Cupset

Former England goalkeepers Rob Green and David James — an FA Cup winner with Portsmouth in 2009 — are joined by journalist Luke Edwards to dissect a fantastic Cup quarter-final weekend. Arsenal were shocked by second-tier Southampton, Premier League relegation battlers West Ham and Leeds played out a thriller on Sunday afternoon, while Manchester City continued their confident run by humbling Liverpool at the Etihad to put Arne Slot under pressure. Chelsea did a professional job to put 7 past Port Vale, but a lot of the focus was on Enzo Fernandez’s off-the-pitch comments. Has Liam Rosenior got his approach to it all correct? Timecodes: 02:46 West Ham v Leeds thriller 04:00 How special is this for Leeds? 08:22 Southampton stun Quadruple-chasing Arsenal 11:00 Southampton's perfect gameplan 12:30 When do players really start to believe within a Cupset? 14:52 Tonda Eckert's incredible story 17:30 How coaches with data backgrounds can convince players 19:40 Are Arsenal in a full-on slide? 22:00 What will it be like in the Arsenal dressing room now? 28:40 Have opponents worked Arteta out? Is there a blueprint to beat Arsenal? 30:00 How can you stop Erling Haaland? Is it possible? 33:10 Why City look 'ominous' again 34:40 Do City look stronger with James Trafford than Donnarumma?! 36:30 Are Liverpool lost under Arne Slot, and is there any way back? 44:40 Half-time teaser 46:40 A good week for Liam Rosenior? 50:40 Port Vale's memorable run

Eight years ago, a 19 year old Jimmy Filerman had his first experience in the US Open Cup as a player for the South Florida Surf in USL League Two. A team of mostly amateur players in their schools’ offseasons came together to face Miami FC, who at the time was spending big money to put together a competitive roster in the NASL with Manager Alessandro Nesta (of Italian National Team Fame). The team of kids tied the game in the 76’ before Miami put the go-ahead goal away in the 80’. It was the type of game that makes this tournament so special. It gives young players the opportunity to test themselves against seasoned professionals. It puts David up against Goliath in a winner-take-all one match battle. It gives players that have given their youth to the game an experience they won’t forget. Lastly, it is truly the only open thing that exists in our world of soccer with a closed pyramid. Jimmy would return back to Old Dominion for two more seasons after that and end his college career in 2019. Despite Covid doing its best to kill off parts of the fragile US Soccer Lower Leagues, he found a home in Detroit City in 2020 and 2021. He was part of those DCFC teams that completely dominated NISA. With Covid putting a pause on the Open Cup due to travel restrictions, there were no opportunities for him to play the tournament while playing for the club. But 2021 would take Filerman down to Greenville Triumph for his first experience playing in the professional ranks of USL. It was here that he’d see US Open Cup action for the second time. Greenville triumphed (dad joke) over Oakland Roots for a first round cupset and that set up a home game for them against MLS’ Charlotte FC. The 4,000 person capacity stadium witnessed their 3rd Division squad take Charlotte to extra time where they eventually succumbed 2-1. “They subbed in guys like Christian Fuchs” says Jimmy on the pod. “Just being on the field with guys you grew up watching, and those big entities where you know how much money they’re bringing in and how much money has gone into the roster is just different.” After a broken leg ended his time at Greenville, Jimmy joined up with the Maryland Bobcats in 2023 and was part of a roster that took down the Ocean City Nor’easters on a last second winner before succumbing on the road to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on a cold, wet night along the Monongahela River. Fast forward to Jimmy in 2025 and a lot has changed. The 19 year old kid that admittedly loved him some College is now a 28 year old man that has had a lasting career in the 3rd and 4th divisions of the US Soccer Pyramid. A lot has happened in those eight years. Things have come full circle for Jimmy as he returned to the Open Cup as an amateur 8 years after being there with South Florida Surf. Jimmy linked back up with his DC United Academy running mate, Lucas Mendes, who is the creative force and visionary behind Virginia Dream FC. For those that do not know, the Dream have been quickly building up accommodates as one of the best Amateur sides in the country. The club won the NPSL Mid-Atlantic last year, the Spring and Fall 2024 UPSL Seasons, and the 2024 Virginia Super Soccer League. Then they qualified for the 2025 US Open Cup by beating Alexandria Reds and the Aegean Hawks FC of the United States Amateur Soccer Association (USASA). The Dream came into City Stadium with a chip on their shoulders. A squad full of players that had been there before and players that know they should still be there (special shout out to Elijah Amo who absolutely needs a call from a pro side…). After an 8’ minute penalty kick was calmly slotted into the corner by former Bobcat Nicolas Likulia, it was clear Richmond was in for a fight from the pesky amateur side. After a banger from the Kickers’ James Vaughn drew them equal in the 36’, the Dream held on to head into the locker room at 1-1. After taking some abuse in front of their goal at the end of the first half, the Dream became the agg

The Football Ramble would like to publicly state that it does not support Darren Ferguson’s decision to leave Ashley Young’s son on the bench. Remember where you came from, Darren. Elsewhere, Marcus, Luke, Andy and Pete dissect Everton’s decision to sack Sean Dyche three hours before kick-off. Plus, Luke is on a mission to uncover which fixture will provide a cupset this weekend. You better watch your back, Tottenham… Find us on Bluesky, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: [email protected]. 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!*** The Football Ramble, the original and best football podcast. Brand new podcasts every single weekday throughout the Premier League season and every day throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big cupset in the FA Cup 3rd Round! Today, Marcus confirms to Luke, Vish and Jim that he is now a Moyes Out man after West Ham crashed out to Bristol City last night. He did take EastEnders off air after all… Elsewhere, the Ramblers try to assess whether the owners of Everton and Nottingham Forest have cause for complaint after the latest Premier League profit and sustainability charges. But speaking of competent owners... can anyone resist the temptation of an unemployed José Mourinho?! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: [email protected]. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** The Football Ramble, the original and best football podcast. Brand new podcasts every single weekday throughout the Premier League season and every day throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miguel Almiron’s at the wheel! Oh hang on, that’s not a good thing though… Marcus, Pete and Jim look back on a double cupset in the Carabao Cup as Manchester United actually quite predictably got thwacked 3-0 by Newcastle, leaving Erik Ten Hag making exactly the same expression he always does. Plus, Jim gets worried about Mikel Arteta’s record in knockout competitions and we all get worried that Chelsea might just win the whole thing. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: [email protected]. Sign up to the Football Ramble Patreon for ad-free shows for just $5 per month: patreon.com/footballramble. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** The Football Ramble, the original and best football podcast. Brand new podcasts every single weekday throughout the Premier League season and every day throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Landon is joined by Chris "Full" Welhausen to discuss the cupset in San Antonio and Austin's dominant league victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Other topics and questions include: - Landon's adventures in Porto - Academy player national team updates - Update on the Cecilio Dominguez situation (15:09) - What happened in San Antonio? (23:29) - Is depth an issue for Austin FC? - 3-0 win over Vancouver (36:45) - Maxi Urruti's brace and snake celebration - Tactical observations from...

Marcus, Jim and Pete catch their breath after a frenetic football weekend as Senegal claim their first AFCON trophy and Kidderminster Harriers almost pulled off the greatest FA Cup shock for a generation. Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest swatted Leicester City aside thanks to seedless easy peeler Jack Colback, while Boreham Wood secured a cupset for the ages and Super Frank kicked off with a win! Tweet us @FootballRamble and email us here: [email protected]. ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** The Football Ramble, the original and best football podcast. Brand new podcasts every single weekday throughout the Premier League season and every day throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mixed week for English clubs in Europe so far as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s party suffers its first real setback, in fact the party too such a turn he chucked out Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba takes himself home. Spurs, on the other hand, are having such a lovely time that if they’re not careful they won’t get their deposit back before they move into the new place. Looking ahead to an FA Cup weekend we’re keeping an eye out for a cupset as Man City visit the mighty Newport County, and there’s the usual mixture of DNA tests, goal machine Shane Duffy and Luke’s live remixing. This show is sponsored by bet365 Search ‘Football Ramble’ on social media to find us, and email us here: [email protected] ***Please take the time to rate and review us on iTunes or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Further reading: Mario Balotelli enjoyed Man United’s Champions League defeat: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-utd-city-balotelli-psg-15822237 Newport County’s Michael Flynn thinks a win over Man City would be the biggest FA Cup upset ever: https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/17432261.michael-flynn-convinced-newport-county-can-beat-manchester-city/ How long can Spurs stay under the radar? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47234647 The Football Ramble, the original and best football podcast. Brand new podcasts every single weekday throughout the Premier League season and every day throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.