Newcastle United are in the middle of a takeover which, if completed, will see them become the richest club in England, by some distance. But you can't just wave a magic wand and create a brand new club in one go, so we thought we'd put together a blueprint-not just for Newcastle, but for any club who suddenly find themselves mega rich, and want to spend it wisely. This is what the #RankSquad came up with...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Apr 29, 2020•58 min
It's NFL Draft week and we wanted to get involved in the fun, so we thought we'd set up the inaugural #RanksDraft. We got an old friend of the Rank Squad, Jimmy Conrad, on the phone; and we got ourselves a draft order and picked our World XI's to face off against each other when football resumes. It's chaos, and it's all sorts of fun-and you should play with your mates too. If you do, let us know using #RanksDraft on Twitter and Instagram!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Lear...
Apr 22, 2020•53 min
There are great players, and then there are the greatest players ever. Loads of them have never won football's most prestigious individual award, however. We look at five of those greats who never held up that Golden Ball, look at why it never happened for them and consider when it might have done. This is B/R Football Ranks, putting football back in the right order.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 15, 2020•55 min
There have been 10 transfers in football history that have cost more than €100 million. You know the names. Neymar. Ronaldo. Griezmann. Hazard. Pogba. Dembele. Coutinho. Mbappe. Bale. Felix. There's discussion, disagreements and drama, as we take Sam's ranking to task over his placements. This is B/R Football Ranks, doing what we do best.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 08, 2020•1 hr 8 min
Gianni Infantino dropped us a message this morning asking us to play out what we thought would happen in this year's UCL. Not wanting to let the big boys down, we obliged, talking through every tie left, including a live draw for the quarter and semi-finals, to work out who should be crowned Champions of Europe right now. It wasn't easy. There's tough decisions to be made about the fate of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, we discuss whether Atalanta's fairytale sparkle could take them al...
Apr 01, 2020•58 min
Lockdown and isolation meant one thing-the chance to sit down and forensically analyse the biggest football debate of our time. The Rank Squad looked at ten categories to compare the two men who have dominated the stage at the Ballon d'Or and beyond for 12 years and counting: Aesthetics, Physicality, Skill, Finishing, Creativity, Teamwork, Penalties, Free Kicks, Adaptability and Clutch Moments. From there, it's up to you. With no football taking place, we threw Hot Takes to you, and you told us ...
Mar 25, 2020•1 hr
These are strange times, and without football to comment on every hour of every day, what do you do as a football fan with your waking hours? Luckily, the #RankSquad are here to help, with an episode that promises to highlight the best of football books, films, documentaries, classic games, video games, and podcasts to keep you occupied during this barren spell. There's also some words of advice from some old friends of the Rank Squad - Alexis from The Cooligans, comedian Rhys James, former USMN...
Mar 18, 2020•46 min
The Premier League Hall of Fame inducts its first two members later this month and ahead of that celebration, we decided to try and work out exactly who those players should be. The Rank Squad were joined by Miguel Delaney, Chief Football Writer at The Independent, to work through the top 10 players he would place into the Hall of Fame - the only caveats were that only their PL games counted, and that they had to have retired. It made for some interesting results... Need, Want, Love gave us a di...
Mar 11, 2020•59 min
Change can be a good thing, especially in the world of football. The Rank Squad were joined by Harry Brooks, football coach at Round World Royals, to talk about the professional players he coaches, and the superstars-in-waiting who could do with a change of position or system to really unlock their potential. We talk about some of the most exciting wonderkids coming through, why he thinks Liverpool selling Mo Salah might be a sensible option this summer and a host of other tactical bits. Hot Tak...
Mar 04, 2020•1 hr
It's one of the biggest games on the planet and it takes place this weekend - El Clasico: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, Castilia vs. Catalunya, at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. Not only that, but it's got a title in the balance - before it kicks off, Barcelona sit two points clear of their great rivals at the summit of La Liga, but will they open up the gap under new boss Quique Setien or will Los Blancos swing things back in their favour. The Rank Squad, including Sam Tighe live and direct ...
Feb 26, 2020•55 min
Knockout competitions are one thing, but it's league titles that show a team's supremacy best over the course of a longer period. Football writer Tom Williams joined Dean and Sam to talk through how Europe's finest teams this season would get on if they were in a 20-team, 38-game season; and who would come out on top. There's plenty of debate and disagreement as Sam places teams from across the continent from 1 to 20, and who doesn't even make the cut. It's another 10-minute special for Roulette...
Feb 19, 2020•1 hr
Fantasy PL is one of our favourite things, but it provides some real pain to us all on a regular basis. The latest member of the Rank Squad is Rambo, host of the Premier League's official FPL YouTube show, 'FPL FYI', who joins us to discuss some of the worst things that can happen to you as an FPL manager. We start, as ever, with Hot Takes. We discuss Manchester City's rebuild as Dean gives us the lowdown on City's transfer targets for the summer; revisit our interview with Bayern's Alphonso Dav...
Feb 12, 2020•57 min
Liverpool have taken 100 points out of the last 102 available in the Premier League. They have lost 2 games this season, one of which was whilst playing a youth team. This team, frankly, looks unstoppable. But can they be halted in their tracks by a team who they have still to play? We take a look at how teams should set up to try and best the Champions-in-waiting. We start, as ever, with Hot Takes. We discuss whether Real Madrid are potentially the most long-term prepared team in Europe, if Spu...
Feb 05, 2020•59 min
Which clubs are in trouble as the window draws to a close? The Rank Squad take a look at some of the teams across Europe who look right now that they might have some real problems going into the second half of the season, from those desperately in need of signings, to those desperately in need of some leadership, to those desperately in need of a soul. Hot Takes includes a discussion on Josip Ilicic, the man on fire in Europe right now; where Krzysztof Piątek could end up if he leaves the red an...
Jan 29, 2020•59 min
It's the January Transfer Window and to many that means wasted money, desperate bids, and deadline day madness - but it doesn't have to be so! Jack, Dean and Sam take a look at some of the best January transfers to go down in recent years, from those who have flipped a huge profit on sensible recruits, to the players who have gone on to be the bedrock of their teams, leading them to new heights and glories. We start with a good old game of Who Am I? Before launching into Hot Takes, where we disc...
Jan 22, 2020•54 min
Barcelona have themselves a new manager, Quique Setien, and he's a man well liked around these parts. Sam Tighe and Jack Collins give you the lowdown on what to expect from the new man in the Nou Camp hot seat and how he'll impose his style of play on a side who many feel have not reached their potential under Erneste Valverde. Our favourite comedian, Rhys James, joins us for his hat-trick appearance on the show, and as a Tottenham fan, we give him a therapy session on how he has coped with adju...
Jan 15, 2020•54 min
New Year, New Predictions. With a new calendar on the go, Sam Tighe, Dean Jones and Jack Collins take a look to the 12 months ahead to see what the big stories are going to be. We talk Gabriel Martinelli's rise to stardom, whether Leeds can return to the big time in England, Kylian Mbappe's goalscoring feats, Kalidou Koulibaly's future and who will be lifting the Champions League trophy in May. In a revamped Hot Takes, we discuss James Maddison's future amid speculation Manchester United have ma...
Jan 08, 2020•59 min
Happy New Year Rank Squad! We're back for 2020 with a corker, a Dean Jones special ranking of the five biggest transfer storylines that you'll hear in this January Window. We discuss Christian Eriksen, Gareth Bale, Lucas Paqueta, Edinson Cavani, Wilfried Zaha and Jadon Sancho and where their respective futures may lie. Hot Takes are renamed Haaland Takes for one week only as we look at Dortmund's new signing, working out whether he's made the right move, if the price tags add up and if his arriv...
Jan 01, 2020•59 min
We're at the half-way point in the Italian season, the famous Winter Break, and it couldn't be any tighter at the top-with Maurizio Sarri's Juventus and Antonio Conte's Inter locked in a two-way tussle for the Scudetto, inseparable on 42 points. We decided it was a good time to look back at the season so far, and to do so, we brought back our Calcio expert, Bleacher Report's very own Alex McGovern, to talk all things Italian football. We discussed the ups and downs of 2019/20 so far, including t...
Dec 29, 2019•34 min
Meet David Olaoye, the 23-year-old from London who is writing his name into the history books in a way different to any other. Leaving the English lower leagues at just 17, David has travelled a career path all his own, that has taken him from Greece to Slovakia to Norway, via Argentina, where he became the first Englishmen to ever play professionally in the country. David talks us through his maddest stories, his career so far, and his hopes for the future; as well as the experiences he's had a...
Dec 27, 2019•39 min
Merry Christmas Rank Squad! It's B/R Football Ranks in a festive football feast, ranking everything from our favourite Christmas songs to the best seasonal chants, and at a special time of year, we thought we'd gift you with two very special interviews from this season. First up, Slovakia international, Fiorentina and Sparta Prague defender David Hancko - real life member of the Rank Squad and listener to the podcast - dropped by to talk with us about his football influences, talking about Steve...
Dec 25, 2019•45 min
The Champions League round of 16 is set and it's one of the most exciting rounds we've seen in years, so we ranked it! Stu Holden, B/R's lead analyst on our Champions League show and former US international, joined the Rank Squad to discuss potential upsets, ties that most caught our eye and everything else UCL related. It's also the end of the decade, which is kind of wild, so we looked back across the last ten years and put together our XI of the decade, the players that have most impressed us...
Dec 18, 2019•58 min
Have you ever wondered where you should go, and where you should avoid, on a European football tour? Wonder no longer! The man who literally wrote the book on touring European football, Matt Walker, joined Jack Collins, Sam Tighe and Dean Jones to explore some of the best stories and locations he'd visited. We asked him about the best atmospheres he visited, the coolest stadiums he encountered, the biggest clubs that hosted him and the scariest things he witnessed, amongst a general tour of all ...
Dec 11, 2019•58 min
Leo Messi might have won the Ballon d'Or but the big question still remains - does Virgil van Dijk wear aftershave on the football pitch? Sam Tighe (@brsamtighe) and Dean Jones (@deanjonesbr) went to the Ballon d'Or to find out, and they join host Jack Collins (@jjwc) to reflect on a night full of awards, including a record sixth title for King Leo. We also spoke to Yashin Award winner and Goalkeeper of the Year, Alisson Becker; and Kopa Trophy Under-21 Player of the Year winner Matthijs De Ligt...
Dec 04, 2019•48 min
We went to Unai Emery's last game in charge of Arsenal to see just how bad things had got at the Emirates. It was about as bad as we expected, and this morning Emery was finally shown the exit door, leaving Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg in the dugout for the foreseeable future. We discuss the things he has to do to steady the ship, before talking about some managers that would be a perfect fit for Arsenal, and the players they should be looking to sign in January. It's back to the road then, ...
Nov 29, 2019•43 min
Jose Mourinho took charge of his first home game of his Tottenham tenure on Tuesday, coming back from 0-2 down to beat Olympiacos 4-2 in the Champions League. Jack Collins and Dean Jones went out on the ground to find out how Spurs fans are feeling about their new manager, their old manager, signings, systems, the winning mentality and whether trophies are on the way - and documented a thrilling game of football whilst they were at it. Hot Takes this week is replaced by Burning Questions, where ...
Nov 27, 2019•57 min
Spurs pull the trigger on Poch and replace him with Jose Mourinho, in a twist that few saw coming. Sam Tighe (@brsamtighe) and Dean Jones (@deanjonesbr) join host Jack Collins (@jjwc) to reflect on one of the biggest news stories of the year, examining why it happened and whether Mourinho is set up to succeed or fail in his new role. Then, with the International break done and dusted, we take a look at EURO 2020, and rank the five teams who are best placed to win UEFA's showpiece event next summ...
Nov 20, 2019•56 min
It's the big international break and so it feels like the right time to look back and assess the season so far! Sam Tighe (@brsamtighe) and Dean Jones (@deanjonesbr) join host Jack Collins (@jjwc) to take a look at the the whole 2019/20 club season in Europe, talking through: -Best clubs domestically (06:46) -Melons of the season up to now (10:50) -Standout players (15:14) -Surprise packages you need to watch (19:39) -Best teams in the Champions League (28:57) Roulette has an international theme...
Nov 13, 2019•54 min
Liverpool are six points clear at the top of the Premier League and flying ahead of the visit of closest challengers Manchester City. Is this finally their year, and can they prove it this weekend (02:46)? Sam Tighe, Dean Jones and Jack Collins are joined by John Gibbons of The Anfield Wrap to take a deep dive on Liverpool. We discuss Liverpool's MVP's (09:11), the opponents they want to beat most (13:17), as well as three key reasons they could win (16:04) and lose (17:35) this weekend. That's ...
Nov 06, 2019•57 min
There's a lot of pressure on the managers at some of Europe's top clubs right now - some justified, and some less so. Sam Tighe (@brsamtighe) and Dean Jones (@deanjonesbr) join host Jack Collins (@jjwc) to take a look at the coaches in the firing line and whether their clubs should stick or twist with Unai Emery (21:25), Mauricio Pochettino (27:39), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (32:21), Ernesto Valverde (36:17), and Zinedine Zidane (41:22). Hot Takes this week involve a discussion of whether Arsenal fan...
Oct 30, 2019•58 min
