Ranks FC - A Football Podcast

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back together for one final time to take a look at the first names off the rumour mill this summer which have seriously taken the world of football by storm in the opening week since the domestic season finished.  We take a look through a number of players to get things going, starting with the deal bringing Newcastle's Anthony Gordon to Barcelona, which...

Hello Rank Squad!  With the Champions League Final now just around the corner, we take a deep dive into the European football's showpiece event in Budapest, where Mikel Arteta's newly crowned Premier League Champions will take on the reigning European Kings, Luis Enrique's PSG. Starting with the challengers, we examine both teams and where they find themselves ahead of the big game in Istanbul.  A...

Hello Rank Squad!  Dougie's in for Dean today and with all the managerial news over the last few days it felt like a very good time to maybe take some stock of some of the biggest stories surrounding some of the biggest jobs in world football changing hands.  We start with the reports that Pep Guardiola is on his way out at Manchester City after one of the most successful eras we have ever seen in...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back together in the studio to take a look at those players who have had a bounceback in a big way this season, with their careers rejuvenated in one way or another.  We wander through six names from across some different leagues, although with a weird Aston Villa thread linking many of them, including two former Carrington graduates, one of whom remains...

Hello Rank Squad!  We're under a month from the World Cup, and the big showpiece is starting to occupy serious mental space for so many of us. There are only a few squads released so far though, so full previews are going to have to wait a few more weeks; but we thought it was a good time to take a look through some of the favourites and the hosts, and plot out potential routes to the latter stage...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back together to take a look at some potential moves this summer which could come out of left field to shock the world this summer.  We wander through six names potentially on the move, or whose transfers would cause serious ripples in the market and the news over the course of the transfer window that's coming in. From the Premier League to Serie A, the...

Hello Rank Squad! You know we've got to the business end of the competition when there's only one Champions League Takeaway a week, so here's your big double serving after the second legs of the semi-finals, which delivered less goals, but no less drama than the first legs, and where PSG and Arsenal booked their tickets to Budapest for the showpiece.  In Part One, Dean runs us through the 1-1 draw...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back together to take a look at two different clubs in very different situations, but who both do have decisions to make about who the man in the dugout is going to be at the start of the next Premier League season - Chelsea and Manchester United. Firstly, there's a little chat about Jose Mourinho's rumoured return to Real Madrid, and why we all think th...

Hello Rank Squad! You know we've got to the business end of the competition when there's only one Champions League Takeaway a week, so here's your big double serving after the first legs of the semi-finals, which brought us two very different games, but with no shortage of drama or entertainment in either.  In Part One we head to the Parc des Princes, where PSG outgunned Bayern 5-4 in an incredibl...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back together to take a look at the big debate that's beginning to rage on social media, that of who is going to be awarded Manager of the Season this year in the Premier League?  The boys walk through each of the candidates, ranking them on where they would have placed them in the rankings if they were given the power to decide - especially in a year wh...

Hello Rank Squad! With just a few games remaining in this season, there's still plenty to play for in so many different places - not just geographically, but at opposite ends of the spectrum as well. We take a look at the Premier League title race and relegation rumble, La Liga's incredibly chaotic survival scrap, some battles in the Bundesliga up and down the table, a potential history-shattering...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back together in the studio to take a look at what's going on with Arsenal's creation and goalscoring numbers, which have nosedived in recent weeks. The Gunners are top of the table in the Premier League and into the final four of the Champions League, but a sense of unease has perpetuated amongst the fanbase - perhaps partly brought about by the fact th...

Hello Rank Squad! It's the second Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Wednesday's action from the Second Legs of the Quarter Finals - where Bayern Munich and Arsenal booked their spots in the final four, albeit in very different manners.  At the Allianz, Bayern came out the right side of a 4-3 thriller against Real Madrid, that ended up with the Bavarians prevailing 6-4 on aggre...

Hello Rank Squad! It's the first Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Tuesday's action from the Second Legs of the Quarter Finals - where both Atletico Madrid and PSG booked their spots in the semis, albeit in very different ways.  We start at the Metropolitano, where Barcelona won 2-1 on the night but Atletico held off the storm to qualify 3-2 on aggregate. In one of the great f...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back together (although sadly not in the studio) to take a look at just how well things are going at Bayern Munich right now for Vincent Kompany (and company). After winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu to record their first away win against Real Madrid in 25 years, many people have them as the favourites to lift the Champions League title at the end of the seaso...

Hello Rank Squad! It's the first Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Wednesday's action from the First Legs of the Quarter Finals - where PSG and Atletico Madrid both won by a 2-0 scoreline, albeit in very different ways.  At the Parc des Princes, PSG took Liverpool to the cleaners for much of the 90 minutes - and will be somewhat disappointed that their lead that they will take...

Hello Rank Squad! It's the first Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Tuesday's action from the First Legs of the Quarter Finals - where both away teams found a way to win, albeit in very different fashions. At the Bernabeu, Bayern won the European Clasico, triumphing at the Bernabeu for the first time in 25 years - it's been a while since Élber scored the only goal in May 2001! ...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back in the studio to take a look at a number of big stars and stalwarts who are departing their clubs this summer after long and/or storied periods of service, and how these clubs set about replacing them - either like for like, or in a different area of the pitch.  We take a look at the imminent (either confirmed or highly speculated) departures of Moh...

Hello Rank Squad! This international break gave us what we've been waiting for - the final names locked in for this summer's World Cup field. 48 nations have locked and loaded their spots in the biggest tournament in world football. Perhaps the biggest one missing though, once again, is Italy - with the Azzurri beaten on penalties by Bosnia & Herzegovina to make it three World Cups in a row that t...

Hello Rank Squad!  As we head into the last international break of the season, we're about to hit crunch time for 2025/26 in all of Europe's biggest leagues. With the end of the season imminent, the pressure is ratcheted up on teams up and down the table to get their respective jobs done wherever they find themselves within their competition, but certain players will be feeling the heat more than...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back in the studio to take a look at the big debate that's beginning to rage on social media, that of who is going to be awarded Player of the Season this year in the Premier League?  The boys walk through each of the candidates, ranking them on where they would have placed them in the rankings if they were given the keys to the castle - and helping Sam...

Hello Rank Squad! It's the second Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Wednesday's action from the Second Legs of the Round of 16 - where the final four teams booked their spots in the Quarter Finals - Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich & Atletico Madrid. We start at the refurbished Camp Nou, where Barcelona survived a first half basketball game with Newcastle United, and then a...

Hello Rank Squad! It's the first Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Tuesday's action from the Second Legs of the Round of 16 - where our first four quarter finalists booked their spots in the last eight. We start at the Etihad, where despite a brave performance from 10-man Manchester City following Bernardo Silva's red card, Real Madrid proved too much to handle to see them off...

It's time for The Truth! Sam and Dougie are back in the studio for more of a positive episode - looking at some of the players who have made a major step forward in their individual careers over the course of the season.  We walk through six players - three each for the two boys - who have really moved onwards from 2024/25 to 2025/26, stepping upwards to either make huge individual contributions f...

Hello Rank Squad! It's the second Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Wednesday's action from the First Legs of the Round of 16 - where chaos reigned again and goals flowed freely. We start at the Bernabeu, where Fede Valverde's hat-trick carried Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Manchester City in by far their best performance under Alvaro Arbeloa, and where Los Blancos went back t...