The Truth: Is Simone Inzaghi the Most Underrated Manager in the World?

Hello Rank Squad!It's that time of the year again - the club football finale in Europe, as the Champions League Final is upon us. This year's showpiece event is at Wembley, between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, and we're here to break it all down for you. We start by picking out three reasons why each should be optimistic about winning this final - Dean (as usual) goes in to bat for Real Madrid, whilst Jack takes a look at Borussia Dortmund's chances; before moving on the conversations to the key battles and players who could define the way that this game plays out. Finally, we give our predictions, as well as taking a few from the Rank Squad; before discussing if we think Jude Bellingham would celebrate if he scores. 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.

29 Maj 202454min

Hello Rank Squad! We thought it was a good time to put together our End of Season Awards Show, so here we are. We take some time to reflect on an incredible campaign, and discuss which players are in the running for our Player of the Season, Rising Star, Most Improved Player, Resurgence of the Year, Goal of the Season, Team of the Season, and Melon Team of the Season for good measure - looking across Europe's major leagues to give credit to the best (and the worst) of the campaign we've just witnessed. Then, in Part Two, Jack dives into a few of the stories that might have slipped under your radar. Whilst we've all rightly heard about the exploits of Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Bologna and the like, there's a couple that perhaps have not quite hit the headlines they deserve. We talk about the remarkable seasons of Stade Brestois, Olympique Lyonnais, FC Heidenheim & Valencia CF. And finally, in Part Three, Dean has some Guru Wisdom about the things he's most concerned about, ahead of the move to America - so if anyone has any tips on driving, tipping culture, and relocated patriotism, please let him know! 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.

22 Maj 20241h 5min

Hello Rank Squad!The domestic club season is drawing to a close. The continental league titles have mostly already been lifted, the Premier League title will be decided this weekend, and whilst there are still some important bits to figure out - the European continental competitions, the domestic cup finals, the fights for survival and the locking in of next season's European places - the season feels like mostly it's all over bar the shouting. So we've turned our attention to the upcoming transfer window, which is going to be punctuated by international competitions in both Europe and South America, delving into which narratives are going to dominate and drive the discourse and write the headlines over the summer. Dean puts his Transfer Guru hat on and explores five topics - Manchester United's centre-back search, the future of Victor Osimhen, the race for wingers with the X-Factor that top teams will be after, the domino effect on goalkeepers that might be set off by the departure of Aaron Ramsdale from Arsenal, and whether or not Newcastle United can keep hold of their two star players - Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes. Before that, we take a look at the appointment of Jesse Marsch as the new head coach of the Canada Men's National Team, and the interesting rivalry it sets up with both the USMNT and Gregg Berhalter himself, as well as why this feels like a big moment in the American's coaching career; and in Part Three Dean gives some recent personal Guru Wisdom on why you should always fight to the end, and never give up. 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.

15 Maj 20241h

Hello Rank Squad! Champions League Takeaway is back to take a look at the second legs of the UCL semi-finals, where we saw Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and Borussia Dortmund win 1-0 in Paris to set up a clash of Yellow and White in London next month! We start with Wednesday’s action, with Real Madrid's late, late show yet again to beat out Bayern and send the Bernabeu wild. Dean waxes lyrical about the never-say-die spirit of both the fanbase and this team, whilst Jack pours out some love for Joselu and questions some weird substitutions from Thomas Tuchel that seemed to put his team on the back foot in the closing stages. Then in Part Two, we take a look at Tuesday – where Borussia Dortmund booked their place in the final with a backs-to-the-wall 1-0 win over PSG in Paris. Dean questions whether PSG will ever win this competition, given the roster of stars that have rotated through the French capital and failed, and Jack is impressed with the way that Borussia Dortmund earned their luck, and also a little bit disappointed with how Luis Enrique managed the game from a PSG perspective in the closing stages. We finish with a little discussion about Kylian Mbappé and how his impending departure might have affected the club as a whole this season, as well as what the future might look like without him in Paris. 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.

8 Maj 202435min

Hello Rank Squad! It's time to go Continental for this week's episode, building a European Team of the Season from the big six leagues on the European mainland. There were a few more teams, players and contenders to analyse compared to last week's Premier League edition, so it's a dig into the depths for Jack to try and build something special from this season's standout stars. We take a look across the Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga, Eredivisie & Primeira Liga to bring you the best 11 we can build based on the performances across the season, trying not to lean too heavily on any one particular team - and there's plenty of discussion and debate as we go. Before that there's an ode to The Bag™️ which has survived its fourth season intact after correctly calling the winners of seven leagues again, and an interesting anecdote on why the Club Brugge-Fiorentina game in the Europa Conference League has been moved to Wednesday; and at the end, Dean asks Jack to help him stop feeling old and explain the basics behind the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef which has dominated the discourse over the weekend. 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.

8 Maj 202455min

Hello Rank Squad!Champions League Takeaway is back to take a look at the first legs of the UCL semi-finals, where we saw Borussia Dortmund 1-0 PSG & Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid. We start with Wednesday’s action, with Dortmund's win. Dean showers some love on Jadon Sancho, who dazzled down the right hand side for Borussia Dortmund - this is the man we loved the last time he was in the Bundesliga; whilst Jack lavishes some praise on Marcel Sabitzer, and discusses the dissection of PSG's midfield, who weren't able to gain any control over proceedings in Germany - as well as giving our thoughts on who progresses next week. Then in Part Two, we take a look at Tuesday – where Real Madrid didn't play brilliantly, and yet came away from Munich with a credible 2-2 draw. Dean puts some more respect on the name of Vinicius Jr., and we discuss whether next season it could be him, rather than Kylian Mbappé, playing in the No. 9 role for Los Blancos. Jack has some nice things to say about Bayern's maestro Jamal Musiala, as well as some thoughts on a good night for Thomas Tuchel and his tactical tinkering - before we discuss who comes out on top in the second leg at the Bernabeu. 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.

1 Maj 202440min

Hello Rank Squad!You've seen the debates raging on Twitter, so we thought it was worth putting our two pennies worth into the mix. Here is our attempt at creating our Premier League Team of the Season, examining the best players across the course of this campaign and working them into a formation (and a unit) that would actually function. We start between the sticks and work our way through to our Number 9 - with Dean and Jack each picking a team and working together to come up with the Official Ranks FC selection together. Before that, Jack waxes lyrical about his trip to Naples to see Napoli, and the overwhelming awe that he found himself in at the city's insatiable appetite for football and it's team, and in Guru Wisdom, we share a new song that was sent in by one of our Patrons for our Friday show - and the plans for Ranks FC over the summer with the European competitions coming up. 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.

1 Maj 202459min

Hello Rank Squad! Just four teams remain in each of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, and so we thought we'd get our competition ranking caps on to discuss which teams are favourites to lift those trophies in their respective competitions at the end of May and the start of June. We start with the Champions League, with Dean examining Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund as contenders to lift the most coveted prize of all amongst the European elite. Are Real Madrid unstoppable? Could Tuchel go out with a bang at Bayern? Will Lucho inspire PSG to overcome their nearly-men tag? Or could BVB spring the ultimate surprise in this pack?Then it's over to the Europa Twins, and Jack takes the reigns, discussing Atalanta BC, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma and Olympique Marseille as candidates to lift the Europa League this season; before turning attentions to the wild baby brother - the Conference League, Europe's newest competition, and looking at Aston Villa, AC Fiorentina, Club Brugge and Olympiacos' chances of winning the prize this year. And finally, Dean take Guru Wisdom control to bring you his latest fitness tips ahead of his move to San Diego this summer, which is a bit of a mind-boggler. 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 Apr 20241h 4min