NYCFC stuck in a losing rut, NYCFC II's New Jersey future

It was two losses for New York City FC in a span of four days, and it's now been three losses in a row, so hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh begin this episode by diving into the loss freshest in the collective conscience: The disastrous performance in the second half of the 3-2 loss to Philadelphia Union at Yankee Stadium.

Your hosts try to get to the root of the collapse against the Union, from costly individual errors to the bigger-picture problem of this New York City FC team being severely bitten by the injury bug. The squad is thinned out and also trying to integrate or re-integrate a number of players who are returning from injuries, or who are brand new to the team and the league.

The loss to Philadelphia was bad but it wasn't the only loss to cover, as NYCFC also completed its latest Leagues Cup three-and-out by falling 2-1 to Club Necaxa. Struggles in this new version of Leagues Cup continued, with Pascal Jansen's squad finishing near the bottom of the table of all 18 participating MLS teams for a second straight year. What is it about Leagues Cup that continues to trouble New York City FC, and what were our bigger-picture thoughts on the tournament, its format, and how it should change in 2027 and beyond?

From Leagues Cup to a special segment about the big story broken by New York Soccer Journal's Michael Battista: That New York City FC II of MLS Next Pro will be relocated to Edison, New Jersey, rebranded, and set up as a new club that's commercially controlled by Hometown Soccer Holdings, with home games to be played at a new 6,500-seat multi-purpose stadium at Middlesex College. Michael joins the show to discuss his story, the potential for a new pro soccer team to stand out in this part of New Jersey, and how the Hometown Soccer Holdings initiative to rebrand and relocate MLS reserve teams might ultimately play out.

From there it's onto a double-preview for another two matches to come for NYCFC later this week. First it's the dangerous-in-attack FC Cincinnati, who New York City visit at midweek and who have the MLS leader in goal contributions, Evander, who also happens to be a particularly lethal NYCFC opponent. From Ohio to Massachusetts as we also get you ready for New York City's Sunday afternoon trip to face Jack Harrison and the New England Revolution.

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