Ranks FC - A Football Podcast

When everything comes at once, everything drops at once! Moving from England across the Channel, we take to France to look at life in Ligue 1 this season - and we're joined by the expert analysis of Alex Collings, of the Football Per 90 Podcast and a writer for Scouted Football.We pose five questions ahead of the season beginning: Can PSG break their points record (on back of a lot of hype and smart summer) Who is the best of the rest? What can we expect from Paulo Fonseca & Lille? Who is the biggest regression candidate? Who is your tip for breakout star?There's also talk on the links to Amadou Onana, some revisiting of last year's thoughts and a discussion of Takumi Minamino's new role at Monaco. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad! The summer has passed, the international tournaments have been concluded, and the return of domestic league action is just round the corner, so it's time for the second of our Season Preview series - and it's a big one, because the Premier League is back! We start at the bottom of the table, with the battle for survival taking place there; and end with the thrill of the title race - but in between we discuss everyone else too - from those consolidating to the fight for European spots - and all the mayhem and chaos that we expect to play out with a host of new faces and outcomes joining the PL. There's also a Melon of the Week and a really bizarre Gibberish Rankings with Dean taking the reins, so make sure you hang around for that madness. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's all systems go this week as we head into full preview mode! First up, the Bundesliga! We're joined by Jon Mackenzie of the mighty Tifo Football to work our way through how German football's top tier looks before the season opens.We talk a number of different categories - the Top Four, the European Battles, the teams looking to find their way back to European paradise, the middle-of-the-roaders, and the relegation scrap!How are Julian Nagelsmann's Bayern going to set up? Are Leipzig a genuine challenger for the title? Do Dortmund have the depth to mount a charge? What do the promoted giants need to do to survive? All these and more, answered in detail, in the first of our 5 League Preview episodes coming out in the next fortnight.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!We've seen some massive movers and shakers in the market this window, but as we settle in the 'deep breath before the plunge' with less than two weeks left until we see the return of many of Europe's top leagues, we take a moment to check on the players who are still where they started the summer, and might well be available if the right option came up.We rank five categories - best overall player, best free agent, best forward, best goalkeeper and best defender - with Sam and Dean each picking a selection for each and Jack mopping up at the back with some honourable mentions.Things We Love discusses PSG's business under new Sporting Advisor Luis Campos, FPL selections as the Premier League draws ever closer, and the start of the Championship season this weekend, which promises to be yet another cracker.There's a Melon of the Week for a manager doing some strange things in Southern Italy, and Gibberish discusses Sam's commitment to being an eco-friendly man, at least in terms of subscription services.It's Ranks!If you'd like more from us (two extra episodes a week) and to join our wonderful Ultras community, why not come and give us a go over on Patreon as the new season gets going? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad! With pre-season firmly in full swing and the transfer merry-go-round showing no signs of stopping, we wanted to take a look at some of the big question marks ahead of the new season getting underway. We start at Manchester United, where the addition of Lisandro Martinez at CB has posed a dilemma - will it be club captain Harry Maguire or Champions League legend Raphael Varane who starts next to their new man? Then we shift to Bayern Munich, who have similar personnel dramas after the addition of Matthijs de Ligt - how does everyone fit in, in Julian Nagelsmann's system? Finally, we turn to Barcelona, whose plethora of attacking riches has just been massively added to with Robert Lewandowski joining their ranks. Xavi's front three in their first league game is anyone's guess for now!Things We Love discusses some of the big names who are said to be on the move but haven't actually secured their new homes yet, and the anticipation of where the big switches will come in August; as well as discussing Paulo Dybala's switch from Juventus to Roma, and the excitement surrounding having a player of Dybala's quality in a system that will actually suit him.Finally, Melon of the Week is awarded to a man struggling to get into his (or his team's) new groove in pre-season so far, and then in the Gibberish Rankings we each pick the three albums we would listen to for the rest of our lives, if we were forced to renounce all others. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dean Jones is back, Rank Squad! And on that note, we wanted to give you a transfer ranking to match - so we did. We talked five Premier League teams who have serious work to do before the season begins, if they're to match expectations. From Wolverhampton Wanderers to Everton; Manchester United to Chelsea; and the new enigma that is Newcastle United - we considered where they are right now and what they hope to achieve before the window slams shut.There's also some chat about the business of Luka Jovic to Fiorentina and why it might herald a new era for players who have previously been trapped in their clubs; and the brilliance of the Lionesses and France from what we've seen so far of EURO 2022!Melon of the Week has many contenders, from Premier League pre-seasons, running out of beer in Switzerland, and clearing team-mates shots off the line in the Canadian PL; whilst in Gibberish Dean talks about the weirdest things he found in America - including the legendary Joey Chestnut. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pre-season has begun, and with it comes a new rake of questions about how you're going to set up your FPL team for the upcoming season, so we're here to help you mix it with the best of the best (and send your friends to the shadow realm). We've brought in one of our good friends, Gianni Butticè, Official FPL panellist and all-round good egg, to help you work out the finer details in how to get your FPL season off to the best possible start!We talk Defence vs. Attack in terms of premium positions, how you get the most value out of this brilliant Manchester City squad and whether you should go safe or daring in your captaincy selections, as well as some general tips and hints ahead of the Premier League starting again.There's also Things We Love, where Sam discusses Leeds United playing real-life Football Manager with their new signings, and Jack gets giddily excited about the upcoming Euro 2022 tournament, where we think 7 of the 16 teams have a real chance of winning the lot, Melon of the Week goes to a particular Social Media team for their announcement video, and Gibberish talks a little about life's simplest (ish) pleasures.It's Ranks!If you'd like to join our brilliant Ultras community, get the best of the pre-season knowledge and an extra two podcasts a week - we'd love you to join us over on Patreon, for the price of a pint a month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're edging closer to the new season and there are plenty of clubs with a lot of work to do over the course of the next month. We look at five new managers who have it all to do in terms of implementing new philosophies and sorting out their new charges.From Vincent Kompany at Burnley to Alfred Schreuder at Ajax; Paulo Fonseca at Lille to Christophe Galtier at PSG; and a returning legend at Athletic Club - there's plenty to discuss amongst those looking to change things up.We discuss a couple more bits in Things We Love - namely MLS having a real moment in the sun, and Arsenal's excellent work in the transfer market so far. Melon of the Week looks at two candidates - a new man in a hot seat and the candidates in a pre-season friendly blow-out, before Jack finishes off with a Gibberish all about the best acts he saw at Glastonbury Festival.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's time to start making some bold predictions ahead of next season, and so we brought in the best man for the job - football coach, agent and Twitter extraordinaire Harry Brooks, making his triumphant third Ranks appearance - to give some thoughts ahead of next season.We talk about Arsenal's profile of signings, a potential clash of personalities at Erik ten Hag's Manchester United, and Liverpool's replacements for their outgoing players. There's plenty to discuss, and some disagreements all round, but it's a detailed discussion on how some of the most interesting teams in the Premier League are going to fare based on what we know so far!There's also Things We Love, where Sam discusses the U19 European Championships, and Jack looks at the rumoured new PSG manager Christopher Galtier and how he might fit in at the Parc des Princes. Melon of the Week comes from Canada, and Sam's Gibberish runs the rule over the transport problems he is facing right now.It's Ranks!If you love Ranks and want more from us, why not join the Ultras? There's at least two extra episodes a week over on our Patreon, as well as a brilliant community of like-minded people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So, the transfer window is open, and nobody has hung around wasting any time! We take a look at the five most expensive deals done so far and give them a thorough analysis, before grading each on how we see them before a ball has been kicked for their new teams.So we talk Brenden Aaronsen to Leeds United, Karim Adeyemi to Borussia Dortmund, Erling Haaland to Manchester City, Darwin Núñez to Liverpool, and Aurélien Tchouaméni to Real Madrid.There's also Things We Love which has a little bit more on Haaland's medical, some love for Australia's hero Andrew Redmayne and his mad antics, and Andrea Pirlo taking a risk on a job at Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey. There's a Melon of the Week from the Nations League, and Sam takes a Gibberish from his local pub.It's Ranks!If you want more from us, why not come join us over on Patreon for two extra episodes a week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What’s up Rank Squad!Jack’s away enjoying some well-earned rest, so Dean and Sam tackle this week’s pod as a duo—and it’s a big ‘un!It’s the long-promised, much-talked-up REBUILDS episode, where we take a look at 5 clubs in dire need of some help and try to come to their assistance.There’s Benfica, who are facing up to a future without Darwin Núñez—but with Roger Schmidt, pressing mastermind. There’s Everton, who must now ride of the wings of Frank Lampard and try to improve upon a terrible 2021-22.There’s Chelsea, who need to buy a new defence, maybe a new midfield and possibly a new forward. How exhausting.There’s Juventus, who need star power, creativity, an actual midfield and some support for Dušan Vlahović.And there’s Manchester United, obviously. All of that, plus a melon to hand out at the end, then Dean takes on the Gibberish ranking and discusses the total mess that is next season’s schedule and rules. It’s Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!The domestic season is pretty much all done in Europe, and we're here to take a look back. Originally this was supposed to be a Ballon d'Or ranking, but Karim Benzema has rendered that a little bit pointless, so we're mixing it up. We talk about the big man, of course, who powered Real Madrid to a La Liga & Champions League double, but also his contemporaries.From KDB's immense second-half season surge to Kylian Mbappé's remarkable run across this year (and his desire to stay in Paris); to Rafael Leão's personal mission to take Milan to the Scudetto Crown, and Robert Lewandowski's stunning goalscoring season, and where he goes next in his career, we've covered it all.There's also Things We Love, where Sam talks about early transfer business, Dean discusses Nottingham Forest's return to the Premier League, and Jack talks about Ranks being there as Roma lifted the first ever UEFA Europa Conference League trophy.There's a discussion of the ugly scenes at Saint-Étienne after they were relegated in Melon of the Week, and Sam's Gibberish is focused on spending a week with Jack and the little ruts that entails. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the last (and biggest) annual game of the European football calendar comes hurtling towards us once again, it's one which we've seen before - a repeat of 2018's final between Liverpool and Real Madrid - and a complete reworking of the 1981 Final, which was held at the Parc de Princes between these two sides - it's funny how history can repeat itself!It’s time to turn our eyes to Paris and look in great depth at this seasons Champions League final between Los Blancos and the Reds - between the 13 time winners and the 6 time winners of this very competition. Carlo Ancelotti vs. Jurgen Klopp. Karim Benzema vs. Sadio Mané. Vinicius Jr. vs. Mohamed Salah. There's loads going on. We look at the key places the final will be won and lost, by ranking three reasons for both Real and Liverpool fans to be optimistic ahead of kick-off.Then, there's Things We Love - which is a singular this week, because we're discussing our trip to Lisbon this weekend to watch Porto seal the double in their Taça de Portugal win over Tondela. We were lucky enough to be in attendance, thanks to our partners at New Balance, and we discuss what was a truly unique experience at the game in Jamor.And as ever, to close things off, there's a Melon of the Week, and a Gibberish Ranking. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every season has its glorious moments, but for every positive, there's a negative. We like to focus on the good stuff here on Ranks, but ultimately there are ups and downs to every season, and we wanted to take a look at some of the clubs who have been on the rough end of things this time around, and why that might have happened.From potential title contenders who just haven't stepped up to the mark to teams at the wrong end of the table, and from signings who just haven't cut the mustard to particularly poor attempts at turning the club around - we're here to look at all of them.There's Things We Love too - which veers from the scenes in Milan's last home game of the Year to Newcastle's brilliant blonde piston pairing in midfield to a preview of the Europa League Final; plus a very obvious Melon of the Week on Merseyside and another Bali Gibberish from Sam. It's Ranks!To see Jack's full Europa League Preview - bash this link here!And we'd love you to join us on Patreon, for eight extra Ranks Episodes for less than the price of a pint, per month, click here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every transfer season there's deals that don't work out, and whilst some are impossible to predict, there's others where the warning signs are truly there - we look at a few big money deals that we have reservations about for various reasons from injuries to physicality to difficult fits. And, back to do it is the Rank God Sam Tighe, returning from his honeymoon to retake his place back in your headphones on Ranks FC.Things We Love talks watching football in tricky time zones, Erling Haaland's big move to Manchester City and the story of Bristol Rovers' ridiculous last-day win to seal their promotion; Melon of the Week is given out to a Championship goalkeeper who performed a gaffe straight out of a 90's bloopers reel, and Sam takes charge of the Gibberish again to talk things that baffled him in Bali.It's Ranks!To join our amazing Ultras community on Patreon, where you get an extra two Podcasts a week and access to our Discord server for a fiver a month, click here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are just a couple of matches left in most domestic leagues in Europe, meaning that it's now or never for a lot of things. Title races, relegation scraps, promotion tussles - there's absolutely loads left to play for across the continent.On today's episode we look at the most exciting things left to play for this season - from Man City vs. Liverpool and Inter vs. Milan at the top of the tables, to the survival salvos taking place in the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga; as well as the race to reach Europe in Spain and Italy, where all sorts is still going on in the Europa and Conference League battles, and the fight to reach the top flight in the 2. Bundesliga.As you might expect, the Things We Love from a rather hoarse Dean and Jack talks about Fulham's dismantling of Luton Town and the celebrations that followed as the Whites won a league title for the first time in over 20 years, and also heads to LA to look at the job that Steve Cherundolo is doing as manager of a resurgent LAFC.There's also a Melon of the Week from the lower tiers of English football, and the Gibberish Rankings looks at some of the most ridiculous trophies that are handed out across the world. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What’s happening Rank Squad! It’s getting scarily close to silly season, so it’s time for our first big transfer ranking of the 2022 summer window - our first look at the biggest stories that are going to dominate the back pages in the off-season. Dean walks us through five of the biggest names that are going to be either moving, or talked about moving, for the entirety of this summer. From a Norwegian target man coming home to his boyhood Premier League club, to a French galactico-in-waiting perhaps finally making the move everyone’s been expecting for years; from the in-demand I̶r̶i̶s̶h̶ English midfielder who’s apparently commanding a 9-figure-fee, to a out-of-contract defender being courted by all of Europe’s elite; and two No.9s having very different seasons who might both be on the move - we cover all the headlines. Before those headlines though, there’s a quick fire questions section from some of the best we got on Twitter this week discussing transfer lines on Arsenal outgoings and their next No. 9, Newcastle United’s plans for the summer, USMNT footballers on the move, potential targets for Chelsea at CB, Nkunku’s future, Real Madrid’s deadwood moving onwards and quality or quantity for newly promoted teams. There’s also time for a little Things We Love, where Jack starts us off (of course)by talking about his beloved Real Betis winning their first trophy in 17 years as they won the Copa del Rey on Saturday, and the poetry of a momentous occasion in Verdiblanco. If you want more, here’s the link to an article that he wrote on the subject. Plus, there’s Melon(s) of the Week from Serie A, and a Gibberish Ranking.It’s Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We've come to the sharp end of the European competitions, and there's everything to play for in the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League.We rank the four contenders left in each: Liverpool, Villarreal, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the UCL; West Ham United, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig and Glasgow Rangers in the UEL; and Feyenoord, Olympique Marseille, AS Roma and Leicester City in the UECL.Dean and Jack work their way through the three competitions, having a go at working out each team's percentage of winning their respective tournaments, and analysing the semi-final matchups as we go.There's also a Melon of the Week all the way from Brazil, and our Gibberish is about things that Dean is just not capable of doing. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I know what you're going to say! This season hasn't even finished yet and you're already thinking about the next one! But this game never stops, and the best clubs are thinking far in advance - so we thought we'd do so too. And to help us take a peek at some of the teams we're most excited about for 2022/23, we enlisted the help of Alex Stewart, of Tifo Football fame.We talk through the forward planning going on at Roma, Arsenal and Barcelona, as well as taking a little look at Leipzig; where Sam talks through what's gone on this year, Alex gives us some insights on why there's reasons to be excited, and the returning Dean Jones walks us through the latest updates on transfer dealings and rumours going on ahead of the opening of the window.There's also Things We Love, where DJ highlights the brilliance of Manchester City vs. Liverpool and why we should be soaking it in, Sam discusses Porto's new record run for unbeaten games in the Portuguese Primeira, and Jack spotlights the mad race for promotion in the 2. Bundesliga with just five games to go. There's a Melon from Mexico, and Dean takes the Gibberish mantle to talk about things that surprised him from his recent trip to Chicago. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's that time of year where conversations start happening about Players of the Season and the like, but we wanted to dig under the surface before we get to the sharp end of those debates. So, in Dean's absence, we're joined by our friend Mark Carey, Data Analyst at The Athletic, to look at some of the players whose numbers have thrown up something interesting to look at in a few seasons that might have slid underneath your radar.We race across Europe, taking in a centre-back in Spain, a goalkeeper and a winger in the Premier League, a midfielder in France and a striker in Germany, as well as a few honourable mentions from Italy and beyond, covering all sorts of ground about a few players who are having special seasons or who have jumped up a level to maybe earn themselves a move.There's also Things We Love, where Sam takes a look at his favourite groups from last week's World Cup Draw and Jack discusses a very interesting weekend as the Serie A title race enters it's final straight with three horses neck-and-neck; plus there's a Gibberish Ranking regarding some alternative destinations for Kylian Mbappe this summer. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The wait is finally over for the Maple Leafs - for just the second time in their history, and for the first time since 1986, Canada are going to the Men's World Cup, having topped CONCACAF's qualifying pool in some style. Canada fan and content creator Aaron Moniz joins us to explain just why this is such a special moment in the country's history, how it went down, who we should be keeping an eye on, and what it means for Canadian soccer going forward.Things We Love also has an international feel. Sam kicks us off by singing the praises of the also-qualified Ecuadorians; Dean discusses Captain America Christian Pulisic scoring a hat-trick to pretty much see off the demons of the USMNT's failed qualification campaign for World Cup 2018; and Jack sings about how nice it is to have an Ireland team that it's easy to get behind - one which makes you proud to be a fan.There's also a Melon of the Week, kindly provided by the higher-ups in this World Cup's bureaucracy, whilst the Gibberish discusses sources of annoyance and potential solutions to them. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!Welcome to a very special episode of Ranks, in association with New Balance! This weekend we headed off to Rome to experience one of the most fervent, intense rivalries in world football - Roma vs. Lazio, in all it's glory at the Stadio Olimpico - where the Giallorossi put on a show to beat their Biancocelesti neighbours 3-0, with Tammy Abraham grabbing the headlines by scoring a brace.We start off with a supercut live from the stadium, before a ranking of five things we learned from our experiences in the Eternal City - from the atmosphere in the city itself and the fan cultures, to just how special this relationship between Abraham and Mourinho could be, and what this means for Roma going forward.There's also a Melon of the Week of course, and Sam's Gibberish gives you a little insight into a few non-football related experiences from our weekend abroad.It’s Ranks!For those of you who might be interested in joining our Ultras for two extra episodes a week, we'd love to have you on board! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

France Football have finally moved their glittering Golden Ball award to a sensible position in the football calendar - given out after the season is over, rather than trying to piece together two separate ones in an annual award. It might be in the one year it made sense to keep it in December (hello Winter World Cup) but ultimately, we're fans of progress, however it comes. Sam ranks the top five players in the running for the award right now, from a Frenchman lighting it up in Germany and an old-timer with a vengeance mission, to an Egyptian King and a smooth Los Blancos vintage.Things We Love sees Dean talking about Aaron Ramsdale, and a discussion around whether or not he takes England's No. 1 shirt ahead of the World Cup later this year; Sam discussing the impact of Torino's Gleison Bremer and where his next steps are; and Jack seeing the live emergence of a new Octopus at Real Betis this weekend - shouts out Paul Akouokou.There's also room for Melon of the Week and a slightly heated debate about the scenes that went down at the Parc des Princes this weekend, whilst in the Gibberish, Jack goes completely off piste about his favourite food. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The No. 6. The pivot. The volante. The trinco. Defensive midfielders come in many shapes and sizes, but they've become perhaps the hottest property in the game behind an elite goalscorer, because the elite ones are so rare and are often the difference between the best and the rest - just ask Manchester United.Today, we took a look at those at the top of the pile - the top five defensive midfielders plying their trade right now, and in the process, had a deep think about what the role actually entails. There's some time to think about who might be the next generation starting to make their mark here as well.On top of that, there's Things We Love, where Dean discusses Kai Havertz's recent glorious form as Chelsea's out-and-out centre-forward; Sam talks about Roberto Carlos playing for a Sunday League side in Shropshire (off the bench!) and Jack waxes lyrical about Mikel Arteta's Arsenal being in the ascendancy, and their youthful vigour paying off.There's a Melon of the Week for a certain Everton defender, we announce the winner of the Porto kit competition, and the Gibberish is all about living on a building site. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!This week, Leeds finally ended what has been a glorious time in the club's history - the stewardship of Marcelo Bielsa - with the club languishing dangerously above the Premier League relegation zone. It was a sad day for many Leeds fans, even if the change was perhaps necessary for sustaining their top-flight tenure.We're joined by Leeds fan and podcaster Jon Mackenzie, who talks us through five lessons that he has learned from having the Argentine football philosopher in charge of his club - and why the bond between Bielsa and the Elland Road faithful was so strong. There's positives, negatives, and everything in between.Bielsa has been succeeded by Jesse Marsch, once of RB Salzburg and more recently, of RB Leipzig. Our friend, and German football expert, Jasmine Baba, pops by to talk about what the American will bring to the dugout and how things might look for Leeds going forward.There's also Things We Love, where Jack talks about Caoimhin Kelleher's performance in the Carabao Cup Final and his new place on a Liverpool Wall of Fame; whilst Dean discusses Carlos Vela's out-of-this-world return to LAFC as MLS stormed back onto the stage. There's a Melon of the Week too, and Jack takes over for an impromptu Gibberish. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're heading towards the final stretch of the domestic seasons, with just under three months to go until it's all wrapped up - which means that title races are starting to enter their final forms, and that's really exciting! Sam takes a look at the title races across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and England to determine where the drama lies as we get to that home straight.It's controversial, to say the least - or at least it is in Jack's eyes. But that's the joy of this game - whether you're after a multiple team chase with points being dropped everywhere and chaos reigning, a two-horse race with each pushing the other to new levels of brilliance, or a chase of a multiple-title winning behemoth by a brave underdog, there's something for you here.Before that Things We Love covers MLS restarting this weekend, the belated brilliance of Cesar Azpilicueta's captaincy in the Club World Cup Final, and the Europa League returning with it's usual madness; whilst there's a special double Melon being handed out, and a Gibberish encompassing the return to offices happening across the world. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!Welcome to a very special episode of Ranks, in association with New Balance! This weekend we ventured to Porto to take in O Classico at the Estadio do Dragão - Porto vs. Sporting in a clash with crucial implications at the top of the Primeira table. A win for Porto would see them all but clinch the title, whilst a Sporting win would close things right up in the title race. In a game which had everything - four goals, five red cards and an atmosphere right up there with the best in the world, we put down the things we learned from our adventure.From the invincible city to the Dragão itself, from the youngsters on display to Sporting's resilience, from Coates to the absence of Luis Díaz, we discuss it all - and we're also joined by Marino Peixoto, football journalist and Portuguese enthusiast, to look at it from a more general perspective at the end.Oh, and there's a very special competition in association with New Balance as well. It's all very exciting.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome back to the Champions League, which returns with a vengeance next Tuesday! Ahead of a massive two weeks of fixtures, we take a stock check of every team left in the competition - comparing it to where they stood at the end of the Group Stages. There are some climbers, some fallers, and some big guns who are just motoring along - but everyone is looked at here.Things We Love takes us through a magical weekend of FA Cup upsets and storylines, Senegal's mighty triumph in the AFCON Final and the ensuing celebrations, and a 'Green-off' in Serie A on Monday night which included two magnificent free-kicks.There's a moment for Melon of the Week too, live and direct from Old Trafford; whilst Sam's Gibberish takes us to 'Things He Just Doesn't Understand'. We curtailed it, I promise.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Rank Squad!In our traditional first episode post any window we're taking a look at our five favourite deals of the window, which in this particular January, has been heavily skewed by South Americans moving around Europe! From Colombian tricksters swapping Porto for Merseyside, to Uruguayan registas making moves from Turin to Tottenham; and from long-term gems joining in summer moves to those we think will be making immediate impacts - we discussed it all here!Things We Love includes Jack waxing lyrical about just how amazing Sunderland Fan TV was on deadline day, where they were the ones breaking news; Dean talks about Fabio Carvalho's move to Liverpool falling through and about smaller clubs holding out for the valuations they believe are fair; and Sam discusses the Canada MNT and how brilliant they have been in this year's CONCACAF qualification.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're coming to the end of the transfer window, Rank Squad; and so we're taking a look at the biggest names and clubs who still have plenty of work to do. We start at Spurs, who are looking to shift on three players and bring a couple in, before heading to Manchester United. Martial might have gone, but Van de Beek and Henderson are still looking for new homes, whilst Jesse Lingard is a man in demand.Newcastle are on the hunt for anybody who could help them survive, and we discuss their approaches, whilst Dusan Vlahovic's probable move to Juventus might free up a whole domino chain of late switches across Europe - perhaps most interestingly, for Arsenal, who also wanted him earlier in the window.We also discuss three players who need a move desperately - a Moroccan wideman in Seville, a former Barcelona starboy struggling for minutes under Mourinho, and Inter's backup CDM who could almost certainly start for 15+ teams in Serie A.Things We Love focuses on Roy Hodgson's return to management at Watford (and a homecoming for his assistant Ray Lewington), Dortmund & Leipzig both on the charge in the Bundesliga, and Comoros' performance in the AFCON Round of 16 which won hearts all over the world, if not a place in the quarter-finals.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

To paraphrase Patrice Evra, We Love This Game here at Ranks FC. And with Sam dropping out last minute, we had to spin things on a sixpence for today's ranking - so Dean and Jack sat down to talk about the things that make this game of football the best thing on earth. From Cup Finals to Stadiums, Rivalries to Last-Minute Winners; we broke down our favourite things about the ball game, whether you call it football, soccer, calcio or futbol.There was also Things We Love, where we talked about some of the big Transfer Stories this week, from Erling Haaland to Dušan Vlahović to Wolves' new boy Chiquinho and just how good Nigeria have been so far at AFCON. Melon of the Week goes to a referee who picked up the headlines for all the wrong reasons, and the Gibberish falls to Jack, who ranks his favourite Greek Gods.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Picking a Ballon d'Or winner is always tricky because it's done on a year-by-year basis - so we decided to make it 11 times more difficult and pick our Team of the Year across the whole of 2021 - in association with our friends at EA Sports FIFA 22.We go through piece-by-piece to discuss the best of the last calendar year and every single position within a team, in the formation we thought best to try and squeeze them in!There's also Things We Love, where Dean discusses Dortmund's new kit design competition, Sam sings about Dani Alves returning to play in Blaugrana and grabbing an assist, and Jack waxes lyrical about Francisco Conceiçāo's late winner for Porto and his celebrations with his dad, who also happens to be his manager.Melon of the Week comes from the madness that happened at the Stadio Olimpico this weekend between Roma and Juventus, whilst the Gibberish sheds some light on the best things that happened at Sam's wedding last Friday. It's Ranks!If you want to vote in the FIFA 2021 Team of the Year selections, the link is here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's the first episode of 2022 and kicking off a busy January of football across the globe is the latest edition of the African Cup of Nations, where Algeria will look to defend the crown that they won in 2019! We're joined by Joe Crann, football journalist and adopted South African who has spent some years covering the tournament, to talk about this year's movers and shakers.We look at some of the favourites, including the holders and their nearest challengers, through some wildcard picks and into the underdog stories that you need to be looking out for as we get underway in one of the most exciting, unpredictable tournaments on the planet.There's also time for Things We Love, where Dean gives us a Phil Jones love-in, Sam gushes over Wolves manager Bruno Lage and his post-match interviews, and Jack discusses the transfers of Jonathan Ikone and Michael Cuisance to Serie A clubs Fiorentina and Venezia respectively.Finally, Dean drops his Melon of the Year for 2021 and Sam's Gibberish explains the three most arduous tasks he has had to do in planning his wedding, which takes place this Friday. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome back to silly season, Rank Squad; and welcome to the last Ranks FC episode of 2021. Dean Jones walks us through five of the biggest storylines heading into a slightly bizarre window for a lot of clubs. From the next movements of the upcoming batch of best forwards in the world to the strange situation manifesting at Newcastle United; Chelsea's contract dilemmas to Juventus' need to rebuild and some future-proofing at Real Madrid, there's a lot to discuss!There's also time for a little Things We Love, where Sam discusses the latest reincarnation of Joelinton as a World-Class No. 8 and Jack sings the praises of brave little Rayo Vallecano, who end the year in 4th place in La Liga.Dean's Melon of the Week goes out to a special national team performance in the Suzuki Cup, before Sam's Gibberish ranks the things he's most looking forward to in 2022, and Jack is allowed two minutes on why the Darts World Championship is so brilliant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's the season, so Sam-ta Claus is dropping down the chimneys of five lucky clubs to give them a special gift under the tree that could turn around the second half of their seasons, or at the very least, improve things from where they are right now.Sam and Jack are joined by Pet Berisha of the State of Play Podcast and Copa90 as the Rank God drops in to Manchester, London, Newcastle, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Barcelona to help out some of the managers who are not seeing things quite go their own way this season.There's also Things We Love, where Sam discusses Jorge Molina's glorious hat-trick at 39 years of age, Pet talks about Gabriel Martinelli's wonderful winking habit and Jack brings up the brilliant Shelter 'No Home Kit' campaign tackling homelessness through football on Boxing Day.There's also time for Dean to ring through a pair of Melons of the Week, and for Sam's Gibberish Rankings, which this week are about what Football could learn from Formula 1. Merry Christmas, Rank Squad! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

16 teams remain in the Champions League, drawn (at the second attempt) into eight knockout ties that will take place in February. We examine each of them and how they rank in terms of winning Europe's top competition right now - from the favourites to the outsiders and everyone in between.There's also a chance for Jack to wax lyrical about the other two competitions - the Europa League and the Europa Conference League - and to add in some mini-rankings about the most entertaining matchups and the best narrative prospects thrown up by the two other draws done on Monday by UEFA.Then there's Melon of the Week, where there were no shortage of candidates for a second week running, and a Gibberish Ranking where Sam delved into the ins-and-outs of his Spotify Wrapped for this year. It's Ranks!If you're looking to contribute to the relief aid for those affected by the Kentucky Tornadoes this week, the link, as promised, is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So the Bundesliga, eh? Jesse Marsch gone at Leipzig, Marc van Bommel gone at Wolfsburg, Freiburg in 4th, Mainz in 7th and stories all over the place. We decided it would be prudent to bring back an expert on all things German football to enlighten us on what is happening across the board - so it's a glorious time to reintroduce Jasmine Baba, German Football Consultant.Jasmine talks us through all the big stories mentioned above, plus the strange goings on at Borussia Dortmund and what's happened to last year's success stories Stuttgart, as we blitz through the good, bad and ugly of the first half of the Bundesliga season!There's also time for Things We Love, where Sam talks about the chaos left in Champions League Matchday 6, Dean discusses the beauty of a perfectly timed volley and Jack waxes lyrical about why Empoli are one of the most fun teams to watch in Serie A. There's a first too in Melon of the Week, where a whole team are nominated, and the Gibberish Rankings threatens to derail Sam's impending marriage.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Certain players play the same way their entire lives, whichever coach, manager, tactical setup or formation they're deployed in or by. Some though, are utilised in quirky and interesting ways, and it's those we're looking at today - from Julian Nagelsmann's use of Leroy Sane to Denzel Dumfries' position at Inter.There's also Things We Love, where Dean discusses Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher's big punditry bust-up live on Sky, Sam talks about the brilliant madness of football in the snow and Jack waxes lyrical over Dries Mertens' two glorious goals as Napoli paid tribute to Diego Maradona on the weekend.Melon of the Week has about eight contenders, but the winner comes to us from Norway where Viking went, well, Viking, and the Gibberish Rankings is about 'Things that wind Dean up.' It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's very nearly the most wonderful time of the year (unless you're Sam) and that means it's time for the Ballon d'Or! After a year that has seen a lot of different players make their individual marks to shine sporadically, the big question is - who lifts that Golden Ball in Paris next Monday.We look through the main contenders and some outside bets as well, and talk through the pros and cons of our favourites for the award, ahead of the ceremony.There's also time for Things We Love, which this week includes Mauricio Pochettino's future job prospects, some sumptuous goals and assists from the weekend, the chaos of Fiorentina vs. Milan and a feelgood story from Roma about Mourinho's latest starboy.There's also a Melon of the Week, which has some real contenders this weekend, and a Gibberish Rankings which is the bits we can tell you from Sam's Stag Weekend in Liverpool. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So the World Cup kicks off in a year and four days, the first teams are starting to secure their spots and qualification is starting to get to the sharp end. We let Jack loose on a couple of mini-rankings to take a look right now at the early front-runners in terms of contenders, the teams with a lot to do in the year ahead if they're going to compete, the dark horses to cause a stir at the tournament, and the big names in a little bit of jeopardy in terms of qualifying at all!There's also time for Things We Love which includes early thoughts on All of Nothing: Juventus, the unbelievable month of narrative ahead of Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa, and the redemption arc of Aleksandar Mitrovic which ended with him sealing Serbia's place at the World Cup, almost a year to the day after he missed the penalty denying his nation a place at EURO 2020.Melon of the Week sees us take a detour to Australia and the FFA Cup, and Sam's Gibberish is the weirdest things that he found on his weekend away in Paris. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The last international break of the calendar year gives us a chance to breathe and take stock of just what we've seen so far this season - now we're around 11/12 games in. Trends have taken shape, teams have gelled (or not) and certain players have emerged already as leading Player of the Year candidates,We stretch our legs across Europe to rank the top three players so far across the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue seasons, with plenty of honourable mentions and disagreement along the way. There's also Things We Love, which includes our new merchandise range with New Balance (football shirt, hoodie and walkout jacket), the Brendan Rodgers to Manchester United (and City!) rumours, and Hugo Duro emerging as a cult hero for the right reasons this time, at Valencia.Dean has to backtrack on some big claims last week to pick the latest Melon contender, and Sam's Gibberish takes on the form of his last three searches on Google - don't worry, it's clean. It's Ranks!If you'd like to join us over on Patreon, for two extra podcasts a week, we'd love to have you as part of our brilliant Ultras community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Antonio Conte is the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur, and if this season's performances are anything to go by, he has a job on his hands. We're joined by Nathan A Clark of Tottenham podcast The Extra Inch to take a look at five issues which need to be the pillars of Conte's reign at the Lane if he's to succeed where plenty of others have failed.From structuring possession to reigniting the midfield creativity to leaving the club in a better place than he found it, it's a comprehensive look at how things are going to need to pan out under the Italian, if Spurs are going to reach similar levels of success to that which he's achieved elsewhere, both short and long-term.There's also Things We Love, which includes Dean waxing lyrical about the brilliance of West Ham United this season under David Moyes, and how they're a very well-coached unit honed by the togetherness of the squad; and Jack singing the praises of Giovanni Simeone, who is having a purple patch at a resurgent Hellas Verona.Our Melon(s) come from South America and a riled-up fanbase, whilst the Gibberish Rankings discuss the perils of living through Autumn at least once a year. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool. It's not a pretty scoreline if you're from the red half of Manchester, although it filled plenty of red hearts with unfathomable joy just down the M62. However, this feels like the straw that has broken the camel's back - and now plenty of fans are calling for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, legend that he is at Old Trafford, to be replaced.We take a look at the three biggest problems currently holding Manchester United back, and how they can be fixed; as well as examining the talk around the fact that Antonio Conte will be the next manager in the Old Trafford dugout.There's also Things We Love, which includes some thoughts on the Football Manager 22 Beta being released, the Premier League title race potentially being the greatest of all time this season, and the fact that La Liga had a sensational weekend across the board this week. There's a welcome return for a manager as Melon of the Week too, and the Gibberish Rankings looks at Dean's least favourite songs.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappé, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Benzema, Lewandowski, Oblak, Salah. The list goes on forever - star players who grace the Champions League, who we look to for entertainment every time the Gazprom returns for a midweek slot.But what about those ones that slip under the radar in the light of such radiant brilliance? The next generation playing for clubs who are outsiders, the quiet men in the middle of things, those outside of Europe's big five leagues? Sam walks us through five of the best talents in this season's Champions League who might just have ghosted off your radar, and why you should be looking to learn more.There's also Things We Love, which includes a Mo Salah love-in and a dissection of Osasuna's fast start to La Liga's season; whilst Melon in the Week comes from Serie A and the Gibberish Rankings are a list of things Sam struggles to find most in his own house. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Top-tier club football returns this weekend, and with it, a glut of incredible games and teams to keep an eye on across the continent! To help us pick the most watchable teams so far this season, we enlisted the help of our friend Dougie Critchley, who some of you will know from his work on Football Daily and Euro Football Daily.We talked through some of the best sides on the continent, including some rampant Total Football proponents, a Bundesliga David and Goliath, and a pair of Scudetto challengers - before discussing a bit more why La Liga has struggled to ignite, and a couple of honourable mentions in France.Before that, Sam talks us through the heartwarming story of the Hernandez brothers playing together for France and winning an international trophy; and afterwards Dean returns to the Pod in live form, ranking the best bits from his time in America and dropping a (different football) Melon of the Week.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Championship, League 1 and League 2 are hotbeds of young talent in England. Not only have we seen talent in promoted sides thrive, but transfers up for the likes of Michail Antonio, Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, James Maddison, Jay Rodriguez, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tim Cahill, Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale were all success stories, so there's some pretty good historical basis for players making the jump.So we're making this one a staple, and bringing back our old friend Ali Maxwell from Not the Top 20 Podcast and The Athletic's Football Tactics Podcast to talk to us about some of the most exciting talents in the EFL who we might well be seeing on the biggest stages in football at some point in the near future.We start with a look back at Ali's calls from last year, which included Rico Henry, Josh Da Silva and Michael Olise - before heading on to some of the names from this campaign - taking a look at Blackburn's Ben Brereton Diaz, Coventry City's Callum O'Hare, Stoke City's Harry Souttar, Luton Town's Elijah Adebayo and MK Dons' Matt O'Riley and what stage each of them are currently at.As ever, there's time for Things We Love, where Sam talks João Félix's masterclass against Barcelona at the weekend, and Jack discusses a weekend of shock results across Europe and the reverberations they could cause. Dean phones in a Melon of the Week and we finish with a Gibberish that could get Sam in some trouble at home. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're delighted to welcome the first of our special guests in Dean's absence with Jack and Sam being joined by Stephen Ganavas of Scouted Football to talk through some of the hidden gems in the Golden Boy shortlist. Having talked about the best teenagers in the world a few weeks back, Stephen ranked a few names in here less up in lights, but who you still really need to know - Mohamed-Ali Cho of Angers, Yeremy Pino of Villarreal, Karim Adeyemi of Salzburg, Illya Zabarnyi of Dynamo Kyiv and Josep Gvardiol of RB Leipzig.There was time for Things We Love too, where Sam discussed a particular touch from Emile Smith-Rowe in Sunday's North London Derby, and Jack gushed about the performance of Nicolo Barella in Inter's 2-2 draw with Atalanta at the weekend.Dean phoned in a Melon of the Week from California, and the Gibberish Rankings focused on the TV shows that are next on Sam's radar. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There's always a few players who explode into life each season to make big waves for clubs that we didn't see coming. Whether it's comebacks or breakthroughs, across Europe and beyond, previously fringe options suddenly become crucial elements for a new manager or find themselves in the plans of an old one. We look at five of the most surprising options to have emerged this season so far.There's also, of course, Things We Love, which this week starts with a love letter to Ronald Araujo, and then descends into the Koeman in or out discourse. If you want a full breakdown of our thoughts on the next Barcelona manager, we've done a YouTube special here! We chat too about Danny Drinkwater's renaissance at Reading, and Napoli's perfect start to the Serie A season which included a training ground special on Monday night.Melon of the Week goes to a certain goalkeeper from the Europa League, although there's a nice fan-based counterpoint to that one; and Sam picks his favourite Pringles flavours in the Gibberish. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Teenagers are fleeting. It feels like only yesterday that we were talking about Kylian Mbappé, Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland - but they're all into their 20's now and ineligible for consideration. So we take an early look at the brightest stars of the new generation - off the back of one of our Ultras asking if Jamal Musiala was one of the best teenagers in the world. He's in some elite company - Ansu Fati, Pedri, Florian Wirtz, Jude Bellingham, Nuno Mendes, Mason Greenwood, Gio Reyna, Eduardo Camavinga, Ryan Gravenberch - and the list goes on! Sam does his best to put them in the order of how they stack up against each other right now. There's also time for Things We Love - where Dean talks CR7's debut, Sam discusses seeing players live in the flesh again and Jack waxes lyrical on how good Roma-Sassuolo and Serie A as a whole were this weekend. As ever, there's a Melon of the Week, and Dean talks his personal problems in the Gibberish Rankings. It's Ranks!If you'd like to vote for us in the FCA Awards, we're in the International category for Best Club Content Creator - we'd really appreciate it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The transfer window has closed and we've had a couple of games in each league, so whilst pre-season predictions are fun, this feels like a good time to lock our selections in for the season - so it's time for a new game on Ranks. Welcome to 5x5. The concept is simple - we each pick how we think the top five in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France are going to look when the curtain falls in May.We work through some brilliant backing of those pre-season picks, some drastic changes courtesy of the end of the transfer window, and some absolutely outrageous calls, mostly from Jack, where heart has clearly taken precedence over head.And of course, there's a Melon of the Week, a Gibberish Ranking and the poems are back to kick things off. It's Ranks!If you'd like to vote for us in the FCA Awards, we're in the International category for Best Club Content Creator - we'd really appreciate it! And of course, if you want more from us, you can join the Rank Squad Ultras on Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.