Hello Rank Squad! It's time for another Champions League Takeaway - a midweek bonus chow down on all the week's UCL action. The biggest competition in Europe returned for Matchday 5, and we're amongst it to take a look at the action from both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. We start with Tuesday's action, with three big takeaways on Newcastle's penalty pain against PSG (and Lewis Miley's brilliance),  Borussia Dortmund emerging as a competitive force in knockout competition, and Manchester...

Hello Rank Squad!  It's a very special episode today - the 200th Ranks FC Podcast on this feed. Three years on from the inception of Ranks as an independent brand, we've reached the big milestone - so an opportunity to say thank you so much to everyone who's listened and supported us down the years.  For a special occasion, we thought we'd pull the stops out and bring back the Rank God to give you the original trio back at full force. Sam Tighe joins us to give a main ranking on the best...

Hello Rank Squad!  Here's another new idea we're trialling here on Ranks FC - following on from our Deep Dive episode last week, this week we're turning our hand back to an old favourite - Quick Ranks.  We're looking at the players and teams who have disappointed us across the course of 20233 - from Brenden Aaronson to Richarlison and Jordan Henderson; and from Norway's National Team to Ajax and Chelsea.  We hope you enjoy this new format, which we'll be looking to bake into the...

Hello Rank Squad!  We're coming to the end of the last international break of 2023, so we thought it was time to sit down and explore the early favourites for the two tournaments running simultaneously next summer on either side of the Atlantic Ocean - Euro 2024 in Germany, and the Copa América in the United States.  First we explore the European side of things, with Dean picking his top five - we talk through the hosts Germany, a Spain side with lots to offer, whether England can break the...

Hello Rank Squad! Welcome to the first of a new series here on Ranks FC - the Deep Dive. Every few weeks we're going to take a look into a specific club that interests us right now, for good, bad or indifferent.  First off - Manchester United, who dominate the back pages with on and off-field actions right now. Dean ranks five things that are going to change once Sir Jim Ratcliffe is confirmed to have taken his 25% stake in the club, and control of the sporting wing.  We discuss the power...

Hello Rank Squad! We're delighted to welcome back Ranks FC Head Coach Harry Brooks for today's episode, in which we're taking a look at the Premier League's current Top Five teams and examining which player is the most important for each of their respective ambitions this season. It's a journey that takes us through all parts of the pitch, with Harry analysing why each of his picks is the most important member of the team for Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for another Champions League Takeaway - a midweek bonus meal on all the week's UCL action. The biggest competition in Europe returned for Matchday 4, and we're amongst it to take a look at the action from both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. We start with Wednesday's action, with three big takeaways on Manchester United's visit to the Theatre of Nightmares in Copenhagen, Benfica coach Roger Schmidt being in trouble, and Brahim stepping into Bellingham's boots at...

Hello Rank Squad! We're back to look at something a little more abstract this week, having a look at the season so far and seeing where we think records might be broken in the year ahead.  There's a discussion on whether Harry Kane could break Robert Lewandowski's Bundesliga goal record (or a more obscure one currently held by a former Japanese international), when Erling Haaland will become the fastest player to score 50 Premier League goals, whether Nice can become the best defensive team...

Hello Rank Squad!  There's some new names firmly in the transfer conversations as we speed towards the end of 2023, with previously unavailable players and ones who have emerged as major talents now amongst the most coveted targets on the planet.  We discuss what the future looks like for Victor Osimhen, Arthur Vermeeren, Aaron Ramsdale, Florian Wirtz and Serhou Guirassy, and which clubs lead the way in terms of their interest.  And, of course, after Lionel Messi won his 8th Ballon d'Or...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for another Champions League Takeaway - a midweek bonus meal on all the week's UCL action. The biggest competition in Europe returned after the international break, and we're amongst it to take a look at the action from both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. We start with Tuesday's action, with three big takeaways on La Masia powering Barcelona once again, Newcastle & Dortmund giving us a UCL game for the ages, and PSG moving through the gears against Milan...

Hello Rank Squad! We're going Stateside for today's podcast, with the MLS postseason kicking off this week. Our MLS correspondent and writer Owen Murray is back on the pod to talk through his favourites to lift the trophy, some wild card picks to watch, and the games you can't be missing as we head into crunch time over the next month or so.  Before that, Dean and Jack have Things We Love, where Dean discusses Ange Postecoglou's revolution at Tottenham Hotspur, and Jack raves about Sergio...

Hello Rank Squad! It's that time of year again, where the crème de la crème of world football dust out the old tuxedos and head for Paris for the glittering Ballon d'Or ceremony - the home of the famous incident where Virgil van Dijk was once asked if he wears aftershave on the pitch by some eejits.  We look through the 30 man shortlist for football's most prestigious individual prize and whittle it down to 10, before giving our thoughts on the ranking of the top 10 footballers in the world...

Hello Rank Squad! With the wheels on Europe's top five leagues squealing to a halt as we hit the second international break of the season, we thought it would be an interesting time to sit back and reflect on what's gone on so far this year, and which players have stood out.  So, we've taken a look through the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1, to pick out the best player so far in each competition, and then stack them against each other to decide Europe's best so far...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for another Champions League Takeaway - a midweek bonus meal on all the week's UCL action. The biggest competition in European football returned to it's chaotic best, and we're amongst it to take a look at the action from both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. We start with Tuesday's action, with three big takeaways on Manchester United's lack of streetwise nous, Arteta's decision to play an injured Bukayo Saka, and perhaps the best game of the season between Union...

Hello Rank Squad! It's tough out there as a manager. You can be winning trophies and be the designated Chosen One one minute, and then on the verge of losing your job the next. It's tough, it's brutal, but it's the way football works, so we wanted to revisit an old staple and take a look at some of the managers under the cosh this season, and what the future holds for them.  We visit Jose Mourinho at Roma, Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, Maurizio Sarri at Lazio, Sean Dyche at Everton,...

Hello Rank Squad! We've got a very special second episode for you this week, looking at five players who have joined (or are joining) European clubs from South America this year, and picking our way through the best of the bunch. Joining Jack is Nathan Joyes [http://twitter.com/NathanJoyes1], founder of The Copa Club [https://www.thecopaclub.co.uk/] website, magazine and podcast, and aficionado on all things South American football, to provide the insight and knowledge you need on some of...

Hello Rank Squad! It's something a little bit different this week, as we take each of the clubs leading various leagues around the world and pit them against each other to see who we think would come out on top.  It's a journey that takes us from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Munich to Manchester,  Cincinnati to Catalonia, Brest to Bavaria, via Milan and Jeddah for good measure.  Then there's time for a few hot takes - one on the future of Borussia Dortmund's young star Youssoufa Moukoko, and...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for the first main course Champions League Takeaway of this season - a midweek bonus meal on all the week's UCL action. The biggest competition in European football is back, and we're amongst it to take a look at the action from both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. We start with what went down tonight, with three big takeaways on Manchester United's defensive woes, Arsenal's young guns being so ready for this stage, and Simone Inzaghi making too many changes to his...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time to take a look back at some of the most interesting things that we've noticed in the new season, and so returning to the fold is our Head Coach, Mr. Harry Brooks, who is here to discuss some of the trends he's picked up on from a coaching perspective. First off, we get his views on the revolution taking place under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur, a club very close to Harry's heart, and just how Ange is shifting the perspective of Tottenham fans just months...

Hello Rank Squad! The window is shut, there's been a few games to see how teams look, and it's time to finalise our long-term predictions for this season, which can only mean one thing here on Ranks - it's time for 5x5! And, for a big episode like this, we wanted to make things special, so we've brought back the Rank God Sam Tighe for his first appearance of the new season.  The concept is simple - we each pick how we think the top five in England, Germany, Italy, France and Spain are going...

Hello Rank Squad! It's time to reflect on the transfer window and the clubs who have come out of it in better shape, in a couple of different ways. First of all, Dean Jones takes a look at the Premier League's Big Seven - Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United - and compares how their business has looked at the end of the window, before taking stock of the true winners of the PL's business this summer.  Then, Jack Collins has...

Hello Rank Squad! Welcome back to Champions League Takeaway, the first one of the new season, where we're reacting not to the games that have just taken place, but to the draw for the Group Stages, which threw up all manner of questions and answers.  Jack watched the draw live to have a think about things, but Dean gets the draw for the first time on air - so it's the best of both worlds!  We talk through each of Groups A-G, including Group F's deathly dangers, some finely balanced second...

Hello Rank Squad!  We're into the last few days of the transfer window in Europe's top leagues and there's plenty of work still to do in the final hours. We take a look at the biggest storylines left to play out, including Saudi interest in Liverpool's Mo Salah, where Atleti's João Félix might end up, potential exits from Arsenal for Gabriel Magalhães and Emile Smith Rowe, Manchester United's left-back search and if that could lead them to Marc Cucurella, and rumoured Chelsea interest in...

Hello Rank Squad! Welcome to the Transfer Emergency Room - the show that takes a look at which clubs are in need of severe player transplants ahead of the transfer window closing, if they're going to have any chance of achieving their goals this season. Dean starts us off in the Premier League, where we talk about Manchester United, Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool - dissecting the squads to find gaping holes and glaring problems which need to be addressed in the next week or...