Football Ramble

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas after a dizzying round of midweek fixtures. We’re here to look at Wolves wobbling Chelsea’s wheels, Man United and Arsenal having a strange old contest of Who Can Score the Weirdest Goal and look ahead to Cardiff and Southampton scrapping for those delicious points.  We also discover the surprising depth of Pete’s affection for Man United’s fans and...

A busy weekend as the North London Derby produces another classic, Mark Hughes collects another P45 and Jordan Pickford has a moment to forget. Particular highlights include the welcome return of Tim Sherwood embarrassing himself. There’s also the Scottish League Cup final, in December, further news of footballers egging innocent members of the public, and a very testing time for Partick Thistle.&...

At just 20, Chris became the most expensive goalkeeper in British transfer history signing for Liverpool, the club he supports, from Coventry, the club he grew up at, for £6m in 2001. What followed was a career that despite being held back by a series of unfortunate injuries amassed over 200 appearances at the top level and included a Champions League win and an England cap. In this latest Ra...

We’ve got your Champions League, we’ve got your Premier League but best of all we’ve got your Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest in The Championship. What a game, and what a feast of football we have to serve up for you.  Elsewhere we’ve got Sol Campbell getting himself a job, we’ve got misgivings about the institution known as Internazionale and we’ve got point-gobbling Newcastle welcoming Wes...

The Premier League is back with a Spurs and Aleksandar Mitrovic infused bang and we talk all about it, because that’s very much what this podcast is about. We’re also delighted to be chatting about Claudio Ranieri and his delightful methods as once again pizza solves everything.  Further down the leagues Alan Hutton definitively peaks in spectacular fashion, while in South America the Copa Li...

What a fun weekend of international football we’ve had, and what a fun weekend of Premier League football we’re about to have! We chat about Scotland’s promotion, Ireland’s bound-to-be-entertaining search for a new manager, the retirement of flag-punching legend Tim Cahill and Gianni Infantino’s novel approach to what should probably be private discussions. Back in domestic football we welcome Cla...

Spain and Croatia? What were you worried about? England’s 2018 gets even better as they top their UEFA Nations League group and keep the World Cup feel good factor going.  Through our giddy fog we discuss Jordan Pickford’s water bottle psychology, Aleksander Mitrovic’s thought processes, Scotland’s momentum, Chris Eubank, Sven, goalscoring goalkeepers and alllllll kinds of fun. Easy. Search ‘...

Carolyn Radford is the Chief Executive Officer of Mansfield Town and currently one of only two female CEOs in professional football. She accepted the position at Mansfield Town at the age of just 29, becoming the youngest football executive in the country - a title she still holds. Speaking to Luke on a match day at Field Mill, Carolyn provides a unique insight into the role of a CEO at Football L...

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for; Wayne Rooney’s international return! The Rooniverse has been a barren, empty place since the great man retired and finally Gareth Southgate is putting a stop to all this ‘looking forward’ nonsense by bringing it back to the good old days. Jesus.  As well as all that international relegation becomes a possibility for the first time, with Ireland and...

Welcome to the first ever Football Ramble Nights, brought to you by the smokey tones of one Marcus Speller. In the velvet-voiced chat machine’s lounge club we discuss the Manchester derby, the sadness that’s always present just behind Eddie Howe’s eyes and a welcome return for an FA Cup giant; Timmy Mallet.  Propping up the bar, Pete has another business pitch, informs as of some new dads-at-...

Hello again. We reflect on a famous victory for humility’s Jose Mourinho and a surprising Steve Bruce-starring sequel to the Turin Shroud as Man United beat Juventus, a grim tunnel experience for Liverpool and Raheem Sterling’s rub of the green in the Chaaaaaaaampions League. Back on domestic turf Mortal Kombat’s Neil Warnock is still just happy to be here, words are put in mouths and there’s some...

Whisper it (like Phil Neville would), but things look like they’re changing for the better at Arsenal. We look back on a pulsating draw with Liverpool at the Emirates, Newcastle finally getting a win and Southampton’s utter calamity of a defensive showing against Man City. Blimey.  On top of all this there’s a return for Wayne Rooney, as well as a certain fireplace-based anecdote, yet another...

Mark Chapman is one of the country's best-loved presenters across both TV, where he fronts Match of the Day 2, and radio, where he is the voice of BBC 5 Live's sports coverage. The man known to millions across the UK and beyond as 'Chappers' talks to Luke about how his career started, his best and worst moments as a broadcaster and why he's happy to be known as 'the grouting in the tiles'. Deliver...

There have been all kinds of high pitched noises coming out of Monday Night Football this week as Harry Redknapp wades into Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher’s “debate” about exactly how pathetic Spurs may or may not have been in the last 30 years.  There’s confusion over Aaron Ramsey’s situation at Arsenal, a business idea for the Dildo Brothers and further revelations about the by-now-legend...

Fulham prove to be accommodating hosts yet again as they invite Bournemouth in for tea, biscuits and three goals at the Cottage. Arsenal were also good guests as they brought Crystal Palace a couple of penalties at Selhurst Park, with Chris Smalling also proving an excellent host at Everton, despite their overall all loss at a game of Monopoly (football, you see). We’re also lucky enough to meet t...

Once again we have no choice but to join Pep Guardiola in his giddy reverie after a scintillating Manchester City display in Europe, scratch our heads at Man United’s inability to get to their own stadium and consider whether Rafa Benitez could really find his job under threat.  We’re also treated to a barrage of stories about the legendary Maltese Joe, nicknames from across the land and a br...

What a weekend! Yet more drama at Stamford Bridge, Mike Dean and non-Mike Dean related, the Jurassic Park theme at the Cardiff City Stadium, Jordan Pickford getting the save on and Paul Ince forgetting himself.  On top of the this the ball-on-a-plinth phenomena reaches new heights, we revel in the names of fanzines up and down the land and the rumours that a certain ex-manager is heading into...

Professor Chris Brady is the Professor of Management Studies and the Director of the Centre for Sports Business at Salford Business School. Prior to that he was Deputy Dean at Cass Business School in the City of London, and is considered a world expert in the art of management and leadership. Throughout his career, Chris has authored many books on a wide range of different subjects and is a close...

Whenever England win convincingly we receive a lot of correspondence that gleefully anticipates the reaction of our dear Marcus Speller. If you’re one of the people who sends us such correspondence; you will not be disappointed. We revel in the victory of Southgate’s Soldiers, barely able to contain our joy before heading back to the good old Premier League.  There we find Spurs sneaking unde...

England played their so called Ghost Game with Croatia and it was so eerie that everyone forgot to score or even really do anything of note. Spain are up next, who don’t look too bothered having just thrashed Wales. There are also Scottish woes, Welsh cheese and Northern Irish hard cheese, youth football dads, Usain Bolt showing what he’s about, the smell of what Gibraltar are cooking and the quie...

The UEFA Nations League returns and Gareth’s Guys prepare to face Croatia behind closed doors with a couple of Marcuses in there. Just don’t get relegated, guys.  It’s an exciting and intriguing week as there’s some exciting yoot throughout the competition, which we touch on before coming up with some Original Content about Ryan Giggs, talking about Nando’s black cards and learning about Pete...

Welcome to a very special episode of The Football Ramble, as On The Continent's James Horncastle and Andy Brassell step into the breach in Jim and Pete's absence, looking to bring a bit of European flair to proceedings! Do they succeed? You decide. Expect all the usual chat as we dissect Newcastle's reversal at the hands of Manchester United, Man City and Liverpool duking out a 0-0 draw, and a Chr...

In this edition of Ramble Meets... Luke talks to former professional referee Howard Webb. They discuss his humble beginnings in the game through to officiating the Champions League and World Cup finals (including THAT De Jong kick).  They also find time to debate the pros and cons of video refereeing, as well how officials stay fit enough to operate at the top level.  Search ‘Football Ra...

We once again ride the Fortnite bus into our favourite sport/dramedy as we look ahead to the most anticipated ding dong of the season so far as Man City visit Anfield (via a new route), Spurs try to compose themselves after doing their best to halt a Lionel Messi masterclass and Jose Mourinho gets ready to tussle with his old foe Rafa Benitez.  On top of all this, cabbages fly, England try a...

A big week for the narrative as Man United’s struggles continue at a rejuvenated West Ham, while it’s all smiles at Stamford Bridge as Liverpool and Chelsea give us all hope that we’re in for a treat of a title race.  And that’s not all! Dr. Donaldson’s super slick jingles are present and correct, Petr Cech gets head banging, and we have a new and unexpected Friend of the Ramble. Search ‘Foot...