Ranking Big Transfer Stories Ahead of January

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for our rehousing episode - where we take a look at five players who are unwanted, underused or unloved at their current clubs, and find new homes for them to thrive in. This January, we're talking about Tottenham's Japhet Tanganga, PSG's Keylor Navas, Barcelona's Memphis Depay, Lyon's Houssem Aouar and Roma's Rick Karsdorp, alongside a whole host of honourable mentions, and looking for clubs where their respective skillsets would be put to good use.There's also time for an opening discussion on Chelsea's attempt to loan João Félix, which looks set to go through, and some thoughts on why their move for Enzo Fernandez broke down; there's a Melon of the Week all the way from Australia, and Sam's Gibberish revolves around some of the weirdest emails that he's been receiving on a regular basis.It's Ranks!If you'd like more from us, why not have a look at joining our Patreon, where there's at least two more episodes of Ranks FC every single week! 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.

11 Jan 20231h 12min

Hello Rank Squad, and Happy New Year!The transfer window is only a few days old, and yet plenty of clubs have already got themselves involved in the mire - with some big names already having shifted on to horizons new. We take a look at five deals already complete and dig into the analysis of whether they're good, bad, indifferent or important. We talk Max Wöber to Leeds United, David Datro Fofana to Chelsea, Cody Gakpo to Liverpool, Matheus Cunha to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, giving them the Ranks treatment.No Things We Love this week, because there's an incomplete transfer impending that's hogging the headlines, with reports stating that Argentine World Cup winner, young player of the tournament and Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez is set to join Chelsea in a deal that would make him the most expensive player in Premier League history. We dive deeper into why they want him, why he's going to cost so much, and our thought on the deal as a whole.Plus, there's a (slightly obvious) Melon of the Week, and given the time of year, a Gibberish Ranking where Sam shares his New Year's resolutions with you all.It's Ranks!If you'd like to get involved with our Patreon, where we're dropping transfer specials across the month as well as our usual Postbox and Spotlight content, you can get involved here! 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.

4 Jan 20231h 9min

Hello Rank Squad!It's nearly the New Year, so it's time to get back talking transfers ahead of the window opening - and who better to guide you through it than our very own Transfer Guru Dean Jones, who has the lowdown on five of the biggest storylines you need to be watching closely as transfer business swings back into life.There's also a quick chat about Cody Gakpo's move to Liverpool, Matheus Cunha's move to Wolverhampton Wanderers; and Melon of the Year is handed out, alongside a return of the Gibberish Rankings.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.

28 Dec 20221h 13min

Hello Rank Squad!It's been a wild World Cup, a magnificent month of football that culminated on Sunday with one of the greatest games that you're ever likely to see in your life, never mind on this kind of stage - and Argentina are once again Champions of the World, bringing to a close an era of European dominance that has lasted two decades. It was a fitting send off for (in our humble opinion) the greatest player of all time, leading his country to the pinnacle of the world game. Shouts out Leo Messi.We take a look back at the tournament as a whole, first discussing the wonderful chaos of the final, before picking our Team of the Tournament, throwing around some names who might have earned themselves a big move, as well as talking our favourite moments, the biggest shocks and the state of play in international football ahead of the 2026 tournament.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.

20 Dec 20221h 12min

Hello Rank Squad!It's finally here - 62 games later, we have our World Cup Final set, and it's Argentina vs. France in the showpiece. Can Lionel Messi finally achieve international football immortality or will France become the first side in over half a century to retain the crown? There's narratives galore, so we thought we'd dig deep into where this game is won and lost.We talk Messi vs. Mbappe, Alvarez vs. Giroud, the genius of Antoine Griezmann, Argentina's siege mentality, France's ability to get over the line, and tactical rigidity vs. tactical flexibility - as well as two cracking national anthems, and our predictions as to how it all goes.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.

15 Dec 202248min

...and then there were four!Hello Rank Squad! We have got down to our final quadrant of Nations left in this year's international piece de resistance, with Argentina, Croatia, France & Morocco the only teams remaining in the 2022 World Cup. Fresh from a round of shocks in the last ranking, we've decided to give it another go, with Dean taking each nation in turn and looking at their chances of winning the tournament in its entirety.Then, in Part Two, Jack talks us through some positives and negatives for each nation to be aware of ahead of the semi-finals, with a few tactical and a few emotional bits to keep an eye on in each of these two games. Will we have a repeat of the final last time out? Is this finally Lionel Messi's time? Can Morocco's fairytale express keep dropping masterclasses? It's all to play for.It's Ranks!And, for more from us, why not join our Patreon for after-the-whistle reactions, Christmas specials in the pipeline, and regular audio updates on the upcoming transfer window in January? 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.

12 Dec 202245min

Hello Rank Squad!We're now 56 games into this World Cup, and eight teams remain in the competition as Quarter-Finalists. We have the bracket, we have the route, we have four games from each of them to analyse, so it's time to rank the Netherlands, Argentina, France, England, Croatia, Brazil, Morocco and Portugal on how likely each of them are to lift that famous trophy aloft on December 18.There's also time for us to have a look at some of our favourite managers, players and teams that we've had to say goodbye to, in a special 'fallen by the wayside' segment in Part 3!If you'd like to join the Ranks Community, and get our Matchday Drops on World Cup Daily, it's a great time to join our Ultras on Patreon, where there's tonnes of extra Ranks content for you to explore and listen to. 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.

7 Dec 20221h 6min

Hello Rank Squad! We're over half way through the 64 games of the World Cup now, and after two rounds in the Group Stages, there are some things of note that we have learned - or at least you'd hope so, having watched every single minute of this tournament so far. Sam takes us through five intereting quirks that he's noticed across all the teams - from underdog nations really taking the handbrake off and going hard at favourites, attacking substitutions playing out in favour of those who make them, tactical formation changes in abundance, those for whom this World Cup might just have been a tournament too far, and squad numbers (especially for goalkeepers) being an absolute shambles. There's some Things We Love too, which focus on Ghana's Mohammed Kudus, Canada's Steven Eustaquio and Portugal's ghost goal that Cristiano Ronaldo was adamant was his; as we look through some of the best bits of the World Cup so far. It's Ranks! If you'd like to come and see what the fuss is about on Patreon, and get our daily podcast drops during this tournament, then click here!Or to take advantage of our deal with NordVPN, you can visit NordVPN.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.

30 Nov 202257min