking to praise performances that are not yielding wins is like trying to award Michelin Stars to fast food restaurants.
In the second segment, J.R. takes a few minutes to chat with Tony Alfaro from NYCFC to see how he’s enjoying life in NY.
We would be fools if we didn’t talk a little about Lionel Messi and the impact he will have on the league. It doesn’t mean we have the best takes on the subject, but we get some thoughts out there for the listeners to consider on the subject.
In the second segment Mike, J.R. and Mike Allen give their thoughts on the NYCFC draw in Rio Tinto and share some audio from Head Coach, Nick Cushing.
We have heard the criticism that the episodes need to be tighter, but in a week when NYCFC plays two matches with so many talking points, there is only so much trimming that we can do.
This week Mike, J.R. Debart and Mike Allen talk about the key points from a week when NYCFC only earned a point. They go over the loss to Cincinnati and the draw to New England.
