Football Ramble

For our latest episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, we’re looking back at that thrilling 1953 FA Cup final contested by Blackpool and Bolton: ‘The Stanley Matthews Final’. Joining us is Seb Stafford-Bloor, a writer for Football365 and Four Four Two magazine, as well as a content editor of Tifo Football. This final was a hugely significant moment in British football history....

We’re here to ease you into another lovely weekend of football with The Preview Show, sponsored by Betway! After finding out it’ll take seven insipid years to get used to VAR, as well as Ian Holloway’s confused take on international diplomacy, we turn our attention to the weekend’s fixtures. Arsenal take on Liverpool in what should be another thigh-rubber as Dani Ceballos and his merry men will be...

James Horncastle’s back in one of our continental hot seats and he’s packed some Serie A chat in his hand luggage! We start by talking about Juventus, as Sarri begins his reign in Turin. With the transfer window closing soon, their squad still looks a bit bloated— James discusses how they might be able to offload some of their fringe players as Sarri looks to streamline the team. We also discuss F...

Alan Curbishley has managed over 700 games at Premier League and Championship level, making him still, after eight years out of the game, one of the top ten most experienced managers in top flight football. Here in this exclusive and revealing interview with Football Ramble Daily, he talks us through his career from the highs of achieving promotion to the Premier League in dramatic fashion with Ch...

We’re back to take a deep dive into the biggest stories from another hectic weekend of football. We begin with a thorough look at Frank Lampard’s Chelsea after a promising but inconsistent draw with Leicester— will we see a return to the unease that plagued much of last season? Then we take a look at some of the players who have come up from the Championship as they look to adapt to the demands of...

Time for a new episode of The Ramble, fresh out of the oven! We begin with the inevitable chat about VAR in City’s game against Spurs, but also take the time to acknowledge Kevin De Bruyne and Érik Lamela looking back to their imperious best as well as Pep's wild gesticulating. Elsewhere, we try and unravel that dismal Newcastle performance at Norwich as Teemu Pukki grabbed a glorious hat-trick. A...

For the latest episode of Greatest Games, in association with the Blizzard, we’re off to the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille with Norwegian writer Lars Sivertsen. He talks us through the 1998 World Cup group game between Norway and reigning world champions Brazil, where two late goals from his unfancied home nation beat an XI featuring Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Dunga and Roberto Carlos. Lars discusses a risk...

We’re back in our Cristiano Ronaldo pants and ready for some weekend footy— let’s hope Jurgen’s washed his pair after all last night’s penalty shoot out excitement! We discuss that Super Cup win for Liverpool and look ahead to their next game against Southampton this weekend. Then, we turn our attention to the thigh-rubber of the weekend: Manchester City v Tottenham. Expect tactical fouls aplenty...

All aboard the good ship continent, manned by the motley crew of Luke Moore, Andy Brassell and Lars Sivertsen! We get stuck into the recent Champions League qualifiers, as Ajax battle through two tough legs against PAOK. There's some deserved praise for Lars’ compatriots Rosenborg after their impressive wins against Maribor. Afterwards, we turn our attentions to Atlético Madrid as Lars discusses t...

For the latest Ramble Meets... Andy Brassell drops in on Bordeaux head coach Paulo Sousa to discuss both his storied playing career and his nomadic journey through top-level coaching. Speaking exclusively to us at the club's training centre in Le Haillan, Sousa explains how Sven-Göran Eriksson helped turn a shy boy from provincial Portugal into a midfield maestro, tells us about finding a spiritua...

The Premier League got off to a flyer and we’re here to dissect the biggest stories from the weekend. We begin by discussing some of the impressive debuts across the league, including Harry Maguire’s imperious performance for Manchester United and Tanguy Ndombele’s classy turnout for Tottenham. Then we turn to the newly promoted sides as Norwich and Sheffield United resolutely stuck to their respe...

It's Monday, so that can only mean one thing: it's time for a new week of Football Ramble Daily! On today's show Marcus, Luke and Pete discuss all the big stories from the opening weekend of Premier League fixtures including Raheem the Dream's destruction of West Ham, the VAR debacle at the King Power and Tottenham's turnaround against newly-promoted Aston Villa. Elsewhere the debate around Pete's...

Welcome to the first of our brand new ‘Greatest Games’ series, in association with The Blizzard. Every Saturday, Marcus Speller,  Jonathan Wilson and a guest from the world of football discuss some of the most significant matches in football history. First up it’s our continental compatriot, James Horncastle! James arrives to discuss one of the most infamous ties in European football his...

Welcome to the first Preview Show of the new season, sponsored by Betway! Today we’re discussing all sorts ahead of tonight’s Premier League curtain-raiser up at Anfield. Arsenal empty their cupboards as Messrs Welbeck and Koscielny depart for greener pastures (one with more grace than the other), Super Frank gets set for his Premier League managerial debut and Pep Guardiola finally learns what a...

On The Continent is back for another season of European football! Luke, Andy and James are ready to tackle the biggest stories in European football and will be here every Thursday on Football Ramble Daily. Today, we begin by assessing the state of some of Europe’s top clubs as the season begins. We discuss Ajax’s rebuilding process as they aim to replace two of their brightest stars. Then, we talk...

Despite being just 24, Will Hughes has already amassed almost 250 first team appearances for Derby County and Watford.  Here, in this exclusive interview with Football Ramble Daily, Will talks openly and honestly about his experiences growing up as a media-dubbed wonderkid, what it’s like being a modern footballer in the Premier League, and what his ambitions are for the future and his career...

Welcome to the first ever episode of Jules & Andy on Football Ramble Daily! Every Tuesday we’ll be dissecting the biggest stories in football and we start with the impending circus that is Transfer Deadline Day. We discuss how the British window’s early closure might actually benefit English sides and Andy talks us through how some European managers are jealous of their British counterparts. E...

Welcome aboard to a brand new football season and the very first day of Football Ramble Daily! It’s an absolute pleasure to have you with us and we’re looking forward to bringing you a whole host of shows six days a week throughout the season. Monday means the Ramble’s up, and today we’re talking the Community Shield as Pep and his cargo trousers got one over Klopp’s Klan. Phil Foden got his custo...

Welcome to your all-new episode of The Football Ramble, indeed the last edition before we become Football Ramble Daily on Monday! Marcus, Pete and Luke run the rule over the latest glorious triumph in pre-season: Spurs lifting the Audi Cup after beating Bayern Munich in Munich. After that, it's a look ahead to the Community Shield, a part of Man City's historic quadruple last season, lest we forge...

Welcome to Fantasy Five-a-Side, a brand new show in which Jim invites a special guest to submit their dream five-a-side team and lead them to glory as player-manager. Where will they play themselves? Will the team gel on the pitch? Just as importantly, will they gel off of it in the post-match wind down? First up is star of Mock the Week, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and most impressively of all...

Competitive football creeps ever closer with the Emirates Cup out of the way, the transfer window hotting up - Daniele De Rossi has signed for Boca Juniors! - and Mike ‘Flannels’ Ashley up to his usual shenanigans.  He’s part of a rogues’ gallery that features a pumped up Diego Costa, a fictional version of Carlos Tevez and, somewhat out of left field, Gary McAllister. Enjoy. Join us on...

It is absolutely roasting at Ramble HQ but as ever we’re braving it for you, our beloved listeners. We’re here to chat about Mike Ashley putting his hand in his pocket for the people of Newcastle once again, Chelsea and their slightly odd season preparations and naughty naughty Laurent Koscielny. We’ve also got time to talk about Ederson strutting his stuff in midfield, pre-season red cards and To...

With so many of the game’s biggest prizes being played at once it’s a great time to be a football fan, especially if you’re of a Geordie persuasion. Steve Bruce’s mere presence was enough to get his Newcastle United revolution under ho-way with a seismic victory over West Ham.  Alongside all this there’s embarrassment and contrition from Kilmarnock, a Burnley fan with a level of commitment th...

We’re back in your ears and though we were only gone for a short while, the football Gods (Newcastle United) have provided, in the squishy form of Steve Bruce. We react with a range of emotions while also casting an eye over Frank Lampard’s appointment at Stamford Bridge and looking at some of the more interesting transfers we’ve seen so far this summer. There’s also the usual stuff like Mark McGh...

Erkut Sögüt is the Founding Partner at Football and Family, a sports agency that looks after footballers Mesut Özil, Ilkay Güdogan and many others. In this exclusive interview with The Football Ramble, Erkut talks about the demands placed on agents in the fast-paced, ever-changing world of modern football, how to handle top level footballers who live their lives permanently in the spotlight, what...