Rang Philly's bell, now can NYCFC spill New England's tea?

New York City FC's win over Philadelphia Union improved the vibes considerably following those two tough losses against Atlanta and Minnesota. While beating a hated rival at home is always fun, there were still plenty of questions to address about NYCFC coming out of the Philadelphia match. Episode 34 has your hosts John Baney and Mark Radigan and producer Andrew Leigh wondering if we'll now see more of Justin Haak playing in central defense and also if we'll see more of Agustín Ojeda as a starter on the wings since both players looked good in the Philly win. When we're done discussing current members of the roster, we dive into a fresh NYCFC transfer rumor, namely that the team is reportedly trying to sign 26-year-old Australian defensive midfielder Aiden O'Neill from Standard Liege in Belgium. Is a potential James Sands replacement the right signing to make as we approach the close of the MLS transfer window? We share our thoughts on that and give you some background on O'Neill in case he ends up making the move to MLS. We wrap this episode up with a preview of NYCFC's trip to Gillette Stadium to take on New England Revolution on Matchday 9. Our scouting report: Do whatever it takes to stop Carles Gil, New England's one-man wrecking crew who has scored all New England's non-Thiago Martins own goal goals in 2025. Listen to the full episode and then find more of our coverage by following Hudson River Blue on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads, and by reading all our work at HudsonRiverBlue.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.