Ranking Big Transfer Stories Ahead of January

Hello Rank Squad!It's the final (and perhaps the biggest) game of the European Season this Saturday as Manchester City take on Inter in the Champions League Final, held this year in Istanbul at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium - 18 years after maybe the most dramatic of all UCL Finals when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties in the Miracle of Istanbul. We take a look at how both teams got to the showpiece event, analysing their runs to the final; before turning our attention to why both will feel confident going into this game. Dean gives us three reasons City can finally get their hands on the coveted European Cup, whilst Sam sets out three reasons Inter will feel that they have the tools to stop that happening. Finally, Jack takes a look at his key battle in this one, between City’s Rodri and Inter’s Nicolo Barella, before we give some predictions to round things off.It's Ranks!Tickets for our Live Transfer Interactive Show are now available but there’s only a limited amount left. We’d love you to get involved, so if you’d be interested in chatting to us about the big transfer stories this summer, why not have a look here? 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.

8 Kesä 20231h

Hello Rank Squad! News broke on Tuesday that Tottenham Hotspur had appointed Ange Postecoglou as their new Head Coach, after two very successful years at Celtic where the Australian won five trophies, including a treble this year. Reaction to the news has been mixed in the Spurs camp, so we decided to get some friends along to help us look through various different facets of the appointment. First off, Jack and Dean discuss how this came to pass, before we're joined by Coach and Spurs fan Harry Brooks to look at some of the challenges Ange will have to overcome. There's a segment from our Patreon episode where Sam & Dean dissect the nuances of having a manager from a slightly more obscure background take the reins at a big club and the challenges that presents, before Jack is joined by Alex (@EuroExpert) to look at some of the tactical quirks Ange likes and some of the players who could thrive under him. It's Ranks!If you'd like to take advantage of the Free Trial on Ranks FC's Patreon, we'd love to have you join us over the summer as we freewheel through the biggest transfer stories and more from what promises to be a wild off-season. 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 Kesä 202359min

Hello Rank Squad!It's the Europa League Final between Roma and Sevilla, so we've brought in some very special guests to walk through a few reasons why both sides will feel they can lift that trophy in Budapest on Wednesday night. John Solano joins us to talk all things Roma, before we welcome back an old friend in the form of David Cartlidge to discuss Sevilla's chances of getting their hands back on their favourite trophy.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.

31 Touko 20231h 10min

Hello Rank Squad!As awards season begins to roll in, we turn our attention to the Premier League and which managers have impressed enough this season to be considered in the conversation as the league's best. We discuss cases for Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, Mikel Arteta of Arsenal, Eddie Howe of Newcastle United, Roberto de Zerbi of Brighton & Hove Albion, Unai Emery of Aston Villa, Marco Silva of Fulham and Gary O'Neil of Bournemouth, in various capacities - as Sam picks out his top five.Things We Love talks about Borussia Dortmund being one win away from their first Bundesliga win in 11 years, West Ham's celebrations upon reaching the Europa Conference League final, and Granada being on the brink of a return to La Liga.There's a Melon of the Week from the Bundesliga's European battle, and Gibberish returns to discuss some of the best mascots in world football.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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.

24 Touko 20231h 12min

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for another Champions League Takeaway - a midweek bonus meal on all the week's UCL action. We have a final on our hands after Manchester City blew Real Madrid away at the Etihad and Inter comfortably saw home last week's advantage against city rivals AC Milan.We start in Manchester, where we discuss how Kyle Walker's moment at 1-0 was the epitome of a City side in complete control, the big game attitude of brilliant Bernardo Silva and why tonight showed just why Real Madrid are looking to sign Jude Bellingham in midfield.Then we head to Milan to talk about the sheer lack of personality and tactical nous showed by Piolo's Rossoneri, the similarities between the Champions League and World Cup campaigns of Lautaro Martinez's Inter and Argentina, and a night where a referee kept a real lid on things as it threatened to boil over.Finally, we take a quick preliminary look at the matchup in the final and how Inter's defence should give City more problems than Madrid managed tonight, or whether this Pep machine are just too good to stop.It's Ranks!If you want to take advantage of our free trial going on on Patreon right now, why not join us at patreon.com/ranksfc? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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.

17 Touko 202341min

Hello Rank Squad!Finally, it feels like the Mauricio Pochettino deal to Chelsea that's been floating around the ether for weeks now is a done deal, so we've decided to take a look at the first orders of business for him when he takes the reins at Stamford Bridge. There's a lot to get through, so expert help was needed in the form of The Athletic's Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey, an old friend of this parish.We discussed the issues facing Poch in deciding what his No. 9 needs to look like, working out who fits the roles he needs in his attacking midfield core, finding an understudy/replacement for N'Golo Kanté, the fitness of the squad, and the outgoing players he needs to find a new home for.There's room for Things We Love too - where we discuss Xavi ending Barcelona's four year wait for a La Liga title at Camp Nou and the news that Marcelo Bielsa has been appointed as the new manager of the Uruguay National Team. Melon of the Week comes from a humdinger at Elland Road, and there's a Gibberish about Jack's learnings from the three stag do (bachelor party) weekends he's been on in a row.It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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.

17 Touko 20231h 10min

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for another Champions League Takeaway - a feast on all the week's UCL action. With the first legs of both semi-finals in the books, we sat down to dissect Milan's 2-0 defeat at home to Inter and Real Madrid's 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the Bernabeu. We start in Milan, where we discuss the absence of Rafael Leão and the knockon effects that had on Milan's team selection and ability to release the pressure valve; the re-emergence and brilliance of Henrikh Mkhitaryan this evening; and the duel between Denzel Dumfries and Theo Hernandez that the Dutchman came out the better of. Then we head to Madrid to talk Haaland's quiet evening and the big-game-strides of Kevin de Bruyne; why we could watch Kyle Walker and Vinicius Jr. duke it out all night; and Pep not overcomplicating things, much to the delight of City fans. It's Ranks! If you want to take advantage of our free trial going on on Patreon right now, why not join us at patreon.com/ranksfc? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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.

10 Touko 202342min

Hello Rank Squad! It's a Champions League Week again, so it's a double drop and a little look forward on our first episode - this time taking it into the summer to discuss some of the biggest deals that are already being put on the table. Dean brings his expertise to discuss the situations of Lionel Messi, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Alexis Mac Allister and what the summer transfer window is going to look like for all these players. Jack and Sam do their best to work out sensible destinations for all five, and how things might play out. Before that, Things We Love is about this week's trophy winners - we discuss Napoli's first Scudetto win for 33 years and Real Madrid finishing an incredible 475 days with a Copa del Rey win over Osasuna, as well as giving some praise to Ange Postecoglou's back-to-back Champions at Celtic and a shoutout for Urawa Red Diamonds, who won the Asian Champions League at the weekend too. There's a Melon of the Week from a mad Bank Holiday Monday of Premier League football, and Sam's Gibberish throws up some options of how to make this Formula 1 season more competitive. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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.

10 Touko 20231h 17min