We all have our annual traditions. While New York City FC begins their preseason training with talk of locker room unity and players really eager to compete for starting roles, the staff here at Hudson River Blue took our crystal ball out of its velvet-lined mahogany case and asked it to tell us about the year that lies ahead.
Last year, we made 23 Predictions for 2023, and the crystal ball let us down tbh: Only eight proved to be true — although another five were sorta kinda correct. It was a tough year all around. We fared better the year before, when we made 22 Predictions for 2022 and a shocking 14 of them proved to be true (more or less).
That was then. Now it's time to buckle up, and read what the spirits guided us to predict for 2024.
- NYCFC win the US Open Cup due to being the only MLS team taking it seriously following the battle between MLS and the USSF over MLS involvement. The banner celebrating the win is even smaller than the 2021 Championship banner, on purpose. - James Nalton
- Attendance for the Inter Messi CF trip to Yankee Stadium tops 40,000, yet of the Barcelona Buddies, only Sergio Busquets is fit enough to start. Messi comes on as a 75th-minute substitute, but walks off and makes Tata Martino replace him after he trips over a piece of loose sod covering third base. - Andrew Leigh
- Season-ticket holders will pass out when they see a 20% hike in their rates this Spring, due to the value of Inter Miami and Lionel Messi’s yearly visit to the Bronx. - Corey Clayton
- There will be lots of NYCFC stadium news that no one really understands but is encouraging and positive nevertheless. - JN
- Brad Sims will recreate Ronny Deila’s post-MLS Cup disrobing celebration on the stage of a community board meeting when the Willets Point soccer stadium receives its final necessary ULURP approval. - AL
- Kevin O’Toole emerges as a cult hero for the NYCFC faithful. His refreshing attacking style of play combined with his unique development path give fans a lot to root for. - John Baney
- Tayvon Gray will continue to thrive as a right-back, but will also continue to play games at center-back. Gray will help NYCFC build one of the best defenses in MLS. - Matthew Mangam
- Matt Freese will fulfill his promise and become an elite MLS goalkeeper. NYCFC have developed strikers, midfielders, and defenders — now it’s time for goalkeeper coach Rob Vartughian to work his magic on the Bronx Stretch Armstrong. - Oliver Strand
- NYCFC Supporters will clamor for the new hot goalkeeper kit, and Fanatics will accidentally print a Red Bulls crest on the first ones delivered to fans. - CC
- Nick Cushing will help NYCFC get back to their winning ways, and will sweep the Hudson River Derby with wins in New York City and Red Bull Arena. - OS
- Maxi Moralez returns successfully from his ACL injury and puts together one last summer of string-pulling midfield magic, rejuvenated by the chance to link up with young Argentine attackers Trapito Ojeda and Julián Fernández. - AL
- Mounsef Bakrar will finish Top 5 in the MLS Golden Boot race come the end of the regular season. With the addition of young wingers Hannes Wolf and Julián Fernández providing creativity, expect Bakrar to flourish. - Mark Radigan
- Talles Magno and Mitja Ilenič become the latest NYCFC players to be sold overseas midseason, with Talles Magno going back to his native Brazil and Ilenič off to a lower-table Serie A club in Italy. - AL
- NYCFC supporters will scream “FOWL!” (get it?) when the club’s front office further buys-in on the team’s informal nickname, introducing its new kid-friendly mascot, “Winger” the interboro pigeon. - CC
- NYCFC will go unbeaten for eight straight games. It could be eight straight draws, eight straight wins, or a combination of both. - MR
- NWSL defending champion Gotham FC will have a record-attendance year with their new superstar-packed lineup, but will fall short in the Cup playoffs, as the team’s diet of Jersey-staple “Taylor ham” pork roll sandwiches finally catches up with them. - CC
- The “Drive to Survive”-style AppleTV docu-series on the MLS season spends way too much time focused on Inter Miami, but does succeed at creating at least one, maybe two, new “cult hero”-type players from random non-Miami teams whose appearances get turned into widely-used memes. - AL
- Toronto FC will invent new, exciting ways to fail as an organization. - OS
- Newly-signed striker Luis Muriel will lead Orlando City to a top-three finish in the Eastern Conference. They won’t make it to the MLS cup, but it will be another impressive season for Óscar Pareja and the Lions. - MM
- New York City and the wider metro area become the hub of soccer it always has been, only now the pros catch up with the amateurs and pick-up gamers: Gotham are a champion team, Brooklyn FC has a women’s team and a men’s team on the way, a soccer-specific stadium is about to lay its foundations Queens, and the Red Bulls, well, we’ll see, but maybe they can really embrace their side of the Hudson River as part of it all. A Cosmos return would complete the set but that won’t happen yet. - JN
- Birk Risa will emerge as one of the best ball-playing center-backs in the league. - JB
- One of the New York MLS teams will lose to a lower-division team in the U.S. Open Cup — poetic considering the league’s attempted withdrawal. Hartford Athletic’s rebuild, Rhode Island FC’s intriguing roster, and FC Motown’s depth all make them prime candidates to get a surprise win, and maybe give NYCFC or the New York Red Bulls their first lower-league loss since the New York Cosmos (in 2016 and 2014 respectively). - Michael Battista
- James Sands will establish himself as one of the top midfielders in the MLS, providing stability between the midfield and defense, and will be a key part of the USMNT’s Copa America squad. - MR
- NYCFC will bounce back from its poor 2023 season and make the playoffs, but will either get eliminated in the best-of-three series or lose in a penalty shootout in the conference semifinals. - MM
