Ranking the Champions League Knockout Stage

Hello Rank Squad!The (first) Transfer Window has officially closed, but there's been plenty of activity on the managerial merry-go-round across Europe, with new faces taking over at new places - to the delight of some and the chagrin of others. On today's episode we're looking at a number of new bosses and analysing how we think they fit their new home. We start with the most recent appointment - Brentford's Thomas Frank is all set to take over at Tottenham Hotspur, who moved on from Ange Postecoglou at the end of last week, and try to build on that Europa League trophy that Ange won in what turned out to be his final game. We discuss the differing approaches and how this might all work out; before moving on to talk about Xabi Alonso's new era at Real Madrid, after he left Bayer Leverkusen to replace Carlo Ancelotti; and his replacement at Leverkusen - former Manchester United and Ajax gaffer Erik ten Hag. Then in Part Three, we get stuck into the Calcio Chaos - Christian Chivu replacing Simone Inzaghi at Inter; Max Allegri returning to AC Milan to take over from the sacked Sergio Conçeição; Gian Piero Gasperini leaving Atalanta to take over from Claudio Ranieri at Roma, with the Tinkerman turning down the Azzurri to stay upstairs in the Eternal City; and former Gasperini disciple Ivan Juric replacing the old chessmaster at Atalanta. There's some chat too about the Club World Cup and some of the transfers yet to happen this summer at the start of the show, and don't forget to take a look at our Patreon, where there's loads more transfer podcasts and newsletters happening over the course of this summer. It's Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

11 Kesä 1h 10min

Hello Rank Squad! The footballing summer is officially here, with the Champions League Final crowning what has been a pretty unbelievable season in Europe all round. We start today's episode with the final word on that final, where Luis Enrique's brilliant PSG absolutely dismantled Inter in one of the all-time great showpiece performances. Then, it's onto the talk of the summer - transfer season; and whilst there will be plenty of this covered here on Ranks all summer long, we wanted to take a look at some of the deals already done or nearly done, that we have reservations about for one reason or another. Some are personal, some are club-related, and some are just a question of fit; but whilst there could and should be levels of excitement, it's important to try and be realistic as well. We discuss the details of moves for Rayan Cherki, Jobe Bellingham, Liam Delap and Matheus Cunha; and also touch on Bruno Fernandes' decision to stay at Manchester United. We finish off with a discussion of some of the deals we think are absolutely guaranteed to be a success, as well as some early thoughts on the links between Arsenal and Benjamin Sesko. It's Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

4 Kesä 1h 6min

It's time for The Truth! For the last time this season, Sam and Dougie convene in the studio to record, and for the season finale, they're looking back at the first year of the podcast - what they got right, what they got wrong, and some of the best bits as well. Picking for each other, the boys choose a Best Take, Worst Take, Most Enlightening Take and Most Surprising Take from the year just gone, and analyse them with the huge added benefit of hindsight - as well as a hint of some justification. Before that, we have a chat about Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League, and Aston Villa's failure to secure Champions League football, as we finish up what's been a magnificent first year for the podcast. How did the boys do? Well, as ever, The Truth is somewhere in the middle... And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

30 Touko 40min

Hello Rank Squad!With the conclusion at the weekend of the domestic campaigns still running, we thought it was a good time to look back on the season just gone and hand out some awards for the best (and worst) of what we've seen across the board. We start by talking about our favourite stories of this season, where we both plump for underdogs turning their seasons around, before we head into the main event. Across the Premier League and the rest of continental football, Dean and Jack work through Players, Managers and Clubs of the Season; before finishing off with the Letdowns of this campaign, and the Best Signings for good measure. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

28 Touko 1h 17min

It's time for The Truth!Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at the Club World Cup, set to kick off just a couple of weeks after the European season ends. The tournament has divided fans and pundits alike, with some seeing it as a bizarre power play from FIFA to try and rival the riches of the Champions League, whilst others feel that it's an opportunity to spread the game's wealth on a more even keel globally. We examine the history of the tournament and where the concept originated from, before taking a look at how it matters differently to different areas of the globe - in some place, it's a real badge of honour; whilst in others, it's treated as a second-class trophy. Perhaps more importantly, there's a deep dive into the finances of the tournament and how it's going to work, as well as some thoughts on if we should really be adding more football into an already oversaturated calendar - whilst the concept of the CWC is a good one, generally; is there actually a real need for this given the amount of football players are already going through? So, is this global benevolence or a cash grab from the Federation? Are the big teams going to send shadow sides or are the megastars going to give it all they have? And to whom does this all matter most? Well, The Truth is somewhere in the middle... And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

23 Touko 49min

Hello Rank Squad! It's the first transfer focused episode of the summer, and we set out the stall for what's to come in some of the biggest deals. Set your stalls out, ready yourselves - because some of these ones will definitely become sagas, dragged on for months in negotiations. Jack starts things off by giving some love to Villarreal and the job that Marcelino has done with the Yellow Submarine, before we get down to business discussing the latest on the future of Florian Wirtz - the transfer that's likely to set the high bar for spending, if Bayer Leverkusen's star playmaker does depart the BayArena. Then it's on to Dean's list, where we chat through a host of names likely to be on the move, starting around the £25m mark and working our way up to long beyond the £100m boundary. There's chat about a host of players, including Dusan Vlahovic, Liam Delap, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Martin Zubimendi, Bryan Mbuemo, Xavi Simons, Viktor Gyokeres, Ebere Eze, Rodrygo, Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak and loads more. And then in Part Three, we take a look at which of the deals discussed might represent the best value for money in the market, trying to balance that impossible scale between risk and reward. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

21 Touko 1h 8min

It's time for The Truth!Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at where Arsenal find themselves right now - and whether there is complete faith in Mikel Arteta to make them take that next step to winning serious silverware. After six and a half years in charge, there is no doubt that Arteta has raised Arsenal's floor to a point where they are in the mix every single year, and yet since that first half season, there are no trophies to show for the progress that the Basque has made with this team. Trophies aren't everything, but Arsenal are on a dangerous verge of being considered nearly men, and it means that next season, there may have to be some bang to go with the buck. We examine Arteta's performances as a coach in the last few years, as well as the constant upward trajectory that Arsenal have been on, as well as peeking at the uncomfortable truths of modern management and the complications of squad planning when you're in charge of the entire operation. So, is it as simple as win or bust next season for Arteta? Does it matter who comes in during the summer to help them challenge? Or is this simply a project which needs to be given more time given how things have gone so far? Well, The Truth is somewhere in the middle... And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

16 Touko 45min

Hello Rank Squad! It's that time of the year where amidst all the trophies being handed out, thoughts turn to who are the frontrunners in the race for the biggest individual prize in the game - France Football's yearly Ballon d'Or. Last year the award came with a whole thunderstorm of controversy, with Real Madrid boycotting the ceremony after Rodri won the top prize over Vinicius Jr. They probably don't need to worry that much this year - we'd be surprised if there were any Los Blancos stars anywhere near the podium - but the absence of both Vini and Rodri from the frontrunners opens up some interesting discussions. We dive deep on where we think the current positionings are for the likes of PSG's Ousmane Dembele, Gigi Donnarumma and Achraf Hakimi, as well as Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Pedri - as well as the individual pace-setters like Mo Salah, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappé, and Harry Kane; before we also take a quick look at the Kopa Trophy candidates in Part Three. Before that, there's a return for Things We Love, where Dean discusses a big summer ahead for Arsenal in the transfer market, and Jack takes a quick look at a wonderful season at Balaidos for Celta Vigo, under the stewardship of Claudio Giraldez. It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

14 Touko 1h