Champions League Takeaway: Chelsea's Young Guns Fire, Liverpool Bite Back, Spurs Struggle & Real Madrid Eke It

France Football have finally moved their glittering Golden Ball award to a sensible position in the football calendar - given out after the season is over, rather than trying to piece together two separate ones in an annual award. It might be in the one year it made sense to keep it in December (hello Winter World Cup) but ultimately, we're fans of progress, however it comes. Sam ranks the top five players in the running for the award right now, from a Frenchman lighting it up in Germany and an old-timer with a vengeance mission, to an Egyptian King and a smooth Los Blancos vintage.Things We Love sees Dean talking about Aaron Ramsdale, and a discussion around whether or not he takes England's No. 1 shirt ahead of the World Cup later this year; Sam discussing the impact of Torino's Gleison Bremer and where his next steps are; and Jack seeing the live emergence of a new Octopus at Real Betis this weekend - shouts out Paul Akouokou.There's also room for Melon of the Week and a slightly heated debate about the scenes that went down at the Parc des Princes this weekend, whilst in the Gibberish, Jack goes completely off piste about his favourite food. 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.

16 Mars 20221h 1min

The No. 6. The pivot. The volante. The trinco. Defensive midfielders come in many shapes and sizes, but they've become perhaps the hottest property in the game behind an elite goalscorer, because the elite ones are so rare and are often the difference between the best and the rest - just ask Manchester United.Today, we took a look at those at the top of the pile - the top five defensive midfielders plying their trade right now, and in the process, had a deep think about what the role actually entails. There's some time to think about who might be the next generation starting to make their mark here as well.On top of that, there's Things We Love, where Dean discusses Kai Havertz's recent glorious form as Chelsea's out-and-out centre-forward; Sam talks about Roberto Carlos playing for a Sunday League side in Shropshire (off the bench!) and Jack waxes lyrical about Mikel Arteta's Arsenal being in the ascendancy, and their youthful vigour paying off.There's a Melon of the Week for a certain Everton defender, we announce the winner of the Porto kit competition, and the Gibberish is all about living on a building site. 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.

9 Mars 20221h 4min

Hello Rank Squad!This week, Leeds finally ended what has been a glorious time in the club's history - the stewardship of Marcelo Bielsa - with the club languishing dangerously above the Premier League relegation zone. It was a sad day for many Leeds fans, even if the change was perhaps necessary for sustaining their top-flight tenure.We're joined by Leeds fan and podcaster Jon Mackenzie, who talks us through five lessons that he has learned from having the Argentine football philosopher in charge of his club - and why the bond between Bielsa and the Elland Road faithful was so strong. There's positives, negatives, and everything in between.Bielsa has been succeeded by Jesse Marsch, once of RB Salzburg and more recently, of RB Leipzig. Our friend, and German football expert, Jasmine Baba, pops by to talk about what the American will bring to the dugout and how things might look for Leeds going forward.There's also Things We Love, where Jack talks about Caoimhin Kelleher's performance in the Carabao Cup Final and his new place on a Liverpool Wall of Fame; whilst Dean discusses Carlos Vela's out-of-this-world return to LAFC as MLS stormed back onto the stage. There's a Melon of the Week too, and Jack takes over for an impromptu Gibberish. 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.

2 Mars 20221h 7min

We're heading towards the final stretch of the domestic seasons, with just under three months to go until it's all wrapped up - which means that title races are starting to enter their final forms, and that's really exciting! Sam takes a look at the title races across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and England to determine where the drama lies as we get to that home straight.It's controversial, to say the least - or at least it is in Jack's eyes. But that's the joy of this game - whether you're after a multiple team chase with points being dropped everywhere and chaos reigning, a two-horse race with each pushing the other to new levels of brilliance, or a chase of a multiple-title winning behemoth by a brave underdog, there's something for you here.Before that Things We Love covers MLS restarting this weekend, the belated brilliance of Cesar Azpilicueta's captaincy in the Club World Cup Final, and the Europa League returning with it's usual madness; whilst there's a special double Melon being handed out, and a Gibberish encompassing the return to offices happening across the world. 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.

23 Feb 20221h

Hello Rank Squad!Welcome to a very special episode of Ranks, in association with New Balance! This weekend we ventured to Porto to take in O Classico at the Estadio do Dragão - Porto vs. Sporting in a clash with crucial implications at the top of the Primeira table. A win for Porto would see them all but clinch the title, whilst a Sporting win would close things right up in the title race. In a game which had everything - four goals, five red cards and an atmosphere right up there with the best in the world, we put down the things we learned from our adventure.From the invincible city to the Dragão itself, from the youngsters on display to Sporting's resilience, from Coates to the absence of Luis Díaz, we discuss it all - and we're also joined by Marino Peixoto, football journalist and Portuguese enthusiast, to look at it from a more general perspective at the end.Oh, and there's a very special competition in association with New Balance as well. It's all very exciting.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.

16 Feb 202259min

Welcome back to the Champions League, which returns with a vengeance next Tuesday! Ahead of a massive two weeks of fixtures, we take a stock check of every team left in the competition - comparing it to where they stood at the end of the Group Stages. There are some climbers, some fallers, and some big guns who are just motoring along - but everyone is looked at here.Things We Love takes us through a magical weekend of FA Cup upsets and storylines, Senegal's mighty triumph in the AFCON Final and the ensuing celebrations, and a 'Green-off' in Serie A on Monday night which included two magnificent free-kicks.There's a moment for Melon of the Week too, live and direct from Old Trafford; whilst Sam's Gibberish takes us to 'Things He Just Doesn't Understand'. We curtailed it, I promise.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.

9 Feb 202251min

Hello Rank Squad!In our traditional first episode post any window we're taking a look at our five favourite deals of the window, which in this particular January, has been heavily skewed by South Americans moving around Europe! From Colombian tricksters swapping Porto for Merseyside, to Uruguayan registas making moves from Turin to Tottenham; and from long-term gems joining in summer moves to those we think will be making immediate impacts - we discussed it all here!Things We Love includes Jack waxing lyrical about just how amazing Sunderland Fan TV was on deadline day, where they were the ones breaking news; Dean talks about Fabio Carvalho's move to Liverpool falling through and about smaller clubs holding out for the valuations they believe are fair; and Sam discusses the Canada MNT and how brilliant they have been in this year's CONCACAF qualification.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.

2 Feb 20221h 1min

We're coming to the end of the transfer window, Rank Squad; and so we're taking a look at the biggest names and clubs who still have plenty of work to do. We start at Spurs, who are looking to shift on three players and bring a couple in, before heading to Manchester United. Martial might have gone, but Van de Beek and Henderson are still looking for new homes, whilst Jesse Lingard is a man in demand.Newcastle are on the hunt for anybody who could help them survive, and we discuss their approaches, whilst Dusan Vlahovic's probable move to Juventus might free up a whole domino chain of late switches across Europe - perhaps most interestingly, for Arsenal, who also wanted him earlier in the window.We also discuss three players who need a move desperately - a Moroccan wideman in Seville, a former Barcelona starboy struggling for minutes under Mourinho, and Inter's backup CDM who could almost certainly start for 15+ teams in Serie A.Things We Love focuses on Roy Hodgson's return to management at Watford (and a homecoming for his assistant Ray Lewington), Dortmund & Leipzig both on the charge in the Bundesliga, and Comoros' performance in the AFCON Round of 16 which won hearts all over the world, if not a place in the quarter-finals.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.

26 Jan 20221h 11min