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, get a load of Marcus, Luke and Pete, who celebrate Sergio Ramos' glorious header, 40-year-old Thiago Silva and Fluminense's 44-year-old keeper (guys, it's 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.