Football Ramble

With the much-anticipated 2022 World Cup looming large in the distance we discuss the familiar routes the home nations will take to Qatar, as England book tickets to San Marino and Scotland play Israel for the 326th time. Jules, Andy and Pete also look back on an ultimately fruitless night for Brighton, as yet another bizarre call from VAR denied the Seagulls an impressive win against Southampton....

Another week, another Mourinho defensive block of despair.  Join Kate, Jim and Pete as they get stuck into the north London derby - where Arsenal looked bereft of ideas up top and Héctor Bellerín could not take a throw-in.  Meanwhile, it's looking much rosier over at Palace after Benteke bagged a brace. But their former boss Neil Warnock ain’t happy about the facilities at Stoke. He ain’...

There are some tasty fixtures for us to look ahead to on today’s episode of The Preview Show, sponsored by Betway! Our own trio of flash cockneys - Marcus, Luke and Jim - are here to wet your footballing appetites! Another edition of the North London derby rolls into view, as Eric Dier and José Mourinho continue to praise every other player and manager across all 92 clubs rather than their own. Ar...

Join Marcus, Andy and Pete as we slide - two-footed and studs up - into another night of Champions League on today’s episode of the Football Ramble! Olivier Giroud showed his venerable class with four glorious goals over in Seville, while Man United were unable to contain the PSG swarm at Old Trafford. We also hear what it was like for fans back in EFL stadiums last night, bring another round of P...

Strap yourselves in for another ride aboard the Ramble mothership! Alongside you are Kate, Vish, Jim...and 31 Champions League-ready youngsters from Liverpool’s academy. Jürgen’s boys got the job done against Ajax last night, with young goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher particularly impressive (even if he only got put there because he doesn’t score). Elsewhere, Pep Guardiola and Sérgio Conceição riled...

Hold on to your hats, ladies and gents: Fulham have finally scored a penalty! Jules, Luke and Andy are here with reactions after Ivan Cavaleiro’s confident strike gave Fulham a vital win over topsy-turvy Leicester. Meanwhile, something is bubbling away on the other side of London as West Ham sneak into FIFTH after their win over Aston Villa. We also discuss the fallout from Raúl Jiménez’s nasty in...

There’s an absolute boatload of football for our own three little ponies to get stuck into on today’s Ramble, as Marcus, Vish and Pete round off another weekend of football. Chelsea and Spurs played out a tense draw that left Frank prickly in the post-match, while José Mourinho was his usual calm and thoughtful self. Elsewhere, West Brom finally got their first win of the season, Man United overca...

The Europa League threw up some crackers for Marcus, Luke and Vish to get stuck into on today’s episode of The Preview Show, sponsored by Betway. We start with yesterday’s football, as Harry Winks turned into David Beckham and Jamie Vardy saved Leicester’s bacon at Braga.  Elsewhere, we look ahead to some of this weekend’s Premier League action as Chelsea try to break down a stubborn Spurs an...

Diego, thank you for the memories. Join Kate, Andy and Jim as we look back on all that made the man great: his flaws, his wonderful vindictive streak, his belly slides, and the incredible things he could do with a football. It’s a very special Diego Corner indeed. Elsewhere, football goes on and we spend some time on a difficult night for Liverpool - who suffered their heaviest home defeat under J...

After a bit of a falling out over who was sitting where in the studio this morning - Emmanuel Dennis style - Marcus, Andy and Pete have made peace for Shteve McClaren’s sake. We reflect on a return to form in the Champions League for Manchester United and doff our caps to Olivier Giroud’s towering header that clinched Chelsea’s knockout spot. Plus, Pete has a new game - or punishment - for Andy, a...

Football fans: welcome back to your happy place! Alan Pardew: welcome to the army! Jules, Jim and Luke are here to celebrate the scheduled return of (some) football fans to stadiums and the prospect of some normality. It was certainly back to normality for Burnley last night, as they ground out a win in a 1-0 classic, while the 80s detectives derby saw Theo Walcott bag a goal for Southampton. Else...

If the international break was a scary, alien concept fraught with uncertainty, then this weekend’s Premier League action was like putting on your favourite jumper. Snuggle in with Marcus, Pete and Vish as we mull it all over on today’s episode of the Football Ramble! A vintage José Mourinho performance - on the touchline and in subsequent interviews - helped Spurs to an important win over Man Cit...

Welcome to your all-new episode of The Preview Show, sponsored by Betway! With that the pesky international break now out of the way, Marcus, Andy and Luke are here to run the rule over the big weekend Premier League games - including Tottenham v Man City, Newcastle v Chelsea and Fulham v Everton. Elsewhere, there's controversy in the email section as Marcus lays a marker down to an entire nation,...

That was more like it, wasn’t it? England cruise past Iceland as Phil Foden and Jack Grealish turn on the style. Not that Jules, Vish and Jim allow themselves to get carried away, of course. Elsewhere, Wales secure a dream promotion to the top tier of the Nations League and Kieffer Moore looks really happy about it, while Scotland go down to Israel but will definitely still boogie on. Plus, we lea...

The Nations League just keeps throwing us curves, as Spain inadvertently hit Germany for six while out for an evening stroll. Join Kate, Vish and Pete for an equally quaint saunter through the latest footballing nonsense on today’s episode of the Football Ramble! Away from the Nations League, we hear of Antonio Conte’s astute predictions while he was Chelsea manager and take a tour through Liverpo...

This little gap in football's relentless onslaught means Marcus, Luke and Pete have time to talk about some managerial changes in the Championship, as two legends at each end of the managerial spectrum take up new roles. Wayne Rooney stepped up at Derby for the time being, while Tony Pulis began his 11th managerial stint after taking the Sheffield Wednesday job! Elsewhere, we check in with José Mo...

That’s it, then. It’s all over: England are out of the Nations League. Dry your eyes, mate - Marcus, Andy and Jim are here to conduct the post-mortem.  England's tentative performance against Belgium saw Jack Grealish impress yet again, but few else were able to stake a meaningful claim for inclusion. We also look over the rest of the weekend’s Nations League action as Scotland’s unbeaten run...

It took them 22 years, but they’re back in the big time: Scotland have qualified for a major tournament! Marcus, Luke and Vish are here to celebrate on today’s episode of The Preview Show, sponsored by Betway! David Marshall’s penalty heroics helped the Scots claim a famous victory in Serbia, while Northern Irish hearts were broken after a Slovakian winner in extra-time spoiled their Euro 2020 dre...

Vish is back and his nerves are jangling for the Scots. But the Snodfather and an intimidatingly jovial Steve Clark appear to be ready for a historic night in Belgrade.  Kate, Andy and Vish also look ahead to Northern Ireland’s crunch tie against Slovakia, reflect on Jude Bellingham’s England call-up and critique Robbie Fowler’s poetry. Plus, we fill our boots with wicked whispers that Ronald...

We begin today's episode with the abrupt resignation of Greg Clarke from The FA after he made a string of offensive remarks while discussing diversity in football. Jules, Andy and Jim discuss the fallout and what meaningful actions The FA should take to promote diversity and inclusion within football governance.   Elsewhere, we celebrate the return of Gunnersaurus thanks to a rotating sh...

Marcus, the only man on Earth currently excited about international football’s return, joins Jim and Pete for another hard-hitting episode of the Football Ramble. Strap yourselves in. England’s friendly against Iceland looks set to go ahead - despite quarantine regulations trying their best to disrupt proceedings - while Didier Deschamps is looking forward to Paul Pogba’s break from Man United.&nb...

Fancy a bit of extra chaos in your football life? Then get involved with the first round of the FA Cup! Kate, Luke and Pete certainly have on today’s episode of the Football Ramble. Alongside those upsets, penalty shoot-out wins and goals from inside the halfway line, we look back at a swathe of Premier League action from the weekend. Southampton, Spurs and Leicester jostled for pole position, wit...

Marcus, Jim and Luke are here for a bumper edition of The Preview Show, sponsored by Betway! Liverpool take on Man City this weekend, but are Southampton going to storm aboard and make off with the Premier League booty? Elsewhere, it’s crunch time for Sean Dyche’s Burnley as they face Brighton, who have been without egomaniac Neal Maupay after an "incident".  Gary Southgate’s also announced h...

Marcus, Pete and Andy pore over another intriguing night in the Champions League after Manchester United were undone by an inspired Demba Ba and some bizarrely forgetful defending. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s miserliness continues and Timo Werner seized penalty-taking duties.  The chaps also talk about football’s troubling connection to dementia after news that 30 former Premier League players have...

Last night’s Champions League saw another set of impressive displays for Liverpool and Manchester City - Pep is even giving his players a day off! Surely there’s got to be a catch.  Marcus, Andy and Jim are back in the studio to review the action as Diogo Jota leads Liverpool’s line with aplomb, Fernan Torres bags another goal, and Andre Villas-Boas delivers an inspirational rallying cry for...