Ranking the Most Exciting Teams in Europe with Dougie Critchley of Football Daily

Hello Rank Squad!There's a new show starting on the Channel from this Friday, and it heralds the return of Rank God Sam Tighe to Ranks FC. Sam's new podcast, which he's co-hosting with the brilliant Dougie Critchley, who you might know from Sky Sports and Football Daily - as well as being on Ranks a few times in the past! The podcast is called The Truth, and Sam's here to explain the concept, introduce you to Dougie, and prep you for the first episode which will be dropping tomorrow (Friday) for your listening pleasure ahead of the weekend. 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.

5 Sep 20245min

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for us to take our previewing over to Italy, where we've seen an intriguing first couple of weeks in Serie A - where 14 of the 20 clubs changed managers this summer. We start by analysing those we think will be challenging for the title - starting with reigning Scudetto Champions Inter, moving on to Juventus and their new manager Thiago Motta, taking a look at Napoli under the guidance of the legendary Antonio Conte, and examine new-look AC Milan, even after their difficult start. In Part Two, we examine the European contenders, and the teams who'll almost certainly be fighting it out for that final Champions League spot (probably with Milan), as well as the Europa and Conference League places behind - last season's surprise package Bologna, Gasperini's Europa League winning Atalanta, a completely fresh-faced Roma, Ciro Immobile-less Lazio,  and the eternal wildcard that is Fiorentina. Then it's onwards to the newly-promoted sides and the teams we think might struggle, and Jack has some thoughts on Venezia, Parma, Como, Genoa, Cagliari, Lecce, Monza and Empoli. Finally, we make a few early predictions for Player of the Season, Signing of the Season, and Golden Boot (Capocannoniere) winner to round things off. 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 Sep 20241h 9min

Hello Rank Squad!We're back (and icing our league previews series for a week) to take a look at the big storylines dominating the Premier League transfer landscape ahead of the transfer window closing on Friday. Dean walks us through the headlines for each of the Premier League's top eight from last year - Arsenal's search for a forward, Manchester City's desire for an Alvarez replacement, Manchester United's central midfield hole, Chelsea's mass exodus and striker hunt, Liverpool's market management strategy, Newcastle's remaining budget, Spurs' defensive reinforcement plan, and Aston Villa's early business meaning a potentially quiet end. There's a return for Things We Love, where Dean discusses Endrick getting off the mark for Real Madrid before star signing Kylian Mbappé and why the early clunkiness makes La Liga more exciting, whilst Jack is getting very enamoured with the new-look PSG, mostly because of the burgeoning relationship between Bradley Barcola and João Neves, who have exploded into the new season. And finally, Dean's Guru Wisdom has him sharing his opening experiences in the world of American Youth Soccer, where Dylan has taken some tentative first steps into becoming MLS' next shining light at the tender age of 6. 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 Aug 20241h 16min

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for us to take our previewing over to Spain, where La Liga kicked off again this weekend just gone, with some fascinating results and performances. We start by analysing the Big Three, examining where Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid are ahead of what is shaping up to be a three way title race. In Part Two, we examine the European contenders, and the teams who'll almost certainly be fighting it out for that final Champions League spot (and the Europa and Conference League places behind) - last season's surprise package Girona, newly-minted Villarreal, our friends at Athletic Club, Imanol Alguacil's excellent Real Sociedad, youthful Valencia, and the eternal wildcard Real Betis. Then it's onwards to the newly-promoted sides and the teams we think might struggle, and Jack has some thoughts on Sevilla, Leganes, Real Valladolid, Deportivo Alaves, Las Palmas, and Rayo Vallecano - as well as a team to watch in RCD Mallorca. Finally, we make a few early predictions for Player of the Season, Signing of the Season, and Golden Boot (Pichichi) winner to round things off. 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 Aug 20241h 9min

Hello Rank Squad! It's Showtime once again in the Premier League, and so we're back to preview the season ahead of time in an episode that's become something of an annual tradition on Ranks FC.Jack and Dean get stuck into a preview of where we are ahead of the curtain raiser on Friday night, first examining those teams in contention for the title and discussing whether this could finally be the time that Arsenal get the better of Manchester City in that race for the trophy. Then it's on to the European contenders, opening with Arne Slot's new-look, same-players Liverpool, and working our way through Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle United - the teams who made up last season's top eight. After that we flip to the bottom to look at if we'll be having a repeat of the promoted teams being the ones to slip back into the Championship at the end of the campaign - can any of Leicester City, Ipswich Town or Southampton avoid succumbing to the yo-yo fate we saw last year?We discuss the middle order too, before launching into a series of predictions for Golden Boot winner, most assists, Player of the Season, best new signings, surprise packages - for good and bad - and first managers to face the dreaded axe. 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 Aug 20241h 10min

Hello Rank Squad!After looking at Premier League pre-seasons last week, we wanted to take things Continental this week, and take a dive into how things are looking ahead of the season for some of Europe's biggest clubs. We start in Spain, where we examine a busy week for Atletico Madrid, talk through Real Madrid's big name summer and try to decipher just what's going on at Barcelona, before heading for Italy - to discuss a big summer for Juventus, and slightly more manageable ones for Inter and Milan. Then it's off for a quick pitstop in France, to check in on the latest goings on in PSG's post-Mbappé era, before finishing in Germany with a look at Bayern Munich's big spending, and Borussia Dortmund's future. As ever, we round things off with the latest episode of Dean's American Life, where DJ shares his experiences of his first live soccer game since moving to San Diego. 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.

7 Aug 20241h 8min

Hello Rank Squad! Pre-season is firmly underway and we've seen a mixed bag from some of the clubs on everybody's lips right now. We've taken five Premier League teams and ranked them on how we think they're getting on - stacking up their expectations ahead of the season against the performances that we've seen so far. We share our thoughts on Enzo Maresca's Chelsea, Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton & Hove Albion, Erik ten Hag's Manchester United, Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal - examining the squads, the games, and what we can ascertain from their on-pitch product in the warm-up act for the new season. Before that, there's Things We Love, where Dean discusses the strange nature of West Ham United's transfer approach this summer, and Jack waxes lyrical about the brilliance of Emma Hayes' USWNT at the Olympics so far. And of course, the latest update of Dean's American Life finishes things off, where we learn about the 'incredible' season ticket he has purchased for...a car wash. 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 Juli 20241h 5min

Hello Rank Squad! It's time for a return to one of our favourite staples on Ranks - those Players Who Need a Summer Move, and the clubs that we think should be absolutely desperate to get them in, because they'd fit so well. It's a bit of a bumper cast today - we have 12 different players to discuss, so we get straight into things! Our discussion starts with Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips, before we talk Liverpool's Caoimhin Kelleher, Aaron Ramsdale and Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal, still-officially-at-Chelsea Romelu Lukaku, Atletico Madrid's João Félix, Brentford's Ivan Toney, Barcelona's Raphinha, Juventus' Weston McKennie, also-still-officially-at-Chelsea Kepa Arrizabalaga, finishing with the Leverkusen duo of Sardar Azmoun and Adam Hlozek. Then, to wrap things up, Dean gives us the latest instalment from his New American Life segment, where he tells us about a successful attempt to finally get himself a cell phone. 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.

24 Juli 20241h 2min