False Nines Giving False Hope

Stop us if you have heard this before, NYCFC need a striker.

Once again a team with so much promise and quality lacks a definitive player in the key role of striker. Since the departure of David Villa in 2018 the club has really only seen one quality replacement as a number nine, in Taty Castellanos. Heber had a good season with NYCFC, but he was never the same after his injury.

The start of the 2026 campaign was a stark reminder of why having such a gaping hole in the middle of the attack will limit any team’s chances on truly challenging for hardware.

This Mike Anderer, J.R. diBart and Mike Allen break the opening game of the season down. They also share some audio from Pascal Jansen, Tayvon Gray and NYCFC newcomer, Kai Trewin.

MLS Fantasy with Favian Renkel

This week NYCFC supporters got their first real look at the 2026 squad with a livestream of the team’s preseason match against LAFC.

Spoiler alert: it looked very similar to last year’s team.

This week Mike Anderer, JR diBart and Mike Allen chat about the game and also give some over/under predictions ahead of the start of the season.

In the second segment, Favian Renkel from Kickbase joins the show to talk MLS Fantasy.

Enter Todd Dunivant

This was a busy week for New York City FC.

First scrimmage of 2026 in the books.

Two players out on loan.

One player signing confirmed and one rumored.

First official press conferences of the season.

It feels like the new season is right around the corner because it is. This week Mike Anderer, J.R. diBart and Mike Allen tackle all the news stories from the club and include some audio from CSO, Todd Dunivant, and head coach, Pascal Jansen.