Ranks FC - A Football Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ranking the Champions League Last 8 Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

Club football is back with a bang, and so is the return of the Champions League, which will get to its quarter final stage (or as Sam calls it, 'the best bit in football') next week. We wanted to get the jump on it, looking at each team and ranking them in likelihood of them winning the competition this year - will it be Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Napoli, Milan, Inter, Bayern Munich or Benfica that lifts that famous trophy at the start of June?

It's not the only big European tournament going though - Jack takes us on a quick pitstop of the Europa and Conference League final 8s as well, although it's only his top three to win each of them (and a wildcard to keep an eye on!)

There's a Melon and Shoutout of the Week, returned to full glory this time round, and Sam's Gibberish is provided by his wonderful, long-suffering wife Rach, who gives us her take on the UCL 8-1 ranking.

It's Ranks!

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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?

Ranking This Week's Managerial Madness: Nagelsmann, Tuchel & Conte Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

It's been a week of consternation in the managerial world, from last week's bolt from the blue coming out of Bayern Munich, where Julian Nagelsmann was replaced by Thomas Tuchel in the Bavarian hot seat; whilst on Sunday night news broke that Antonio Conte and Tottenham Hotspur had parted ways also. We start at Spurs, where we discuss what comes next for Tottenham and how Daniel Levy has a plethora of differing options from Mauricio Pochettino to Thomas Frank, to decide how the future of the club looks.

Then we are blessed to be joined by Manuel Veth, German football expert, writer for Forbes and Transfermarkt, and host of the Gegenpressing Podcast; to discuss why Bayern decided that they were going to part ways with Julian Nagelsmann, despite it looking like he was bound to be their project manager for a long time to come, and why Thomas Tuchel's availability forced a quick decision upon the Bayern hierarachy.

Finally, there's a Melon of the Week from Scotland, a disheartening Shoutout Section, and a Gibberish that looks at a missing member of the Ranks FC crew.

It's Ranks!

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Ranking Young Stars Who Could Change European International Football Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

It's the International Break, and so we wanted to take a look at a couple of players who look like they could change their respective nation's fortunes over the coming years. We talk about Turkey's Arda Guler, Ireland's Evan Ferguson, Belgium's Romeo Lavia, Israel's Oscar Gloukh and the big bad wolf himself - Norway's Erling Braut Haaland; to discuss how their skillsets could launch their countries into a new era of success.

There's Things We Love too - where Dean discusses the form of Bukayo Saka, both on and off the pitch; Sam looks at the changing ways different clubs are attempting to avoid relegation in the Premier League; and Jack delves into Sevilla's managerial merry-go-round and the need to be careful what you wish for.

There's a managerial Melon of the Week, and Sam's Gibberish takes a turn for the weird as he compares oven temperatures to footballers.

It's Ranks!

If you're interested in joining us for more over on our Patreon, our free trial is active now so you can get a month's listening to see if it's something you like!

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Champions League Takeaway: High Five for Haaland's City, Dogfight at the Dragão, Real Dispatch Liverpool & Another Nice Neapolitan Night Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

It's time for the Champions League Takeaway - an immediate review of everything that went down in the Champions League this week as we locked in the final four teams in those quarter-final slots. Every matchweek, we're going to be ranking the three key takeaways from each of the games played that week, and looking at the games through that Ranks FC lens, to give you a sense of everything that we learned from each game.

We start with Manchester City's 7-0 demolition of RB Leipzig, looking at Erling Haaland's goalscoring instincts, Leipzig's brave but foolish gameplan, and why City feel like real favourites this year; before taking a dive into Inter's battling 0-0 that saw them progress at the Dragão at the expense of Porto, discussing Inter's defensive solidity for 90 minutes, the chaos of injury time and why Diogo Costa is the real deal.

Then in Part 2, we head for Madrid where Real Madrid finished the job against Liverpool, talking about Trent's tricky time against Vinicius Jr. (again), the aging nature of Liverpool's midfield options, and just how comfortable Real Madrid are in these stages of a stressful competition; before finishing in Naples with Napoli 3-0 Eintracht Frankfurt, looking back at Napoli's incredible defensive effort in the ranks, how the Kolo Muani red card ruined the tie for Eintracht, and why Napoli's ball manipulation around the pitch puts them up there with the best in the world right now.

It's Ranks!

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Scouting, Spain & Snowstorms: Ranks Meets Lee Scott, Chief Scout at Vélez CF Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

Today we have a special guest joining us to provide you with some insights into what actually goes down in the smoke and mirrors world that is scouting - Lee Scott, who is Chief Scout at Vélez CF. Lee has worked with a host of clubs in world football, including his hometown club of Aberdeen, was a co-founder of Total Football Analysis, and has written three books as well, meaning he's amongst the busiest and most broad-ranging minds in the game.

We absolutely loved this episode, and we think you will too!

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Champions League Takeaway: Bayern Burn PSG, Spurs Whimper Out, A Big Win for Potter's Chelsea & Benfica Sink Scotty P Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

It's time for the Champions League Takeaway - an immediate review of everything that went down in the Champions League this week as the first four teams booked their quarter-final slots. Every matchweek, we're going to be ranking the three key takeaways from each of the games played that week, and looking at the games through that Ranks FC lens, to give you a sense of everything that we learned from each game.

We start with Bayern knocking out PSG, looking at the performances of Dayot Upamecano, the insane pace of the game and what the next steps are in Paris; before taking a dive into Spurs' limp 0-0 that saw them exit at the hands of AC Milan, discussing Mike Maignan's influence, the bizarre way in which Spurs let this one dribble away from them, and Harry Kane's future after this display.

Then in Part 2, we head for Lisbon where Benfica dismantled Club Brugge, talking about Gonçalo Ramos' development into a complete No. 9, the disaster that was Scott Parker's time in Belgium, and a remarkable season for João Mario; before finishing at Stamford Bridge, where we talk some mesmerising individual displays from Havertz, Chilwell and Cucurella, how Dortmund let the tie slip from their hands, and the penalty landscape in which we now reside.

It's Ranks!

If you want to take advantage of our free trial going on on Patreon right now, why not join us at patreon.com/ranksfc?

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Ranking Players Who Define Their Leagues Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

We're going a little bit abstract this week, to think about what defines each of Europe's Top 5 leagues in their current state, and then try to apply that criteria to work out which player (currently in the league) best represents that league right now. We take a trip through the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, the Premier League and Ligue 1 to find those who carry the spirit of the leagues within their own games.

Things We Love discusses the madness enveloping top teams beating each other at the summit of European football, looks at two players considering switching their national allegiance to Spain, and talks briefly about Fiorentina's much-needed resurgence as we get to the sharp end of the season.

There's a Melon of the Week straight out of the red mist playbook, a food-themed Shoutout of the Week, and Gibberish discusses the shock events that went down at Jack's birthday at the weekend.

It's Ranks!

If you want to take advantage of our free trial going on on Patreon right now, why not join us at patreon.com/ranksfc?

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Monday Postbox Teaser: Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Hey Rank Squad!

As we’re no doubt sure you heard on last week’s episode, we’ve opened 1-month free trials for our Patreon in March. That means you can sign up for nothing and sample what we do over there, enjoying 2 extra episodes a week and getting a real sense of the community and togetherness we’ve built.

This episode is a 15-minute snippet of our traditional Monday Postbox episode, where we react to the weekend’s football and let Patron questions guide the flow of the conversation. If you enjoy it and want to hear the rest, please head over to www.patreon.com/ranksfc and scoop a free trial!

We look forward to seeing you over there!

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Ranking Burning Questions That Will Shape The End Of This Season Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

It's that time again, and we're mixing things up this week! With the media's attention firmly locked on the PL title race, the Champions League and an imminent El Clasico, we wanted to explore some big storylines perhaps sliding under the radar. So Sam's set Dean & Jack to work on five big questions left across Europe - who will be the worst team across the Top 5 leagues, which team will come out on top in the Eredivisie title race, at what point Napoli will start to rotate their squad a bit more, whether Fulham can actually qualify for Europe, and if Dortmund will ever drop points again (and what that means for the Bundesliga title)!

Things We Love touches on Manchester United's win in the Carabao Cup Final, and how Harry Maguire would have felt; Nashville SC's performance in their opening game of MLS regular season; and a beautiful gesture in the game between Besiktas and Atalanyaspor in Turkey.

There's a Melon of the Week straight of out Austin, Texas; and Sam proposes a game that's been doing the rounds on social media for this week's Gibberish.

It's Ranks!

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UCL Review: Real Thump Liverpool, Napoli Sail On, Leipzig Hold City & Inter Edge Porto Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

Hello Rank Squad!

Our new show is back for Round 2 - an immediate review of everything that went down in the Champions League this week as we finished off the first legs in the Round of 16. Every matchweek, we're going to be ranking the three key takeaways from each of the games played that week, and looking at the games through that Ranks FC lense, to give you a sense of everything that we learned from each game.

We start with Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid, talking Vinicius Jr. shining, Luka Modric running the midfield and why goalkeeping mistakes are more common now; then head to Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Napoli to put some respect on Chucky Lozano's name, look at how Kvicha Kvaratshkhelia channeling Francesco Totti and touch on why Kevin Trapp has kept this tie (sort of) alive in Part 1.

Then in Part 2, we dive into RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City where City got punished for not killing the game, Leipzig bizarrely refused to have a strategy in the first half and Pep didn't make any substitutions again; before finishing with Inter 1-0 Porto where crossing finally paid off for the hosts, Matheus Uribe put in a masterclass in the middle, and Porto toughed out the trip to set up a thrilling second leg.

It's Ranks!

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