New York City FC started a four-match road trip with another away loss, while also making some major roster moves, meaning there's lots to cover in Episode 47.

We start with a wrap-up of the FIFA Club World Cup, with our co-host Mark Radigan discussing covering the final and Chelsea FC's triumph over Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium. All of Mark, fellow co-host John Baney, and producer Andrew Leigh then discuss the pros and cons of FIFA's new summertime club competition and render their yay or nay final verdicts on the tournament.

Then it's time for some hot New York City FC transfer gossip, namely that Nico Fernández Mercau is officially in the fold as a new Designated Player signing, and that Birk Risa left New York City to return to Molde FK. We reflect on Risa's time with NYCFC and wonder if this means another shoe's about to drop in the form of a new defender joining the team – maybe Raul Gustavo of Ferencváros? – once the MLS transfer window reopens on July 24.

The fun transfer talk over, things shift to the less-fun topic of Charlotte FC 2-0 New York City FC. The loss felt familiar and continued the club's poor trend of looking great at home and terrible on the road, a trend that we highlight with some ugly numbers from the team's last five MLS regular seasons' worth of away games.

Not the most promising way to segue into our final segment, which is all about the next two NYCFC away games to be played this week against Orlando City SC and Sporting Kansas City, respectively. It will be hot and sticky in both cities, but how confident are we that New York City can finally turn around their poor away form?

Listen to the full episode to find out, 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.

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.

Matt Freese had his breakout moment with the United States men's national team so we had to start Episode 45 of the Hudson River Blue Podcast by reflecting on his incredible performance in the USMNT's penalty shootout win to advance past Costa Rica and into the Semifinals of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

The New York City FC narratives were multiple in that USMNT-Costa Rica match, since Alonso Martínez was the biggest Costa Rican thorn in Freese's side. Freese's rise with the USMNT also has us asking the important questions, namely: Is The Iceman going to the World Cup in 2026? Might he even be the USMNT's starter at the tournament?

Once the Freese and Gold Cup talk wraps, we switch gears and review New York City's second 1-0 loss to CF Montréal of the season. That means discussing Pascal Jansen's absence, the team's awful first half, and what this game means for filling in backups like Mounsef Bakrar and goalkeeper Tomás Romero.

After the break, Michael Battista stops by to discuss his bombshell Hudson River Blue story about the potential return of the New York Cosmos in USL League One, with the new Cosmos set to play home matches at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. Michael walks through the key things to know about Cosmos 3.0 and what their arrival will mean for the Tri-State soccer scene.

We wrap this episode up by previewing New York City FC's one and only home MLS match in the month of July, when Toronto FC comes to visit for another random installment of Thursday Night Soccer. Toronto just dumped their two expensive and disappointing Italian Designated Players, so does this TFC match become an absolute must-win for an NYCFC team that's looking at four straight games on the road before the Leagues Cup games begin in late July?