The MLS 2025 Season Preview Show

It's time for The Truth!Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at Real Madrid, and where things have gone wrong for them over the past couple of months. The perennial Champions League winners are out of the competition they love most, are currently second in La Liga to Barcelona, and whilst they are in a Copa del Rey final, they face off against Barça there too - who they've routinely struggled to contain all season long. We examine the hand that Carlo has been dealt - with squad building and injuries playing a key role - and question whether it's his fault that this squad stacked full of talent just isn't clicking right now. We also take a look at the potential contenders to succeed him, as well as what might be next on the agenda for Ancelotti if he does depart the Bernabeu this summer.  Has Carlo been given an impossible hand to play, or is he justifiably at fault for the struggles of his team this year? Well, 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.

18 Apr 41min

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for this week's second Champions League Takeaway - looking back at Wednesday's Quarter Final second legs, where Arsenal and Inter were able to maintain their first leg advantages to progress to the semi-finals, but in very different circumstances. Dean is back in San Diego and back in the booth, so we start with Arsenal winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu to knock out the holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate, reaching their first semi-final since 2009 in the process, and starting what could be a long period of self-reflection for Los Blancos. It was a game full of drama, but one which Arsenal controlled, and they were worthy winners both on the night and over the two legs. Then in Part Two, we head to San Siro, where a full-blooded, full-throttle affair between Inter and Bayern Munich ended in a 2-2 draw, sending Inter through to the final four with a 4-3 aggregate win. We explore why Inter are so good at getting back up when they've been punched, and how their experience in the dugout helped them see out this tie with another very impressive performance both defensively and offensively. 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.

16 Apr 49min

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for this week's first Champions League Takeaway - looking back at Tuesday's Quarter Final second legs, where both PSG and Barcelona emerged with qualification intact, but with their reputations bruised and having been handed on-the-night losses by Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund, who were both excellent. In the absence of Dean, who is flying back to San Diego, Jack is joined by football podcast royalty in Mike Zimmermann - to talk through both of the games and discuss the ramifications in more detail. We start with Aston Villa's impressive 3-2 win over PSG, where the Parisien favourites were given an almighty scare in the second half by Unai Emery's charges, who managed to break free of PSG's impressive counter-attacking hold after the break, going hell for leather and finding themselves some Gigi Donnarumma magic away from taking Luis Enrique's men to extra time. Then in Part Two, we head to the Westfalenstadion, where Dortmund had very little to lose, but managed to expose the Barcelona high line enough to give the Yellow Wall plenty to shout about. Serhou Guirassy's hat-trick had Barça very worried for a time, and although the Catalans progressed, they were subjected to defeat in a single game for the first time in 2025.  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.

16 Apr 47min

It's time for The Truth!Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at Chelsea, and a slide in form since the turn of the year that has seen them slide from second in the table to being on the brink of falling out of the Champions League places. So what has happened in 2025 to Enzo Maresca's side, and where has the form that saw them exceed all pre-season expectations gone to?We discuss the squad building and some of the quizzical decisions to let players go in January, the fact that Enzo Maresca's Leicester side had a similar second-half slump in the Championship last year, the lack of experience on the pitch in this squad, the injuries that have hurt Chelsea in key areas, the current style being at odds and loads more as we try to get to the bottom of it. Are Chelsea balancing the squad wrong and has Maresca got them in a spin, or is this just a dip in form that they'll come out of the other side of? Well, 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.

11 Apr 48min

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for this week's second Champions League Takeaway - looking back at Wednesday's Quarter Final first legs, where PSG roared back from 1-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-1 and Barcelona romped to yet another astounding win, routinely dismantling a discombobulated Dortmund 4-0. We start with PSG and wonder if anybody could have held up against the power of their attacking might last night - looking at the emergence of Desire Doué as a bona-fide starter and wonderkid, as well as the devastating directness of Kvicha Kvaratskhelia - before going a bit deeper into a discussion of how Luis Enrique has moulded this club to one in his own image - where the team comes first, but individual brilliance is actively encouraged as well. Then in Part Two it's time to head to Catalunya, to take a deep dive into how Barcelona pretty much killed this tie stone dead in the first leg, breaking a host of records in the process. All three of the front line of Raphinha (controversially), Lamine Yamal, and Robert Lewandowski were on the scoresheet - with Lewy making it 29 goals in 28 games against Dortmund since leaving them in 2014. Ouch. 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.

10 Apr 47min

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for Champions League Takeaway, your late night delivery following the action - looking back at Tuesday's Quarter Finals, where Arsenal blew away Real Madrid in a stunning second half at the Emirates, whilst Inter dispatched Bayern with ruthless efficiency on German soil. We start with the man of the hour - Declan Rice - whose two unbelievable free-kicks handed Arsenal the lead in their tie against Real, putting the Gunners on their way to a 3-0 win that even the most ardent Gooner wouldn't have seen coming. Looking at the game as a whole, we discuss where Arsenal got things right, where Real Madrid got things wrong, the second leg at the Bernabeu, and loads more. Then in Part Two it's time to head to Bavaria to discuss Inter beating Bayern 2-1 at the Allianz, thanks to some clinical finishing from them, some profligate moments from their opponents, and a chaotic ending that saw a goal at each end in the closing two minutes of normal time. 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.

9 Apr 46min

It's time for The Truth!Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at Arsenal and in particular, a big reshuffle in the boardroom that has seen Andrea Berta succeed Edu Gaspar as their Sporting Director. Berta was formerly at Atletico Madrid, forming a (mostly) impressive team with Diego Simeone, and also previously worked at Genoa and Parma in his native Italy. We examine what his record was at Atleti in terms of overseeing signings, discuss which positions and players Arsenal may look to in the summer under his stewardship, and scrutinise how the Manager-SD relationship works at Arsenal in particular with Mikel Arteta. There's a little bit of time too to examine the role of a Sporting Director in the modern game, and look at exactly what falls under their remit, before we round things off. So, is this the appointment that helps steer Arsenal through that final step where they lift a Premier League trophy? Will he mesh with what Arteta wants and needs on the pitch? Or is this simply background shuffles that bark louder than they actually bite? Well, 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.

4 Apr 46min

Hello Rank Squad! Dean's back in London, so it's less of a Transatlantic Job this week, but that doesn't mean there's not still plenty to discuss. Today, we're looking at the Champions League Quarter Finalists, but in a slightly different way - examining who the most important player is for each of the eight teams remaining in the competition, from the perspectives of how they've played so far, as well as who is most likely to step up going forward. We take the eight teams in turn ahead of their QF matchups, thinking about star performers across the course of the competition, but also about which player their opposition would remove from these games if they were given a choice to do so - giving us some interesting names and discussions around how we rank players in systems. We finish by trying to pick a top three each, but we found that was a harder task than either of us envisaged to begin with! 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.

2 Apr 1h 11min