A tournament straight from the mind of Gianni Infantino is (predictably) a bit of a mess – but is the Club World Cup a totally lost cause, or is there a version of it that might actually work? Pete tells Marcus and Luke why the whole thing reminds him of the bizarre new Sprite and tea combo. Plus, what are the player and club pairings we wish had happened? Come join us to find out! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Brazilian sides cannot be stopped at this Club World Cup thing. Flamengo dispatched Chelsea (while Nicolas Jackson dispatched himself) and who knows what a completely commando Alex Barboza will do next? Marcus, Luke, Jim and Pete analyse the weekend's action and sadly wave goodbye to Ulsan Ultra 4k and those brave boys from Auckland City. If only Pete could get his hands on some kind of commemorative plate to remember them by. Or an oil painting to go up in his local school? Either will do. Plus, Southgate gets rejected by Poland (slugs) and Santi Cazorla continues to restore our faith in football! If you want to see David Moyes' Kremlin doppelgänger, here he is. Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's right! Luke's Game has been restored to its former glory for the summer of 2025.The rules are simple: can you name more clubs a footballer has played for than your opponent? This week Luke is up against Marcus, with Pete officially appointed by PUGMOL as referee. Who's got that fire in their belly and their head frozen solid? Let's find out! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These long summer days. They’re just made for throwing a ball in the backyard with, say, I don’t know... Brad Friedel, aren’t they? Marcus, Luke and Pete haven’t left the studio since Wednesday and it’s just been wall-to-wall Club World Cup throughout: Botafogo beat PSG, Al-Hilal drew with Real Madrid and targeted Trent Alexander-Arnold, and... what? Donald Trump started talking about going to war with the Juventus squad stood behind him in the Oval Office? To quote Kevin De Bruyne: we don’t know the rules anymore. Come join us for all that and much more! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is a special teaser of what you can expect every week on the Football Ramble Patreon! For just $5 a month, you'll get an extended version of every Wednesday episode of the Ramble! It's called Ramble Uncut and it's all the stuff we would be talking about if football wasn't always getting in the way. You'll also hear from fellow Patreon subscribers and receive exclusive insight into what's going on in Pete's garden shed. Oh, and you'll get EVERY Ramble completely ad-free, delivered straight to your podcast app. What's not to like?  Just head to patreon.com/footballramble to subscribe now! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Club World Cup might not be quite tickling our fancy at the moment, but it has meant a new Pitbull song. It’s a remix. And it might have been made in 10 minutes. What’s not to love? But before you stick that on, get a load of Marcus, Luke and Pete, who celebrate Sergio Ramos’ glorious header, Boca Juniors' incredible fans and Fluminense’s 44-year-old keeper (guys, it’s a ‘slightly wee your trousers’ summer). Plus, Marcus makes the mistake of asking Pete: what would you do to Pep Guardiola in a lucid dream? Oh no... Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With increasing scrutiny placed on the likes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and even the United States, we wonder which countries could viably host a World Cup without any of the political or social controversies that have marred recent editions. Is that even possible? Marcus, Jim and Vish also return to our ‘defining figures of the decade’ discourse, turning our attentions to managers this time. Plus: our favourite commentary teams, goalkeepers playing outfield and Premier League managers joining the Ramble! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Never mind freed from desire, can we be freed from... this? The Club World Cup is underway and Marcus, Jim and Vish are here to give it the serious, sage analysis it deserves. Like, did iShowSpeed really tell Sergio Agüero how to do a crossbar challenge? The conditions have obviously already us worried about England next summer, but the goals (and the Can Can music) were flowing for Bayern Munich against unfortunate underdogs Auckland City. Plus, in chaotic developments that we can definitely get behind, Gennaro Gattuso is the new manager of Italy! But will it be rarely good, mostly s**t? Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zidane and Ronaldo in the 2000s. Messi and Ronaldo in the 2010s. But who’s going to define this decade of world football? Marcus, Jim and Andy run through the contenders, from Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal to future four-time Champions League winner Scott McTominay. We also have a cracking discussion about who could succeed Harry Kane as England captain. Has Declan Rice emerged as the favourite? And does Jude Bellingham’s fiery character hurt his chances? Elsewhere, which manager will turn perceptions around next year and what’s the best signature celebration in football history? Apart from Speller at Old Trafford, obviously. Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 years of this daft little podcast. All of it - every last episode - has been for this day to arrive: the fully-formed, gloriously-conceived FIFA Club World Cup! Marcus, Andy, Jim and Pete cast their eyes over the tournament and - shockingly - Pete declares that he's excited. Chris Martin has 'fixed' him, to be fair. Plus, el grande rato speaks Spanish and looks at a trophy at his Real Madrid unveiling, while Santi Cazorla wins our hearts and minds and there's concern about the orientation of new Spurs manager Thomas Frank's eyes. Join us! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are just 364 days until the World Cup kicks off in the Azteca Stadium. It's a good job there's nothing else overshadowing it this time... Marcus, Jim & Vish assess the the runners and riders for the competition in one year's time, and take a look at how England are shaping up twelve months from the tournament. Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Turns out Thomas Tuchel is the bravest boy of all. A 4-4-2 tribute act, even when it doesn’t suit this team or opposition? RULE BRITANNIA! Seriously though, what on Earth was that? Marcus, Jim and Vish try to work out what Tuchel’s plan is after a humbling defeat to an excellent Senegal side, as several England players did themselves no favours. Plus, Crystal Palace and Lyon play out the final scene from Reservoir Dogs, there’s transfers aplenty in Manchester and we somehow find ourselves in the pocket of Big Tuna. Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all remember Jesse Marsch looking a little out of his depth while guiding Leeds United towards Premier League relegation. Well, it seems you can't keep a good man down. Now manager of Canada, he's made some extraordinary suggestions about a potential poisoning of his players. But before that, Marcus, Jim, Pete & Vish discuss Spurs' sacking of Ange Postecoglou with Thomas Frank set to replace him. Poor Alfie Whiteman's had to hand over his big screen. Plus, an England vs Senegal preview! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Portugal have lifted the Nations League once more! Bobby Martínez's boys edged it on penalties in a fighting performance that well and truly puts them in the mix for next summer. Marcus, Vish, Pete and Jim react to that – and England's definitely convincing not at all worrying 1-0 win over Andorra. Elsewhere, it was Slicker by name, not by nature, for Scotland in their 3-1 defeat to Iceland – but on the upside, at least they haven't got David Raya between the sticks. Plus, Jim reveals what he really thinks about Robbie Williams and Pete really wants to visit a poisonous garden.  Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not everyone can be a headline grabber. While the usual suspects have lapped up the plaudits, some have been quietly brilliant in the background – so how about we put them in the Ramble sun? Marcus, Andy & Vish offer up their unsung heroes! Plus, could Chelsea emerge as the 'little horse' for the Premier League title next season? And if we could switch any result in football history, what would we pick? A bit of extra time in this year's Europa League final anyone? Nope, thought not... Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vindication – at last – for Marcus Speller and the Nations League! Spain and France had a nine-goal punch-up last night and what can only be described as an incredibly post-season number of shots (40). Marcus, Jim, Andy and Vish discuss the game and turn their eyes to England's meeting with Andorra tomorrow, who – incidentally – are perhaps the only team in world football who might miss out on qualifying for next summer's 6-week long World Cup (more on that). We also hear about Gianni Infantino using himself as a number nine and narrow down the exact definition of Russell Martin's 'gothball'. Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was another defeat on home soil for Germany and their moustachioed detective Julian Nagelsmann. This time, in the biggest competition of all... Marcus and Luke jump on the mics after a thrilling (well, at least for one man) start to the finals of the Nations League which featured some inspired Bobby Martinez substitutions and what can only be described as a confusingly functional Cristiano Ronaldo up top. Come join us! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**SPOILERS: If you haven't yet listened to yesterday's Jack's Encyclopaedia title decider, go check it out! The start of this episode contains spoilers and rumboggery...** Marcus, Vish, Pete and INTERPOL's most-wanted Jim Campbell discuss Crystal Palace's UEFA dilemma which might require them to just start an entirely new European trophy. Meanwhile, Manchester City might have just signed the next İlkay Gündoğan as their retail therapy continues – but there's also huge news for their red neighbours. Plus, the Nations League returns tonight! We're all excited for that, aren't we? AREN'T WE?! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows, extended Wednesday episodes, access to our Discord and early access to tickets and merch for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s all come down to this, ladies and gents. The grand finale of the greatest quiz in football podcasting! It’s an opportunity for Marcus, Luke or Vish to write themselves into Football Ramble folklore. To become a legend. To prove their worth. To take home the coveted Jack’s Encyclopaedia trophy. It’s all on the line. Let’s be having you! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Low-scoring Inter win, was it? … Wait, what? Marcus, Luke, Jim and Pete recap a truly glorious PSG performance that was basically the emotional equivalent of watching your dad getting beaten up by a runaway freight train. But the performance of the night? Clive Tyldesley seamlessly shepherding IShowSpeed into touch. Class is permanent. After this elaborate warm-up act, we unveil your definitive guide to the biggest prize in sport: the FIFA Club World Cup aka The Gianni Infantino Invitational. Nonsensical qualifying criteria, clumsy financial meddling and boldfaced cronyism: it’s all here! Plus, we get a seismic Carabao update and Oldham Athletic win a chaotic National League play-off final! Please fill out Stak's listener survey! It'll help us learn more about the content you love so we can bring you even more - you'll also be entered into a competition to win one of five PlayStation 5's! Click here: https://bit.ly/staksurvey2025 Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: show@footballramble.com. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: https://www.patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate us on your podcast app. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.