Ranks FC - A Football Podcast

Hello Ultras!  There are just eight teams remaining in this World Cup, so with that, there are some teams that are going to be deeply disappointed in their performances - either over the tournament as a whole, or in an individual game performance that saw them eliminated from the competition. We take a look through what we believe to be some of the biggest letdowns of this World Cup up to this poi...

Hello Rank Squad! Welcome back to another World Cup episode of the show, where we take a look back at the Round of 32. First we say a fond farewell to some of our favourite teams of this tournament, notably Cape Verde after their incredible performance against Argentina, as well as Cote d'Ivoire, and a youthful Australia who surpassed many expectations.  In Part Two, we examine the two pre-tournam...

Hello Rank Squad!  We decided, given the schedule is a bit mad these days, to try and bring some shorter fun to life here on Ranks FC. Now, we know that the vast majority of our listeners are in the US & England; so we thought that the day after both sides qualified for the Round of 16 - the USMNT with a 2-0 win over Bosnia & Herzogovina, and England with a 2-1 win over DR Congo - that we would ta...

Hello Rank Squad!  Now that the second round of games is done and dusted, we're back to examine what we've seen - from both a team and an individual perspective. We start with some of the risers and fallers in the World Cup stakes, examining which countries' stocks have fallen and risen; before turning our attention to the players who have put their own names up in lights ahead of what will undoub...

Hello Rank Squad!  A slightly delayed main episode this week because we wanted to see all 48 nations play at least once in the World Cup before making any sweeping assertions, so here's our take on the first round of games now that every team has seen the pitch!  In Part One, we start with a look at the pre-tournament favourites who impressed us most in their opening encounters, who lived up to th...

Hello Rank Squad! Here's the final editions of our four World Cup preview shows, where we look through the final three groups and give our thoughts on each of the four teams in each. Jack and Dean are back together to wrap things up from the preview side.  Starting in Group J we take a look at reigning champions Argentina, discussing whether a very similar squad to 2022 could retain this trophy; b...

Hello Rank Squad! Here's the third of our four World Cup preview shows, where we look through the next three groups and give our thoughts on each of the four teams in each. Jack Collins is joined once more by the returning Dean Jones as we return to regular programming.  Starting in Group G with a look through Belgium and where the Red Devils are with the golden generation mostly in the rear-view...

Hello Rank Squad! Here's the second of our four World Cup preview shows, where we look through the next three groups and give our thoughts on each of the four teams in each. Jack Collins is joined by Austin Miller of the extraordinary World Cup After Dark Podcast to keep things ticking over.  Starting in Group D with a look through the expectations and reality associated with the USMNT ahead of th...

Hello Rank Squad! With the domestic season in Europe all wrapped up, it's time to completely lock in to World Cup mode - and so here's the first of our four World Cup preview shows, where we look through the first three groups and give our thoughts on each of the four teams in each. Jack Collins is joined by the brilliant Dougie Critchley to get things started.  Starting in Group A with one of the...

Hello Rank Squad!  We thought with the Champions League done and dusted, after PSG beat Arsenal on penalties to retain their crown and become just the second club in the modern era to go back-to-back, it was a good time to give you a little taster of what we get up to on the Patreon feed - where every Monday we answer questions on the action from the weekend just gone, and sometimes far beyond.  T...

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...