Football Season Guide

NYCFC made the playoffs in 8 of the last 9 years. They won the title as recently as 2021. Last season finished 6th in the East. Mainly thanks to their very solid home form. Struggled on the road all year. Went past the 1st round but then in the Conference Semis lost the city derby vs new York RB 0-2. Despite the decent campaign Cushing’s reign ended after 3 seasons. Appointed Dutchman Pascal Jansen as their new head coach. He has no MLS experience. Managed AZ in the Netherlands from 2020 until 2024. Had a short stint at Ferencvaros before taking the job. Jansen hasn’t made any major moves yet on the transfer market. The 2 new arrivals are not expected to play much. At the same time, important Sands left. Also, bright youngster McFarlane was sold to Man City. Despite NYCFC have a deep squad. Nice mixture between youth and experience should give the Sky Blues another decent season. Between them Martinez and Rodrigues scored 30 MLS goals last season. They will remain the main hope up front this year too. Might make moves in coming weeks to add depth in defence. Currently only 3 typical CB are on the roster. All 3 of them experienced players though. Also, O’Toole is the only natural LB. NYCFC have the cap flexibility and available Marquee Slot to add a big international star to the roster too. Linked with a few Dutch players. Even if no move is made until the summer the possibility to add major quality is there.