Ranks FC - A Football Podcast

Hello Rank Squad!
After the thrills and spills of the international break, and after plenty of fun and excitement both on and off the pitch, top flight club football returns with a vengeance this weekend, and today we're taking a look at what we have to look forward to from players, fixtures and storylines that will define these next few weeks.
Dean starts us off by picking out a few players who have underwhelmed somewhat in the opening weeks of the season, who might just be able to use this international break as a springboard to kickstart their club form into gear - we take a look at Viktor Gyökeres, Florian Wirtz, Sandro Tonali, Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana in particular.
Then, in Part Two, Dean talks us through two of the biggest matchups in the Premier League this weekend - for very different reasons. We dive into the off-pitch chaos that might engulf the battle at Anfield between Liverpool and Manchester City, off the back of the City verdict handed down during the last two weeks or so; but we also discuss a crucial clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in a game, we are reliably informed, that is being called the 'L' Clasico on social media.
Finally, in Part Three, Jack picks out three questions from the continent which need answering in this next chunk of the season - we discuss the scale of the task on Jose Mourinho's hands at Real Madrid, whether title races are sustainable in France and Germany - where Monaco and Borussia Dortmund lead the way, ahead of PSG and Bayern respectively - and if Roma's excellent start is a mere flash in the pan or a prelude to them competing for what would be their first Scudetto in a quarter of a century.
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?

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Hello Rank Squad!
In all truth, this isn't really an episode we wanted to be doing this week - we love talking about the beautiful game, and seeing the best players in the world do what they do best, and neither of us is going to sit here and pretend to be an expert in football litigation and financial matters, although Jack will always do the reading. But after Manchester City were found guilty by the Premier League's independent commission of 114 of the 115 charges levelled against them, it felt wrong to really do anything else. This is perhaps the most seismic piece of football news that we've seen in many a long year.
We've tried to do it the Ranks way - looking at the big questions that follow such a landmark decision. What happens next in the process? How do the appeal mechanisms work? What could the punishment feasibly be based on other cases? Is this financial system actually fit for purpose? Could there be a mass exodus? What is the institutional damage to the Premier League's reputation? And what the hell happens when City walk out at Anfield for that first game back?
We've tried to work through it all as best we can, and deal with an incredibly complex situation with the seriousness it deserves, whilst attempting not to bore you to death with litigation jargon - fingers crossed! It's (sorta) 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?

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Hello Rank Squad!
It's the beginning of the first ever three week international break in the middle of a season, so it felt like a good time to give you the down low on what you should be watching as we turn over the first page in the new international chapter after the summer's World Cup. We talk through some of the biggest storylines, including the USMNT's youth injection, France and Germany's new starts under Zinedine Zidane and Jürgen Klopp respectively, Roberto Mancini's return to the Italian National Team, Lionel Messi's farewell game with Argentina, England starting over with Tuchel, and the start of AFCON 2027 qualification for good measure.
Jack also has a list of games for you to keep an eye on in Part Three; and before all that, in the opening gambit, there's the return of Things We Love where we discuss Hull City's start, the Premier League's parity, goals in all the Serie A games, Roma's hot start, and Barcelona's fluid, flowing, fun attack.
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?

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Hello Rank Squad!
There's a lot of negativity being thrown around at the moment in the football space (and much of it justifiably so), but today we thought we'd try and flip that narrative a little bit by picking out our star performers from across the season so far, and bring a little positive energy to the sphere whilst we're doing so.
We pick out five of the best from the Premier League and the European continent in Parts One and Two (with some honourable mentions for good measure), and whilst we're very much aware that everybody's subjective lists will be different - as the two of ours would be - we hope that we've made good cases for the players we've picked out as lighting up the beautiful game in what we've seen so far.
Then, in Part Three, Jack walks us through a couple of other names who maybe haven't quite made it as far onto the mainstream radar as the bigger names selected in the first two segments, and who might not keep this up for an entire season, but are worth keeping an eye on nonetheless - because they've had their own phenomenal starts to the new campaign, and might be ones we're talking about when it comes to next summer or beyond.
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?

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Hello Rank Squad!
Three days of Champions League action are now all wrapped up, and what an night we had on Thursday to pull it to a close for around a month - consider the appetite firmly whetted! We start at Old Trafford, where Manchester United were expected to beat newcomers Sabah pretty comfortably, and they did - scoring four without reply to give themselves a much needed confidence booster and get some minutes into the legs of some squad players too.
Over in Italy, on the shores of the lake, Como were making their European debut and they did so in style, beating Leipzig 4-1 in front of a manic crowd, and playing some glorious football whilst they did so - Cesc Fabregas' young team were absolutely exceptional, and once Martin Baturina set them on their way, they looked very comfortable under the brightest of lights.
In Part Two, we take a look at the rest of the action - Bayern sticking five past last year's fairytale club, Bodø/Glimt, but only once goalkeeper Nikita Haikin picked up an unfortunate injury just before half time; Slavia Prague and Lens playing out one of the most madcap games you'll see all year, with the French visitors stealing all three points at the death in a crazy 3-2; Fenerbahce and Roma sharing the spoils in Istanbul, and then the Fener manager quitting in his post-match press conference; and Sergiño Dest at the heart of all the drama as PSV and Shakhtar drew 1-1 in Eindhoven. And breathe...
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?

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