Ranks FC - A Football Podcast

Hello Rank Squad!  With the end of the transfer window riding up on us quicker than anybody expected, and with nobody but Manchester City really getting the gears into action so far, there are a whole lot of stories building up to breaking point in the next few days. On today's show, Transfer Guru Dean Jones walks us through ten talking points about what deals are in the offing, and what to expect...

It's time for The Truth! Borussia Dortmund parted company with head coach Nuri Sahin this week after a set of deeply concerning performances that have seen a giant of German and European football languishing in 10th in the Bundesliga, as well as falling out of the automatic qualification places in Europe.  But the problems at the famous Westfalenstadion go far deeper than just a rookie coach seemi...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for Champions League Takeaway, your late night delivery following the action - after another breathless week in the UCL that saw chaos reign across both days.  We start with Wednesday's action, opening with a discussion of PSG's impressive comeback 4-2 win over Manchester City, which was a much needed European reprieve for Luis Enrique, and another difficult night for P...

Hello Rank Squad! We talk a lot about the teams who are outdoing themselves, playing above their means, and taking their rightful flowers for their performances, but there's two sides to every coin. For every Bournemouth, there's a West Ham; for every Mainz, a Borussia Dortmund; and every Athletic Club, a Real Betis.  We break down the teams who have struggled to meet their expectations across the...

It's time for The Truth! In a move that has somewhat stunned the football world, Napoli's Georgian sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has told manager Antonio Conte he wants to leave the Neapolitan club, and is on the brink of a €70m move to PSG, despite the fact that his current side are top of Serie A and challenging for a second title in three seasons.  So why is this happening, and why is it happ...

Hello Rank Squad!  We're taking things a little off-piste this week here on Ranks, stepping away from the transfer news that has dominated the headlines (and our recent podcasts) to take a bit of a wider look at the season so far as a whole - and specifically who has put themselves in strong positions to lift trophies at the end of the campaign.  We start things off by looking back at the final of...

It's time for The Truth! We begin 2025 with a look at Atletico Madrid, who might not quite be top of La Liga, but will be if they win their game in hand this weekend - and who, after a very poor start, have transformed themselves into Spanish football's form team. We examine the transfer work in the summer that laid the groundwork for Atleti to become this season's 'stable club' in Spain, includin...

Hello Rank Squad!  We're back on more regular programming and with the transfer window now officially open, we wanted to take a look at the teams who desperately need some market moves to reignite faltering seasons - for one reason or another. Dean takes us through the three Premier League sides who are most in need of squad refreshes during the month of January, whilst Jack peeks in at some of th...

Hello Rank Squad and Happy New Year! We thought we'd kick off 2025 with some forward thinking, with both Dean and Jack looking forward to the new year by examining five things they think will happen over the entirety of the 12 months to come. There's discussions of title winners, transfers, managerial changes, and a whole lot more as we consult our crystal balls to try and predict the future.  The...

It's time for The Truth! There's been a lot of noise around Kylian Mbappé this season, after his dream move to Real Madrid - mooted for so many years - was finally completed in the summer. But things haven't completely gone to plan for the man that many see as the best player in the world.  Playing through the middle because Vinicius Jr. plays off his preferred left hand flank, it hasn't been the...

Hello Rank Squad! We hope you're all enjoying the festive period and that your midwinter festivals - whichsoever they be - are merry and bright! We didn't want to break our almost 5 year streak of not missing a Wednesday drop, so here's a little Christmas Special that the boys threw together for you to enjoy at some point over the next few days.  We take a look at some of our favourite things acro...

It's time for The Truth! Atalanta are currently top of Serie A as we close in on the halfway point of the season. After winning the Europa League last season, the glass ceiling for the club from Bergamo has been well and truly smashed, but can they go one further this year, beat out some giants of the game and claim their first Scudetto? We examine just how a club from a small city north-east of M...

Hello Rank Squad!  There are certain clubs and players who need something new to set their seasons back on track, and the potential for drastic change is just around the corner with the January Transfer Market opening in under two weeks. We take a look at some of the gambles that clubs could take in the market, and whether they might be good enough to save sagging seasons.  Before that, we examine...

It's time for The Truth! Tottenham Hotspur are an enigma. Sometimes they look unstoppable, like in their 4-0 rout of Manchester City a few weeks ago. At other times they look turgid, slow and far too easy to break down. It's led to a fanbase split on whether the manager is the problem, or just another symptom of something that goes far deeper.  Sam and Dougie discuss why things seems so weirdly up...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for Champions League Takeaway, your midnight feast of Champions League content - after another breathless week in the UCL that saw thrills, spills, and everything in between.  We start with Wednesday's action, opening with yet another tough night for Pep Guardiola, whose City side were pulled apart by Juventus in transition in the second half, and who now has one win in...

Hello Rank Squad! On today's episode we thought it would be a good time to take a look at the players currently leading the way in the scoring charts across Europe, and cast our thoughts ahead to who looks like they have a good chance of taking home the award at the end of the season.  We skim across some of the players who have set out their stalls early in the summer leagues of Europe, before di...

It's time for The Truth! Aston Villa eased the pressure on themselves with a win against Brentford in midweek, but it doesn't change the fact that November was an incredibly difficult month for the Villans - with their last win before the Bees this Wednesday coming on  October 22nd against Bologna in the Champions League. Many people have pointed to the lack of Douglas Luiz this season as a major...

Hello Rank Squad!  We're returning to one of our staples this week, an old-school ranking that takes on one of our favourite topics—the players who have stepped up their game this season and taken things to a whole new level. We cross Europe to take in a number of ballers who have reached new heights since we kicked off again in August, and hand out due flowers to those most deserving of them.  Ou...

It's time for The Truth! Liverpool have played 19 games this season, winning 17 of them, drawing one and losing just a singular game. They've got the best defence in the Premier League, whilst only Tottenham Hotspur have outscored them going the other way. Top of the Premier League and top of the new Champions League table, it has been an incredible start from Arne Slot's side by anybody's standar...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for Champions League Takeaway, your midnight feast of Champions League content - after an incredible week in the Champions League that saw Champions crumble, new powers rising, goals galore & some shock results.  We start with Wednesday's action, opening with the breathless end to things in Eindhoven - where the USMNT's Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi fired up an incredi...

Hello Rank Squad!  It's that time of year where certain teams start looking towards the January Transfer Window to either bolster their side for a silverware push, or to try and fix gaping holes to resurrect a flailing season. We take a look at both in today's episode, where Dean walks us through some of the things he thinks might take place in the upcoming winter window.  We talk about a number o...

It's time for The Truth! With Ruben Amorim set to take the reins at Manchester United this weekend, Sam and Dougie dig into the future of Marcus Rashford - whether he fits into the new system that Amorim is likely to play at Old Trafford and if he can utilise a fresh start to revitalise a career that feels like it's in limbo right now.  Whilst Rashford's last year or so has been somewhat underwhel...

Hello Rank Squad!  We're delighted to have a new voice on the show today, Mr Eli Quivey, a self-professed 'English bloke in an American body' and a TikTok star, who has recently spent 10 days completing a football trip of a lifetime around England - visiting his beloved Old Trafford, Anfield on a Champions League night, and of course, the home of football, Craven Cottage.  Eli walks us through his...

It's time for The Truth! With Manchester City coming into the international break having lost four games in a row for the first time under Pep Guardiola, Sam Tighe and Dougie Critchley take a deep dive into what exactly is going on in the blue side of Manchester, and if they can recover their sparkling form to win a fifth title in a row. Whilst the injuries to key players - namely Rodri and Kevin...

Hello Rank Squad!  With the final international break of the calendar year now in motion, we thought it would be a good time to take stock of what's happened so far in European club football and rank the clubs who have impressed most over the start to this season. Jack's taken out any clubs he feels are underperforming expectations to narrow the field, and then ordered the seven he feels have star...