Ranking Big Transfer Stories Ahead of January

Hello Rank Squad! We're back in a New Year with  new content for you all, and today we're going to take a look at the seven teams who led their respective leagues as the clock ticked to midnight on New Year's Eve - wondering whether they can hold onto that spot come the end of this season. We give each of them a percentage chance of doing so, and discuss the fortunes of Liverpool, Sporting, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Inter, PSG and PSV Eindhoven - as well as their title challengers. Before that, we get into the ins and outs of Wayne Rooney's sacking at Birmingham City, and take some time to discuss coaching backgrounds, and why English football has a bit of an issue with giving people big jobs before they've truly earned them - especially England's Golden Generation. And there's some new Guru Wisdom as well, as Dean discusses the life lessons he's handing out ahead of this New Year. It's down to you whether you think they're useful for you or not...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.

3 Tammi 20241h 2min

Hello Rank Squad!It's a slightly belated drop from us this week, but with the January window just days away from opening, we thought it was high time to take a look at some of the rumours that are flying around, and for Transfer Guru Dean Jones to give some insights on how likely they are to happen, whilst Jack adds some thoughts on how each of the players would fit into their rumoured new destinations. We discuss Gonçalo Inacio - linked with Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool; Jean-Clair Todibo - linked with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur; João Palhinha - linked with Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City; Kalvin Phillips - linked with Juventus, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace; and Ivan Toney - linked with Chelsea and Arsenal. There's also time for Things We Love, where Dean shares a story of sending little Dylan to bed with United 2-0 down to Villa, only for the Red Devils to turn things around in fine style, whilst Jack discusses being sent for a hotdog by Betis' joke announcement of Joaquin returning to the club, and also the signing of USMNT international Johnny Cardoso. 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 Joulu 202359min

Hello Rank Squad!It's an important topic on today's Ranks FC, discussing the new proposals that have surfaced for a European Super League after a ruling by the European Court of Justice that both they and UEFA have claimed to be a victory. This standoff doesn't seem to be going away, so Rank God Sam Tighe joins Jack to break it all down.After UEFA's processes last time round were deemed to be anti-competitive and unfair, the ESL have proposed their tournament again, but does this ruling matter if UEFA have actually changed their processes since last time anyway? We discuss the fallout from this, before digging into the actual proposed tournament itself. We explain the new format and the tiers it would entail, before raising our concerns - protectionism and anti-competitiveness for the 16 teams at the very top, as well as lack of appropriate reward for new teams who break into the European places, and ask the big question: just because UEFA and FIFA have their issues, should we really be putting football in the hands of those who have obvious self-interest in their own clubs by letting them rule as a cabal?The Super League is a complex and multi-layered issue, but we hope we've broken it down to give you at least something to have a think about. 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 Joulu 202336min

Hello Rank Squad! We're into the festive spirit here at Ranks FC and we thought we'd do something a little bit different for a laugh today. Dean has been trawling the four corners of the internet to find some of the most interesting and potentially controversial takes that he could discover - that were still worthy of discussion. We talk about whether Evan Ferguson could truly reach levels similar to that of Erling Haaland; why some people consider Jurgen Klopp a better manager than Pep Guardiola; if footballers genuinely care less about their clubs than they did 20 years ago; whether the Champions League this season will be won once again by an underdog - and who might qualify for that tag; and if Jude Bellingham is on a course to have a better career than the likes of Kylian Mbappé; before ranking each of those takes in terms of how valid they could be. Before that, there's Things We Love, where Dean applauds the teams who have forced their way into title race conversations out of seemingly nowhere - Girona, Aston Villa, Bayer Leverkusen and OGC Nice; and Jack gets excited about a few disruptors a little further down their respective tables - Bologna in Serie A, and Athletic Club in La Liga. Finally, Dean gives us some Christmas Guru Wisdom, with his tips for the festive season; and youngest Ranks FC heir Dylan Jones sings us all out on a jolly festive tune. 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.

20 Joulu 20231h 6min

Hello Rank Squad!We're here on a Monday to drop you a bonus podcast, looking back at the Last 16 draw in the Champions League and examining how we see each of the eight ties at this point in the campaign.We pick some early favourites, make some predictions, and answer some questions from our brilliant community regarding the teams involved; whilst looking at the matchups from a draw that is perhaps more exciting than it originally looked on paper.It's Ranks!(This show is a taster of our offering over on Patreon - where our Ranks FC Ultras dwell. There's two extra shows a week (at least), as well as a thriving football community on our Discord server, the chance to ask questions on our weekly Postbox episode, and help shape the direction of the podcast as a whole. With January coming up, Dean will be breaking all the latest transfer news across the month, and so there's never been a better time to give our free trial a go and decide if you'd like to get involved permanently!) 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.

18 Joulu 202352min

Hello Rank Squad!It’s time for the last Champions League Takeaway of 2023, and the last ever one discussing the group stages as we know them, with the format set to change next year. And there's plenty to get through!We start with Wednesday’s action, with three big takeaways on whether Newcastle were right to throw caution to the wind, why PSG are struggling to score goals right now, and how Barcelona's crisis meter is growing dangerously close to explosion, before rounding up the rest of the action.Then in Part Two, we take a look at Tuesday – talking Manchester United's exit and whether the 'true power' of the Premier League is overstated, why Real Madrid's desire not to lose is so impressive, and how a Benfica castoff helped them find a backbone, and then run through everything else that happened too.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 Joulu 20231h 1min

Hello Rank Squad!Just ahead of some of the winter breaks kicking in across Europe, and at the end of a few of the 'summer leagues', we thought it would be a good time to take stock of who is leading the way in the scoring charts. We discuss the fun history of the European Golden Boot (or European Golden Shoe if you prefer), why it was cancelled for a few years, and explain the slightly complicated co-efficient system, before diving into the top ten. There's some familiar names - Erling Haaland, Lautaro Martinez, and Harry Kane to name a few - but there's also a few surprise packages. We discuss them all, and look at a few players outside the Top 10 who we think will make their way in by the end of the seaosn. In Things We Love, Dean discusses Cristiano Ronaldo's 50 goals in a calendar year, whilst Jack looks at a touching tribute to a fan in the game between Granada and Athletic Club in La Liga; whilst Part 3 sees us continue down the theme of Dean's Guru Wisdom with some new drinks he's tried this year. 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? 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.

13 Joulu 20231h 11min

Hello Rank Squad!It's Dean's birthday, so we're doing his favourite thing - talking about transfers. Today, the Transfer Guru looks at five Premier League clubs who need to address glaring needs in January, and looks at some viable and rumoured options for each of them. We take a peek at Newcastle's goalkeeper situation, Arsenal and Fulham's No. 9 hunt, as well as Tottenham's and Liverpool's search for centre-backs.In Things We Love, DJ looks at the first managerial sacking of the PL season not taking place until December, whilst Jack discusses a new contract at Athletic Club for Nico Williams; and in Part 3, we get some life lessons from the wise Guru of Ranks FC.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.

6 Joulu 20231h 6min