Last year, Calvin Anthony Daniel gave then-head coach Nick Cushing a failing grade in these pages. That assessment might seem a little harsh in retrospect: Did we really expect a club that didn't sign a striker or playmaker until the summer transfer window – or settle on a starting goalkeeper until August – to compete in Major League Soccer?
But Daniel wasn't just looking at results, he was looking at a lack of development of key players such as Santiago Rodíguez, James Sands, and Talles Magno, all of whom were stuck in 2023. It wasn't pretty.
But if Cushing was held accountable for the stagnation in 2023, then he should get credit for the growth we saw in 2024.
After all, Rodíguez enjoyed the best season of his career this year, and is poised to become an elite midfielder in 2025. Sands was a rock in the defense, and is returning to the form that prompted a move to Rangers FC in 2022. And as for Talles Magno, well, he seems to have found comfort playing back home in Brazil.
New York City FC | Record by Head Coach
| Name | G | W | D | L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | PPG | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Cushing | MLS | 89 | 31 | 27 | 31 | 120 | 121 | 119 | 2 | 1.35 | 34.83% |
| All Comps | 107 | 37 | 31 | 39 | 146 | 141 | 5 | 34.58% | |||
| Ronny Deila | MLS | 70 | 34 | 14 | 22 | 116 | 118 | 71 | 47 | 1.66 | 48.57% |
| All Comps | 90 | 44 | 19 | 27 | 154 | 99 | 55 | 48.89% | |||
| Domé Torrent | MLS | 53 | 26 | 14 | 13 | 92 | 92 | 67 | 25 | 1.74 | 49.06% |
| All Comps | 60 | 29 | 15 | 16 | 104 | 76 | 28 | 48.33% | |||
| Patrick Vieira | MLS | 83 | 39 | 22 | 22 | 139 | 148 | 120 | 28 | 1.67 | 46.99% |
| All Comps | 90 | 40 | 22 | 28 | 28 | 151 | 137 | 14 | 44.44% | ||
| Jason Kreis | MLS | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 37 | 49 | 58 | -9 | 1.09 | 29.41% |
| All Comps | 35 | 10 | 8 | 17 | 51 | 60 | -9 | 28.57% | |||
| Total | MLS | 329 | 140 | 84 | 105 | 504 | 528 | 435 | 93 | 1.53 | 42.55% |
| All Comps | 382 | 160 | 95 | 127 | 606 | 513 | 93 | 41.88% |
Two to grow on
Even more impressive under Cushing, two members of the squad went from being perennial benchwarmers to ranking among the very best players in the league: Matt Freese is on a path to becoming the top goalkeeper in Major League Soccer, while Alonso Martínez surprised every pundit, executive, coach, fan, and ball kid in North America when he emerged as a striker so clinical that he finished the year trailing only Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez in goals scored per 90 minutes.
Other players we should include in the growth and development camp include Malachi Jones, a draft pick who emerged as one of the team's most exciting attackers; Tayvon Gray, whose goal and seven assists were the most for a fullback since the four goals and four assists from Anton Tinnerholm in 2020; and Christian McFarlane, who looked composed beyond his 17 years in the 13 appearances he made for the First Team across all competitions.
