Football Ramble

It’s a Football Ramble Daily crossover on today’s episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, as we’re joined once again by Andy Brassell! Andy joins Marcus and Jonathan to discuss Juventus’ spectacular 3-1 win over Real Madrid in the 2003 Champions League semi-final. The game was played at the notoriously derided Stadio delle Alpi on the outskirts of Turin. This, however, was dif...

Howdy folks, it's time for another preview show, sponsored by Betway! Rejoice! This week, Marcus, Luke and Pete get excited by Marcus Rashford's new tech and wonder if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can take another point from Liverpool. There's also talk of Mike Ashley potentially growing another Longstaff brother, while Steve Bruce sits down for a lovely cup of tea. In other news, Roberto Firmino has been...

It turns out that, if you’re after the coaching job at Barcelona, all you need to show the selectors is an undying love for Johan Cruyff. That’s one of the distinct conclusions we’ve come to on today’s episode of On The Continent... That’s right, reported fourth-choice Quique Setién takes charge of the Catalans - we discuss how he might actually be a success, while also assessing the legacy of the...

On today’s Ramble Meets… we’re joined by West Ham midfielder Julia Simic! Julia joins Luke in the studio to discuss her storied 15-year career playing for the likes of Bayern Munich, FFC Turbine Potsdam and the German national side. From playing with boys beyond her age in Fürth, to joining the Bayern Munich senior side at 16 and playing across the Bundesliga, Julia always had a single minded...

On today’s episode of Jules & Andy, we start by discussing the renewed injury woes for Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane. Having played 300 games at just 26, we discuss what Kane can do to protect the longevity of his career and wonder what José Mourinho can do to replace the injured striker as the rest of the season unfolds.  Also, after some enlightening correspondence from our l...

That’s more like it, Southampton! Ralph Hasenhuttl insists that his side’s victory over Leicester wasn’t revenge for the 9-0 drubbing they received earlier in the season - but it definitely was. Elsewhere, Liverpool maintain their relentlessness and Sergio Agueroooooooooo reminds us all of how brilliant he is yet again. As well as all this we share our postcards from holiday camps of yesteryear, s...

We’re headed up to Liverpool for today’s episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, for a classic escape from relegation. On the docket today is the final day of the 1993/94 season, as Everton had their last roll of the dice against Wimbledon, and we’re joined by author and deCoubertin Books principle James Corbett! After a fantastic period of success in the 1980’s, the turn of t...

The goings on at Man United are going on so much that they’ve reduced Sir Alex Ferguson to lonely red wine sessions in his old office, which may or may not be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s current office. They face Norwich at the weekend in a fixture more intriguing than it has any right to be.  Spurs also host Liverpool, which should be a spicy one. Will we see Jose Mourinho attempt to park the bus...

We’re back in the studio with some more continental content, as Luke Moore and Andy Brassell are joined by The Guardian’s Nicky Bandini! We begin, as the man himself would expect, with Zlatan Ibrahimović’s largely uneventful debut for Milan. Nicky discusses how his leadership off the pitch might be more valuable than his contribution on it, as well as assessing Stefano Pioli’s struggles in the dug...

On today's episode of Fantasy Five-a-Side, Jim welcomes Felix White, founding member of the Ivor Novello-winning band The Maccabees, score writer for the cricket documentary  The Edge  and co-host of the cricket podcast Tailenders! His is an unorthodox team made up of misfits and geniuses. They’ve been selected to allow him to live some incredibly specific dreams - and to find closure on...

Has the FA Cup lost some of its sparkle? What are the big teams’ attitudes towards the tournament? These are a few of the questions we’re trying to answer on today’s brand new episode of Jules & Andy! After a mixed set of results from the third round this weekend, we debate how significant a place the Cup still holds in football’s television-dominated environment. We suggest some ways to help...

What a weekend in the FA Cup! Brave Brucey’s Brave Newcastle bravely hung on to force a replay with Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday knocked out Brighton - and Osaze Urhoghide treated us to an adorable interview in the process - while Mike Dean inspired his beloved Tranmere to fight back from 3-0 down to draw with Watford. Lucky them.  And there’s more! Gillingham takes a kicking in the email se...

You join us in the Emerald Isle for today’s episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard. We’re taking a look at a historic afternoon for Irish football from 2001, alongside JOE’s Dion Fanning! The Netherlands arrived at Lansdowne Road with qualification for the 2002 World Cup on the line, while Mick McCarthy’s men had enjoyed a hugely successful qualifying campaign. Louis van Gaal...

There are potential banana skins aplenty as the FA Cup 3rd round arrives! We look ahead to those, while also casting a glance over our shoulders at Jose Mourinho and Mike Dean’s box office collision, Jack Grealish’s fascinating legs and the welcome return of Ian Holloway.  Elsewhere David Moyes has an instant impact, Charlie Adam turns some heads and if you live in Gillingham, get your pitchf...

We’ve got a debutant joining us on the first On The Continent of the new decade, as Andy and Lars are joined by German-based writer Ryan Hunn! We begin with the biggest continental news as Erling Braut Håland completes his move to Borussia Dortmund. We discuss how the transfer came about and how he’ll fit into Dortmund’s front line as their first out-and-out striker in a fair while. On the other s...

To kick off 2020 on Football Ramble Daily, Andy Brassell is joined by Kick It Out’s Head of Development, Troy Townsend. In this exclusive interview Troy discusses his varied career as a cornerstone of the footballing community, as well as how football’s social climate has changed over his life as a football fan. From his love of Pelé and Brazil throughout the 1960s, to experiencing racism on the t...

We've arrived at the final Football Ramble Daily episode of 2019! Jules & Andy are here to ease you into a new year by looking back at some of 2019's most noteworthy moments, as well as hearing about some of your favourite memories from the year. From Liverpool's miraculous comeback against Barcelona to Andy taking his godson - a fanatical Spurs fan - to their new stadium for the first time, t...

David Moyes is back in charge at West Ham as they once again ask him to ferry them to safety! Is anything surprising any more? No, not really.   Elsewhere in London, Arsenal and Chelsea played out an energetic game that felt like a victory for Arsenal - despite it being a victory for Chelsea - because they weren’t booed off. Small victories and all that.  There was also lots of acti...

Joining us on today’s episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, is The Independent’s Vithushan Ehantharajah! His chose today's game based on pure, glorious nostalgia: Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal from 2004. This game, with its mix of technical ability and unrelenting pace, was a tremendous advert for the Premier League. Arsenal’s performances were beginning to falter after coming off t...

Christmas might be over but the PL never, ever, never stops, so we’re back to ruminate on Chelsea’s visit to Arsenal’s Emirates Enmity Bowl, the heartwarming tale of Liverpool’s Milly Elliot and a Steve Bruce Old Trafford belly rub for the ages.  As well as all this there’s plenty of festive fun, games galore (one game), the acceptance that Norwich are just rubbish and theories on how you’d g...

It’s Christmas Eve, and there’s a brand new episode of Jules & Andy wrapped up under the tree!  We’re here to take a look at some of the upcoming Boxing Day fixtures, and begin with Sheffield Utd’s home game against Watford. We discuss the remarkable achievements of Chris Wilder and his players as the newly-promoted side sit fifth in the table. We also praise Southampton and their improve...

Given that they’re so far ahead, Liverpool took the weekend off to go and win another trophy in Doha, while Riyad Mahrez came back to haunt Leicester as Brendyball came up short against Man City. Elsewhere, Nigel Pearson’s revitalised Watford were too much for the ghost of Man United.  Forget all that though, because Miguel Almiron scored! It finally happened and it could not have been more a...

On today’s episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, we’re looking back at an absolutely phenomenal match - one that Jonathan describes as potentially his favourite ever game of football. The Athletic’s Rafa Honigstein joins us to represent the other half of this fixture, as Bayern Munich take on Red Star Belgrade in the second leg of the 1991 European Cup semi-finals. Political...

What a week for new managers, as Mikel Arteta takes the reins at Arsenal (probably at the time of recording) and Carlo Ancelotti rocks up at Everton (possibly etc etc). Bouncy new managers galore! There’s even more to get excited about as Leicester put Brendyball to the test against assistant-managerless Man City, while Jose Mourinho’s Spurs host Frank Lampard’s Chelsea in a sentence that is still...

The Fussball-Meisters are back again for a brand new episode of On The Continent. There’s a whole load of stuff on the docket today, and we begin with last night’s El Clásico. It was the first goalless tie between the two sides since 2002, and Real Madrid were (predictably) unhappy with some of the officiating. We discuss Zinedine Zidane’s deserved public praise for Gareth Bale after his impressiv...