Podcasts about Hotspur

Hello Rank Squad!Today we're diving back into the murky depths of the transfer market, and looking at some of the potential deals that are being discussed right now. It's a seller's market, in so many ways, and that often means that teams will overpay for players - whether through a gamble on a major talent, a burning need to fill a gap, or because they're absolutely hellbent on trying to turn things around after a tough season the year before. We look at five deals that feel like they might be a big step, with Dean suggesting them, and Jack generally arguing about why it's actually a pretty good bit of business - for a variety of different price tags and reasonings. Before that, we get stuck into the Club World Cup, hear about Dean's experiences on the ground and Jack's ones watching from across the Atlantic, and try to work out what we can learn from the tournament a year out from the 2026 World Cup.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?

Hello Rank Squad!The (first) Transfer Window has officially closed, but there's been plenty of activity on the managerial merry-go-round across Europe, with new faces taking over at new places - to the delight of some and the chagrin of others. On today's episode we're looking at a number of new bosses and analysing how we think they fit their new home. We start with the most recent appointment - Brentford's Thomas Frank is all set to take over at Tottenham Hotspur, who moved on from Ange Postecoglou at the end of last week, and try to build on that Europa League trophy that Ange won in what turned out to be his final game. We discuss the differing approaches and how this might all work out; before moving on to talk about Xabi Alonso's new era at Real Madrid, after he left Bayer Leverkusen to replace Carlo Ancelotti; and his replacement at Leverkusen - former Manchester United and Ajax gaffer Erik ten Hag. Then in Part Three, we get stuck into the Calcio Chaos - Christian Chivu replacing Simone Inzaghi at Inter; Max Allegri returning to AC Milan to take over from the sacked Sergio Conçeição; Gian Piero Gasperini leaving Atalanta to take over from Claudio Ranieri at Roma, with the Tinkerman turning down the Azzurri to stay upstairs in the Eternal City; and former Gasperini disciple Ivan Juric replacing the old chessmaster at Atalanta. There's some chat too about the Club World Cup and some of the transfers yet to happen this summer at the start of the show, and don't forget to take a look at our Patreon, where there's loads more transfer podcasts and newsletters happening over the course of this summer. 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?

Hello Rank Squad! The footballing summer is officially here, with the Champions League Final crowning what has been a pretty unbelievable season in Europe all round. We start today's episode with the final word on that final, where Luis Enrique's brilliant PSG absolutely dismantled Inter in one of the all-time great showpiece performances. Then, it's onto the talk of the summer - transfer season; and whilst there will be plenty of this covered here on Ranks all summer long, we wanted to take a look at some of the deals already done or nearly done, that we have reservations about for one reason or another. Some are personal, some are club-related, and some are just a question of fit; but whilst there could and should be levels of excitement, it's important to try and be realistic as well. We discuss the details of moves for Rayan Cherki, Jobe Bellingham, Liam Delap and Matheus Cunha; and also touch on Bruno Fernandes' decision to stay at Manchester United. We finish off with a discussion of some of the deals we think are absolutely guaranteed to be a success, as well as some early thoughts on the links between Arsenal and Benjamin Sesko. 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?

What? It’s totally normal to only record a “weekly” soccer podcast twice during the whole season. And that’s why we’re following up our 12th annual Premier League season preview show with the most natural second episode of the season… our 12th annual Premier League season review show. D.J. and Jeremy once again breakdown the 2024/25 […]

Het is een dag om nooit te vergeten voor Elon Musk, omdat het zo'n pijnlijke dag is. Concurrent BYD verkoopt voor het eerst meer auto's in Europa dan Tesla. En dat terwijl de Chinese auto's pas sinds twee jaar verkocht worden op dit hele continent.Deze aflevering kijken we naar die pijnlijke ontwikkeling voor Tesla. Is het de schuld van Elon Musk? En waarom heeft BYD geen last van dalende verkopen in Europa?Verder hebben we het ook over ING. Dat moest in de financiële crisis afscheid nemen van hun spaarbank in Amerika. Onder druk werd dat verkocht. Maar werkt ING aan een comeback? Volgens persbureau Bloomberg wil het een bankvergunning aanvragen in de VS.Hoe dat precies zit, hoor je uiteraard. Dan hoor je ook dat het niet lekker loopt bij Nike. De verkopen blijven maar dalen. Daar heeft de nieuwe ceo nu wat op gevonden: prijsverhogingen! Ook gaat het over het immense belastingplan van Trump. We bekijken wat dat betekent voor beleggers. En het gaat over het verlies van een Engelse voetbalclub. Dat heeft grote gevolgen voor de beurskoers van die voetbalclub.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Het is een dag om nooit te vergeten voor Elon Musk, omdat het zo'n pijnlijke dag is. Concurrent BYD verkoopt voor het eerst meer auto's in Europa dan Tesla. En dat terwijl de Chinese auto's pas sinds twee jaar verkocht worden op dit hele continent.Deze aflevering kijken we naar die pijnlijke ontwikkeling voor Tesla. Is het de schuld van Elon Musk? En waarom heeft BYD geen last van dalende verkopen in Europa?Verder hebben we het ook over ING. Dat moest in de financiële crisis afscheid nemen van hun spaarbank in Amerika. Onder druk werd dat verkocht. Maar werkt ING aan een comeback? Volgens persbureau Bloomberg wil het een bankvergunning aanvragen in de VS.Hoe dat precies zit, hoor je uiteraard. Dan hoor je ook dat het niet lekker loopt bij Nike. De verkopen blijven maar dalen. Daar heeft de nieuwe ceo nu wat op gevonden: prijsverhogingen! Ook gaat het over het immense belastingplan van Trump. We bekijken wat dat betekent voor beleggers. En het gaat over het verlies van een Engelse voetbalclub. Dat heeft grote gevolgen voor de beurskoers van die voetbalclub.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was delighted to talk to the historian Helen Castor (who writes The H Files by Helen Castor) about her new book The Eagle and the Hart. I found that book compulsive, and this is one of my favourite interviews so far. We covered so much: Dickens, Melville, Diana Wynne Jones, Hilary Mantel, whether Edward III is to blame for the Wars of the Roses, why Bolingbroke did the right thing, the Paston Letters, whether we should dig up old tombs for research, leaving academia, Elizabeth I, and, of course, lots of Shakespeare. There is a full transcript below.Henry: Is there anything that we fundamentally know about this episode in history that Shakespeare didn't know?Helen: That's an extremely good question, and I'm tempted now to say no.Helen told me what is hardest to imagine about life in the fourteenth century.I think it's relatively easy to imagine a small community or even a city, because we can imagine lots of human beings together, but how relationships between human beings happen at a distance, not just in terms of writing a letter to someone you know, but how a very effective power structure happens across hundreds of miles in the absence of those things is the thing that has always absolutely fascinated me about the late Middle Ages. I think that's because it's hard, for me at least, to imagine.Good news to any publishers reading this. Helen is ready and willing to produce a complete edition of the Paston Letters. They were a bestseller when they were published a hundred years ago, but we are crying out for a complete edition in modern English.Henry: If someone wants to read the Paston Letters, but they don't want to read Middle English, weird spelling, et cetera, is there a good edition that they can use?Helen: Yes, there is an Oxford World's Classic. They're all selected. There isn't a complete edition in modern spelling. If any publishers are listening, I would love to do one. Henry: Yes, let's have it.Helen: Let's have it. I would really, really love to do that.Full TranscriptHenry: Today I am talking to the historian, Helen Castor. Helen is a former fellow of Sydney Sussex College in Cambridge. She has written several books of history. She is now a public historian, and of course, she has a Substack. The H Files by Helen CastorWe are going to talk mostly about her book, The Eagle and the Hart, which is all about Richard II and Henry IV. I found this book compulsive, so I hope you will read it too. Helen, welcome.Helen: Thank you very much for having me, Henry.Henry: You recently read Bleak House.Helen: I did.Henry: What did you think?Helen: I absolutely loved it. It was a long time since I'd read any Dickens. I read quite a lot when I was young. I read quite a lot of everything when I was young and have fallen off that reader's perch, much to my shame. The first page, that description of the London fog, the London courts, and I thought, "Why have I not been doing it for all these years?"Then I remembered, as so often with Dickens, the bits I love and the bits I'm less fond of, the sentimentality, the grotesquerie I'm less fond of, but the humour and the writing. There was one bit that I have not been able to read then or any of the times I've tried since without physically sobbing. It's a long time since a book has done that to me. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but--Henry: I'm sure I know what you mean. That's quite a sentimental passage.Helen: It is, but not sentimental in the way that I find myself objecting to. I think I really respond viscerally to this sentimentalising of some of his young women characters. I find that really off-putting, but I think now I'm a parent, and particularly I'm a parent of a boy [laughter]. I think it's that sense of a child being completely alone with no one to look after them, and then finding some people, but too late for a happy ending.Henry: Too late.Helen: Yes.Henry: You've been reading other classic novels, I think, Moby Dick?Helen: I'm in the middle of Moby Dick as we speak. I'm going very slowly, partly because I'm trying to savour every sentence. I love the sentence so much as a form. Melville is just astonishing, and also very, very funny in a way I hadn't expected to keep laughing out loud, sometimes because there is such humour in a sentence.Sometimes I'm just laughing because the sentence itself seems to have such audacity and that willingness to go places with sentences that sometimes I feel we've lost in the sort of sense of rules-based sentences instead of just sticking a semicolon and keep going. Why not, because it's so gorgeous and full of the joy of language at that point? Anyway, I'm ranting now, but--Henry: No, I think a lot of rules were instituted in the early 20th century that said you can and cannot do all these things, and writers before that point had not often followed those rules. I think what it has led to is that writers now, they can't really control a long sentence, in the sense that Melville and Dickens will do a long sentence, and it is a syntactically coherent thing, even though it's 60, 70 longer words. It's not just lots of stuff, and then, and then. The whole thing has got a beautiful structure that makes sense as a unit. That's just not obvious in a lot of writing now.Helen: I think that's exactly right. Partly, I've been reading some of the Melville out loud, and having just got onto the classification of whales, you can see I'm going very slowly. Those sentences, which are so long, but it's exactly that. If you read them out loud, and you follow the sense, and the punctuation, however irregular it might be in modern terms, gives you the breathing, you just flow on it, and the excitement of that, even or perhaps especially when one is talking about the classification of whales. Just joyful.Henry: Will we be seeing more very long sentences in your next book?Helen: I think I have to get a bit better at it. The habit that I was conscious of anyway, but became acutely so when I had to read my own audiobook for the first time is that I think I write in a very visual way. That is how I read because mostly it's silent.I discovered or rediscovered that often what I do when I want to write a very long sentence is I start the sentence and then I put a diversion or extra information within em dashes in the middle of the sentence. That works on the page because you can see spatially. I love that way of reading, I love seeing words in space.A lot of different kinds of text, both prose and poetry, I read in space like that. If you're reading to be heard, then the difficulty of breaking into a sentence with, whether it's brackets or em dashes or whatever, and then rejoining the sentence further down has its own challenges. Perhaps I ought to try and do less of that and experiment more with a Melvillian Dickensian onward flow. I don't know what my editor will think.Henry: What has brought you back to reading novels like this?Helen: I was wondering that this morning, actually, because I'm very aware having joined Substack, and of course, your Substack is one of the ones that is leading me further in this direction, very inspiringly, is discovering that lots of other people are reading and reading long novels now too. It reminded me of that thing that anyone with children will know that you have a baby and you call it something that you think only you have thought of, and then four years later, you call and you discover half the class is called that name. You wonder what was in the water that led everybody in that direction.I've just seen someone tweet this morning about how inspired they are by the builder next door who, on the scaffolding, is blasting the audiobook Middlemarch to the whole neighborhood.Henry: Oh my god. Amazing.Helen: It's really happening. Insofar as I can work out what led me as opposed to following a group, which clearly I am in some sense, I think the world at the moment is so disquieting, and depressing, and unnerving, that I think for me, there was a wish to escape into another world and another world that would be very immersive, not removed from this world completely. One that is very recognizably human.I think when I was younger, when I was in my teens and 20s, I loved reading science fiction and fantasy before it was such a genre as it is now. I'm a huge fan of Diana Wynne Jones and people like that.Henry: Oh, my god, same. Which one is your favorite?Helen: Oh, that is an impossible question to answer, partly because I want to go back and read a lot of them. Actually, I've got something next to me, just to get some obscurity points. I want to go back to Everard's Ride because there is a story in here that is based on the King's square. I don't know if I'm saying that right, but early 15th century, the story of the imprisoned King of Scotland when he was in prison in England. That one's in my head.The Dalemark Quartet I love because of the sort of medieval, but then I love the ones that are pure, more science fantasy. Which is your favorite? Which should I go back to first?Henry: I haven't read them all because I only started a couple of years ago. I just read Deep Secret, and I thought that was really excellent. I was in Bristol when I read it quite unwittingly. That was wonderful.Helen: Surrounded by Diana Wynne Jones' land. I only discovered many years into an obsession that just meant that I would read every new one while there were still new ones coming out. I sat next to Colin Burrow at a dinner in--Henry: Oh my god.Helen: I did sort of know that he was her son, but monstered him for the whole time, the whole course of sitting together, because I couldn't quite imagine her in a domestic setting, if you like, because she came up with all these extraordinary worlds. I think in days gone by, I went into more obviously imaginary worlds. I think coming back to it now, I wanted something big and something that I really could disappear into. I've been told to read Bleak House for so many decades and felt so ashamed I hadn't. Having done that, I thought, "Well, the whale."Henry: Have you read Diana Wynne Jones' husband's books, John Burrow? Because that's more in your field.Helen: It is, although I'm ashamed to say how badly read I am in medieval literary scholarship. It's weird how these academic silos can operate, shouldn't, probably don't for many, many people. I always feel I'm on horribly thin ground, thin ice when I start talking about medieval literature because I know how much scholarship is out there, and I know how much I haven't read. I must put John Burrow on my list as well.Henry: He's very readable. He's excellent.Helen: I think I can imagine, but I must go into it.Henry: Also, his books are refreshingly short. Your husband is a poet, so there's a lot of literature in your life at the moment.Helen: There is. When we met, which was 10 years ago-- Again, I don't think of myself as knowledgeable about poetry in general, but what was wonderful was discovering how much we had in common in the writing process and how much I could learn from him. To me, one of the things that has always been extremely important in my writing is the sentence, the sound of a sentence, the rhythm of a sentence folded into a paragraph.I find it extremely hard to move on from a paragraph if it's not sitting right yet. The sitting right is as much to do with sound and rhythm as it is to do with content. The content has to be right. It means I'm a nightmare to edit because once I do move on from a paragraph, I think it's finished. Obviously, my editor might beg to differ.I'm very grateful to Thomas Penn, who's also a wonderful historian, who's my editor on this last book, for being so patient with my recalcitrance as an editee. Talking to my husband about words in space on the page, about the rhythm, about the sound, about how he goes about writing has been so valuable and illuminating.I hope that the reading I've been doing, the other thing I should say about going back to big 19th-century novels is that, of course, I had the enormous privilege and learning curve of being part of a Booker jury panel three years ago. That too was an enormous kick in terms of reading and thinking about reading because my co-judges were such phenomenal reading company, and I learned such a lot that year.I feel not only I hope growing as a historian, but I am really, really focusing on writing, reading, being forced out of my bunker where writing is all on the page, starting to think about sound more, think about hearing more, because I think more and more, we are reading that way as a culture, it seems to me, the growth of audiobooks. My mother is adjusting to audiobooks now, and it's so interesting to listen to her as a lifelong, voracious reader, adjusting to what it is to experience a book through sound rather than on the page. I just think it's all fascinating, and I'm trying to learn as I write.Henry: I've been experimenting with audiobooks, because I felt like I had to, and I sort of typically hate audio anything. Jonathan Swift is very good, and so is Diana Wynne Jones.Helen: Interesting. Those two specifically. Is there something that connects the two of them, or are they separately good?Henry: I think they both wrote in a plain, colloquial style. It was very capable of being quite intellectual and had capacity for ideas. Diana Wynne Jones certainly took care about the way it sounded because she read so much to her own children, and that was really when she first read all the children's classics. She had developed for many years an understanding of what would sound good when it was read to a child, I think.Helen: And so that's the voice in her head.Henry: Indeed. As you read her essays, she talks about living with her Welsh grandfather for a year. He was intoning in the chapel, and she sort of comes out of this culture as well.Helen: Then Swift, a much more oral culture.Henry: Swift, of course, is in a very print-heavy culture because he's in London in 1710. We've got coffee houses and all the examiner, and the spectator, and all these people scribbling about each other. I think he was very insistent on what he called proper words in proper places. He became famous for that plain style. It's very carefully done, and you can't go wrong reading that out loud. He's very considerate of the reader that you won't suddenly go, "Oh, I'm in the middle of this huge parenthesis. I don't know how--" As you were saying, Swift-- he would be very deliberate about the placement of everything.Helen: A lot of that has to do with rhythm.Henry: Yes.Helen: Doesn't it? I suppose what I'm wondering, being very ignorant about the 18th century is, in a print-saturated culture, but still one where literacy was less universal than now, are we to assume that that print-saturated culture also incorporated reading out loud —Henry: Yes, exactly so. Exactly so. If you are at home, letters are read out loud. This obviously gives the novelists great opportunities to write letters that have to sort of work both ways. Novels are read out loud. This goes on into the 19th century. Dickens had many illiterate fans who knew his work through it being read to them. Charles Darwin's wife read him novels. When he says, "I love novels," what he means is, "I love it when my wife reads me a novel." [laughs]You're absolutely right. A good part of your audience would come from those listening as well as those reading it.Helen: Maybe we're getting back towards a new version of that with audiobooks expanding in their reach.Henry: I don't know. I saw some interesting stuff. I can't remember who was saying this. Someone was saying, "It's not an oral culture if you're watching short videos. That's a different sort of culture." I think, for us, we can say, "Oh yes, we're like Jonathan Swift," but for the culture at large, I don't know. It is an interesting mixed picture at the moment.Helen: Yes, history never repeats, but we should be wary of writing off any part of culture to do with words.Henry: I think so. If people are reporting builders irritating the neighbourhood with George Eliot, then it's a very mixed picture, right?Helen: It is.Henry: Last literary question. Hilary Mantel has been a big influence on you. What have you taken from her?Helen: That's quite a hard question to answer because I feel I just sit at her feet in awe. If I could point to anything in my writing that could live up to her, I would be very happy. The word that's coming into my head when you phrase the question in that way, I suppose, might be an absolute commitment to precision. Precision in language matters to me so much. Her thought and her writing of whatever kind seems to me to be so precise.Listening to interviews with her is such an outrageous experience because these beautifully, entirely formed sentences come out of her mouth as though that's how thought and language work. They don't for me. [chuckles] I'm talking about her in the present tense because I didn't know her, but I find it hard to imagine that she's not out there somewhere.Henry: She liked ghosts. She might be with us.Helen: She might. I would like to think that. Her writing of whatever genre always seems to me to have that precision, and it's precision of language that mirrors precision of thought, including the ability to imagine herself into somebody else's mind. That's, I suppose, my project as a historian. I'm always trying to experience a lost world through the eyes of a lost person or people, which, of course, when you put it like that, is an impossible task, but she makes it seem possible for her anyway and that's the road I'm attempting to travel one way or another.Henry: What is it about the 14th and 15th centuries that is hardest for us to imagine?Helen: I think this speaks to something else that Hilary Mantel does so extraordinarily well, which is to show us entire human beings who live and breathe and think and feel just as we do in as complex and contradictory and three-dimensional a way as we do, and yet who live in a world that is stripped of so many of the things that we take so much for granted that we find it, I think, hard to imagine how one could function without them.What I've always loved about the late Middle Ages, as a political historian, which is what I think of myself as, is that it has in England such a complex and sophisticated system of government, but one that operates so overwhelmingly through human beings, rather than impersonal, institutionalized, technological structures.You have a king who is the fount of all authority, exercising an extraordinary degree of control over a whole country, but without telephones, without motorized transport, without a professional police service, without a standing army. If we strip away from our understanding of government, all those things, then how on earth does society happen, does rule happen, does government happen?I think it's relatively easy to imagine a small community or even a city, because we can imagine lots of human beings together, but how relationships between human beings happen at a distance, not just in terms of writing a letter to someone you know, but how a very effective power structure happens across hundreds of miles in the absence of those things is the thing that has always absolutely fascinated me about the late Middle Ages. I think that's because it's hard, for me at least, to imagine.Henry: Good. You went to the RSC to watch The Henriad in 2013.Helen: I did.Henry: Is Shakespeare a big influence on this book? How did that affect you?Helen: I suppose this is a long story because Richard II and The Henriad have been-- there is Richard II. Richard II is part of The Henriad, isn't it?Henry: Yes.Helen: Richard II. Henry, see, this is-Henry: The two Henry IVs.Helen: -I'm not Shakespearean. I am. [laughs]Henry: No, it's Richard II, the two Henry IVs, and Henry V. Because, of course, Henry Bolingbroke is in Richard II, and it--Helen: Yes, although I never think of him as really the same person as Henry IV in the Henry IV plays, because he changes so dramatically between the two.Henry: Very often, they have a young actor and an old actor, and of course, in real life, that's insane, right?Helen: It's absolutely insane. I always separate Henry IV, parts I and II, and Henry V off from Richard II because it feels to me as though they operate in rather different worlds, which they do in lots of ways. My story with the Henry ad, now that we've established that I actually know what we're talking about, goes back to when I was in my teens and Kenneth Branagh was playing Henry V in Stratford. I grew up very near Stratford.At 15, 16, watching the young Branagh play Henry V was mind-blowing. I went a whole number of times because, in those days, I don't know how it is now, but you could go and get standing tickets for a fiver on the day. More often than not, if there were spare seats, you would get moved into some extraordinary stall seats at-- I was about to say halftime, I'm a football fan, at the interval.Henry V was the play I knew best for a long time, but at the same time, I'd studied Richard II at school. The Henry IV plays are the ones I know least well. I'm interested now to reflect on the fact that they are the ones that depart most from history. I wonder whether that's why I find them hardest to love, because I'm always coming to the plays from the history. Richard II and Henry V actually have a lot to show us about those kings. They bear very close relationships with a lot of the contemporary chronicles, whereas the Henry IV ones is Shakespeare doing his own thing much more.Particularly, as you've just said, making Henry IV way too old, and/or depending which angle we're looking at it from, making Hotspur way too young, the real Hotspur was three years older than Henry IV. If you want to make Hotspur and how-- your young Turks, you have to make Henry IV old and grey and weary with Northumberland.Back in 2013, the really intense experience I had was being asked to go for a day to join the RSC company on a school trip to Westminster Hall and Westminster Abbey at the beginning of their rehearsal process, so when David Tennant was playing Richard II and Greg Doran was directing. That was absolutely fascinating. I'd been thinking about Richard and Henry for a very long time. Obviously, I was a long way away from writing the book I've just written.Talking to actors is an extraordinary thing for a historian because, of course, to them, these are living characters. They want to know what's in their character's mind. They want to know, quite rightly, the chronological progression of their character's thought. That is something that's become more and more and more and more important to me.The longer I go on writing history, the more intensely attached I am to the need for chronology because if it hasn't happened to your protagonist yet, what are you doing with it? Your protagonist doesn't yet know. We don't know. It's very dramatically clear to us at the moment that we don't know what's happening tomorrow. Any number of outrageous and unpredictable things might happen tomorrow.The same certainly was true in Richard II's reign, goes on being true in Henry IV's reign. That experience, in the wake of which I then went to see Henry IV, parts 1 and 2 in Stratford, was really thought-provoking. The extent to which, even though I'd been working on this period for a long time, and had taught this period, I still was struggling to answer some of those questions.Then I'd just had the similarly amazing experience of having a meeting with the Richard II cast and director at the Bridge Theatre before the Nicholas Heitner production with Jonathan Bailey as Richard went on stage. That was actually towards the end of their rehearsal process. I was so struck that the actor playing Bolingbroke in this production and the actor playing Bolingbroke in the production back in 2013 both asked the same excellent first question, which is so hard for a historian to answer, which is at what point does Bolingbroke decide that he's coming back to claim the crown, not just the Duchy of Lancaster?That is a key question for Bolingbroke in Richard II. Does he already know when he decides he's going to break his exile and come back? Is he challenging for the crown straight away, or is he just coming back for his rightful inheritance with the Duchy of Lancaster? That is the million-dollar question when you're writing about Bolingbroke in 1399.It's not possible to answer with a smoking gun. We don't have a letter or a diary entry from Henry Bolingbroke as he's about to step on board ship in Boulogne saying, "I'm saying I'm coming back for the Duchy of Lancaster." The unfolding logic of his situation is that if he's going to come back at all, he's going to have to claim the crown. When he admits that to himself, and when he admits that to anybody else, are questions we can argue about.It was so interesting to me that that's the question that Shakespeare's Richard II throws up for his Bolingbroke just as much as it does for the historical one.Henry: Is there anything that we fundamentally know about this episode in history that Shakespeare didn't know?Helen: That's an extremely good question, and I'm tempted now to say no.Henry: When I left your book, the one thing I thought was that in Shakespeare, the nobles turn against Richard because of his excesses. Obviously, he really dramatizes that around the death of Gaunt. From your book, you may disagree with this, I came away thinking, well, the nobles wanted more power all the time. They may not have wanted the king's power, but there was this constant thing of the nobles feeling like they were owed more authority.Helen: I think the nobles always want more power because they are ambitious, competitive men within a political structure that rewards ambition and competition. The crucial thing for them is that they can only safely pursue ambition and competition if they know that the structure they're competing within will hold.The thing that keeps that structure rooted and solidly in place is the crown and the things that the crown is there to uphold, namely, particularly, the rule of law because if the rule of law starts to crumble, then the risk is that the whole structure collapses into anarchy. Within anarchy, then a powerful man cannot safely compete for more power because an even more powerful man might be about to roll into his estates and take them over. There have to be rules. There has to be fair competition. The referee is there on a football pitch for a reason.The king, in some senses, whether you want to see him as the keystone in an arch that supports a building or whether he's a referee on a football pitch, there are reasons why powerful men need rules because rules uphold their power. What goes wrong with Richard is that instead of seeing that he and the nobles have a common interest in keeping this structure standing, and that actually he can become more powerful if he works with and through the nobles, he sees them as a threat to him.He's attempting to establish a power structure that will not be beholden to them. In so doing, he becomes a threat to them. This structure that is supposed to stand as one mutually supportive thing is beginning to tear itself apart. That is why Richard's treatment of Bolingbroke becomes such a crucial catalyst, because what Richard does to Bolingbroke is unlawful in a very real and very technical sense. Bolingbroke has not been convicted of any crime. He's not been properly tried. There's been this trial by combat, the duel with Mowbray, but it hasn't stopped arbitrarily, and an arbitrary punishment visited upon both of them. They're both being exiled without having been found guilty, without the judgment of God speaking through this duel.Richard then promises that Bolingbroke can have his inheritance, even though he's in exile. As soon as Gaunt dies, Richard says, "No, I'm having it." Now, all of that is unlawful treatment of Bolingbroke, but because Bolingbroke is the most powerful nobleman in the country, it is also a warning and a threat to every other member of the political classes that if the king takes against you, then his arbitrary will can override the law.That diagnosis is there in Shakespeare. It's the Duke of York, who in reality was just a completely hopeless, wet figure, but he says, and I've got it written down, keep it beside me.Henry: Very nice.Helen: Kind of ridiculous, but here it is. York says to Richard, "Take Herford's rights away and take from time his charters and his customary rights. Let not tomorrow then ensue today. Be not thyself, for how art thou a king, but by fair sequence and succession?" In other words, if you interfere with, and I know you've written about time in these plays, it's absolutely crucial.Part of the process of time in these plays is that the rules play out over time. Any one individual king must not break those rules so that the expected process of succession over time can take place. York's warning comes true, that Richard is unseating himself by seeking to unseat Bolingbroke from his inheritance.Henry: We give Shakespeare good marks as a historian.Helen: In this play, yes, absolutely. The things he tinkers with in Richard II are minor plot points. He compresses time in order to get it all on stage in a plausible sequence of events. He compresses two queens into one, given that Richard was married to, by the time he fell, a nine-year-old who he'd married when he was six. It's harder to have a six-year-old making speeches on stage, so he puts the two queens into one.Henry: You don't want to pay another actor.Helen: Exactly.Henry: It's expensive.Helen: You don't want children and animals on stage. Although there is a wonderful account of a production of Richard II on stage in the West End in 1901, with the Australian actor Oscar Asche in it, playing Bolingbroke. The duel scene, he had full armour and a horse, opening night. It was a different horse from the one he rehearsed with. He gives an account in his autobiography of this horse rearing and him somersaulting heroically off the horse.Henry: Oh my god.Helen: The curtain having to come down and then it going back up again to tumultuous applause. You think, "Oscar, I'm wondering whether you're over-egging this pudding." Anyway, I give Shakespeare very good marks in Richard II, not really in the Henry IV plays, but gets back on track.Henry: The Henry IV plays are so good, we're forgiven. Was Richard II a prototype Henry VIII?Helen: Yes. Although, of course, history doesn't work forwards like that. I always worry about being a historian, talking about prototypes, if you see what I mean, but--Henry: No, this is just some podcast, so we don't have to be too strict. He's over-mighty, his sense of his relationship to God. There are issues in parliament about, "How much can the Pope tell us what to do?" There are certain things that seem to be inherent in the way the British state conceives of itself at this point that become problematic in another way.Helen: Is this pushing it too far to say Richard is a second son who ends up being the lone precious heir to the throne who must be wrapped in cotton wool to ensure that his unique God-given authority is protected? Also describes Henry VIII.Henry: They both like fancy clothes.Helen: Both like fancy clothes. Charles I is also a second son who has to step up.Henry: With wonderful cuffs and collars. He's another big dresser.Helen: And great patrons of art. I think we're developing new historical--Henry: No, I think there's a whole thing here.Helen: I think there is. What Henry does, of course, in rather different, because a lot has changed thanks to the Wars of the Roses, the power of the nobility to stand up independently of the crown is significantly lessened by the political effects of the Wars of the Roses, not at least that a lot of them have had their heads cut off, or died in battle, and the Tudors are busy making sure that they remain in the newly subjected place that they find themselves in.Henry then finds to go back to Hilary Mantel, a very, very able political servant who works out how to use parliament for him in rejecting those extra English powers that might restrain him. I do always wonder what Richard thought he was going to do if he'd succeeded in becoming Holy Roman Emperor, which I take very seriously as a proposition from Richard.Most other historians, because it's so patently ridiculous, if you look at it from a European perspective, have just said, "Oh, he got this idea that he wanted to become Holy Roman Emperor," but, of course, it was never going to happen. In Richard's mind, I think it was extremely real. Whether he really would have tried to give the English crown to Rutland, his favorite by the end of the reign, while he went off in glory to be crowned by the Pope, I don't know what was in his head. The difference with Henry is that the ambitions he eventually conceives are very England-focused, and so he can make them happen.Henry: Is there some sort of argument that, if the king hadn't won the Wars of the Roses, and the nobility had flourished, and their sons hadn't been killed, the reformation would have just been much harder to pull off here?[silence]Helen: I wonder what that would have looked like, because in a sense, the king was always going to win the Wars of the Roses, in the sense that you have to have a king. The minute you had someone left standing after that mess, that protracted mess, if he knew what he was doing, and there are arguments about the extent to which Henry VII knew what he was doing, or was doing something very different, whether or not he knew it was different, but there was always going to be an opportunity for a king to assert himself after that.Particularly, the extent to which the lesser landowners, the gentry had realized they couldn't just rely on the nobility to protect them anymore. They couldn't just follow their lord into battle and abdicate responsibility.Henry: Okay.Helen: That's an interesting--Henry: How much should we blame Edward III for all of this?Helen: For living too long and having too many sons?Henry: My argument against Edward is the Hundred Years' War, it doesn't actually go that well by the end of his reign, and it's cost too much money. Too many dukes with too much power. It's not that he had too many sons, he elevates them all and creates this insane situation. The war itself starts to tip the balance between the king and parliament, and so now you've got it from the dukes, and from the other side, and he just didn't manage the succession at all.Even though his son has died, and it really needs some kind of-- He allowed. He should have known that he was allowing a vacuum to open up where there's competition from the nobles, and from parliament, and the finances are a mess, and this war isn't there. It's just… he just leaves a disaster, doesn't he?Helen: I think I'd want to reframe that a little bit. Perhaps, I'm too much the king's friend. I think the political, and in some senses, existential dilemma for a medieval king is that the best of all possible worlds is what Edward achieves in the 1340s and the 1350s, which is, fight a war for reasons that your subjects recognize as in the common interest, in the national interest. Fight it over there so that the lands that are being devastated and the villages and towns that are being burned are not yours. Bring back lots of plunder. Everybody's getting richer and feeling very victorious.You can harness parliament. When things are going well, a medieval king and a parliament are not rivals for power. An English king working with parliament is more powerful than an English king trying to work without parliament. If things are going well, he gets more money, he can pass laws, he can enforce his will more effectively. It's win-win-win if you're ticking all those boxes.As you're pointing out, the worst of all possible worlds is to be fighting a war that's going badly. To fight a war is a big risk because either you're going to end up winning and everything's great, or if it's going badly, then you'd rather be at peace. Of course, you're not necessarily in a position to negotiate peace, depending on the terms of the war you've established.Similarly, with sons, you want heirs. You want to know the succession is safe. I think Edward's younger sons would argue with you about setting up very powerful dukes because the younger ones really-- York and Gloucester, Edmund of Langley and Thomas of Woodstock, really didn't have much in the way of an estate given to them at all, and always felt very hard done by about that. John of Gaunt is set up very well because he's married off to the heir of the Duke of Lancaster who's handily died, leaving only daughters.Henry: That's the problem, isn't it, creating that sort of impact? John of Gaunt is far too rich and powerful.Helen: You say that, except he's unfeasibly loyal. Without Gaunt, disaster happens much, much, much earlier. Gaunt is putting all those resources into the project of propping up the English state and the English crown for way longer than Richard deserves, given that Richard's trying to murder him half the time in the 1380s.Henry: [laughs] For sure. No, I agree with you there, but from Edward III's point of view, it's a mistake to make one very powerful son another quite powerful son next to-- We still see this playing out in royal family dynamics.Helen: This is the problem. What is the perfect scenario in a hereditary system where you need an heir and a spare, but even there, the spare, if he doesn't get to be the heir, is often very disgruntled. [laughs] If he does get to be the heir, as we've just said, turns out to be overconvinced of his own-Henry: Oh, indeed, yes.Helen: -specialness. Then, if you have too many spares, you run into a different kind of problem. Equally, if you don't have a hereditary system, then you have an almighty battle, as the Anglo-Saxons often did, about who's actually going to get the crown in the next generation. It's a very tricky--Henry: Is England just inherently unstable? We've got the Black Death, France is going to be a problem, whatever happens. Who is really going to come to a good fiscal position in this situation? It's no one's fault. It's just there wasn't another way out.Helen: You could say that England's remarkably-- See, I'm just playing devil's advocate the whole time.Henry: No, good.Helen: You could say England is remarkably stable in the sense that England is very unusually centralized for a medieval state at this point. It's centralized in a way that works because it's small enough to govern. It's, broadly speaking, an island. You've got to deal with the Scotts border, but it's a relatively short border. Yes, you have powerful nobles, but they are powerful nobles who, by this stage, are locked into the state. They're locked into a unified system of law. The common law rules everyone. Everyone looks to Westminster.It's very different from what the King of France has been having to face, which has been having to push his authority outward from the Île-de-France, reconquer bits of France that the English have had for a long time, impose his authority over other princes of the realm in a context where there are different laws, there are different customs, there are different languages. You could say that France is in a much more difficult and unstable situation.Of course, what we see as the tide of the war turns again in the early 15th century is precisely that France collapses into civil war, and the English can make hay again in that situation. If Henry V had not died too young with not enough sons in 1423, and particularly, if he'd left a son who grew up to be any use at all, as opposed to absolutely none-- what am I saying? I'm saying that the structure of government in England could work astonishingly well given the luck of the right man at the helm. The right man at the helm had to understand his responsibilities at home, and he had to be capable of prosecuting a successful war abroad because that is how this state works best.As you've just pointed out, prosecuting a successful war abroad is an inherently unstable scenario because no war is ever going to go in your direction the entire time. That's what Richard, who has no interest in war at all is discovering, because once the tide of war is lapping at your own shores, instead of all happening over there, it's a very, very different prospect in terms of persuading parliament to pay for it, quite understandably.You talk about the Black Death. One of the extraordinary things is looking at England in 1348, 1349, when the Black Death hits. Probably, something approaching half the population dies in 18 months. If you're looking at the progress of the war, you barely notice it happened at all. What does the government do? It snaps into action and implements a maximum wage immediately, in case [chuckles] these uppity laborers start noticing there are fewer of them, and they can ask for more money.The amount of control, at that stage at least, that the government has over a country going through an extraordinary set of challenges is quite remarkable, really.Henry: Did Bolingbroke do the right thing?Helen: I think Bolingbroke did the only possible thing, which, in some senses, equates to the right thing. If he had not come back, he would not only have been abandoning his own family, his dynasty, his inheritance, everything he'd been brought up to believe was his responsibility, but also abandoning England to what was pretty much by that stage, clearly, a situation of tyranny.The big argument is always, well, we can identify a tyrant, we have a definition of tyranny. That is, if a legitimate king rules in the common interest and according to the law, then a tyrant rules not in the common interest, and not according to the law. But then the thing that the political theorists argue about is whether or not you can actively resist a tyrant, or whether you have to wait for God to act.Then, the question is, "Might God be acting through me if I'm Bolingbroke?" That's what Bolingbroke has to hope, because if he doesn't do what he does in 1399, he is abandoning everything his whole life has been devoted to maintaining and taking responsibility for. It's quite hard to see where England would then end up, other than with somebody else trying to challenge Richard in the way that Henry does.Henry: Why was he anointed with Thomas Becket's oil?Helen: Because Richard had found it in the tower, [chuckles] and was making great play of the claims that were made for Thomas. This is one of the interesting things about Richard. He is simultaneously very interested in history, and interested in his place in history, his place in the lineage of English kings, going all the way back, particularly to the confessor to whom he looks as not only a patron saint, but as in some sense, a point of identification.He's also seeking to stop time at himself. He doesn't like to think about the future beyond himself. He doesn't show any interest in fathering an heir. His will is all about how to make permanent the judgments that he's made on his nobles. It's not about realistically what's going to happen after his death.In the course of his interest in history, he has found this vial of oil in the tower somewhere in a locked drawer with a note that says, "The Virgin gave this to Thomas Becket, and whoever is anointed with this oil shall win all his battles and shall lead England to greatness," et cetera. Richard has tried to have himself re-anointed, and even his patsy Archbishop of Canterbury that he's put in place after exiling the original one who'd stood up to him a bit.Even the new Archbishop of Canterbury says, "Sire, anointing doesn't really work like that. I'm afraid we can't do it twice." Richard has been wearing this vial round his neck in an attempt to claim that he is not only the successor to the confessor, but he is now the inheritor of this holy oil. The French king has had a holy oil for a very long time in the Cathedral of Reims, which was supposedly given to Clovis, the first king of France, by an angel, et cetera.Richard, who is always very keen on emulating, or paralleling the crown of France, is very, very keen on this. If you were Henry coming in 1399 saying, "No, God has spoken through me. The country has rallied to me. I am now the rightful king of England. We won't look too closely at my justifications for that," and you are appropriating the ceremonial of the crown, you are having yourself crowned in Westminster Abbey on the 13th of October, which is the feast day of the confessor, you are handed that opportunity to use the symbolism of this oil that Richard has just unearthed, and was trying to claim for himself. You can then say, "No, I am the first king crowned with this oil," and you're showing it to the French ambassadors and so on.If we are to believe the chroniclers, it starts making his hair fall out, which might be a contrary sign from God. It's a situation where you are usurping the throne, and what is questionable is your right to be there. Then, any symbolic prop you can get, you're going to lean on as hard as you can.Henry: A few general questions to close. Should we be more willing to open up old tombs?Helen: Yes. [laughs]Henry: Good. [laughs]Helen: I'm afraid, for me, historical curiosity is-- Our forebears in the 18th and 19th century had very few qualms at all. One of the things I love about the endless series of scholarly antiquarian articles that are-- or not so scholarly, in some cases, that are written about all the various tomb openings that went on in the 18th and 19th century, I do love the moments, where just occasionally, they end up saying, "Do you know what, lads? Maybe we shouldn't do this bit." [chuckles]They get right to the brink with a couple of tombs and say, "Oh, do you know what? This one hasn't been disturbed since 1260, whatever. Maybe we won't. We'll put it back." Mostly, they just crowbar the lid off and see what they can find, which one might regret in terms of what we might now find with greater scientific know-how, and et cetera. Equally, we don't do that kind of thing anymore unless we're digging up a car park. We're not finding things out anyway. I just love the information that comes out, so yes, for me.Henry: Dig up more tombs.Helen: Yes.Henry: What is it that you love about the Paston Letters?Helen: More or less everything. I love the language. I love the way that, even though most of them are dictated to scribes, but you can hear the dictation. You can hear individual voices. Everything we were saying about sentences. You can hear the rhythm. You can hear the speech patterns. I'm no linguistic expert, but I love seeing the different forms of spelling and how that plays out on the page.I love how recognizable they are as a family. I love the fact that we hear women's voices in a way that we very rarely do in the public records. The government which is mainly what we have to work with. I love Margaret Paston, who arrives at 18 as a new bride, and becomes the matriarch of the family. I love her relationship with her two eldest boys, John and John, and their father, John.I do wish they hadn't done that because it doesn't help those of us who are trying to write about them. I love the view you get of late medieval of 15th-century politics from the point of view of a family trying to survive it. The fact that you get tiny drops in letters that are also about shopping, or also about your sisters fall in love with someone unsuitable. Unsuitable only, I hasten to add, because he's the family bailiff, not because he isn't a wonderful and extremely able man. They all know those two things. It's just that he's a family bailiff, and therefore, not socially acceptable.I love that experience of being immersed in the world of a 15th-century gentry family, so politically involved, but not powerful enough to protect themselves, who can protect themselves in the Wars of the Roses in any case.Henry: If someone wants to read the Paston Letters, but they don't want to read Middle English, weird spelling, et cetera, is there a good edition that they can use?Helen: Yes, there is an Oxford World's Classic. They're all selected. There isn't a complete edition in modern spelling. If any publishers are listening, I would love to do one. [chuckles]Henry: Yes, let's have it.Helen: Let's have it. I would really, really love to do that. There are some very good selections. Richard Barber did one many years ago, and, of course, self-advertising. There is also my book, now more than 20 years old, about the Paston family, where I was trying to put in as much of the letters as I could. I wanted to weave the voices through. Yes, please go and read the Paston Letters in selections, in whatever form you can get them, and let's start lobbying for a complete modernized Paston.Henry: That's right. Why did you leave academia? Because you did it before it was cool.Helen: [laughs] That's very kind of you to say. My academic life was, and is very important to me, and I hate saying this now, because the academic world is so difficult now. I ended up in it almost by accident, which is a terrible thing to say now, people having to-- I never intended to be an academic. My parents were academics, and I felt I'd seen enough and wasn't sure I wanted to do that.I couldn't bear to give up history, and put in a PhD application to work with Christine Carpenter, who'd been the most inspiring supervisor when I was an undergraduate, got the place, thought, "Right, I'm just going to do a PhD." Of course, once you're doing a PhD, and everyone you know is starting to apply for early career jobs, which weren't even called early career jobs in those days, because it was a million years ago.I applied for a research fellowship, was lucky enough to get it, and then applied for a teaching job, utterly convinced, and being told by the people around me that I stood no chance of getting it, because I was way too junior, and breezed through the whole process, because I knew I wasn't going to get it, and then turned up looking for someone very junior.I got this wonderful teaching job at Sidney Sussex in Cambridge and spent eight years there, learned so much, loved working with the students. I was working very closely with the students in various ways, but I wasn't-- I'm such a slow writer, and a writer that needs to be immersed in what I was doing, and I just wasn't managing to write, and also not managing to write in the way I wanted to write, because I was becoming clearer and clearer about the fact that I wanted to write narrative history.Certainly, at that point, it felt as though writing narrative history for a general audience and being an early career academic didn't go so easily together. I think lots of people are now showing how possible it is, but I wasn't convinced I could do it. Then, sorry, this is a very long answer to what's [crosstalk] your question.Henry: That's good.Helen: I also had my son, and my then partner was teaching at a very different university, I mean, geographically different, and we were living in a third place, and trying to put a baby into that geographical [chuckles] setup was not going to work. I thought, "Well, now or never, I'll write a proposal for a book, a narrative, a book for a general readership, a narrative book about the Paxton family, because that's what I really want to write, and I'll see if I can find an agent, and I'll see if I," and I did.I found the most wonderful agent, with whose help I wrote a huge proposal, and got a deal for it two weeks before my son was due. At that point, I thought, "Okay, if I don't jump now, now or never, the stars are aligned." I've been a freelance medieval historian ever since then, touching every wood I can find as it continues to be possible. I am very grateful for those years in Cambridge. They were the making of me in terms of training and in terms of teaching.I certainly think without teaching for those years, I wouldn't be anywhere near as good a writer, because you learn such a lot from talking to, and reading what students produce.Henry: How do you choose your subjects now? How do you choose what to write about?Helen: I follow my nose, really. It's not very scientific.Henry: Why should it be?Helen: Thank you. The book, bizarrely, the book that felt most contingent, was the one I wrote after the Paston book, because I knew I'd written about the Pastons in my PhD, and then again more of it in the monograph that was based on my PhD. I knew having written about the Pastons in a very academic, analytical way, contributing to my analysis of 15th-century politics. I knew I wanted to put them at the center and write about them. That was my beginning point.The big question was what to do next, and I was a bit bamboozled for a while. The next book I ended up writing was She-Wolves, which is probably, until now, my best-known book. It was the one that felt most uncertain to me, while I was putting it together, and that really started from having one scene in my head, and it's the scene with which the book opens. It's the scene of the young Edward VI in 1553, Henry VIII's only son, dying at the age of 15.Suddenly, me suddenly realizing that wherever you looked on the Tudor family tree at that point, there were only women left. The whole question of whether a woman could rule was going to have to be answered in some way at that point, and because I'm a medievalist, that made me start thinking backwards, and so I ended up choosing some medieval queens to write about, because they've got their hands on power one way or another.Until very close to finishing it, I was worried that it wouldn't hang together as a book, and the irony is that it's the one that people seem to have taken to most. The next book after that grew out of that one, because I found myself going around talking about She-Wolves, and saying repeatedly, "The problem these queens faced was that they couldn't lead an army on the battlefield."Women couldn't do that. The only medieval woman who did that was Joan of Arc, and look what happened to her. Gradually, I realized that I didn't really know what had happened to her. I mean, I did know what--Henry: Yes, indeed.Helen: I decided that I really wanted to write about her, so I did that. Then, having done that, and having then written a very short book about Elizabeth I, that I was asked to write for Penguin Monarchs, I realized I'd been haunted all this time by Richard and Henry, who I'd been thinking about and working on since the very beginning of my PhD, but I finally felt, perhaps, ready to have a go at them properly.It's all been pretty organic apart from She-Wolves, which was the big, "What am I writing about next?" That took shape slowly and gradually. Now, I'm going to write about Elizabeth I properly in a-Henry: Oh, exciting.Helen: -full-scale book, and I decided that, anyway, before I wrote this last one, but I-- It feels even righter now, because I Am Richard II, Know Ye Not That, feels even more intensely relevant having now written about Richard and Henry, and I'm quite intimidated because Elizabeth is quite intimidating, but I think it's good, related by your subjects.[laughter]Henry: Have you read the Elizabeth Jenkins biography?Helen: Many, many years ago. It's on my shelf here.Henry: Oh, good.Helen: In fact, so it's one of the things I will be going back to. Why do you ask particularly? I need--Henry: I'm a big Elizabeth Jenkins fan, and I like that book particularly.Helen: Wonderful. Well, I will be redoubled in my enthusiasm.Henry: I look forward to seeing what you say about it. What did you learn from Christine Carpenter?Helen: Ooh. Just as precision was the word that came into my head when you asked me about Hilary Mantel, the word that comes into my head when you ask about Christine is rigor. I think she is the most rigorous historical thinker that I have ever had the privilege of working with and talking to. I am never not on my toes when I am writing for, talking to, reading Christine. That was an experience that started from the first day I walked into her room for my first supervision in 1987.It was really that rigor that started opening up the medieval world to me, asking questions that at that stage I couldn't answer at all, but suddenly, made everything go into technicolor. Really, from the perspective that I had been failing to ask the most basic questions. I would sometimes have students say to me, "Oh, I didn't say that, because I thought it was too basic."I have always said, "No, there is no question that is too basic." Because what Christine started opening up for me was how does medieval government work? What are you talking about? There is the king at Westminster. There is that family there in Northumberland. What relates the two of them? How does this work? Think about it structurally. Think about it in human terms, but also in political structural terms, and then convince me that you understand how this all goes together. I try never to lose that.Henry: Helen Castor, thank you very much.Helen: Thank you so much. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.commonreader.co.uk/subscribe

It's time for The Truth!Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at the Premier League, and the argument that's been raging on social media as to whether this is a Premier League cast that's strong or weak? On one side, you have the earliest that three teams have been confirmed as relegated in Premier League history, as well as Champions in Liverpool who were crowned in April - but realistically haven't lost control since November. Plus, two traditional powerhouses in Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have languished at the bottom, whilst City's title defence never really got going. A lack of jeopardy, perhaps - but what does that say about the strength of the rest?On the other hand, there's a stronger than ever middle class in the Premier League, able to take points off the big boys on a regular basis. Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford and Fulham are still scrapping for the final European spot, and each of them have had big name scalps, and possess certain players that their mid-table counterparts in some of the European leagues could only dream of. Surely that suggests this is a stronger class than ever before, especially with 12th-placed Crystal Palace making their way to Wembley for an FA Cup final? 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?

Episode 166:As with 'Richard II' 'Henry IV part 1' handles some complex English history as it examines the relationships between the King, his son and the powerful Percy family. After the deposition of Richard II Henry ruled for fourteen years until his death. Having ended 'Richard II' with Henry's accession to the throne and Richard's death in prison Shakespeare opens this play just a few years later, but with a vision of a tired king and a country dissatisfied with his rule. The setting for the playA brief synopsis of the playThe dating of the playThe early performance history of the playThe publication history of the playThe sources for the playThe balance of history and comedyThe historical accuracy of the playThe play as an examination of the father/son relationshipThe character of Hotspur as a medieval knightThe portrayal of Glendower as a mystic leaderThe role of the aristocratic ladiesPrince Hal as a new sort of leaderFalstaff, ruler of his own sort of court and a king of everymanThe historical figure of Sir John OldcastleThe later performance history of the playSupport the podcast at:www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.comwww.patreon.com/thoetpwww.ko-fi.com/thoetp Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello Rank Squad! We're well into the final stretch of this domestic season now, and whilst there are many things decided - Bayern and Liverpool are going to win their domestic leagues, for example, and certain relegation fights seem over before they've begun - there is still plenty of drama to be getting stuck into if you know where to look. So consider this episode a little bit of a guide - we start with the fight for European football in the Premier League, from the Champions League all the way down to the Conference League; before turning our attention to the title races in Italy and Spain. We also take a look at the European scraps in both of those leagues, as well as a mad Bundesliga dogfight in the middle of the park for very few European spaces. Jack finishes us off with a little whip round some of the most interesting stories from the relegation dogfights in Spain, Italy and France - including a team who were in the opening stages of the Champions League sleepwalking towards relegation, and Parma's unusual method of attempting to draw themselves to safety. 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?

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for this week's second Champions League Takeaway - looking back at Wednesday's Quarter Final second legs, where Arsenal and Inter were able to maintain their first leg advantages to progress to the semi-finals, but in very different circumstances. Dean is back in San Diego and back in the booth, so we start with Arsenal winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu to knock out the holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate, reaching their first semi-final since 2009 in the process, and starting what could be a long period of self-reflection for Los Blancos. It was a game full of drama, but one which Arsenal controlled, and they were worthy winners both on the night and over the two legs. Then in Part Two, we head to San Siro, where a full-blooded, full-throttle affair between Inter and Bayern Munich ended in a 2-2 draw, sending Inter through to the final four with a 4-3 aggregate win. We explore why Inter are so good at getting back up when they've been punched, and how their experience in the dugout helped them see out this tie with another very impressive performance both defensively and offensively. 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?

Tim, Sam and Vass are back to discuss the latest games. A placid 1-0 defeat at Chelsea and a 3-1 home victory against Southampton. We talk line ups and tactica. We discuss in game moments and incidents. We talk about the club's financial performance and the Chairman's statement. We talk club protests; Ange's future and look forward to the upcoming Europa League QF plus much more. COYS

Spurs Chat: Discussing all Things Tottenham Hotspur: Hosted by Chris Cowlin: The Daily Tottenham/Spurs Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello Rank Squad! On Monday news broke that Trent Alexander-Arnold's move to Real Madrid this summer was close to being completed, with the Liverpool defender seemingly leaving his boyhood club for free at the expiration of his contract this summer, and it got us thinking - who else is in the same category of being on the open market this summer and where could they go?We start with a discussion of the three Liverpool names that have been in the spotlight all season - Trent, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah - taking a look at who is perhaps most expendable, who is least replaceable, and what we think might play out, especially with Salah and VVD, as well as taking a brief look at some potential replacements. Then it's on to some other names - we discuss the futures of Angel Gomes, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Leroy Sane, Jonathan David, and young Swedish talent Roony Bardghji - and where they all might be plying their trades next season given the expiration of their current deals at their current homes. Jack finishes us off with a few more names to keep an eye on as the deadlines for extensions get closer and closer - Andre Franck Zambo Anguissa of Napoli, Marco Verratti of Al-Arabi - who is being linked with a move back to Europe - Sergio Reguilon of Tottenham Hotspur, and Espanyol captain Javi Puado. 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?

Hello Rank Squad! After 70 years domestically, or 54 years across the board, Newcastle United finally got their hands on silverware again this weekend, beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final to end one of the longest trophy droughts in English football, and doing it in some style. Big Danny Burn completed his incredible redemption arc and Alexander Isak got the match-winner as a lifetime of black and white suffering ended at English football's stately home.We discuss the joy of the celebrations and what Newcastle need to do next to use this as a springboard for future success, before turning our attention to other clubs in with a shot at ending their own barren spells this season. We discuss most of the teams left in the FA Cup, as well as Tottenham Hotspur in our segment on the Premier League clubs, before turning our attention to Europe - where Jack points out opportunities for Bologna, Stuttgart and Fiorentina in particular, as well as long shots for Stade Reims, Go Ahead Eagles and Rio Ave. 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?

Dan, Andy and Vass are back to discuss the latest week in the life of Tottenham Hotspur. Victory in the Europa League last 16 was short lived as defeat to Fulham in the Premier League means that the feel good factor dissipates quickly. We look back at the performances in both games and talk about many things as a glimpse of Ange Ball on Thursday left us wondering if this was a really a thing. We take in your questions and much more. Thank you for joining us. COYS

Hello Rank Squad!Today we decided to take a look at the current state of the Premier League, which has had an exclusive winners club since it broke away from the Football League in 1992. Seven teams have won a 'Premier League' title since that time, and we wanted to take a look at who could become the eighth. (Yes, we know football didn't begin in 1992, but it makes for an interesting discussion...) Dean walks us through his top five contenders to join that winner's circle, discussing Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, and why each should look to the future with hope and optimism. Jack doesn't agree with them all, but that's part of the fun. Before we get into that, there's time to discuss the goings on from the FA Cup at the weekend - which Dean looks at through a personal lens, and the levels between Fulham and Manchester United throughout his life; whilst Jack is just excited that there's a real possibility we see a new name on the trophy this season. 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?

Hello Rank Squad!There are 16 clubs left in the Champions League with the Playoffs done and this year, there's a bracket in place so that we can plan out routes all the way to the final in Munich. So, given we have just a week until we're back in the thick of it, we wanted to take the opportunity to examine where all those clubs are and how likely they are to be lifting the trophy in May. So, 16 to 1, we decided to do just that - explaining our reasoning and discussing why we have certain teams in (vastly!) different places in our current rankings. There's a whole lot of variation in how the two of us see things right now, with Dean's reverence for experience and pedigree clashing quite dissonantly with Jack's reliance on form and current performance. To round things off, Jack takes us on a quickfire tour of both the Europa and Conference League favourites right now, as well as a couple of wildcards to keep your eyes on on Thursday nights. 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?

Well, it looks like the three sides promoted from the Champo last season are heading straight back down to the second tier. Kieran McKenna and his boys have given the Premier League a good go, but it's just not happening for them and Leicester this season...Need we even mention Southampton?Elsewhere, Marcus, Luke & Vish react to the fresh demands from Daniel Levy and his marketing staff who wish for their club to be referred to as 'Tottenham Hotspur' or simply 'Spurs', NOT 'Tottenham'.Tottenham host Manchester City tomorrow night.We're going on tour! Get your tickets now: https://footballramblelive.com.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.

Sam, Tim and Vass are back this week to discuss Spurs third premier league victory in a row as Ipswich are beaten 4-1 at Portman Road. We discuss performance and game incidents, as well as Djed Spence, Lucas Bergval and Kevin Danso. We ask what is behind the team's upturn in form and whether it can continue. We talk Europa League, Ange, and the club briefing media on what the club should be referred to! We look ahead to Man City at home on Wednesday, take in your questions and much more. COYS

Newcastle host Manchester City in the Oil Classico. Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglu try to pull their squads out of their current tailspins in a meeting of the mids at Hotspur stadium. Over in Italy, Napoli try to keep their title charge moving as they travel to Rome to face Lazio. Inter and Juve square up in what could be a make or break moment or each club's league ambitions this year.

Hello Rank Squad! The January transfer window has closed for another year, and Deadline Day threw up a chaotic bundle of stories to sift through as usual. We examine the final days, and the window as a whole to pull out the most intriguing deals that have piqued our attention for a variety of reasons, and discuss why. Then, we broaden the lens - taking a look at the most radical business, the most transformative window, and the most restorative action taken across the Premier League, before Jack rounds things off with a quick flick round some of the weird and wonderful things that happened in Europe more generally. 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?

Sam, Andy, Vass and Billie are here to discuss this weeks Spurs life. Two wins on the bounce as progress is made against Elfsborg in the Europa League with goals from youngsters Scarlett, Ajayi and Moore, folllowed up by a much needed Premier League win at Brentford. We discuss perfomances, more injuries and a change in footballing strategy. We look at the transfer window and discuss new and potential signings. We talke ENIC and the pressure on Daniel Levy. And we finally look forward to a critical week ahead in the domestic cups.

It's time for The Truth!If you look at the top of the Premier League table, you'll see a few of the country's most famous and recently successful clubs in the pack, but you'll also find a previously fallen giant - in the form of Nottingham Forest, and an upstart underdog - in the form of Bournemouth, going toe-to-toe with the big boys.  But how did they do it? What's behind the successes of the Tricky Trees and the Cherries this season, just a few years after promotion from the Championship - how did they turn themselves from relegation battlers or mid-table stalwarts into genuine contenders for European spots at the end of this season?We take a look at their differing strategies in both the transfer market activity and the tactical sense with which they play, examine which feels more sustainable, and hand out some very well-earned credit to two brilliant managers and two clubs doing things their own way. Is this a one-off, or is it a model that other clubs could use to find success? Are these high-flying underdogs showing a new way to go about things, or could they be just another one-season wonder? 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 end of the transfer window riding up on us quicker than anybody expected, and with nobody but Manchester City really getting the gears into action so far, there are a whole lot of stories building up to breaking point in the next few days. On today's show, Transfer Guru Dean Jones walks us through ten talking points about what deals are in the offing, and what to expect in terms of the market movers and shakers. We discuss potential swap deals, outgoings at Manchester United, Chelsea's plan to sign a forward, Tottenham's long-term ambitions, City looking to plug the midfield hole, Arsenal's eyes on a potential loan move for a No 9, and much more - as well as the potential futures for players such as Evan Ferguson, Ansu Fati, Alejandro Garnacho, João Félix and the rest. Before that, Jack runs through three things he loved at the weekend - including the chaos at AC Milan, Gavi's future-captain-turn on the sidelines for Barcelona, and Jota v3 returning to Celtic Park after a brutal spell away. 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?

Deja Vu. After a promising away victory in the Europa League away at Hoffenheim on Thursday we are back to reality with an almighty bump as Spurs lose to Leicester at home in the Premier League. Many questions to answer, most of which are on repat these days but Tim, Andy and Dan are back to try and make sense of it. There's even a quiz to mark our 200th episode since the rebrand. Thank you for joining us. COYS

Hello Rank Squad!We talk a lot about the teams who are outdoing themselves, playing above their means, and taking their rightful flowers for their performances, but there's two sides to every coin. For every Bournemouth, there's a West Ham; for every Mainz, a Borussia Dortmund; and every Athletic Club, a Real Betis. We break down the teams who have struggled to meet their expectations across the course of this season - those who have flattered to deceive, those who have fallen well short of their pre-season expectations, and those who have been forced to reconsider their course midway through the campaign. Before that, there's time to look at a few more things going on in Europe - the resurgence of Kylian Mbappé's Real Madrid form and the fact that all three of the 'Tres Grandes' of Portugal - Sporting, Benfica and Porto - have now changed coaches in the same season for the first time in history. 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?

Sam, Tim, Dan and Vass are back to discuss the worsening situation at THFC. Seven defeats in ten premier league games is relegation form and losses to Arsenal in the NLD and Everton away have added to the sombre mood around the squad and the fan base. Is this the end of Ange Postecoglou? Should it be? We discuss this and talk about both defeats. We talk injuries and the lack of activity in the transfer window. We discuss ENIC and their role in the demise that is happening and wonder if there is any positives we can take. We take in your questions and much more. COYS

Hello Rank Squad! We're taking things a little off-piste this week here on Ranks, stepping away from the transfer news that has dominated the headlines (and our recent podcasts) to take a bit of a wider look at the season so far as a whole - and specifically who has put themselves in strong positions to lift trophies at the end of the campaign. We start things off by looking back at the final of the Supercopa de España where Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-2 to lift their first silverware of the season, and examining what the performance means for the hopes of both clubs for the rest of this season. It leads us into a discussion around the Champions League and who looks on course to go deep. In Part Two, we discuss four of Europe's biggest leagues, the Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A, and the title races that exist within them; before finishing with a quick look at the Europa League and the Conference League 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?

Brad Tindall makes his triumphant return to the podcast to discuss his beloved Hotspur with Jake and Mike. We talk Seagulls and Spurs and some other American soccer stuff. Enjoy!

Hello Rank Squad! We're back on more regular programming and with the transfer window now officially open, we wanted to take a look at the teams who desperately need some market moves to reignite faltering seasons - for one reason or another. Dean takes us through the three Premier League sides who are most in need of squad refreshes during the month of January, whilst Jack peeks in at some of the most interesting things needed in Europe across the board. Before that, there's time for us to take a look at two of the more interesting cup games from this week - Newcastle beating Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, and Milan coming from behind to beat Inter in the final of the Supercoppa Italiano in just Sergio Conceição's second game in charge of the Rossoneri. 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?

Sam Matterface is alongside talkSPORT's Alex Crook and former Chelsea defender Scott Minto to unpack the weekend's Premier League actionComing up: More chaos at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the walls (and roof) continue to cave in on Ruben Amorim and life off for Vitor Pereira at Wolves! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for The Truth!Tottenham Hotspur are an enigma. Sometimes they look unstoppable, like in their 4-0 rout of Manchester City a few weeks ago. At other times they look turgid, slow and far too easy to break down. It's led to a fanbase split on whether the manager is the problem, or just another symptom of something that goes far deeper. Sam and Dougie discuss why things seems so weirdly up and down for Spurs, with a lack of consistency highlighted across their games not just this season, but over the entirety of 2024. In recent weeks, there has been a pretty visceral negative reaction to the manager - Ange Postecoglou - from elements of this Tottenham fanbase, whilst others have suggested that because these problems stretch far further back than the Australian's tenure, there is almost certainly something deeper going on. Does the ownership need to take more accountability? Nobody is doubting the impressive nature of the facilities,  both at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium, or at their state of the art training ground, but has there been enough squad investment to give both players and coach a fair crack at ending the trophy hoodoo?Has Ange Postecoglou's lack of flexibility in how he wants his team to play been exposed in the Premier League? Or is this just another injury and fatigue crisis that a squad is failing to manager? 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?

Two defeats in a week and the mood is changing. A no show against Bournemouth and a game where defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory against Chelsea. Is Ange naive or does he need more time? Are the players as good as we think they are? Will Daniel Levy ever spend big and go for it on the football pitch? So much to ponder. We talk all matters Spurs and take in your questions as always. Thanks for joining us

Hello Rank Squad! We're returning to one of our staples this week, an old-school ranking that takes on one of our favourite topics—the players who have stepped up their game this season and taken things to a whole new level. We cross Europe to take in a number of ballers who have reached new heights since we kicked off again in August, and hand out due flowers to those most deserving of them. Our journey takes us to Bergamo to take in a striking sensation; Frankfurt for a man who might be Europe's most explosive this year; Florence for a career resurrected in superb style; Catalonia for a written-off Brazilian making waves in Blaugrana; and Merseyside for the midfield maestro maybe nobody saw coming - as well as giving out some honourable mentions for good measure. Before that, Dean's Things We Love discusses the current situation at Manchester City and how this sets up Pep Guardiola to perform one of his most impressive feats in the game of football, whilst Jack has some love for the response crews in Fiorentina-Inter who were to rapid to react to shocking scenes with Edoardo Bove's collapse, as well as some uplifting news on his recovery. 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?

Vass, Andy and Billie are back to dissect the issues from the past week in the life of Spurs. This time two draws. A 1-1 draw with Fulham in the Premier League which was preceded by a chaotic 2-2 draw with Roma in the Europa League. We talk about inconsistency and ask whether this is just a Spurs thing? We talk about the squad composition and ask questions about Ange's squad rotation. Is it needs must, or is there something more to it. We take in your questions and comments and much more. Thank you for joining us and don't forget to subscribe to the pod. COYS

Tim, Andy and Vass are back to discuss the amazing performance against Manchester City at The Etihad. We talk player performances, analyse the goals and contmplate what this means for the team and whether Spurs can at last find some consistency in their play going forward. We take in your questions as ever, and talk about Bentancur's ban and the club's recent rebrand. We also look ahead to the games against Roma and Fulham.

Vass, Dan, Billie and Andy are back to discuss the awful defeat to Ipswich Town at home as well as the dissapointing performance away at Galatasaray in the Premier League. We discus what went wrong and whether the club switches off prematurely before an international break? Or is this endemic of something deeper at the club? Where do the issued lie? Players? Manager? Both? And what happens next?We talk individual performances and much, much more as we take in your questions and comments too. Dont forget to review and subscribe and please tell your friends about the pod. COYS 

This week Tim, Dan and Billie are back with special guest Paul O'Keefe joining the chat. We look back at two victories - over City in the Carabao Cup and over Aston Villa in the Premier League. We take the opportunity to tap in to some info from Paul on the workings of player signings and scouting in general, and we take in your questions too. Please don't forget to like, subscribe, review and recommend the pod to your friends :). COYS 

Hello Rank Squad! We're just over two months from the January Transfer Window opening, and whilst that seems like some time, it'll roll round fast - so the backroom staff across a number of teams are hard at work in working out what they're going to do when the curtain rises. Today, we're taking a look at the big questions facing a number of Premier League teams in the mid-season shuffle, from doubling down on squad depth to capitalise on a hot start, to replacing a key member of the squad who will be out for the entire season, to offloading some of the deadwood in the squad to make space for new blood. We touch on Liverpool's contract dilemmas, Manchester City's potential Rodri replacements and rotators, Newcastle United's stick-or-twist question on a new forward and the future of Alexander Isak, Tottenham's Richarlison quandary, and Chelsea's long-term interest in a goalkeeper and a Number 9. Before that, there's time for Things We Love, which this week consists of Dean's excitement for the genesis of San Diego FC and how a brilliant Decision Day and a beautifully poised MLS Cup Playoff setup has fuelled that; whilst Jack talks about his visit to Deportivo La Coruña last weekend to see a former giant of the Spanish game, and some of the exciting young players he caught a glimpse of whilst at Riazor. 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?

Join Tim, Sam, Dan and Billie as they discuss all things Spurs and what a fabulous weekend of football it's been all round! #coys

Sam, Billie and Vass are back to discuss the games against Ferencvaros in the Europa League and more so the game against Brighton where Spurs squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 after a dominant first half display. We discuss the reasons for this and wonder why Spurs always seem to lose before an international break? Is it a weak mindset? Do players switch off? Can the manager do more? All this and much more in this weeks episode. Thank you for joiing us and please don't forget to hit the like and subscribe buttons and to leave us a (positive) review :). COYS

This week, Vass, Dan and Andy are here to look back on a convincing victory at Old Trafford as Spurs beat United 3-0, as well as look at our opening Europa League fixture against Qarabag which was also won 3-0. Brennan Johnson scores 4 in 4 and Dominic Solanke gets 3 in 3 as Spurs good form continues. COYS

Join Tim, Dan and Sam as they discuss the latest week of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club including a terrible win in Coventry and a good win against Brentford at White Hart Lane.

Hello Rank Squad!The window is shut, there's been a few games to see how teams look, and it's time to finalise our long-term predictions for this season, which can only mean one thing here on Ranks - it's time for 5x5! And, as has become tradition for this episode, the Rank God Sam Tighe is back in the building to share the microphone with Dean and Jack.The concept is simple - we each pick how we think the top five in England, Germany, Italy, France and Spain are going to look when the curtain falls in May.First, we take a look at what happened last time out, before working through our selections, our thoughts on how a shedload of sides have started their campaigns, and some more questionable bold calls from Jack, hot off his successful Leverkusen shout last year.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?

Hello Rank Squad!We're back (and icing our league previews series for a week) to take a look at the big storylines dominating the Premier League transfer landscape ahead of the transfer window closing on Friday. Dean walks us through the headlines for each of the Premier League's top eight from last year - Arsenal's search for a forward, Manchester City's desire for an Alvarez replacement, Manchester United's central midfield hole, Chelsea's mass exodus and striker hunt, Liverpool's market management strategy, Newcastle's remaining budget, Spurs' defensive reinforcement plan, and Aston Villa's early business meaning a potentially quiet end. There's a return for Things We Love, where Dean discusses Endrick getting off the mark for Real Madrid before star signing Kylian Mbappé and why the early clunkiness makes La Liga more exciting, whilst Jack is getting very enamoured with the new-look PSG, mostly because of the burgeoning relationship between Bradley Barcola and João Neves, who have exploded into the new season. And finally, Dean's Guru Wisdom has him sharing his opening experiences in the world of American Youth Soccer, where Dylan has taken some tentative first steps into becoming MLS' next shining light at the tender age of 6. 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?

EXCLUSIVE - NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/lwos Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! To get the best discount off your NordVPN plan - go to nordvpn.com/lwos - our link will also give you 4 extra months on the 2-year plan. There's no risk with Nord's 30 day money-back guarantee! Host Ricky Sacks is joined by Spurs Stadium Singer James Black, Patrick Tyrant and George Achillea as the panel build-up to Tottenham Hotspur's first home game of the season at home to Everton. James Black is bringing the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium show around the world to Spurs supporters clubs for away game screenings. Already at Texas Dallas Phoenix Norway Malta Dublin etc. If you're interested in the remaining dates get in touch: Social Handle: @TheVoiceOfSpurs An independent Tottenham Hotspur Fan Channel providing instant post-match analysis and previews to every single Spurs match along with a range of former players, managers & special guests. Whilst watching our content we would greatly appreciate if you can LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to the channel, along with leaving a COMMENT below. - DIRECT CHANNEL INFORMATION: - Media/General Enquiries: lastwordonspurs@outlook.com - SOCIALS: * Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LastWordOnSpurs * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LastWordOnSpurs * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LastWordOnSpurs * Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/@LastWordOnSpurs * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LastWordOnSpurs WEBSITE: www.lastwordonspurs.com #THFC #TOTTENHAM #COYS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The year is 1403, and the Usurper King, Henry IV, faces a seemingly insurmountable challenge to his rule. He has been brought the news that his old friend, Harry “Hotspur” Percy, has betrayed him, and plans to lead his army against the King. Meanwhile, to the West, the revolt in Wales continues, at its head the formidable welsh king Owain Glyndŵr. And even in Scotland, where Henry IV thought he'd settled things down by silencing the terrifying Earl of Douglas, there is more trouble: a kitchen boy is claiming to be Richard II. And having made it halfway up to Scotland with his army to quell the newfound unrest, Henry IV must turn around, and march his men towards Wales, to face Hotspur at Schrewsbury... Join Tom and Dominic as they dive into the biggest revolt against Henry IV's rule, the making of his son and heir, Prince Hal, and the fate of the real Sir John Falstaff, abandoned by his dear friend Hal. _______ *The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.* If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.  *The Rest Is History LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall* Tom and Dominic, accompanied by a live orchestra, take a deep dive into the lives and times of two of history's greatest composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello Rank Squad! It's Showtime once again in the Premier League, and so we're back to preview the season ahead of time in an episode that's become something of an annual tradition on Ranks FC.Jack and Dean get stuck into a preview of where we are ahead of the curtain raiser on Friday night, first examining those teams in contention for the title and discussing whether this could finally be the time that Arsenal get the better of Manchester City in that race for the trophy. Then it's on to the European contenders, opening with Arne Slot's new-look, same-players Liverpool, and working our way through Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle United - the teams who made up last season's top eight. After that we flip to the bottom to look at if we'll be having a repeat of the promoted teams being the ones to slip back into the Championship at the end of the campaign - can any of Leicester City, Ipswich Town or Southampton avoid succumbing to the yo-yo fate we saw last year?We discuss the middle order too, before launching into a series of predictions for Golden Boot winner, most assists, Player of the Season, best new signings, surprise packages - for good and bad - and first managers to face the dreaded axe. 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?

Hello Rank Squad! Pre-season is firmly underway and we've seen a mixed bag from some of the clubs on everybody's lips right now. We've taken five Premier League teams and ranked them on how we think they're getting on - stacking up their expectations ahead of the season against the performances that we've seen so far. We share our thoughts on Enzo Maresca's Chelsea, Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton & Hove Albion, Erik ten Hag's Manchester United, Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal - examining the squads, the games, and what we can ascertain from their on-pitch product in the warm-up act for the new season. Before that, there's Things We Love, where Dean discusses the strange nature of West Ham United's transfer approach this summer, and Jack waxes lyrical about the brilliance of Emma Hayes' USWNT at the Olympics so far. And of course, the latest update of Dean's American Life finishes things off, where we learn about the 'incredible' season ticket he has purchased for...a car wash. 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?