Upfront - A Women's Football Podcast

The subject of today's episode of the Book Club will likely have voiced some of your most significant football memories. From Solskjaer's volley at the back post to the shoots of an Istanbul comeback, he's called them all – it's commentary extraordinaire, Clive Tyldesley! Clive joins Kate and Jim to discuss some of the most significant figures, moments and themes that make up his new book 'Not For...

Marcus and Luke reconvene to discuss the latest developments surrounding the England squad!  UEFA announced this week that countries will be able to take 26 players to the Euros: which is a good thing until you realise it doesn’t just apply to England. We examine which fringe players stand to benefit for the Three Lions. Elsewhere, Luke explains why Phil Foden can be the player of the tournam...

Dotun and Andy are joined by David Cartlidge to reflect on two intriguing Champions League semi-finals. Despite one of their finest first half displays of the season, Mauricio Pochettino was left lamenting his side’s fatigue as Man City muscled their way back into the tie. We look at PSG’s midfield and why Kylian Mbappé seemingly vanished from the pitch. Elsewhere, after Karim Benzema carried Real...

Today’s episode of the Book Club takes you to the heart of what it means to be a football fan. Kate and Jim are joined by journalist and Sunday Times best-selling author Michael Calvin to discuss ‘Whose Game Is It Anyway?’, his deeply personal account of the role football – and sport – plays in everyday life. Mike tells us how he came to fall out of love with the sport he covered for 40 years – an...

Welcome back to Lions Watch, your one stop shop for all things England! This week, Marcus and Luke begin with Harry Kane’s injury, which might lead to only a brief hiatus, but raises all sorts of questions about England’s flexibility as well as that age old dilemma: do you play your star player when he’s not 100% fit? Elsewhere, we discuss John Stones’ familiar downturn in form after a season that...

Dotun, Andy and Miguel Delaney look back on a truly seismic week, as the formation and startling failure of the European Super League represented the most significant story in the history of European football. With the project shelved (for now), we highlight the pivotal moments in the fight between the deluded, monied elite and everyone else. We also wonder what's next for Bayern Munich – whose ma...

Joining Mark Pougatch on today's episode of Ramble Meets... is former Newcastle, Tottenham and England midfielder turned TV pundit, Jermaine Jenas! Jermaine talks Mark through his impressive career that began in the aftermath of Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest and saw him experience some of the game's grandest occasions at both Spurs and Newcastle. He also reveals some of the regrets around his...

Marcus and Luke are back with a brand new edition of Lions Watch, the show dedicated to all things England! We are stumbling over ourselves with excitement for this one. Jesse Lingard is the form player in the Premier League – but should Gareth Southgate give him the keys to the kingdom? And where does all this leave poor old Jack Grealish? Elsewhere, if we needed any further evidence, Jude Bellin...

Dotun is joined by Lars Sivertsen and Miguel Delaney to look back over the week’s Champions League action! While Pep Guardiola finally overcame his Champions League hoodoo with Man City, Dortmund now desperately need to rescue their season with a top four finish. We look at the implications for Erling Haaland and why he may well be heading to Real Madrid rather than Man City. Elsewhere, PSG and Ba...

We're joined by one of Europe's most exciting young coaches on today's episode of Ramble Meets... as Andy sits down with RB Salzburg head coach, Jesse Marsch! Jesse's obsession with soccer was born in his native Wisconsin and has taken him across the United States and Canada, before he arrived in Leipzig in 2018 as Ralf Rangnick's assistant. Now at Champions League newcomers RB Salzburg, Jesse tal...

Welcome to our brand new addition to Football Ramble Presents, Lions Watch, a show dedicated to all things England!  Every Saturday, Marcus Speller and Luke Moore discuss the latest stories around Gareth Southgate’s squad in the build-up to the Euros. Who’s waiting by the phone? Who’s metatarsal is plastered on the front pages? And what does it all mean for that final 23-man squad? We will al...

Welcome to a new edition of On The Continent, your one-stop shop for all things European football. Dotun, Andy and Nicky Bandini wrap up an eventful week in the Champions League and beyond! Bayern Munich fell to their first home defeat in all competitions since November 2019 – and it took a monumental effort from PSG to overcome the Bavarian giants. We reflect on the reasons behind Bayern’s rare l...

Joining Kate and Jim on today's episode of the Book Club is Luton Town legend who played over 400 matches throughout the most successful stint in their history and earned an England call up under Sir Bobby Robson: it's Ricky Hill! Ricky joins us to reflect on an impressive career marred with frustration and disappointment. He rose through the ranks at Luton Town at just 17, and was an integral par...

Welcome to another edition of On The Continent. Dotun, Andy and David Cartlidge bring you all the biggest stories from across European football! We begin with the repercussions of Robert Lewandowski’s injury for Bayern – domestically and in Europe. History suggests the transition could be difficult. But if any team can adapt, surely the Bayern juggernaut can? Elsewhere, we discuss the options for...

Welcome to another episode of On The Continent, your one-stop shop for all things European football! Dotun, Andy and Lars chew the fat over an eventful week across the continent. After Paris Saint-Germain put in their finest domestic performance of the season against Lyon to take top spot in Ligue 1, we look over the four contenders for the French title. To the surprise of many, Niko Kovač’s Monac...

We return to Denmark for today's episode of Ramble Meets... as Andy sits down with two former Premier League stalwarts in Michael Essien and Johan Djourou! With over 100 international caps and almost forty years in the game between them, Michael and Johan are two of the most experienced members of the exciting project at FC Nordsjælland. They talk about their upbringing in Ghana and Switzerland re...

Atlético crashing out of the Champions League represent the failings of Diego Simeone’s dated style, which now looks to be a relic from another time. Dotun, Andy and Miguel Delaney wonder what’s next for Los Rojiblancos and their fiery coach. Things look slightly rosier on the Galaticos’ side of the city, as Real Madrid unconvincingly brushed aside Atalanta and drew comparisons to Zinedine Zidane’...

On today’s episode of Ramble Meets... Andy sits down with FC Nordsjælland chairman and Right To Dream founder, Tom Vernon! Tom founded Right To Dream, the Ghanaian football academy, in 1999 - he joins Andy to discuss its immense educational and footballing imprint in the region, with over twenty graduates since playing professionally in Europe.  He also expands on the academy’s purchase of Da...

Dotun, Andy and Nicky Bandini catch their breath and bring you their reaction to a dramatic week on and off the pitch in the Champions League! After Juventus’ exit in the last 16 again on Tuesday, we ask whether the Cristiano Ronaldo experiment has been a failure. Nicky also addresses the question marks over Andrea Pirlo’s position and whether Max Allegri really could do any better with such an un...

Some promising performances on the pitch haven’t drawn too much attention away from the chaos unfolding behind the scenes at Barcelona. Join Dotun, Andy and David Cartlidge for the latest on the club’s ongoing boardroom scandal, as we preview the runners and riders in Sunday’s momentous presidential election.  Staying with clubs on the brink of collapse, we try to work out which (if any) staf...

Today's Ramble Meets... guest has spent nearly three decades coaching in elite football, including ten years under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Mark Pougatch is joined by Ferguson's former first-team coach and current Australia assistant coach, René Meulensteen! René has worked with some of football's most esteemed characters in a career that has taken him to England, Russia, the Middle...

Dotun, Andy and Lars Sivertsen guide you through the second week of Champions League last 16 games and all of the biggest stories from across Europe! First off, we try and provide some answers to Atletico’s head-scratching performance against Chelsea. Their city rivals hardly pleased the eye either, though. But while Lars puts on his tin foil hat over some poor refereeing decisions in Real’s game...

Today's episode of 'Ramble Meets...' features a man well versed in professional football's intense and various demands, from playing as an international striker to managing across the leagues. Mark Pougatch sits down with former Northern Ireland, Southampton and West Ham striker, Iain Dowie! Iain regales us with tales from his storied career, from surviving non-league football's school of hard kno...

It’s a Champions League extravaganza on this week’s episode of On The Continent! Dotun Adebayo, Andy Brassell and Miguel Delaney are here to pore over the biggest stories from another round of continental crusades. As the reigns of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dwindle, we wonder how significant Kylian Mbappé’s cracking hat-trick at Camp Nou might prove to be and ask whether he will move on f...

Today’s episode of the Book Club takes you deep into the heart of the Swedish underworld, as the gangland execution of a promising footballer made national news in 2010. Kate and Jim are joined by Ann Törnkvist to discuss her best-selling book, Follow Fucking Orders. Ann spent five years looking into the story of Eddie Moussa, the promising Assyrian footballer whose performances captured almost as...