World Cup News

Some men graft their way to the top thanks to the fruits of their relentless labour, a graceful demeanour and a healthy slice of acknowledged luck. And other men are Alan Pardew - because when you're the king, you can do anything. Spellso, Mooresey, Jimbo and Dono settle in for a thorough assessment of the perennial FA Cup bridesmaid, as we try to separate the art from the artist. How does Pete feel about his one decent season at Newcastle? Should he have managed England? Can he headbutt? Got a question? Tweet us @FootballRamble and email us here: [email protected]. Sign up for our Patreon for this week's London live event, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: 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. No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just how many times can Kevin Keegan be brought back to St James’ Park to restore some of the feel good factor to Newcastle? At least three, it would seem. He’s being lined up for an ambassadorial role as the looming Saudi takeover continues to loom. Another beloved ex-Newcastle legend, Alan Pardew, has had to deny that he’s getting a sweet bonus for saving ADO Den Haag from relegation even though he has, while Jurgen Klopp reckons he can get Kylian Mbappe to join Liverpool by being mates with his dad and Barcelona receive an intriguing pitch regarding the naming rights of the Nou Camp. We also learn of Pete’s university heist and have to watch the truly dreadful 1980s movie Hotshot. Will this indignity never end? 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 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!*** Further reading: Guess who’s back. Back again. It’s Kevin Keegan: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/nufc-takeover-gossip-kevin-keegan-18152148 Mike Tyson, Barcelona and weed, together at last: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52428730 Alan Pardew will not be taking his bonus, thank you very much: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/alan-pardew-relegation-clause-ado-den-haag-health-service-coronavirus-eredivisie-a9484526.html 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. No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re heading back to 2006 for the latest episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, to a match our guest described as “perhaps the best FA Cup final there had ever been.” It’s the 2006 final between Liverpool and West Ham, and our guest is the Guardian football writer Jacob Steinberg! The FA Cup had seen some fairly underwhelming finals throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, but this game in Cardiff gloriously bucked that trend. West Ham, with Alan Pardew in only his second full season in charge, took on the European champions in front of 71,000 at the Millennium Stadium. We discuss the lead up to the game and the respective sides’ impressive seasons, as well as the match itself - that late Steven Gerrard howitzer included. Fancy getting in touch? Email us at [email protected] or find us social media— just search 'Football Ramble Daily'. For more stories from the annals of football history, visit www.theblizzard.co.uk to explore their archives that contain over 700 articles of stories just like this one! ***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. No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back for the 2013/14 edition of the best of The Football Ramble! We arrive at another vintage piece of Ramble content: Police Machine vs Plateau United Feeders in Nigeria, in a “mind-boggling show of shame.” Besides that we’ve got Pete and Pitbull becoming friends, Alan Pardew and Manuel Pellegrini becoming anything but friends and Lothar Matthäus going MIA. Many thanks to infamous YouTuber Linford Grimes for their inspiration and help in compiling old content. We salute you. 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 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. No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arsene Wenger’s crusade against referees continues as he blows his top following a pulsating draw with Chelsea, Swansea and Spurs overcome a Bible-level flood event and the fun keeps coming as FA Cup weekend kicks off with the Merseyside derby. BUT THERE’S MORE! The fixture pile up has sent Alan Pardew straight to the bottom of the Pardew slide, another statue arrives, we have some excitable correspondence and Moorestradamus makes perhaps his boldest prediction yet. This show is sponsored by bet365 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. No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew returning to the fold in the same week? What a Ramble bonanza/sign of just how many chances these particular British managers get. Big Sam at least gets a warm welcome to Goodison Park after Wayne Rooney’s midweektacular hat trick against despair’s West Ham, Man City keep up their daunting run and Arsenal turn a corner. Again. Elsewhere there’s a surprising career change for a croaky favourite, an unnecessary banishment, a gun and a Quantum Leap reference that really shouldn’t be so hard to understand. This show is sponsored by bet365 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. No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back but more importantly so is Yaya! Great news for him is bad news for Alan Pardew and therefore Gareth Southgate. Elsewhere Peterborough have yet more blend issues, the Milan derby excites and Elton's on the phone again.Find us online at thefootballramble.com, @footballramble on Twitter and facebook.com/footballramble on Facebook. 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. No cliches. No ex-pros like Peter Crouch or The Rest is Football. Just the funniest football conversation out there. Your guardian for the season, daily not weekly. Stick to the Ramble, totally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.