It's time for The Truth!

For the last time this season, Sam and Dougie convene in the studio to record, and for the season finale, they're looking back at the first year of the podcast - what they got right, what they got wrong, and some of the best bits as well.

Picking for each other, the boys choose a Best Take, Worst Take, Most Enlightening Take and Most Surprising Take from the year just gone, and analyse them with the huge added benefit of hindsight - as well as a hint of some justification.

Before that, we have a chat about Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League, and Aston Villa's failure to secure Champions League football, as we finish up what's been a magnificent first year for the podcast.

How did the boys do? Well, as ever, The Truth is somewhere in the middle...

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?

Hello Rank Squad!

With the conclusion at the weekend of the domestic campaigns still running, we thought it was a good time to look back on the season just gone and hand out some awards for the best (and worst) of what we've seen across the board.

We start by talking about our favourite stories of this season, where we both plump for underdogs turning their seasons around, before we head into the main event.

Across the Premier League and the rest of continental football, Dean and Jack work through Players, Managers and Clubs of the Season; before finishing off with the Letdowns of this campaign, and the Best Signings for good measure.

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?

It's time for The Truth!

Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at the Club World Cup, set to kick off just a couple of weeks after the European season ends. The tournament has divided fans and pundits alike, with some seeing it as a bizarre power play from FIFA to try and rival the riches of the Champions League, whilst others feel that it's an opportunity to spread the game's wealth on a more even keel globally.

We examine the history of the tournament and where the concept originated from, before taking a look at how it matters differently to different areas of the globe - in some place, it's a real badge of honour; whilst in others, it's treated as a second-class trophy.

Perhaps more importantly, there's a deep dive into the finances of the tournament and how it's going to work, as well as some thoughts on if we should really be adding more football into an already oversaturated calendar - whilst the concept of the CWC is a good one, generally; is there actually a real need for this given the amount of football players are already going through?

So, is this global benevolence or a cash grab from the Federation? Are the big teams going to send shadow sides or are the megastars going to give it all they have? And to whom does this all matter most? Well, The Truth is somewhere in the middle...

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?