Ranks FC - A Football Podcast

Hello Rank Squad!

The (first) Transfer Window has officially closed, but there's been plenty of activity on the managerial merry-go-round across Europe, with new faces taking over at new places - to the delight of some and the chagrin of others. On today's episode we're looking at a number of new bosses and analysing how we think they fit their new home. 

We start with the most recent appointment - Brentford's Thomas Frank is all set...

Hello Rank Squad! 

The footballing summer is officially here, with the Champions League Final crowning what has been a pretty unbelievable season in Europe all round. We start today's episode with the final word on that final, where Luis Enrique's brilliant PSG absolutely dismantled Inter in one of the all-time great showpiece performances. 

Then, it's onto the talk of the summer - transfer season; and whilst there will be plenty of ...

It's time for The Truth! 

For the last time this season, Sam and Dougie convene in the studio to record, and for the season finale, they're looking back at the first year of the podcast - what they got right, what they got wrong, and some of the best bits as well. 

Picking for each other, the boys choose a Best Take, Worst Take, Most Enlightening Take and Most Surprising Take from the year just gone, and analyse them with the huge ad...

Hello Rank Squad!

With the conclusion at the weekend of the domestic campaigns still running, we thought it was a good time to look back on the season just gone and hand out some awards for the best (and worst) of what we've seen across the board. 

We start by talking about our favourite stories of this season, where we both plump for underdogs turning their seasons around, before we head into the main event. 

Across the Premier Leagu...

It's time for The Truth!

Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at the Club World Cup, set to kick off just a couple of weeks after the European season ends. The tournament has divided fans and pundits alike, with some seeing it as a bizarre power play from FIFA to try and rival the riches of the Champions League, whilst others feel that it's an opportunity to spread the game's wealth on a more even keel globally. 

We examine the history ...

Hello Rank Squad! 

It's the first transfer focused episode of the summer, and we set out the stall for what's to come in some of the biggest deals. Set your stalls out, ready yourselves - because some of these ones will definitely become sagas, dragged on for months in negotiations. 

Jack starts things off by giving some love to Villarreal and the job that Marcelino has done with the Yellow Submarine, before we get down to business d...

It's time for The Truth!

Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at where Arsenal find themselves right now - and whether there is complete faith in Mikel Arteta to make them take that next step to winning serious silverware. 

After six and a half years in charge, there is no doubt that Arteta has raised Arsenal's floor to a point where they are in the mix every single year, and yet since that first half season, there are no trophies to sh...

Hello Rank Squad! 

It's that time of the year where amidst all the trophies being handed out, thoughts turn to who are the frontrunners in the race for the biggest individual prize in the game - France Football's yearly Ballon d'Or. 

Last year the award came with a whole thunderstorm of controversy, with Real Madrid boycotting the ceremony after Rodri won the top prize over Vinicius Jr. They probably don't need to worry that much thi...

It's time for The Truth!

Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at how Hansi Flick's slightly surprising appointment at Barcelona last summer has turned into a masterstroke, and how the German has immediately brought the Blaugrana back to the top table of European football with a string of youngsters and some of the most exciting attacking football on the continent. 

There were question marks about Flick after his ill-fated tenure with th...

Hello Rank Squad! 

We have our Champions League finalists, after PSG joined Inter in the showpiece event by beating Arsenal 2-1 at the Parc des Princes to progress 3-1 on aggregate. The game might not have had the verve and sparkle of Tuesday's semi, but there was plenty to discuss all the same here on UCL Takeaway. 

Arsenal started fast, but couldn't find the killer blow to leave the tie in the balance - thanks to some particularly ...

Hello Rank Squad! 

After one of the most intriguing, exhausting, exhilarating semi-finals that the competition has ever seen, Inter will be in the final after finally dispatching Barcelona with a knockout blow, just moments after they had dragged themselves off the canvas themselves. 

4-3 on the night, 7-6 on aggregate, this was one of the best games of football we have seen in many a long year, two sides who just traded punches for ...

It's time for The Truth!

Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at the Premier League, and the argument that's been raging on social media as to whether this is a Premier League cast that's strong or weak? 

On one side, you have the earliest that three teams have been confirmed as relegated in Premier League history, as well as Champions in Liverpool who were crowned in April - but realistically haven't lost control since November. Plus, ...

Hello Rank Squad!

That was absolutely breathless and chaotic, and so the podcast looking back at it is too. We try our best to get to the bottom of an anarchic game of football between Barcelona and Inter that started fast and got wilder from there, and one that ended with the two teams locked at three goals apiece. 

We discuss how Inter might well go home the happier side, even if Barcelona had the best of the chances; Lamine Yamal'...

Hello Rank Squad! 

It's time for Champions League Takeaway here on Ranks FC, and our first episode of the semi-finals, looking back at the game between Arsenal and PSG in North London, where Luis Enrique's side came out the victors, taking a 1-0 win with them back to the Parc des Princes for next week's second leg. 

We discuss it all in great detail - looking at a mesmerising first 25 minutes from the Parisiens, as well as the way Ar...

It's time for The Truth!

Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at Serie A, and examining just how tight the race for the title is between Antonio Conte's Napoli and Simone Inzaghi's Inter - with both teams on 71 points with five games remaining in the league campaign. We discuss the distinct possibility of a playoff game between the two at the end of the season, a one-game shootout to determine who lifts that famous trophy in May.

Then t...

Hello Rank Squad! 

We're well into the final stretch of this domestic season now, and whilst there are many things decided - Bayern and Liverpool are going to win their domestic leagues, for example, and certain relegation fights seem over before they've begun - there is still plenty of drama to be getting stuck into if you know where to look. 

So consider this episode a little bit of a guide - we start with the fight for European fo...

It's time for The Truth!

Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at Real Madrid, and where things have gone wrong for them over the past couple of months. The perennial Champions League winners are out of the competition they love most, are currently second in La Liga to Barcelona, and whilst they are in a Copa del Rey final, they face off against Barça there too - who they've routinely struggled to contain all season long. 

We examine the...

Hello Rank Squad!

It's time for this week's second Champions League Takeaway - looking back at Wednesday's Quarter Final second legs, where Arsenal and Inter were able to maintain their first leg advantages to progress to the semi-finals, but in very different circumstances. 

Dean is back in San Diego and back in the booth, so we start with Arsenal winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu to knock out the holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate, rea...

Hello Rank Squad!

It's time for this week's first Champions League Takeaway - looking back at Tuesday's Quarter Final second legs, where both PSG and Barcelona emerged with qualification intact, but with their reputations bruised and having been handed on-the-night losses by Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund, who were both excellent. 

In the absence of Dean, who is flying back to San Diego, Jack is joined by football podcast royalty ...