Reader Poll: Has your outlook on NYCFC’s season changed since last week?

There’s been one brutal loss, but one big addition to the squad

It’s safe to say things did not go to plan for New York City FC in their season opener at Nashville SC on Saturday, as the Boys in Blue looked offbeat in their 2-0 loss in the Music City.

I could sit here and write you another match report about how “NYCFC struggled to create clear chances”, and tell you that “Talles Magno isn’t a true No 9,” but that would hardly be providing you with anything our fanbase hadn’t discussed going into this coming match against Chicago Fire.

The fact is, the Nashville game served as an affirmation of the concerns we already had about this team throughout the preseason. The result was more disappointing than it was surprising.

While many of us NYCFC fans expected the team to have some growing pains this season given the exodus of talent and the lack of impact signings through the door, I was hanging on to some optimism going into week one. I even had NYCFC making the conference semi-finals this year in my preseason predictions. But I’m now left to wonder if that optimism was actually well-founded, or simply residual over-confidence lingering from our MLS Cup runs in the last two seasons.

However, it’s not all been doom and gloom for the Pigeons this week when the BIG news dropped on Wednesday that NYCFC homegrown star James Sands would be returning to New York after seeing his loan deal at Rangers terminated. We reported earlier that he’s signed a four-year contract with NYCFC, and could be expected to play again for the Boys in Blue as early as this weekend.

Plus, there’s the ever-looming proposition that Santi Rodríguez’s return to the club could be formalized and announced soon, which would provide another returning big player available for selection to bolster the squad that looked so flat in Nashville.

With those two key players back in Bronx Blue, does that help offset the uninspiring loss we all witnessed on Saturday?

In that spirit, we’re reviving the poll we ran before the season started. Now that we’ve actually seen the team play, and we know the players are coming in, we’re asking again: how do you think NYCFC will fare this season?