Second Captains: Recent Episodes
Second Captains
Listen to the award winning Second Captains free to air podcasts, presented by Eoin McDevitt, Ciáran Murphy and Ken Early. Subscribe to daily shows at secondcaptains.com/join
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The warring football confederations of the world have once again spent the weekend slinging statements at one another. But is Gianni Infantino’s position substantively any worse than it was this time last week?
We look at some of the pre-publicity for the new Jose Mourinho Netflix documentary and wonder how we have come to such a pass that Mourinho can be considered ‘old school’.
There’s also more on why Vini Jr would have been better off joining Arsenal, and a new clutch of billionaires wanting to buy a chunk of the Premier League.
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Camogie is in it’s “Let It Flow” era, and it made for a hell of a game between Cork and Galway, two sides that keep meeting in finals and two sides that.... straight up don’t like each other.
We chat to friend of the show Sinead O’Carroll of The Journal about Cork's narrow win, the beef between these two and the levels of physicality in the game now.
Plus there's Branno's fruit theory, Galway in finals, Seamus Coleman's GAA career and Irish athletics fans are denied their McPhillips - English showdown.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to all our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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This week on the Pod the curious World of FIFA continued to unravel before our eyes. To help guide us through the labyrinth, experienced FIFA-ologist Sam Kunti joined us to chat Infantino and possible contenders for the throne.
To listen to all of our programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Galway are All-Ireland women’s football champions for 2026, ending a 22-year wait for their second title, but the result was in doubt right until the final whistle. And earlier in the weekend, 10,000 miles away, a collection of Ireland’s best gaelic footballers were taking on the best Australian AFLW players in a first international Aussie Rules match.
Five-time All-Ireland winner Noelle Healy, and one of Ireland’s star players Vikki Wall are with us to discuss last-minute controversies, the lacklustre final at the end of a positive season, and representing your country in front of a packed-out, 75% Irish crowd in North Sydney.
The Japanese Ambassador to Ireland also makes an appearance, and we discuss a big week for Irish clubs in Europe, with real football man™️ Kevin Brannigan.
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You'd have thought Gianni Infantino’s rambling, incoherent, self congratulatory instagram post to all the losers and haters out there would have been the main FIFA story of the week, but he has trumped it by unveiling a plan to sell the World Cup to private investors. Ken explained why selling the soul of football to American businessmen is bad for everyone involved in the game.
We also chatted to Tariq Panja of the NYT about how likely this is to happen and who can stop Infantino.
Mayo's All Ireland triumph dominated the week. We had great chats with Andy Moran and Kobe McDonald, we got Paul Flynn and Dara O'Cinneide to explain how Mayo pulled this off, and Murph and Ken went to Castlebar for their homecoming, where Ken revealed how much he loves this side and why they remind him so much of Argentina.
Tomorrow we have another football show for you; we talk about two of the fallen giants of European football, Italy and Germany, appointing Mancini and Klopp, two managers who have done a lot in the game but who's public images have taken a hit in recent times.
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Given their underdog status, the weight of history and the Clifford factor, how did Mayo pull this off?
We chat to Paul Flynn and Dara Ó Cinnéide about Moran's masterplan, teenage kicks, Mayo's energy edge and a sensational display from Ryan O'Donoghue.
Was this the greatest football season ever? Was this better than the World Cup? And what data did Ken utilise in order to predict a Mayo win?
Plus there's Cubs caps, Coyne's calling and "be more Mayo".
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75 years, the curse, the finals, all those heroes denied ... until yesterday, it finally happened, Mayo are the All Ireland Champions!
This morning Murph caught up with Kobe McDonald, Jordan Flynn and manager Andy Moran.
We discuss the greatest ever day in Croker, the many Hollywood moments and the reality living up to the dream.
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This week on the Pod marked the return of Ken from the New World and with him he brings tales of Argentinian conspiracy theories. We also had Gavin Cooney drop by to chat about the legacy of Kevin Keegan.
To listen to all of our programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Galway wanted it to be one way, but it was the other way. Limerick are All-Ireland champions for the sixth time in nine years, and they were seldom troubled by an opposition that were outplayed, outfought and outgunned.
Jamie Wall and Joe Canning talk us through how Limerick came good on All-Ireland final day - again; the ageless brilliance of their best players, the new blood coming through, and why they’re still the ultimate challenge.
Plus we discuss the one happy Galway man yesterday, Kiely’s finals record, and facing not chasing.
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Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, well maybe Messi wishes he had. Spain are Campeones del Mundo!
It was a strange final leaving questions lingering of how FIFA has been allowed to reduce the centre-piece of the football world to an add-on alongside a tacky, ill-conceived concert.
Ken dials in for the last time this tournament. We hope you’ve enjoyed it all.
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Welcome to our World Cup taster show which this week has us throw you - the listener- straight into the middle of Ken Early's report live from Atlanta as Argentina celebrate their classic semi-final win over England below him. You'll also hear Tim Vickery and David Sneyd and if you sign up you'll hear a lot more...
To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Two sell-outs in Croke Park this weekend, a bewildering cocktail of storylines, and a Kerry/Mayo final to look forward to in 2 weeks time - Dara Ó Cinnéide and Paul Flynn discuss VAR, Mayo’s forwards, and Louth hitting the wall.
And Oisin McConville joins us to tell us how he and his Wicklow team turned a 13-point deficit into the most glorious day in their football history.
All that plus concertina solos, high emotion, and the best summer this sport might have ever had.
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England will wake up on Sunday morning with a hangover and a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
The once maligned Jude Bellingham again rescued this English team before becoming embroiled in a bizarre post-match back and forth with his manager via the medium of ITV.
We chat to Lars about the view from Oslo (well, Dallas) and discuss TV cable interference, and the hooking of Rice and Haaland.
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Welcome to our World Cup taster show which this week finds us in Atlanta as Ken expertly reports live from the stadium moments after Argentina overcome Egypt in one of the games of the tournament.
To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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The hurling season needed two big semi-finals, and this weekend was redemptive.
Galway provided the shock, Clare came within minutes of joining them, and the fifth meeting of Cork and Limerick will not materialise after all. Jamie Wall and Joe Canning talk the Cork hype train, the mental scars from last year, Galway’s third-quarter masterclass, and Limerick’s resilience and composure down the stretch.
Plus there’s Ned Stark wisdom, manifestation and Cork's shocking second half stats.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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England survived weather delays, altitude, the home fans, a red card, a penalty and their own history to overcome Mexico 3-2 at the Azteca and go through to a World Cup QF against Norway.
It will be Norway's first ever World Cup QF with Haaland bossing the Brazil defence, scoring two goals and cementing his status as one of the greats.
We chat to Ken in NYC and Lars in Dallas about an epic night of football and Trump lobbying FIFA to lift the USMNT striker Folarin Balogun’s ban for a red card.
Plus there's Neymar's tears, angry Shearer and Taylor's type.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Welcome to our World Cup taster show which includes slow moving Americans, German ghosts and Ken on the range. Tonight we cover Spain Austria and Ronaldo's latest/last shot at winning the World Cup. Ken and Branno are in NYC and will be covering Pico V Messi and Vini V Haaland.
To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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The All-Ireland football quarter-finals did not disappoint, and we have two tasty semi-finals to look forward to - Kerry against Dublin, which a small number of people might have predicted, and Mayo against Louth, which absolutely no-one would have predicted.
Paul Flynn and Dara Ó Cinnéide are the best in the business, and they have much to discuss - red cards, penalties, Kobe's one shot at the title, how far can this new-look Dublin team go, and should Tyrone have started Darren McCurry?
Plus there’s sad celebrations, old man Ronaldo and the impetuosity of youth.
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England are into the knock-out stages of the World Cup where they will face DR Congo. It took them just over an hour to score the first of two goals against Panama and previous Tuchel-Boosters are beginning to have doubts. Ciarán chats to James Horncastle.
It's 2030 and Ken is in a stadium shouting into a microphone about the preposterous situation of the 45 year old Ronaldo lining out in a World Cup Group Stage game for Portugal - that, it seems, is the future we have to look forward to.
For now Ken and Branno were in Miami/Bogotá to see Portugal and Colombia both advance to the latter stages.
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Ken is having a ball at this World Cup having watched Messi's record breaking feats, Mo's moment in little Egypt, Haaland go berserker and of course the highlight so far, being proved right about insipid England.
Ken and Branno were also in Miami to see Scotland’s dreams crushed by a Vini Jr-inspired Brazil and tonight we set them loose in the city of vice!
To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Armagh and Donegal are out before the quarter-final stages of the All-Ireland senior football championship, just as everyone predicted.
We have Dara Ó Cinnéide and Paul Flynn, past players from the two big winners this weekend, and there’s plenty to sink their teeth into - what’s gone wrong with Donegal, what’s driving Dublin, Kerry’s trampling of Armagh, Monaghan’s scoring rate, Mayo madness and why teams need to have more than one style of play.
Plus there’s Geaney's "easy" finish, Oisin McConville’s Wicklow on the march, Cape Verde live on the BBC, and Ken and Branno on the streets of New York.
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Kevin Brannigan has arrived in New York City, and his first job is to release battery hen Ken from his content cage.
We talk to Pablo Montano from AS about Spain’s thumping win today, and if Yamal can regain full fitness during this tournament.
Branno and Ken go to Little Egypt and witness the North African's first ever win at the World Cup and get caught up in the crazy aftermath. Plus there’s Eoin’s Metallica shame, the Turks get angry and the player Brazilian fans love to hate.
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Ken is having a great time at this World Cup and has chosen wisely so far, catching Messi's hat trick, The Azteca on opening night and England putting in one of their best ever World Cup performances... at least that's what MOST people thought.
Next up its Brazil for Ken, and with loads of surprise results and some of the big stars shining, its shaping up to be a great tournament.
To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The All-Ireland football championship knew it had to produce something to grab some eye-balls on this World Cup weekend, and boy did it deliver. Donegal and Armagh were both beaten, and they now face trips to Dublin and Kerry respectively.
Paul Flynn and Dara Ó Cinnéide line up at the start line with us before a whirlwind tour of 8 incredible games this weekend. Have Kerry’s injuries cleared up just in time; are Monaghan under-rated; how did Cork break down Donegal; is there a kick in Meath this year… and just how valuable will 2 weeks’ break be for Galway?
And as the 'Dubs to Parnell Park' debate rages, there's a Brannecdote of note.
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This weekend gave us our first glimpses of Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti, Switzerland, Qatar, Germany and Curacao, and we manage to call in on quite a few teams on our Sunday night whistle-stop tour.
We speak to comedian, podcaster and Scotsman Ray Bradshaw about Scotland's first win at a World Cup in 36 years and the influence of McTominay and McGinn.
And Ken was in beautiful* Houston for Germany 7-1 Curacao this evening, where he may have seen Jurgen Klopp, but he definitely saw Bastian Schweinsteiger, and he also caught up with Curacao journalist Lilo Sulvaran.
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We’re less than an hour away from the big kick-off at World Cup 2026, Ken is at the Azteca and we are having a blast on the World Service this week. You’ll hear from Ken all tournament long and Branno’s gonna join him in a few days time.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. It costs 5 euro a month, there’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, and helping us send Ken and Branno to America.
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Ireland are preparing for one of the biggest nights in the history of women’s football in this country… but yet again, off-field issues threaten to overshadow our winner-take-all match against France in Grenoble tomorrow night.
The FAI have released a statement saying no official announcement will be made until Thursday, but today government sources state that our home game against Israel in October will now be played at a neutral venue.
Gavin Cooney of the Irish Times joins us from France to go through the significance of this news and to analyse Ireland's chances of beating France and securing a place at the World Cup.
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The Munster and Leinster hurling finals didn’t eliminate anyone from this year’s All-Ireland championships, but judging by the on-pitch celebrations, winning them really, really mattered for Limerick and Galway.
Joe Canning and Jamie Wall tell us why Cork can have few complaints about their 1-point defeat to Limerick… and is there a chance Galway spoil the Munster re-match in July’s All-Ireland final?
We discuss Katie's half time walk-on in Croker, the best fans in the world, and Murph’s shameful and boastful post-match behaviour.
And there's Andy Farrell’s new forever contract with Ireland; as this generation begin to retire, can he get more from the next group coming through?
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We're just one week out from the World Cup and we're starting to feel it.
First stop for Ken is Mexico City early next week, but before he went he gave us a special World Cup edition of KenCall!
This week we also had Tim Vickery on Ancelotti's source code for coaching and how old injured legends Neymar and Messi will fare in the heat. Plus there's Mbappe's defensive stats, who Ken is supporting and Madrid men stirring the pot.
Click the player at the top of the page to play this best of show. To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the rest of the summer, join the Second Captains World Service. It costs 5 euro a month plus VAT, there’s no contracts, no hidden fees, no sign up fee, no ads and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led.
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Arsenal went to Budapest surfing a tidal wave of hope and joy, and finished losing on penalties after one shot on target in more than two hours of play. Less than Inter managed losing 5-0 last year, and less than Arsenal themselves managed against Barcelona in 2006, when they played most of the match with ten men.
Did Mikel Arteta's best-laid plans nearly come off - or did the plan ultimately get between them and the chance of a first Champions League title?
We also talk about Arne Slot, whose two seasons at Liverpool came to an end a few hours before kick-off in Budapest. What he did right, what he did wrong, the things that happened that were beyond his control, and the things that didn't happen that maybe weren't. Can the apparent successor, Andoni Iraola, realistically do any better without major reinforcements to the squad?
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Welcome to fight week on the Second Captains world service! There was a Donnybrook in Dalyer, the McGuinness melee in Kerry and Keano and Bruno fighting on the internet. Plus we have a champions league show tomorrow and Monday, and coming very soon, the World Cup in Canada/USA/Mexico which will be really weird and really interesting.
Its a fiver to join, it takes 30 seconds, you have instant access to every show we’ve ever done, and all the top stuff coming up such as Ken at the World Cup, the Champions League final, Rory’s majors quest, the URC playoffs, the hurling championship, and the fallout from the McGuinness incident. GO TO secondcaptains.com/join
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The other four Champions Cup finals Leinster lost were all close, winnable and heartbreaking for fans; this defeat to Bordeaux however was over after 20 minutes and deeply concerning for all involved.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about all the things that went wrong in Bilbao, and what this means for Leo Cullen, Nienaber and Irish rugby.
And in a weekend of massive games in hurling and gaelic football the Kerry/Donegal half-time brouhaha could yet have long-term repercussions for Jim McGuinness, if the lengthy ban for Dublin's Ger Brennan was anything to go by.
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A day of goodbyes - Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Seamus Coleman, West Ham United.
Ken gives his Premier League team of the season, and you … to be honest, you won’t be surprised by too many of his picks.
Dion Fanning and John Brewin join us to talk about the end of the Premier League season. How good a season was it? Does Pep Guardiola leave Manchester City having proved himself the greatest manager of all time? And who is most likely to step up and challenge the new Arsenal supremacy?
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Welcome to winners week on the Second Captains world service! Arsenal are Premier League champions again after 22 long years, and Villa ended a 30 year wait for a trophy with their Europa League win last night.
We got in touch with friend of the show Dara O’Briain and Jacob Hawley of the Screen Rot podcast, to reflect on Arsenal's journey these last few years under Arteta and to discuss the whole "choker" fallacy.
We also examined the fallout from Southampton's expulsion from the Championship playoffs, we preview the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals, we grapple – not entirely successfully – with UEFA’s new format for the Nations League and European Qualifiers, and wonder if Carlo Ancelotti has done the right thing by including Neymar in the Brazil squad?
Coming up tomorrow we have hurling and next week its Champions League and FIFA World Cup build up. Its a fiver to join, it takes 30 seconds, you have instant access to every show we’ve ever done, and all the top stuff coming up such as Ken at the World Cup, the Premier League and Champions League deciders, Madrid continuing to be insane, Rory’s majors quest, Leinster in the champions cup final, the munster hurling championship is getting red hot, and the football championship is getting real tasty too. GO TO secondcaptains.com/join
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After last Sunday's heroics Roscommon may have thought they had the 2026 Cinderella Team mantle all to themselves, but yesterday in Croke Park Westmeath took that title from them, and took the Leinster title for only the second time in their history.
Dara Ó Cinnéide and Paul Flynn were watching an insane day of Gaelic football - a day where Monaghan even came painfully close to turning over another pre-game favourite, before Armagh finally captured their first Ulster title since 2008.
Plus there's Ken on the GAA's talent drain to Love Island and we salute golf's new working-class hero, Aaron Rai.
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Most of the world wanted Hearts to win on Saturday but this little corner of it was an exception.
Eoin swoons at the romance of his close personal friend Martin O'Neill becoming a champion again at the age of 74 while Ken confesses that technophobia has driven him into the sweaty arms of Celtic FC, a reassuringly old-fashioned, incompetent football entity.
Rory "Jambo Unchained" Smith was at Celtic Park to see Celtic win the league. We talk about the game, the glory, the SCENES, and whether Hearts can do it again.
Rory also analyses "the four mysteries" of Xabi Alonso joining Chelsea. Why didn't Liverpool show any interest? And do we really believe big Arne will still be there at the start of next season?
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Welcome to cheat week on the Second Captains world service! It all started with the Arsenal West Ham VAR fallout and got progressively murkier as the week went on with the Southampton "Spygate" saga, Celtic's questionable late penalty against Motherwell and Florentino Perez calling out all the haters and losers at Real Madrid.
There was also the news this week that Chelsea are looking to get Xavi Alonso as their next manager, news that astonished Ken given Liverpool seem a better fit and given how Liverpool's season has gone with Slot in charge.
Coming up tomorrow we have the latest in our series of Fiesta Fridays ™ - last week it was Seve - this week it's bullfighting culture wars. Its a fiver to join, it takes 30 seconds, you have instant access to every show we've ever done, and all the top stuff coming up such as Ken at the World Cup, the Premier League and Champions League deciders, Madrid continuing to be insane, Rory's majors quest, Leinster in the champions cup final, the munster hurling championship is getting red hot, and the football championship is getting real tasty too.
GO TO secondcaptains.com/join
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The newest member of our championship punditry team, Dara Ó Cinnéide - already getting rave reviews - was at Dr Hyde Park to see Roscommon pip Murph's Galway to their first home win in a Connacht final in a quarter-century yesterday.
Dara and Paul join us to chat about a huge day for the Rossies, the first provincial finals of the summer, Jayo Sherlock, and how, for David Clifford, it's all in the eyes.
Plus there's Willie Hegarty's commentary par excellence and the return of the finest barber in the west.
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Arsenal are nearly there. As the manager flailed wildly with random substitutions, David Raya and Martin Ødegaard stood up to make sure that when the referees stepped up to rule on the climactic, decisive melee, Arsenal already had the crucial edge.
We go through the fallout, and also talk about the Southampton spying scandal, while Eoin confesses to a faux pas in the presence of an unusually glamorous and sophisticated colleague.
Nick Ames and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the West Ham-Arsenal VAR drama and debate some eternal questions. Is football's tottering refereeing system in need of urgent action to save it? Or is it actually working about as well as can be expected, but being sabotaged by a poisonous alliance of the cheating players and managers who disregard the rules, the self-righteous morons who watch them, and the entrepreneurial anger-farmers who whip everything up?
Oh and Real Madrid we haven't forgotten about you.
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Welcome to our World Service taster show. This week was dominated by Arsenal Football Club, who could now win it all, or nothing, but either way should be allowed celebrate the wins along the way?
We also covered PSG's second leg defensive masterclass, Guehi's blunder, Man Utd's next manager, Leinster and Ulster making European finals, footballers taking mid season holidays and we dedicate our Friday show to one of our all time sporting heroes, Seve Ballesteros.
Click the player at the top of the page to play this taster show. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. It’s 5 euro a mont, there’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As Leinster eased into an 18 point lead with 12 minutes remaining in their Champions Cup semi final, everyone in the stadium could finally put that Northampton nightmare behind them, right?
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about that late wobble and what caused it, how such a good team can also look so vulnerable, big Joe McCarthy saving the day, the blitz gamble, Leo's lecture to the media, Porter power, and the massive challenge posed by Bordeaux in the final.
We also discuss power plays, Ulster finding happiness, and the Randle reverse review at Munster.
Plus there's at swim two podcasters, the right runners and McDevitt's marathon wish.
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Welcome to our World Service taster show. This week was all about PSG Bayern and what makes for a great game of football. We interviewed Harvey Vale about his decision to join Ireland, his Chelsea years and rejecting a move to the Saudi leagues. We also covered the Arsenal Atletico Madrid peno farce, the fallout from Munster's appointment of Roger Randle (a move that has since been cancelled), LBJ's presidential manners, Leinster's return to the thunderdome, and coming up we have Flynn and McConville on football, and the Champions League second legs.
Click the player at the top of the page to play this taster show. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. It's 5 euro a mont, there’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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It’s the Jamie and Joe Show today, as Messrs Wall and Canning are together for the first time this summer to react to Cork’s thrilling 2-point win over Limerick in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday, and the chaotic draw that Tipperary and Waterford played out a couple of hours later.
Cork were winners but with a few question marks, Limerick are going to Ennis next week without Aaron Gillane and Cian Lynch, Tipperary are in trouble, and Wexford are going nowhere. And that’s only a taster of today’s hot takes.
Eoin unleashes a vicious tirade on the sub-2-hour marathoners, Ken wants a return to barefoot running, and why feeling a little disrespected is vital when trying to win Ulster championship games during lambing season.
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What if Robert Sanchez hadn't been able to buy Chelsea some breathing space with a possibly-imaginary injury? What if the ref last week had sent off Khusanov for fouling Havertz? What if Mikel Arteta and Daniel Farke weren't both believers in the philosophy of "you only complain when you're winning"?
Pep Guardiola was buzzing throughout Manchester City's victory at Wembley though at times appeared to be struggling with his trousers: friend of the show Lyndon Johnson shows how it's done.
There's news from Scotland, from Turkey and Murph transcending ancient value systems. Summer is here and everyone is getting involved.
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Welcome to our World Service taster show. This week we covered Rosenior's Waterloo, Cucurella’s mouthy barber, why the haters hate on Arsenal, Spain's approach to the climate crisis and renewable energy, Katie for Croker, and coming up we have the Champions League semis, Joe Canning on hurling, Dave Hannigan on Roy Keane's early days in Cork, the Champions Cup semis and the GAA football championship is heating up nicely too.
Click the player at the top of the page to play this taster show. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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The hurling championship has begun and we have a brand new pundit for the summer, as Galway's greatest-ever hurler Joe Canning joins us. He had a front-row seat in Thurles for Cork-Tipperary yesterday, and he talks to us about the envy he feels watching the Munster championship.
He was also watching on as his native county Galway tore Kilkenny apart in Pearse Stadium on Saturday evening. Cork were good, Tipp were flat, Galway are young, Clare are leaky... and next weekend is going to be massive.
None other than Eoin McDevitt was in Aughrim for Dublin's narrow escape against Wicklow in the first round of the Leinster football championship, and we also salute Westmeath, who were full value for their shock win against Meath in Tullamore, scoring 4-18 in the process.
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It's done. Or is it? Is it done? It was hard to know how to feel at the end of that, as Arsenal played one of their best games in many weeks but still ended up ceding the title initiative to Manchester City.
City still need to win six games - and even then they can't be 100% sure. We talk through a great game that concluded a great PL weekend with Jonathan Wilson and Jamie Hamilton.
Did the game conform to the pre-match narratives, or defy them? Why is Rayan Cherki "the most important footballer in the world"? With teams now regularly conceding goals due to taking crazy risks in defence they're not actually equipped to handle, is it time to rethink the principles of build-up play? And if Arsenal do finish the season with nothing, where does that leave Mikel Arteta?
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Welcome to our World Service taster show. This week we went deep on Liverpool's problems on and off the pitch, and in the medical room; we rejoiced in the splendour of Bayern - Madrid and recoiled at the ugliness of Arsenal Sporting.
Plus there's McClean's social media output, Paul Flynn on the football championship, Arteta on fire and Sneyd & Branno on the latest young star to emerge from the Rovers academy.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Why, asked Rory McIlroy these past few days, have one Masters title when you can have two? And why win smoothly when you can terrorise your home country instead?
It was another wild and ultimately joyous weekend for McIlroy at Augusta and we're joined by The 42's Gavin Cooney live from Georgia and The Sunday Times' Michael Foley to take it all in.
Plus there's old green-fingers Paul McGinley, the agony and the ecstasy of ace-shootin' Shane Lowry, and the return of Van the Man.
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We're into what looks like the defining week of the Premier League season, as nine months of Mikel Arteta's careful order, structure and planning may just be about to be confounded by the spirit of pure chaos in the form of Rayan Cherki.
Lars Sivertsen and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend's football. Why did the Emirates boo at the end of Saturday's game? Have Arsenal's efforts to hype up their title run-in fixtures proved counterproductive?
How have Manchester City of all people apparently been anointed as the People's Champions?
Is this finally it for Spurs... and might that actually be a good thing?
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The Champions League quarter-finals is usually one of the most exciting weeks of the football calendar and an entertaining bunch of FA Cup quarter-finals got things off to a good start, with family members of participants like Maria Guardiola and Danny Dyer adding to the gaiety, and Finn Azaz, Ryan Manning and Tomas Soucek experiencing reversals of fortune.
Arsenal began "the most beautiful part of the season" with defeat at Southampton but they're still going to do it right? There's nothing to worry about... right? Meanwhile, Liverpool completed their three match series against Manchester City this season and their record reads: played three, lost three, scored one, conceded nine. How have Slot's team come to be so awful?
We also speculate as to why Chelsea have come down so hard on Enzo Fernandez for giving the same "South American player would probably rather play in Spain" interview nearly every South American Premier League footballer gives on a regular basis.
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Welcome to our World Service taster show and this week it's all about the Prague come-down and the build-up to the Masters.
As we watched on with horror as Czechia booked their place at this summer's World Cup, Ken was able to find the slimmest of silver linings; at least we're not Italian.
And as Rory aims to go back-to-back at next week's Masters, we speak to some Golf writing Big Beasts as Kevin Van Valkenburg joins us to chat about the latest ignominious episode in the world of Tiger Woods and Alan Shipnuck stops by to chat Rory!
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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Passing through the latter stages of grief today. Eoin, on the hunt for victims, puts Ken in the dock, accusing him of blaming the Ireland fans for our defeat in Prague. On the positive side, at least being out of the World Cup frees us up to talk more about the shadow of evil looming over the tournament.
Elsewhere - Roberto de Zerbi might be about to take over at Tottenham, and thanks also to Richard Keys for doing his part to brighten up a depressing weekend.
Dion Fanning joins us in studio to pick over the bones of our shared dreams. Does he support Ken's alleged astonishing attack on the Ireland fans? What about the listener who believes it's time to SACK Heimir? What really went wrong out there? And how are we all feeling about tomorrow night, where the next chapter begins against North Macedonia?
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The pain of Thursday night will last a long time in all our hearts, so let's hold hands and podcast together.
Oisin McConville joins us to discuss Donegal's one sided league final win over Kerry, Michael Murphy's baffling yellow card, the huge influence kick outs now have on the game and his own heartbreak after Wicklow failed to gain promotion to Division 3.
Plus there's disappearing Dresden, "Comfortably Numb", and Branno on the beat.
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The World Cup Dream is Dead, Prague Week Ends
It’s goodbye to Prague, farewell Denmark, so long Azteca Stadium. Over and out from Czechia. We reflect on the final whistle.
We’re in Berlin after one of the great weeks on The Second Captains Podcast (before the extreme heartbreak took over).
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Prague Week starts with Kenny Cunningham joining us in studio to talk about how he wants to see Ireland approach the World Cup playoff on Tuesday night.
Caution: Kenny's team may shock you.
We talk about the Carabao Cup final, and whether the tactical match-up of baiting the press vs refusing to press is the worst thing ever to happen to football.
While all this is happening Ken goes out to Abbottstown to hear the latest from the Ireland camp, where John O'Shea and Nathan Collins were holding court.
Plus Arne Slot's use of resources, Chelsea's misbegotten alignment strategy, and whether basic overexposure to football is making Ken more irritable with the kinds of goals he sees teams giving away.
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Kerry and Donegal are in the Division 1 final, Cork and Meath have won promotion, Armagh and Galway survive, Dublin are relegated, and even that fails to tell the full story of a thrilling last day’s action in the national football league.
Ger Brennan lost his composure at half-time in Salthill, and his team lost their composure thereafter; David Clifford continues to do David Clifford things; and Meath are no longer a breath of fresh air, they’re a real threat - Paul Flynn is in studio to talk us through it all.
We also remember Michael Lyster, the man who presented coverage of 77 All-Ireland finals for RTE in a stellar broadcasting career with the Sunday Game, who died yesterday aged 71.
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Welcome to our World Service taster show and this week it's all about the build-up to the World Cup Playoff against Czechia. We will be in Prague next week, in the heart of the action, broadcasting two shows a day from our balcony.
We also had retro Mo, Pep's legacy, Rosenior's notes, Saint Parrott's Day, and coming up we have Gary Breen on the Iran 2001 playoff, and next week its more build up to the match in Prague, and the fallout from Man City V Arsenal.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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Thomas Ramos' kick in the 83rd minute of the last game decided the championship, broke Irish hearts, and was one of hundreds of epic moments that made up the greatest Six Nations yet.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about the quality of rugby on display, Ramos' reliability, Pollock's winner/loser moment, McCloskey's massive influence on Ireland, Crowley's best performance in green, Farrell's contract situation and all the positives that have come out of this tournament for Ireland.
Plus there Murph's Sixth Nations Sense, a Roscommon divided and Baloucoune showing Darcy Graham he was there for the taking.
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Is the future like a black highway at night? What does it really mean to 'respect the ball'? And is there anything in the game with such universal appeal as an implausibly aged footballer?
We pick the likely player of the year candidates and discuss why Manchester United's transformation under Michael Carrick is Arne Slot's biggest problem in more ways than one.
Rory Smith and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the weekend's football. Max Dowman brings joy. Has this been Guardiola's worst week? And are Liverpool really serious about backing Arne Slot all the way through to 2027?
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Welcome to our world service taster show.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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Rangers and Celtic timed their run well, staging a chaotic Scottish Cup quarter-final heightened by some old-school “disgraceful scenes” on an FA Cup weekend to finally get some overdue coverage on here. But are Old Firm riots as stirring as they used to be? The archive audio suggests otherwise.
But - as we bemoan the violence crackling everywhere in the air, what about journalist-on-journalist violence - or journalist-on-influencer, or ant-on-elephant, or whatever you would call the astonishing attack launched by one of the people in this studio on the world’s most famous football reporter? Ken explains why he was wielding his tiny knife
Tom English was at Ibrox to see the Cup quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic, and shares his impressions of the Day of Shame (plus a few thoughts on Scottish rugby’s Day of Pride).
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Scotland defeated France 50 points to 40 on Saturday in one of the greatest northern hemisphere performances of the professional era, and are now in the frame for the 6 Nations championship… after losing to Italy in the first round.
They face Ireland in Lansdowne Road next Saturday, a team Gregor Townsend has lost to 11 times in a row. We chat to Shane Horgan and the BBC's Chris Jones about the swashbuckling Scots, Ireland's predictable but winning rugby against Wales, France's old frailties, the Italians creating history in Rome, and where to next for Steve Borthwick's shambolic England team.
The Scotland rugby whisperer takes his latest victory lap, then puts on his permutations man hat ahead of the final weekend of games, and we have some exciting plans for the playoff game in Prague.
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We have a special bonus World Service podcast for you all today. The show you’re about to hear caused quite a stir amongst our members over the past week, many of whom suggested it should be released free to air. So here it is.
Edwin Edogbo made his debut for Ireland against Italy earlier this month. The experience was marred by online racist abuse he suffered on Irish Rugby channels, culminating in comments on X being blocked by the IRFU. The reaction to this was one of anger, outrage and despair.
Since then, we’ve been taking a look at from who and from where these comments originated, and the story is a little more complicated. Mark speaks to Dr Eileen Culloty, Associate Professor in the School of Communications in DCU where she’s also Deputy Director of the DCU Institute for Media, Democracy & Society about the rise in co-ordinated online attacks, the numbers involved, and the idea that what we are now paying such attention to are ‘phantom publics’. Do these posts reflect where we are as a society and did they receive appropriate media coverage?
Thanks to our members, we get the opportunity to delve a little deeper on stories like this. Please support independent journalism and join us today for just 5 euro a month at secondcaptains.com.
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The GAA weekend saw games in both the hurling and football leagues, but looming over all that was the protest at Congress in Croke Park that saw Jarlath Burns and his top table brought face-to-face with anti-Allianz protestors.
Paul Flynn is with us to try and prize apart which parts of the GAA behave like a corporate entity, and which would rather remain amateur. We also discuss the Kobe McDonald phenomenon, and Cork's implosion in Derry on Sunday.
Meanwhile Bundee Aki is back in the frame for Ireland selection, Stuart McCloskey is Eoin's favourite sportsman... and how Shane Lowry's late implosion at the Cognisant Classic in Florida last night will haunt him for months.
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Chelsea’s record 24-25 loss impressed a lot of people, but today we hear from Todd Boehly’s appearance at a conference in Miami where it became clear that Chelsea is about the least interesting item in his current portfolio.
Dion Fanning and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend’s Premier League action. Arsenal ground out another crucial win, but Arne Slot, for one, wrinkles his nose in disgust at what they have done to the game. But in an age of 30-man squads and 16-man teams, is greater top-down control by coaches inevitable? Meanwhile, the IFAB meeting in Wales coincided with the worst weekend for VAR nonsense in some time - but will any of the new ideas lead anywhere good?
We also are glad to see that as our national day approaches, Premier League teams are reaching out to the corduroy breeches community.
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Edwin Edogbo made his debut for Ireland against Italy earlier this month. The experience was marred by online racist abuse he suffered on Irish Rugby channels, culminating in comments on X being blocked by the IRFU. Mark has been taking a look at where these comments originated and spoke to Dr Eileen Culloty, Associate Professor in the School of Communications in DCU where she’s also Deputy Director of the DCU Institute for Media, Democracy & Society about the rise in co-ordinated online attacks,
This week on the World Service we also discussed Infantino's values, Canada's painful loss to USA in ice hockey, Snoop Dogg at Swansea, how the hell Bodo/Glimt are doing this, Everton's scrums, Ireland's win over England, plus there's hurling on Friday, Ireland Czechia build up next week, and more 6 Nations ahead of the Wales game.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk through the North London derby - a near-historic margin of victory for Arsenal, yet a victory that felt almost routine. Will this settle the nerves? Has big Vik answered the critics? Could Arsenal benefit from a night in the old Tuesday Club style?
Meanwhile, have Spurs been wise to appoint a fixer-coach who favours an unfamiliar system? How has a club this rich fallen this low? And how low can they still go?
We also talk about FIFA's new role in burnishing the public image of Trump's Board of Peace initiative.
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Italy beat Scotland. Scotland destroy England. Ireland hammer England; the rugby punditry predictions flag is flying at half mast today.
Shane Horgan, author and journalist Brendan Fanning and 3 time Six Nations winner with England, Mike Brown, join us to try and make sense of a competition that makes no sense.
Ireland now score tries from deep, from transition, throw offloads, have pace on both wings, and have a scrum half who appears to have seen the exam papers before the exam.
Plus there's Farrell's celebrations, Finn Russell's restart and England's total collapse of the heart
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Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk through the North London derby - a near-historic margin of victory for Arsenal, yet a victory that felt almost routine. Will this settle the nerves? Has big Vik answered the critics? Could Arsenal benefit from a night in the old Tuesday Club style?
Meanwhile, have Spurs been wise to appoint a fixer-coach who favours an unfamiliar system? How has a club this rich fallen this low? And how low can they still go?
We also talk about FIFA's new role in burnishing the public image of Trump's Board of Peace initiative.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster show!
This week we spoke to Green Bay Packers punter Daniel Whelan in studio about his journey from Greystones United to the NFL; Ken covered Arsenal's ongoing title wobble; we looked at Jose's Vini blame game; Jack Pitt Brooke gave us the skinny on Spurs' new coach ahead of the North London derby; Paul Flynn came in to chat about football in 2026, and we build up to England V Ireland in the 6N and the omission of Sam Prendergast from the match day squad.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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Last week, while the rest of the team worked desperately to cover a series of world-shattering football stories, Ken was peacefully wintering at Baden-Baden. He returns with news of the Upper Rhine, where people are, as ever, keeping themselves to themselves.
Today we talk more about the implications of Ireland’s Nations League draw against Israel. The matches currently look likely to go ahead as scheduled in late September and early October. But should they go ahead? And can such a decision be made without putting the question to another General Assembly vote?
We also talk Troy Parrott, Harry Kane, and Keith Andrews finally getting the credit he deserves.
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Ireland have their first win of the Six Nations, but form and confidence are still eluding Andy Farrell's team. as the out-half debate rages on and the scrum continues to struggle.
Shane Horgan and author and journalist Brendan Fanning pick through the issues at 10, the quality of Ireland's tries, and the Lynagh disallowed score.
The BBC’s Tom English joins us to talk about Scotland’s astonishing win over England in Murrayfield and if it was all down to the coaching, or the 6 Nations Rugby Gods. We also discuss the racist abuse suffered online by Edwin Edogbo.
Elsewhere there was Murph’s trip to Tralee, the benefits of preparation when dealing with adverse weather conditions, and an eventful post-mortem at a 40th birthday party he wasn’t invited to.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster show! This week we discussed the sacking of Frank and Dyche, Liverpool's rainy night in Sunderland, Ratcliffe on Britain, Winter Olympics Brannecdotes, Operation Grand Slalom, Irish rugby's reboot and Czechia's change of fortune.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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The Seattle Seahawks were heavy favourites to win Super Bowl 60 last night, and that's exactly what they did - absolutely dominating the New England Patriots and their young quarter-back Drake Maye.
Brian Murphy has his chest out and his shoulders back after his beloved home city of San Francisco did a bang-up job of hosting the week-long party, and he joins us for his post-game thoughts.
Cork are three from three in the National Hurling League, so why is Ben O'Connor so upset about things? And are his words going to help his team win the All Ireland?
And we salute Bad Bunny, who delivered the goods in the half-time show.
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With two late goals at Anfield the Premier League title race went from stone cold, to flaming hot.
To pick through the Manchester football revival, the VAR farce, Brentford's brains, the pep in Pep's step and James McClean's new midfield general role we chat to Mark Critchley of The Athletic and Gavin Cooney of the42.
Our Dublin based LOI insider was in Lansdowne Rd yesterday for a subdued Sunday affair and Eoin takes a look at the Keith Andrews origin story.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster show! This week we discussed Ronaldo's value to the Saudis, Eddie Howe's rep, Shels using Jamestown Analytics and the ongoing fallout from the latest release of Epstein files.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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Just one week after wondering if the run-in pressure might get to Arsenal we are - once again - handing them the Premier League trophy after they extended their lead at the top in a chaotic and unpredictable weekend.
Lars Sivertsen and Gavin Cooney join us to talk through the action.
A lot of people probably gave up on Tottenham-City with Guardiola's team 2-0 up at half-time. They missed an unexpected and glorious Spurs fightback which laid bare the identity crisis plaguing Guardiola's team.
The new City is packed with powerful finishers, but lacks the masterfield midfield tempo-setters who made sure the game was played the way Guardiola wanted it. Has Pep stuck around just long enough to see his life's work slipping into ruin?
We also discuss Manchester United's rediscovered sense of destiny, Cole Palmer's future, Liverpool's future-focused transfer policy, and who really deserves to win Manager of the Year.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster show! This week we discussed an epic end to the Champions League league phase, Arsenal's Premier League wobble, Arteta's body language, Heated Rivalry, Jose's appeal, Madrid rot, the NFL playoffs, and on Friday it's a Winter Olympics preview.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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The Gaelic football season is back, and after a winter spent poring over stats sheets and risk-reward scenarios, it looks like the coaching class of 2026 decided to throw the shackles off and have some fun.
Paul Flynn is in studio to talk to us about the Andy Moran impact in Mayo, the most impressive of the young guns we saw taking over games this weekend, why the hooter is an agent of confusion, and the extent to which protests over Allianz’s sponsorship materialised.
Plus there’s snow-day in the NFL (the American version), and another very busy weekend in Dingle.
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Last night at the Emirates we saw the Premier League game of the season - but will it prove a pivotal moment? That's up to Arsenal and how they react. The one thing we can likely count on with Mikel Arteta is that he will keep doing things his own way until the end.
Meanwhile, a new psychological study has revealed the typical personality profile and cognitive skills package of the elite footballer. Today we determine if the brains of either Murph or Eoin have got what it takes.
Mark Critchley and Jacob Hawley join us to talk about Arsenal v Man United. Arsenal are top of the league and Champions League and advancing towards a quadruple, so why did the Emirates boo at the end? Do refs need to legislate against Arsenal's set-piece edge? And is there any reason NOT to give Carrick the permanent job?
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster show! This week we discussed Davos, Greenland, World Cup boycotts, the Beckhams, LIV V PGA, Arne Slot's low block mental block, Steve G's hair, Man City's slump in form and players reimbursing fans.
Plus there's Arsenal muscling up, Allianz and the GAA, US Murph on the NFL playoffs and the great injury mystery of San Francisco.
To become a member and hear our shows all week it costs 5 euro a month and there’s no ads, no sign up fee, no minimum stay, no contract, and we’re independent and member led – go to secondcaptains.com/join
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People were calling this AFCON predictable but in the end, it showed us something we've never seen before in a major final - a walk-off that initially looked like a turning point in humanity's war against VAR, and only got weirder from there.
After another weekend of ... rugged ... PL games, we discuss why so many fanbases seem angry and whether it has to do with the way the game is being played. Do we blame the Pep style, do we blame the anti-Pep style, or is the truth.... somewhere in between?
As Michael Carrick leads Manchester United to a crushing win over Manchester City, we also discuss whether it's time to fish the Great Man Theory out of the bin.
With so many smoking ruins to choose from it was hard to pick a stricken club to focus on today but we've gone with Spurs, where the Thomas Frank era looks to be entering its final few days. Jack Pitt-Brooke was there on Saturday to watch all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out. Where did it all go wrong for Frank? Which previous managerial reign is Jack reminded of? What about the burgeoning cult of the Lost Leader Ange? And who is next in line to drink deep from the poisoned chalice?
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Dingle are the undisputed kings of heroic comebacks with late wins in the Munster final, the All-Ireland semi and now the final. We chat about a classic club final, Geaney's clutch kick, and codebreaker Mark O'Connor.
Leinster are also good at comebacks this season, and their win in Bayonne on Saturday means they have Edinburgh at home in the last 16 of the Champions Cup, and they're on the opposite side of the draw from Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bath and Northampton. Andrew Trimble and Shane Horgan look at Leinster's ability to find a way to win, their all-or-nothing defence and tell us who they would pick at 10 for Ireland's opener against France on Feb 5th.
Munster were 23 point favourites against Castres but lost at home again and are out of the Champions Cup at the group stage. Shane and Andrew look at how big a project Clayton McMillan has on his hands, if this was an acceptable result given the players he has available, and where Jack Crowley has progressed and regressed this season.
Plus there's Lowry's "disaster in Dubai", guttural GAA, Geelong goodness and non-stop baby talk.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster show which covers LinkedIn's football takeover, Rosenior-speak, the white sneaker manager era, Madrid sacking Alonso, why there are so few good managers for the top clubs to employ, the NFL playoffs and Steven Flowe.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Four tries, two comebacks, a last second kick to win it against their fiercest rivals and elation in the stands - and yet Leinster were cut open and exposed for most of this thrilling game against La Rochelle.
Shane and Gerry weigh up the positives and negatives, we ask how on earth did Leinster win it and is a clutch kick and a late La Rochelle collapse papering over the many defensive cracks?
Munster were leading after 72 mins in fortress Felix Mayol but lost it late on thanks to a very harsh penalty call. We look at that end game, their discipline errors, their much improved attack and if they have any hope of a home last 16 tie.
The All-Ireland junior and intermediate club finals were on this weekend - the sight of Second Captains super-friend Jamie Wall and his brother Philip embracing on the sidelines in Croke Park after Kilbrittain's win on Saturday evening left an indelible image.
And An Gaeltacht knocked out a few floor filler tunes in victory yesterday.
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FA Cup third round weekend brings the usual desperate scrabbling around for stuff to talk about. Can we really call Macclesfield-Palace the greatest upset of all time when the holders picked a B team? Are Chelsea fans singing against Keir Starmer because of something to do with Roman Abramovich, or do they just hate him anyway? And is the era of kissing Fergie's ring drawing to a close at Old Trafford?
Oluwashina Okeleji joins us from Morocco to talk about AFCON ahead of a semi-final line-up featuring four of the leading African football powers. How have Nigeria managed to get it together after failing to qualify for the World Cup? Did the Algerians really insult the memory of Patrice Lumumba? And is Salah finally going to get the better of Mane in international competition?
We also hear from a Dutch listener who has taken issue with Ken's seeming vendetta against his home country.
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The reigning champions V the champions-in-waiting... Slot's defence of the PL title, and maybe his job, could end tonight and we will, of course, dedicate tomorrow’s World Service pod to this clash.
Plus there's Keith's feats with Brentford, Kelleher's form in goal, the managerial situation at Man Utd, Arsenal-cup-drinking Thomas Frank, the NFL playoffs with US Murph, and the European Champions Cup with Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble,
An Ghaeltacht are through to the All-Ireland intermediate football final in Croke Park this Sunday after an incredible win in extra-time in their semi-final last Saturday. Dara Ó Cinnéide is a selector on the team, is one of their greatest ever players, and is a broadcaster with Raídio Na Gaeltachta and TG4, and he tells us about what lies behind An Ghaeltacht’s club motto of “Sprid. Croí. Caid. Teanga.”… and why he’s celebrating Dingle’s march to the All-Ireland senior club final too.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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At 18 years of age two time world darts champ Luke Littler has no more worlds to conquer, so now gets his kicks from turning heel. Eoin goes through his wrestling archives while Ken frets about the future of the sport.
Leinster won three from three in the Christmas interpros but Ulster are the story this week after a stylish 28-3 win over Munster at a packed out Ravenhill, a result which sent them third in the URC table and got their captain Iain Henderson talking up the good vibes in camp. Andrew Trimble joins us to discuss the Ward brothers, Werner Kok, Richie Murphy's coaching, and why so many Irish rugby players and coaches are complaining about the kick escort law allegedly ruining the game.
Plus there's Frawley's move to Connacht, Leo V Zebo and how to react to a wasp.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Goodbye Ruben. We are sorry to see you go. You were good to us. We wish you well.
We discuss why so many fanbases currently seem to hate their manager/coach - with happy exceptions like Arsenal, and Brentford, whose four goals against Everton amounted to a symphony of the head coach's craft.
Mark Critchley and Lars Sivertsen join us to talk about how United reached this point, why they decided to sack him now just as things were arguably getting better, the increasing difficulty of being a head coach when so many people still think of you as a manager, and whether Darren Fletcher has got what it takes to do an Ole.
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Charlie O’Leary, a former Republic Of Ireland kit-man under big Jack and all round Irish football legend, was our Second Captains Hero of 2025; he was even in the Gaiety to take a victory lap in front of 1300 people in October.
But before then, Ken, Eoin and Branno were in his house on Dublin’s northside to talk to him about his incredible 101 years (and counting), a life nearly as old as the state itself. It was one of the most uplifting chats we’ve ever had, back in Feb of this year, and we release it for everyone today.
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An annual Second Captains tradition continues today under new branding (RIP Scrooge Cast), as Jonathan Wilson joins Ken to discuss the post-Christmas football.
Also touched on today: energy flows, Wilson's inability to take a day off work, the possible impact of AI on the game, Protestantism, whether 'reading' might in fact have been the problem all along, and whether Aston Villa, now led by someone Ken only recently realised is one of the best-looking men in the world, are going to go all the way.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Inside us all are two wolves. Unfortunately for Wolves the football team (despite Matt Doherty's reverse Churchill) it's the wolf that is currently the worst at football in all of Europe. Meanwhile, the Romulus and Remus of Serie A get their teeth into Evan.
To talk about Ruben's back four, Villa's rise, Rogers V Bellingham and happy Pep we chat to Mark Critchley.
Ken also breaks-down the cash grab in Miami as the guy from YouTube gets chinned.
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It was “Super-Friends Of The Show” week this week, between Killian Sundermann coming in for the Second Captains FAT quiz of the year, a chat with US Murph, our first ever festive edition of KENCALL and Oluwashina Okeleji on Salah's AFCON 2025 and Nigeria's legal route to the 2026 FIFA World Cup .
We’ve had an amazing year on the podcast this year, so we’d love to have you aboard. You can also gift a subscription to the Second Captains on our patreon page,
We’ll be back on Monday with a live football show.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Munster and Leinster both won their Champions Cup games over the weekend, both came through sticky situations against English opposition, but overall satisfaction levels are low.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about Clayton McMillan's realistic outlook on the Munster project, Leinster's pre-Chistmas form, and they react to former Leinster and Ireland out half Ross Byrne's suggestion that, given the volume of box kicks and spiral bombs being launched these days, coaches should start picking second rows on the wings.
Charlie Smyth, formerly a Gaelic footballer from Co Down, nailed a 47-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints to beat the Carolina Panthers this weekend. Plus there's frontier football gibberish, dead-ball Beggan, the Dublin based media and the huge medal haul for Irish athletics in 2025.
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It looks like Celtic arrived at a good time for Evan Ferguson, while Robbie Keane seems to be having so much fun in Europe the question is how he will ever be tempted back to the league where he made his name.
Morgan Rogers' Stan Collymore-like winner for Villa at West Ham reminds us that it's been a while since Ken read out some npG minus xG stats, so let's get into a bit of that.
Jonathan Wilson and Dion Fanning join us to talk about the weekend's football. Why does Jonathan refuse to accept that Sunderland might actually be good now - and why is Granit Xhaka the best player he's ever seen play for the club? How many teams are involved in this title race? And how should we interpret the apparent cessation of hostilities at Anfield?
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We’d another barn-storming week this week, with the main story being Mo Salah’s rapidly-deteriorating relationship with Liverpool Football Club, which we covered in depth.
We had a brilliant chat with Danny Rensch, the co-founder of chess.com, which went from being a successful start-up to a billion dollar company during the pandemic, thanks largely to people being stuck at home.As a kid, Danny was a prodigy, a national champion in the US, who ultimately became disillusioned with the sport. But his story is far more complicated than that, given he grew up in a cult called the Church of Immortal Consciousness.
We also spoke to Armagh All Ireland winner Rory Grugan about the new rules and his time in France spreading the GAA gospel and Beñat Gutiérrez joined us from Spain to look at the factors deciding Xabi Alonso’s future.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Permutations Man had a rough week last week and he is back on air today to explain what happened.
Ken asks if Rio Ferdinand was the worst possible choice for a complex World Cup tv draw?
The Champions Cup is back, and Munster got a reality check inside the first 20 minutes against Bath on Saturday evening. Munster legend Dave Kilcoyne and Gerry Thornley lament Tadhg Beirne's early yellow card, sift through Leinster's leaky display against Harlequins in the Aviva and examine where Rieko Ioane will fit in during his short stint in Dublin.
We also discuss Dingle's incredible last-minute win over St Finbarr's in the Munster club football final yesterday and raise a glass to the death of Bazball.
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The memory of Friday's FIFA draw continues to linger like the smell of a dead rat under the floorboards. As he whines about middle-of-the-night kick offs, people are accusing Ken of being 'eurocentric' - but surely somebody has to be?
Meanwhile Mo Salah seems to have torched his future at Liverpool by accusing the manager and club of throwing him under the bus, trying to get him to take all the blame, wanting him out of the club, etc. How is this sad situation likely to play out?
Due to overwhelming popular demand and indeed anger, Ben Fisher joins us to talk about Aston Villa: the Title Charge only Villa fans Saw Coming. How did Villa get Arsenal on the ropes more than any other side they've faced this season? Is Morgan Rogers actually better than Bellingham? And - yes - are Villa going to win the league?
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We've seen it all this week on Second Captains, from ultrarunning with 100 mile world record holder Caitriona Jennings to 'American ultraviolence' with Hasan Piker on Ken's Politics Podcast, taking in our Sports Book of the Year Show and a brilliant follow-up chat with Ireland and QPR's Jimmy Dunne along the way.
For six independent ad-free shows a week, sign up now at secondcaptains.com/join - the gang's all here!
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Caitriona Jennings is the proud World Record holder over the terrifying distance of 100 miles and she spoke to us in studio about how and why she was able to run this distance, what it feels like mid race, and her harrowing London Olympics marathon experience.
We discuss Charlie Smyth’s extraordinary journey from the Down senior Gaelic football team to kicking a 56-yard field goal on his NFL debut yesterday, having skipped high school and college American Football altogether.
There’s also Murph’s most vivid sports dreams, rugby losing its marbles, and why the Barrett brothers are in the ha’penny place when it comes to the Wall family.
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Just as a watched pot never boils, an obsessively tracked Irish striker in Europe does not deliver goals under the desperate hungry eyes of the nation. Is it time for us to back off Troy and Ev and give them some space to do their thing? Maybe, but not today!
James Horncastle joins us to talk about Roma v Napoli. How happy is Gian Piero Gasperini likely to be with the performances of his young centre forward? Has Antonio Conte finally... mellowed? And just what is going on at Como that is drawing galactico celebs of the stature of - Fabrizio Romano - to their games?
As we have grown used to complaints about football becoming robotic and predictable, it fell to Moises Caicedo and Lucas Paqueta to remind us that many footballers remain human, all too human...
Toy Drive for children living in the International Protection system and Homeless Accommodation.
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Welcome to our world service e taster show! To access all our shows go to secondcaptains.com/join
To get some insight into the man presiding over Liverpool’s worst run of defeats in more than 70 years, we welcome Mikos Gouka, journalist with Algemeene Dagblad and author of the recently released Arne Slot: The New Era.
There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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GOOOOOLAZZOOOO... OK Evan Ferguson's first goal for Roma was not quite in that category but we can say now that the Eternal City has officially entered Fergie Time. Meanwhile Troy Parrott scored another nice goal: is this an unprecedented attacking selection headache for Ireland? What's the deal with playing two strikers anyway? How many teams are doing it in the Premier League right now? The answer may surprise you, as may the copious documentation of the answer.
We address recent criticism that Ken doesn't talk about Liverpool enough by talking a bit about the latest struggles of the PL crisis club and how Arne Slot's treatment of one overlooked squad member hints at the deeper problems.
We talk about some choppy waters in Scotland's capital of football. Dermot Desmond's son Ross tried to pour oil on the troubled waters and now the sea is on fire.
Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson join us to look back at some of the weekend's football. Arsenal's destruction of Tottenham showed why Opta now give them a 75% chance of winning the PL title, with Eberechi Eze dominating the derby: how did Spurs fumble that one? And who can Liverpool get to fix their broken boiler?
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South Africa beat Ireland 24-13 but in reality it was a demolition by Rassie's men. Did the whole game hang on James Ryan's deserved red card, or could Ireland have done more to adapt to the situation against the world's best team?
We chat to our man in South Africa, Craig Ray about the rash of reds and yellows, if refs get influenced by external noise, if Ireland could ever dream of having a scrum as good as South Africa's and how long Rassie's reign of terror will last.
Andrew Trimble examines the Ryan red fallout, if the scrum dominates the sport too much and how far off the top table Ireland now are, with France away in Paris next up.
Plus there's a Murph scapegoat masterclass, the Tom Court rebuttal, stop start rugby, and the mystery bunker man.
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It's been a beautiful, podcast-packed week on the World Service since Troy Parrott stole the nation's heart on Sunday afternoon in Budapest. Seven shows later, we're bringing you a taste of what member-led broadcasting looks like in a golden few days for Irish football.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent and commercial-free with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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The Irish lineout was near perfect, their kicking game was on point, a few key players are back in form, they have a new fullback option in Mack Hansen, both 10's played well, they beat Australia by a record margin and the fans in Lansdowne Road went home happy for the second time in four days... the good times just keep rolling in Irish sport.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about the many positives from Saturday night, Mack at 15, the art of catching, where the tries came from, Prendergast's attacking game and his defensive frailties, who should start against South Africa and if the red cards in the last two weeks for Mostert and De Jager will soften Rassie's cough when it comes to collisions next weekend.
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Skill, heroics, late late glory... things like this don't happen to us, until now.
Ken, Eoin and Murph record today's show in a state of joyous disbelief, and Branno joins us from Budapest to reflect on the goals, the emotion, the madness.
Plus there's the playoff picture, Troy's week and the brilliant post match interviews.
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We've recorded a lot of podcasts.... but the one we just posted today about all the great moments, all the heroes, all the Ronaldo comedy and all the joy of beating Portugal 2-0 is maybe our favourite ever. Our best of show includes a taste of that joy, plus some Ken education and a great chat about Swedish football, Zlatan and Isak.
On Sunday we will be posting a show straight after the Hungary game, and next week we preview Ireland V the world champs South Africa.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Ireland eventually got the win over Japan on Saturday but all the same doubts remain about a team that has had very few good performances since the summer of 2024.
Andy Farrell was honest with the media afterwards, stating “we need to get over ourselves and get on with the big boy stuff". We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about Farrell's frankness, why previously skilful players are making so many handling errors, how the lineout could be so clunky two weeks in a row, and if the team has any hope against a marauding South African team in two weeks time.
We also chat to Craig Ray about an era defining win for Rassie's side in Paris, if the Boks have any weaknesses anymore and Australia's topsy turvy season.
Plus there's body language bluster, questioning Paul O'Connell and the day Irish rugby created a monster.
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It was a surprise to wake up on Saturday morning and find that US Senator Lindsey Graham had been putting the boot into the FAI.
https://x.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1986961533193032133?s=20
Graham was referring to the resolution that was due to be voted on at Saturday's FAI EGM, asking the FAI to forward a motion to the UEFA Executive Committee requesting the suspension of Israel's FA from UEFA competitions. Graham's words did not deter the General Assembly from passing the resolution by a margin of 74 votes to 7. We talk through the origins and implications of the vote.
Gavin Cooney and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend's football. Are Manchester City back on the march? Did Liverpool's squad-building forget the all-important dimension of scale? Was Arsenal's wobble against Sunderland a preview of forthcoming attractions?
And what now for on-screen-presence's Stephen Bradley, after he led Shamrock Rovers to their first Double since 1987?
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It was a heck of a spread put out for our world service members this week with Infantino announcing the creation of a new FIFA peace prize and appearing on stage at the same event as Donald Trump in Miami last night, Champions League action featuring Yamal and Dan Burn, Liverpool outplaying Madrid, Trent getting booed, the DJ Carey sentencing, Ireland V NZ fallout, Ireland thumping Panama in the u-17 FIFA World Cup, and Erling Haaland's offside masterclass.
Next week we will preview Ireland V Portugal in the WC qualifiers, Ireland V Joe Schmidt's Australia in the November internationals and keep an eye on the under 17's team progress.
There’ll be some "touching" tomorrow, Branno and Sneyd on Heimir and the LOI season is out today and we will as ever stay on top of all the big stories.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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For an hour on Saturday Ireland looked comfortable, if not quite in control, against NZ, and then came a sliding doors moment as Jamie Osborne dropped a pass from Crowley, and within four plays the All Blacks were ahead and, as it turned out, home and hosed.
Ireland have now lost to NZ three times in a row, and since the 2023 RWC have had very few good performances. We talk to Shane Horgan about the dramatic drop in standards for the final 20 mins and if this is proof of a slow decline in this team.
We also discuss the faulty lineout, defensive errors, a lack of Irish line breaks, options for the Japan game and the PA/big screen/TMO clown show at Soldier Field.
Plus there's breaking news on DJ Carey, Xhosa comms and selling the game to America.
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Players despise fans, we know that, but should they nevertheless feel compelled to salute them at the end of every game or can we all do without this level of insincerity?
Bohemians sealed fourth place in the League of Ireland and will qualify for Europe if Shamrock Rovers complete the double next weekend, but this did not improve the mood of manager Alan Reynolds, who this weekend dubbed Bohs fans "ridiculous". Branno, it turns out, likes having the whip cracked in his face.
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Dion Fanning join us to talk about the weekend's football. Why are many Tottenham fans apparently unimpressed with Thomas Frank's rapid transformation of them from the laughing stock of the league to a reasonably respectable outfit? And who is currently the best midfielder in the PL, Declan Rice or Moises Caicedo?
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This week winter announced its arrival with rain that was general all over Ireland, nonetheless we've been having a fun week here at Second Captains Towers and now we want to share some of that with you.
Before Ireland take on New Zealand in Chicago we hear from Conor Murray who was a guest of ours at the Gaiety a few weeks back. Can Ireland repeat the victory of Conor and the other men of '16.
Staying in those most United of States we spoke to Defector staff writer Patrick Redford about the sweeping changes to the American sporting landscape since the legalisation of gambling and a Bond-esque caper allegedly involving the Mafia, x-ray poker tables, invisible ink, rigged shuffling machines and a handful of known NBA figures.
And finally our resident Bohs fan aimlessly walks the streets of Drumcondra in search of an answer to Shamrock Rovers dominance of the League of Ireland - encountering ghosts along the way.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Is Keith Andrews the new Mikel Arteta? Hard to say for sure, as it suddenly seems as though everybody wants to be the new version of the Arsenal coach, whose bulletproof juggernaut continues to bulldoze all comers. But it was another good weekend for Andrews, whose team personify the spirit of 2025.
We also talk about the wildly different interpretation of the sport demonstrated by Real Madrid and Barcelona in Sunday’s Clasico, compared to the weekend’s Premier League games.
Neil Atkinson and Gavin Cooney join us to talk about the weekend’s football. Have Arsenal broken the back of this thing already? What has Gavin learned from interviewing the Irishman working at the heart of one of the world’s leading laboratories of set piece ball? And can either of them identify the reasons for Liverpool FC’s ever-worsening crisis?
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Orla Comerford has just come off a sensational year, one which started in Paris in September 2024 when she took a Paralympic bronze medal in the 100m and finished 3 weeks ago with double World Championship golds in the 100 and 200m. She joined us in studio this week to chat through the madness of the last 13 months.
It’s almost World Series time, and reigning champions the LA Dodgers got there courtesy of the single greatest display in the history of American sports. For once, the hype is justified. We discussed the Ohtani miracle with US Murph. We also chatted to Andy Lee and Joseph Parker at our live show. Parker is a World heavyweight champion but his career was drifting until he hooked up with Andy in the last few years and he’s back in the ring this Saturday night in London.
Plus there's former Derry u-20 footballer Jude McAtamney getting selected for, and then ruthlessly let go, by the NY Giants, the Guardian’s Jonathan Liew told us why he thinks a ban on Maccabi Tel-Aviv is not a ban on Jewish football fans.
Next week Ken is back, there's Ire V NZ in Chicago and build up to Ireland's historic Under-17 World Cup appearance.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Munster had 35% possession, 31% territory, had to make 270 tackles to Leinster's 117, had the inferior scrum, went down to an early try, and we're playing against a team full of Lions and Ireland internationals.... and won it easing up, with a 4-try bonus point.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Barry Murphy about Munster's brilliant all-round display, bigger/faster/stronger/smarter Jack Crowley, turning defence into attack, Clayton McMillan's impact, Tom Farrell's emergence as an Ireland contender, Sam Prendergast's dip in form, and where this leaves Andy Farrell with NZ now on the horizon.
Plus there's padel talk, Chicago 2016 and when a coach is the right fit for a team.
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Ken is on holiday!! Come back, please keep reading, there is a but coming.. Ken is on holiday BUT given the enormity of the football weekend we have all just lived through he is taking a break from his mini-retirement to dial in from the beautiful citadel of Milan(o) and bring you today's football pod.
Enthused by the fresh alpine air of which he now breathes, Ken asks questions such as; Is Arteta a footballing prophet? What podcaster most resembles Mohamed Salah and what to do with those low-blocks and long balls. And we discuss what the appearance of Klopp on the Liverpool horizon may signal.
We are also joined by Rory Smith of The Observer and The Athletic's Mark Critchley who take us through Manchester United's first back to back wins in the Premier League since their final two games of the 2023/24
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What an Incredible week we’ve had in Second Captains, and thanks again to our guests and those who came to the Gaiety both nights. Eamon Dunphy got the biggest Second Captains standing ovation of all time, and we have a taster for you on today's best of show. We also had Martin O'Neill at the Gaiety and he was keen to debate the merits of data and XG with Ken. And Ken chatted to Simon Kuper about his new book “World Cup Fever - A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments”.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows and the best of are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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It’s live show day in the Second Captains offices, but we still found time to send our best and brightest (and oldest), Simon Hick off to talk to Andy Farrell, on the release of his autobiography “The Only Way I Know” this week.
Simon chats to Andy about what shaped Farrell as a person and a coach, how he has dealt with coaching with and against his son Owen, and how Ireland are shaping up ahead of the November internationals.
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Ireland have fallen to their second defeat of the 2026 World Cup Qualifying campaign and now sit bottom of Group F on one point.
Ken dials in from Lisbon as we talk through a night in which we came so close to a positive result.
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Finn Azaz was asked about Heimir’s comment last week that the Irish players underestimated the challenge of Armenia. “I think it goes further than that. “In terms of the build up, the wins against Bulgaria, the improved performances and results leading up to that game. . . maybe there was a lack of understanding of the challenge that we were coming up against away to Armenia, in terms of the occasion, in terms of the environment and in terms of them as players.” We put those quotes to Ken this morning, after he touched down in Lisbon for Saturday night’s World Cup qualifier.
We spoke to Jack Pitt Brooke about Thomas Tuchel not including Jude Bellingham in the England squad and Ken discussed Steven Gerrard's comments about England's golden generation of "egotistical losers".
Our new phone-in show KenCall was launched to great acclaim on the World Service recently and next week we’re bringing KenCall live to the Gaiety theatre stage. If you’re gonna be there, all the better, if not, you can still send in your voice notes to be put to Ken on the night to edtior@secondcapfains.com - Subject KenCall. We still have tickets remaining for Monday night by the way at secondcaptains.com
Ben Healy was one of the stories of the sporting summer, when he not only won a stage of the Tour de France but went on to wear the yellow jersey for two days, and if that wasn’t enough, just ten days ago he capped it all off by winning bronze at the World Championships. We caught up with Ben for his first in-depth interview in the Irish media about what has been the year of his dreams.
If you want to hear more of this kind of stuff sign up to the World Service!
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“I made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself. I am now taking steps to address the matter.” With Jim Gavin pulling out of the race to be the President, we ask GAA man Ciaran Murphy what his community makes of it all.
Leinster have conceded 74 points in two games, losing both, while Munster have won two from two, albeit against weaker opposition. Sam Prendergast missed a penalty, a drop goal and threw an intercept pass in the closing stages of Leinster's loss to the Bulls, while Jack Crowley steered Munster home against Cardiff with a drop goal landing MOTM display. Munster play Leinster in Croke Park in 2 weeks time; let the outhalf wars begin.
We chat to Gerry Thornley and our man in South Africa, Craig Ray, about the race for 10, Nienaber's new contract, South Africa's scarily successful evolution as a rugby team and we reflect on the sad news that Lewis Moody, 2003 World Cup winner with England, today announced that he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
And we bring you the breaking news that we’re bringing KenCall live to our Gaiety shows next Monday and Wednesday (Wednesday is sold out). If you’ve heard anything on the podcast that’s been grinding your gears, or maybe you just want some life coaching from Ken, email your voice note to editor@secondcaptains.com - subject line KenCall. Keep them under 30 seconds please. For tickets go to secondcaptains.com/live
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Brentford’s Sepp van den Berg showed one way not to defend against Erling Haaland this weekend: start the game by pushing him around in a mildly irritating manner. Don’t make him angry, you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
Chelsea picked apart Liverpool by exploiting their known weaknesses, as detailed by Marc Cucurella after the match. When does a crisis evolve from frothing internet madness to actual crisis? And what is the biggest challenge facing Arne Slot over the next few weeks?
Nick Miller joins us to talk about Ange Postecoglou’s start to life at Nottingham Forest. Postecoglou says that as a child he used to pick fights with people he knew would beat him up. Has he taken the Forest job on the same principle? How are the Forest crowd’s feelings towards beloved former manager Nuno affecting the reception of Ange? And are people still confident the good ship Marinakis is steering the right course?
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The weekend's sport draws to a close, Monday arrives and you get a double shot of Second Captains. The world feels brighter, airier, you walk with an extra bounce in your step. Then comes Tuesday and there's a sudden void in your life. How can you make it six whole days without another dispatch of independent, member-led broadcasting?
Well, we've got a solution for you, dear Monday listener. Listen to this week's SC taster menu, realise there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and sign up for the World Service for just €5 a month + VAT at secondcaptains.com/join. The gang's all here!
This week there's the Arsenal x the RAF collab you never quite saw coming, Ken on why Team USA's Ryder Cup fans just can't get a chant together, Paul Flynn on what the GAA can learn from the NFL, and the recent apparent evolution of Premier League football into set piece rollerball.
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It was a wild Ryder Cup weekend at Bethpage Black, for good and for bad.
Despite heckling from American fans that managed all at once to be annoying, unoriginal and verging on the obscene, Europe wiped the floor with the US over the first two days of the tournament. And then came Sunday...
Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times is in studio and Joe Callaghan joins us from New York to chat about Shane Lowry's huge performance despite the abuse he and Rory McIlroy faced, when the welcome change in atmosphere at a Ryder Cup spills over into something ugly, and poor old Keegan Bradley's captaincy from hell.
Plus there's a slice of Ian Wright and SC after dark.
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An explosive reaction to Liverpool's first defeat of the season maybe suggests discontent with performances was simmering through the recent series of late wins. Have we seen enough to state boldly that a certain Liverpool-player-of-the-decade and a certain almost-record-signing might not both fit into an effective Premier League team? Maybe not yet - but let's do it anyway.
Meanwhile Arsenal demonstrated the virtues of combining power and balance in their comeback win at Newcastle, while Chelsea's board expressed their possibly-unrequited confidence in Enzo Maresca.
David Sneyd spent his Friday hanging out with Keith Andrews and Brentford's director of football Phil Giles. The next day Brentford thrashed Manchester United 3-1. We hear from David about Andrews approach to the job, and why a club regarded as one of the best-run in the Premier League believed he was the right man to take them forward.
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Kate O'Connor's heptathlon silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo was one of the truly great Irish sporting achievements. To post 5 personal bests in her 7 events, some of them with a knee injury, speaks to a truly elite mental toughness.
Derval O'Rourke watched it all, was left by turns speechless and emotional over the course of Saturday morning, and joins us today to talk about the importance of solid structures around Kate, the new stratosphere she has been launched into, as well as Cian McPhilips' tantalising run for fourth in the 800m final.
We join Joe Callaghan, who made the border crossing from Canada to get to Bethpage Black, a blue collar course in New York, for a Ryder Cup that will have lots of bite and spite, on and off the course.
And there's lovely sports Dads, the spirit of Seve, and we imagine what VR headsets abusing polite European sportspeople might be like.
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What must it be like to go to sea on what is expected to be a normal fishing expedition, only for the captain to go mad and start forcing random crew members to walk the plank?
The Chelsea players got to find out on Saturday evening as Enzo Maresca’s flurry of first half substitutions sent an already-entertaining game into the realm of farce.
We talk about that game and the tribulations of a couple of Ireland players before Miguel Delaney and Jacob Hawley join us to talk about Arsenal’s draw with Manchester City.
What was it about Arsenal’s starting XI that set off mutinous rumblings at the Emirates? Is Pep Guardiola really embracing anti-football? And what does Arsenal’s “spring-cleaning” of Tim Lewis suggest about the direction of the club?
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The Champions League has been a lot of fun this week with Gurbanov, the madness in Turin, and Liverpool winning late, yet again. We chatted to Neil Atkinson of The Anfield Wrap.
Ken tells us about where he was when Newcastle played the mighty Barcelona in 1997. We also chatted to the sports editor of The Nation, Dave Zirin, about the NFL coming to Ireland, to Cathal Dennehy in Tokyo about the world champs and there's lots more including Roman Brannecdotes, the latest revelations from the Barcelona/Bartomeu internet manipulation scandal, and Trent's Ballon d’Or campaign.
Tomorrow we cover Newcastle Barca, Cian McPhillips' going big in Japan and next week we have Ryder Cup, Ian Wright in London, and Branno will return from his trip to the Evan Ferguson show in Rome.
The special guest at our live show in London next week, Wednesday September 24th, will be Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright. Last batch of tickets available at https://www.secondcaptains.com/live-events/
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Two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton, who was one of the best-known and most loved fighters of his generation, has died at the age of 46.
Gavan Casey of the42 is in studio today along with Mike Costello, who was working at all the big Hatton fights in Vegas.
We also analyse Paddy Donovan's rematch against Lewis Crocker in Belfast; despite two knockdowns Donovan thought he’d done enough to win the fight, as did the DAZN commentators, but Crocker edged it on two of the judges' scorecards.
Plus there's Aoife O’Rourke winning world gold in Liverpool, Terence Crawford creating history in beating Canelo Alvarez and we look back at a narrow defeat for Ireland in the Rugby World Cup QF.
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Nick Woltemade’s had his critics - some of the biggest Bundesliga beasts of all time popping up to give him a surprise pre-debut kicking in the media - so his winner for Newcastle against Wolves is a nice place to start today.
We debate whether Evan Ferguson can learn anything from the advice of Robert Lewandowski, and compare the progress of the title favourites: Arsenal looking smooth and steady, Liverpool still trying to figure things out with their new signings.
Mark Critchley and Dion Fanning join us to talk about the Manchester Derby. Is this the best Erling Haaland we’ve seen for a couple of years? Has Guardiola identified the hulking Donnarumma as the future of goalkeeping (and why does Luis Enrique seem to disagree)?
What can we learn from Bruno Fernandes’ analysis of Phil Foden’s goal (an analysis echoed by his coach but not by any media pundits we're aware of)? And have we reached the point in the season when it’s time for Manchester United to sack their manager.
The special guest at our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th will be Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright. Last batch of tickets available at https://www.secondcaptains.com/live-events/
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What if, at 42 years of age, having spent your entire life playing Gaelic football, you were to take up one of the fastest sports in the world, one that most experts say you need to take up before the age of 7 or 8 if you’re to master the basics, and then write a book about it? Welcome to the live show launch of Murph's second book, the brilliant Old Parish: Notes On Hurling.
Murph joined Old Parish, a club in the West Waterford Gaeltacht where his father is from, and over the course of a summer finds out just how difficult hurling is and just how much he loves Old Parish. We chat to Murph, Oisin McConville and Jamie Wall about "the glove", George Plimpton, village life in Ireland, football V hurling, tough love sports psychology, and why hurling is not a thinking man's game.
See you on Monday for a Manchester derby Premier League show with Ken; we will also be covering the world athletics championships, the Andy Lee, Paddy Donovan all Ireland title fight in Belfast, the Rugby World Cup QF, the Ryder Cup is on soon and its a full schedule of midweek champions league matches next week too
To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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When McIlroy drained a monster eagle putt on the 18th green at the K Club to get into a playoff, the fans at The Irish Open let out a roar worthy of any major; yesterday's dramatic, emotional win in front of his home fans caps off what is arguably the best season of his career.
We chat to Joe Callaghan about Rory's roller coaster season, what incredible entertainment he provides, about the wholesome family scenes we saw at the K club and Joe talks about being a cub reporter covering the start of Rory's amateur career.
We also discuss Trump's appearance at the US Open men's final last night which resulted in delays, boos, some odd moments on TV, and a win for Carlos Alcaraz.
And the special guest at our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th will be Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright. Last batch of tickets available at https://www.secondcaptains.com/live-events/
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Ireland 2-2 Hungary - a scoreline that looked highly unlikely after 20 minutes, then looked reasonably likely after 55 minutes, before being greeted with untrammelled delight after 94 minutes.
We’re still alive and still fighting for our World Cup place after the first game of this shortened qualification campaign, which actually marks a bit of progress.
Where it all leaves us is the question we ask Ken Early, who has already landed in Yerevan ahead of tomorrow night’s game against Armenia.
Damien Delaney has some harsh words for more than one Irish defender.
And the special guest at our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th will be Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright. Last batch of tickets available at https://www.secondcaptains.com/live-events/
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We had a record breaking transfer window with subplots a plenty, World Cup fever has gripped the nation in advance of our qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia, and our star striker is settling in nicely to life in bella Italia. On top of the football, the Ryder Cup is coming soon, the US open is on, and ireland are into a QF at the women's Rugby World Cup. What we're saying is, you can't afford to not become a member of the Second Captains world service for a mere 5 euro a month. Remember there's no ads, no contracts, no sneaky fees, and no minimum stay.
First up on our taster show today its vibes Versus data. David Sneyd of the 42, who is getting a really really good feeling from Heimir and his assistant coach Paddy McCarthy, and Conor O'Neill of The Athletic, who has been looking at the data ahead of Ireland's world cup campaign.
On Tuesday Ken talked about the moral of the Isak/Wissa/Guehi transfers maybe not being quite as obvious as some suggested. We also discussed Jim Gavin's candidacy for the Aras and had US Murph on the brilliant new Dallas Cowboys documentary on Netflix which is about oil man Jerry Jones' building of a dynasty when he bought the franchise back in the 80s.
Today on the Second Captains world service we have the always brilliant Andy Lee and his fighter Paddy Donavan ahead of their fight with Lewis Crocker for the vacant IBF welterweight title, that's in Belfast on 13th September and its the first time two Irish fighters have met for a world title. Next week we will be reviewing Ireland's win over Hungary and the women's World Cup win over NZ, and we may have a little Tim Vickery magic in there too.
The special guest at our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th will be Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright. Last batch of tickets available at https://www.secondcaptains.com/live-events/
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The European team was selected today, and even though Ryder Cup legend Shane Lowry missed out on automatic qualification, he was nevertheless Luke Donald’s obvious first pick.
If you were to cut USA Captain Keegan Bradley, he would bleed US Ryder Cup Brookline uniform grey, white and wine; so his decision to omit in-form American golfer, Keegan Bradley, makes no real sense. Gavin Cooney will be in Bethpage Black later this month and he’s in studio today.
Plus there's golf's wilting political will, how to get dropped and why is the Irish Open not always played at one of our scenic brilliant interesting courses?
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On your Monday football show, we talk about why Liverpool deserved to win at Anfield yesterday, and whether Ken is still billing Arsenal as the title favourites. With the Isak saga finally at an end, we survey the credits and debits.
Miguel Delaney and Barney Ronay join us to talk about the weekend's football. With three points against Arsenal and now Isak confirmed, can anyone stop this Anfield juggernaut? Do Arsenal need to pay more attention to the ebb and flow of animal energy?
Might we already be witnessing the last few months of Pep Guardiola's Premier League career? And how are Chelsea consistently getting such impressive prices for so many of their apparently unwanted players?
The special guest at our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th will be Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright. Last batch of tickets available at https://www.secondcaptains.com/live-events/
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We had more midweek football excitement than we had any reason to expect this week, given we're still in August. Welcome to our "best of" show which features reaction to two unbelievably entertaining matches, the Isak derby on Monday night and Man United's loss to lowly Grimsby in the League Cup last night.
We also had the league of Ireland academy development manager Will Clarke in studio about how we can fix Irish football and tomorrow Friday we’re delighted to have 8-time All-Ireland winning footballer Davy Byrne in studio with us to talk about why he signed a letter demanding the GAA end their sponsorship deals with Allianz.
And we have great news ahead of our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th – the special guest will be Arsenal legend Ian Wright! Go to https://www.secondcaptains.com/live-events/ for tickets.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The women's Rugby World Cup has come a long way in a short space of time. The opening game of the 2025 World Cup between England and USA had a higher attendance than the whole of the 2010 World Cup put together. At the 2017 event in Ireland the pool games were played in the UCD Bowl. This year there will be 82,000 at the final in Twickenham, and the Ireland V NZ game in Brighton is expected to be a near 30,000 sell out. With the big crowds, the great stadiums, the sunshine, and the home team being hot favourites, there's a sense that this year's tournament is going to be huge.
We chat to Sara Orchard of the BBC and Tania Rosser, star of three World Cups for Ireland, including 2014 when Ireland made the semi finals, about where the growth has come from, the opening weekend of pool matches, Ireland's win over Japan and if the Red Roses will take the baton from two time Euros winners, the Lionesses.
Plus there's Felipe Contepomi guiding Argentina to another win over NZ and Becky Lynch having a pop at Bono.
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From Napoleon II to Evan I. A new star blazes in the sky of Rome. Did Evan Ferguson score? No - but that, initial reviews maintain, is a mere detail. Are we getting carried away after one game? There will be none of that talk aboard the Trenitalia hype train.
From there we look forward to tonight’s hate-fest at St James’ Park, and apportion blame for how this whole sorry situation has arisen. We hear echoes of the voice of Arsenal from long ago, and the many voices of Nottingham Forest in August 2025.
Lars Sivertsen and John Brewin join us to talk through the weekend’s football. How has Thomas Frank whipped Spurs into shape so quickly? Which current Spurs player is starting to remind some of their fans of Kylian Mbappe? Is Pep Guardiola having an identity crisis? What does Jack Grealish’s home debut for Everton mean for the outlook at both Everton and Manchester City?
And obviously, the exploding-sun gravity of the dying red giant that is Manchester United draws us inevitably in for the latest assessment of where Ruben Amorim’s meticulously laid-out plans are at.
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This week we went from zero to 100 on the wholesome-o-meter, from the local kid that taught his town to love again, to the bitter Newcastle - Isak war of words…. it’s been a roller coaster up in here. Question is, are you brave enough to jump on for the ride?
It’s a great time to join with The Premier League season up and running, Arsenal plucking Eze out of Spurs’ grasp, VAR energising the base, and Everton have Jack Grealish in their squad. We also had the great football historian and author David Goldblatt on the show today. David chatted to Ken about his new book Injury Time: Football in a State of Emergency, which tells the story of the UK’s decade of polycrisis through the recent history of football.
This week we also discussed the Bundesliga’s bold new strategy for attracting international eyeballs, and we had Conor Niland and Julie Morissy in talking about tennis’ attempts, largely successful attempts so far you’d have to say, to sex up the sport.
Tomorrow we have the debut of kencall and next week we will cover the Isak derby on Monday night football, the Ilona Maher women’s rugby world cup, and we will keep an eye on the US Open. To join go to secondcaptains.com/join. Did you know theres no ads, no sneaky contracts, no catches, no add ons? We’re an open book here at Second Captains.
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''The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function''. Did you know F Scott Fitzgerald was actually referring to Ken Early?
After breaking the minds of many of our members with Friday's Oasis podcast, Ken and Branno today react to the backlash. Is it ok to have fun? Did Branno consume 2.5 pints? Who was being condescending to who? Do us humans even know what we want? And is it all the algorithm's fault?
As the rest of the country was preparing to have the time of their lives at Oasis, Simon was geeking out on some Southern Hemisphere rugby as the apparently hopeless underdogs Australia came from 22-0 down against world champs South Africa to win in Ellis Park Johannesburg for the first time in 62 years. How did this happen? Can Australia now win the World Cup? Is Joe Schmidt a genius? And was this the result of the season for Andy Farrell? We talk to Tom Decent of the Sydney Morning Herald.
And we have great news ahead of our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th - the special guest will be Arsenal legend Ian Wright! Go HERE for tickets.
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Not for the first time this weekend, Ken wonders if he is going insane, as English football shows once again that it can never forgive a goalkeeper for getting fouled at a set-piece.
We discuss Keith Andrews' harsh introduction to life as a head coach, the varied fortunes of a raft of new super-striker signings, and the Friday night match that led to Arne Slot having to negotiate a grilling live on TV with Jamie Carragher.
Mark Critchley and Nick Ames join us to talk about Arsenal's 1-0 win at Old Trafford. Was this game oddly more encouraging for the losers than the winners? Viktor Gyökeres is currently undergoing the now-traditional internet hazing meted out to most new PL strikers - but are there signs he is going to struggle? And how might Arsenal reconfigure to get the best out of him?
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Hold onto your britches folks, cos things went a little wild on the world service this week what with the Premier League hype machine in full flow, daily Isak transfer tittle tattle, Shels getting their hearts broken and most importantly, the official launch of Kencall.
And after a weird summer of club world cup dystopia and Ken getting high on X it is finally time for some good old fashioned actual Premier League football to watch and talk about, and we got two of the biggest brains in the biz, Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney, on the line our bumper preview show.
Second Captains presenters and "some" world service Arsenal fans had a roller coaster relationship last season, but we extend a giant olive branch with our London live show special guest – it’s Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright!!!! The show is on Wednesday September 24th at the Earth Theatre in Hackney, London. If you wanna be there to see Ian get onto secondcaptans.com/live and get your tickets. They're moving fast.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After a month of All-Ireland finals, we finally got a close one - and in the end, we got a surprise winner, too. Cork were going for three-in-a-row, had beaten Galway by 11 points in the League final earlier this year, but had no answer to Galway's fast start, relentless physicality and last-minute heroics.
Dublin camogie captain Aisling Maher has had an eventful year, which started by leading the skorts strike, and she's on the line today with Sinead O'Carroll of The Journal to review yesterday's final, the new refereeing approach which has revolutionised camogie, and why we're still talking about integration.
We also discuss the worst Hawkeye referral in Croke Park's history, red cards, and why GAA players continue to be world leaders in spite.
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Jack Grealish has gone to Everton on loan. We hope he finds meaning there. We try to understand why it never worked for him, with reference to some of the things Guardiola said in a surprisingly candid recent interview with GQ.
Dion Fanning joins us to talk about the Community Shield, which saw the team with no new signings look more organised and dangerous than the team with €300 million worth.
We also discuss the recent news that the FAI’s dream of a fully-aligned football calendar has effectively been abandoned, after the FAI confirmed that leagues who want to play winter football can apply for exemptions.
What does the failure of the unified plan mean? And what are the likely implications for the FAI?
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The momentum behind "No Prem Ken" is building as our football correspondent put in another stonking performance this week on the world service. Welcome to our best of show!
We had Shels' shock win against the champions of Croatia, Man United rolling the transfer dice, football twitter madness, Son’s public display of emotion, the latest instalment of Inside Sir Big Jim, Infantino’s friends in high places and Orlagh Nolan on Dublin's masterclass against Meath,
Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It’s dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join – there’s no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no adverts and we’re independent and Irish owned. Yoiu can listen on any good podcast app, on Spotify or on our website secondcaptains.com. Next week we will be previewing the Premier League, chatting to US Murph about bananas, looking ahead to Oasis and having all kinds of good clean fun.
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The Lions return triumphant from the 2025 tour of Australia with a 2-1 series victory... but was that the bare minimum? Shane Horgan and Gareth Rhys Owen of the BBC's Scrum V are on the show this Bank Holiday Monday to review why the Lions ran out of steam on Saturday's third test.
We discuss whether Andy Farrell returns to Ireland with his reputation enhanced, which Irish players have grown or wilted during this tour, and how good or bad this Australian team really are.
We also discuss how to spend a 30-minute storm delay, and the insane final moments of the fifth day of the fifth test between England and India which included some heroics from Woakes and an incredibly tight finish.
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Welcome to our world service best of show, and what a humdinger of a week it was with Tom Brady and Keith Andrews getting the reality tv treatment at Birmingham and Brentford, Ken chatting to QPR and Ireland's soundest man, Jimmy Dunne, the Lions tour exploding into life, and Jonathan Wilson taking the gloves off for some cricket chat.
Plus there's question marks around the whole Newcastle/Saudi project, democratic dictator debates, ageism in football, the Rooster of Barcelos, and "word of the week".
Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It’s dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join – there’s no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no ads and we’re independent and Irish owned. Next week we will be reviewing the women’s Euros, Kerry V Donegal, the Lions 2nd Test, and there will be the usual avalanche of football transfers, news and drama.
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England have won their second consecutive Euros, a Lionesses XI built out of different types of rocks and hard places ultimately proving too tough for Spain to break down.
Today we learn about the lighter side of Sarina Wiegman, look at what England's win signifies in these exciting days for the meaning of Englishness, and reflect on the overall impact of Euro 2025.
We also discuss the knock-on effects of Luis Diaz' transfer to Bayern, and whether top clubs' increasing fixation on 22 year olds is creating market opportunities for old foxes like David Moyes to exploit.
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The 2025 All-Ireland senior football championship is finished and Kerry are worthy champions, again. Two of the great GAA pundits, Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville, are in studio to discuss this magnificent season of gaelic football 2.0.
How did Kerry defuse the Donegal zonal defence? Where did they find their energy after losing to Meath 8 weeks ago? Is David Clifford even human? We also examine Jim McGuinness’ performance and whether he was out-coached yesterday, and we look ahead to a bright future for the sport.
And of course just because Eoin was off on Friday doesn’t mean he missed his chance to pay his respects to Hulk Hogan. The balance is redressed in emphatic style today.
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Welcome to our world service best of show, and what a romper stomper its been this week with the Premier League transfer market getting red hot, Ken's north star, Eamon Dunphy, featuring heavily throughout, there's a much anticipated All Ireland football final match-up, the Lions are meowing their way to victory, and Ken has been meeting people in Tolka Park .... and the gym.... and in saunas.
Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It's dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join - there's no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no ads and we're independent and Irish owned. Next week we will be reviewing the women's Euros, Kerry Donegal, the Lions 2nd Test, and there will be the usual avalanche of football transfers, news and drama.
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Tipperary are the 2025 All-Ireland hurling champions, and their victory was as dominant and deserved as it was unexpected. As they’ve done all summer, Jamie Wall and Liam Rushe are on hand to pick through the bones of an unforgettable second half.
Cork’s inability to adapt to the tactical picture Tipp presented them will haunt them forever. For Tipp, giving your perfect performance on the biggest day makes this as sweet as any All-Ireland win in their history.
We also discuss cancelled homecomings, Ronan Maher’s upper-arm struggles, and where Cork go from here.
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Evan Ferguson has joined the flood of under appreciated young Premier League players seeking to transform their careers in Serie A.
James Horncastle joins us to talk about what awaits Ferguson in Rome - where he will be working under one of Italy's most respected coaches - what a young player like him should be doing (and not doing) to succeed in Serie A, and how Italian football keeps going its own way in an increasingly homogeneous football world.
We also talk about Ratcliffe’s fishing trip and the latest transfer news, including some difficult days at Newcastle United, and listen as some giants of days gone by lament the spinelessness and lack of character of the young generation.
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Welcome to our World Service taster which this week included Ken and Scottie Scheffler on the meaning of life, Patrice Evra brings you inside the dark culture of winning, Tom English of the BBC chasing Lions Down Under and Nicky English remembers his iconic ''soccer style'' goal in that hot summer of '87.
Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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Chelsea are the new FIFA world champions after destroying PSG in another one-sided CWC knockout game. Johnny Infantino's long servile campaign paid dividends as Donald Trump showed up and dominated the extended post-match proceedings.
The entire occasion was as though someone had started with the basic concept: imagine the Americans had invented football. To which we can only respond: why?
Jonathan Wilson and Tim Vickery join us to look back on the final and to evaluate the tournament as a whole. Do they agree with Enzo Maresca's perhaps self-serving prediction that this competition is going to take over from the Champions League as the gold standard of club football?
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If the price of one absolutely mega All-Ireland football final showdown is two pretty pedestrian semi-finals, then that’s a price we’re happy enough to pay. Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville are on hand to look back at Kerry’s composed win over Tyrone, and Donegal’s devastation of Meath in the weekend’s games.
Will this final be a showdown between David Clifford and Michael Murphy, or will Donegal’s peerless cohesion be the deciding factor?
Katie Taylor made sure, just in case there was still any doubt, that she'll be seen forevermore as a superior boxer to Amanda Serrano at the weekend, while also refusing to commit to ever fighting again in the aftermath. All this while still managing to get in a trademark Taylor verbal broadside at the post-fight press conference - a solid night's work.
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There was a period of a few hours over the weekend when it looked as though Mikey Johnston might be going to Brazil to teach them how to dribble. Even Robbie Keane's intervention could not save the move.
We talk about the Club World Cup, where Jurgen Klopp's direst predictions of injuries came true for Bayern's best player, Jamal Musiala. Should he even have been playing? And does Gianluigi Donnarumma deserve the criticism he's been getting from the original sweeper keeper, Manuel Neuer?
We also talk about the confirmed and rumoured incomings - and recent outgoings - at Arsenal.
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The Cork hurlers have built up a following which some commentators are comparing with Heffo’s Army or, say, the Pope's visit to Ireland. They travelled from Kent station to Heuston on Saturday with, let’s be honest, a certain cockiness and Dublin’s quick capitulation made for a good day out for the red shirted horde.
And then came "its a madhouse at Croker" on Sunday - our senior analyst Jamie Wall had tipped against Tipp. What’s he got to say for himself now? He’s joined in our studio by Dublin's Liam Rushe to discuss both semis and the score that never was.
We also discuss lingerie shops distracting Easter Week rebels, turning the GPO into a coffee shop, dressing like an African prince and Murph gets back behind the wheel for another episode of the wildly successful new slot, Murph's Country Drives.
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Murph and Mark headed off to Croke Park together yesterday for the MARPH derby. Murph's initial arrogance slowly curdled into horror as he and everyone else in the stadium witnessed the return of the Royals; Meath are back!
Mark is on the show today to celebrate on behalf of his people, but otherwise, it's wall-to-wall losers as Dublin and Armagh's Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville join Murph's Galway pity party.
We chat about Kerry's classy, clever win over All-Ireland champions Armagh, Meath's miracle, the kick-out factor, Donegal depth, Dublin's limp display against Tyrone, and where they go now as Dessie Farrell steps down.
Plus there's octogenarian ecstasies, and Ken's preferred candidate for the Dublin job.
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Friend of the show David Sneyd sent US Soccer into a tailspin over the weekend with his exclusive report that Brentford interviewed Mauricio Pochettino for the job they ended up giving to Keith Andrews. But doesn’t Poch already have a job? In Ireland we can empathise with the American soul-searching.
Meanwhile, certain senior German grandees been engaging in the favourite activity of their kind: lighting up the feuilleton space with an exchange of controversial barbs. Jurgen Klopp described the Club World Cup as the worst idea ever implemented in football, just a week after Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hailed the genius of Johnny Infantino for coming up with the idea. We look into the competing claims.
Plus there's FIFA's NFTs, Sky Sports bites back, Ken's Cuban and eggs in Italy.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes the voice of Saipan (trailer), the Joe Duffy era coming to a close and a new door opening, Tim Vickery on Brazilian footballers' ability to sin and win, Messi's secret to longevity, and Ken on the USA V Italy cuisine wars.
Plus there's Lions o'clock, climate change, ASMR, and the GAA football and hurling championships are red hot for the next few weeks.
For access to all our shows from Monday to Friday go to secondcaptains.com/join – its 5 euro a month with no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no sneaky contracts, and no ads.
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14-man Dublin's win over Limerick on Saturday has been described as the greatest upset in championship history - is that hyperbolic or on the money? Is this the end of an era or can we expect to see a less dominant but still title-contending Limerick going forward? And what are Dublin capable of against Cork in two weeks' time?
Jamie Wall and former Dublin hurler Liam Rushe are with us to answer those questions and more after an extraordinary weekend.
It's probably for the best that Murph's away this week, because in the other preliminary quarter-final Galway rolled over against Tipperary, offering next to nothing. Now, Tipp take on Kilkenny in the semi-finals, with Jamie's prediction that Derek Lyng's men will go all the way this year still hanging in the balance.
Plus there's the Chris Crummey debate ('debate') and the Second Captains slot Louth GAA never knew they needed.
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Ken is back from holidays and so is Branno. Did they... go on vacation together?
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened... is what Branno's Shels-supporting friends are claiming they are thinking the day after Damien Duff walked out of the club.
Today's show is mainly about perhaps the last-ever Duff-LOI Bomba - although it was a different competition that dominated much of our weekend bandwidth. Eoin brings us up to speed.
David Sneyd joins Eoin, Ken and Branno to talk about Duff's exit. Why did he choose to go now? Is this an impulse decision, or one that's been coming for a while? Will the league be damaged by the loss of arguably its biggest star? And what next for Duff himself?
Plus we've news of two new Stakeknife episodes, including a Q&A with Say Nothing author and New Yorker staff writer, Patrick Radden Keefe.
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Another insane weekend of Gaelic football, and finally we have some teams departing the scene - including, most chaotically of all, Mayo. They conceded a last-second score to a team who needed it not even a small little bit, and they, Derry, Roscommon and Clare are gone.
Former Galway player Barry Cullinane is on the line to chart his old team's progress through the Group of Death, and he's joined by Wicklow manager Oisin McConville, fresh from beating Westmeath and blasting the Tailteann Cup wide open.
There's also time to discuss Meath's insane hammering of Kerry, a score-fest between Down and Monaghan, and the preliminary quarter-final draw, which managed to keep all the big dogs away from each other.
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Today's football show contains all the meats of the football stew, from local LOI beefs to the state of the world game.
First we chat to David Sneyd about where exactly things stand in the League of Ireland season, a season in which Damien Duff and Stephen Bradley are at each other's throats. Why? Because of Italian trance classic, Komodo by Mauro Picotto, of course.
Then we speak to The Guardian's Barney Ronay, who's been on the ground in America for the opening weekend of the Club World Cup. We discuss Infantino's ICE World Cup, the dark mood in America and why the Saudi money and American marketing behind it all means it will probably succeed.
Plus there's Auckland amateurs, birthday shoutouts and the Kalimotxo King.
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Cork won a Munster final that "began at tea-time and didn't finish until bed-time", as Denis Walsh put it on Saturday night - a win on penalties over Limerick after a raucous, controversial, enthralling match that was perfect in its imperfection, as Jamie Wall explains to us.
Kilkenny won a sixth Leinster title in a row, but the real headlines from Croke Park yesterday came from Kildare, who won the Joe McDonagh Cup with a bravura performance on their biggest day.
We also discuss Murph's insatiable desire for TV appearances, Ken's hatred for "Freed From Desire", and a new documentary "Hell For Leather", coming up on RTE1 tonight.
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The Nations League final four turned out to be pretty good but it's clear that what international football needs right now is to reverse the FIFA diktat to make every emotional stadium moment sound the exact same.
We talk about Ireland's draw with Senegal and look ahead to tomorrow's season-closing friendly in Luxembourg, before the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author Joseph O'Neill joins us in studio to speak about his 2024 novel, Godwin, a New York Times Best Book of the Year.
The novel, partly set in the world of football scouting and agency, explores both the exploitation of young African footballers and a particular brand of ineffective 21st century American liberalism, something Joseph has also written about in his essays for the New York Review of Books.
And that is what you call a veritable smorgasbord of a football show.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu!
For access to all our shows go to secondcaptains.com/join – its 5 euro a month with no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no sneaky contract, and no ads.
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PSG are the champions of Europe after crushing Inter 5-0 in the most one-sided final in European Cup history.
The night was a complicated mix of emotions; awe at the sheer brilliance of PSG's performance, respect and affection for their charismatic coach Luis Enrique, sympathy for the hopelessly outclassed Inter, unease and foreboding at a second Champions League win in three seasons for a state-owned club, and, if you are into that kind of thing, maybe a little schadenfreude at the expense of Kylian Mbappe.
After the game, Ken caught up (in rapid succession) with Miguel Delaney, Jonathan Liew and Diego Torres to hear their thoughts on the slaughter.
Plus there's Ken scooting under the influence, Doue's abs and Dembele the destroyer.
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Bernie Sanders has been one of the most electrifying figures in American life for half a century, and is one of the most high-profile global political figures of the current moment. He joined us in our studio in Dublin this week for an exclusive interview, and we have a taster of the chat on today's best of show.
In what was a massive week for Second Captains, we also had former Ireland and Sheffield Utd captain John Egan at our live show in the Everyman Theatre in Cork,
Plus there's Ken's preview of the Champions League final, Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn on the GAA and Jonathan Wilson's football wedding plans.
For access to all our shows go to secondcaptains.com/join – its 5 euro a month with no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no sneaky contract, and no ads.
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We're into the time of celebrations, drifting clouds of flare smoke, players grabbing mics and managers maybe dropping them. Palace, Liverpool and Tottenham all celebrated their big trophy wins in the last few days while Katie McCabe has been leading Arsenal's celebrations after winning the Women's Champions League.
Spurs fans: we see you, we believe you. We address the concerns of some Tottenham fans who felt Thursday's pod was too focused on the wretchedness of the Europa League final losers, and talk about Daniel Levy's big call.
Jonathan Wilson joins us to pour out his heart about newly promoted playoff champions Sunderland AFC, and reveal new information on the table plan for his upcoming wedding.
And we hear from Ken and Branno on their big Bernie experience.
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We have our provincial hurling final pairings, but Cork didn't exactly roar into the Munster final, enduring a nervy second half before finally putting Waterford away in Páirc Úi Chaoimh. They'll face Limerick in two weeks' time, and Jamie Wall and Liam Rushe say farewell to All-Ireland champions Clare, while looking ahead to Galway/Kilkenny in the Leinster final.
Murph was in Parnell Park to see Dublin struggle under the new-found weight of expectation, and we also explore his new-found love for the New York Knicks... which we then pithily expose as lies and hypocrisy.
We also reveal how Ken spent his Saturday - talking to Senator Bernie Sanders in our office!
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes an in-depth look at a Europa League final result that's produced so many talking points for both Spurs and Man Utd, US Murph on the New York sports fan and Pope University, Paul Flynn on Dublin's (surprise?) win over Galway, and Timothee Chalamet being a good sport.
We also had an exclusive interview with former Celtic, Sunderland and Cork City player and more recently, Ireland assistant coach, Colin Healy. Last year, Colin’s wife, Kelly, sadly passed away after a long battle with leukaemia. After taking a few weeks off work, he returned to his job as assistant coach to Ireland manager, Eileen Gleeson. In December, the FAI announced they wouldn’t be renewing Colin’s contract. Just over a month later, Colin released a highly critical statement in which he said he’d been assured by then FAI Director of Football, Marc Canham, that he would be kept on, something which Canham has consistently denied. Colin sat down with us this week to speak about what’s been an extremely difficult year in his personal and professional life.
For access to all our shows go to secondcaptains.com/join – its 5 euro a month with no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no sneaky contract, and no ads.
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The FA Cup: good when the underdogs actually win.
We look at some key moments of Palace's epic and emotional victory. Why didn't the VAR send Dean Henderson off? Why did Erling Haaland let Marmoush take the penalty? And did Oliver Glasner get in Pep Guardiola's head when he warned him, you play that system against us again and we will solve it?
And in Europa League final week, we wonder: how did Oliver Glasner manage to come in mid-season, switch to 3-4-3, and win most of his remaining PL games, while certain other managers who have tried to do something similar have failed?
Damien Delaney was over to watch his old club win their first ever major trophy - he joins us to talk about an incredible day at Wembley.
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Limerick and Cork has been the marquee hurling rivalry of the recent past - but yesterday in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick sent out a fairly thundering message that they are the team to beat in this year's All-Ireland championship.
Liam Rushe and Jamie Wall are in studio again to talk to us about Kyle Hayes' dominance, Cork's naive puck-out defence, why Waterford may worry Cork next weekend with a place in the Munster final at stake, and Dublin's 'moral victory' in Nowlan Park.
There's also the arresting image of a former RTE GAA analyst climbing Everest in the nude, Aidan O'Shea, and more Cian Lynch magic.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes the mighty Kate O'Connor live in Belfast on her incredible year of success, Ken on his US civil war ancestor, a brilliant GAA show with Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville, and fan favourite Tim Vickery on why Brazil and Argentina have such different football philosophies.
For access to all our shows go to secondcaptains.com/join - its 5 euro a month with no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no sneaky contract, no ads, just lots and lots of podcast fun.
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The All-Ireland champions Clare are on the precipice after their defeat at home to Tipperary in a packed Cusack Park in Ennis on Saturday - but our analysts Liam Rushe and Jamie Wall reckon there's still a chance they survive.
We also discuss the skorts issue that continues to rumble on inexplicably, John McGrath's late-career renaissance, Shane O'Donnell's return, and there's Limerick/Cork to look forward to this weekend too.
We also reflect briefly on Louth's thrilling Leinster football final win, Sam Mulroy's heroics, and Murph getting abused by a celebrating Louth-man.
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The spectrum of football emotion runs wide. At one end, Trent Alexander-Arnold, once beloved and now accursed by his own people. At the other the Moose, surfing to his first LOI goal on a tidal wave of inexplicable love. Football can be a confusing place for footballers.
We talk about another epic Clasico as Real Madrid fall apart in a comical first half in Montjuic. Have they grown desperate enough to submit to the kind of coach who will tell them how to play football?
Dion Fanning and Rory Smith join us to talk about the weekend's football. Does the treatment of Trent reflect badly on Liverpool? And as Ruben Amorim aims another devastating broadside at his own club, how long do we think this project has left to run?
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Join us live from the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Dublin City, with Gary Breen and Damien Delaney for a very special Second Captains football podcast, as we reflect on the Premier League season that was.
Have Salah’s legs gone, what next for our boy Caoimhín and just why is Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca the anti-McIlroy?
Plus Ken puts some working relationships on the line as Gary and Damien wait to see if either of them make it into his All-time Premier League XI (spoiler: they don't).
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From the moment we saw the team-sheets, right through to the final moments when they chose not to kick at goal, this was a baffling display by the coaching staff and players, and it all ended with a defeat that will have repercussions far beyond the province of Leinster.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhrí O'Connor about the mental state of the players for this Northampton game, the starting team chosen, the Nienaber defensive system, the funding model in Irish rugby, and where this latest defeat leaves Leo Cullen.
And we try to define what it means to "choke", and if it was arrogance, overthinking or panic that caused the team to not kick that penalty on 75 mins to level the scores.
Plus there's Pollock power, Prendergast pawing, and trying to place this defeat in the pantheon of Irish sporting failures.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes Ken on Arteta's psycho babble and Lamine Yamal's greatness, Diego Torres on Arsenal's decay, Meath beating the Dubs, and Abubaker Abed came to our studio for a sit-down with Ken. Abubaker arrived in Dublin late last month having left the Gaza Strip for the first time in his life. He had hoped to study and become a sports journalist but conflict came to him first, pushing him into becoming an accidental war reporter.
Join in the fun for just a fiver a month – no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Liverpool are the 24-25 Premier League champions. We talk about their victorious campaign, why this should be regarded as one of the great coaching achievements in English football history, and why other Liverpool managers who came close in the past might feel a little envious of the circumstances in which Arne Slot won the Premier League at his first attempt.
We also discuss an incredible Copa Del Rey final and the latest theories about why Florentino Perez has allowed Madrid to become a sore-loser "anti-organisation".
Neil Atkinson of TAW joins us to talk about why this title means so much to Liverpool, how Arne Slot transformed last season's third-placed side into champions, and what remains to be done for the rest of the season.
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15 years of hurt are over - the Royals have stormed the capital and are back in power, and back in a Leinster final.
Some saw this coming, most didn't.
We talk to the soothsayer Paul Flynn about where this shock lies on the GAA Richter Scale, how Meath did it, and where this leaves Dublin now.
We also chat to Conor McManus about the Leinster final match up, Louth's evolution, and Armagh's win over Tyrone.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week included Ken on Canham, making football great again. Bohs beating Rovers, Paul Flynn on fabulous football, Liam Rushe and Jamie Wall on hurling's hectic draws, and we have "fun and games" coming on Friday too.
Get daily shows for just a fiver a month – no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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ope Francis, who died today aged 88, once told the players of Celtic FC that the essence of sport lay in 'gratuitousness', to give of yourself without expecting something in return.
The idealism of his message doesn't resound widely in top-level football, where the contrasting experiences of two current stars expose the calculating self-interest that fuels the professional game.
Beñat Gutierrez joins us from Bilbao, European capital of football for the next few weeks to talk about their defeat last night at the Bernabéu and what they expect from the forthcoming Europa semi-final against Manchester United.
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Well, that was something. Rory McIlroy's Masters win rightly managed to make it into most of our conversations this week, and we're not even done yet - Lawrence Donegan is slated to do his victory lap tomorrow on the World Service after finally seeing his pre-tournament prediction line up with reality.
Ken also sat down with Sol Campbell yesterday, just a couple of hours before Arsenal dumped Real Madrid out of the Champions League once and for all.
And a debate raged between our listeners and Ken over whether Bob Dylan is really up to much after all.
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After Rory McIlroy’s open heart captivated the world last night, we identify the anti-McIlroy who has become the symbol of the Premier League 24-25.
We survey the gallant efforts of the sports media to spin gold out of the straw of the past weekend and inspect some of the suggestions that have been put forward to revive football as a spectacle.
Jonathan Wilson and Nick Ames join us to talk about the weekend’s PL action. What was the buzz at Anfield as Arne Slot’s team closes in on the title? Would Kevin de Bruyne be a good short-term signing for another of the big Premier League clubs? And… you know… what did they make of the golf?
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After what must surely have been one of the most amazing days of sport any of us has ever seen, Rory McIlroy did what it often seemed he never would: won at Augusta and joined the very, very short list of golfers who've won a career Grand Slam. And he did it in the most 'Rory McIlroy at The Masters' way imaginable.
We're joined in studio by Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times and Gavin Cooney of the 42.ie to breathe it all in, to bask in it, and to relive it less than twelve hours later.
Plus there's Jim Nantz's Crying Game, Lawrence Donegan the occasional oracle, and where Rory goes from here.
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes Ken on his all-time Prem XI, Prince William's tactics masterclass before the Villa PSG game, Cork's march to an inevitable All Ireland hurling title and we ask Lawrence Donegan to take responsibility for Rory not yet winning The Masters. We also covered Munster's magic day in La Rochelle, Rice's free kick glory, Madrid in crisis and we have a pol pod coming on Friday too.
Join in the fun for just a fiver a month – no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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If you felt some almost imperceptible shift in the world this weekend, the minutest tilting of the Earth on its axis, perhaps, there can only be one coherent explanation: it was the county of Cork and the province of Munster reclaiming their positions at the centre of the sporting universe.
The first righting of the celestial wrong came in the Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday evening, as Jack Crowley did what Cork-born Munster outhalves do: stepped into the pocket and slotted a drop goal to put Munster two scores ahead of ROG's La Rochelle. Twelve minutes and a whole lot of drama later, the full-time whistle blew with Munster victorious.
Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley join us in studio to chat through an incredible game full of heroics, emotion, atmosphere, momentum swings, 50/50 ref calls and nostalgia.
On Sunday the Cork hurlers thumped Tipperary in Páirc Uí Chaoimh to seal their first league title since 1998, with a good old-fashioned pitch invasion thrown in for good measure.
Plus there's Mick O'Dwyer myths busted, Coombes' block, Mick Galwey on a JCB, and Leinster's 62-0 win in Croker.
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Ken, Branno and Mark went to Dalymount Park in search of vitriol - and they found it - but also nearly all of the other emotions on an evening that veered wildly between blind rage and helpless laughter.
If everyone can agree the LOI is in a good place the same is not universally said of the Premier League where most of the teams are giving the impression that they would quite like to be on holidays already.
Mark Critchley and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to talk about the weekend's PL football. Did we just witness the worst Manchester derby of all time? If so, who is to blame? Where does Kevin de Bruyne stand in the pantheon of football greatness? And what chance remains of Ange fulfilling his cursed second-season prophecy?
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Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu.
Join in the fun for just a fiver a month – no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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The most cinematic moment in world football this weekend happened at Dalymount Park as Moses Dyer hammered in a killer second goal for Galway United to plunge Branno, among many others, into a world of pain. Today he takes us behind the veil of darkness as we try to reckon with Bohemians' 5 defeats in their last 6 games.
We also discuss Newcastle's JFK moment, the latest developments in Robbie Keane's chase for the Hungarian championship, and the reaction to a controversial tweet in which somebody claimed to have quite enjoyed their six-week stay in Dublin. Is this a shark-jumping point for Ken's favourite app?
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It was a positive weekend for Irish rugby with the women's team getting a near flawless 8 try victory in Italy, Leinster's B / C team taking down Siya Kolisi's star studded Sharks in Durban, Ulster showing further signs of life against the Stormers, and Munster's halfbacks steering them to a win over Connacht. And even Connacht, as bad as they were at times, can feel they got something out of the game with two losing bonus points, a sellout crowd and a small footprint made in GAA territory.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about the occasion in Castelbar, Connacht's great attack and terrible defence, Jack Crowley's contract situation, Leinster's defiance in Durban ahead of Quins in Croker, and the total transformation in the Irish women's team over the last 12 months.
Plus there's "Lunnachts", Murph's Leaving Cert drinks and Munster's trip to ROG country.
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We have a special edition of the show for you today; we’re putting yesterday’s conversation with David and Chantal Sneyd about their son Dylan, out free to all. There was a phenomenal reaction from our members and we felt this one should be shared as widely as possible.
When Dylan was two David and Chantal grew concerned that he hadn't yet started to speak. They spoke to their GP who referred Dylan for further assessment, and so began the Sneyds' long and still ongoing struggle to navigate the Irish healthcare system.
Dylan has since been diagnosed with autism, a diagnosis which brought David and Chantal some relief, but it was hard-won: interminable HSE waiting lists meant they eventually had to opt for a private assessment, years after that initial GP visit.
David and Chantal joined us in studio to describe what life over the last four years has been like for them, the huge frustration that they and thousands of other families around the country feel in trying to access basic services for their children, and what they think the future holds for Dylan.
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Mayo and Kerry both spent time yesterday in the relegation zone, but they’ll spend this week looking ahead to a Division 1 final in Croke Park after a daft last day of the National Football League.
Paul Flynn and Conor McManus look at this strange, fun, league campaign in full, with some flowers for newly-promoted Monaghan, and we go down through the divisions in search of possible championship bolters to put up a challenge to a faltering Dublin in Leinster.
We also discover the truth behind Paul Flynn’s history with the shin-pad, courtesy of a listener, and Eoin tells us about the time he met the late, great George Foreman.
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Two comeback wins in four days, new options announcing themselves all over the pitch - just a couple of months on from getting wiped out 5-0 by England, it feels as though things are going... well?
Damien Delaney and Richie Sadlier join us to talk about the playoff victory against Bulgaria and where the Irish team is at, eight matches into Heimir Hallgrimsson's tenure. For Damien in particular, this is a big moment. He is ready to love again.
Plus there's Evan Ferguson's parking, Good Will Hunting and have we got Ronaldo rattled?
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Let us take you by the hand and guide you through another week of independent, member-led broadcasting on the Second Captains World Service.
This week we had Ken on victory in Plovdiv, Murph and Branno on The Moose's caboose, we discussed the ultimate "conesman" Anthony Barry and his 5,000 throw-ins, and with Ireland's recent slide in standards we asked Gerry Thornley and Chris Jones of the BBC what impact Andy Farrell's absence and Nienaber's coaching style at Leinster may be having on the national side.
For all this and more, visit secondcaptains.com/join where you can sign up now for just €5 a month, with no minimum stay, no sign up fee and no ads.
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Dan Burn, Eddie Howe, Yasir Al-Rumayyan: they dream the same dream, they want the same thing. At least they all did at Wembley Stadium yesterday evening. As for tomorrow, who can say...
Rory Smith of the Athletic joins us to talk about the game. How did Newcastle so comprehensively get the better of the league leaders? And how does the result affect the perception of Liverpool's season, which still looks likely to end with a Premier League title?
James Montague, who has a new book coming out next week on Saudi Arabia's takeover of world sport, was also at Wembley to witness Newcastle's day of destiny. We talk about what the victory meant for the Newcastle fans, the commitment of the PIF to further successes with Newcastle, and the rhetoric of human rights in the age of autocracy.
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Let us take you by the hand and guide you through another week of independent, member-led broadcasting on the Second Captains World Service.
Our first stop, the port of Stockholm via Darwin Nunez's - if not unforgivable then certainly unforgettable - penalty shootout miss against PSG on Tuesday evening. After a light lunch, we'll take in a conversation with one of the great sportswriters Donald McRae about his new boxing book, The Last Bell, and finish with last night's Madrid derby, as Ken goes microscopic on another penalty: Julian Alvarez's.
Oh, and there's a bonus stop off at Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe's new Manchester circus tent. For all this and more, visit secondcaptains.com/join where you can sign up now for just €5 a month plus VAT.
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Ireland only had to make four tackles in the opening 18 minutes of this game, and they were ahead against a Dupont-less France early in the second half. But it was a worrying capitulation after that as Galthie's men scored 42 points in a game that will linger long in the memory.
We talk to Shane Horgan, Chris Jones of the BBC and Ruaidhrí O'Connor of the Irish Independent about what went wrong after 18 minutes, what they could have done better in those opening 18 minutes, who was at fault for the avalanche of points conceded in the second half, the impact the yellow cards had on the result, King Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Sam Prendergast's mixed performance, the long term implications of the result, and our desperate need for speed.
Plus there's permutations man, Ireland's European medal rush, and why France are good for rugby.
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Anger stalks the land, as discontented fans rebel against owners, against prices, against the way the game is going - but is anybody listening?
To answer this question we consider the case of the lesser-spotted Chelsea Football Club, with contributions from co-owner Todd Boehly and coach Enzo Maresca.
If this is how things are in ‘real football’ then maybe the Sidemen vs YouTube Allstars, rather than being a portent of Antichrist, is the way of the future?
Lars Sivertsen and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the games at Old Trafford and Anfield. What is people’s problem with Bruno Fernandes? On the same theme, why does Martin Odegaard also get it whenever Arsenal have a bad result? And are PSG right to be so confident ahead of tomorrow night’s second leg against Liverpool?
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Ireland approach a grandchildren to tell time moment in the 6 Nations, Alisson Becker puts in a lifetimer of a performance against PSG in the Champions League last 16, Old Man Murphy likes life under Jim Gavin's rule enhancements: a small but hearty taste of our week on the World Service.
If your appetite is sufficiently whetted, go to secondcaptains.com/join for member-led, ad-free broadcasting now.
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Maybe he picked the wrong week to be away. Last week brought probably the decisive matches of the Premier League and a fight pitting Ian Harte against all the League of Ireland managers. This weekend was the FA Cup, arguments about the quality of balls, a story about a player disrespectfully bringing his dog to training.
With the Champions League promising bigger things later in the week, Ken reviews his time in Miami and his trip to the really-quite-far-away Chase Stadium: did the jewel of South Florida live up to Will Smith's billing?
We also talk about Manchester United's latest defeat, as is tradition.
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Eoin McDevitt has been covering every corner of the island in the last couple of weeks, including a trip to Belfast on Saturday night for what turned out to be an explosive and highly controversial fight between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan.
Last week Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O'Mahony announced they would all retire from Irish rugby at the end of the season. We talk to Gerry Thornley and Shane Horgan about how the three have evolved over the years, their relevance to this game against France, the challenge posed by Dupont and his teammates and why Ringrose is a big loss against this rapid looking French backline.
New Zealander Clayton McMillan will be Munster's head coach next season, which is seen as bit of a coup by the IRFU. We look at his background, his achievements with the Chiefs in Super Rugby, his approach to management and why Munster need this one to work.
Plus there's Felix Jones' return to South Africa, creating hostages to 6n fortune, and the sound of rowing silence.
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Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Rory Smith and Wilson on Liverpool's seemingly unstoppable title march, Andy Lee on how he and his fighter Jospeh Parker coped with Daniel Dubois withdrawing from their title fight at such short notice, our chat down in Cork with the much decorated Olympic champion rower Fintan McCarthy and Murph and Eoin get stuck into the GAA goalie debate as Murph Lovejoy pleads "won't someone please think of the shot stoppers".
Join in the fun for just a fiver a month – no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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At 18-10 down and a man down, against a transformed Welsh team, Ireland were heading for one of the great 6N shock losses; but thanks to some pragmatism, some brilliant kicking by Gibson Park and James "air" Lowe, Easterby's side eked out a win in Cardiff to secure the Triple Crown and keep their Grand Slam hopes alive.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about the nature of the second half recovery, some of the errors that meant they had to come from behind, Ringrose's red, Prendergast's ups and downs, brilliant Bealham and Scotland's missed kicks.
Another Sunday afternoon, another GAA golador makes a seasonal re-appearance. 7 days after Michael Murphy's return, David Clifford started his first game under the new rules and got 3-3 to fire Kerry past Tyrone. Why are all of Gaelic football's biggest names looking so happy/enthusiastic this February?
Plus there's the latest string to Jamison Gibson Park's bow, Bundee's war face, 6N permutations and the Fenton factor.
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While our Chief Soccer Correspondent is chasing the GOAT in Miami, the rest of the football world continues to roll on, or in the case of the English Premier League the word trundle may be better applied, as Liverpool look to have it wrapped up in February.
We have Dion Fanning in the studio and Mark Critchley on the line to look back at a weekend that saw Arsenal slip up, Salah stake a claim for the Ballon d'Or and Manchester United say to their beleaguered staff it’s soup or nothing.
We also reflect on the enormous outpouring of love for our chat with Charlie O’Leary on the World Service and reveal whether or not a spliff was offered to us on the DART.
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Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Charlie O'Leary meeting The Pope, Dion on Stephen Bradley taking on the FAI, Sharlene on the pressure of running the 400m relay final leg, plus we covered the 6N, Nunez's miss, City's fall and all the PL and CL stories and next week we review Man City V Liverpool and Wales V Ireland, chat to Andy Lee and will be all over the women's internationals and big GAA matches.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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With Ciarán Murphy (zero All-Irelands, zero All Stars) sidelined, Paul Flynn (six All-Irelands, four All Stars) joins us in the studio to look back at a gusty weekend of National League football, while Conor McManus (three All Stars, greatest Monaghan player in history) joins us on the line.
We chat friend-of-the-show Michael Murphy's return featuring a tribute to 2006 era Zidane, Dublin's wind-assisted win in Tralee and the secret rule scenario.
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We look back on yesterday's supersized Dublin derby: was it a great success, did Bohemians sell out their values, and does anyone care with the moose on the loose?
We also discuss whether Stephen Bradley was right to BLAST Heimir Hallgrimsson for his tactless if generally complimentary pre-Christmas remarks about Shamrock Rovers.
Gavin Cooney and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk about the weekend's Premier League action. Are highly-paid modern-day footballers really entitled to be injured? Should Ruben Amorim bend or break? And when did they realise their inner reactionaries had taken control?
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‘All THIS?! FOR ONLY FIVE EURO A MONTH?!’, is what you’ll be saying after listening to this week’s World Service taster menu. Come see if our selection of tantalising hors d’oeuvres can’t tempt you to try our whole member-led, ad-free buffet?
Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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The magic of the FA Cup cast its spell as Plymouth slew the giants of Liverpool - but is it really still magic if the giants don't care?
Ange Postecoglou responded to another Tottenham defeat with a harrowing speech about the chronic injury situation. Is even the injury situation also all Postecoglou's fault? And does playing more games make you more or less likely to get injured? We try to make sense of conflicting evidence.--
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10 points from 10, two of our three 6N rivals beaten, the three in a row still on, the slam still alive, and a young outhalf improving by the week - these are salad days for Irish rugby!
We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about the win, a dismal Scottish display, Sam Prendergast's performance, French butchers, England finding their Fin, concussion protocols and who Easterby should select for the Wales game.
Plus there's a comprehensive 6N permutations slot, the fun police are out, and ROG delivers.
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'All THIS?! FOR ONLY FIVE EURO A MONTH PLUS VAT?!', is what you'll be saying after listening to this week's World Service taster menu.
Come see if our selection of tantalising hors d'oeuvres don't tempt you to try our whole member-led, ad-free buffet?
Just go to secondcaptains.com/join now.
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At half time on Saturday a lot was on the line for Ireland as they trailed England 10-5; there was the 2025 6N, the shot at winning an historic three in a row, and there was the fear that a great Irish team was in terminal decline. Second half tries from Bundee, Beirne and Dan Sheehan put some of those issues to bed, and sent Irish fans home happy and glorious.
We chat to Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent and Tom English of BBC Scotland about how Ireland eventually worked out England's defence, the impact of Jack Crowley, Dan Sheehan's incredible recovery from an ACL rupture, and how the Scots are shaping up ahead of the match in Murrayfield.
Plus there's the performance of DJ Mark McCabe, a capella Fields Of Athenry, and Rory's battle with Lowry for prestige, and loads of cash, at Pebble Beach.
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Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Ken eating humble Arsenal pie and then hitting his apology quota for the year, a monster 6N preview, US Murph's lock of the week, Villa's victory and volatility, and a whole load of permutations.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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At the dawn of a new era for Gaelic football we’ve got one of the greats of the last two decades, Conor McManus, on the show to talk about retirement and the GAA 2.0.
With the Football League underway the ''New Rules'' are finally the rules. Paul Flynn and Conor chat to us about this brave new world of the tap and go, 2 point arcs, reduced shithousery and stranded keepers.
Plus there's Ciaran Whelan's giant gloves, International Rules and a gloating Eagle.
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Michael Oliver tried to plunge another dagger into the heart of Arsenal but his wicked plan backfired as the substitute he caused to be introduced, Riccardo Calafiori, scored the winning goal against Wolves. At least that's one popular narrative of what happened at Molineux on Saturday. We discuss whether Oliver might be the real victim of injustice here.
Ruben Amorim has turned 40 and his comments on Marcus Rashford are getting more unpleasant. Is there a strategy here or is Amorim simply getting meaner with age?
John Brewin and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the weekend's football. John was at the Vitality Stadium to see Andoni Iraola's Football of the Future. Rich saw Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov make contrasting debuts for Manchester City. We also argue over whether Daniel Levy is to blame for Ange Postecoglou's continuing purgatory at Tottenham.
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Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Ken's Man City eulogy, hatin' on Dublin superclubs and US Murph on "the drop" and the rookie QB lighting up the playoffs.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Jack Crowley gave two brilliant try assists, kicked a touchline conversion, made big tackles, launched counter attacks, caught high kicks, geed up the crowd, and at the very end of Munster's game in Northampton, made a line break that could have secured home advantage for the Champions Cup Round of 16. It wasn't quite enough for Munster, but will it be enough to get him the Ireland 10 jersey?
If Leinster wanted to stress test their blitz defence then they had just the man in Finn Russell, who put Bath into a 14-0 lead and later a 21-19 lead, forcing Leinster to go into attack mode. We learned something new about holes in Leinster's defensive system, but also about just how good they can be in attack, when they really need to be.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about a weekend of thrills and spills, Munster's trip to La Rochelle, ridiculous Toulouse and the Leinster way.
Plus there's Leinster's X problem, heavy metal poison and Novak's gripe with an Aussie tennis broadcaster.
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Sometimes as a manager you have to take the opportunity to do a quick victory lap. On Saturday evening at the G-Tech, Arne Slot felt the time was right. Darwin Nunez in his occasional thrilling moments of success can have that intoxicating effect on people.
We also talk about a weekend of heartbreak for Arsenal, hear about Jose Mourinho's latest commercial venture and catch up on FIFA president "Johnny" who has joined the thousands of pilgrims making their way to Washington today to kiss the feet of the god emperor.
Mark Critchley and Nick Ames join us to talk about the weekend's football. What is Ruben Amorim hoping to achieve by describing his team as possibly the worst in the history of Manchester United? How is it that Brighton can keep regenerating into new forms with different players and coaches and still maintain such a consistent level? And has the Arsenal board's thinking around Arsenal's squad strength changed in line with Mikel Arteta's shifting rhetoric?
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On today's World Service pod two of the finest footballing minds in our stable, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson, tried to answer an existential question: just who or what is Declan Rice as a footballer? And who should he be aiming to be?
Earlier in the week, serial All Ireland club title winner Oisín McConville joined us to chat about how brilliant Peter Canavan's sons Ruairí and Darragh have been for Errigal Ciarán ahead of their club decider against Cuala this weekend.
And a determined Brian Murphy joined us for our weekly NFL playoffs slot after a weekend in which he went a paltry 3 out of 6 in predictions.
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Not even the La Rogelle fans waving half Munster / half La Rochelle flags could stop Leinster on Sunday afternoon, as a world class defensive effort led by Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier soaked up the pressure to secure a third win in a row over their old rivals. That's the battle won, but ROG wasn't long reminding us all that the war happens in May.
It was an enthralling European Cup encounter in keeping with the previous evening's fare in Thomond Park; do we have our Champions Cup back? We chat to Chris Jones of the BBC and Shane Horgan about the entertainment factor, the Thomond factor, Munster playing with guts and their gut, if Leinster can and should remain in battle mode, and the simple, vital brilliance of the John Hodnett and Joe McCarthy tries.
We get all the permutations for Munster and Leinster's games against Northampton and Bath, and a few unnecessary extras, Murph fills us in on Connacht’s Mayo move, while Eoin reveals a themed party featuring James Lowe cocktail sticks.
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"I think the Arsenal team felt that maybe today is not their day." Ruben Amorim's newly resilient Manchester United had their best day so far, knocking Arsenal out of the Cup with ten men. The next question: can they do it in front of their own fans?
Miguel Delaney joins us to discuss the situation at Arsenal with appropriate understanding and compassion. As it enters the sixth year, is this Arteta project still on track? Are Arsenal going to do anything in what remains of this transfer window?
And who is the currently-down-on-his-luck super-striker whose signing could change everything? Ken has a Big Idea.
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Welcome to our weekly taster of the world service which this week included TGL golf, the Buffalo Bills, Robbie's move to Hungary, Arsenal's self image, Musk's monarchy, Spurs' win over Liverpool and Var.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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On Friday night at the Ally Pally 17 year old Luke Littler became the youngest world champion in darts history, and he made it look easy. Given his youth, popularity and alcohol-free path to greatness, has he changed the sport forever?
We chat to long time darts fan and darts journalist for The Guardian, Jonathan Liew, about the sport's moment in the sun, darts parents, Littler's talent, the historical link between pubs and darts, the "no excuses" sport, and what's with all the double 10's?
We discover the “no reindeer suits in the press box” rule, and Murph is back from his holidays in New Zealand - did he meet any All Blacks while he was over there? Funny you should ask…
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Three weeks ago we hailed the Amad-inspired win at Manchester City as the moment when Ruben Amorim truly became the manager of Manchester United. United promptly lost the next four games in a row. Today we hail another new dawn. Amorim really is getting his feet under the table now...
We also talk about the meteoric rise of a Premier League chairman of days gone by, sifting through current social media posts, AI slop and legacy media lies in search of a clear picture of the elusive Rupert Lowe.
Dion Fanning and Lars Sivertsen join us to analyse the weekend's football. We need to talk about Trent (again) obviously - but we also talk about Amorim's interesting reaction to United's much-improved performance, the latest refereeing injustices visited upon Arsenal Football Club, and just what this Savinho guy thinks he is doing out there with Erling Haaland.
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Welcome to a taster of the world service which this week included Arsenal fan feedback, Rhys McClenaghan's risk reward ratio, Leinster being fully Bokked, and the legendary Timmy McCarthy on his philosophy on life and basketball.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Neil Atkinson and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend's football.
How has Mohamed Salah unlocked his current level? What specifically do Liverpool fans find most annoying about the prospect of Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving for Real Madrid?
And as Sean Dyche becomes a cultural touchstone - is he still a footballing one?
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Back in September, the Second Captains crew flew to London for a live show at the EartH Theatre Hackney. But, as a very special added bonus, we also got to sit down with Pogues legend Spider Stacy at his very own kitchen table which, unsurprisingly, was one of our favourite episodes of the year. With that in mind, today we're making it free for everyone to listen to. Merry Christmas!
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With the North London derby just a couple of days away, we decided to take the temperature on the ground with a local Arsenal fan.
That fan just so happens to be the legendary Spider Stacy of The Pogues, who invited us into his home to chat about his boyhood club but more importantly, for a beautiful conversation about how he’s dealt with the passing of his dear friend Shane MacGowan, how music has been a balm for his grief, and the amazing life Shane lived.
Plus there’s the Spider verdict on Ricey and a brief detour to talk tricolours of the French revolution.
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Before our final pre-Christmas football show, Ken bought himself an early Christmas present which reveals the unsuspected parallels between Pep Guardiola and another dark brooding superhero.
We discuss the continuing leakiness at Manchester United and whether Trent Alexander-Arnold should make a multimillion pound donation to the billionaire John Henry in order to make Liverpool feel better about not renewing his contract a couple of years ago.
Rich Jolly joins us after covering the two biggest games of the weekend. Have City's players stopped playing for Guardiola? Which of the generation of young ex-City Academy superstars currently ripping up European football might they have been better off keeping? What is 'weird' about Angeball? And who was the pick of a pretty impressive bunch for Liverpool?
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This week on the Second Captains World Service we had Stephen Kenny in studio for his first major broadcast interview about his time with Ireland, we had an emotional chat with US Murph about his 2024 highlights, we spoke to Gav Cooney about Spurs' madness and Rovers in Europe, we discussed Mudryk's positive test and we hosted a quiz that was both a massive success and a massive failure.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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New coach, new environment, new tactics, new hemisphere, but no problems for Jordie Barrett who has started like a train for Leinster.
We chat to Gerry Thornley and Chris Jones of the BBC about Leinster's drive for five, the lineout virus infecting the country, Munster's blunderfest in Castres, the rich getting richer in Europe and the lack of fan/player/media/South African engagement with the Champions Cup.
Plus there's Carbery turning heel and a reluctant MOTM winner.
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Empires: large, unwieldy structures. We’ve seen them crumble, topple and collapse. But have we ever seen one just… evaporate?
The latest phase of Manchester City’s shocking dematerialisation was another night of glory for Ruben Amorim, whose brave decisions paid off as Amad seized the day.
We also talk about the departures, for now, of Russell Martin and Gary O’Neil from the Premier League stage.
Then we’re joined by Mark Critchley and Jamie Hamilton for the What’s The Matter With City section. Are we seeing the weaknesses of a totalising systemic approach in which individual inspiration is discouraged to the point of being forgotten?
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This week on the Second Captains World Service, Ken brings us up to speed on FIFAs decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia and the frankly bizarre ceremony that went with it.
Meanwhile, Murph caught up with US Murph to chat about Juan Soto's new contract with the New York Mets - the largest in professional sports history.
Plus, we look back on our chat with GAA heavyweights Rian O'Neill, Oisín McConville and Brian Fenton from Liberty Hall.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Leinster were in a knife fight in Bristol, then took out their rocket launchers, RG and Jordie. Is it fair that a team already this good gets to sign two of the best players in the world?
We talk to Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent about the launch of Leinster's Galacticos era, JVDF's beatific smile, the eternal Peter O'Mahony, Stade's insanity, and the status of the Champions Cup in 2024.
Plus there's Brian Fenton on retirement and culture vulture Ciarán "Murph" Murphy.
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Manchester United's exciting defeat to Nottingham Forest was followed the next morning by the news that star sporting director Dan Ashworth had walked the plank after five months in the job.
We reminisce about a spectacular weekend for Sir Big Jim, who got the ball rolling with a "let them eat cake" interview with United We Stand. Who's the Dumb Money now?
Barney Ronay and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about the weekend's football. Can Chelsea win the title? Has Ange run out of road at Spurs? Now that Arsenal have the corners sorted what else can they do to improve? And what have they made of the revolving executive door at United?
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It’s been a tough week on the Second Captains World Service if you're an Ireland football fan with the women losing out to Wales and Kelleher letting one sail over his head to allow Newcastle score a late equaliser. We ever so slightly deflate the Kelleher hype balloon, attempt to define what constitutes a Premier league legend and chat to Ireland player Chloe Mustaki about the link between physical and mental health.
To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’ ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.
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The 48 enhancements that added up to the biggest change in the 140-year history of Gaelic football sailed through a Special Congress on Saturday, and will profoundly alter the game at club and county level for 2025 and beyond.
FRC member Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Paul Flynn tell us why this had to happen, why there's still room left for tweaks, and what it tells us for the GAA's approach to tackling the biggest issues from here on out.
We salute Coolera/Strandhill's achievement in winning the Connacht club championship (with particular congratulations for a Second Captains super-friend), and there's even an election-week appearance by the great Pat Kenny.
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We've seen teams and managers in crisis before, but not this team and not this manager. So nobody can tear their eyes away from the spectacle of Pep Guardiola having apparently no idea how to stop Manchester City's spiral, beyond spouting ancient wisdom-phrases even he does not appear to be actually paying any attention to.
Meanwhile some of Guardiola's former charges were helping Chelsea make mincemeat of Aston Villa, while for Ruben Amorim's Manchester United, the tiny frenetic figure of Amad Diallo toppled the Easter Island heads at the heart of Sean Dyche's defence.
Lars Sivertsen and Neil Atkinson join us to reflect on an extraordinary match at Anfield. Does Guardiola just not know how to take a compliment? How ? Is Salah's public approach to contract negotiation really "selfish"? And can anyone stop Liverpool now?
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After the "Where Is George Gibney?" podcast was released three years ago, people couldn't help asking Mark Horgan what was next. What's next is "Stakeknife", his new BBC Sounds podcast series with Ciarán Cassidy, the first two episodes of which were released last week - and Mark is in studio with us today.
In his role for the IRA, Freddie Scappaticci was a notorious enforcer for an internal security unit called the 'nutting squad', where torture and the summary executions of informers were commonplace.
But he did all this while he himself was a British Army double agent, code name Stakeknife. And as Mark tells us, "the series is about far more than just one man; it's about the state structures that protected him, the eyes that turned away from his deeds and the families that he left behind."
Man City, meanwhile, managed to blow a 3-0 lead at home to Feyenoord, with 15 minutes to go in the Champions League, and their manager appears to be feeling the pressure. And Branno helpfully clarifies some issues arising from yesterday's live show announcement.
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Last Friday, after eight days of evidence and three days listening to closing speeches, a jury of eight women and four men found Nikita Hand had been assaulted by Conor McGregor in a hotel room back in December 2018, awarding her almost €250,000 in damages.
We talk to Sinead O'Carroll of the42.ie, who we spoke to after the Paddy Jackson Belfast Rape Trial, about the verdict, the evidence given during the case, and the relevance of the size of the damages awarded to Nikita Hand.
We also discuss McGregor's volatile behaviour both in court and online over the last few days, and what this case tells us about where we are now in relation to sexual consent, victim shaming, and celebrity worship.
Warning for listeners: there was some distressing details revealed during the case and some of that detail comes up during this conversation. Any listeners affected by the issues raised in the podcast can access a list of resources on the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre website at drcc.ie/support.
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City are sinking, Spurs are surging, Salah is scoring and unsigned, Man Utd have their saviour and Liverpool are now 8 points clear at the top, but first we have McDevitt's "Five Takeaways From My Premier League Weekend".
The biggest game boiled down to a debate over whether Kyle Walker is finished? We look at the evidence for and against.
We also discuss Southampton's samurai-like dedication to their self-destructive principles, and why Ruben Amorim has a better chance of taking Manchester United fans with him, on what might yet be a long road of suffering, than his predecessor did.
Mark Critchley and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to discuss this City crisis and if it’s really all about Rodri? Who is Jack's surprise choice as Best Player in the Premier League This Season? How are optimism levels at Old Trafford after the debut of the Amorim system? And just how crazy would it be for Liverpool not to offer Mo Salah a new contract?
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Brian Fenton broke the (GAA) internet this week by announcing his retirement. We spoke to Fenton’s former Dublin teammate Paul Flynn, who thinks the Leinster Football Championship is now up for grabs.
Gavan Casey and Andy Lee joined us to discuss Hawk Tuah, Rosie Perez and Taylor V Serrano. Miguel Delaney chatted with Ken about his new book States of Play, and we give a sneak peek of our Shane O’Donnell interview live from The Olympia Theatre.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Ireland were ahead 22-9 at half time, at home, with three tries banked and the fans fully behind them - but instead of a comfortable win, they survived a last minute Argentinian onslaught to scrape home by 3 points. It was a win, against a good team, but the coaches didn't look too happy afterwards.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about the 13 penalties conceded, Ireland's issues with phase play and kick chase, the good form of both 10s, and the big decisions Farrell will have to make for the Fiji game.
Plus there's French rugby theatre, the rise of the south, and biased boxing commentators.
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Richie Sadlier joins us to talk about Ireland's... memorable trip to Wembley.
We talk about the first half and how we all felt at half-time. We talk about the unpleasant turn things took in the second half and how by the end we felt nothing at all.
It's humiliating to talk about positives but maybe we can compare degrees of negativity. For example, it's officially
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Are You Sick Of Winning Yet?
Sure, Finland could have scored several goals and were desperately unfortunate to lose by a goal to nil - but as the Scoreboard Captains podcast has always insisted, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.
We talk about how high the standard of expectation needs to be set for Evan Ferguson and gush about how Ireland are enchanting a new generation of young fans.
Damien Delaney joins us to analyse the game: what was the system anyway? why did we look defensively unstable? What could be done to change that? Does Caoimhin Kelleher have a chance of being Liverpool's number one? And are there any grounds for hope for a result against England at Wembley?
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A brand new trailer for a brand new BBC Sounds series from the production team who brought you Where Is George Gibney?, Ken chatting to Daniel Wiffen, Ken chatting about David Coote, and a conversation with Gavan Casey, who's on the ground in Dallas ahead of Taylor-Serrano II and Mike Tyson-Jake Paul this Friday.
It's been a helluva week on the World Service so far, and we're bringing you a taste of it today. If you like what you hear and you want more independent, member-led broadcasting, you can sign up at secondcaptains.com/join.
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Branno was among the 38000 at the Aviva to see Drogheda win the FAI Cup final against Derry City - but the 2024 season isn't quite over yet.
We talk about the violence in Amsterdam around last Thursday's match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, which drew the attention of world leaders in a manner unlike any Europa League game before.
Dion Fanning and Gavin Cooney join us in studio to talk about the weekend's Premier League. Why have Manchester City lost four in a row and what are the chances of them reverting to normal? Why can't Arsenal build any momentum to chase them? Is Ange Postecoglou going to make it to Christmas? Are Liverpool really going to win this thing at a canter?
And with international week now OPEN we debate Heimir Hallgrimsson's scouting policy and whether Wyscout is any substitute for the high carbon-burn human touch.
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Ireland made 21 handling errors and conceded 13 penalties in an error-strewn 10-point loss to NZ on Friday night. But was it all James Lowe's fault for geeing up the crowd while celebrating a kick!!?
We chat to Gerry Thornley and Shane Horgan about this performance in isolation, and in the context of this Ireland team's form over the last few years, about Farrell's spiky post-match press conference, about what happened the attack, if both outhalves are damaged by what happened, what changes are coming in what is now a huge game against Argentina, and Australia's magical last-second win in Twickenham.
And we have big news about a Second Captains investigative series launching this week on BBC Sounds, from the production team behind “Where Is George Gibney?”. If you subscribed to the "Where Is George Gibney?" podcast feed, that feed is now called COVER, and that’s where you’ll be able to hear this new series. If not simply search “Cover - BBC Sounds” in your podcast app; the journey starts tomorrow, Tuesday the 12th November.
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The mighty (?) All Blacks are in town this week, fresh from a narrow, opportunistic win over England. They weren't outstanding.... besides the three incredible tries they scored. Post-peak NZ are not great, but still very good, and will take some beating on Friday night in Lansdowne Road.
Jamie Wall is in studio to talk about Ballygunner's path to All-Ireland club glory, the breath of fresh air provided by new champions and new names at the top table... and the legacy of James McCarthy, the Dublin football legend who retired earlier today. He might just have been the greatest footballer on the greatest team of all time.
We also salute the exquisite news-nose of Eoin's 5-year old son, and there's an extremely wholesome story related to the 2024 Footballer of the Year, Galway's Paul Conroy.
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They've only gone and done it... we talk about Shelbourne's title win and how Damien Duff has succeeded where some illustrious predecessors failed.
The season keeps getting better and better for Liverpool as Arne Slot keeps winning matches and rivals keep having problems.
Mark Critchley and John Brewin join us to talk over some more of the weekend's football. How did Manchester United's thinking evolve since last month, when Mark felt sacking Erik ten Hag would be too embarrassing for the club's hierarchy? Has Enzo Maresca finally found a Chelsea midfield combination that works? How did Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth beat Manchester City on Saturday afternoon? And what do they think of the news that Edu is leaving Arsenal when glory seems almost within their grasp?
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On this week's edition of our World Service tasting platter; we look forward to the grand finale of the League of Ireland which sees Damien Duff's Shels needing a win to ensure their first league title in 18 years, Ken hones in on what exactly makes Ruben Amorim an exciting prospect for Man United and Lawrence Donegan fills us in on his cross-country expedition ahead of November's US Presidential Election.
Plus, we pay audio bed tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle.
Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Just as we were about to wrap up today's bank holiday football pod recording, the news came through that Manchester United had finally fired Erik ten Hag. The very-much-in-studio-and-not-on-holidays Ken gives his live initial reaction to the most overdue story in football. (1.25.18)
Saturday night saw a sensational return to form for the Real Madrid v Barcelona fixture - and a stunning personal humiliation for Kylian Mbappé - which dangles the tantalising prospect of old-fashioned intrigue and backstabbing at the Galactic club. (1.30)
And Lars Sivertsen and Nick Ames join us to talk about Arsenal v Liverpool (a failure of nerve by the man some people are calling the new Mourinho?), Chelsea v Newcastle (is it coming together for Enzo or is Cole Palmer just really really good?), and the ongoing will-he-or-won't-he-abandon-his-beliefs-and-principles drama around Russell Martin. (40.10)
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It’s been another hectic week on the Second Captains podcast, we’ve had the Champions League, the addition of Johnny Sexton to the Ireland rugby brains-trust in a non-executive capacity, and we also had Eddie Dunbar in studio, one of the best road-cyclists in the world. While Ken, told us about Oleksandr Zinchenko’s new book, written by FriendOfTheShow Raphael Honigstein.
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The Gaelic football patient checked itself in at the weekend, gladly submitting to extensive, experimental surgery in full view of the watching public.
We speak to Paul Flynn and FRC member Michael Murphy about the new rules (or enhancements, as Jim Gavin insists we call them) that worked, the rules that jarred... and the rules that our Murph reckons they put in just so we could get rid of them and feel like we were being critical.
There's also the latest earth-shattering press release from the World Conkers Confederation/Corporation, GAA arithmetic, and Paul Flynn looking to double his career points tally with Dublin.
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Howard Webb provided some good grist to the conspiracy mills over the weekend by getting himself filmed texting and earpiecing before Saliba's yellow card was changed to a red. But maybe the PGMOL supremo deserves some praise to go with the flak. At least his referees are providing an element of unpredictability otherwise missing from a lot of overcoached Premier League football.
Branno brings us up to speed on his trip to Sligo to see Bohemians play their small role in the climax to the League of Ireland season.
We also talk about how in a few short weeks under Arne Slot, Liverpool have undergone a complete transformation from the side they have been for years under Jurgen Klopp.
And Neil Atkinson and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the game at Anfield. Could Slot's start have gone any better? Are the regular complaints about the poor atmosphere at Anfield and other Premier League grounds based on reality or nostalgia? And does the increasingly convergent style of play we see in the Premier League give the crowds much to work with?
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The appointment of Thomas Tuchel as England manager has divided both the proud nation of England and the ignoble profession of football journalism into two camps: Little Englanders and Merchants of Woke.
Yesterday we heard from The 42's Gav Cooney and Rory Smith of the New York Times, and today had his say. Have the FA made the right choice in appointing a foreign coach?
Earlier in the week we were joined in studio by one of the all-time greats of hurling, Joe Canning to talk about his new autobiography, whether he thinks he max-ed out on his potential and how he and his family have dealt with the loss of their mum.
For daily independent, member-led journalism, sign up to the Second Captains World Service now at secondcaptains.com/join.
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Johnny Sexton has won European Cups, Grand Slams, has the all time Irish and Six Nations points records and is a former world player of the year. It takes talent but also an obsessive drive to get this good, and his new autobiography, Obsessed, explains the mental toll this took on Sexton.
He joins us in studio to discuss his big breakthrough in 2009 at Croker, his pattern of bust-ups followed by regret, Lancaster's personality test, about needing to change how he communicated with teammates and refs, how he feels about the RWC 2023 QF loss, and his relationship with ROG.
Plus there's the contrasting management styles of Schmidt and Farrell, Snyman's paws, Doris the Swiss Army Knife and over-confident Scots.
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thens for breakfast, Barcelona for brunch, Fairview for lunch. Ken is back from his Grand Tour of Continental Europe, traveling through the night to bring you his thoughts on Ireland's latest adventures in the Nations League.
Joining us in the studio to reflect on an international window in which we actually won a game is Richie Sadlier.
We also try to decipher just what Lee Carsley is actually saying and why.
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This week we released a podcast on our world service - Sally Hayden, Irish Times Correspondent and author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned, spoke to Ken about life in Beirut under fire from the Israeli army - and such was the reaction that we decided to release it to non members.
Sally explains the religious mix in Beirut, how embedded Hezbollah is in Lebanese society, the huge number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the internal displacement caused by the invasion and the anxiety of tomorrow.
Ken and Branno also discuss the grim reality of the death toll in Gaza, empty words and two recent documentaries, one called We Will Dance Again about the Hamas attacks on Oct 7th 2023 and Al Jazeera’s investigation into Israeli army war crimes in Gaza.
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Ken has returned from the Land Of The Rising Sun, and he has stories to tell - of Shinto shrines (went to "one of" the most famous ones in Tokyo), Buddhist temples, and... storied sumo amphitheatres. We dominate the dojo in the company of our very own Alan Whicker.
Branno missed the most dramatic week in the HISTORY of the league of Ireland last week, as he was recuperating from invasive surgery - we discover which Second Captain presenter was a constant reassuring presence through his recuperation, and who was marked absent.
Plus there's rawdogging, the Bering Strait, and whether Shels still have the league title in their own hands.
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Ken is back from Japan and we take the opportunity to revisit some of the highlights he missed over the last two weeks.
We talk about the varying fortunes of Kai Haaland Havertz, Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer and Ange Postecoglou before Mark Critchley joins us to talk about what we had mistakenly anticipated would be the game of the weekend at Villa Park.
Will this be the week when Manchester United finally pull the plug on ETH, or is it just too embarrassing for them to do that right now?
Plus there's Ken's great Japanese regret and transatlantic travel: the small man's revenge.
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This week on the Second Captains World Service we were joined by Lars Sivertsen and Glenn Evans from The Athletic and the 1874 Podcast to chat about last night’s incredible win for Villa, with some bonus Steve Bruce cabbage content thrown in for good measure.
Closer to home, the League of Ireland title race has gone absolutely wild, with six teams out of a ten team league seemingly in contention for the top spot. We reacted to Shels vs. Pats, which might just be the greatest game ever played in the greatest league in the world (TM).
And we chatted to US Murph about Shohei Ohtani putting in the greatest regular season in history. Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Less than a year ago the Irish women's rugby team had finished bottom of the Six Nations table, were playing the likes of Kazakhstan in the third tier of WXV, had not qualified for the previous World Cup and along with stories of interprovincial teams changing in front of wheelie bins and 7s players being taking in and out of the 15s camp, there was very little positivity about.
They have since come third in the 6N, qualified for the 2025 World Cup, made it into the top tier of WXV1, hammered Australia, and now best of all, beaten NZ, the team that has won 6 of the last 7 World Cups. We chat to Leinster head coach Tania Rosser, and Alison Miller, both of whom played against NZ last time Ireland beat them, in the 2014 World Cup.
We also discuss world-class Aoife Wafer, Munster's leaky defence and Conor McKenna's AFL title win with the Brisbane Lions.
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The Manchester United content-creating machine trundles remorselessly on: another day, another humiliating home defeat. Jack Pitt-Brooke and Dion Fanning were watching, goggle-eyed at the latest United capitulation - this one with added red card drama.
Tottenham on the other hand had a delightful day at the office. It turns out the only thing a Premier League crisis club needs is a visit to Old Trafford.
And there's also Liverpool's almost-silent progression to top spot in the Premier League, and Mikel Arteta trying to reverse out of a war of words with Pep.
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It's been another bumper week on the World Service and we want to serve you up a tempting slice of the action.
There was our chat with Dara Ó Briain live from London on the best summer of his sporting life, Barney Ronay and John Brewin on the still smouldering City-Arsenal discourse, and a sneak preview of our brilliant chat with legendary former League of Ireland player and manager Dermot Keely, which goes out tomorrow.
Plus one of the country's best GAA journalists Cahair O'Kane joined us to talk about the end of the Casement Park Euro 2028 dream and where we go from here.
Join the party for a fiver a month – there’s no contracts, no sign-on fee, no minimum stay, no hidden fees and no ads. Go to secondcaptains.com/join for details.
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The sport of rugby barely survived the Ken Early Rugby Special on Second Captains last week, but after a weekend deluge of tries, drama and upsets, it's back, baby!
We do a quick series recap of "last season, in rugby" including a reminder that the international team did rather well in 2023/24, while the provinces struggled.
Gerry Thornley joins us to discuss the 10-try interpro that went loco, Connacht's dynamic halfback duo, Munster's brain drain, Ireland and Leinster's outhalf subplot, Ulster's last-gasp win and the rise of coach Contepomi.
Plus there's bridesmaid Rory McIlroy's continuing psycho drama, Tony Ward the codebreaker and Ireland, THE NUMBER 1 TEAM IN THE WORLD.
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We had been told that Manchester City/Arsenal games are guaranteed snooze-fests, but it turns out we had been misinformed. John Stones got the final goal of a 2-2 thriller in the eighth minute of injury time, and it was a game so rich in drama, so packed with shithousery, and so laden with meaning for this year's Premier League title race that we simply had to hear from Jonathan Wilson and Gavin Cooney.
It might not have been a good week for Mr Mourinho in Turkey, but it will have gladdened his heart to tune into the Greatest League In The World to see both the top 2 turn into Jose teams.
It turns out he had the answers all along - why have a back 5 when you can have a back 6, and when all else fails, why not put a centre-half up top and try and get him on the end of a few diags.
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On this week's World Service roundup; Ken offers fresh perspective on Mikel Arteta's professional pickpocketer scheme, Eoin reopens a 34-year-old debate as to who was at fault for Toto Schillaci's goal that booted us out of Italia 90, and we share some of our chat with the great Katie McCabe live from the eartH Theatre in London last week.
Join the party for a fiver a month – there’s no contracts, no sign-on fee, no minimum stay, no hidden fees and no ads. Go to secondcaptains.com/join for details.
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Rory McIlroy was 4 shots clear at the top of the leaderboard early in yesterday's final round of the Irish Open, was playing at his home-from-home course Royal County Down, against a field shy on world class golfers... nothing could possibly go wrong.
Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times wants to take away the stigma of choking in sport, thinks putting is the base issue and explains why he thinks Rory will win another major, but simultaneously comes to the realisation that he may be the last person alive to admit that these late-Sunday collapses are a problem.
The 1,700 page report into the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people in west London in 2017, released 12 days ago, accused Kingspan of “deeply entrenched and persistent dishonesty” and having a “complete disregard for fire safety”. We discuss Shane Lowry ending his association with Kingspan and whether Cavan GAA should follow suit.
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If Ange Postecoglou's set-up yesterday harked back to the days of Ossie Ardiles, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal paid tribute to the spirit of an even earlier time. The Basque has reconnected Arsenal with their roots - and what lies beneath.
We also talk about Heimir Hallgrimsson's blithe lack of concern for Optics.
Jack Pitt-Brooke joins us to talk about the North London derby, the measures Ange Postecoglou has taken to address what are quickly becoming world-famous problems, and how Arsenal are likely to approach a week when they've had no favours from the fixture computer.
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We welcomed Eddie Dunbar into studio last summer to talk about the impact that a series of devastating crashes had on his career and his health. Since then he has had another run of injuries including in this year's Giro D'Italia, but with that bad luck finally behind him, Dunbar has just won 2 stages of the Vuelta España, the second of which is the biggest win of his life.
We talk to cycling journalist Cillian Kelly today about why this was such a timely reminder of Eddie’s class, why he has had so many crashes and what the future holds for the Cork cyclist.
This weekend Branno took a time machine back to a more sedate, more gentrified Dublin, and he is now a fully-fledged polo man and a fan of complicated menus and the British commonwealth.
Plus there’s a defeat for democracy at Central Council, and Oasis break the news of the status quo being maintained for another season in the GAA.
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You want it to be one way. You want it to be one way. You want it to be one way. But it's the other way.
Rice '11, Grealish '26 - a script written by an English sadist. Did we manifest this?
Damien Delaney and Richie Sadlier join us to sift through the wreckage. What didn't they like about Ireland's approach? What could we have done instead? And what should we do next?
We also hear the latest from the press conference where John O'Shea had to insist that he is not actually at the wheel of the national team.
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On this week's World Service tasting platter we drum up some excitement ahead of Saturday's Nations League showdown with England, Ken goes toe-to-toe with Stuart 'Psycho' Pearce on TalkSport and Craig Ray tells us why Ellis Park in Johannesburg is the toughest place to go in world rugby,
And the brilliant Ellen Keane chats to us about seeing magic, introverted extroverts and seeking spontaneity.
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This year's US Open will be the first in 20 years to not feature at least one of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer in the round of 16. This is a....good thing?
Novak Djokovic's shock departure came less than 24 hours after Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz also crashed out of the tournament. We dial in to New York City to chat to Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine.
Ballygunner win again in Waterford as a Comer hop-ball sends Murph’s (original) club packing in Galway, and Scottish Rugby players have been running their mouth again.
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There’s always a quote; “United's high-profile catastrophic start to the season has rightly brought every player under the microscope, but the purchase of a world-class holding midfielder could mark a change in fortunes at Old Trafford”. So read the Daily Mail in August 2022 - the world-class holding midfielder being paraded around Old Trafford before a match against Liverpool that day was... Casemiro.
We chat with Dion Fanning and Miguel Delaney as the Arne Slot era begins in such style that he can even moonlight as a post-match pundit offering a tactical breakdown of his vanquished rivals.
Plus there's Dyche-ball and Branno goes blackberry picking as Bohs down Shamrock Rovers.
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Welcome to your free weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service. This week we had non stop entertainment from Ken - from Alexander The Great to Oasis to train stories to strolls with Sean Fitz - he is a true song and dance and stories man. We also chatted to Rhasidat about the need for speed (but when) and her poor health at the Olympics. Plus there was Transfer Deadline Day nonsense, the new Champions League format, a Time Machine malfunction, and a Rossie's plans to down the Dubs, with Carlow.
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Paul O'Donovan won yet another rowing world title this weekend, while Jakob Ingebrigtsen shattered one of the longest-standing track world records - but the man who stole the world's attention, and money, was pole vaulting charisma machine Mondo Duplantis.
We chat to David Gillick and Gavin Cooney about Rhasidat's latest 4th place finish, her road to endurance, the anti doping issues in Bahrain, O'Donovan's dominance and Ingebrigtsen's blistering times.
Plus there's Ken on WWI's eastern front, trusting coach Flo, and Murph's buzzkill.
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Lars Sivertsen and Rich Jolly join us to talk through the weekend's football. What is happening at Everton, where we see Dyche, but not Dycheball? What kind of impression has Fabien Hürzeler already made after a couple of games in the Premier League? How are Norway managing not to qualify for international tournaments these days? And is it really true that any idiot can play Wonderwall?
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Welcome to your weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service. This week we have Ken on the Chelsea cash elevator, Maresca's man management and football's great gamble. Plus there's Conor Niland in studio on Novak's secret sauce and Michael Darragh Macauley on his passion for his new role as CEO of Sanctuary Runners, a group that uses running as a way to bring together asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and all Irish residents, with the aim of creating a more inclusive, integrated and happy society.
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Branno went to Kerry this weekend to see the kingdom get taught a football lesson, but instead got an education in floats, parades, Roses and mass. Branno is now back in Dublin having seen some of the TEN DAYS of the Rose of Tralee festival.
Today’s show tries to answer important questions such as: what would Ken’s B-boy name be? Why are Australians so good at sport? Is it ok to laugh at people who aren’t much good at sport (by Olympics standards)? And is there any topic that can't be turned into a culture war?
We chat to Rohan Connolly - Managing director of FOOTYOLOGY, and AFL commentator for ESPN and 3AW about Raygun, the Australian break dancer who's crime was to be below average at her chosen event.
Plus there's stadium winning streaks, Branno Furiosa and window wiper fun.
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John Brewin and Dion Fanning join us to talk about the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
John was at Portman Road to see the debuts of Kieran McKenna and Arne Slot and reports on the respective animal magnetisms of the two up-and-coming coaches. We also talk about Chelsea and their offences against football.
Elsewhere, the latest instalment in the Perarnau-Guardiola series is upon us and we sample some characteristic vignettes.
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Welcome to your weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service. This week we have a Premier League preview show, Man Utd's nostalgia money, anatomy of a 4 x 400m Olympic final, and Steph Curry's GOAT status.
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Ken came into this Olympics a doubter and left it a believer. Was this the greatest ever Games?
We chat to Cathal Dennehy and Gavin Cooney about the event, the Irish mentality, the 4th-place-a-thon, the drugs question, and how the future looks for us as an Olympic nation.
Plus there's woozy Wiffen, sports tapas, pickleball rules and as ever Satan has his way with ceremonies and just Europe in general.
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Today we grieve for the Paris Olympics, now already receding into history, but who could fail to be re-energised by the prospect of the PSR League starting up again in four days time?
Arne Slot succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool is one of the buzziest storylines ahead of the new season, so it's a good time for the club's former head of research Ian Graham to bring out a new book explaining how he and Michael Edwards helped the club to make so many good decisions during the Klopp era. Can Edwards do it all over again?
Mark Critchley joins us to talk about Manchester City's penalty shootout win over Manchester United in the Community Shield and take us up to speed on the summer changes at the two clubs. Is Oscar Bobb already one of the best wingers in the Premier League? What does United's reported interest in another two members of the Ajax 2019 side say about the evolution of their transfer policy? And can anyone believe the size of the fish Sir Big Jim Ratcliffe has just caught?
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Welcome to your weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service. This week we celebrated Kellie Harrington's back-to-back Olympic gold medals, look ahead to Rhasidat Adeleke potentially following her onto the podium and see what Ken has to say about his trip to Paris as a paying punter.
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Total medals for Ireland at the Olympic Games between 1960 and 1992 - 6. Total medals for Ireland during Week 1 of the Paris Olympic Games - 7.
Michael Foley of the Sunday Times and Sinead O’Carroll of The Journal were in Paris for Rhys’ gold, Kellie’s master-class and Wiffen’s third-place-that-felt-like-a-disappointment-but-is-in-fact-historic.
We recorded the show just in time to see Rhasidat Adeleke’s powerful, composed start to her 400m campaign that has us all dreaming big.
Plus there's the 100m extravaganza, the gold medal table, coach Flo's form and St Lucia speed.
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He's an Olympic champ now, but back in 2022 we had Rhys McCleneghan in studio, fresh from a world championship win, but still navigating his way around a few obstacles and setbacks. He was engaging and intelligent and it was such an enjoyable chat and so full of insights into what has since made him into a dominant force, we thought we would post it for those who missed it first time.
He wasn’t the only Irish Olympian who had a big weekend of course and Monday’s podcast will reflect on all that. Enjoy.
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It's wall-to-wall Olympics on the World Service this week. Mona McSharry managed Ireland's first medal of the 2024 games, Daniel Wiffen backed up his supreme confidence with a Gold medal performance and Simone Biles cemented herself in Olympic history.
Meanwhile, Andy Lee joined us in studio to chat about his time at the Athens Olympics in 2004, a lonely experience for Ireland's solo fighter at the dawn of the Irish High Performance era.
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Back in March Ken and Eoin sat down with Daniel Wiffen. He promised a summer of gold. This morning he set the fastest time in the swimming heats, 7:41.53 seconds, the fastest of those making it through to the medal race. He is living up to his big, big talk. We speak to Gavin Cooney, who was poolside in Paris.
While our island nation may not always have excelled in the pool, the boxing ring has been a happy hunting ground. We watch on as Kellie Harrington begins her journey to what will hopefully end with back-to-back Golds.
While the still distraught (but always professional) Ciarán Murphy lets us know - through the medium of The Frances Murphy TV Guide - what to watch out for tonight and tomorrow.
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Last week we saddled up and rode north to Crossmaglen. Ciarán Murphy was confident riding into the old Armagh market town, he was a little less confident leaving.
Yesterday Armagh won their first All-Ireland since 2002. Kieran McGeeney, their Captain then their manager now. We chat to Michael Murphy and Paul Flynn on a tense final that had a thrilling end. We go easy on Murph.
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Welcome to our World Service tasting platter. This week we travelled to Crossmaglen to chat to Oisín McConville and weigh up the mood ahead of this weekend's All Ireland Football Final, Ken offered us up some strongly held views on the future of Hurling and Joe Callaghan gave us the run down of the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
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Tony Kelly climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand yesterday to raise his county’s fifth-ever Liam McCarthy Cup and in a haze of hurling and religious fervour, declared Brian Lohan ‘God’.
A down-in-the-dumps Jamie Wall and an elated Podge Collins join us to today to pick over how Clare managed to pip Cork by the finest of margins, weigh up the extra time debate, and reflect on what was a final for the ages.
Ken, meanwhile, has major issues with Hurling’s imperialism and scoring system. Plus, there's Nesbitt watch, Clare's Flair and Jarlath Burns on Irish emigrants.
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For our 3000th episode we trekked up to the Temple of Dunphy. Eamon was one of the earliest guests on the pod and has made numerous - always memorable - appearances over the years.
We chat to Eamon about the latest wild happenings in the US Election, the rise of nationalism, the new Ireland manager and his old job of stopping Robin Friday from sparking up a spliff during their days together playing for Reading.
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Welcome to our weekly best of the world service show. We discuss Southgate's departure, disharmony in the Bellingham/England camp, the contenders to take over, Rory's blocks, Heimer's arrival and Frawley's future.
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Kieran McGeeney joined the Armagh senior panel for pre-season training in 1989. Thirty-Five years ago. On Saturday in Croke Park he led his county to their fifth ever All-Ireland Final. There they will face Galway.
Neither county were a red-hot favourite when the ball was thrown in on this Championship back in April, McGeeney dealing with internal slings and arrows while Galway's squad consisted mainly of damaged chassis. But there they will be. And football thanks them for adding unfamiliarity to the sporting summer.
Plus, amongst the chaos, there was Carlos Alcaraz's back-to-back Wimbledon titles after beating Djokovic in straight sets yesterday. Has the tennis torch been officially passed?
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How should we play this game? We turn and ask Spain and once more they show and tell. Tonight they won their fourth European Championship, playing in a manner befitting of champions. To Iniesta, Xavi, Pique, Busquets, Alonso and Alba now add Rodri, Laporte, Cucurella, Yamal and Williams.
By the time the World Cup comes around England will have been waiting, expecting, hoping to win a men's football tournament for 60 years. Sixty. It's quite incredible.
As he has done all summer long Ken dials in from the stadium after full-time joined by Miguel Delaney of The Independent and Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic while we also chat to our Basque correspondent Beñat Gutierrez and ask, given the Basque heavy make-up of this Spanish side are the people of Bilbao dancing in the streets..?
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We've had a mad busy week on the World Service between an All Ireland Hurling Championship for the ages, Lamine Yamal marking his spot on the world stage and England making a second consecutive Euros final. All that before you throw in the announcement of Heimir Hallgrímsson as the new Republic of Ireland Head Coach.
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Saturday in Pretoria was supposed to be many things, a battle between two teams who don’t like each other very much, the teams ranked 1 and 2 in the world, a chance for Rassie Erasmus to finally coach a team to victory over Ireland… in the end, it came down to 2 hours of watching to see if James Lowe had stepped out of touch in various weird and wonderful ways.
South Africa 27-Ireland 20 - we speak to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent about why this was a deserved Springbok win, how a couple of huge errors cost us, and how a bruised and battered Ireland can salvage something from next Saturday's second test.
Plus we join Ken in München to discuss what impact the French election results will have on the striking French footballers, England's buddy system on penalties, and the exquisite joy of seeing the world's biggest laundrette right beside your new hotel.
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There'll always be an England, and under Gareth Southgate it’ll always reach the latter stages of major football tournaments. This was his fourth straight ¼ final and now his side are one game away from back-to-back European Championship Final appearances. So what’s the bloody problem then? We chat to Ken from the stadium, accompanied by Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic.
While England may be the footballing equivalent of a week away at Centre Parcs, watching Turkey has been whatever the same length of time would feel like at Wayne Lineker’s compound. Fun. But maybe a little too much. Jonathan Wilson joins us from Berlin where - like Recep Erdoğan, he saw the Netherlands advance past the surrogate host country.
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It's been a great week here at Second Captains as we chased Ken around Germany as he followed the Euros Circus from Frankfurt to Berlin. Murph also developed a sense of wanderlust and packed the car for Cork where he met with Jamie Wall to chat though this coming weekend's All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Finals.
Join the party for a fiver a month – there’s no contracts, no hidden fees and no ads. Go to secondcaptains.com/join for details.
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Dublin are out at the quarter-final stage of the All-Ireland senior football championship for the first time since the “startled earwigs” of 2009, and it took an incredible second half performance by Galway to take them down.
Michael Murphy and Paul Flynn talk to us about the end of an era (?) Galway’s tactical bravery, Kerry’s safety-first approach to handling a misfiring Derry, Donegal’s serene march to an All-Ireland semi-final… and why Armagh are a dangerous animal as we get to our final four.
Plus there’s joyous local radio commentaries, the Sawdoctors in Fairview, central casting in Galway, and Branno’s requiem for Dublin’s dream.
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England were truly awful for most of tonight’s game against Slovakia, until Jude Bellingham's sweet finish bailed out his country at the death.
We get Ken’s post-match analysis from Gelsenkirchen. Southgate lives to fight another day but surely this crew can't beat the Swiss army knife?
And Lars Sivertsen gives us his thoughts on the Spain game, Nico Williams' superstar status, and what this tournament has meant to the proud, skilful Georgians.
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Welcome to our best of Euros show. It’s been a great tournament so far with underdog wins, Willy's mighty Georgia, Turkish finesse, lunatic fans, English mediocrity, and loads of 0.0% and 5.1% Pilsner Ken.
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The Gaelic football season is the party that no-one was allowed to leave for large spells of this summer... but now the blade is being lowered with ruthless efficiency, and the narrative quickly moves on to those teams left standing.
Michael Murphy and Paul Flynn say goodbye to Mayo, Tyrone, Monaghan and Cork in short order, before we look ahead to this weekend's All-Ireland football quarter-finals.
We also discuss the possible end of Conor McManus' glittering inter-county career, a Cork-man manages to be both bored and infuriated simultaneously watching his football team, and Paul Flynn's support for Louth wins him some Wee County love.
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Scotland have qualified for 12 international football tournaments, and they have failed to get out of their group at each and every one of those 12 tournaments. This time around it was a 98th minute winner for Hungary that finally put paid to their hopes.
Jonathan Wilson joins us from Stuttgart for the latest episode of Scottish tournament heartbreak while Ken was at the other game in that group to see Niclas Füllkrug score a late equaliser and further burnish his own sparkling global reputation, and ensure the hosts qualified for the Round of 16 as winners.
Plus there’s Ken's thought on pitch invaders harassing Ronaldo, a Grunge Week 2024 teaser, and the first rule of qualifying as a third-placed finisher (finish third).
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Welcome to our best of Euros show. It's been a great tournament so far with wild games, mad fans, power ballads, low-energy England, Mbappe's politics, and a happy Ken on tour. Join the party for a fiver a month - there's no contracts, no hidden fees and no ads. Go to secondcaptains.com/join for details.
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Oh Rory. Oh Rory, Rory, Rory. Lawrence Donegan and the lads wrestle with what we saw last night. Is it career-defining? How can it not be?
Paul Flynn is with us to discuss two draws in the Gaelic football championship yesterday, with vastly differing outcomes. And there’s the Football Review Committee’s ‘sandbox games’ this weekend, trialling some revolutionary new rules - committee member Michael Murphy talks us through them.
And there’s also the inevitable mentions of Bill Buckner, Scott Norwood, Doug Sanders, Jean van de Velde…
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England expects. England awaits. England bores. England Wins. We chat to Ken and full time England watcher Miguel Delaney.
While riding the rail to Gelsenkirchen Ken encounters an Albanian man who literally risks his life and limbs for our football correspondent. The Euros may not even be out of the first weekend but the littlest hobo is all in.
Elsewhere we saw Italy grind it out, Hungary confirm their Aviva form-line, and Spain answer those podcasts (like ours) who insist on sleeping on them.
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As Ken heads off to the Euros in Germany, now is the time to become a world service member if you want to gain access to our all our coverage throughout the tournament.
Plus there's instant access to all our archives (almost 3,000 shows), there's features such as this week's fun chat with Conor Niland and Gavin Cooney about the tennis netherworld, we have Jamie Wall on hurling, we will be covering the Olympics. the URC semis and final, all the GAA football, the summer tour of South Africa, and all the big golf and tennis stories, plus all the breaking news.
It’s 5 euro a month; there's no contracts, no hidden fees, no ads, and we're independent and member-led. Go to secondcaptains.com/join for details.
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Euro 2024 kicks off on Friday with Germany v Scotland in Munich - and here's our tournament preview pod.
James Horncastle and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk through the contenders. What can we expect from the champions, Italy, under Luciano Spalletti? Can England justify their status as tournament favourites? What about the hosts, Germany, who have lately put in their most pathetic tournament performances in memory? Why does Wilson continue to disrespect Kylian Mbappe? And who do they think is going to win?
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It was an incredible weekend for Irish athletics. Last Friday, Sonia O'Sullivan was the only Irish person to have ever won gold at a European Championships. Ronnie Delany, Eamon Coghlan, John Treacy - all had tried, none had succeeded. By this afternoon, we had added 5 names to that roll of honour, after the success of Ciara Mageean and our mixed relay team.
Cathal Dennehy and Derval O'Rourke join us to talk about the extraordinary achievement of our (geographically, demographically) diverse team which marries youth and experience - and how richly deserved this is for Ciara Mageean, who now has a gold to go with her silver and bronze European medals.
Ken predicts gold for Ireland in tonight's 400m women's final, and we raise a toast to Jerry Kiernan, so fondly remembered in the RTE studios last night.
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This week on the World Service we had Ken on Man City's latest legal power grab, Caitlin on turbulent times in the tennis world, and Ian Madigan on Irish rugby's inability to fix the 10 succession plan. Plus we have daily Euros shows coming up with Ken in Germany, Murph as Gaeilge, the Olympics, the summer tour in SA, football with Flynn and Murphy, and hurling with Jamie.
There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s 5 euro a month, it's independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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Real Madrid did that Real Madrid thing to win a staggering 15th Champions League title at Wembley - but it takes more than that to impress Don Diego Torres, who joins us from the Spanish capital to evaluate their triumph.
Has this Madrid generation surpassed the Di Stefano-Puskas team of the 50s? Do Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Ancelotti deserve to be considered the world’s best? Who are the players who really make this team tick? And how is Kylian Mbappe going to fit in?
And we talk about how Borussia Dortmund’s sponsorship deal with Rheinmetall might be the biggest sportswash of all time.
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This week on the World Service we had a top-class Champions League final preview with Sid Lowe and Rapha Honigstein, we discussed Carlo's chill, watery Dortmund, Duff man said a lot of things to Richie Sadlier, plus there was hurling with Jamie, football with Flynn and Murphy and we will chat to Brian Murphy about Celtics legend Bill Walton who overcame a childhood stutter to become an NBA all-star, a legend of the flower power generation and one of the great US broadcasters.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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Erik ten Hag finally cottoned on to the winning formula for Man United managers - treat the press scum with the contempt they deserve and win the hearts of the crowd.
But did this display of alpha dominance come too late to save his job? We argue the case for and against.
Mark Critchley and Barney Ronay join us to look back at the FA Cup final - and forward to United's season review. Where did it all go wrong for City? Does a glorious win secure ten Hag's future at United? Should it?
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Yet again it was Champions Cup misery for Leinster, this time with Extra Time, for maximum pain and anguish.
Despite trumping Toulouse on almost every conceivable metric and spending lots of the game in the opposition 22, they conceded 19 turnovers and failed to score a try in normal time. We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about death by poach, the "take your points" decision-making process and a performance for the ages from Antoine "everything everywhere all at once" Dupont.
Are Leinster’s issues simply rooted in a fragile mentality? Has their old attacking DNA been neglected? Where exactly was the Nienaber knockout rugby mentality? What do they do about their gaggle of outhalves? And can they win the URC with all those broken hearts knocking about the place?
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Welcome to our World Service Best Of show. This week, we feature a chat about the brave new world of top-level football management with Jonathan Wilson, celebrity St. Pats fan Ciarán Murphy's trip to Richmond Park, the culmination of what's been a box office Munster Hurling Championship, and why Shane Horgan is feeling shaky about Leinster's chances ahead of this weekend's Champions Cup Final.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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Having been dubbed “Mr Thursday” by certain ill-informed commentators last week, Xander Schauffele answered every criticism in securing his first major title.
We review a wild US PGA championship with Gavin Cooney and Lawrence Donegan, featuring arrests, Kentucky Cops, divorce, Rory's repeat and Shane Lowry’s 62.
We also discuss Oleksandr Usyk’s thrilling split-decision win over Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday night - and Ken asks when is a knockdown not a knockdown?
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Manchester City are champions, as it was foretold by Eoin McDevitt some months ago following their 0-0 draw with Arsenal. No Premier League opponent got within two goals of them since, as also foretold by Eoin McDevitt.
With all this having been so long foretold, we start off today talking about Jurgen Klopp's farewell at Anfield and what the early reactions might be foretelling us about the future.
Dion Fanning and Lars Sivertsen join us to look back on the final day and the Premier League season in general. How excited were they to watch City's historic four-in-a-row? How does Jurgen Klopp manage to always leave his clubs wanting more? Is Rodri correct that Arsenal lacked the winning mentality to seal the deal? And while we're about it, what's next for Roberto de Zerbi?
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This week on the Second Captains World Service Ken sat down with Brian Kerr to reflect on Kerr's short stint back in the Republic of Ireland dugout. Meanwhile, Olympic medal hopeful Rhasidat Adeleke joined us for a chat about her love for relay.
However, things turned sour for Jacob Rees Murphy who found himself confronted by critics/haters of his neolib views on the much maligned streaming service, GAAGO.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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Cork/Limerick was an occasion for the ages, and Murph was there with today’s guest Jamie Wall to experience the home team’s 3-28 to 3-26 win in a raucous Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
We reflect on how Cork managed to pick holes in Limerick’s defence, the champions’ come-back, the last-minute penalty that won it, and why Paul Kinnerk was losing it on the line with the Cork bench.
There has also been some discussion around the fact the game was on GAA GO… Ken, as ever, stands up for the little man.
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Does it say something about the level of drama in this Premier League title run-in that the most-talked-about thing this weekend was the leaking roof at Old Trafford?
Or is that just because everybody is making the same unjustified assumption about Tottenham strewing Man City's path to the title with rose petals tomorrow night?
Mark Critchley and Clive Palmer join us to talk through Arsenal's win. Is their season a success now even without the title? What do you have to do to get dropped from this Manchester United defence? And why is everybody - with one or two exceptions - apparently so sure that City are going to cruise through these last two matches?
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Welcome to our World Service Best Of show which this week features a look at what's likely next for Erik ten Hag and the managerial merry-go-round that's sure to follow. There's also Steve Staunton the true Gael and Gus Poyet getting quantified.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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Leinster are going to London and before Eoin gave up on his buffering Wi-Fi it looked as if they were cruising. Instead, they somehow found themselves staring down the barrel of one of the great European Cup comebacks - no need to remind you of the other one..
We chat through a huge day for Leinster and Irish sport with Shane Horgan and the BBC's Chris Jones.
A happy Murph details his day in the Salthill Sun and we get ahead of ourselves in predicting just how many medals the Irish Athletics relay team - powered by Rhasidat - will be bringing home from Paris.
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Welcome to our World Service Best Of show which this week features Ken's rousing rendition of You May Be Right by Billy Joel, a debate as to the real ability of Jude Bellingham, Welcome to Wrexham, reaction to the Munster Hurling Championship and much more.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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After the fireworks of their defeat of Derry in the Ulster quarter-final, it was always going to be something rather different and more difficult for Jim McGuinness' Donegal team this weekend, and they needed extra time to overcome Tyrone and set up an Ulster final against Armagh.
Michael Murphy and Oisin McConville are on hand to talk through their respective counties' wins at the weekend, and also run the rule over Louth, who reached successive Leinster finals for the first time since the 1950s by putting sorry Kildare out of their misery and into the Tailteann Cup.
We also discuss Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry's tandem win on the PGA Tour last night, Rory's pipes, and sartorial elegance in the GAA management class.
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Eoin presides again over the weekly humiliation ritual in which Ken is forced to grudgingly accept that Kai Havertz played well over the weekend while grumbling vaguely about opportunity costs.
Jonathan Wilson and Lars Sivertsen join us to talk about the NLD and other weekend football lines. Is Havertz the signing of the season? And how long can Ange Postecoglou get away with a vibes-based approach to set-pieces?
We also talk about why the issue of 'tourist' fans at Premier League games is becoming increasingly heated, and find out how optimistic Jonathan and Lars are for Arne Slot's prospects at Liverpool.
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Welcome to our world service best of show which this week features reaction to Liverpool's loss to Everton, an exploration into Klopp's likely successor, Ken and Murph's trip to Tolka Park and just how popular Rugby continues to be in Ireland.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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It was a classic weekend of GAA action, but maybe the surprising result of all came in Celtic Park, as Donegal travelled to Derry and knocked off the league champions with a four-goal, five-star performance.
Michael Murphy was working for BBC TV, was in attendance, and was designated driver for a car full of Donegal legends on Saturday night, and he joins us today to talk about Derry's lethargy, Jim McGuinness' impact, and the future of Odhran Lynch's upfield excursions.
Ken brings us the news that Jose Mourinho is finally paying attention to Kieran McGeeney's tactical innovations, and we discuss Leinster's incredible popularity as they sell out Croke Park - with some public service announcements for their ticket- (and pint-) hungry fans.
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Coventry City almost pulled off the greatest FA Cup comeback of all time, but thankfully VAR was there to save us all from that happening by spotting one of the most fractional offsides of all time. Blessed are we who live under its eye.
We also discuss Marc Canham's video communiqué from last Friday, what he seemed to be trying to say and what he might have said instead.
Miguel Delaney joins us to talk about his experience at the Cup semi-final, and also the reverberations of Nottingham Forest's inflammatory comments about Stuart Attwell.
Does a club accusing a referee of bias represent some kind of radical break with the norms and traditions of football? How else are clubs supposed to respond to the nonsense foisted on them by refs? Are corruption accusations inseparable from the use of VAR? And is there anything referees can practically do to extricate themselves from the conspiracy vortex that is engulfing them?
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Welcome to our world service best of show which this week features reaction to Man City's dramatic loss to Madrid, a backlash to the relationism backlash, a meaty hurling preview and Oisin McConville explains why he is so open with the media.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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It's (maybe) set to be a big week for the Irish Football Family with a new Men's Senior manager imminent but GO TOBANN just as Ken goes to grab the mic news breaks that FAI CEO Jonathan Hill will be stepping aside. Events, they just keep occurring.
Outside of the FAI internal re-structuring The Great Debate of our epoch revolves around the conflict between Relationism and Positionism. On today's show Ken goes deep with tactics guru Jamie Hamilton.
We also discuss the small matter of Liverpool and Arsenal handing the title to Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen triumphing in Deutschland.
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Leinster went for a 6/2 bench, a Will Connors horse for the La Rochelle course, and defended with manic speed and aggression to beat ROG's team for the second time this season. They won with 27 points to spare, and the Nienaber factor was there for all to see.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about slaying the dragon, the mental strength and skill required to score the Ryan Baird try after halftime, Ross Byrne's best-ever performance, peak Furlong, Leo Cullen's role in the side's evolution, how dangerous Toulouse look, Aviva boos, selling out Croke Park for a bank holiday weekend and how the Irish women's team ended their long 6N losing streak by winning in style against Wales.
Plus there's Larmour's comeback, ROG's rebuild, Scheffler's dominance and a McTepid Masters prediction.
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This week on our World Service highlights show; Ken exalts the value of watching football in double speed, Branno reviews Eric Cantona's live musicianship and Eoin bravely asks the big question - can Rory McIlroy win the Masters this weekend?
To join up go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month plus VAT, with no contracts, no minimum stay and no sneaky fees.
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Man United v Liverpool used to be a byword for stultifying boredom and dreariness. Not any more. We discuss another Liverpool fumble-job at Old Trafford, the cult of Darwin and the maniacally optimistic analysis of Erik ten Hag.
Simon Hughes and John Brewin join us to talk about the game at Anfield. Did Liverpool get what they deserved? Is Ruben Amorim likely to succeed Klopp in the summer. What did John make of the Kev Show at Selhurst Park? And who do they feel is looking the strongest out of the three title contenders?
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As Manie Libbok placed the ball on the tee for the kick that would have knocked La Rochelle out of Europe, you just knew the Rugby Gods (and Libbok's 66% kicking stats) had other plans. And so it's come to pass that ROG and Will Skelton will march on Dublin once more, and Leinster will have to try and pass their greatest mental and physical challenge, once more.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about Gibson (s)Park, lethargic Leinster, the case for Nienaber's defence, Munster's rotten luck and why speed, and a lack of it, is becoming a huge problem for the Irish provinces.
There's also Connacht's big win in Pau, Ulster's surprising shot at a trophy, why losing a RWC winning prop might be good news, what Tadhg Beirne, Bundee Aki and Gibson Park have in common, and McDevitt warns ROG him not to feed the animals.
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Welcome to our world service best of show which this week features an on form Pep, Duff and the regime, Rassie's rabble rousing and Leinster's battle at ten and drive for five.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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A great weekend of football at Tallaght Stadium, at Anfield, at St James' Park, at Stamford Bridge, at Croke Park - joy, fun, excitement everywhere except at the Etihad Stadium where Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta's two sets of brightly coloured robots offered a terrifying portent of the future.
Jonathan Wilson and Jon Mackenzie join us to talk about what it all means. Was this game bad? If so, whose fault was it? Did this game represent a decisive episode in the ongoing ideological war between positionism and relationism? Are we ready for a football future in which everything is under control except the egos of the coaches? Let's get stuck in...
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It seemed like everyone was piping up to have a go at the Irish football team after not even registering a goal during the drab March international break.. including the Swiss media, as we were alerted by a World Service member based there.
US Murph chatted to us about the latest sporting superstar in the US, Iowa State basketballer Caitlin Clark who has recently broken the all-time NCAA scoring record across both the men's and women's game.
Closer to home, Derry play Dublin in the Division 1 league final at HQ this weekend. However, Michael Murphy has much greater ambitions than that for the back-to-back Ulster Champions.
To join up go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month plus VAT, with no contracts, no minimum stay and no sneaky fees.
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Clare and Kilkenny are in the National Hurling League final, and Jamie Wall is back on the pod for the first time as the reigning 2024 Fitzgibbon Cup winning coach to talk us through their semi-final wins this weekend.
Limerick were abysmal, according to their own manager John Kiely, and they’ve also been wrestling with the Kyle Hayes court case. We discuss what likely impact the case will have on Limerick’s Drive For Five.
We also find time to outline just why jersey-ripping has become such a key part of our Gaelic football consumption, and Eoin and Murph admit their complete ignorance when it comes to what exactly it is that insurance companies do to turn a profit.
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Cold? Boring? Meaningless? Not from the point of view of the manager for whom the game was a top-level debut. John O'Shea saw a lot to like in Ireland vs Belgium on Saturday evening.
We talk through the details of the game and wonder if we are about to see a second interim coaching appointment transform into a permanent one.
Germany produced a shock 2-0 victory away to France on Saturday night; six months after taking the national team job, Julian Nagelsmann is winning people over. We talk to Archie Rhind-Tutt about the state of play for the host nation just a few weeks out from the Euros.
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It's been a week to remember on the World Service, for none more so than our own proud Galweigen and 'Top Red' Ciaran Murphy.
We were delighted to chat with hurling legend Joe Canning on the latest edition of our 'I'll Tell You Who Wrote It Second Captains Book Club. Joe spoke to us about John Feinstein's A Good Walk Spoiled, his own impressive golfing CV and how now living in Limerick brings him into contact with a lot of, well.. Limerick people.
Back in Dublin, Ken's attention over the long weekend was dominated by, of all things, the FA Cup. Specifically, the classic that played out between United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.
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Ireland have won back-to-back Six Nations and have been a very consistent team over a long period of time now. We put their achievements into context while also examining their form, which has tapered off since the Italy game.
We chat to Chris Jones of the BBC, former 6N winner Andrew Trimble, and Tom English of BBC Scotland about Ireland's second-half power show against Scotland, if their attack needs a re-think, how they will cope if Peter O'Mahony retires, Central Gibson Park, and how Jack Crowley has settled in at 10.
We also examine the quality of this year's Six Nations, if mid-table England will in fact be the most satisfied of all, Italy's rise and Wales having as much of a nightmare off the pitch as on it.
Plus there's the greatest ever Galway sports person, Murph wilts under the McGeeney Gaze and Farrell bites back.
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The secret to any truly great sporting rivalry is some genuine animosity between the two parties, and when it comes to Ireland and the Scottish rugby team - these two straight up don't like each other. Even if one of them keeps beating the other time & time again.
Elsewhere, the Champions League knockouts have finally caught fire. We chatted to Rory Smith of The New York Times and Nick Ames of The Guardian about Arsenal's progress and ask what is driving the trend of multi club models.
To join up go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month plus VAT, with no contracts, no minimum stay and no sneaky fees.
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The Irish team didn't perform and the Irish media got this one badly badly wrong, except for a humble GAA man from Galway.
We chat to Rob Kearney, Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about England's powered-up attack, Ireland's end game, O'Mahony's yellow, the lineout issues, the 6-2 split and what a 6N Championship would mean, and what a loss to Scotland might mean!
We also discuss our various scapegoat options, Murph's Turph, Italy's win over Scotland, and Ken's admiration for Rob Kearney.
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Liverpool and Manchester City played another great game at Anfield and the big winners were Arsenal. The league leaders earned another important win against Brentford on Saturday evening. We discuss the edge of ruthlessness Mikel Arteta's players are showing as they chase a first title in 20 years.
Dion Fanning and Gavin Cooney join us to talk over the Liverpool-City game and other Premier League weekend business. Klopp and Guardiola have defined the Premier League, their teams pushing each other to greater and greater heights, but there is ultimately only one question anyone cares about: who is better? Has Caoimhín Kelleher's decision to stay at Liverpool been vindicated? And how do they interpret Evan Ferguson's 19-game goalless run?
We also get Branno's thoughts on who should be taking over from Declan Devine at Bohs.
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It's the year 2024 and ex Scottish Rugby International's are backing humble England over arrogant Ireland. Is this the future we wanted? Well, it's the one we have and this weekend could see Ireland push even closer to a back-to-back Grand Slam with victory in Twickenham. But first, Eoin is here to warn you with tales from the past.
Yesterday Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson put their thinking caps on about why the Champions League has lost its appeal in recent times, and what could be done to get it back
After being one of the first GAA players to take part in the NFL combine we caught up with Rory Beggan, by which time he was supposed to be back in Ireland, but there was a bit of a change of plans.
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The FAI formally unveiled new interim manager John O'Shea at a press
conference at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon - Ken reports from the
scene...
...and if you want to listen to that straightaway scroll to the end.
First we talk through some of the action from a weekend that saw
Nottingham Forest's refereeing lobbyist Mark Clattenburg swing into
action.
Mark Critchley and John Brewin join us to talk about the Manchester
derby. Is it really too much to expect Man United should be able to
give City more of a game than this? And if the future is looking bleak
for Erik ten Hag, how is it looking for Marcus Rashford?
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Ireland are once again raging hot favourites to win a 6N game, which may sit ok with us when it's Italy or this 2024 Wales team, but this time it's England, in Twickenham! We're not in Kansas anymore.
We talk to Gerry Thornley about the dynamics at play including a warning from 6N history, Hugo Keenan's knee injury, Steve Borthwick's reputation, and Ryan Baird's red-hot form.
Plus there's Sam Warburton's tackle power, Beggan's boot, and Jim McGuinness bemoaning the rampant use of the 'Rodri Foul' in Gaelic Football.
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Nearly 100 days on from the announcement that Stephen Kenny’s time as Republic of Ireland manager was up, we finally have a successor... on an interim basis for the March friendlies against Belgium & Switzerland. We digest the news and speculate on what might happen if things go well for John O'Shea, and the heat this appointment takes off the FAI.
Elsewhere, Ken fears for Man United ahead of the Manchester Derby this weekend with an emboldened City side lying in wait.
Plus, it's been a big week for the GAA with the much-trumpeted appointment of Jarlath Burns as president, who has made it his mission to save Gaelic Football.
To join up go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month plus VAT, with no contracts, no minimum stay and no sneaky fees.
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Ken was at Wembley to see Caoimhin Kelleher help Liverpool to what Jurgen Klopp described as his sweetest-ever trophy.
We talk through the action of the day, why young players seem to play better for Liverpool than they do for Chelsea, and why Chelsea don’t give their supporters anything to get behind.
Rich Jolly and Jacob Steinberg join us to talk over the Carabao Cup final - and also Fulham’s late win at Old Trafford. Why did this trophy mean so much to Klopp? How much longer can Mauricio Pochettino cling on? And while we’re at it, what about Eric Ten Hag?
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"Too much winning", we cry, as Ireland march relentlessly towards another grand slam.
The expectations are now so high that a flurry of penalties in the second half and some aimless attacks in the first half against a young Wales side have us demanding improvements, and fast. We chat to Chris Jones of the BBC and former Ireland winger Shane Horgan about Bundee's power, Ireland's bench strength, the fast start Frawley and Nash have made to their international careers, and if a reduced gameplan for England would trouble Ireland in two weeks time.
Plus there's Duhan the try-machine, Garbisi's tee trouble, and the new Eddie Jones documentary.
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Did you hear the one about the CEO who jokingly asked for cash in lieu of holidays, had the nuance of the gag missed by the Finance Director and was accidentally paid more than the allowable salary agreed under the state bailout, leading to the President of the association openly doubting confidence him in from of a government committee? It may sound insane.. but this is the FAI we're talking about.
Meanwhile, breaking news around the redevelopment plan of Belfast's Casement Park ahead of the 2028 Euros had us asking questions into the actual usefulness of the project as well as the geopolitics at play.
Finally, we got around some football talk after an emotional Liverpool comeback win over Luton had Klopp reminiscing on some of his greatest nights as a manager.
To join up go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month plus VAT, with no contracts, no minimum stay and no sneaky fees.
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Jamie Wall’s Fitzgibbon Cup pedigree is pretty special. He was a selector for Mary I’s first win in the competition in 2016, was in charge in 2017, and in another David vs Goliath triumph won their third national title on Saturday, against 3-in-a-row chasing University of Limerick.
He joins us on today’s show along with his selector Podge Collins, the former Clare All-Ireland winner and All-star (and his first cousin), to talk to us about their relationship, what makes the Fitzgibbon so special, and their post-match celebration seen around the world.
We also discuss our two-time world champion Daniel Wiffen, and the imminent return of Flynn and Murph.
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Irish football fans don't ask for much these days, but when it comes to finding a new national team manager they still want a little mystery in their lives. So over the weekend when Chris Coleman shot to the top of the contenders list the general response appeared to be, through a chink too wide comes in no wonder.
We chat to Dion Fanning and Gavin Cooney in studio about Coleman's credentials, the real/rumoured list of candidates, the FAI's fun faction, and how messy the whole managerial search appears to be.
We also look at the form and feet of Liverpool and Ireland's Caoimhin Kelleher, the Nathan Collins stock market, Evan's goal drought, Erling's misses, and the Jota - Nunez master blaster strike partnership.
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Welcome back to your weekly taster of the Kevin Brannigan World Service. With the domestic leagues kicking off this weekend, we've reunited the Sneyd & Branno dream team to raise the curtain on the League of Ireland season and weigh up Stephen Bradley's potential as the future Republic of Ireland manager.
Plus there's a clip from tomorrow's show where we delve into the prospect of a doping-friendly sporting event fronted by Australian swimmer, James 'The Missile' Magnussen.
To join go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and you can listen to us on Spotify or any normal podcast app on your phone, laptop or tablet, or on our website. Email members@secondcaptains.com with any questions.
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Declan Rice: to be fair, quite useful. A pity most West Ham fans didn't wait around long enough to see his goal. In the wake of a record-equalling home defeat for West Ham, we wonder what David Moyes has to do to get a little credit around here?
Manchester United remain undefeated in 2024. They might not yet be the most spectacular of the teams chasing the Champions League spots but perhaps they look the most sustainable.
Archie Rhind-Tutt joins us from Germany to talk about Bayer Leverkusen's 3-0 thrashing of Bayern Munich. Xabi Alonso's team are the only unbeaten side in the top 5 leagues. Is it too soon to say we have found the new Pep?
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Ireland have won 10 Six Nations games in a row now, and continue to do it in style with another 6 tries against Italy, and their first 6N/5N clean sheet since 1987.
We chat to Gerry Thornley of The Irish Times and Tom English of BBC Scotland about Jack Crowley's passing game, Henshaw's case for holding onto the 13 jersey, who would replace Hugo Keenan if he's badly injured, why England are going to be tough to beat in Twickers, and if Scotland should blame the ref, the TMO, World Rugby's protocols, or themselves, for a defeat to an out of sorts French team.
We get told to turn that frown upside down by a listener, and Murph looks at Jim McGuinness' soccer CV and wonders if he could do a job for the Republic of Ireland.
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Welcome to our regular best of show which this week features Arsenal's lightly celebrated win over Liverpool, a mild mutiny at Chelsea and AFCON fun with Oluwashina. We also have Vegas Murph, Ireland's Grand Slam plan, lotsa (GAA) league analysis and pedants on pedants.
To listen to our programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s 5 euro a month for independent, commercial-free, member-led podcasts with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
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It's not supposed to be this easy! Ireland's previous biggest win away to France was by 7 points, way back in 1948. In the wake of a record win in Marseille, we let a mix of emotions - joy, awe, confusion, expectation - wash over us.
We chat to Shane Horgan about the unbridled optimism of our running game, our rejuvenated lineout, Jack Crowley's mental resets, Beirne's brains, a defanged Shaun Edwards and what's up with France?
Ireland are now strong favourites to win a slam, but who is our main challenger as the Scots win but lose, as Finn Russell ticks off his teammates, as England learn on the job and as Wales somehow build belief from nothing.
And after watching Derry outplay Tyrone Murph tells us who is going to win the All-Ireland.
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Last Friday, the football world was shocked to learn that Jurgen Klopp will leave his job as Liverpool manager at the end of the season. This week, we focused our gaze on what happens next, and who will fill the shoes of this legendary figure.
Elsewhere, Ireland are away to a bruised and emotional French team this weekend in the opening round of the Six Nations. What better way to dust off a World Cup hangover than to dive headfirst into a potential championship decider?
Plus, we caught up with US Murph after his beloved San Francisco 49ers pulled off a miraculous second-half comeback to beat the Detroit Lions to the NFC Championship and set the stage for a date with destiny in Las Vegas.
To join go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and you can listen to us on Spotify or any normal podcast app on your phone, laptop or tablet, or on our website. Email members@secondcaptains.com with any questions.
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The FAI's search for a new manager is not going well. Pot stirrer Eoin McDevitt is still doing his bit though; he chatted to Neil Lennon on Premier Sports over the weekend, and today on Second Captains it's Gus Poyet, who is very keen on the job.
Man United just about got past "County Newport" but the big story is nightclub enthusiast Marcus Rashford. Ken reviews the reviews of the clubs of Belfast.
Plus there's the incredible shrinking Barcelona, Dion Dublin's pro-am, and all the things that Liverpool will miss about Klopp.
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The National Football League is winning hearts and minds on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the Irish version of the NFL kicked off this weekend, with some cracking games and away upsets.
Michael Murphy is back in the Second Captains saddle for another year, and he talks to us about conversations with Jim McGuinness about a sensational playing return, conversations for 10 years about Roger Schmidt and gegenpressing, and why 1-20 in Ballybofey in January is pretty good shooting.
We also discuss bogey teams in the GAA - Galway can’t beat Mayo, Monaghan can’t lose to Dublin (in the league, at any rate), and Mickey Harte is still inflicting pain on Kerry football.
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The murder by a loyalist gang of Sean Brown, the Chairman of the Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in Derry in May 1997 was a heinous, violent act, and one that has reverberated through generations of his town and his family.
In this special Second Captains episode, we travel to Bellaghy to talk to his daughter Siobhán and grandson Damán about their continuing fight for justice.
We talk about the obstacles that have stood in their way over the last 27 years, and the impact of the NI Troubles Legacy and Reconciliation Act on the inquest currently ongoing into his death. Their barrister is Des Fahy, author of “How The GAA Survived The Troubles”, also talks to us about who Sean Brown was, and why being a member of a GAA club was enough to get an innocent man killed.
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The All-Ireland club finals don’t always deliver quality games, but they are usually good for a narrative arc or two… and in 2024, we managed to get the best of both worlds.
Maurice Brosnan of the Irish Examiner talks to us about Éanna Burke’s last-minute wizardry that won it for St Thomas’, and we discuss Conor Glass’ mastery of the big moments which will be the stand-out memory of Glen’s maiden All-Ireland club final win.
Ken weighs in on what hurling can do to improve itself - and his findings may enrage traditionalists - and Eoin makes the argument for wet-weather-only fixtures.
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Ivan Toney seems to have made good use of his time away from the game, learning how to use his mind to manipulate and control the Universe. With this new skill in his locker it's looking like a big 2024 in prospect for the big man.
We also talk about new developments in game management, Darwin's 10/10 and Manchester United's latest stunning boardroom "coup".
Then Samindra Kunti joins us from Doha to report on the Asian Cup, where Palestine still have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage after drawing with the UAE in their second match.
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US Murph joined us on the World Service for a round-up of the NFL Playoffs, a hearty laugh at the Dallas Cowboys and to give credit to the punting abilities of The Wicklow Whacker - Dan Whelan. Elsewhere, Jose Mourinho's time at AS Roma has come to a close in his customary third season at the club. We ask where next for the self-proclaimed 'Little Magpie'?
Plus, there's Ken's beef with the Germans over Jadon Sancho and a return to pedant's corner.
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Munster were on a bad run of results, injuries and performances, hadn't won away from home all season, and were 10-0 down away to Toulon in a must-win tie.... so naturally they shot the light outs, got a 4-try BP win, and changed the entire complexion of their Champions Cup campaign.
We chat to Ruaidhri O'Connor about Munster marrying the old and the new, the impact Peter O'Mahony's return had on the team and why, almost 30 years into professionalism, big characters can still make all the difference.
We continue to put grit into Murph's gears, take a lift to the top floor of the Lions experience, have a peek at the 6N form guide, seek the help of Permutations Man, and Ronnie O'Sullivan wins an 8th Masters title while also goading and chastising everyone around him.
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If Jadon Sancho feels a bit hard done by after his treatment at Manchester United maybe he should take a look at what is happening at Forest Green Rovers, where charismatic young coach Troy Deeney is showing what can happen when managers are prepared to take off the kid gloves and start dealing out some harsh truths.
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Mark Critchley join us to talk about the weekend’s PL action. How can Ange Postecoglou get his B-team to play the same way as the injured first-teamers? Will Dave Brailsford succeed in putting Manchester United into a challenge-state after a decade of threat-state? And would football be better if it cast off the shackles of regulation and allowed the richest owners the freedom to express their visions and dreams to the max?
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Welcome to our regular world service highlights show. For our second week of podcasting in 2024 we covered Mo's rep in Egypt, Darwin Nunez's misses in slow mo, BCM (?), Taylor Swift's impact on the form of the Kansas City Chiefs, Andy Farrell taking a break from the Ireland job to do the Lions job, an Irish football managerial update and Ken's reflections on teflon Beckenbauer. Plus there was ugly Chelsea, America's assholes, Aaron Rodgers V Jimmy Kimmel, Nienaber's Leinster deadline, the Mack Hansen hole in our 6N squad, Carbery's career, Jim McGuinness' ban, and Ronan Finn in studio on his glorious career.
To join go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and you can listen to us on Spotify or any normal podcast app on your phone, laptop or tablet, or on our website. Email members@secondcaptains.com with any questions.
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The All-Ireland club final between Watty Graham's Glen and Kilmacud Crokes was one of the most controversial sporting events of 2023... and 7 days into 2024, they got a chance to go at it again. This time around, in yesterday's semi-final in Newry, the action on the field was completed to everyone's satisfaction... even if it was enshrouded in fog.
Oisin McConville saw as much of it as the rest of us, and we talk to him about Glen's resilience, Jim McGuinness' return to GAA management... and why he could be about to lose his Wicklow goalkeeper to the NFL.
We also discuss Eoin's newly bald jawline, Fog On The Tyne, and who might overcome their hangover to win the Dioralyte O'Byrne Cup.
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Every year it becomes more culturally embarrassing for us to talk about the third round of the FA Cup, and yet... here we go again.
This time - the Sunderland-Newcastle damp squib, the latest gut-punch for Arsenal, and plaintive cries from the Saudi coast suggesting one more possible reason for Liverpool's successful transformation.
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HNY and welcome to our regular Second Captains snifter. For our first week back in 2024 we covered Darwin Nunez's net positive contributions, the poor man's Todd Boehly (Garry Cook), Wayne Rooney and the golden generation's hapless coaching careers and what challenges a teenage sports star such as Luke Littler faces after they make their first breakthrough. To join go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and you can listen to us on Spotify or any normal podcast app on your phone, laptop or tablet. Email members@secondcaptains.com with any questions.
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Happy New Year from all of us at Second Captains! To celebrate we've decided to dip into the vault and dig out our favourite interview of 2023, an all-timer with Ronnie O'Sullivan live in our Dublin studio.
Ronnie O’Sullivan joins us to talk about anxiety, his childhood, his relationship with his father before and after his father went to jail, his relationship with Snooker and why he looks to Messi, Jordan and Tiger for lessons on how to get better.
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A feast of festive football games, coaches who can’t read the room, ref nixers, viral fakes, the Thirty Years War - it must be the annual post-Christmas football pod with Jonathan Wilson.
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Welcome to our weekly Second Captains snifter. To join go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and we’re independent and Irish owned.
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Munster appeared to be in a winning position away to Exeter, before some bad kicks, bad bounces, poor refereeing decisions and an intercept turned 5 game points into 1, putting a big hole in their European campaign in the process. On the back of the draw with Bayonne and the news that RG Snyman will likely be moving to Leinster next year, it's been a rough week for the URC champs.
We chat to Ruaidhri O'Connor and Shane Horgan about Munster's slick attack and weak basics, the rights and wrongs of RG"s move, Leinster's good cap bad cop routine, Ulster's tap dance and Connacht's miserable defence.
Plus there's Figo's flip, club hurling's screen battle and the best talker in Irish sport.
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With the action at Anfield making for slim pickings, we turn to the spreadsheets in search of fresh narrative. The results MIGHT surprise you...
There's also Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez, Peter Walton's idea of acceptable dissent, Phil Foden's latest betrayal of Pep Guardiola and a clash of fire and ice in prospect on the shores of the Red Sea.
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Liam Brady brought the house down at our end-of-year live show last week, arriving with anecdotes full of insight, levity and physical comedy that were warmly received by the Liberty Hall crowd and our World Service members alike.
Elsewhere, Ken has been marvelling at Manchester United's ill-fated Champions League campaign which has served us up a six-part series of appointment-television, dramatic perfection fit for an Emmy Award.
To join go to secondcaptains.com/join - it's a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and we're independent and Irish owned.
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Leinster went to war in La Rochelle, and at the fourth time of asking against ROG's team, got the win they craved. It won't make up for the last three seasons in Europe, but it was a deeply satisfying win.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Murray Kinsella of The42 about Frawley's monster kick to seal it, the levels of animosity between these two teams, and Leinster's toughness, tackle technique and lineout masterclass.
There's also Munster's weak set piece, Connacht taking a hammering at home and Ulster's roll of the managerial dice.
And Ken gives us his take on Wiffen's short-course world record.
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A great weekend for Unai Emery and Lewis Dobbin, not only because they were winning but because they were celebrating in the right way, according to the people who pay attention to these things.
Manchester United's 0-3 defeat to Bournemouth came as no surprise to Mystic Murph - but Erik ten Hag's team selection did. Still, if the title of Sir Big Jim's new book is anything to go by, help is on the way.
Lars Sivertsen and Gavin Cooney join us to talk about the weekend's football. Is Emi Martinez emerging as Mikel Arteta's biggest transfer mistake that nobody really noticed at the time? Why might Martin Odegaard be struggling to hit the levels of last season? And how long can Chelsea hide in the shadows from their own reckoning?
Gavin also brings us up to speed with some of the happenings of the FAI AGM on Saturday.
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After what could be considered one of the greatest performances in the club's storied history, it’s time to welcome a new force into the world of Premier League superclubs - Unai Emery's Aston Villa. Miguel Delaney and Rory Smith joined us to delve into their past and ask if they truly are contenders for this year's title.
Plus, Malachy Clerkin and Sinead O'Carroll were in studio this week to review the best sports books of 2023. This time around, with the added wrinkle of having a book written by one of our judges on the shortlist.
It's been a mega week on the World Service and there's so much more to come. To join go to secondcaptains.com/join - it's a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and we're independent and Irish owned.
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In front of 8,100 fans in a packed out Sportsground, Connacht had Leinster beat; until the very death when Ciaran Frawley broke their hearts. We discuss the many ebbs and flows of psychic energy in this game and whether the pain will linger for Connacht.
Gerry Thornley was in Galway to witness a deeply flawed Leinster display and a thrilling Mack Hansen comeback. We also discuss Munster's magic attack, Ulster's internal strife and big Thomas Ahern's shot at being a starter in Europe.
Plus there's Match Of The Day McDevitt, Big Sam's hat and Ronnie O'Sullivan's numbers.
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We can be sure that Friday's live show guest Sam Allardyce would have been appalled at the spectacle of City 3-3 Spurs.
For the rest of us it was pretty good. Spurs' devotion to their apparently suicidal gameplan, Kulusevski arriving at the back post like the wrath of god, Haaland screaming at the ref for calling it back as Grealish ran through - and Pep revealing in his post-game comments that he is a Master & Commander guy.
John Brewin and Rich Jolly join us to talk about some of the weekend's action. Has Ange Postecoglou proved he is the real deal? What has gone wrong for Jack Grealish this season? Why is there such a wave of anger towards Marcus Rashford from Manchester United fans? And will Jadon Sancho succeed in outlasting Erik ten Hag?
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Welcome to our Second Captains taster menu which this week features Madchester United, the no fun GAA and the battle to be Ireland's next top outhalf. To join go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and we’re independent and Irish-owned.
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It turns out that Irish footballers literally cannot stop scoring and creating goals right now. Does this make the Ireland job the hottest vacant property in world football?
The weekend brought the sad news of Terry Venables' death at the age of 80. We look back on the broadcasting masterclass that ended Venables' chances of managing Ireland back when the job paid a lot more than it does now.
We also talk about the anti-corruption protest at Everton and whether the Everton fans really are on to something about the corruption of the Premier League.
There is even time to talk about a very 1230ish edition of Man City v Liverpool.
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"Don't ever doubt me again" - Ireland, consider yourself told.
Katie Taylor avenged her only professional defeat with an exceptional points victory over Chantelle Cameron in the 3Arena on Saturday night, with a performance that franks her boxing greatness and rubber-stamps her place as one of Ireland's most beloved sports-people.
We speak to former middle-weight world champion Andy Lee and the42's Gavan Casey about an extraordinary atmosphere, a display for the ages, and the possibility of a final act for the trilogy.
There appears to be widespread enthusiasm for the idea of Croke Park hosting Taylor/Cameron III, but one of our presenting team is intent on bringing down the mood... and it's not the Croke Park area resident in our midst either.
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On the same night that Stephen Kenny said his farewells to the Lansdowne Road crowd, James McClean, too said goodbye after more than 100 caps for his country. Both gave us plenty to argue about on the World Service.
We also spoke to Mark Langhammer, Trade Union leader and vice-chairman of Crusaders Football Club on why he believes Casement Park is the right choice of Northern Irish stadia for Euro 2028.
Plus, Ken gives his thoughts on Brazil vs Argentina and ‘useless pissheads’.
To join go to secondcaptains.com/join - it's a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and we're independent and Irish owned.
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Pele did it first with Santos and the NY Cosmos, playing half a game with his boyhood club, and the other half with his adopted big city club - and our Murph is definitely the only other athlete to have done it, with Milltown of Galway and Templeogue Synge Street of Dublin. Did he play equally badly for both, as instructed?
A proposal to remove counties with fewer than five adult club hurling teams from competing in the National Hurling League has been hammered from the moment it was suggested earlier this month - we speak to Jamie Wall about what the future holds for hurling in those counties, and why many hurling people are happy enough with the status quo.
And there’s one last round on the carousel for the David Clifford Player of the Year debate, as he became the first back-to-back winner of that award in history last Friday night...... despite missing a free!
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We look back on Saturday's game in Amsterdam and the lessons from Ireland's disastrous qualifying campaign. "What was the alternative?" was Stephen Kenny's reply to questions about his approach following the latest defeat - but will his successor have to think of one?
We talk to the deputy chair of Everton's shareholders association, John Blain, about the 10-point penalty imposed on the club after they were found guilty of breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.
How are Everton fans feeling about the punishment? Why have the league come down so heavily on Everton? And what might this mean for other financial cases currently in the pipeline?
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We chat to the legendary Tim Vickery about why Luis Diaz Sr was abducted in Colombia, why no ransom was sought, and how strong the links are between crime and football in Colombia, in the wake of the cartel era.
We also welcomed Daryl Horgan to studio to discuss his time working under Stephen Kenny, Damien Duff and Anthony Barry in the Ireland set up and what happened before that infamous Ireland V England game. Plus there's Ken on Michael Owen's twitter feedback.
To join go to secondcaptains.com/join - it's a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and we're independent and Irish owned.
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Today we speak to director Laura McGann from Ireland about her brilliant documentary The Deepest Breath which last night picked up two Critics Choice awards for Best Sports Documentary and Best Cinematography.
In just one week in late July The Deepest Breath had been watched on Netflix by 4.6 million people. The story revolves around two characters - Alessia Zecchini, a world-class free diver from Italy, and Stephen Keenan from Ireland, who made a name for himself as a safety diver and was in a relationship with Alessia. Its a gripping, emotional and often shocking documentary about two people devoted to a sport and to each other.
And Murph looks at the career of legendary Armagh and Crossmaglen star Aaron Kernan who announced his retirement this weekend having won 18 county titles, 8 Ulsters and 3 All-Irelands.
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St Patrick's Athletic beat Bohemians 3-1 in a record-breaking FAI Cup final. FAI CEO Jonathan Hill had promised in his programme notes: "I trust memories will be made to last a lifetime as we all take another step on our respective journeys." Today we share the memories we made in that step along our respective journeys.
We talk about the sensational 4-4 at Stamford Bridge, and the truth underlying the narratives now developing around "embattled" Eddie Howe and Ange "is this guy even a football manager" Postecoglou.
Gavin Cooney joins us to talk more about the FAI Cup Final. How does he explain the Cup final's rise? What gave Pat's the edge on the day? Why can't Bohs match off-field development with on-field success? And what are we to make of the fact that all this played out against the backdrop of another embarrassing storyline coming out of Abbottstown?
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Spurs - Chelsea was a box office affair, both during the game and after the final whistle. Ange Postecoglou’s nine-man high-line high-wire act stirred up the Spurs base and baffled everyone else.
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The Kerry county final should be one of the showpiece occasions of the GAA club season, but when East Kerry won their fourth title in 5 seasons yesterday, there was a hint of a cloud overhead.
There is nothing more labyrinthine in the GAA than Kerry's club championship structure but our guide today is Maurice Brosnan of the Irish Examiner, as he talks to us about proud clubs getting relegated, amalgamated sides dominating, and the impact of the split season.
We also discuss back-up quarter-back Josh Dobbs' heroics with the Minnesota Vikings yesterday, who used his background in aerospace engineering to show that playing quarter-back in the NFL isn't exactly rocket science.
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Mikel Arteta is mad as hell and he's not gonna take it any more. That much is clear. But why were Arsenal so angry on Saturday night, and what do they actually want to see changed?
Miguel Delaney and Mark Critchley join us to talk about the weekend's football. What did they make of the Newcastle-Arsenal aftermath? Why does Miguel fancy Poch to slam the brakes on the Ange Express tonight?
We discuss the art of the come and get me plea, and the glorious hysteria of the Libertadores final on Saturday night.
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Everyone's favourite World Service duo (maybe) David Sneyd and Kevin 'Branno' Brannigan were back this week to chat about "Shamrock's" record-equalling fourth league title in a row, the ethics around the guard of honour and the key to success in the League of Ireland.
We also spoke to 2013 All-Star and All-Ireland Winner, Conor Ryan whose intercounty career was cruelly cut short for medical reasons. Conor talks to us about finding a life and identity away from GAA, how he managed to return to play with his club Cratloe, and what lessons he was able to bring back to his teammates.
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Ireland lost but won.. at least as far as the World Rugby’s ‘Dream Team of the Year’ selection is concerned, which is all we really wanted anyway, isn’t it?
The Rugby World Cup final was a tense and compelling affair, but maybe not the showpiece we had hoped for. We chat to Shane Horgan and The Irish Independent's Rúaidhrí O’Connor about how the Springboks got it done, claiming some Irish credit and Eddie Jones’ return to Japan.
Plus Ken gives us his thoughts on the Manchester derby, Antony’s antics and where Ten Hag seemed to get it so wrong.
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On this week’s World Service taster, we check in with Johnny Doyle, the 45-year-old man of the match who inspired his club Allenwood to their first Kildare County title since 1990. Johnny joins us live from the fabled Monday Club.
We also chatted to Ciara McCormack, the Canadian-born former Ireland international who became international news after blowing the whistle on abuse within Canadian football. Ciara talks to us about channelling those experiences into her new role as the first-ever female CEO in the League of Ireland with Treaty United in Limerick.
Plus, Scotty Stevenson & Ruaidhri O’Connor give us their take on World Rugby’s plans for the future which have brought with them much controversy and confusion.
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South Africa looked ragged and anxious against a rejuvenated England team, but once again showed they're the strongest squad, both mentally and physically.
We chat to Chris Jones, the BBC's rugby union correspondent and co-host of the excellent Rugby Union Weekly podcast, and Shane Horgan, Ireland and Lions winger and veteran of two world cups, about the South African management team's triumphs and failures, allegations against SA's hooker, Bongi Mbonambi, of using racist language on the pitch, why the scrum plays such a huge (too huge?) role in some games, Pollard's amazing penalty, and who will win the final between NZ and SA.
Plus there's radio silence, Matt Williams goes viral, Ken equates penalty worms with scrum laws, and we get a high-performance email.
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What a monster of a team Unai Emery has put together... using most of the same players the previous coach reckoned weren't up to it. After their demolition job on West Ham, the time is right to hail Villa's accomplishments - and to remember a certain somebody who hasn't been given due credit for the part he has played in their resurgence.
Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal promised much and delivered... another argument over just what exactly a goalkeeper is meant to be these days.
We also discuss why James Milner's managers seem to enjoy watching him suffer and look at the relationship between Bobby and Jack.
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Welcome to our weekly world service platter. We chat to Kenny apologists Ken and Richie about Irish football’s next step, we had our best ever Grunge Week, Ken Burley comes out fighting after Ireland’s loss to NZ and we look at the Farrell Divide
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As much of a spectacle as this weekend’s quarter finals were, going out in a classic will be of little consolation to Irish players, coaches and supporters. The World Cup hoodoo lives on - and it’s probably the most painful one yet.
To pick apart this carcass we’re joined by Shane Horgan, The 42’s Murray Kinsella and Scotty Stevenson from TVNZ. Did the NZ coaches outsmart us on the day? What effect did having to chase the game so early have on Ireland? Where do we go from here? And how utterly daft was the France - South Africa game?
And we check in on Ken Burley who made his grand return to the NZ airwaves.
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A Irish sporting weekend that will echo in eternity began with a dismal 2-0 defeat to Greece on Friday night. New tactics, same old outcome.
"I'm going to lose the argument whatever I say here. It's not an argument I can win," Stephen Kenny admitted afterwards. The most encouraging words were provided by Greece coach Gus Poyet who was impressed by the amount Irish fans spend on official sportswear.
We sift through the ashes of defeat, as is tradition, and consider the warped incentives that await Ireland in Amsterdam next month.
We also discuss the limited scope of Jordan Henderson's off-field work in Saudi Arabia and the latest developments in the Manchester United takeover saga.
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The World Service is a fairly broad church and this week was no different. Ken got around to watching the David Beckham Netflix documentary and was suitably unimpressed by what he deemed to be a 'tissue of lies'.
Meanwhile, we got word from New Zealand legend Justin Marshall on how he feels his boys are set for their clash with Ireland this weekend. Interestingly for us, it's not all rosy in the garden for the All Blacks.
Plus, US Murph fills us in on the most dramatic news to come out of America in ages.
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At least there was one Scot who turned up on Saturday. We savour the anguish in the voice of our Stretford End correspondent, who sent a message of hopelessness late in the second half when all seemed lost.
We were (mostly) spared another week of “it’s not incompetence it’s corruption” thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s late deflected winner at the Emirates.
Lars Sivertsen and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk about the two big games of the weekend.
Is it finally really happening for Arsenal? What is the problem with Lars’s boy, Erling Haaland? Why was Brighton-Liverpool one of the most interesting games Jonathan has seen in a long time? And what can Scandinavia teach us about football’s fight for Freedom?
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Ireland put in one of the best performances of the Farrell era to beat Scotland out the gate by halftime, at which stage everyone's thoughts turned to the mighty, but maybe less mighty than they used to be, All Blacks.
We chat to Shane Horgan, Gerry Thornley and Scotty Stevenson of TVNZ about the level this Irish team are now playing at, the injury issues and what decisions Farrell will have to make over the next few days, whether past World Cups or the series win in NZ are relevant, the Joe Schmidt factor, and who they see as the more likely winner.
Meanwhile, Ken is impressed by Ireland but is worried about the other nations, Murph says "I told you so" to Scotland and Simon caught up with Caelan Doris and Andy Farrell after the match in Paris.
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This week on the Second Captains World Service we discussed André Onana's transformation into a Just Stop Oil protestor, Shane Horgan pleaded with our Permutations Man to be quiet (!), while Eamon Carr joined us in studio to tell us of his life on the road with the Horslips, which included some run ins with John Law.
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All we ask of the Ryder Cup is that it be close… and if it’s not close, can we at least make sure that Rory McIlroy is picking fights in the car-park on the Saturday night?
Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times and Gavin Cooney from the 42 are back in studio to talk to us about Rory’s fightin’ talk, Patrick Cantlay’s cap, and why these things keep finishing in crushing wins for the home team.
There’s also a triumphant/boring return for Permutations Man, Marcus Aurelius, and five-team groups in the Rugby World Cup.
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The fastest current player in the Premier League, De Zerbi De Stroyed at Villa, and the psychology of charity penalties... just some of the things we talk about today before moving on to the main event of Referees and their Video Review helpers.
Miguel Delaney and Dion Fanning join us to pick through the entrails of the post-Spurs v Liverpool carnage.
Is this the biggest VAR mess yet? Does it have the potential to grow from an embarrassment into a genuine scandal? Are there solutions that can improve the current situation? Or - since VAR clearly doesn't work - is the obvious fix not just to... bin it altogether?
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This week on the Second Captains World Service we discussed the joys and high farce of the Ryder Cup, Kimmage told us some home truths, we look at some scary RWC permutations and we have a football show coming up on Thursday. Are Man United back?
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Thursday 21st September 2023 was Murph Day, as friends, family, colleagues and Fíor-Ghaels assembled in the Sugar Club in Dublin to celebrate the launch of his new book “This Is The Life”.
Ken, having read the book, realises there was a lot he didn’t know about his old pal – and now feels bad for constantly bringing up the county final Murph lost and played so terribly in, all those years ago.
Second Captains regulars Oisin McConville and Jamie Wall joined the party too to discuss the book, the GAA’s fetishisation of hardship, its use of emotional blackmail and why it is the perfect “third place”.
Plus there’s young Murph, selfish Murph, talented Murph, Tony’s van, “the anywheres”, and a live rendition of Frances Murphy’s TV guide.
“This Is The Life” is available in all good bookshops now, or available online here https://linktr.ee/CiaranMurphy
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Ireland showed guts and defiance in an epic battle against world champs South Africa, and while there's talk of the two teams meeting again in a final, have we all got too carried away with a win that doesn't even come close to getting us into a QF?
We get reactions from And-versity Farrell on their mental toughness, Tadhg Beirne on their lineout issues, Ryan Baird on what won it for Ireland, and SA head coach Jacques Nienaber on their decision to kick at goal so often, given they didn't pick a proven goal kicker.
We chat to Daily Maverick sport editor Craig Ray about some of SA's decision-making on and off the field of play and his theory on why they used their lineout and maul so rarely.
Andrew Trimble tells us what most pleased him about Ireland's performance, the display of James Lowe, the bench impact, the huge impact the Irish fans are having on this tournament and why this is so much bigger than just another pool win.
Plus there's permutations man and we discuss Zombie nation.
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Ireland managers down the years have got used to being asked whether there is anything they can learn from Rugby, but is it time to put those same questions to Mikel Arteta?
After the NLD post-mortem, we talk about why Chelsea are too big to fail and how Szoboszlai is ensuring that Jordan Henderson's reputation continues to crater. With apologies, there is a brief section about VAR.
The Ireland WNT started the Nations League campaign with a 3-0 win against Northern Ireland, in front of a record crowd of nearly 36,000 at the Aviva. Ken was there to see whether the team is ready to move on from Veraball.
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Graeme Souness joined us last week in the sold-out Olympia Theatre as part of our tenth birthday celebrations to discuss his philosophy on punditry.
We look at the many myths surrounding Mack Hansen's journey to Irish Rugby superstardom, and there's Gabriele Marcotti on how to rediscover the magic of the Champions League.
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Ken hasn't always pulled for the team of us but the anti rugby discourse is sending him the other way. Can Irish rugby hold onto its newest fan?
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about Ireland's improved lineout, their ability to cope with South Africa's defence, Andy Farrell's bench options, Fiji's demo job on Australia and if teams should fear England in a potential semi final.
Plus there's live show news, Dave Kilcoyne on Farrell's happy camp and Gloria Gaynor.
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"There's no new way to play football," Graeme Souness told us at the Olympia on Thursday night. But has anyone mentioned this to Roberto de Zerbi?
We talk about why Brighton's way of playing football really is new, and why some kneejerk voices in the MSM (Ken) are already turning on Erik ten Hag after what was, to be clear, only his second home league defeat in a year.
Then we talk to Paul Brown (@pbsportswriter), who has reported extensively on Everton's prospective new owners, 777 Partners, for Josimar magazine in Norway.
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Ireland briefly stuttered before romping to a feel-good win that included some under-12's tactics, a bit of Bundee brilliance, a lap of honour and Mack in his cacks.
We chat to Shane Horgan and World Cup winner Joel Stransky about how happy Andy Farrell and Sexton were afterwards, what we can learn from the Scotland SA game, why France will put the fear into the other teams and why don't more players kick drop goals, a la George Ford, especially considering they have won World Cups for SA (Stransky), England (Wilkinson) and NZ (Carter).
Plus there's smooth Sexton, how Ireland can beat the Boks and tears for Fiji.
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Things are not looking good.
Stephen Kenny, the preacher of revolution, outdone once again on the European battlefield by an opposing manager with an ability to tweak in-game tactics.
Ireland have lost four out of five in the group, bringing Ireland's total number of competitive defeats to 13 in 26 matches. Bare facts have begun to conspire against Stephen Kenny.
On today's Football Pod we are joined by Richie Sadlier and Damien Delaney. We talk through the tactical missteps and, respectfully, look towards the future.
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It was all about the Irish national teams this week on the World Service. First up, the Irish Football team who fly into Paris for their Euro qualifier against the French as lambs for the proverbial slaughter - if Richie and the lads are to be believed.
More hope, maybe, for the rugby team as the Rugby World Cup kicks off on Friday with Ireland going in as slight favourites - if AI supercomputer data models are to be believed.
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It's a new week on the Second Captains podcast, one which features both the Irish soccer team playing France, and the start of our Rugby World Cup campaign. Ken finds out today that our football team are not, in fact, playing in the Stade de France for rugby reasons - a revelation which while late in arriving, we should offer thanks for arriving at all.
We talk to Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine about the new wave of American tennis talent that is in danger of taking over Flushing Meadows and the US Open. They seem completely uninhibited by the baggage of American tennis' underachievement of the last 20 years (Williams sisters besides) and are electrifying the already-raucous New York crowd.
There's also Carlos Alcaraz, whose AI tennis brain has bowled Caitlin over and Ken's thoughts on the 'Devil Genre'.
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On Saturday evening, Evan Ferguson became the first 18 year old to score a hat trick in 25 years. This is an incredible sporting achievement, so why does it seem like everyone's first instinct now is to start babbling about money? It actually wasn't always this way..
After Arsenal's late surge to victory against Manchester United we discuss Mikel Arteta's new folksy wisdom-based communication style, and wonder how Jadon Sancho thought it was a good idea to post that message disputing his coach's account of why he didn't make yesterday's squad.
Andrew Mangan and Lars Sivertsen join us to talk about the weekend's football. Four games into his Arsenal Premier League career, how happy are Arsenal fans with Declan Rice? Are there worrying indications that Erik Ten Hag might be about to jump over the fence (baby)? And, when you get right down to it, is Evan Ferguson better than Erling Haaland?
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This week on the world service we covered the Vera Pauw saga, looked on in horror at the Rubiales family dynamic, built up to Bohs V Rovers with Declan Devine, and looked at the mess that's left when the worlds of American Football, the deep south, conservatorships and Hollywood collide.
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Another day, another Second Captains presenter making their way to a swiftcare clinic - this time it's brave Ciaran Murphy. What's the prognosis, soldier?
There were no surprises in Andy Farrell's World Cup squad, but Cian Healy's omission is a blow to their chances. We talk to Andrew Trimble about the time he missed out on the 2015 RWC, how to play Joe Schmidt, the team's patchy form in the warm-ups, and, after two positive doping tests over the weekend, whether he thinks rugby has a potentially huge issue with performance-enhancing drugs.
Plus there's Femke Bol's redemption and fans with typewriters.
Oh, Eddie. Half an hour in, Trent Alexander-Arnold was having one of the worst games of his career. At full-time he was hailing "one for the ages", as Darwin Nuñez' late double fired Liverpool to one of their best-ever Premier League wins.
Ken has finally sat down to watch some of the Newcastle documentary and is wowed by the genius of the corporate titans now running NUFC. But can the show give any indication as to what might be happening with Al Ittihad's reported pursuit of Mohamed Salah?
John Brewin and Dion Fanning join us to talk through the weekend's football. Where does Darwin stand after that immortal glory show? Is Eddie Howe's approach turning out to be a bit belt-braces-and-hands-in-pockets for St James' Park? Where did it all go wrong for Brighton against West Ham? And are comeback kings Manchester United building momentum - or papering over the cracks?
This week we hit all corners of the podcast world, from brave journalism in the mixed zone to to Ken wondering if maybe a famous GAA coach is the devil .Enjoy at your leisure.
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Spain are the women's World Cup champions - a victory for both the universally-admired Spanish coaching system and for one not-very-admired Spanish coach in particular.
Mark Critchley and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk through the weekend's football.
Chelsea crashed and burned at West Ham - teething problems or a portent of doom? Critch saw Manchester City defang Newcastle, with Phil Foden exceptional - where is he likely to be playing this season?
Meanwhile, Wilson was at Spurs to see the liftoff of Angeball. What are the early signs of the new approach at Tottenham? Can Richarlison replace Harry Kane as the centre-forward? And why do Manchester United seem surprised to find themselves playing Premier League matches already?
Ireland eased to a comfortable RWC warm up win over England, but the moment that had everyone cheering was Keith Earls' tumble-try which reminded us all how much he is loved, how fit he is and how good he is at rugby.
We chat to Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent about Earls' chances of making the squad, Mack and Lowe's magnificent creations, Ireland's lineout woes and Dan Sheehan's injury issues.
Plus there's awful England, Rhasidat's run and Ken's 2007 Stephen Jones/Andrew Sheridan RWC memories.
Legendary broadcaster Michael Parkinson has died, aged 88. Today we re-release an interview we did with him in 2014, looking back on an unrivalled journalistic career which all started with him writing about football for his local newspaper in Barnsley. He went on to become a well respected sports columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times, and was named sports writer of the year in 1998.
In his early days on the beat in Yorkshire he came across Arthur Hopcraft, who wrote one of the greatest sports books of all time, “The Football Man”, which Parkinson wrote the foreword for. The two were friends for life, sharing a similar philosophy on the game.
We talked to Michael about Hopcraft, football's relevance to English society in the 50's and 60's, why it still matters, writing about the game at a time of huge upheaval, how George Best changed everything and why the modern game held little joy for him.
We join all those today saluting one of the greatest broadcasters of all time.
A while back we dared to dream of Rugby World Cup semis and finals, but a proper look at the draw soon sobered us up as the reality of facing France or a fast-improving NZ in a QF hit home. Now with Scotland beating and then pushing France close in successive weekends, we're getting increasingly worried about making it out of the pool stages (and let's not even mention Tonga for now).
We ask Tom English, chief sportswriter with BBC Scotland, If Scotland are now the fifth-best team in the world, and why he thinks they have a better chance of beating South Africa than of beating Ireland.
France just about won the game on Saturday but lost two stars, Romain Ntamack and Cyril Baille, to injury. This is the first major blow to their long-term plan to win a home world cup - are France finally feeling the pressure?
Owen Farrell has run out of "tackle school" tokens and faces a ban after his latest reckless challenge, this time on Wales' Taine Basham. We ask why so many players are losing their discipline when their RWC place depends on them keeping it.
The opening weekend hasn't even finished and Ken already wants to walk back Thursday's top four predictions. Is he getting carried away by one 90 minute Newcastle demolition job? The next couple of games will tell us a lot.
We talk about the continued transfer frenzy as Chelsea aim to follow up their signing of Moises Caicedo by adding Romeo Lavia - who Liverpool have forlornly gone back to - and, it says here, Michael Olise.
Rich Jolly and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to talk about the opening weekend. Do Chelsea have just the right type of squad to bring the best out of Mauricio Pochettino? Can anyone understand how Chelsea can afford what they're doing? And how do Spurs really feel about selling Harry Kane to Bayern?
Whether you're ready for it or not, the Premier League is back with Burnley taking on the treble winners Manchester City tomorrow night. We caught up with Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin to ask all the important questions ahead of the upcoming season - Can anyone lay a glove on City? Is England's Declan Rice the man to help Arsenal kick on even further? And can anyone make as big a mess of it as Ken did with last season’s predictions?
Plus, it's been a roaringly successful Synth Week on the World Service with the listener entries pouring in.
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Caelan Doris was the clear man of the match for Ireland at the weekend, but the most important performance came from outhalf Jack Crowley. His season ended well with Munster, and he continued that good form against Italy. Is he now ahead of Ross Byrne?
We chat to Shane Horgan about World Cup warm ups, trying too hard, the back three contenders, dangerous Scots and how Farrell, Catt and O'Connell's horrible experiences at World Cups might be shaping the easy breezy approach this time around.
Johnny Sexton will play in a training match against Portugal this week but because of his ban it is most definitely not a game of rugby he is taking part in.
Plus there's hat trick hero Amy O'Connor, the. battle of Bayonne and peno shootout drama.
We have entered the individual award part of the GAA Season aka ''silly season''. Where once this was all we had to get us through the dark winter, now we have the Club Championship and sure it's not even winter! But those factors aside it seems that individualism still holds a powerful candle in the collective world of the GAA. As we saw this week when tweets and talk turned to the POTY debate.
The other great culture war that is this summer tearing at the fabric of our society revolves around two blockbuster films of no semblance to each other. Barbie and Oppenheimer. We sent Ken to watch and review one of them.
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Ireland's World Cup campaign came to an end with a clean sheet, a point, and a public disagreement between the manager and captain.
Gavin Cummiskey joins us from Brisbane to report on Pauw's last press conference of this World Cup, in which she revealed details of a heated in-game exchange with Katie McCabe about who should get substituted next. As for Katie's side of this developing story - she's not giving much away...
We also talk to Oluwashina Okeleji, who looks forward to Nigeria's likely second-round encounter with England.
Dublin are All-Ireland champions again, and if this was James McCarthy, Mick Fitzsimons and Stephen Cluxton's ninth medal, it was celebrated as if it was their first.
Our crack analysis team of Michael Murphy and Paul Flynn talk to us about why this meant so much to Dublin, their mentality monsters, and how the day went so badly wrong for David Clifford. We also discuss Jack McCaffrey's impact, Brian Fenton's composure and Mick Fitzsimons' ultimate vindication.
Plus there's the BBC's GAA outreach programme, a celeb-laden halftime show, tactile McDevitt, and taking a whack on the cheekbone for the Dubs.
What's your man Early like? A regular question posed to the non Ken Early members of the Second Captains team. In this week's Taster episode Eoin and Murph give some thoughts on their colleague - mainly that he's a bloody Pedant.
While Oisin McConville joined our front-liners Paul Flynn and Michael Murphy for a very special All Ireland final preview.
We also tripped back in time to 1979 to hear how a young Ronnie Whelan - then playing for Home Farm - led out an Irish team against the Basque Country in what was a very hot political atmosphere.
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After Brazil defeated Panama 4-0 with lashings of jogo bonito Ken has a stat from the opening 15 WWC matches that may surprise you.
Elsewhere, it's reported today that Saudi Arabia would like to spend a billion euros to have Kylian Mbappe grace the Pro League for a single season. How to make sense of this monetary madness?
We talk about the Saudi bid with reference to a recent piece by the historian Quinn Slobodian which took a big-picture view of the Kingdom's bid for the future. Can those who profit from climate change.... save us from climate change?
Limerick's four-in-a-row was secured in Croke Park yesterday in thrilling style, and Jamie Wall and Malachy Clerkin are with us today to answer a question being more and more insistently asked - are Limerick the best ever?
We congratulate Ken on Limerick's success while he studies the hurling history books and explains why Kilkenny's Cody era is not all it was cracked up to be.
And we look at some extraterrestrial performances in the Tour de France and the madness of rain delays in cricket.
The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand kicked off this week, and Ireland are down but certainly not out after an opening-day loss to the hosts. Our man, Ken Early, couldn't be there in person, but he joined us from our studios, huddled around a not-so-tiny TV to watch the game. Meanwhile, Sinéad O'Carroll was on the ground in Sydney, capturing the mood music surrounding the game and the shock in the press box as news broke about Australia losing their star player.
Closer to home, it's All Ireland Hurling Final weekend with Limerick and Kilkenny set to clash in what could be some inclement weather conditions. Much to the glee of our senior analyst Jamie Wall.
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Three more days till Ireland kick-off in the 2023 World Cup and Denise O’Sullivan looks likely to make it after Friday’s injury scare.
In the meantime, there are some typical July stories. Why did Harry Maguire feel the need to comment extensively on losing the Man United captaincy? How much will PIF charge PIF for Allan Saint-Maximin?
And why did Memphis Depay’s message in support of Benjamin Mendy seem to strike a chord with so many famous footballers?
It’s the height of summer so that means choices must be made; do you watch the All-Ireland semi-finals, the latest stage in the Tour de France or the epic Wimbledon Final?
Thankfully, for you, both Eoin and Ken have had eyes on all events, with Eoin even managing to appear in the flesh at two of the aforementioned peak summer sporting highlights.
To chat about the weekend's Gaelic Football the old-school dream team of Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn join us on the line. As we reflect and also look ahead to what could be a mic-drop final for Cluxton and co.
While Ken details how he once lost €100k* on a Roger Federer Wimbledon Final, forever tainting his view of the white blazer-wearing Swiss man. He does though like this Alcaraz kid.
*not real money
Welcome to a sample of the Second Captains World Service which this week includes Malachy Clerkin and Jamie Wall running the rule over a mouth-watering Hurling weekend that was, with Murph asking are Kinnerk and Kiely the best 'in-game' management duo the GAA has ever seen? With Down and Meath facing off in the Tailteann Cup Final this coming weekend, we take a trip back in time to when a Young dorky Murph and young athletic Shane Horgan had 1 thing in common – the 1991 All Ireland Final The first one either had attended. Murph was smuggled in, while Shane earned his spot by coming through a gruelling, ruthless Meath mini 7’s combine. And with the World Cup now within touching distance we continue to bring the Hype.
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This Ireland under 20s rugby squad have achieved a lot on the field, but off it have had to deal with a series of tragedies connected to the playing group, including the sudden death of Greig Oliver, whose son Jack plays with the team.
We talk to Irish Independent rugby correspondent Ruaidhri O'Connor about the team's ability to cope, the performances that have got them this far, and some of the stand-out stars who look destined for bigger things.
Murph was in Croker this weekend and once again found himself juggling the hurling action with cricket updates, all in the company of some esteemed guests. With Kilkenny in the final again, and Galway left behind, did Henry back the wrong horse?
Plus there's 145kg humans, some worryingly good form shown by NZ and SA, Eddie Jones' hatred of smart arses and Murph bids farewell to Hoggwatch.
In one month and one day, the Premier League 2023/’24 season will commence with Manchester City’s away day in Burnley. Will Connemara’s Harry Kane be taking his place in the Greatest League On Earth, for another season of scoring lots of goals and winning no trophies - or will he be off to Munich?
One man who is out the gap is the last survivor of the Alex Ferguson era. David De Gea’s departure means that for the first time since the relegation season of 1973-74, United in 2023-24 will not feature anyone who has made an appearance for the Glasgow titan. And so the sands of time shift on…
Ken also has some breaking news in the quite literal sense. An injury picked up over the course of the weekend has seen the Flame-Haired-Flame-Thrower-Of-Truth struck down and questions now need to be asked over whether or not he is fit to make it down under for the World Cup.
Welcome to a sample of the Second Captains World Service which this week includes a Ken Early sit-down interview with Irish Captain; Katie McCabe, a happy Paul Flynn chats all things Rampant Dubs and academic and author, Mark Jones joins Ken for a Politics Pod based around his new book; 1923. The Forgotten Crisis in the Year of Hitler's Coup
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As Ireland get ready for their last World Cup warm-up game against France this Thursday, The Athletic has published a long investigative piece about Vera Pauw's time as coach of Houston Dash back in 2018.
The article includes comments from several players and staff members who worked at the club under Pauw and also an interview with the Ireland coach. We talk through some of the claims and counter-claims that have been made.
We also discuss FIFA's plan to trial Arsene Wenger's latest idea for ruining the game, before going through some of what's been going on in the transfer window of the £60 millions.
Murph is of course a true gael, but also the only known link between the GAA world and the cricket world. So with bazball, boos, allegations of cheating and four QF's in croker, he's had a busy weekend.
Twelve boxers, five medals, two champions; it was a very goodtrip to the European Games in Poland for Ireland's boxers with five now qualified for next year's Olympics in Paris, including Olympic and world champ Kellie Harrington.
We chat to The42's Gavan Casey about the fallout from Kellie's controversial tweet in October 2022 and her tetchy, awkward interview on Off The Ball in March of this year. In the absence of any real clarity from Kellie on that tweet, we wonder is her reputation treading water until she speaks about it again.
We also discuss Zaur Antia's incredible record as a coach and what Amy Broadhurst - who failed to qualify for Paris through these Games - has to do now to get to the Olympics.
And Ken and Murph discuss Elon's hate hose and pray that one day he will switch it off.
Robbie Keane's coaching career, which includes short spells at Leeds, Boro, Ireland and India - hasn't hit the heights so far, which makes his move to Maccabi Tel Aviv especially intriguing.
We chat to Jonathan Wilson about coach Keane, Declan Rice's future plans and what a total failure PSG"s Mbappe-Neymar-Messi project has been.
Plus there's Branno at the wheel, and we give excuse after excuse for our pathetic display in the Fair Play Cup - organised by the UNHCR & SARI (Sport Against Racism Ireland) as part of the first ever Refugee Week in Ireland.
The games, and the draws, are now happening at such break-neck speed that Eoin can barely keep up, but we endeavor to capture the madness of a manic weekend of Gaelic football with Michael Murphy and Paul Flynn.
Mayo are through, and Galway are out - Kildare rue a bundle of missed goal chances, and the Cork football revival continues apace. Monaghan are the team that will not die, and Tyrone are really starting to rumble. And we have Tyrone/Kerry and Dublin/Mayo to look forward to next weekend!
Plus there's the world's largest telescope, Portumna's status as the greatest club hurling team of all time, and Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow's unsuccessful charge at a major championship.
Welcome to a sample of the Second Captains World Service which this week includes Damien Delaney on how a coach loses the dressing room, Ireland's Eddie Dunbar on his issues with concussion and Michael Murphy's proud Donegal soul.
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Another major Sunday in contention, another heart-breaking end for Rory McIlroy. Many of us stayed up until 3am for this latest iteration of Rory's vale of tears, and that didn't help either.
Joe Callaghan and Lawrence Donegan join us to discuss whether this was even more difficult to take than St Andrews last year, if Rory needs a new voice in his camp he actually listens to, and what constitutes failure for a man of such sumptuous talent.
There was also Leona Maguire's second win on the LPGA Tour, with 4 birdies and an eagle in her last 6 holes, and there was drama closer to home as well as the Gaelic football championship finally sparked into life.
Tonight the Republic of Ireland take on Gibraltar in the 'more or less sold-out' Aviva Stadium - but the result in Athens on Friday night has cast its shadow right across the weekend… leading to a charged Press Conference on Sunday.
One of those Press Conference participants, James McClean, tonight makes his 100th appearance for Ireland. Alongside David Sneyd and Dion Fanning we chat about the trials and tribulations of McClean's career in England, and his unfaltering commitment to Ireland.
And so to tonight.... It's a no-win 'must win' game for Stephen Kenny and Ireland. But what of the future? What of the Project? Is Gibraltar to be the rock on which this era runs aground?
Welcome to a sample of the Second Captains World Service which this week includes a preview of the Greece Ireland Euro qualifier, the rise of the alien athlete, a close up of Rory-world, Dublin Murph, and the terrible movie that won't go away.
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Novak Djokovic won his 23rd Grand Slam event at the French Open yesterday but in truth that was only the final act of a hugely dramatic fortnight at Roland Garros.
Caitlin Thompson of Racquet magazine talks to us about Djokovic’s remarks about Kosovo, the toll being taken on Ukraine’s biggest tennis stars, and Russian and Belarusian players being ignored at the net.
We also discuss Kilkenny’s late winner in the Leinster hurling final, Murph’s ultimate humiliation, and our now regular 'look what new amazing thing Rhasidat Adeleke has just done' slot.
Manchester City made sure that Abu Dhabi could look Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the eye when the Persian Gulf powers reminisce about the 22-23 football season by delivering the club and the emirate's first Champions League win in Saturday's final in Istanbul.
We talk through the events of the game before Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson join us from Istanbul to discuss City's Treble.
How did they feel about the City supremacy? What is the future for Guardiola? Where does the game go from here?
Plus there's Julia Roberts' loyalty, Robbie's red hot form, Cannon's decision, Istanbul gridlock, and Ken's donkey.
After over 1000 games as a professional football manager, David Moyes has finally won his first major trophy. And what a time to do it, offering a much need reminder of the joy that still exists in this farcical world of ours.
We chatted about West Ham's last-minute heroics to claim the Europa Conference League trophy and why 'mickey mouse' tournaments like this are becoming all the more important. Lawrence Donegan and Gavin Cooney also joined us to pick apart the bombshell merger deal that continues to reverberate around the golfing world and beyond. Plus, in the middle of all this, lest we forget there's a Champions League final taking place and our man Ken will be on the ground in Istanbul covering it in style for the World Service.
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Two down, one to go for Manchester City, after they eased to FA Cup final victory over Manchester United.
We talk through some of the key moments of the final before Mark Critchley and John Brewin join us to reflect on where the defeat leaves United at the end of Erik ten Hag’s first season. Who should stay? who should go? and will they have to sell before they buy?
Plus there's Sancho the scapegoat and Londoners' problems with "The North.
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This week on the Second Captains World Service Murph Paul Flynn and Michael Murphy tried to find a way forward for Gaelic Football; a route that can take the game away from six minute periods of possession. Rule changes, mentality changes? Evolution.
In our Second Captains World Service 'I'll Tell You Who Wrote It'' Book Club, we focused on Christopher Mc Dougall's 'Born To Run', with Olympian Ciara Mageean.
And with the Most Important FA Cup Final in recent memory fast approaching we chatted with life-long Manchester Red, Nooruddean Choudry, author of Inshallah United.
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What you win is important, but so is how you do it and who you beat along the way, and Munster's gritty run away from home against The Stormers. The Sharks, Glasgow, Leinster and The Stormers again in the final in Cape Town have turned an up and down season into a great one.
We drag Barry Murphy away from the celebrations in Limerick to put this URC title in context, and Ruaidhri O'Connor joins us fresh off a flight from Cape Town to discuss the performance, the Hodnett try, the job this coaching team have done in one season and how it may influence Andy Farrell's extended World Cup squad, which is named later this week.
Plus there's "le block", Murph on a hot steamy weekend of hurling action and the f bomb cover up.
And Kevin "Branno" Brannigan is in studio to talk about his new documentary Kevin Moran: Codebreaker, which airs 9.35pm tonight, Monday 29th May, on RTE 1.
Everton live to get away with it another day after finding the relegation plughole already jammed with the soggy remnants of Leeds and Leicester. We trace some of the steps of Leicester's long sleepwalk to the Championship.
Erik ten Hag bewitched the Old Trafford crowd with his final-day address and we look at where one of his predecessors went wrong.
Raphael Honigstein joins us to talk about the final day of the Bundesliga, when Dortmund produced a mega-bottle to hand Bayern their 11th straight title. How did Oliver Kahn chief-executive his way out of the job? And is Thomas Tuchel sticking around to build the next Bayern team?
This week on the Second Captains World Service football man Damien Delaney and our own Ken Early finally went head to head in heated debate the motion: Is Trent at centre mid the long-term solution to Liverpool’s problems? We were also joined in studio by the Jamie Wall / Malachy Clerkin punditry axis. The best duo in the business.
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Jose Mourinho once said, with a nod to Hegel: the truth is in the whole. We try to apply that spirit to today’s Salute The Champions podcast.
We also talk about the international incident that has been sparked by the racist abuse and controversial sending off of Vinicius Jr at Valencia last night.
Leinster once again had a lead against La Rochelle, once again went behind late on, once again were handed a yellow card lifeline, and once again lost a heartbreaking epic Champions Cup final. We herald a truly great coach and leader in O'Gara, pick through the wreckage for Leinster and look at the possible impact on Ireland at the Rugby World Cup.
Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor join us to discuss the psychological ebb and flow, why Leinster couldn't change the plan mid-game, the tunnel incident, eye contact at the toin coss, the Drop Goal plan and if ROG is a cert for the Ireland job.
Plus a listener reveals how Murph and the Second Captains Hurling cadre changed the course of his weekend and in doing so opened his eyes to the power and the glory of Munster Hurling.
This week on the Second Captains World Service we spoke about movies about crisps, the rigs on refs, cold killers Man City (with Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson); we also previewed Leinster V La Rochelle with a worried Shane Horgan and chatted penos and the group stages of the football championship with Paul Flynn and Michael Murphy.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan was in studio with us to talk about his new book "Unbreakable". We discuss his career, his childhood, his father, his complicated relationship with success and the decision that almost derailed his career. Here is a taster.=
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Munster have finally beaten Leinster, in an epic, in the Aviva, at a stage in knock-out competition where they’ve fallen short time and time again. No wonder Jack Crowley channeled his inner Ronan O’Gara as he wheeled away in celebration after his winning drop goal.
Friend of the show, former Munster centre and Live 95 commentator Barry Murphy, joins us today to talk about what a lift this gives his old team before the final against the whoopin' hollerin' Stormers of Cape Town. We discuss Munster's transformation under Rowntree, Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy, Earls' lazarus-like recovery, and Leinster's haunted dreams.
We also look at the pressure that was on the Ireland women's sevens team to make it to the 2024 Olympics, how they coped, and what hope they have of getting a medal in Paris.
And there was a marathon Ulster football final which was completely overshadowed by allegations made against Rory Gallagher.
I know it's over, still I cling, I don't know where else I can go... actually, many of the Arsenal fans at the Emirates had already left the ground by the 90-minute mark and never got to see Roberto de Zerbi's triumphant knee slide to celebrate Brighton's third, salt-rubbing goal.
We discuss the pretty-much-end of the title race and Arsenal's prospects for next season, with mentions for Matt Damon, Charlton Heston and Eddie Howe.
Then we're joined by John Brewin and Lars Sivertsen to talk about the weekend's action. How do they interpret the end of Arsenal's challenge? How did Southampton get it all wrong this season? And how is Lars dealing with Norway's sudden, unexpected domination of the Premier League?
Ulster were firm favourites to beat Connacht at home in the URC QF's but Andy Friend's side out-thought and out-fought their opponents in what feels like a significant result for both sides. Why do Ulster continue to struggle in knockout games and why does the province provide so few players to the Irish set up? Gerry Thornley joins in studio to look at what Connacht have done on and off the pitch in recent times, and if an injury-hit Munster can have any optimism against Leinster in the SF next week.
We look at how Terenure have become the template for others to follow by rebuilding the club top to bottom over the last 10 years, resulting in a 50 point drubbing for defending champions Clontarf in the All Ireland League final at the Aviva.
We also hear from one lucky man holidaying with Shane Curran in the Bay of Naples, and the GAA GO controversy rumbles on, with RTE getting hit hard on this issue... by two of their own flagship programmes, Liveline and The Sunday Game.
Eddie Howe was left choking on thick creamy spoonfuls of his own medicine as Arsenal gamesmanshipped their way to glory at St James' Park. Might a change in approach benefit the angry Mags?
We discuss Martin Ødegaard's team-of-the-season credentials, David de Gea's nightmare at West Ham - and whether the unexpected disorder of the last few minutes against Leeds is a distant rumble of thunder in Man City's clear blue sky as they prepare for the defining match of their season.
Then Gavin Cooney joins us in studio to talk about the recent story involving the FAI's request for a new distribution of betting tax to involve sports other than horse and greyhound racing. What is this controversy about? Can anyone say for sure where the government funds for horse and greyhound racing are coming from? And are the FAI being accused of getting the tone wrong?
This week on the Second Captains World Service we spoke about the departure of Souness, Steph's shithousing, Big Sam's return, Klopp's manners, Keys and Gray on Messi, Dublin bias, Frank LLLLLampard and lots more.
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Limerick were beaten by Clare this weekend....but the game wasn't on terrestrial TV? Murph defends GAA Go, and wonders if this might be the year when a very good Munster county gets knocked out of the championship. Waterford are gone, but could the All Ireland champs also be in trouble?
Leinster once again outplayed and outsmarted Toulouse in the European Cup, and once again face La Rochelle in the final. Leinster have improved this season, but Shane Horgan explains why he thinks ROG's team will be favourites.
Gerry Thornley also joins us in studio to discuss Jack Conan's form and fitness, Josh Van Der Flier's role in Neti's yellow card, the dangers of a 6-2 bench split, why it wasn't a sellout and if the IRFU need to rethink their strategy on separating the 7s and 15s women's teams.
Seeing her brother Nhat walk out for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics as Ireland’s number 1 badminton player inspired Thammy Nguyễn to revive her own olympic weightlifting dream, which she’d left on the back burner to run her business and start a family. Now, after winning bronze at the European Championships, Thammy has taken a giant leap forward in her hopes to join her brother in Paris next year.
We welcomed both Nhat and Thammy onto the World Service this week to chat about their background, how sport helped them assimilate into Irish life and how a certain Stephen Cluxton played a role in Nhat’s early badminton career.
Plus, we get into whether the Limerick hurlers have done much to rehab their reputation since last week and how this current Man City team matches up against the great treble winning United squad of 1999.
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We start today's show with a life-changing email for Murph who realises he's been getting it all wrong, all along.
The All-Ireland senior football championship went all-out this weekend with ten games in four provinces - Paul Flynn and Michael Murphy talk us through the highlights including Damien Comer’s tour de force, Donegal’s limp exit, the shambles in Meath, and Armagh rediscovering their mojo (for 1 half, at least).
And we discover just what Ken gets up to when the shackles are off.
With Arsenal chasing the title on Friday and FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday and Sunday, this weekend was never going to be about Spurs. And yet here we are.
We look back at a very special performance by both sides at St James Park.
We also talk about whether de Zerbi is standing on the shoulders of giants (or Graham Potter) at Brighton and why proper football people don't use Google.
Ken has been beating the Trent Alexander-Arnold to central midfield drum for quite some time, to a mixed response from listeners and pundits alike. However, with Liverpool struggling for form Jurgen Klopp saw fit to test this theory against Leeds United, leading to a good display from Trent. Our man saw fit to bask in the glow of vindication.
Plus there’s Mal and Jamie Wall on whether Limerick push the rulebook too far while asserting their dominance on the rest, and why everyone loves Todd Boehly.
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Monaghan weren't many people's idea of a likely winner in their Ulster championship quarter-final against Tyrone in Omagh yesterday, but in a manner befitting the best, most ignorant traditions of their proud county, they did the business, winning a thriller 2-17 to 1-18.
One of the people who did believe they could do it though was Colin Walshe, former All-star and Monaghan team captain, and he joins us in studio to talk to us about the ageless, irrepressible Conor McManus, the tactical tweaks that made it such an entertaining game, and fly-keepers.
Eoin salutes the mad-cap number 1s making the Ulster championship such a thrilling watch, and we discuss why Ulster has been the hotbed from which most of the new tactical evolutions in the game have sprung.
Unai Emery could have been a local hero in a city somewhat further to the north, but the Fate that watches over Eddie Howe decreed otherwise. Now the Aston Villa Express is functioning perfectly - except for the brakes - while poor Dan Burn discovers that the revolution devours its children.
We discuss Arsenal's latest collapse, Man City's menacing new vibe and some of the initial remarks from Joan Laporta's big Negreira press conference.
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Miguel Delaney join us to talk more about the weekend's football. Have Arsenal blown it? How can we explain Brighton's increasing success despite the talent drain they've had to deal with? And how does a club go from smart to stupid?
Call it ‘cosmic consciousness’ or ‘capturing the zeitgeist', but it just so happened to have been a very American week on the World Service. We hear Ken’s scorching takes on The Masters and rev up the campaign to get him over in Augusta as soon as possible. We also take a look at the green shoots for the Ireland Women’s team, even after a couple of losses against the US in our World Cup warm-up series.
Plus, there’s Todd Boehly’s brash over-optimism around Chelsea, as well President Joe Biden’s gaff-ridden visit to our fair city.
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A great match at Anfield ended in a Pyrrhic non-victory for both sides, and a return, oh yes, of the eternal Trent Alexander-Arnold discourse. Maybe we will never agree on what the solution is for Trent - move to midfield? several years national service? - but we can agree that with Man City now on a run of eight wins in a row, while Guardiola gives a masterclass in how to stop a top team going stale, it's looking ominous for Arsenal's title chances.
What an afternoon for Roberto de Zerbi at Tottenham: a defeat, four huge calls going against his team, a red card that might ban him from the touchline for the FA Cup semi-final, and an official apology from the referees' company. Brighton have had three apologies in 2023 from PGMOL - is it time for some accountability?
Andrew Mangan and Richard Jolly join us to talk more about the game at Anfield. Did Arteta overestimate the Anfield factor? Why do Liverpool need to be disrespected before they wake up? And is it really OK for officials to elbow players now?
Frank Lampard returning to Stamford Bridge as interim manager is a twist nobody saw coming, in a season that’s already been packed with surprises. While we wait with giddy anticipation for Franks's presser, we have a chance to look back over the week that was on the Second Captains World Service.
Unlikely podcasting partners Joe Brolly & Dion Fanning stopped by the studio to chat about their new project ‘Free State’. Ken and Murph chatted to them about Gurus, Twitter madness and GAA exceptionalism. We play a short extract today.
Plus, Ken sees an opportunity to add some drama to his life - Netflix documentary style.
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The moon boot, the limp, the grimace of pain - Katie McCabe looked badly injured against Bayern in the Champions League on Wednesday night, but played 80 minutes and scored a beauty against Man City this weekend. We were all fooled, except for one Second Captains presenter.
Ulster didn't do much wrong in the rain against Leinster and still couldn't get within two scores. We chat to Lions, Ireland and Leinster backrower Jack Conan about playing in a downpour, his red hot form over recent weeks and the good friday QF against Leicester.
We also discuss Munster melting in the African sun and why we it will be a long time before the Irish women's team will be compettiive again.
There are seasons when nothing happens and there are weekends when seasons happen... the weekend just gone left us with a lot to get stuck into on today's pod.
Graham Potter's nightmare is over, Brendan Rodgers too has skiied off leaving Leicester to fight their way out of the relegation zone without him, and an angry Manchester United fan has been in touch demanding the smooth head of Erik ten Hag.
We discuss why Newcastle players run so much, and why Liverpool players don't, before John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk about why didn't it work out for Potter. Can Nagelsmann skate straight in and sort it all out? Where does Brendan Rodgers go next? And do they agree with Ken's sick FSG apologism?
On Saturday evening Sligo play Wicklow in the Div 4 league final, and it will be an emotional occasion for all involved as it falls on the one-year anniversary of the death of Red Óg Murphy, a hugely talented Sligo and DCU footballer.
Last year, aged 21 and just a few days before he was due to collect an award for being named in the Sigerson Cup Team of the Year, Red Óg died by suicide.
Today we welcome his parents Geraldine and Redmond into studio to talk about his life, his career as a footballer, his impact on them and the community, how they are processing it all now, and why they wanted to talk to us on the show.
If you’re affected by anything you hear please ask for help from groups such as the Samaritans or Pieta House. You can go to samaritans.ie or call them on 116123. For Pieta go to pieta.ie or call them on 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444
Ken went on the attack in the wake of Ireland’s gallant scoreboard-defeat / moral-victory against France on Monday night. Yes, the image of Jason Molumby prowling around the Aviva launching into tackles and revving up the crowd was great to see, but the overriding emotion following the game was one of frustration. How can we keep doing this to ourselves? Will this anger spur us on to greener pastures, or are we doomed to side-pass our way in circles forever more?
Plus, we ponder why Dublin are getting the old band back together, why is freed from desire played so quickly and what is the best stadium song of all?
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Stephen Cluxton's desire to lead a quiet life is constantly being undermined by his habit of dropping major bombshells in the most dramatic fashion possible.
His return to the Dublin senior football squad over-shadowed much if not all of the football played yesterday - but salt a de earth true Dub Eoin McDevitt isn't sure it's the right idea.
On the field, Oisin McConville guided Wicklow back to Division 3, winning promotion on a tension-filled last day. We welcome him back to the podcast to talk about the steep learning curve, the stuff he got wrong, and the priorities for teams in his position.
Ireland have Evan Ferguson, Bossman Steo, a fan base that loves their team again and Ken argues that France's 4-0 win over the Netherlands is, surprisingly, yet another reason for us to be hopeful! But as the World Cup finalists comes to town we have oh so many fears too - welcome to our Ireland V France preview show!
Is Kenny a slave to the system to the detriment of the team's chances? Is there a chance Evan Ferguson won't start? And will Nathan Collins' fast mind beat Mbappe's fast feet?
We chat to Philippe Auclair about France's destruction of The Netherlands, turmoil in the French FA and Deschamps' homework on the plucky Irish.
We also discuss the Griezzmann - Mbappe fake news, Ireland's possession game, fault de Giles, and "stone age stuff".
Marvin Gaye was many things to many people; a motown legend, a sex symbol, a tortured soul, a voice who spoke truth to power in 1970s America.. but not too many will be familiar with his stint as a boxing manager. Matthew Allen joined us on the World Service this week to talk about the piece he wrote for Rolling Stone detailing the night his fighter Andy Price went up against the great Sugar Ray Leonard and how it became the fight of Marvin Gaye’s life.
Plus there’s reaction to Evan Ferguson's full debut for Ireland as well as Ken’s dive through the language barrier in search of cracks within the French Football camp.
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Antonio Conte took the opportunity of a 3-3 draw at Southampton to point the finger at the real enemy - all the losers and failures who have represented Tottenham on the field for the last 20 years. How can even a great coach such as he be expected to overcome the mediocrity which is hard-wired into the very bone marrow of Spurs?
We also talk Evan Ferguson, Arsenal’s too hot for broadcast title challenge, and the disappointing quality of the secret football IP which is leaking out of the super-FCB clubs.
Even with a grand slam fresh out of the oven and a historic series win over NZ in his back pocket, Andy Farrell was already looking ahead to the World Cup in his post-match press conference on Saturday evening; unlike other big Irish moments in the past, this one felt more like the start of something, rather than the end.
We get Andrew Trimble and Shane Horgan on to put this title in context, to explain why Ireland played so badly for an hour, to examine the evolution of Johnny Sexton and to marvel at Ireland's ability to get out of sticky situations.
We discuss the Freddie Steward red card, Ireland's incredible defence ad discipline stats and how nice it is to see the players be backed to express themselves, on and off the pitch.
Grand Slam weeks don't come around too often (for now) so we went all out this week with Connacht's Andy Friend dropping by on Wednesday to chat about Mack Hansen's Snake Hips, versatility and general ‘looseness’.
Fresh from offering the best analysis around on the Gary Lineker Tweet debacle, Ken dusted down his Columbus Egg as proof he had been right about Trent Alexander-Arnold all along.
Plus, there’s Guardiola on how a Julia Roberts trip to Old Trafford both hurt and motivated him in equal measure.
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Gary Lineker's brief exile from Match of the Day has ended in an apologetic climbdown by the BBC director general Tim Davie, after the immediate support shown by his colleagues in BBC Sport checkmated the broadcaster.
We talk today about aspects of the affair. Was the tweet that got Lineker in trouble really so outrageous? And what does the BBC's commitment to impartiality mean in a media landscape where nobody believes in anyone else's impartiality?
There was all manner of things thrown at the Ireland team in Murrayfield but as fans and pundits are coming to realise, this team don’t panic.
We chat to Stuart Barnes and Shane Horgan about the invention, versatility and deep confidence this side displays, and we ask if there is any way England, who got dismembered by France, can pull things around in a week.
We marvel at Peter O’Mahony’s clarity of thought, Jack Conan’s modesty, Mack Hansen’s creativity and Scotland’s mental and physical collapse.
Plus Murph quenches his Quaich thirst and we put Rhasidat Adeleke’s latest achievement in context.
Much admired long-time zoom contributor, first-time live guest, Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine, joined us in The Brass Monkey in New York’s Meatpacking District. Caitlin regaled us with tales from John McCain’s election tour bus ‘The Straight Talk Express’ and how that experience convinced her to drop political reporting in favour of sports journalism.
Plus there’s an extract from our chat with Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster ahead of our game with Scotland as well as a deep dive from Ken into the fallout from the 7-0 at Anfield.
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We've arrived in New York, eaten a hot dog, and made our way straight to the Ghostbusters building to record today's show.
All five of us are on air at the one time (for the first time ever?) a7.51.130nd we have a chat about that scary day 10 years ago when we left Newstalk for pastures unknown.
Eoin warns us about Slimer, Mark does his Michael Jordan hall of fame speech, Murph talks about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure a bit too much, Simon explains the art of the deal and Ken talks in flight movies.
We love you all, thanks for sticking with us, more shows coming from New York this week.
Ken watched but did not understand what he saw at Anfield today as previously weak, fragile, inconsistent Liverpool turned this game into a massacre.
Ten Hag called it unprofessional, which, considering the source, may be the deepest cut of all for Man United. Ken wades into the errors and the implications of this historic defeat.
Salah was brilliant today, which begs the question - where has he been all season?
We talk to Ryan Hunn of the Stadio podcast and Wrighty's House about an epic comeback win for Arsenal.
Plus there's mystic Souness, Gunnersauras TV and Ken calls the title, again.
In 2014 the Dubs lined out against Donegal in the All-Ireland Senior Football Semi-Final. Paul Flynn was clipping scores from all angles as Dublin paraded their personal brand of rock-and-roll Gaelic Football. Unknown to the Footballing public however was that the 3-14 that Michael Murphy’s Donegal were able to slip by them that day would set the course for a rebuild that saw Jim Gavin’s men go on a 45-game winning streak, notching 6 All Ireland Titles in the process.
We talked to Flynn and Murphy on the World Service this week about that fateful game in order to seek answers to Dublin's poor form at the moment.
Plus, we seek some clarity on exactly what the Italian band did to our poor anthem before last weekend's Six Nations game in Rome and there’s an extract from our chat with Ireland’s athletics superstar-in-waiting; Rhasidat Adeleke.
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Yesterday Erik ten Hag won the first trophy he could win as manager of Man United. Jose Mourinho also won the League Cup in his first season there - but this time it feels different, right?
We also talk about Graham Potter’s unfortunate habit of comparing his situation at Chelsea with Mikel Arteta’s early days at Arsenal.
Laurie Whitwell and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about the Carabao Cup final. Why did it never quite get going for Newcastle? How have the leopards in Manchester United’s dressing room managed to change their spots? And with Avram Glazer a visible presence at yesterday’s final, what is the latest on the takeover front?
Ireland's season, and all the good vibes surrounding this team, hung in the balance for long periods of the second half in Rome, but a brilliant 18-phase try, finished by Mack Hansen, won the game and kept the Slam dream alive.
We discuss Six Nations 7's rugby, Ireland's new midfield, Hugo Keenan's metres, Italy's brilliant attack, Scotland's failed comeback in Paris, Welsh gardening and anthem skulduggery.
And we digest listener feedback on our Full Swing episode, which was.... mixed.
Elite managers are an interesting bunch, often willing to die on the hill of protecting the brand of football that got them success in the first place. This week, as Klopp-ball stuttered to a halt, it’s become abundantly clear that some sort of change is required at Liverpool. Fortunately, we’re all about solutions on the World Service and suggest that maybe some salvation can be found in the teachings of the shapeless, formless, water-like outlier that is.. Carlo Ancelotti?
Plus there’s Shane Horgan’s startling Scottish fandom, a Ken injury newsflash, as well as a taste of our chat with Malachy Clerkin and Lawrence Donegan on the ups and downs of the new Netflix golf documentary ‘Full Swing’.
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Jarlath Burns is the new President-elect of the GAA. He's a former Ulster title-winning captain with Armagh, which already makes him a different animal to many GAA presidents. But as talk of a border poll in the North shows no sign of going away, having a man who has never been shy about expressing his opinions on a united Ireland will make for a very interesting few years ahead.
As Ireland prepare for stage 3 of their inevitable march to Grand Slam glory we discuss who is in and who is out of Farrell's squad for the trip to Rome.
The Welsh Rugby Union continue to hold the title of worst-run organisation in pro sports; in the wake of allegations of sexism and bullying, this week they face the possibility of the players going on strike for their Six Nations game against England in Cardiff. The Welsh players have given the WRU until Wednesday to meet their demands, and they aren't asking too much - they basically want to know if they have a rugby career beyond the end of this season! We discuss the story with Steffan Thomas of Wales Online.
Many listeners were enraged by last week’s premature doom mongering about Arsenal’s title hopes. After the Gunners’ Emi Martinez-inspired comeback at Villa, Ken deals with the fallout.
We also discuss the Man United takeover situation, why it’s not working for Graham Potter at Villa, and what to make of Darwin’s weird numbers.
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Richard Jolly join us to talk about the weekend’s football. Can anyone explain Marcus Rashford’s sensational form? Why do many Man United fans think they need Qatar? Will Graham Potter last the week at Chelsea? And is the departure of Lee Mason from PGMOL a good sign for the future of PL refereeing?
A new GOAT has entered the stable, the name; Patrick Mahomes. US Murph joined us in the aftermath of a Super Bowl for the ages to talk Mahomes playing through the pain barrier and Las Vegas Octopuses.
Over in London Town Arsenal’s title charge has continued to crumble, while closer to home it's Rovers' title to lose. Contenders ready.
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As Pep Guardiola begins to further resemble the Captain of a Pirate Ship, his crew at the Good Ship Etihad raised the Black Flag of Lord Pannick in what may just be the lamest Premier League moment yet.
Down in London where Pannick has yet to grip the streets, contented Chelsea Boss Graham Potter stayed too calm for some pundits. Could his easy-going ways be put down to the large pay-off which will surely come soon... or his healthy lunches?
We also chat Arsenal - Robbed!, Lord Palmerston's Famine record and the Gavin Bazunu situation.
Ireland came into this game as the disputed number 1 team in the world, but after Saturday's thrilling win over France few could argue they are now a special group with no limits to what they could achieve.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about how entertaining this game was, the ambitious coaching plan, Doris' 10/10, Ireland's fitness levels, whether they can be "worked out", the Atonio high hit, the squad depth and Ross Byrne's emergence as a reliable back up to Sexton.
Murph goes full JFK magic bullet on the Lowe try TMO angles.
Plus there's MOTM awards, Sexton's tears, Corcoran at full throttle and Lowe's Poker Face
Six Nations Fever is not the only ailment gripping the rugby world this week. An injury crisis has struck Ireland ahead of our clash with France and the Twickenham crowd seem to have come down with some gastrointestinal problems, according to one Clive Woodward.
We talk to Romain Bergogne of L’Equipe about how he sees the game playing out at the weekend, plus there's Dion Fanning and Miguel Delaney chatting to Ken about how important the Premier League's allegations against Manchester City may turn out to be.
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It was a thrilling opening weekend of the Six Nations with all six teams having their moments. Ireland made a fast start in Wales, then wobbled for a period, then impressively took back control. We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about Ireland's 18th win in 20 games and how nice it is to be the team that everyone else now hates.
We marvel at the clarity and ferocity of those opening 20 minutes, the detail required in attack, the performance of Hugo Keenan, how well Finlay Bealham and Ross Byrne did coming in for two all time greats, and where the team can and need to improve if they are to beat France.
After scoring some stunning tries to beat England, again, we ask if the Scots can change the script for round 2 against Wales, and if we can read much into France's issues with Italy.
And with the Glen - Crokes saga finally coming to a close, we are left with more questions than answers.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Stuart Hogg is back with a vengeance ahead of the 2023 Six Nations and Chelsea Football Club continue to break international transfer spending records. We tackle these issues on the World Service this week, as well as Ireland V Wales and Katie Taylor's Croke Park dreams being crushed.
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Yesterday's FA Cup matinee, The Assassination of Evan Ferguson by the Coward Fabinho, played to generally poor reviews. Audiences were turned off by the gratuitous bursts of mindless violence and absence of any justice or comeuppance for the perpetrators. Critics say the latest dark vision from the mind of policeman-turned-auteur Howard Webb, with its unsettling themes of child sacrifice and bankrupt authority, is perhaps still too far ahead of its time.
We discuss Man City's decision to let Joao Cancelo go on loan to Bayern Munich, with the option to make the move permanent in the summer. Why has Guardiola said goodbye to one of his best players of recent years?
And Sean Dyche has been confirmed as the new manager of Everton. Ken gives his immediate verdict on whether they will escape relegation.
Rory Mcilroy brightened up our Monday morning with a clutch 20-foot putt on the last to beat golf's number 1 heel, Patrick Reed, by 1 shot in the Dubai Desert Classic. We discuss clutch Rory and the horror of seeing the tee-throwing, subpoena-wielding, LIV golf-subscribing Reed going so close to beating the Irishman (and I mean an Irishman).
This year's Six Nations will have the number 1 and 2 ranked teams in the world, England under new management, a confident Scottish squad, a best ever Italian team and Wales getting the band back together under Gatland once again.
We chat to former England flyhalf Stuart Barnes about him rating Ireland as favourites, if we have maxed out on our talent, if Gatland can be as successful again without Shaun Edwards, why we all continue to underrate the Wales-Gatland dynamic, and if France can go back to back.
Plus there's a streaming speed hullabaloo and we wonder if Novak is emoting for real after his latest Australian Open triumph.
The All Ireland Senior Club Football Final is a big day in the calendar but nobody expected the result of Kilmacud Crokes and Glen to become the water cooler topic of the nation this week. We welcomed Paul Flynn & Michael Foley onto the show to discuss how farcical this has all been.
Plus there's Eddie Howe's likeness to Dr Frankenstein and how Hollywood has come knocking in Milltown Co, Galway.
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Kilmacud Crokes beat Glen of Derry to win the All Ireland Club Football Final this weekend, but footage shows they had 17 men on the pitch for the final play of the game. Should Glen appeal? Should the GAA offer a replay? Or should they go with Ken Early's suggestion and kick Kilmacud out of the competition altogether?
Munster scored one of the greatest tries in their history, away to Toulouse, thanks to a series of sharp passes and smart running lines. They lost the game but even in defeat gained energy, joy, excitement and hope that they can be a great side once again.... even if they have a horrible last 16 tie away to Siya Kolisi's Sharks.
We chat to Gavan Casey of The42 about World Champion Amy Broadhurst's defeat to Grainne Walsh in the National Elite Boxing Championship Finals, and what it means for Broadhurst's Olympic Qualification hopes.
And with Edinburgh failing to understand what they needed from their game against Saracens, permutations man feels compelled to have his say.
Mikel Arteta described Arsenal's 3-2 win over Manchester United as "increlliant" - which just about covers it.
Led by Saka and Zinchenko (thanks Pep!), Arsenal recovered from the gut punch of Marcus Rashford's brilliant opening goal to turn the game around and all but knock United out of the title race.
Andrew Mangan and David Sneyd join us to talk about the weekend's football. If Arsenal do win the title should Pep Guardiola get a medal for selling them Zinchenko? Did City's 3-0 defeat of Wolves suggest they might be about to go on one of their 18-match winning runs? And the question everyone is asking: who is better between Haaland and Ferguson?
We were delighted to welcome Ian Wright to the World Service this week to talk about Arsenal's hot streak, how he eventually came to find his voice in broadcasting, as well as the role of the modern striker - namely Haaland and our very own Evan Ferguson.
Plus there's US Murph on how it's often the humble kickers that shape lives and legacies.
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Starting with a McGrath Cup game for Kerry on January 5th, 2022, he played 34 games, scored 20-187 and won eight trophies from nine competitions. David Clifford has had a hell of a season.
Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times joins us to talk to us about Fossa’s win in the All-Ireland junior club final yesterday, and the travelling circus that has accompanied their route through the Kerry, Munster and All-Ireland championship, with crowds following Clifford wherever he went.
We also pay tribute to Paudie Clifford’s victory speech, comparing it favourably to Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame acceptance, and there’s also the return to top-class international rugby of Eddie Jones.
Manchester United surging back into title contention, Arsenal winning at Spurs, City and Liverpool losing on the same Saturday for the first time in ten years... is the long-established PL order transforming before our eyes?
But while many things thought solid are melting into air, other old truths remain: Chelsea are outspending everyone, Everton are engulfed in revolutionary tumult, and VAR is still happily inserting mistakes.
Miguel Delaney and Mark Critchley join us to talk about the Manchester and London derbies, whether Manchester City have what it takes to reel Arsenal in, and whether Jurgen Klopp is reaching the end of the road at Liverpool.
One of the great Irish sporting controversies dominated the World Service this week.. who really was at fault for the opening French goal in our 2-0 defeat in Paris in 1976?
There's also Ken's case for Bale's footballing immortality, as well as US Murph on what's making the Buffalo Bills' march to the NFL playoffs just so damn Hollywood.
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2023 is but a pup and already Irish rugby fans are fretting over the team's World Cup chances if Johnny Sexton isn't fit.
Since his switch to loosehead prop just over a year ago Andrew Porter has become almost as important to both Leinster and Ireland. Simon caught up with him to discuss winning streaks, how Porter separates work from the rest of his life and his work with the Tackle Your Feelings campaign which aims to help people be proactive about their mental health, a topic close to Porter's heart since he lost his mother to cancer at 12 years of age.
We also look at Ulster's latest loss in Italy, Vialli's stats and The Buffalo Bills.
Graeme Potter is the Chelsea coach... but why were the Chelsea fans singing the name of Thomas Tuchel at the Etihad last night?
The Currency's Dion Fanning and Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian join us on today's show to talk about Chelsea supporters' unrealistic expectations, why Potter's body language matters, why none of this is his fault - and why his blamelessness doesn't actually matter.
We also talk about Evan Ferguson's prospects of playing for England (hands off, Lee Carsley), Wout Weghurst's triumphant return to the Premier League, and why Zinedine Zidane has fallen foul of a quote-friendly sports administrator.
The Premier League has returned to our screens in the wake of the winter World Cup, so there's been plenty to get into in the first week of the year on the Second Captains World Service.
Firstly though we pay tribute to the life and career of Gianluca Vialli, the legendary Italian striker who died this week aged 58. Terry Daley joins us from Milan to discuss the style, charm and dignity of the man, whose appeal transcended club and national loyalties.
We also dust off an old interview from 2007 featuring a young Eoin McDevitt and Ken Early grilling the great man with questions like 'Is Ruud Gullit a bit of an asshole?'
Plus Bohemians coach Trevor Croly, who coached Ireland's emerging Premier League talent Evan Ferguson, on how they worked on his game at Bohs and brought him into the first team at just 14 years old. As well as Ken on where Cristiano Ronaldo stacks up against the great players of his generation.
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As dawn breaks on a New Year most Premier League clubs have only completed 16 fixtures - the season is about to get intense, but that doesn't stop Ken making a bold prediction on the destination of the title.
Guardiola's big-man-up-top system continues to reap goals for Erling Haaland; Eoin, Ken and The Guardian's John Brewin, discuss whether or not the Norwegian's scoring stats are enough for Manchester City to catch Arsenal.
One man who tried to halt the Arsenal title march was former Bohs striker Evan Ferguson. The 18 year old became Ireland’s youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer on Saturday when bagging Brighton & Hove Albion’s second in their 4-2 defeat by Arsenal at the Amex Stadium
While Ken and Eoin debate whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to a country he recently told Piers Morgan he would not be transferring to, has finally settled where his place in the football pantheon lies; 'second-tier' greatness.
Yesterday, at 3.27 pm local time, a statement from a Sao Paulo hospital confirmed the death of the great Pele, “our dear King of Football”.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele to the footballing world, is considered one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Aside from scoring over 1200 career goals, he also was seen as one of the great innovators in football, with many tricks and skill moves we commonly see today being attributed to his creation. As Erling Haaland put it so succinctly, “Everything you see any player doing, Pelé did it first. RIP”.
In tribute to the great man, we’ve chosen to revisit a chat between Ken & Tim Vickery from last year about the Pele documentary on Netflix, discussing the life of Brazil’s finest player and where he fits into the conversation of the all time greats.
Amid the joy and celebrations after the Irish women's team qualified for the World Cup, a now infamous video from the team’s dressing room involving a republican song went viral and the subsequent controversy surrounding it seemed to almost immediately overshadow the achievement itself.
The reaction to the song then gave way to a much broader debate about nationalism and its place in Irish sport and Irish life.
With that in mind we asked Una Mullally of the Irish Times and former Republic of Ireland Manager Brian Kerr to join us live in Liberty Hall Theatre to reflect on the video, the reaction to the video, and the conversation the country needs to have about border polls, nationalism and where we want to be in 10 years time.
It’s never a true Gang’s All Here week without the charisma & enthusiasm of everybody’s favourite West Coast sports radio powerhouse, US Murph. Having just touched down on Irish soil, he was expecting a relaxing few days of conversation and merriment but instead was greeted with word that the biggest Baseball story of the year was breaking back home.
We get the lowdown on how he had to cover the news from the warm embrace of Fallon’s Pub in Dublin City, how it feels to be back with us for the first time since the heady days of 2019, as well as a rundown on his Top Three US sport stories of the year.
At the start of December Ulster were 22-3 up against Leinster and cruising against 14 men, but fell apart and lost the game 38-29. Then the following week they lost 39-0 to Sale, and this weekend were losing 29-0 at half time to La Rochelle, before a 29 point comeback secured them a losing bonus point and a 4 try bonus point.
We ask former Ulster and Ireland centre Darren Cave to explain Ulster's mental state, both now and historically.
Gerry Thornley is in studio to look at what has gone wrong and right for the province and if coach Dan McFarland and CEO Jonny Petrie were right to go public on their frustrations with the EPCR for not allowing the game be played in Belfast, rather than an empty Lansdowne Road.
Plus there's ROG's facial expressions at the final whistle, Munster's renewed appetite for battles and tackles and we crowbar a mention of Puma legend Hugo Porta into the chat.
Lionel Messi and Argentina have won the World Cup, and in a fashion so outrageous that no one watching will ever forget it.
Tim Vickery and Philippe Auclair give Argentina their due while puzzling over the paucity of the French challenge for 80 minutes.
And Ken Early, the Lion of Lusail, joins us one more time, mere hours before his flight home to talk us through the almost unbearable tension of normal time, injury time, extra-time, and injury time in extra-time, before penalties secured Messi’s legacy forever.
Welcome to the Second Captains World Service taster show.
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As the World Cup in Qatar has taken the majority of our attention over the last few weeks, the rugby wheel has kept on turning.
We chat to Shane Horgan about Munster's progress but also basic errors made against Toulouse in the fog in a packed-out Thomond Park. Is the game plan starting to come together, and do they have the players for said game plan?
Elsewhere, Leinster & Ulster experienced very different results with the former strolling to an impressive away win over Racing 92, while Ulster seemed to concede every type of try imaginable as they were thumped 39-0 by Sale.
Plus there's Eddie Jones being relieved of his role as England Coach, the return of Warrenball, ROG committing his future to La Rochelle and the GAA making the ballsy decision to go toe to toe with the World Cup Final.
Welcome to our bonus Sunday World Cup pod after four of the most dramatic quarter-finals in the competition’s history.
We chat with Tim Vickery about the scenes between Argentina and The Netherlands, Brazil’s limp exit and some of the strange refereeing performances over the last few days.
We pay tribute to the life and career of American writer and broadcaster Grant Wahl who sadly passed away in Qatar while working on the Argentina game.
Plus there’s Ronaldo’s tears, Rue Giroud, England’s missed opportunity, big Wout, Moroccan magic, Messi’s moment.
England and France dealt with Poland and Senegal with the minimum of fuss today, but how will they handle each other?
Ken got his first look at England in the flesh at this tournament, and he was suitably impressed with Jude Bellingham… but has Kyle Walker got what it takes to stop Kylian Mbappé?
We talk to friend of the show Philippe Auclair about Mbappé's red-hot form, and about Giroud, now France’s record goal-scorer.
And we discuss Messi's one man band, how much Louis van Gaal is loving life at the moment, and why Declan Rice can safely return to Ireland now that he’s just a middle-aisle Jude Bellingham.
It’s the end of the World Cup group phase and after another day of chaos and disorder we have Luis Suarez in tears, South Korea triumphant and Granit Xhaka sealing his reputation as an Ulster senior football championship-level shithouse.
Ken was at both the Uruguay Ghana and Switzerland Serbia games yesterday and he tells us how gleefully Ghana celebrated their own demise when faced with the image of a weeping Suarez and just why Serbia limped so pathetically out of the World Cup.
Plus there’s Uruguay’s valid VAR complaints, South Korea’s deserved progression and another relaxed evening of football with Argentina.
it's been an eventful World Cup for our man on the ground. Ken was on hand to watch Messi inspire his team to the top of Group C with a display that flew in the face of everything we know about attacking football.
We also discuss Pulisic's knee to the groin which brings up painful memories for Murph. And Ken gives us the rundown on what delights Doha has to offer.
With episodes every night after the matches, there's maybe never been a better time to become a World Service Member. Join us for ad-free, contract-free, member-led broadcasting for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join
It’s been another bonkers weekend of World Cup action and there’s only one way to cover it all…. that’s right, it’s a double helping of His Ken-ness!
In the big game of the day Germany saved their bacon by going FULL KRUG while Spain forgot to keep playing football.
There’s also golden Mbappe, Croatia crushing Canada, “relish it Rabat” and Messi to Miami.
Don’t forget we’ve another show out earlier today on Argentina’s win over Mexico.
Lionel Messi saved Argentina again last night with a stunning goal to break the deadlock against Mexico. They're back in contention, but can they go all the way?
Tim Vickery is far from sure, but the arrival of Enzo Fernandez in their midfield gives them a chance.
Plus there's misguided vox pops, Eoin's favourite dressing-room moment of the World Cup so far, and a short audio history of Argentinian post-match celebrations.
Ken has been on hand to witness both Japan's victory over South Africa in the 2015 RWC and their recent win over Germany in the 2022 football World Cup, but the king of world cup upsets didn't stop there as he was also at the Saudi Arabia Argentina game.
We discuss Germany's silent gesture, the joyous positivity of Cameroon's Joey N'Do and have a new bed for Ken's glass door incident.
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Ireland laboured to a win over Australia to make it three wins from three in the autumn internationals, and yet again a backrower won MOTM. Murph has a theory on this trend.
We talk to former Ireland stars Gordon Darcy and Shane Horgan about Ireland's muddled attack, strange decision making, but also their guts and defiance. How did debutant Jack Crowley do, have we an issue with taking high balls, has our phase game been worked out and will we be the better for these hard fought wins?
We also look at how the Nic White concussion was missed by those responsible and if the independent doctors are relying too much on the Head Injury Assessment process while missing the key information seen by all 50,000 people in the stadium.
Plus there's the rise and rise and rise of Josh Van Der Flier, ROG for England and the Welsh football song that made Murph weep at breakfast time.
The 2022 World Cup has begun and Ken was at the Al Bayt stadium to see the hosts lose 2-0 to Ecuador with a hopeless display. You still can't buy success in international football, well not yet anyway.
We catch up with Miguel Delaney to talk about Gianni Infantino's outlandish press conference performance on Saturday, and the bizarre scene of an opening world cup match being played in front of an almost empty stadium.
And with Ken's world cup barely 12 hours old he's already had his first traumatic travel tale to tell.
Tim Vickery, Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson joined us on the World Service this week to preview the first ever winter World Cup - who will win it, and why.
AND, with three days to go before the tournament starts we spoke to anthropologist John McManus whose new book, Inside Qatar, offers an insightful portrait of the host nation.
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It was a limp display from Ireland this weekend and Andy Farrell wasn't shy about showing his displeasure with the performance, the attitude and the decision to kick their last possession into touch.
We talk to Andrew Trimble about Farrell's post match reaction, Jack Crowley's rapid progression, and Rassie's latest tweet tirade.
Plus there's fan trouble at the FAI Cup Final and in Parnell Park and we marvel at the charisma of NZ's Ruby Tui as her team shocked England to win the WRWC final.
Six days left until the start of the World Cup, but there's one last weekend of Premier League to talk about, and City's defeat to Brentford means the first part of the season has ended on a cliffhanger...
Then we're joined by Dion Fanning and Rory Smith to talk about Ronaldo's interview with Piers Morgan, Newcastle's win over Chelsea, and whether Todd Boehly knows something FSG doesn't.
No World Cup build-up is complete without a chat with our friend in Nigeria, Oluwashina Okeleji. We asked him about Senegal's chances, if Mane will play, Cameroon's WC build up, and attitudes in Africa to Qatar's record on human rights.
Ireland's first Gymnastics World Champion Rhys McClenaghan popped into studio with his medal during the week. We spoke about the inevitability of mistakes in Pommel Horse, the lessons you learn, and the questions of identity he was forced to face when it looked like he wasn’t going to be allowed to compete for Northern Ireland at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
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This was the goaling-est weekend of the Premier League season thus far, even notwithstanding the tactical chess match that was Chelsea/Arsenal. Gavin Cooney of the42 and Jonathan Wilson join us to discuss Liverpool's win over Spurs, Eddie Howe's rise, trouble at the bridge and Marsch madness.
There are also reports from David Ornstein of the Athletic that Liverpool are up for sale - another chance for some nation-state to get involved maybe?
Plus there's the return of Permutations Man, 10 red cards from Argentina, and the argument for the FAI to dabble in our native tongue.
Ireland survived an almighty onslaught in the first half against SA before playing some brilliant attacking rugby of their own. Did this game prove this team can cope against the most powerful sides in the world?
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about Ireland's grace under fire, the ability to transition from defence to attack, the job Paul O'Connell is doing in scrum and maul, and if this result means anything for the world cup.
We also examine Rassie's conspiracy tweet, Mack Hansen's licence to roam, and the atmosphere at the Aviva. Plus, there's chill Cheika beating Eddie the workaholic.
Liverpool battled to a win over Napoli and once again it was hard to take your eyes off Darwin Nunez. Eoin wants someone to measure a footballer's "presence" on the field but Ken is all about the facts and figures and compares him to a few other star PL strikers.
As Iran prepares to play a World Cup on its own doorstep, the country has been swept by waves of protests after the September 16th killing in police custody of 22-year old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the Morality Police in Tehran for wearing her hijab 'loosely'. The security forces cracking down on these protests have since killed at least 284 people, including 45 children, according to Iran's Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Now a group of current and former Iranian athletes has written to FIFA asking that their country be banned from the World Cup for human rights violations, while the Ukrainian FA has asked for Iran to be thrown out in retaliation for supplying Russia with attack drones for its war against Ukraine.To talk about this story, we welcome back to the pod Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was arrested and imprisoned in Tehran in 2014, and who first spoke to us on the pod during the 2018 World Cup.
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We talk about Arsenal keeping up their two-point lead, Manchester United keeping up their 85-year run, and as Newcastle roll into the top four, Eoin tries to force Ken to give due credit to Eddie Howe.
After another defeat for Liverpool prompted fresh rounds of comparisons between this season and Klopp's last season at Dortmund, we discuss the relevance of the "seven-year-itch" theory. If you are a Liverpool fan, the conclusions may disturb you...
Then we're joined by David Sneyd to talk about Shamrock Rovers' third successive League of Ireland title. How have they become so dominant, and where is the next challenge likely to come from?
It takes a big person to admit that they were wrong. This week on The Second Captains World Service, Ken Early was prepared to do just that as he trawled through his own back catalogue to a piece written in advance of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Also, we were joined last night in Windmill Lane by Olympic Champion Kellie Harrington in what was a fascinating chat to launch her excellent new autobiography with Roddy Doyle.
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Munster may have lost on Saturday evening in the Aviva, but were there enough reasons to be cheerful about the manner of their defeat to Leinster - and was it a positive portent for Irish rugby to see two young Irish outhalves playing so well at full-back? We also discuss the Jean Kleyn yellow card and if some moments are impossible to referee.
Kilmacud Crokes are the Dublin Senior Football, Hurling and Women's Football champions for 2022, and Eoin McDevitt for one is in the mood for a celebration.
Plus there's news from Ken's inbox, and a chance for 10 listeners to join us for the launch of Kellie Harrington's brilliant new book in Windmill Lane this Thursday.
As the games pile up the flames of crisis are blazing brightly at Leeds, Spurs, Wolves, Brighton and Liverpool, but for one happy club the only light on the horizon is the golden glow of a new dawn. Today is all about Aston Villa's world record new manager bounce.
We also identify the qualities Casemiro has brought to Manchester United, and why Roy Keane was so eager to defend Ronaldo on Saturday night.
The Ronaldo debate leads into our chat with the Wall Street Journal's Josh Robinson, who has written a new book with Jonathan Clegg: Messi v Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATS, And The Era That Remade The World's Game - which is published here on November 10th. The book traces the evolution of Ronaldo and Messi's parallel superstardom, and shows how their influence transformed the sport and defined an era.
It's been a sparkling week on the World Service as Roddy Collins and Paul Howard joined 30 of our members for what was a highly enjoyable debut live show in our new city centre studios. We also spoke to Dion Fanning & John Brewin about Ronaldo's failure to read the room & Darwin "Shredder" Nunez.
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Munster finally got their season up and running on Saturday with a convincing win over The Bulls. They still butchered a lot of chances but a confident looking Joey Carbery got MOTM, new coach Mike Prendergast got a tune out of his attack and a number of fringe players - Edwin Edogbo, Shane Daly, Tom Ahern and Jack Crowley - all made an impact.
We chat to Shane Horgan about rays of hope down south, improved standards in the URC and with Wasps and Worcester going into administration, why the English Premiership may have more bleak days ahead.
And as we prepare for tonight's live show with Roddy Collins and Paul Howard we have a reading from the Rodfather.
Liverpool beat Manchester City in a match that had more than the usual share of morbo. We pay tribute to the men who did more than anyone else to make this occasion so memorable: Anthony Taylor and Darwin Nunez.
We also discuss some of the weekend's other action, including Xavi's mediocre record at Barcelona, Jordan Pickford's actually rather exceptional record at saving shots this season, and a scandalous suggestion that Arsenal may have benefited from the L-word in their narrow win at Leeds.
Jonathan Wilson joins us to analyse the match at Anfield. Did Jurgen Klopp's comments about City's funding have a direct influence on what happened on the pitch? What to make of the mess that is 'let it flow'? And will City's loss of control in the second half give Guardiola cause to brood on the best way to approach the big tests to come?
Ken met up with the Irish WNT this week and had an interesting chat with Vera Pauw about the achievement of making it to the World Cup, her self belief, tactics, bringing on Amber Barrett and the team singing a Wolfe Tones song in the dressing room afterwards.
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A lot of South African people appear to have discovered for the first time that Johnny Sexton likes a word with the referee - we talk about Sexton's commanding seasonal debut on Saturday as Leinster and the Sharks shared 13 tries.
Mark O'Connor was celebrating a Grand Final victory with his Geelong team-mates in Melbourne a few weeks ago, and in Tralee on Saturday night, he was able to celebrate with a gang of them again as a dozen of them pitched up to Dingle's Kerry county championship quarter-final win over Dr Crokes. Between that and David Clifford facing off against Sean O'Shea on Sunday afternoon, it was a fairly exciting weekend of football in the home of the All-Ireland champions.
Plus we announce the latest book to get the "I'll Tell You Who Wrote It" Second Captains Book Club treatment.
Arsenal defeated Liverpool 3-2 in extremely entertaining fashion yesterday, and they remain top of the league. High time, then, for some flowers to be laid at their feet.
Ken lines up to give them their dues, and he's joined by Miguel Delaney and Andrew Mangan of the Arseblog podcast.
There's also Ireland's horror draw for Euro 2024 qualification, with France, The Netherlands, Greece and Gibraltar... but where others see obstacles, Eoin only sees opportunities.
Plus there's Iker Casillas, Carlos Puyol, and when is a handball not a handball.
On the world service this week we discussed Conte's troubles at Spurs, Trent trolls, the Norwegian Sun God, Pep's glasshouse, and what football can learn from F1 - all while MC Devitt ran the show for 90's hip hop week.
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It seems there is no safe harbour in the world of sport from the scourge of cheating, not chess, and not even professional fishing - Eoin brings us the latest.
We discuss the legacy of Brian Mullins, the man who best epitomised the youth and exuberance of Dublin in the 1970s.
Sibling rivalry turns sour in European GAA for 2 world service members, and we launch 90s Hip-Hop week, with Eoin outlining the parameters in stark detail.
Eight weeks into the Premier League season and rampant Norwegian goal yeti Erling Haaland has already burned through the existing stockpile of superlatives. We trawl the archives in search of fresh supplies.
Meanwhile, Florentino Perez is back on the Super League war trail with a new battle cry: "Think of the Children." But is he right to see football as competing with entertainment products?
John Brewin and Mark Critchley join us to talk through some of the weekend's action. Has Haaland proved Pep has spent the last ten years exploring a cul de sac? And how crushing is the impact of this result on the delicate flower of confidence at Man United
On the world service this week we had Nations League mayhem, the similarities between sports stars and actors, loss of Kencentration, chess cheats and Stephen A gets put in the shade.
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Yes, Eliud Kipchoge knocked 30 seconds off his own marathon world record but.. he still didn't break through the 2-hour barrier. We have some simple advice that should do the trick.
Federer charmed and sobbed his way through his farewell event, the Laver Cup, winning fans' hearts one last time - but has he got what it takes to become a great coach?
A listener argues the GAA should embrace its amateur status and eradicate under-the-table payments to managers and set the players free from the training "arms race". And Murph puts into context how good Zach Tuohy is at a game he didn't grow up playing.
Ireland have done it again, starting well and taking the lead against a higher-ranked side away from home and then going down to defeat in the second half. We analyse the game and some of the criticism that has followed.
We also discuss some recent interviews with Mark Lawrenson and Eric Cantona.
Dion Fanning and Kieran Canning join us to talk about the match at Hampden. As we fight to stay positive, can we take heart from Scotland's development over the last few years? and to look ahead to Nations League B new boys England's dead rubber against Germany tonight.
Jack McCaffrey hasn’t played for Dublin since a cameo off the bench which ended in injury against Tyrone in Omagh in February 2020. Paul Mannion’s last game was the 2020 All-Ireland final.
They were both off the Dublin panel, presumed retired - until yesterday evening. We get the Fair View of their surprise return to inter-county football, what it means for Dublin… and what it means for everyone else, with 4-time Kerry All-Ireland winner Sean O’Sullivan.
We also pay homage to David Beckham’s queueing stamina, Ken casts his eye over proceedings in London this morning, and we salute Eddie Butler’s love of Wales.
There's more than one way to make your name in the Premier League. Until now Nathan Collins has been trying the quiet excellence way, but on Saturday against Man City he hopped on the fast track to building his profile internationally.
We also discuss a disgraceful episode in Spain, and the sad scenes at Munich's Oktoberfest, where Bayern's top brass tried and failed to look like they're having a good time despite dropping nine of the last 12 points.
James Horncastle joins us to talk about how Juventus lost their stranglehold on Italian football. What and who is to blame for their fall? And who will win the culture war between the traditional values of Italian football and an ambitious new generation of internationally-influenced coaches?
Why are English football people so down on Todd the mouthy American interloper? What is a long snapper? And would it surprise you to hear the New England Patriots were involved in one of the oldest cheating scandals in NFL history?
That means US Murph, Champions League and fun times on the World Service this week. Join us for ad-free, member-led broadcasting for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join.
After a series of terrible VAR decisions in the Premier League last week we heard many VAR advocates claim "it's only in England they don't know how to use it, VAR is working perfectly everywhere else." Right on cue, Juventus-Salernitana generates the Exxon Valdez of VAR decisions.
We also talk about whether Pep Lijnders' recent book is as dangerous a signal for Liverpool as Didi Hamann fears, and relay the views of our favourite Argentine football writer on the signing of Darwin Nuñez.
Shane Lowry is back in the winner's circle for the first time since his Open victory at Royal Portrush in 2019, courtesy of a faultless Sunday performance at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth yesterday.
He was pushed all the way by Rory McIlroy, who fell literally an inch short of forcing a playoff - we talk to Malachy Clerkin about Shane's lovely habit of winning big tournaments, why Shane described this as one for "the good guys", and why human rights have disappeared from the PGA/LIV war of words.
We try and find out, as Malachy wrote a few weeks ago, if Rory is the most underrated person in Irish sport. There's also Terry Kennedy, Georgie Best, and why is Garth so big in Monaghan.
The Champions League is back, Thomas Tuchel has been shown the door and friend of the show, Rory Smith of the New York Times has a new book out on the data revolution in football... That means lots of football on the World Service this week, and lots of good reasons to sign up now.
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Shane Walsh made his debut for Kilmacud Crokes in the Dublin senior football championship, and his new club sent a message to every other club in the country with a powerful display. If they were a county, would they win Division 3? But it was salt of the earth Dublin GAA man Eoin McDevitt making impassioned calls for one young footballer to put his life on hold to give back to his community today - as retired Dub Paul Mannion put on a clinic.
Nick Kyrgios has the star power to keep the celebrities coming to Flushing Meadows after Serena departed the scene over the weekend, and Ciara Mageean finally gets the better of Laura Muir.
VAR will be good, they said. It will reduce the amount of time people waste pointlessly arguing over wrong decisions, they said.
Ever mindful of the wants and needs of our listeners we tried not to do too much VAR talk today but after a weekend like that it's not easy.
Mark Critchley was at Old Trafford to see Erik ten Hag's clinical Manchester United end Arsenal's 100% start.
And after Celtic's 4-0 win against Rangers, Kieran Canning talks to us about their fantastic form heading into tomorrow night's Champions League match against Real Madrid.
Welcome to our weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service which includes Ken on grammar, Caitlin on Serena's secret sauce, Murph on losers and Pep's machine gun dilemma. Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. It takes less than two minutes to set up, there’s no contract, no obligations and no hidden fees.1
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Rory McIlroy became the first 3-time winner of the FedEx Cup last night, chasing down the world number 1 Scottie Scheffler who held a 6-shot lead going into the final round.
But what’s the difference between the 18.5 million dollars Rory won last night and the Saudi money on offer in LIVgolf?
There’s also Damien Delaney’s dad’s hurling exploits for Cork, Paul Galvin in Leap last week, and why watching a brilliant sportsperson mentally implode is so enjoyable.
Spurs suffering, Arsenal allegedly overcelebrating, Richarlison’s swift justice, Steven Gerrard’s brow scrunching up ever more tightly – season 22-23 is boiling up nicely. Thankfully we can still say: nobody beats Mark Travers ten times in one game.
We also dissect the Sunday Times’ inside story of the Cristiano Ronaldo-Man United stand off.
Lars Sivertsen and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend action. Is Haaland showing up the Premier League? Why are Aston Villa fans so angry with Steven Gerrard? And will Antony prove cheap at the price?
Anthony Joshua had a couple of things he wanted to get off his chest after he lost a split decision to Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night - listeners wanted Ken's thoughts, and Ken is more than happy to provide them.
It was a brilliant European athletics championships for Ireland, with Ciara Mageean and Mark English both winning medals on the track, and we have a new Dublin hurling manager in Micheál Donoghue, who won an All-Ireland title with Galway in 2017.
And we also have Pat Kenny's thoughts on the soundtrack to the long, hot summer of 2022.
Jesse Marsch is winning points faster than friends in the Premier League as hard-running Leeds make a lot of other managers look bad.
After Casemiro's tearful Real Madrid farewell, we debate whether his signing is a good idea for Man United. Meanwhile there are hints of trouble in paradise as Jurgen Klopp points out he's not in charge of deciding how much Liverpool spend on midfielders.
John Brewin and Miguel Delaney join us to talk over the weekend's action. Did they enjoy the spectacle laid on by Saudi v UAE? Has Gabriel Jesus brought Man City's culture with him to Arsenal or is he playing so well because he's left it behind? Are Spurs' title-contending credentials looking less convincing after their midfield struggles against Chelsea and Wolves? And why have Tuchel's Chelsea lost control?
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There were contrasting weekends for the two stars of last month’s All-Ireland senior football final as Fossa’s David Clifford got mobbed by tiny pitch invaders so cute even Ken couldn’t have a problem with them, while Kilkerrin-Clonberne's Shane Walsh was at a wedding as his club secured a dramatic win over Headford.
Paul O’Donovan's unstoppable march to becoming by-common-consent Ireland’s greatest ever sportsperson continued this week at the European Championships - so what the hell is Murph complaining about?
And with Jamie Vardy now being linked to Manchester United, does the transfer committee at Old Trafford now include… every Twitter user on the planet?
The weekend marking the 30th anniversary of the Premier League belonged to Graeme Souness who declared after watching Chelsea 2-2 Spurs that "we've got our football back."
We argue about what that means and whether this new direction is likely to lead anywhere good.
Laurie Whitwell and Dion Fanning join us to talk about the weekend's football. Should fights between managers become a more regular PL staple? And what's the fallout at Man United after their 4-0 thrashing at Brentford?
Welcome to our weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service which includes Ken on goal hatching, poor Bernardo Silva, US Murph on the Irish-American broadcast poet, and rugby's uncomfortable conversation. Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. It takes less than two minutes to set up, there’s no contract, no obligations and no hidden fees.
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The GAA's first foray into using a ref-mic was a resounding success on tg4 yesterday (as exclusively revealed by Frances Murphy during her TV guide on Friday), and we had a thrilling, tense, physical, All-Ireland camogie final this weekend as well.
If we're playing rugby league commentary on this show then you better believe it has an extremely high "northern English people shouting at each other" quotient. And we've further proof that Xhosa commentary is the best rugby union comms around.
City's midfield made the passes, Erling Haaland scored the goals, and all is rosy in their garden, once Guardiola gets used to his new job as a guy who talks about the younger Haaland for a living.
Elsewhere it appears the Premier League has rolled out interesting new rules which mean lots of random fouls are no longer fouls. Will this encourage the fast-flowing furious football we all crave?
Jonathan Wilson and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to analyse the weekend's football. Are there any obvious solutions to Man United's problems in the short term? How did Gavin Bazunu get on at Spurs? And just what are PL defenders supposed to do about Haaland?
Welcome to our weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service which includes a Premier League Preview show, the GAA's tug of love, and US Murph on America's winning machine. Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. It takes less than two minutes to set up, there's no contract, no obligations and no hidden fees.
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England are European champions, after a final that attracted the biggest-ever UEFA tournament crowd and the biggest UK TV audience of the year.
Liverpool won the Community Shield as Darwin Nuñez enjoyed a better debut than Erling Haaland - what wild conclusions about the season to come can be extrapolated from this one friendly?
Richie Sadlier joins us to talk about England's Euros win and to give his impressions of a highly successful tournament.
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Ken has returned from holidays and it's time to ease back into familiar routines, starting, obviously, with Frank Lampard and moving on. Why does Antonio Conte make his players run till they puke? Might Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish make City the most watchable team in Europe this season? And how are we meant to make sense of what is happening at Barcelona?
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It was a classic All-Ireland final, and it was a fitting stage for two of the great individual final performances of all time.
David Clifford scored 8 points to win his first Celtic Cross, and was still almost over-shadowed by the luminous brilliance of Galway's Shane Walsh.
Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn talk us through the major talking points, as Kerry answered all the questions and won their 38th title.
Plus there's the burning question of whether Murph attended David Clifford's afterparty, and a goodbye to Brian Cody.
Welcome to our weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service. Ken is back next week so today we play a snippet from our chat with Ken and Lars Sivertsen on Lars' fellow countryman Erling Haaland who explains why the Man City striker is so blunt with journalists. Plus Paul Flynn says Galway to win and Richie tells us what it was like being on mind altering drugs. Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join.
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It was impossible not be impressed by both Kilkenny and Limerick yesterday, but in coming through the ultimate test Limerick can now party like its 2020, 2021 and 2022. We discuss the magical points, the big performances and the outpouring at full time.
Rory seemed to be on course to finally win a major after an 8 year break but slow and steady wasn't enough on a day when Cameron Smith was rolling in putts from everywhere. We chat to Lawrence Donegan about what he could have done differently, his incredible record in majors this year and why the LIV chat won't go away any time soon.
It was the way they won it, the team they were facing, the history at stake and the drama, guts and glory in the second half that made this perhaps the greatest day ever in Irish rugby.
We chat to All Black legend Justin Marshall and Shane Horgan about the breathtaking quality of Ireland's tries, the Tadhg Beirne masterclass, the mental strength shown and just why this tops even the Grand Slams for the sheer quality on display.
Plus there's tears before breakfast, Sexton's hopes and dreams and Mark Horgan has weaved a beautiful audio blanket for you.
We had a great time on the World Service this week including chats about Ireland winning the transfer window, "new" old Brian Cody, the immense pressure on NZ ahead of the third test and the hugely enjoyable new Netflix basketball movie, Hustle, starring Adam Sandler.
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England/Norway could be the game of the group stages of Euro 2022 and Miguel Delaney will be there tonight.
He tells us about the host nation’s reaction to the tournament thus far, and we also discuss Chelsea’s first post-Abramovich summer so far, their new-found canniness in the transfer market… and where a kite being flown about buying Ronaldo fits into that.
Another wild weekend of football in Croke Park ends with Galway and Kerry as the last men standing in this year’s All-Ireland championship.
The best in the business Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn talk Dublin’s lack of a sweeper, Clifford magic, red cards, penalties and the Damien Comer effect.
And as Sean O’Shea’s last-second free takes its place in the pantheon, we give it the full audio-bed treatment.
All Ireland football semi-finals, Ireland's tour of New Zealand, Euro 2022, the climax of Wimbledon, the All Ireland hurling final... The list of massive sporting events taking place this month goes on and on and we've got it all covered on the Second Captains World Service.
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Ronaldo has told Manchester United that he wants out, as he hasn't seen enough ambition in the club this summer to suggest a tilt at the Premier League title next season is likely.
Jonathan Wilson joins us to discuss whether Ronaldo coming out and demanding an exit might actually be the perfect solution to Erik ten Hag's biggest problem at Old Trafford.
Plus there's the arrival of Christian Eriksen, and the club almost embracing the 40 hour working week.
Nobody said it was going to be easy, but even against our most pessimistic outlook, this has been a chastening first week on tour for Ireland in New Zealand.
Two games down, two dispiriting defeats, and a squad being stretched thin already by injury - Shane Horgan and Jim Kayes from Sky Sports New Zealand are on the show today to sift through the wreckage.
We also had two All-Ireland hurling semi-finals this weekend, and the fallacy of minimising Kilkenny's chances before a big game was revealed once again, while Murph's exquisite pain is mined for the benefit of our audience.
All the way from the tender green shoots of the grassroots game to the swollen red giant of Neymar's declining career... the extreme fisheye perspective of today's football pod can mean only one thing: it's summertime.
That also means TRANSFER TALK, including Jesus to Arsenal, Bale to LA, De Jong to Man Utd and Neymar to nowhere.
After the goals, the fightback, the fight, the red cards, the penalties and the tears, we had a lot to get through with Oisin Mcconville and Murph today, but we start by asking how the GAA, and Armagh, should deal with the scenes at the end of normal time.
Murph prays there will be no appeals process, but what about Galway and their late collapse, their inability to deal with high balls, their brilliant goal in extra time and superb penalty technique?
Plus there's Ken TV, meek Mayo, Dublin's stroll in Croker and Derry looking good not just for a final, but maybe an All Ireland title too.
This is our weekly reminder about all of the great shows you can access when you become a member of the Second Captains World Service, for just 5 euro a month. Go to secondcaptains.com/join for details.
We spent a surprising amount of the week discussing summer camps and John Stockton's mid 90's trips to Ireland, and we had a great chat with Joanna Harper, a competitive runner who transitioned a number of years ago, and since then has become one of the leading voices in this area. She's now a medical physicist and an advisor to many international sports federations and is based at Loughborough University in the UK, where she’s researching transgender athletic performance.
Eoin returns to the football pod and gives his long awaited take on the Nations League and Ireland’s best goal, meanwhile Ken is accused of twisting facts to suit his narrative, which just goes to show the kind of stuff that comes in from scum around the country.
We also chat about Richard Arnold’s pub talk with Man United fans, what's happening with Frenkie de Jong and Murph's solution to the FAI's sponsor issues.
Eoin is back in the hot-seat, and to celebrate his return, the All-Ireland hurling championship has been whittled down to its last four - Jamie Wall and 2013 All-Ireland winning captain Pat Donnellan join us to discuss the two quarter-finals this week.
Galway beat Cork, but don’t have a rat’s chance against Limerick, while Shane O’Donnell continues to perform miracles for Clare, even when they’re under-performing. And when Plan A works, but has been rumbled, how important it is to adapt - the two teams that did at the weekend, are still alive this morning.
Plus there’s Murph’s superpower, Eoin on a farm, Ken's golf power rankings and the butcher of Ballybrack strikes again.
From calling out Phil Mickelson, to pronouncing the LIV Series dead in the water, to questioning the pursuit of money, Rory McIlroy has been nothing if not outspoken these last few months. He looked like a man with a point to prove as he defended his Canadian Open title this weekend, taking him to 21 PGA Tour wins, one more than.....somebody else.
Meanwhile Charl Schwartzel was winning four times as much as Rory over on the LIV tour, but wasn't wrestling with his conscience. And world number 374, GMAC, sees only one set of footprints in the Saudi sand.
Victory this weekend was never, of course, in doubt and that is precisely what Ireland delivered.
We chat to Dion Fanning and Miguel Delaney about our over-reaction to every Ireland result, the reality that this group of players, and this manager, will continue to make mistakes and be inconsistent, and a heated debate breaks out over whether long shots, dribbles or passing moves are the best kind of goals.
Plus there's the joy of simplicity, the Hendrick debate, and Ken on the beauty of Poland.
The Irish football team: a consistent source of disappointment, or a consistently bracing source of perspective on life? Ken and Murph disagree, just as they disagree on many things about the game.
One thing they do agree on is that in international football, a superhero isn't necessary, but as Wales and Norway demonstrate, it sure helps.
Richie Sadlier and Gavin Cooney join us to analyse what happened in Yerevan. Why can't we create chances? For all the supposed improvement are there any signs of the development of real confidence? Is there anything to be said for another system change?
Plus there's wild talk of "creativity", "passing triangles" and the need for "De Bruyne crosses".
We had four pretty awful provincial Gaelic Football finals this weekend, the undoubted main story of which was Derry outlasting Donegal in a dour, defensive Ulster final during which Donegal played a risk averse, low energy game.
Galway keep marching on in Connacht, and then there was the galling sight of Dublin and Kerry once again filleting provincial opposition in their finals on Saturday.
Why on earth did Kildare not use a sweeper against Dublin and will Derry get it so easy outside of Ulster? We set the scene for our chat with Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn, coming up on the World Service on Wednesday.
The universe gave Ken all the signs in the world, including an actual, real-life rat infestation on the streets of Paris, but he refused to listen. Real Madrid are champions of Europe.
After a chaotic, dangerous and depressing night in Paris for so many Liverpool fans, Ken speaks to Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson about whether they're a great team or not, the mistakes made for the Vinicius goal and just how Madrid keep winning this competition.
Liverpool played 3 cup finals this season, failed to score in any of them, and now it looks like Sadio Mané is leaving and Salah will go soon after. How does Jurgen Klopp go about rebuilding from here?
Plus there's El Chiringuito on the streets, Liverpool on parade and the behaviour of the French police towards Liverpool fans.
Last month, Waterford were the number 1 contenders for Limerick’s All-Ireland crown. Today, they’re out of the championship. Did expectation and big talk kill them?
Ken wants to know why the Dublin hurlers haven't bought the Liam McCarthy Cup, and with the All-Ireland finals no longer in September he accuses the GAA of ripping up the fabric of Irish life.
Manchester City are the Premier League champions, again sealing the title with a 3-2 comeback win at home.
We talk about City's win and how in the end the players carried their manager over the line.
We are joined by Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson to talk about City's win. The last day provided the drama, but is the competition in a healthy state? Is the billionaire-worship of football fans an ominous sign for wider society?
Plus there's Mbappe's staying power and who was right in Saipan, anyway?
It's been a wild week on the Second Captains World Service with Frank's redemption, Everton's fan power, Rangers in Seville and we even take the time to have another pop at Derry football. This is just a taste of what we've been up to, for access to all shows Monday to Friday go to secondcaptains.com/join, its five euro a month with no minimum contract, no sign up fee and you can cancel whenever you want. It's sexy podcasting, with no strings attached.
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Cork were mad as hell and they just weren’t gonna take it anymore… and their defeat of Waterford yesterday has blown the entire championship wide open.
Waterford are now relying on winless Tipperary to do them a favour next week, otherwise the league champions won’t even qualify out of Munster.
And a packed Cusack Park in Ennis was a stark contrast to how spinelessly Meath exited the Leinster football championship – a situation which moved Ken almost to tears.
There was little in West Ham’s record against Guardiola-era Man City to suggest they would cause many problems to the aspiring champions yesterday, but it turned out Jarrod Bowen and Lukasz Fabianski had other ideas.
Meanwhile Liverpool won the FA Cup yet defiled the occasion by booing both the anthem and the second in line to the throne.
Dion Fanning and Gavin Cooney join us to analyse the weekend’s action. How confident can Jack Grealish be of getting his hands on the league trophy next Sunday? Why can’t Liverpool beat their closest rivals? Why are Everton’s matches now appointment television? And we also discuss the controversy around Newcastle’s Saudi Arabia-style change kit.
Munster had 41,000 fans roaring them on to what, after 65 minutes, looked like being a famous victory over Toulouse. In the end they lost it in the most heartbreaking way, by shanking a few kicks in a penalty shootout. It had ,however, all the drama, atmosphere, desire and great play shown by the teams in the 2000's, but will that be of any solace this week?We also discuss Leinster doing just enough against Leicester, their date with the French double winners, Zombie coming alive at the Aviva and if there's a better way to finish games than penalty shootouts.
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Ep 2328: Liverpool's Quad Dream Dies, Pep Doesn't Feel The Love, Klopp's Conte Criticism - 09/05/22 by Second Captains
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After a bonkers week of Champions League football Ken reflects on his childhood, and a book he shouldn't have read.For coverage of the Champions League, Premier League, the GAA season, the Champions Cup and everything else that's going on in the wide world of sport join us for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. No contracts, no minimum stay, no hidden costs.
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Ep 2323: Long Ball Lampard, Chelsea Sale, The Ramsdale Express, Ricey's Bad Weekend - 02/05/22 by Second Captains
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It was a beautiful weekend to be out west, especially when your team silences all the losers and haters out there, as Murph's Galway tribe did on Sunday by beating a much fancied Mayo team. Murph also details his very western weekend which involved football, a funeral, and some booze, and Ken wonders why his colleague keeps appearing on TV.
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The ghost of The Slip haunted yesterday's Merseyside derby, as Everton took an old-school approach to getting out of Anfield alive. We talk about why this was a terrible idea. Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about the weekend's action. Did Everton ever have a chance with Lampard's game plan? Do Mohammed bin Salman's Mags already look a Champions League qualification contender for next season? And how likely is Antonio Conte to stick around at Spurs?
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The best of this week's fare on the World Service. Join us for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. No contracts, no minimum stay, no ads, just lots of podcast goodness.
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Liverpool will play Chelsea in the FA Cup final after a Wembley semi-final that burnished Ederson's reputation almost as much as Mane's.Meanwhile, after Eintracht Frankfurt's fans turned the Nou Camp white, Barcelona's directors claim they are shocked, shocked to find that ticket reselling is going on in here. John Brewin and Jack Pitt Brooke join us to analyse the weekend's action. Is City's defeat on Guardiola? Can Ronaldo do it again at Anfield? And which of the three sides hobbling after fourth place is going to make it?Plus there's Brendan's magpie love, Arsenal's collapse and Wreck-It Ralf.
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Yesterday on the World Service we did a big piece on what's been described as the unprecedented international action being taken against the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, and on the depth of Daniel Kinahan's continued involvement in boxing. If you'd like to hear it, alongside all our great Champions League and Champions Cup coverage, sign up now at secondcaptains.com/join for just €5 + VAT a month.
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The US Masters was won by the world number 1 Scottie Scheffler last night, but in another, more important way, surely Rory McIlroy should be declared the winner? We discuss how Rory enlivened what would have been an otherwise routine Sunday evening in Augusta, and how Shane Lowry continues to excel in the big tournaments. There was also Tiger's grind, and Jim Nantz's minimalist commentary style, and a possibly superfluous Ole Gunnar Solskjaer mention.
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Frank Lampard chases away the vultures while Ralf Rangnick sardonically dismisses his team's chances, but Arsenal are doing everything possible to keep them alive. Meanwhile one Irish warrior is cut down in his prime, while another spreads his wings...All that before we get to the main event - the latest in the stunning series of matches between football friends, Manchester City and Liverpool.Dion Fanning and Mark Critchley join us to talk about the game at the Etihad (and some of the rest of the weekend's football). Why does Critch still think City are better? And if we're honest, would we prefer this rivalry to get a bit nastier?
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Tiger's return to the Masters, Champions League quarter-finals, a potential Premier League title decider, the Champions Cup last 16: we're in the middle of an amazing fortnight of sport, which means it's a brilliant time to come try out the World Service for just €5 + VAT a month. Plus there's plenty of Ken's political podcasts to sink your teeth into too.
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Kerry and Waterford were crowned national football and hurling League winners at the weekend, and as befits spring champions, their prospects are looking very rosy indeed for the summer ahead. Murph reports on the David Clifford Show from his front-row seat at Croker yesterday, and why he's prepared to call him the greatest to ever do it... already.
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Irish talent was dominating at every level this weekend, with Chiedozie Ogbene lighting up the Papa Johns and Michael Obafemi the Championship; as for the Premier League, at this rate it cannot be long before Tottenham rename their ground The Matt Doherty Stadium.We also talk about the World Cup draw, Frank Lampard's new direction and the challenges Graham Potter faces managing the not-helpful suggestions of Brighton fans.We then chat to Miguel Delaney about his visit to Qatar for the World Cup draw. Did it leave him more or less convinced that Qatar is a suitable venue for a World Cup?
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We chat to Richie Sadlier about his Mo Salah moment and Brian Kerr about Ireland's path to becoming a multicultural society.Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. No contracts, no minimum stay, no ads just lots of podcast goodness.
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Yesterday gave us plenty of GAA drama as Monaghan pulled the rabbit out of the hat on the last day of the league yet again, Dublin in turn got relegated to Division 2, with four other Leinster teams also dropping down a division. If that wasn't enough, it all played out with the GPA-GAA row looming in the background. We'll be discussing all that on your second free show of the day before chatting to the McConville-Flynn dream team on the World Service tomorrow.
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We look back on Ireland 2-2 draw with Belgium's still-pretty-useful B-team. Some inept defending aside, it seems the Irish team is now a river to its people. Gavin Cooney joins us to give his thoughts on Ireland's progress in the year and a day since we lost 1-0 to Luxembourg.
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Any evening we're lucky enough to spend at Liberty Hall Theatre with our World Service members feels pretty special, but Wednesday's show took it to another level. The voice of Irish football, George Hamilton joined us for a chat, yes, but he also gave us a pretty spectacular rendition of one of his favourite tunes alongside our house band.To join the World Service and hear our chat with George, go to secondcaptains.com/join - it's just €5 + VAT a month.
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The weekend saw some spectacular action on the pitch - but very little impresses the men of football's Greatest Generation.
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Whatever we expected from the final weekend of the Six Nations, those expectations probably didn't include an amazing win for Italy in Cardiff, sealed by a last minute wonder-try created by a 71kg 22-year-old. On the other hand, a howler from Stuart W. Hogg was far more foreseeable... And after what was a pretty great tournament for Ireland, we chat to Racing 92 coach Mike Prendergast and former Ireland and Lions winger Shane Horgan about the significance of a Triple Crown, why Ireland's attack stuttered against Scotland, how our defence (which only conceded 4 tries all Championship) is now a weapon, how Grand Slammers France still have a lot of improving in them, and how Ange Capuozzo went from looking like a fragile teenager to a lethal attacking weapon on what was, finally, Italy's day in the sun.Plus there's the final Early verdict on Eddie Jones, Italian emotional overload and perhaps the greatest Hoggwatch of them all.
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A gripping Six Nations deciding weekend, a key week in the Premier League title race, and the small matter of another Man United European exit - it's a big week in sport and that means it's a great time to sign up to the World Service. Just go to secondcaptains.com/join and come aboard for only €5 a month + VAT.
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Ronaldo's hat trick, Brady's U-turn, Havertz burns Burn, Eddie Howe's dead bat: it's all here in Monday's short football pod.
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Mere days after their triumphant return to Liberty Hall, we chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble today about Ireland's 60 minute reset at Twickenham on Saturday, the magnificence of the back three, controlled aggression, the idea that an English red card should mean a 50 point win and if Les Rosbifs can topple Les Bleus in Le Crunch.Ken saw the finger-prints of Eddie Jones all over the wild celebrations of the England players after every penalty decision in their favour at the weekend, and has some comforting words for those Irish fans worried by Ireland's perceived under-performance - and Murph talks us through the many and varied permutations ahead of the final Saturday of the tournament.
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As a special Saturday treat, here's your perfect build-up broadcast ahead of today's game. This is a very special bonus podcast recorded late last night at Dublin's Liberty Hall Theatre with Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble. In this hilarious 30 minute quick-hit ahead of Ireland v England, you'll hear about singing the wrong anthems, terrible days in Twickenham and why we're going to win today. Also included are beautiful musical introductions from Kieran Quinn and of course, the first ever live Hoggwatch.
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After far, far too long, we're finally back doing live shows at the Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin, so today we thought we'd give you a little taste of what it's been like so far this week. More specifically, a taster of what it's like to work with Eddie Jones, something we spoke to Connacht head coach Andy Friend about on Wednesday evening. To sign up to the World Service and hear more from our live shows, just go to secondcaptains.com/join now.
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Shane Warne, the greatest spin bowler of all time, passed away aged just 52 on Friday.We discuss his tragically premature death on today’s second show, the parallels with Maradona, why scandal never stuck to him, and how he even managed to commentate on his own wicket-taking.
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Manchester United's thunder run to the fourth Champions League qualifying spot now appears hopelessly stalled, as Mikel Arteta's Arsenal machine races away. Meanwhile, Eddie Howe has had to field some awkward questions in recent press conferences, but might an extended MBS profile in the Atlantic monthly suggest good times ahead for NUFC?Mark Critchley joins us to talk about the Manchester derby. Was this one of City's best-ever performances - or did United just not want it enough?
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Muhammad Ali, Norman Mailer & The Second Captains Book Club; The Abramovich Auction by Second Captains
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Almost everybody in the Aviva stadium, including the players and coaches, were confused by the ruling that meant Italy only had 13 players on the field despite having had only one red card. We try to explain why this happened, why Ireland reacted so badly and why it shouldn't happen ever again.Murph was really considering taking a week off Hoggwatch duty, but an incident in the 38th minute of the first half forced his hand.Plus there's Michael Lowry's pass to James Lowe, why high tackles are the biggest mistake you can make in a game of rugby, and how players should prepare accordingly.
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Caoimhin Kelleher didn't save any penalties but his penalty-taking made the difference as Liverpool beat Chelsea to win their first League Cup in a decade.Chelsea, though, are preoccupied with bigger questions surrounding their future under Roman Abramovich, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues despite the Chelsea owner's alleged efforts for peace. Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson join us to discuss the League Cup final, Abramovich's situation, and what FIFA should do next.
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Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson are at daggers drawn over Saudi Arabia, in a row that appears to have rather more legs than the latest inane ramblings of Brooks Koepka and/or Bryson DeChambeau.And this weekend seemed like a pretty weird time for ex-Dublin players to be taking to print to tell us about the various failings of Mayo football, but Murph has some thoughts on why sporting losses are not always down purely to moral failure.
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Would Eoin be able to get more than two touches of the ball in a half of Premier League football? Clearly it depends on the extent to which he was prepared to sacrifice himself to the system, not that Thomas Tuchel would accept that as an excuse.We talk about the Conte masterclass at the Etihad, and Neymar's ennui, before Jack Pitt-Brooke and Mark Critchley join us to talk about the weekend's action. If City have won 19 out of 22, why does it suddenly feel like they are under pressure? Is the best yet to come from Harry Kane? And has Jadon Sancho paid off the last instalment of Bundesliga tax?
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The return of the League of Ireland, a look back at the Super Bowl, Champions League last 16 analysis, a Winter Olympics special - the World Service was a sporting broad church this week and we've pulled together the very best of it for you today. To sign up for just €5 a month + VAT, go to secondcaptains.com/join
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Ken is back today and bringing you the first of three football shows this week. In keeping with the immutable laws of nature, a big story broke while he was away in the form of the Kurt Zouma incident - he weighs in today. Plus, Chelsea are undisputed champions of the world, but the club may just have its attention fixed on a certain corner of the globe and the consequences a Russian invasion of Ukraine could bring.
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Ireland got a losing bonus point against France but besides their guts and ability to come back from the dead, were there many positives for Andy Farrell and his players?We chat to Shane Horgan, Andrew Trimble and host of Le French Rugby Podcast, and former Scotland player, Johnnie Beattie about Ireland's plan getting a punch in the face, our breakdown woes, Carbery's good and bad points, the decision to go for a kick at goal when 6 points down with 9 minutes remaining, and Scotland continuing to be... Scotland.Ken and Murph share their late-night Super Bowl hot-takes, and there was late drama on the double on All-Ireland club final day, with crazy last-second goals winning the hurling and the football titles for Ballygunner and Kilcoo.
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This week on the world service we spoke to Paul Flynn about his melee memories, Sonny Bill Williams about why he's in Ireland training with Andy Lee and Andrew Trimble about Ireland's trip to France.Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join.
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The FAI, in its prudence, has abandoned its joint bid with the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to host the 2030 World Cup, and instead in its prudence will now make a joint bid to host Euro 2028. Ken reports back from the five-association press conference held earlier today.We also chat about last night's AFCON final, Egypt's questionable penalty shootout approach, and the Salah-Mane dynamic which grows ever-juicier.
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Winning in style with a bonus point in front of a full house in the Aviva and Scotland coming through in a nerve-biter in Murrayfield: this was a grand old way to start the Six Nations. We chat to former Lions and Ireland winger Shane Horgan about Mack Hansen's dream debut, the perfection of the Ringrose try and Andy Farrell 2.0. We ask Alan Dymock of Rugby World magazine how England managed to lose a game they had so much possession in, the Luke Cowan-Dickie penalty try and if Scotland can keep it going against Wales.Elsewhere, the Scots rammed Murph's words down his big, fat mouth... but is there an apology forthcoming for Stuart William Hogg and his beloved, belief-filled boys?Plus we have some big live show news for everyone who listened to Where Is George Gibney?.
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Earlier this week on the World Service, we spoke to Richie Sadlier about Mason Greenwood's initial arrest on suspicion of rape and assault, the massive outcry following Raith Rovers' signing of David Goodwillie, who was found by a civil court to have raped a woman in 2017, and more generally about how football - and society in general - can better deal with issues around physical and sexual violence towards women.We also previewed the Six Nations which gets underway this weekend with two men who know a thing or two about it in Jerry Flannery and Shane Horgan, and Ken welcomed back his old friend Frank Lampard to Premier League management.
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The National Football Leagues of America and Ireland are the main focus today, with Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn on hand to pore over Armagh's thumping victory away to Dublin on Saturday night.Dublin need to change, but does that mean personnel need to change too? Are the men responsible for dominating the last decade the men to dominate this decade? And Kerry were far from impressive too, so everyone's got something to play for all of a sudden.And Ken Early knows a choker when he sees one, and he saw one playing quarter-back for the Kansas City Chiefs last night.
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David begins the final-ever week of The Isolating Podcast (yes, he has said this twice before) with trapped wind from drinking stout in a pub.
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I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, scrawling their own lines on a photograph to prove Cavani was offside...It's taken a couple of years but VAR might finally have broken people's minds. The football over the weekend may have been mediocre but the VAR conspiracy theorising has reached new heights.We also hear some of the more interesting listener responses to last week's Man City debate.Then Patrick Boyland joins us to talk about the latest in the ongoing megacrisis at Everton.
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The murder of the 23-year-old teacher, musician & camogie player Ashling Murphy in Tullamore last week has opened up a national conversation around the harassment and violence suffered by women at the hands of men in our country.Sinead O’Carroll, editor of thejournal.ie, and Louise Crowley, professor at the School of Law in UCC join us on today’s show.Louise has introduced a bystander intervention programme into the college which teaches students how to intervene in situations where there’s inappropriate language or behaviour being used, and her insights from the front lines illustrate both the size of the problem, and the willingness among men and women to do something about it.They talk to us about what men can do, what the country can learn, and whether this is truly a watershed moment in Irish life.This episode, originally released on the World Service, has now been made available to everyone.
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David celebrates the 100th Isolating podcast with sinister news of the fake David O’Doherty and a beef for the ages.
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As the Pep team streaks towards a fourth title in five, we talk about the emotions they stir up compared to the dominant sides of the past. Dion Fanning and Miguel Delaney join us to talk more City-Chelsea and to react to Rafa Benitez’s Everton exit.
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There was only one story that we wanted to focus on in today’s promo for the Second Captains World Service. We talked to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mitchell S. Jackson about a searing piece he wrote about the life and death of Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020 - the senseless killing of a totally innocent jogger in broad daylight, a story which has seen a devastating and tragic echo in Ireland in the last 24 hours.
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David is back for season three of the Isolating podcast. Is this good news or bad news? Probably both. Isolators gather once more for tales of solo cans and postcards from places brackets exotic. Email Doodlers directly at DOD@secondcaptains.com and to listen to all of David’s thrice-weekly shows, become a member now.
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The FA Cup - still magical? Not magical? Who even cares, when there is so much more to life! Serie A for instance, where Roma and Juventus played out one of the most dramatic league games of recent years. Then we are joined by Roberto 'Pico' Lopes from the Cape Verde base at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Cape Verde defeated Ethiopia 1-0 last night to get their tournament off to a winning start.We also react to the news that Novak Djokovic has swept triumphantly into Australia.
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Despite the fact it's dreary January and Omicron is omnipresent, we've had one of the funnest weeks on the World Service we've had in a while. From the sheer hilarity of the Djokovic-Australian Open saga to Ken's new lifestyle change to US Murph reflecting on the life and times of NFL titan, John Madden - it's all waiting for you. Join now for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join.
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We begin 2022 by admiring a succession of incredible goals scored in recent Premier League matches. A wonderful, positive start to the year. There were a couple of great games this weekend to mention as well, before we settle into the main business of analysing VAR mistakes.Raphael Honigstein joins us to talk about the falling out between Romelu Lukaku and Thomas Tuchel, and whether City are becoming an English Bayern.Plus there's the Cookstown curler, Kelleher praise, post peak Van Dijk and Ken on darts.
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It's the Monday after Christmas and while most people are resting up, footballers are playing their hearts out and Ken is podcasting football shows.He welcomes Jonathan Wilson to their annual Scrooge Football chat which includes the Leicester Man City thriller, why Grealish's move to City hasn't worked and rational Germans offering practical solutions to English football's problems.Plus there's the unfairness of Covid and Jonathan's new book about Eduard Streltsov, the Soviet football star who was arrested on the eve of the 1958 World Cup.
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Premier League refereeing is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get. Although you can be reasonably sure that whatever the rules are this week, they won't be applied to the England captain. Was Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool a good game, or a sad indictment of how English football has lost its way? Dion Fanning and Jack Pitt Brooke join us to discuss that explosive 2-2, and more.
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It's Christmas week on Second Captains, and that can mean only one thing - it's almost time for us to announce our audio bed of the year live from the SC Log Cabin. What does all of this mean? We've been doing it for years and Richie Sadlier still doesn't have a clue, but we nevertheless give you the run-down today. Rachael Blackmore had a pretty successful weekend - announced as the Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year on Friday, the RTE Sports Personality of the Year on Saturday, and the BBC World Sports Star of the Year yesterday, joining Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali and Pele as previous winners of that category. And to continue the festive theme, Eoin brings us right up to speed with the very latest from the World Darts Championships.
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Brand new slots, old slots brought back to life, and audio-beds fresh from the Mark Horgan audio-bed oven - your World Service taster menu has got it all this week. Sign up now for €5 + VAT a month for independent, member-led, festive broadcasting at secondcaptains.com/join
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The unique charms of Formula One have largely been lost on our presenting corps over the last 25 years or so, but it came roaring back into our collective consciousness this weekend. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have been engaged in a thrilling battle for F1 supremacy this season, and it all came to a climax in Abu Dhabi yesterday as thrilling racing, ridiculous TV access to the inner workings of the drivers’ respective teams, and high-level on-the-hoof chicanery from the race directors combined for a hilariously entertaining afternoon. Eoin and Murph speculate wildly about a great many things they know little about, Ken says he’s still a chariot-racing man, and we set up a big weekend’s rugby chat coming up tomorrow on the World Service.
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We chat about some of the weekend’s penalties before buckling up to talk, yes that’s right, COVID vaccines. Then Neil Atkinson and John Brewin join us to further analyse the weekend spot kick action. And finally we react to both UEFA CL draws on the day Europe’s governing body was let down by “external software provider”.
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Please enjoy this week's world service taster which includes Ken speculating on a big career change for Gary Neville, Ken on Kids and former Ireland and Ulster star Willie Anderson on life as a protestant in Co. Tyrone before the Troubles began.It's all in a week's listening on the Second Captains World Service, and it's available to you for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join
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A little stutter over the past few days and Chelsea have slipped to third, such is the pace of this season's title race.We discuss the early signs of Ralf Rangnick's influence, and the acrimonious aftermath of Dortmund's controversial defeat to Bayern.Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about the weekend's football. It's probably not a good sign that only four Premier League clubs have a positive goal difference. But it still looks healthier than leagues like the Bundesliga, where Bayern are cruising to ten in a row. What is to be done?
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This week's World Service appetiser is dedicated to one Richie Sadlier, who not only did an amazing interview with Keith Earls for the Player's Chair, but continued to churn out #content whilst lying in a hospital bed, recovering from spinal fusion surgery. Sign up now and you'll also hear one of the best pods of the year, the Second Captains Sports Book of the Year Show with Sinéad O'Carroll and Malachy Clerkin, plus loads of football, too - secondcaptains.com/join
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It was a massive weekend for Ulster in the URC as they got a rare win over Leinster, while things couldn't have gone worse for Munster who find themselves stranded in South Africa after a player tested positive for Covid. One of the sporting stories of the year came out of Tipperary this weekend after Loughmore-Castleiney sealed a county double in football and hurling, with both finals decided by points scored by Tipp hurler, John McGrath. Throw in that they lost both county finals last year by a point and you've got one hell of a tale... Plus there's a massive week ahead on the World Service, Connacht's torrential try-fest, and Effin' Eddie Moroney.
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Ken is back, having rediscovered over the weekend how much more enjoyable it is to go to football matches than it is to work at them. Big questions are up for discussion. Do Ralf Rangnick's coaching gifts extend to telepathic influence? And how is it possible Eoin and Ciaran have never heard of the cinnamon challenge? Then Kevin Brannigan and David Sneyd join us to talk about the FAI Cup final.
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Ireland weren't quite as good as they were against NZ but it was another impressive display from a team hit by a number of injuries. We discuss the confident happy vibes coming from the camp, MOTM Joey Carbery, Peter O'Mahony's red card diatribe and the depth we now have in certain positions.Plus there's French class, Lavanini at large and Murph rattles Donal Lenihan.
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What would it take for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to lose his job? Not a 0-5 loss at home to Liverpool, not a 0-2 loss a week later to Man City... but the final straw did eventually come on Saturday as Manchester United crashed to a 4-1 defeat away to Watford. Mark Critchley and Jonathan Wilson join us to discuss the inevitable, what United do now, how badly this has been mismanaged by the club and Ronaldo's influence on who will eventually take over. Plus there's Ken Early's exquisite timing, and Kenny Cunningham gets on board with Eoin's succession master-plan.
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Another epic game against the All Blacks, another brilliant Irish win, and a full crowd back in the Aviva - this was one of the special days in Irish sport.
James Lowe took a moment to send his appreciation to the bollockses who questioned his defence, and to talk about the weirdness of playing against his native country.
We're joined by Andrew Trimble, Gerry Thornley and from New Zealand by Spark Sport's Scotty Stevenson to discuss how this win stacks up next to our other two victories over the All Blacks, where it stands in the pantheon of Irish wins overall, the need to back this up next summer down in New Zealand, and we try and fail to avoid mentioning the next RWC.
Plus Hugh Cahill gives Murph a shout-out, and Johnny Sexton’s runs his mouth.
For more than sixty minutes last night, it looked like Ireland could be facing into another pretty embarrassing result against Luxembourg but by the end of the evening, any debate about extending Stephen Kenny's contract had been put to one side (even by Liam Brady).
We reflect on a campaign that started out horribly, with Kenny plagued by terrible luck at every turn, and which ended with admittedly less-than-impressive results overall but a massive turnaround in performance levels from a young Irish side.
Plus a listener formally requests that Ken apologise to Murph for CERTAIN comments made after the Azerbaijan draw, and Eoin gets explicit.
We were joined on the World Service today by the crack punditry team of Richie Sadlier and Damien Delaney to talk about Ireland's performance against Portugal, Richie's Stephen Kenny contract debate with Liam Brady, and whether Damian himself would prefer to sign Kenny up again now or wait and see until next year.
Earlier in the week we spoke with Shane Horgan about Ireland taking on the All Blacks in another Aviva sell-out tomorrow, and why the result doesn't really matter provided the performance and the positive intent are both there.
A big week for Irish sport means a big week on the World Service, so sign up now for just €5 a month + VAT at secondcaptains.com/join
This was one of the most aesthetically pleasing Ireland performances of all time, and even allowing for the horrendous performance by Japan, Ireland look like a side who are committed to evolving their style of play.
We discuss Jamison Gibson Park's new found self belief, Tadhg Furlong the outhalf, ignoring hat trick scoring wingers for Man of The Match awards, Sweet N Lowe, and Samurai Sexton.
The Premier League signed off for the international break with a bang, or in West Ham’s case a series of shattering hammer blows that smashed Liverpool’s creaky defence into pieces.
Dean Smith and Daniel Farke ran out of time at their clubs, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clings on despite a dismal derby defeat and a weekend that saw more soul searching for United over the true nature of their club.
Jacob Steinberg and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about West Ham’s victory, Liverpool’s sudden fragility, and just why so many players now feel the need to apologise for defeats on social media.
Ken sums up Man United's current form with analogies most gruesome, Cathal Dennehy lets Eoin and Murph in on the secret of the sport of kings: the beer mile, and the world's best hockey goalkeeper, Ayeisha McFerran talks about her mission to help children who are growing up in foster care, like she did as a teenager.
It's all in a week's listening on the Second Captains World Service, and it's available to you for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join
Goodbye Nuno Espirito Santo, hello Antonio Conte? That seems to be Daniel Levy's agenda this Monday, but as we have seen, Levy doesn't always get what Levy wants. Jack Pitt-Brooke joins us today to discuss where it went wrong for Nuno and where Tottenham go from here.
We discuss Agent Klopp, Ramsdale the amazing, blunt City and will Ole stick with his wingless wonders?
David Sneyd is on to give Shamrock Rovers the respect they deserve after securing a second successive title on Friday night.
Plus there's Curb's new season, Pat Kenny meets sweet Mary Jane, and another smooth drive with West Ham's Rolls Rice.
Fergie's puffed cheeks, Dalglish's giant grin, Maguire's hapless defending, Salah's hat trick, Pogba's red card, Sancho on the sidelines, United fans leaving early, Scholes' prophecy, Luke Shaw's self abasement, the record defeat - Man United fans witnessed the complete nightmare in Old Trafford this weekend.
Dion Fanning and Mark Critchley join us to discuss Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool, Gary Neville's defence of Solskjaer, the mood for change at the club, Conte's candidacy and why this wasn't all the manager's fault.
Plus there's Captain Smith's Titanic, Ronaldo's incredible physical stats, Dennis Bailey, Brazil 1-7 Germany, and Eoin's marathon mediocrity.
There was Man United past and present on the World Service this week as we spoke to club legend Peter Schmeichel about his new book, 'One', and not-club-legends Richie Sadlier and Jonathan Wilson about the most recent edition of Ole Groundhog Day.
Plus US Murph joined us after his beloved San Francisco Giants suffered a very special kind of heartbreak: Game 5 play-off heartbreak against an old, bitter rival.
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We had the time of our lives doing synth week and had so many floor fillers sent in by our ultra talented listeners that we've decided to put the top three into one podcast. The Winning Tracks Are: 1. The Ballad of Jurgen Klopp and Union Berlin by Colin Ratcliffe 2. Pet Shop Boos by Dan Mullen 3. Balls by Patrick Stefan Groenland
If you want to join the Football Synth Revolution then please become a member for a fiver a month. There's no minimum sign up, no contracts, and no ads. Go to secondcaptains.com/join for details.
Special thanks too to our judges The Synth Lord, aka Ken Early, and Sir Marks A Lot, aka Mark Horgan.
The era of Saudi Newcastle began with scenes of rejoicing at St James' Park, as Newcastle fans rapturously greeted their trillionaire saviours. Newcastle's days as many people's second favourite team may not return for some time, but hey - it's better to be feared than loved?
We talk about the dramatic match at the King Power, where Coach Brendan Rodgers won the tactics and the mindgames.
Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney join us to give their impressions of the events in Newcastle yesterday, and how the Saudi story might play out from here.
The United Rugby Championship is up and running, and judging by some press releases Eoin has seen, it's off to a flyer. We note the increased profile terrestrial television has given it, but there are also some things that might need to change in Irish rugby if the only domestic league available to us is to succeed, and whether that might end up being a pretty good result for us.
We thank our Berlin super-fans one more time for our week over there with thanks to Aer Lingus, and there's also Connacht's grievances over refereeing decisions which might have gone another way in Thomond Park on Saturday evening.
The gang is officially back together again as Eoin, Ken and Murph gather around a big ol' Berlin kitchen table and record live in person like those pre-Covid days of yore. It's only bloody Synth Week Live from Berlin!!
We chat to Dion Fanning and Gavin Cooney about the other cause for celebration today, Ireland's win against Azerbaijan, one which surely eases pressure on Stephen Kenny... for now at least.
The win aside, the main headline from the match was the small matter of Callum Robinson's two goals, goals which led to some serious DM traffic for our football correspondent over the past two days.
Plus there's Fairview Lady vs Mensch, Courtois going off script, and live show news.
Last week we spoke with the amazing Khalida Popal, founder & former captain of the Afghan women's football team, and human rights lawyer Kat Craig, about how they got Khalida's teammates out of the country and out of the hands of the Taliban. We had an amazing reaction from world service members to this show with quite a few getting in touch to see if they could help in any way. Today, we are making the conversation free to all. If you have any feedback or think you can help please email us at editor@secondcaptains.com
Salah's goal was so good even Mane looked impressed. We try to unweave the rainbow of Liverpool 2-2 Man City.
Miguel Delaney and Gavin Cooney join us to talk through the weekend's football. Should Salah get his contract? Did Ronaldo join the wrong Manchester club? And are there answers for City's striking problems in the Premier League beyond Harry Kane?
It's the start of the month so the perfect time to sample the World Service. Join for a fiver a month, with no minimum sign up, no contract, no ads just lots of independent journalism. Go to secondcaptains.com/join.
Ep 2150: Ryder Cup Tears, Ken's New Favourite Trump Quote, Apologising For F-Bombs - 27/09/21 by Second Captains
It was a week of forgetfulness and brutal reminders. Bruno forgot to keep it down. Spurs players forgot their game plan. We all collectively forgot that Man City were the best team in the PL.
Rory Smith and Dion Fanning join us to talk through the weekend action. Are Arsenal back, reaping the rewards from Giving Him Time? But then, how much time is too much? And are Leeds roadrunners running out of road?
This week on the world service we discussed Jadon Sancho's lack of impact at Man Utd, Barca's delusions, strikers in their 30's and the race to be Kerry manager and in this taster we have US Murph running scared, Lawrence Donegan's Twat Stat, and. Ken on rugby's demographic being a feature not a bug. Join for a fiver a month, with no minimum sign up, no contract, no ads just lots of independent journalism. Go to secondcaptains.com/join.
Today kicks off with an explosive allegation: a Manchester United fan believes the media are biased against his club. We delve into this scandal to see if there's anything to it.
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Mark Critchley join us to talk about the weekend's football. Did Harry Kane deserve the criticism that came his way after the defeat to Chelsea? What's the latest in Pep Guardiola's feud with the City fans? And where are we with that Solskjaer/Lampard analogy...
Plus there's Roy on Kane, Ronaldo's penalty appeal hat trick, Nagelsmann guff, trouble in Paris and Jimmy Greaves memories.
Ken gets triggered, then gets happy and comedy legend Bob Mortimer tells us the time his mum finally believed he had made the right choice in leaving the legal profession. Join the world service for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join.
Tyrone are the All-Ireland football champions... so why is everyone still banging on about Mayo? We bang on about Mayo for a little while, before Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn make sure to give Tyrone their due for their skill-level, their finals mentality, and their opportunism.
But why does this keep happening? There were tactical, technical and psychological flaws shown up on Saturday, and we delve deep into them all.
Elsewhere there was a magnificent Galway surge to win the All-Ireland camogie title, we heard some serious GAA fast talkers, and we salute Britain's first billion-pound athlete.
Ken pitches a concept for new Premier League branding. The "mercury effect lion wearing a crown" is a non-symbol, it doesn't transmit anything. It's time for a new logo that encapsulates the league's rugged values.
We also talk about Ronaldo's return and mass hysteria as the Kathryn Mayorga case hovers above.
So far on the World Service this week, we've had one hell of an All Ireland final preview with Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville, we've basked in the warm glow of the Bazunu and Omobamidele Show, and, most importantly, we've seen Murph and Ken let bygones be bygones and hug it out.
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It was a classic All-Ireland women's football final in Croke Park yesterday, which saw Meath stun the four-in-a-row champions Dublin in a major shock. It was however no shock to seasoned watchers and admirers of Meathness - Murph gives us a run-down on just what makes the Royallers tick.
Leona Maguire is the first Irishwoman to play in the Solheim Cup, but she wasn't content to get there - ever since the competition began on Saturday morning, she's been a revelation. Her singles match this evening could be pivotal, and with Katie Taylor winning on Saturday evening as well, it was a very, very good week to be an Irish sportswoman.
Ireland were behind to Azerbaijan with 4 minutes to go at home to Azerbaijan. A Shane Duffy equaliser spared Ireland's blushes somewhat, but some people have run out of patience.
Richie Sadlier and Damien Delaney join us on the show today to discuss just how quickly we can expect an upturn in results on the pitch, how much responsibility Stephen Kenny bears, and what we can expect from Serbia tomorrow night.
Fault-lines within the Second Captains team also reveal themselves, as Murph accuses Ken of attempting to gaslight the nation.
The main event on the World Service so far this week was Ireland's visit to Faro to play Portugal where a record-chasing Ronaldo lay in wait. Today, we've been grieving the loss of something that was very nearly beautiful, with the help of Richie Sadlier.
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Another dramatic weekend of GAA action will be picked apart in full by Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn tomorrow - they did see this Tyrone ambush coming on Saturday afternoon, they just didn't foresee Kerry not foreseeing it.
With Sean Cavanagh and Pat Spillane clashing on live telly, the call has come again to move away from having analysts from the counties involved on broadcasts... we are not so sure that's a good idea.
Meath are the All-Ireland minor champions for the first time in 29 years, and Nicole Turner won silver at the Paralympics this morning - before charming the nation with a post-match interview for the ages.
He’s back baby and the global Manchester United family is celebrating harder than ever.
But if United signing a 36 year old Ronaldo and making him the best paid player in the league is obviously such a good idea, why did they wait until Man City seemed about to close the deal before making their move?
Laurie Whitwell joins us to analyse the makings and implications of the mega deal. Will Greenwood improve under CR7, how does Bruno feel about this, is it a football signing, how did Fergie influence things and can he do a Tom Brady and play into his 40's?
We also talk about Messi's PSG pro-am, Rio the matchmaker, Roy's selfies, Chelsea's band of brothers, Thiago Time, Arsenal's bad marriage and patronising Pep.
Pep Guardiola is heaping over-the-top praise on Gabriel Jesus, which means he’s probably gonna get rid of him at the end of the season.
Ken also takes a look at the Marseille brawl, how Rafa Benitez motivates his players and big Shane Duffy's return to form.
Was this the greatest ever performance in an All Ireland hurling final? Maybe. Did we see the greatest half of hurling ever? Possibly. Are Limerick the biggest strongest hurling team ever assembled? Definitely.
We talk to Jamie Wall and Malachy Clerkin about the perfect plan executed to perfection, how they seem to peak in finals, how much joy they take in their style of play, and the lessons rivals need to learn if they're ever going to beat them.
Plus there's glassy-eyed stick-wielding fans, angry Brian Murphy, McConville V Flynn and Clash Of The Ash.
Hola! On this week’s World Service Ken speaks Spanish, speculates about Kane transfer speculation and admires the unique El Chiringuito formula for success - WWE, Love Island and old Spanish men talking nonsense about football.
Meanwhile Murph and Eoin watched on as the best GAA punditry team in the biz, Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn, went at it over John Small and a hypothetical "anti Dublin bias", and Jamie Wall came up with a masterplan for Cork to beat Limerick.
All these shows are at your fingertips IF you’re willing to part with just 5 euro a month. No minimum contract, no hidden extras, no ads. Go to secondcaptains.com/join.
We've assembled a crack punditry outfit for our analysis of Dublin/Mayo tomorrow, but there's no doubt this was the sporting event of the weekend. Ken bemoans some refereeing decisions that went against the Dubs, while Eoin eats some humble pie for laughing off the demise of his beloved boys in blue.
Murph on the other hand is on top of the world - the Dubs' dominance is over, Offaly and Roscommon were both in an All-Ireland final, and a Meath team came back from the dead in classic Royaller style to qualify for their first ever women's football final yesterday. "We've gone back to the future and it feels sooooo good...."
The Premier League is back and so are Richie Sadlier and John Brewin to talk through the opening weekend.
Do City need Harry Kane more than Spurs do? How is Jack Grealish going to fit into this system? And are Manchester United credible title contenders?
Plus there's The Eagle Eye with Eoin McDevitt, polite Ken, and VAR, but not as we know it.
Ahoy podcasters! This week's World Service was all about Messi, Neymar, PSG, Barca, the return of the premier league, the Dublin Mayo rivalry and The GAA/GPA's handling of Tyrone's covid outbreak – available now IF you’re willing to part with just 5 euro a month. Go to secondcaptains.com/join.
Kellie Harrington is an Olympic champion, after what must have been one of the most emotionally draining Sunday mornings of all of our lives.
We speak to former world champion Andy Lee and Gavan Casey of the42.ie about an extraordinary Irish sporting achievement, by an extraordinary Irish athlete - how she got there, what she did to get over the line, and what she needs to guard against for the next few months as her life gets turned upside down.
We salute the joy and spirit of her family, Eoin pens a very special (terrible) poem memorialising the moment in verse, and, of course, there's a Mark Horgan audio-bed for Kellie Harrington - the woman who rocked the machine.
Today's football minipod takes on the big issues in a short time. Was it OK for Lionel Messi to cry? Should he play for free? And why do managers think Jack Grealish is simply too sexy to risk sending on to the field of play?
And Ken tells us how pumped he is for the start of the new Premier League season.
We were all so full of hope on Saturday night - we could go to bed, and when we awoke, maybe Kurt Walker would have won a bronze medal at least, Aidan Walsh could have progressed to an Olympic final... maybe Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy could do something at the golf, and Rhys McClenaghan could win us gold while we ate our breakfast?
As it turned out, none of those things happened - we talk to Sinead O'Carroll and Cathal Dennehy live from the Olympic stadium in Tokyo, about a really disappointing day for Team Ireland, why Rhys McClenaghan deserves more than just platitudes, the lessons he can learn and the armchair psychology he can ignore, for Paris in 3 years time.
Plus there's the return of Hoggwatch, why a 7-way playoff is such good telly, the night of nights for Italy, and why mixed team events in the Olympics are so much fun.
The first weekend of the Olympics has had it's usual mix of brilliant Irish displays, disappointment, ecstasy, beautifully upbeat post-race interviews and heartbreaking (and unnecessary) apologies to a nation. Mona McSharry became only the second Irish swimmer to make an Olympic final in a breathtaking achievement, and her final tomorrow will be a huge highlight for the country regardless of where she finishes.
Michael Cheika and Shane Horgan tell us what happened at half time in the Lions South Africa game, how Warren Gatland played the refs like a piano, why the Lions can win it better and if South Africa can continue to trust the gameplan that won them a RWC.
Frances Murphy gives us the TV guide to the overnight action, and there's Hoggwatch, as our hero contemplates what it means to even be Stuart Hogg any more.
We saw 'the greatest half of hurling ever played by any team', with a goal that 'no other player in the history of the game could have scored' yesterday, so it's safe to say that Limerick's second half performance got some tongues wagging.
Derek McGrath and Jamie Wall are on form today as they discuss where Limerick's revival came from, the clinical way Kilkenny went about winning the Leinster final on Saturday evening, and the latest twists and turns as Davy Fitzgerald's Wexford are out of the championship at the hands of Clare for the second year in a row.
Plus there's US/Italian Murph, side-feuds, excitable local GAA commentaries, and tasty qualifier draws - all the meats of the Irish summer stew.
Ahoy Monday only listeners! Today's World Service show was all about Messi, Neymar and Argentina - available now IF you’re willing to part with just 5 euro a month. Go to secondcaptains.com/join.
We also had Paul Flynn, a new addition to our GAA punditry team, having a pop at Dessie Farrell for his handling of the questions around Stephen Cluxton’s future, Shane Horgan on the Lions, there's loads of Olympics next week and football will keep on footballing.
Conor McGregor was fighting again at the weekend, breaking his ankle in gruesome circumstances against Dustin Poirier, and accepting defeat in his usual classy style - we ask how much longer he can keep this jamboree going.
Clare and Wexford seemed destined to be drawn against each other in the hurling qualifiers. Murph reports, with a heavy heart, that these two.... straight up don't like each other.
Plus Ken doubles down on his obituary for Gareth Southgate's time in charge of England.
Italy are the European champions after beating England on penalties at Wembley.
Jonathan Wilson, Jack Pitt Brooke and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about what was an astonishing occasion at Wembley and to try to figure out where it went wrong for Southgate’s dreamers.
Plus there's dangling sacks, wing backs, Mystic McDevitt and Ken explains why he thinks Southgate should hand in his badge.
It's been an amazing week at the Euros, which means it's been a pretty darn good week on the World Service, too.
We're a couple of days away from the ever-so-slightly seismic event of England playing in their first major tournament final in 55 years, against the team of the competition... So couldn't you do with some independent, ad-free football journalism in your life?
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The GAA summer really caught fire this weekend, with four brilliant hurling games - the most dramatic moment of all though was a refereeing decision which cost Clare dearly.
Meanwhile, Murph returned to the sidelines of Gaeldom yesterday in Roscommon, with sodden, hilarious and idiotic results.
England have hammered Ukraine and now storm remorselessly towards the title. Next up they face Denmark - who have a story of their own to tell.
Meanwhile, Belgium's golden generation didn't have quite enough gold to go around. But now Italy, who looked so impressive in victory, have lost a big player of their own with that injury to Spinazzola.
Jonathan Wilson and James Horncastle join us to review the quarter-finals and look ahead to the semis. Can anybody stop the runaway train of Gareth Southgate's success?
The comebacks, the late goals, the attacking football, the blunders, the hubris, the pathos, the fans - we are watching maybe the greatest football tournament of all time. To listen to our daily shows become a member for 5 euro a month at www.secondcaptains.com/join - no contract, no minimum sign up, no obligations just ad free independent journalism.
The All-Ireland championships began this weekend, but there weren't exactly a surfeit of headlines... although 98 shots at goal in one hurling game is certainly newsworthy. We suggest a few rule changes to simplify the game.
Stephen Cluxton played for his club on Saturday night, which indicates he might not be involved in Dublin's first game of the Leinster championship next weekend - Ken wonders aloud if this sombre moment might stop the whingeing.
Conor Murray has been named the new Lions captain after Alun Wyn Jones' injury on Saturday, but is the tour still in danger of being derailed?
Plus there's Lukaku's careless whisper and the staying power of shithousery.
Half the teams that started the finals of Euro 2020/1 have been knocked out, and now the big teams are starting to fall.
We talk about where it went wrong for Holland, and why the real victim in their downfall is Jose Mourinho.
Rory Smith and Dion Fanning join us to talk about Belgium v Portugal. Was violence part of Portugal’s gameplan?
Rory has been doing some blue sky thinking about the future of the Euros. What if we went… even bigger?
The group stages have been brilliant and going into the last 16 the tournament is wide open. Ken can't make his mind up on Germany, Rio Ferdinand doubles down on his England predictions, and the Danes are riding a wave of positive energy.
Join us for the remainder of the Euros - go to secondcaptains.com/join - it's a fiver a month for ad-free daily podcasts, with no contracts and no minimum sign-up. Lay down your fiver and see where it takes you.
It takes something pretty special to wrestle some attention away from the Euros these days, but the US Open last night was a hilarious snakes & ladders of the world's best players charging to the top of the leaderboard before falling back in increasingly daft and humiliating ways.
The final result was a win for Spain's Jon Rahm, and there was drama elsewhere too as Leona Maguire came agonisingly close to a first win on the LPGA tour... and even Murph had an unforgettable incident on the fairways of West Clare.
Our Men's 7s team qualified for the Olympics at the weekend, and captain Billy Dardis gave an emotional interview moments after the final whistle which summed up just how big a moment this was for the sport in Ireland. Plus, the Euro news just keeps on coming as Scotland's young tyro Billy Gilmour tests positive for Covid.
Murph returns as we talk about an epic weekend of European Championship football.
Remember how Germany weren't that good? Well that was last week. Today we talk to Raphael Honigstein about how Germany might in fact be quite good.
Plus there's Scotland fan energy, predictable England, beautiful Italy and boring Spain.
Today's taster includes Rio Ferdinand's bullish prediction for England V Scotland, Gazza 96 and a controversial Gareth Bale pun-a-thon.
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Football tournament pods are undoubtedly the funnest pods on the World Service and our daily Euro 2020 shows are officially full steam ahead.
While Stephen A Smith - ESPN's new voice of soccer - thought Patrik Schick's second goal against Scotland a masterpiece, Ken wasn't so convinced. Eoin is incensed that the Scots stole an Irish football anthem, and Kylian Mbappé has been reaching speeds supersonique.
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Kerry made sweet sweet love with Gaelic football on Saturday night and Oisin McConville was in Killarney to witness it all. What did the locals make of it, is coach Keane talking up his boys and are Kerry now official heirs to the Dublin throne?
ESPN's Stephen A Smith is on the soccer beat for the Euros - we analyse his analysis.
Novak Djokovic powered past Nadal in the semis and won a 5 set final in Paris to secure his 19th Grand Slam. Eoin says its time for acceptance, Novak will pass Rafa and Roger's Slam records very soon.
Richard Sadlier and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk about the Euro 2020 opening weekend, which was overshadowed by the collapse of Christian Eriksen at the Denmark-Finland game.
We also discuss England's opening win against Croatia, the reasons why broadcasters seem to have become less critical, and the Mbappé-Giroud war of words...
We've been waiting and waiting, and for a whole 25% longer than we usually are, but Euro 2020 is now but a couple of hours away. There's going to be wall-to-wall coverage every day on the World Service for the next month, so there couldn't be a better time to sign up.
On today's taster menu, there's Ken stabbing his brother over a morsel of cheese, the extraordinary pageantry of the Italian squad announcement and some bittersweet memories of Euros past.
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Ireland are on a winning streak and its the poor miserable mediocre Magyars next on the chopping block. Ken shows Murph Hungary's recent record..... England fans once again booed their own players for taking a knee before the Romania game. We discuss Gareth Southgate's handling of this situation, Nigel Farage's response, the worrying make up of the England crowd and just what a fraught build-up its been ahead of what is a de facto home tournament for them.
We talk to the brilliant Tim Vickery about the Copa Clusterfuck, why mid pandemic Brazil are now hosting it, if the players will protest, and how Bolsonaro is using the tournament to sell his political philosophy.
Plus there's Jordan Henderson's body language and the most read article on The Guardian website today.
Naomi Osaka won her first round match at the French Open yesterday, but it was a statement she released in the days leading up to her appearance at the tournament that has grabbed the lion's share of media attention this weekend. Osaka announced that she wouldn't be appearing at post-match press conferences during the tournament in order to protect her mental health, leading organisers to fine her $15k and threaten her with expulsion.
Should players have to face the press win, lose or draw? Has Osaka approached this in the right way? Murph and Ken mull it over.
With a concrete defence and clockwork attack, Chelsea are champions of Europe for a second time.
For Man City, the wait goes on.
Miguel Delaney and Jonathan Wilson join us to analyse the final. What's the secret of Chelsea's mid-season transformation? Why does Guardiola experiment in the biggest games? And where do City go from here?
Ep 2048: Mickelson Takes Another Major At The Fine Age of 50, A Betrayal Of Madridismo - 24/05/21 by Second Captains
Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City spent 92% of the last two seasons in the top 4, yet twice missed out on Champions League football. Is Rodgers officially a nearly man or can he talk his way out of this one? Ken has a look at the cold hard facts.
Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk about the end of the Premier League season. Are Liverpool right to let the injury-proof Gini Wijnaldum leave? Could Harry Kane bring City the love they crave? And who do they see as Manager of the Year?
Plus there's Pep's tears, limbs in Bale's face and cold Manchester rain.
Variety, they say, is the spice of life and there's been plenty of it on the World Service this week: from Ken on whether Harry Kane will get the Spurs exit he's wrangling for, to US Murph on the LeBron - Steph Curry showdown we were gifted, to our conversation with World Rugby chief medical officer Dr Éanna Falvey about the complex relationship between rugby and concussion, which we'll be releasing tomorrow.
The show that a lot of members felt was one of the best we've ever put out, though, was the latest edition of the Player's Chair, where Meath legend Liam Hayes joined Richie Sadlier and spoke really honestly and movingly about the death of his brother by suicide, his own mortality and his relationship with his playing past.
It's all available when you sign up to the World Service for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join
Gaelic football arrived back into our lives this weekend, and with it came the return of the phenom that is David Clifford. Although his beloved Galway were the team unfortunate enough to find themselves on the end of Clifford's incredible performance, Murph can't help but be in complete awe of the 22-year-old Kerryman.
There was plenty of hurling too, hurling which prompted Limerick manager John Kiely to decide that the game as we know it is GONE.
Ep 2041: Alisson Scores, Fergie Remembers, Brendan Does The Business - 17/05/21 by Second Captains
It's been a massive week on the World Service so far, and that's before we've even gotten around to this Friday's post-Liverpool-United Football Show.
We spoke to Dublin City Council chief executive Owen Keegan about the merits or otherwise of the council's white-water rafting proposals, to the excellent Aidan Regan on the role of international institutional investors in the housing crisis on Ken's Politics Podcast and to an under-the-radar Irish sporting great in three-time World Indoor 1500m champion, Marcus O'Sullivan on The Game That Changed My Life.
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Rory McIlroy ended an 18 month dry spell to land the Wells Fargo Championship last night, but not without all the usual Rory tropes - a nervy finish, confusing golf rules, help from his caddy, and of course some brilliant golf.
A record indoor crowd for a boxing event in the US (73,126) turned up to watch Canelo Alvarez defeat Billy Joe Saunders in their super middleweight world title unification bout in Texas. We discuss Canelo working the crowd and the commentators' reactions to Saunders not coming out for the 9th round.
Manchester City still can't quite seal the deal, and now a listener is on claiming that Kevin de Bruyne is actually overrated. We don't usually read out all the stuff that comes in from scum around the country but...
We also discuss Leicester's chances of making the top four, before James Horncastle joins us to talk about what has happened at Juventus. A 3-0 defeat to Milan leaves them outside the Champions League spots with three games to go - one of which is against the champions, Inter. We ask: what happened? who's taking the fall for this? and will Juventus ever give up their Super League dream?
NOTE: This was initially a Second Captains World Service members-only show broadcast first on 22nd of April 2021. If you like what you hear, please consider becoming a member at secondcaptains.com. Your support allows us to continue to do work like this, broadcast our daily shows and undertake long-term projects like 'Where Is George Gibney?'. We hope you enjoy the show.
For months now, we’ve wanted to talk to Oisin McConville and Andrew Trimble, two of our favourite regular contributors, about a shared future in Northern Ireland, their very different upbringings, and what role sport can play in bridging the gap between two communities.
We talk about why at various stages they felt like ‘bottlers’, how close Andrew came to learning the words to Amhrán na bhFiann, and why Oisin feels uncomfortable saying the words ‘Northern Ireland’.
"We don't want to see fans storming stadiums Gary? Do we?"
It depends...
Mark Critchley was there at the Lowry Hotel and Old Trafford, and Jonathan Wilson also joins us to talk about what happened on an unprecedented day, and what might happen next.
Plus there's sympathy for Dave Jones, throwing soup and being a good Yank.
And we ask the question - are you a mudlark, or a quitter? https://twitter.com/SecondCaptains/status/1387805290209361921?s=20
On this week's dip in the World Service paddle pool we look back at Katie's London Olympics and Ken's life choices and look ahead to the tough challenge awaiting Leinster in the Champions Cup semi final.
Join for a fiver a month. There's no contracts and no hidden fees and you can quit at any time. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, like our recent international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.
It was a while coming, but when it came Munster's win over Leinster was emphatic. The caveat of a weakened Leinster team might be applied retrospectively, but the alternative was barely worth contemplating from Munster's point of view, and their determination to keep their foot on Leinster's throat was exemplified by a fired-up Peter O'Mahony, who treated this game like it was one long interview with Reggie Corrigan.
Ireland's women finished third in this year's Six Nations after their win over Italy on Saturday which, given the two-tier nature of the competition now, seemed like both a minimal requirement reached and the best result that we could have hoped for.
We were introduced this week to the joy-filled commentating style of League of Ireland legend Joey N'Do, McDevitt throws down the gauntlet to tennis novice Murph, and there's possibly the most deranged email we've ever received.
After the crime was uncovered last week, there must be punishment. But what form will this punishment take? Will the prodigal sons be welcomed back into the fold, or is swift, harsh judgement coming their way?
Rory Smith of the New York Times, and the Currency's Dion Fanning hold court on today's show.
We also discuss why Dublin lost their Euro 2020 games, heart-break for Moyesy, and a United/Leeds game so bad it had Jamie Carragher hooting derisively at the players' efforts.
Member-led journalism is a hell of a thing. Three days, three bumper football podcasts, one former Super League. We've been joined on the World Service over the last couple of days by Miguel Delaney, Sid Lowe, Gabriele Marcotti and Jonathan Wilson as the league began to disintegrate before our eyes, and there'll undoubtedly be more breaking news as the week unfolds.
Today's World Service taster also features some of our brilliant conversation with Oisin McConville and Andrew Trimble on segregation in the North and how progress can be made, which we'll be releasing later in the week.
Plus there's Graeme 'Geopolitics' Souness and the hotly-contested battle for our Administrator of the Week award.
We've already got a full football podcast out in the world, but bloody hell what a morning of news. As opinions continue to pour in from players, pundits, managers (and Ian Holloway), we delve into our bulging mailbag for more reaction to the dirty dozen breakaway.
Ireland shipped 50 points to France, just 7 days after putting 45 unanswered points on Wales in this year's 6 Nations - a pretty clear reflection on how wide the gap is now between the professional, semi-professional and amateur teams in the competition. We discuss the job the IRFU have at the international and mini-rugby ends of the game.
You know it's a big day of football news when Jose Mourinho getting sacked is a mere speck on the windshield of the day's stories.
Today's pod is giving some initial reaction to the Super League plans announced by 12 of Europe's richest clubs. They've made their grab for money and power - can anyone call their bluff?
Tariq Panja and Miguel Delaney join us to discuss one of the biggest football stories in years.
This week we had another special show in our 2000th episode celebration series as we chatted to a dear old friend of the podcast, Roddy Collins about the game that changed his life, his double-winning season with Bohs, safe-cracking, and having a few pints on the Six One News.
As part of our Rachael Blackmore show we spoke to Katie Walsh and Malachy Clerkin about Rachael's impact, and to Charlotte Budd, the first female jockey to ever ride the Grand National.
And on today's Champions League football show we uncovered (saw on Twitter) a pearl of a song dedicated to one Erling Haaland.
It was a crazy couple of hours on Saturday evening, as Rachael Blackmore won the Grand National, Ireland hammered Wales in the 6 Nations, and Leinster came back from 14-0 down to beat the reigning European champions in their home ground in a classic Heineken Cup match.
Galway has a new number 1 sportsperson in the extraordinary Beibhinn Parsons, Stuart Hogg is outplayed by Hugo Keenan, and we consider a rebrand for a couple of Ireland's rugby players as we look ahead to another insane week on the Second Captains World Service.
It was the weekend when Richard Keys and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer agreed: the Game's gone. We know that - but why? Also today, Ken unveils a controversial new theory: how will Eoin respond?
Today is a heavily Ulster-inflected pod, with Cookstown's Stuart Dallas galloping through and Carnlough's Brendan Rodgers letting us in on some of the many - not secrets, exactly... let's say "principles" - of his (and John Terry's) success.
Dion Fanning and John Brewin join us to talk through the weekend's football. Moyes triumphant, Ole's critics silenced, and a verdict on whether anyone really wants Harry Kane.
The Champions League being overrun by lemmings, David O'Doherty meeting Paul Kimmage, and US Murph achieving true sporting zen. It's your World Service sampler menu in a week absolutely packed with sport from the Champions League to the Champions Cup to the US Masters.
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Thomas Tuchel has had it all his own way since taking over at Chelsea, but then he had not faced Callum Robinson - until Saturday afternoon.
We also discuss the question of whether Erling Haaland can take control of Manchester City's transfer policy.
Then we're joined by Dermot Corrigan to talk about the allegation of racism that caused Valencia to walk off in their game against Cadiz, and how Real Madrid are feeling ahead of Liverpool's visit tomorrow.
Plus there's Silva the winner, same old Jose and glazed Neville Bros.
Our month-long 2000th episode celebrations kicked off on the World Service last week with the big day itself and continued this week with the first of our big interviews, with Olympic diving legend and HIV/AIDS activist Greg Louganis.
Ken had a barney about Martin O'Neill with Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday evening before unloading everything he wished he'd said on the World Service.
And with the Champions Cup knock-out stages starting tomorrow evening, we have some golden advice for Munster.
Is this rock bottom - or just the new normal?
Damien Delaney and Richie Sadlier join us to talk over the game in the most ambitious crossover event in Irish sports broadcasting history of the last three days.
For this Monday's mini-pod, we focus on yet another Dublin-based team in blue barely showing any emotion while coolly winning yet another title in their home ground against plucky but over-matched country cousins.
Why did Munster look a beaten docket from the start, should they be asking more of their best players, and what needs to change for them to beat Toulouse next weekend?
There's also one more Hoggwatch for the road, as Scotland out-Scotland themselves in Paris, and there's LaVar Ball's 2000th-episode message to Eoin for the benefit of our Monday listeners.
It's fair to say nobody really saw last night's 3-2 scoreline in Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Serbia coming... nobody but Eoin, that is.
Ken reflected on the pain and pleasure that came with both ending the goal drought while also losing.
We also welcomed Irish swimming great Gary O'Toole to the "I'll Tell You Who Wrote It" Book Club and unsurprisingly, it was a brilliant chat.
Harry Kane continues to captivate. His trial continues on today's football pod after he pulled off what may just have been an entirely unique piece of play last night.
And after the opening weekend of the League of Ireland season, we hear from a listener who has a bone to pick with Bohs.
Your World Service taster menu is hereby served. After his initial show of disgust on Monday at Erik Lamela's goal in the North London derby, Ken continued to push his anti-rabona agenda during the week.
On St Patrick's Day, Oisin McConville joined us to chat about cultural identity and the need for the GAA to allow people to get back training in Northern Ireland even if the rest of the island has to wait.
And ahead of Ireland-England in the Six Nations this Saturday, Paul Grayson and Shane Horgan talked Ireland's attack and why Mike Catt may not be getting as much of a say behind closed doors as he'd like.
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France and England put together arguably the most high quality 40 minutes of rugby in 6 Nations history and while England came out on top, the question is how do we make rugby look like that more often?
We talk to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about Ireland's ice cold professionalism in the last 5 minutes, their brilliant pack, why the backs look like strangers and if defence is now our biggest problem.
Murph gives his latest HoggWatch and Eoin asks Murph if he would prefer to tackle Tadhg Furlong or Mathieu Jalibert.
Plus there's Marvellous Marvin Hagler, Murray Walker and wings in space.
Erik Lamela's goal in the North London derby yesterday was met with differing reactions: for Eoin it was a thing of beauty; for Ken, a thing of great annoyance. A listener has done a deep dive into the podcast archives and come to a chilling conclusion: there is a clear and undeniable anti-Liverpool bias on the Second Captains football desk. Ken responds to the accusations.
Plus there's the original Rabona king and Ronaldo declares victory over football.
Ken's long-held, but newly-voiced, love of synth, and football-related synth in particular, shocked the Second Captains World Service to its core last week. So we have a number of bombshells for you today. Ken plays out the show with his first synth floor-filler choice, but not before a listener's only synth composition gets a debut airing.
We also talk about Bryson Dechambeau and his assault on the norms and conventions of staid ol' golf, filet steaks and all, and there's some love for Eoin's obsession for terms and conditions.
Steven Gerrard defies the doubters to lead Rangers back to the summit of Scottish football just as Jurgen Klopp loses his sixth home match in a row? This is getting a bit witchy.
Meanwhile, Luke Shaw was the hero as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led Man United to yet another win in the Manchester derby. Maybe the win has come too late to affect the destination of the league title, but could United have given Guardiola something to worry about for the Champions League?
Jordan Campbell of the Athletic joins us to talk about Rangers' title success. Is this more than winning the league by default after the only credible opposition collapsed?
It's World Service Menu Taster time and this week we had joy and we had fun but our faith in the FAI to deliver a home World Cup is sadly starting to fade. We also discuss Big Boris' plucky Brexit Britain, Jerry Flannery's Tonya Harding moment and we chat to Derval O'Rourke about world records, times and new technology.
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You make your own luck in sport, unless you're the Welsh rugby team, who on Saturday had a lot of ref and TMO decisions go their way. So is it just that everything always comes up Wales, or are they a doughty, tough, mentally resilient and increasingly skillful side that deserves the Triple Crown and the now inevitable Grand Slam?
We talk to Gerry Thornley and Shane Horgan about the series of Covid breaches in French rugby, if Fabien Galthie will get the sack, and what the French Government, the French rugby union and 6N should do about this.
We ask if Ireland can continue to offload against the good teams, if Andy Farrell, with Kelleher, Furlong, Kilcoyne, Henderson, Ryan, Beirne, Connors and Stander, has found his best set of forwards for the Scotland and England games.
Plus there's Rees Zammit's poker face and rugby analysis via Kevin Costner and Lewis Dunk.
Man United's matches against the big six have been following a pretty familiar, pretty boring pattern as of late and yesterday's 0-0 draw with Chelsea was no different.
And so any dash of colour during an otherwise drab weekend had to come from the Sky Sports punditry team, with things between Roy Keane and Jamie Redknapp getting heated. Why was Keane getting more annoyed at what he was saying himself than what Redknapp was saying? And what does Matt Doherty have to do with all of this?
Which PL player is Erling Haaland most like? Murph is invited to guess - and the results may surprise you.
We also talk about no-nonsense Thomas Tuchel, and how the methods of a certain somebody remain beyond reproach.
We are joined by Jonathan Wilson and Dion Fanning to look back at the weekend's football. After their first win at Anfield in the 21st century, where is the ceiling for Everton? How are Manchester City close to setting a world record for consecutive wins? And why do people keep suggesting West Ham have been better without West Ham fans?
Everyone seems to be talking about Liverpool Football Club as a pitiable mess, an irredeemable shambles, and after watching them concede 3 goals in the last 15 minutes against Leicester, you might be forgiven for thinking their world was falling in.
But there's plenty of shambles to go around, and Man United are far from immune. And while the two most successful teams in English football implode, there's City - embarking on a record-breaking run of wins, and now seemingly sauntering to another league title.
'To me, they've been bad champions'. Those were the words of impartial observer Roy Keane on Sky Sports yesterday as any glimmer of hope Liverpool were clinging on to that they were still in the title race was repeatedly stamped on by Alisson Becker's big boot.
As for Jurgen Klopp, he's not taking the collapse of his dreams into tiny piles of dust all too well.
From the 14th minute when Peter O'Mahony was sent off for a dangerous clear-out, Ireland looked in trouble in Cardiff, and despite showing encouraging flashes in attack, and improvements at the set-piece, they eventually went down 21-16 for a dispiriting start to 2021.
Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble join us to discuss how damaging that moment was, the outhalf dilemma, where Ireland showed improvement, and small talk with Andy Farrell.
The Scots provided all the drama on Saturday evening as they won in Twickenham for the first time since 1983, in the process shoving some words down Murph's throat. Does he retreat,or double down today?
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs facing off in the Super Bowl this Sunday, what better time to speak to the last Irishman to play in the NFL, ten-year vet Neil O'Donoghue whose career highlight just so happened to come for the Bucs against the Chiefs.
We also got our Six Nations coverage under way with Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble who looked back on their various humiliations against Wales, while Ken thanked himself for his own journalistic contributions.
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Whenever the directors at Barcelona are faced with a crisis, they fall back on the programming of their Barca DNA: whatever the situation, simply add more smoke, mirrors, cloaks, daggers, secrets, spies and lying eyes, and wait to see what happens. This is how they can pay a guy more than half a billion euros over four years and still have him hate them with the fire of a thousand suns.
We also discuss some of the Premier League weekend talking points, such as whether Thiago is the new Juan Sebastian Veron.
Jacob Steinberg and Alan Smith join us to discuss whether Jose Mourinho can make it to the end of February, and whether there is any hope for Gareth Bale.
Chelsea have sacked Frank Lampard, with Tuchel set to take over. What did Frank do wrong, besides the losses, the waste of talent and putting the blame on his players?
Liverpool scored two goals against Man United and played better than they have done recently but big games come down to the weakest link, or maybe what you thought was your strongest link turning out to have a few cracks?
A number of Ireland players have timed their return to fitness nicely ahead of the 2021 Six Nations, including Tadhg Furlong, Dave Kilcoyne, Iain Henderson and James Lowe but the Munster players will have a ton of regrets after taking a 10-0 lead inside 12 mins, dominating possession, and still losing 13-10 to Leinster.
Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble tell us why Munster should still be optimistic and why Leinster should start to heed the warning signs of a slip in form.
It's time for your weekly waft of the Second Captains World Service which includes Ken the songbird, Eoin pitching his movie idea, Failing Frank and our chat with the brilliant Ciara Mageean about the race that changed her life.
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NOTE: This was initially a Second Captains World Service members-only show broadcasted first on 15th of January 2021. Due to the importance of the subject matter and the huge reaction to Fionn's story, we have decided to re-publish for all today, the 19th of January. To help us continue to produce independent, member-led journalism like this and projects like 'Where Is George Gibney?', please join the Second Captains World Service for just €5 a month. Enjoy the show and thanks to all our members as always for their support.**
Today we go entirely outside of sport on the Second Captains World Service and the magnitude of the Mother and Baby report this week in Ireland warrants it, particularly when a friend of the podcast has such an important story to tell.
Fionn Davenport was born in the St Patrick’s Mother and Baby home on the Navan Rd in Dublin in 1968. His mother Jane was lied to and told she couldn’t keep her son. Fionn was adopted soon afterwards.
This week, this dark part of our history has been brought into sharp focus. On Tuesday, the final report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation was published, detailing the cruelty experienced by thousands of women and children at 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes across Ireland between 1922 and 1998, and the following day the Taoiseach issued a state apology for how these people were treated.
Fionn is now a well-known travel writer and editor and he tells us his emotional story; the impact it’s had on him throughout his life, the significance of this week’s report and the roadblocks that still exist for survivors.
Ken inspects his bulging mailbag and finds listeners and non-listeners alike have lost patience with the constant stream of nonsense he has talked on many subjects, ranging from the source of Liverpool's problems, the quality of Marcus Rashford's performances and Frank Lampard's trust in Mason Mount. Carefully, patiently, he sets these losers and haters straight.
We hear quite a lot from Alex Ferguson today, from his negotiations with Andrei Kanchelskis' agent to his opinions about the recently-retired Wayne Rooney.
Rory Smith joins us to discuss yesterday's game at Anfield. Why are Liverpool bad now? Is their recruitment department quite the world-beating operation it's cracked up to be? And is Bruno Fernandes the new Luis Suarez?
Its time for your weekly snifter of the Second Captains World Service. We build up to Liverpool V Man Utd by looking at Solskjaer's skill at cutting away the dead wood at Old Trafford, US Murph talks to us about Trump and the Capitol riots and Ken takes a reading on golf's moral compass.
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Stephen Kenny has had a highly eventful time as Ireland manager with a penalty playoff loss, a pandemic, a Covid close contacts crisis, a video storm, 8 games without a win and now he has lost his assistant coach Damien Duff. Ken journalist is on the case, and he has some strong leads (1.00).
Paul O'Connell is maybe Ireland's best-ever forward, one of our best ever captains, a Lions captain, but besides a curtailed spell in Paris and some short stints in Ireland, he hasn't got a very extensive coaching CV. We ask Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley to predict how good he will be, and why (20.30).
Plus there's Roy Keane football manager, mighty Leinster, Connacht butchering a 15 on 13 overlap and Eoin McDevitt's shredded sports calendar.
We talk about Frank Lampard's struggle at Chelsea - which might now, if history is any guide, be entering a terminal phase.
Meanwhile Ken reveals he has made important changes to his lifestyle - but that doesn't mean he doesn't have time to round on the losers and haters.
We're joined by Jonathan Wilson and Dion Fanning to discuss some of the weekend's football in more detail. What went wrong for Chelsea against City, and is it ever a bad time to Give Him Time?
Are Manchester United serious title contenders? Why are they getting more penalties than anyone else? And is refereeing in the age of VAR increasingly vulnerable to influence by #narrative?
Ken and Jonathan Wilson talk over the post-Christmas football, as is the tradition.
We all know the image we will remember the weekend by....but did Sam Allardyce's tactics actually cost his team victory at Anfield?
Why should Chelsea fans be worried about Frank Lampard's uncompromisingly direct criticism of his players after losing to Arsenal? Why have Tottenham ground to a halt?
And why is Jonathan sick of having to defend Marcelo Bielsa?
2020 threw up a lot of surprises, so we should be thankful at least for some certainty and security in life - and few things in life now are as certain or secure as Dublin finishing the year as All-Ireland football champions.
Oisin McConville and Andy Moran are on the line to pick through the bones of it, how much of the gameplan went right for Mayo, why Dublin were still able to pick them off... and how to stop Dublin from scoring goals direct from the throw-in.
Ken also tries to get into the mind of Stephen "The Clinker" Cluxton, good people making good Dubs, and a mention too for Scott McTominay's heroics yesterday.
It was a week that featured more soccer than you could shake a stick at, a review of the All-Ireland hurling final, a preview of the All-Ireland football final, and the start of the European champions cup in rugby... so what the hell are you waiting for? Join us today and hear Ken lauding the return of the dinosaurs to the Premier League, why the war on Chris Wilder is Jurgen Klopp's Vietnam, and why Andy Moran still believes Mayo have what it takes to win the All-Ireland final.
This morning we heard the sad news of the death of Gerard Houllier, former manager of France, Liverpool and Aston Villa among others. We talk about the mark Houllier made on English football.
Then we turn our attention to the weekend, in which Arsenal stole the show from some other underperforming clubs then had the show quickly stolen from them by Patrice Evra.
We are joined by Dion Fanning and John Brewin to talk about Houllier, Arsenal, and whether some critics are right to suggest this is the worst season ever.
Plus there's Thierry Henry's media fence, reaching maximum outrage and Paul Ince's 5-a-side record.
For once, The Isolators put down their parsnips of war and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas Tops-Off-Thursday.
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It’s beefs galore in the Imagination Cave as the Isolators turn on each other.
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As Raul Jimenez recovers in hospital after fracturing his skull in an awful clash of heads with David Luiz, Troy Deeney has attracted derision by arguing that players should self-diagnose when they have suffered brain damage. But why does he feel that way, and how should we understand his legitimate concerns?
Miguel Delaney and Jacob Steinberg join us to talk about last night's stalemate between the London title contenders, and confront the awkward question of how certain people might have been 'wrong' to write off Jose Mourinho.
And Kieran Canning explains why angry Celtic fans were protesting outside the stadium last night.
To celebrate being certified pox-free, David gives us the sexiest ever Tops-Off-Thursday.
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Since episode 8 of 'Where Is George Gibney?' aired last month, we've been inundated with questions, comments and emails about the making of the show, and the impact it's had.
So to tide people over until the final two episodes drop on BBC Sounds on December 3rd and 10th, we have a Q&A with the podcast's creators Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy, which was originally released on the World Service.
We discuss the final, fateful meeting with Gibney, feeling an obligation to the survivors to do this thing right, and the emotional toll it took just living in this story for 2 years.
There's also plenty of questions from our listeners, crazy golf, and what it's like to spend many, many weeks in a car with foul-mouthed podcast host Mark Horgan.
David's stitches are out and he is in the mood for vengeance.
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Ireland's goal drought is beginning to warp the minds of everyone at Second Captains HQ, with Murph and Ken turning to a discussion of which Ireland player they'd eat first in a crisis.
In a slightly saner conversation, we unveiled a new hurling pundit in Jamie Wall this week who gave us the definitive account of how to stop Clare's superstar Tony Kelly.
And over on Isolating with David O'Doherty, there's stabbings, the musical stylings of Kriss Kross and Anthony Hopkins.
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Unriddled by the Covids, David takes us on his daily cycle to the spot where, as a teen, he mourned the death of Kurt Cobain by making out with a stranger.
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Snitches get stitches. Following his shivving, David receives well-wishes and threats from the Isolators.
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It was a big weekend of Gaelic football, and we have the best punditry team in the business to pick over the bones of it this Monday, as Andy Moran and Oisin McConvillle are with us.
We talk about Mayo's first Connacht title since 2015, why Croke Park might suit them better than Salthill in November, and why Donegal are still a bit short of the Dubs... we reckon.
Plus there's Murph's ducks (and why they'd have drowned this weekend), Mickey Harte's decision to step away from Tyrone, and Ireland's goal drought.
It could have been the morning after the night before of a famous Irish victory in Wembley but alas, it was not to be and the culture wars keep roaring on. In our little taster of the week's World Service shows, we turn to the Scots, David O'Doherty and an amazing new documentary on Jack Charlton to cheer us up.
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On a huge Tops Off Thursday, David deep-dives into the sad history of his former favourite breakfast cereal, RiCiCLES. Plus there's ballcock success, Doctor Oooops, nerd alerts and stupid things kids are scared of.
Nice day for a goth wedding. David reveals some of the incredible celebrities who have dined at his local Fish and Chipper. Plus there's bad knees and magic moments.
Not for the last half hour anyway, as City and Liverpool were too tired to play a full match.
David Sneyd joins us to keen over Grealish and look ahead to Thursday.
And Kieran Canning explains what’s been going wrong for Shane Duffy at Celtic.
Tops Off Thursday makes its triumphant, and quite chilly, return, and there have been a series of Doddles sightings around the city.
Have a whiff of this week's shows on the Second Captains World Service. To access daily shows go to secondcaptains.com/join. Its 5 euro a month for independently produced advert free daily shows including Isolating with David O'Doherty, twice weekly football shows with Ken Early, the Book Club with Murph, The Player's Chair with Richie Sadlier, all anchored by television star and marathon bore Mr. Eoin McDevitt.
As 2020 continues its relentless bullshit, David gets the band back together.
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Why are Manchester United so inconsistent? To Roy Keane the answer is obvious: too many of the players lack too many of the key qualities of real Manchester United players. Aggression. Leadership. Courage. Men. But maybe there are a couple of other reasons besides these. Ken is back today to suggest a few.
Dion Fanning and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about how Solskjaer and Arteta matched up, whether Pogba is reaching the end of the road, the growing momentum at Spurs, and who else besides Liverpool can be considered contenders.
After the fireworks of recent weeks, this was an altogether more sedate weekend in the Premier League. In fact the most blood-curdling battle of the entire round of fixtures was in the Sky Sports studio as Patrice Evra and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink went at each other in extremely entertaining style.
Richie Sadlier joins us to talk about why that was altogether more fun than the United/Chelsea game which preceded it, and why letting two people talk for 15 mins about football is altogether rarer than it should be.
Jonathan Wilson is with us as well, as he remembers his colleague Kevin McCarra, and we also salute Shamrock Rovers, who bestrode this shortened League of Ireland season and are the worthiest of champions.
Welcome to your weekly sample of the Second Captains World Service which included the surreal but brilliant chat between Ken and Tim Robbins, Champions League, and Oisin and Andy Moran on the GAA getting the green light. Go to secondcaptains.com/join to access daily shows. No contract, no obligations, no minimum sign up.
Ireland were goalless again against Wales, but with half a team out due to Covid complications, with a bombshell false positive from Slovakia leaving a bitter taste in the mouth, and with a new manager left bearing the brunt of communicating all this drama to the public - a 0-0 draw was a pretty good result, and the performance was encouraging too.
Richie Sadlier and Gavin Cooney of the42.ie join Ken, Eoin and Murph as we discuss a pretty stressful week in the life of Stephen Kenny.
Mick McCarthy's continued presence as a kind of Greek chorus around Kenny as he starts his international management career is still a disgrace, and we also discuss just what Liverpool and Man United have in common with Marcus Crassus.
Manchester United losing 1-6 to Spurs is the sort of result you could just about imagine happening in real life, if things ever went as badly off the rails for United as early in the game as they did yesterday. But Liverpool losing 7-2 to Villa in the very next game... does... not... compute...
Is this just what football is now? How did it get this way? And should we just enjoy it while it lasts?
Richie Sadlier joins us to talk about the 7-2 and the 1-6. Are they really the same thing? And at whom does he point the finger of blame in the target-rich environment of Manchester United?
This week's look around the Second Captain show house includes Ken's theory on Klopp's Sky savagery, the truth about young Kobe Bryant and ex Connacht coach Pat Lam on the game that changed his life and the unbreakable Irish spirit.
Go to secondcaptains.com/join for full access. Its 5 euro a month (plus VAT) with no contract and no minimum sign up or hidden costs. AND its the start of the month, so the perfect time to jump aboard.
It was a weekend that reminded you of what we treasure about the game of football - the chance for everybody to absolutely lose their minds over something that really does not matter at all.
We talk about why almost all the outrage over "the new handball rule" misses the point.
There is also Pat Kenny, Paddy Kenny, Neil Warnock's crusty haunches, Lord Bamford and the latest from the Suarez-Messi telenovela, before Jonathan Wilson and Jacob Steinberg join us to talk about hands, Pep and Super Frank.
Was that the end of Chelsea's title challenge? Two games in it's too soon to say, but they'll need to play a lot better if they want to cut down last season's 33-point gap to Liverpool, who have added a new dimension with the signing of Thiago.
Was yesterday's easy Liverpool win a question of incidents involving Christensen, Kepa and Jorginho not going Chelsea's way - or were there deeper problems too?
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Mark Critchley join us to talk about the contrasting fortunes this weekend of Tottenham and Manchester United. Why was nobody else but Spurs in for Gareth Bale? Does Mourinho want to get rid of Dele Alli? And what was it about Paul Pogba's Covid-19 hit pre-season that convinced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he was ready to start against Crystal Palace?
Champagne Football is out today. It’s the definitive history of John Delaney’s rise, reign and spectacular fall at the FAI, by the journalists who brought him down.
Eoin and Ken interviewed authors Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan at the book's virtual launch last night and we're making the chat available to everybody for free.
Plus there's episode 4 of 'Where Is George Gibney?', Scorsese goes Irish, and truth is stranger than fiction.
Better to live one day as a Lion than a thousand years as a Sheep. Such is the Leeds United philosophy under Marcelo Bielsa... the downside of course is that you only get to live one day. Though if Leeds can keep scoring three goals a game they should live a bit longer than that.
The Spurs-Everton game was dominated by Jose's headline-grabbing soundbites about lazy pressure and so on, but more interesting was the rivalry of the Ireland right backs. Who would you rather be right now: Seamus Coleman, or Matt Doherty?
Miguel Delaney and John Brewin join us to discuss (the bit we have so far seen of) the Premier League's opening weekend. What is Bielsa's secret? Are Chelsea poised to storm to the title under their legendary young coach? And can John Brewin say the word Doherty?
Sir Bradley Wiggins, Boris Johnson, Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, the return of the English Premier League….. we’ve been covering a wild week for the people of England on the world service and you can access our daily shows for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join
Today’s taster also includes Triple H, Ken looks into his crystal ball, and there’s the great Spanish Podcast Mystery. When you join theres no contract, no minimum stay, no sneaky tie-ins just daily shows in your app, plus instant access to all our archives. Disfrutar!
It's been a big week for Irish football as the FAI's succession plan is finally complete and Stephen Kenny holds the reins, which means it's also been a big week on the World Service.
Richie Sadlier and David Sneyd joined us for a bumper chat after Kenny's first match in charge against Bulgaria on Thursday evening which is available on the World Service now.
Earlier in the week, Ken cast a critical eye over the new Spurs documentary on Amazon Prime, a series which - surprise, surprise - features some massive bigging up of Jose, by Jose.
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Stephen Kenny will play his first game as Ireland manager this week, and he's outlined his modest plans for Ireland - just a complete reconstruction of how the world views Irish football AND qualification for major tournaments.
Richie Sadlier is with Eoin, Ken and Murph to talk about Matt Doherty's move to Spurs, Doherty or Coleman for Ireland, Obafemi Bolt, Stephen Kenny's ambition, and the questions the FAI need to answer.
We also discuss the Frank Lampard effect, which is currently drawing all of Europe's top talent to Chelsea. And while Man United bulk up their options by signing Donny Van de Beek from Ajax, there's still no movement from Liverpool in the transfer market.
We had a lot of fun talking about Messi and Maguire this week, and if you want to join in go to secondcaptains.com/join. Its a fiver a month, with no contracts and no obligations, so give it a whirl.
This week's taster menu includes Ken V Murph + Eoin on Messi the "ashen faced choker", the brilliant Sid Lowe on the reality that Messi could fail big at his next club, Harry The Greek, and one of our favourite contributors, Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine, on player walkouts in the NBA. MLS, WNBA, MLB and tennis.
Bayern Munich have won their sixth Champions League, becoming the first team to win every game on the way to becoming champions of Europe.
Hansi Flick took risks, got lucky, and won the treble. For Thomas Tuchel there can only be regrets. Are there any obvious candidates to succeed him as PSG manager?
Richie Sadlier and Jonathan Wilson join us to analyse the game. Have the players adapted to the post-fans reality a little too well? Is the job spec for coaches at the biggest clubs changing? And what's the next move for PSG's stars?
There's also some initial reaction to Stephen Kenny's first squad announcement as Ireland manager.
It's a big week for us at Second Captains with our new international investigative podcast series coming to BBC Sounds this Thursday, August 27th. We're excited to say you can hear the full trailer for Where Is George Gibney? on today's show.
Barcelona have been in slow decline since 2017, but the annual Champions League knockout reminders get more traumatic every year. What needs to happen now? Where can they go from here? And can anyone stop the march to the final of Bayern's eminence grise, Thomas Goal-ler? Eh? Thomas Goal-ler?
Meanwhile Man City have Pepped it up again. Why does Guardiola do this to himself? Can Sterling ever live the miss down? And what are the prospects of Pep turning this around?
We talk to Raphael Honigstein and Miguel Delaney about those incredible Champions League quarter-finals. Why are German coaches leading the way in Europe? Has Guardiola betrayed his own principles? And how would they each solve a problem like Messi?
Second Captains Snifter Time!
We chat to former GAA dual star Jamie Wall about sliding doors moments, a life changing diagnosis and why the constant pursuit of happiness is sure to lead to misery.
Brian Murphy was the perfect man to talk to about the USPGA because not only did he predict Colinn Morikawa would win it, it’s also his local course, and he covered it for the New York Times. All of this made for a happy US Murph.
Plus Ken has been covering the Champions League, and enjoying the Champions League, which is turning out to be a very tasty tournament.
To hear daily Second Captains shows, plus access to years of archive go to secondcaptains.com/join - its a fiver a month with no contracts, no obligations, no minimum sign up... just top top top broadcasting.
The time horizons of the final stages of the 2020 Champions League have been compressed from six weeks down to 12 days. The competition has to make up for lost time. Meanwhile for a generation of stars, time is running out.
For David Silva, who has one last chance to win it with Manchester City. For Robert Lewandowski, whose hopes of winning the Ballon D'Or were dashed by France Football's decision to cancel the 2020 award. Lewandowski's stunning achievement in almost single-handedly defeating Frank Lampard's effervescent Chelsea would surely have been enough on its own to seal the award.
And most dramatically of all for Lionel Messi, whose Barcelona look hopelessly outgunned in their quarter-final fixture against Bayern, but nevertheless still have a chance because he plays for them.
Time has already run out this year for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Juventus were knocked out in the second round by Lyon. We're joined by The Athletic's James Horncastle to analyse where things went wrong for Maurizio Sarri, what we can expect from the new coach Andrea Pirlo, why Ronaldo hasn't been able to turn Juventus into Champions League winners and whether they should persevere with him for another season.
Danny Rose has been one of the most outspoken and arresting voices in English football for the last number of years, and he’s our guest today on The Players Chair - as Richie Sadlier and Ken Early present a change to our regular Second Captains World Service Monday schedule.
In this exclusive interview with Richie, we hear Danny’s thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement, and we focus on the incidents of racism he still faces as a premier league footballer going about his daily life.
We also discuss why he can't wait to see the back of his football career, the reason he wants another season at Tottenham and why he speaks up on social issues in society and football.
And as well as all that, we also find time to briefly touch on Mikel Arteta jumping into the brawny, welcoming arms of serial winner David Luiz ahead of tomorrow’s Football show on the world service.
The Premier League is over, and with Man United and Chelsea securing Champions League football it’s time for some seriously vindicated managers to remind the critics that they don’t get everything right either.
We try to understand why a zippy zephyr like David Silva has completed his career in England unadorned with individual awards while individual honours pile up at the hairy feet of Hendo.
Jacob Steinberg and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to talk about the climax to the Premier League. With Chelsea spending big what is the outlook for Lampard’s Littl’uns? Can the likes of Spurs meet this renewed challenge from Chelsea? And can Jack finally show Ken the light, David Silva-wise?
Plus there's plucky underdogs Man United, Aaron "lightning" Connolly, Grealish goodness and faith healers.
David Luiz had a busy weekend with his last ditch tackles, accurate passes, aerial dominance, classy interviews and of course silencing all the losers and the haters out there. The debate is over, surely? Richie Sadlier wades into the deep end.
The really big news in football land is that lovely lovely Leeds and their genius coach Marcelo Bielsa, are back in the big time. We chat to Phil Hay of The Athletic about Bielsa's remarkable impact at the club, the end of a 16 year journey, and the ambitions they have for next season.
Nigel Pearson is out the door at Watford with two league games to go, but have the club really made the right choice?
Plus there's Pearson's passengers, John O'Shea's big surprise and Richie Sadlier on playing your way to the chop.
Jack Charlton was the most popular Englishman in Irish history, and the news of his death on Saturday morning came as a huge blow to so many people.
Today we look back at his career as Irish manager, his upbringing in Ashington, near Newcastle in his beloved north-east of England, his relationship with his brother Bobby, and his enduring love of this country.
We speak to his biographer Colin Young about the Jack that he grew to know, his personal warmth, his humility, and his solidarity with the mining communities of his birthplace. And there’s young Eoin interviewing Jack in 2005 - the unabridged version.
We discuss the value of a man with a plan coming into a culture of failure, and how Jack made people love a style of football that opponents hated. Amidst it all there was Dunphy, Giles, letters to the editor… and we take a moment to appreciate how lucky we were to have lived through it all.
Manchester City breathe the sweet air of freedom after UEFA's FFP case against them collapsed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In the short term, the race for the top four suddenly got a lot more exciting. In the medium term, the future for City, for their coach and top players, is looking much more optimistic. In the long term - the repercussions could be huge.
We're joined by Tariq Panja of the New York Times and Miguel Delaney of the Independent to discuss the verdict.
Where does the credibility of UEFA's enforcement stand after this verdict? What's the future for the FFP system? Is this a decisive moment in revealing where the power really lies in European football?
Plus there's Jack's story, Brendan's bombs and a possible final day face off between Leicester and Man Utd.
Buckle up non members, its time for your weekly World Service test drive.
Ken on Vardy's heel, Stephen Kenny's ambition, Man United's (he believes well founded) hope of overtaking Man City next year, and being up at the crack of noon.
Plus there's beef and beefs with Bryson DeChambeau, US Murph on NBA in the Covid 19 hot seat and Mahomes' massive money contract, Brosnan does Robin Hood, Connell's GAA twin and Bobby Bonilla day.
Its 5 euro a month, no contracts, no obligations - just daily podcast fun. Go to secondcaptains.com/join.
Today the Second Captains listeners take centre stage, whether in the form of original music, outstanding Rory Best impersonations or the bumper mailbag on last week's racial-bias-in-commentary discussion that prompts a struggle session for Ken.
Fortunately for him, the conscientious self-criticism can be softened with the reassuring balm of some fresh Frank Lampard content.
Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about the weekend's football. Who deserves the credit for Manchester United's recent resurgence? Where could Jack Grealish fit in to this more promising picture? And what are the chances of United being the best team in Manchester next season?
In 1956 a young Senator named John F Kennedy wrote a bestselling book, Profiles In Courage, about eight times American political leaders had demonstrated outstanding courage, leadership and integrity in the line of duty. The collection of inspirational stories about inspirational men would win the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
It is a pity Kennedy was shot dead in 1963, for if he were still alive today the 103-year-old ex-President would at this very moment be sitting at his desk composing a ninth Profile in Courage, to be added to an all-new edition of his classic work, as the only fitting way to mark Frank Lampard's triple substitution at Leicester City yesterday afternoon.
After paying our own humble respects to the deeds that took place at the King Power yesterday we talk to Richie Sadlier about how much political activism was going on in the Millwall dressing room 20 years ago, and what he has made of the tortured efforts to get Irish football going again.
Ahoy Liverpool fans and haters, we have so much to discuss and learn together.
After all, its not that long ago that Liverpool were a rabble, and now they are the most dominant Premier League winners English football has ever seen. How did they turn it around so quickly, is it sustainable, and is it mostly down to Klopp?
This thimbleful of the Second Captains World Service can be turned into a waterfall by joining for 5 euro a month - no contracts, no obligations, no minimum sign-up, just daily gulps of podcast joy. Go to secondcaptains.com/join
David turns the polytunnel into a musical recording studio for an emotional final Tops Off Thursday.
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The solstice has passed and David begins the slow trudge into Winter’s loveless arms. Contains the inspirational story of Randall the Starling and the truth about David's listener emails.
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We can bet that Roy Keane might not be waiting too long to sign a contract for his TV punditry services next season, the legendary former United captain having worked out that when analysing goalkeeping errors, "I'd be throwing punches at that guy" generates more engagement than "He'll be disappointed with that."
Contrasting Keane's words and demeanour with those of a much younger footballer in a different interview over the weekend, we talk about how and why young footballers today sound so different from their counterparts of 20 years ago.
Then we're joined by David Sneyd and Mark Critchley to talk about the Premier League weekend. How has behind-closed-doors football been to cover? Was Roy Keane for real? And is it really taxi time for David De Gea?
Ken makes surely his last ever defence of David Luiz's defending by attacking the people who attack Luiz.
Plus the Premier League starts for real this weekend and the voice of the greatest moment in Irish sport, George Hamilton, tells us about that time a nation held its breath.
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It’s Tops Off Thursday and Susan The Satanic Hare has tried to murder David.
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David is heartbroken. He cycled all the way to Grace O’Malley’s pirate castle to tell her that he loved her only to find that she died in 1604.
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Ireland should have been playing Poland in the Euros today. Instead it's Project Restart Matchday One Minus 2.
Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about the return of the Premier League - and also the very patriotic Football Lads performance in London on Saturday afternoon.
To what extent are these Lads really Football Lads? And as they argue over whether it should be All Lives Matter or White Lives Matter, how significant is it that the Premier League has openly taken the opposite stance? Is the inevitable destiny of English football to go the way of American sports, sucked into the vortex of a sundowning former power's culture war?
And with a promise of rapid redemptions for any team that can win 5 games in a row, do Arsenal really have a chance of making the Champions League? And will there even be a Champions League next year?
Plus there's Gatland & Son, Eoin's tiny table, Trump snubbing soccer, and why this football season is as real as any other.
Premier League football is back next week, and Ken is chomping at the bit. But will it mean less of his conspiracy theories? His latest centred on England's 1966 World Cup win.
Tyson Fury. the heavyweight champion of the world. announced what could be the biggest fight of the century by lavishing praise on the leader of the most profitable organised crime group in Irish history - we talk to the one US journo covering this story.
We have a brand new episode of the Game That Changed My Life with Derval O’Rourke who revealed herself as an athlete you probably wanted to give a wide berth to on major championship race day.
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It’s Tops-Off-Thursday and a frighteningly fit David accuses the listeners of underwear pilfering.
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David and Susan the Satanic Hare are excited as lockdown restrictions start to lift in Ireland.
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England is coming out of lockdown but Liverpool and Klopp are not feeling so bullish about football’s future profitability, and have turned down the chance to sign German sensation Timo Werner. If Chelsea sign him will it be seen as the last ever big money transfer, or a bargain?
Slave trader Edward Colston, and as he’s been described in some sections of UK society, “philanthropist”, is under water. Is Winston Churchill getting nervous?
We also speak to Derek Bardowell about his William Hill-nominated book, No Win Race. The book is about growing up as the British-born son of Jamaican immigrants, his evolving sense of his own identity and his shifting relationship to sport between about 1980, when the Minter-Hagler fight exposed him for the first time to the meaning of racism, to the present day.
Via the West Indies, Michael Jordan, Lloyd Honeyghan and Ian Wright, Bardowell reflects on how sport has shaped the experience and influenced the perception of black Britain and black America.
Ahoy podcasters! Its the start of the month which means its the best time to sign up to the World Service. Its 5 Euro a month which gives you instant access to all our archives, as well as all our current shows which now include daily doses of everyone's favourite David, David O'Doherty, isolating in Achill Island.
This week we spoke to ESPN’s Howard Bryant about racial inequality and police brutality in the US and Ex Man United player Luke Chadwick about the anguish he suffered as a young player when he became the butt of repeated gags on the tv show They Think It’s All Over. And we review the new Lance Armstrong documentary and examine football's war on joy. Go to secondcaptains.com/join
It’s the coldest ever Tops Off Thursday, but that won’t put David off tripodding with his guns blazing.
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David has avoided being struck by the fuselage of Elon Musk's rocket and is delighted to tell you about the time a Beatle visited Achill Island.
"You only have three All-Irelands? Jesus, I thought you had more" - this is the sort of thing a footballer of Dara Ó Cinnéide's quality gets met with from time to time. Along with those three All-Ireland medals, he has 8 Munster medals, and is the sixth highest scorer in the history of Kerry football.
He joins us today to tell us about "The Game That Changed His Life", being happy with his place in the pantheon, car journeys with Páidí, a stolen glance, the Kerry drought and why abuse beats pity.
We also discuss Paul Mescal's hurling career, the sad end to Matt Damon's stay in Dalkey, Eoin and Murph's experience in the Damon household, Eddie Irvine, indoor pools, and Baz Ashmawy.
It's Thursday so David has taken his top off and is fantasizing about having feet like a lobster. A huge day on Achill Island.
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Another pandemic football pod - the Bundesliga continues, American sports media turns its attention to Saipan, for the most part we keep going in search of lost time.
As Spain continues its staged lifting of lockdown, we discuss Pepe Reina's approval of the self-styled freedom fighting patriots in Madrid, and Jean Michel Aulas' disbelief at the hasty actions of the French government in cancelling Ligue 1.
Jonathan Wilson and Miguel Delaney join us to talk about trips to Barnard Castle, the latest in Project Restart, and for the week that's in it, reminiscences of great Champions League finals gone by.
David attempts to podcast during an Atlantic storm and reveals he spent some of the weekend kissing a cliff. #CovidHorn
The tops of the world are being removed around you which can only mean one thing...it's Tops Off Thursday on Achill Island! Today's show is packed full of Jigsaw News, celebrity emails and of course nudity. Lord Doddlesworth reveals how the podcast nearly ended for good yesterday and receives an effigy of himself from Joe the Postman.
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Today's free-to-air bonus podcast features your new fitness best friend. But it can also be your gardening/cooking/cleaning/resting best friend and it'll be right here for you whenever you need it.
Many of our listeners around the world have started training over the lockdown. So we've compiled some of our favourite Second Captains audio beds from over the years to pump you up, to make you laugh, and most of all, to stop you from thinking about your burning legs.
It's a 30 minute playlist that Eoin, Murph and Ken will introduce and countdown to. You'll get a polite and inspirational reminder of how much time has passed after the 10 and 20 minute mark.
Your running playlist will start after 7.15 minutes of this podcast and your sprint finish will be the beautiful mix of David Bowie's 'Where Are We Now?' and Robbie Brady's goal against Italy in 2016.
Soon you'll be sprinting on the beach à la Rocky Balboa. We're your Apollo Creed so let's finish our runs by celebrating in the sea in tiny shorts together.
Good luck and join us on the Second Captains World Service at secondcaptains.com
It's a miserable day on Achill but David's car steams up with the tale of his near death encounter with a shark.
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Football is back - in Germany at least - but might there be an incredibly obvious way in which its return could be improved?
Eoin is pleased that running has become the sole sporting outlet of a people in chains, but he is by no means the most enthusiastic proponent of the no-ball game. Meanwhile Ken has been trying to develop correct hip alignment, incorporating advice from some of the greats.
We speak to Felix Tamsut of Deutsche Welle about the Bundesliga restart: were there any setbacks on the first weekend of the return? How is the football changed by the absence of fans? Why did polls suggest that most Germans were against it? And if it's so unpopular, why did Sky Deutschland report record audiences for its Bundesliga programming this weekend?
Plus there's Eoin's tropes, hostile Haaland and runner's friend.
We had a series of brilliant guests on Second Captains this week, starting with Shane Lowry on “the game that changed my life”, Andy Cole on his mental health struggles since his kidney transplant, Oscar nominee Lenny Abrahamson on his hit show Normal People and David O’Doherty on the baffling success of Romantica ice cream.
You can try it out at secondcaptains.com/join for 5 Euro a month - no contract, no obligations, just top class pods.
Things have taken a huge turn on Achill Island as Tops Off Thursday takes over the Tripod.
And, after a rollercoaster of a week (more of a log flume into a pit of turds), David has found his fizz again. Also he has taken his top off.
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David is shocked by the sexiness of his own legs and welcomes his Dad back on the tripod to play your requests. It's a brilliant bumper Monday edition of Isolating!
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Shane Lowry is the reigning British Open champion and one of Ireland's most popular sportspeople, and he's the latest guest on our slot "The Game That Changed My Life".
He's got a few memorable wins to choose from, whether from Portrush last year, from the WGC Invitational in 2015 against the best field in golf, or the break-out win of his career at Baltray at the 2009 Irish Open.
He talks us through his choice, how you go about building a career in professional golf, the benefits of having to be thrifty, why time is the greatest gift, and what it means to have golf's return back on the horizon.
There's also big news on the Players Chair front, some Lotto results, and Eoin plays "God" - aka The European Ryder Cup captain.
Have England been denied major tournament glory by the sinister machinations of the rest of the football world? Terry Fenwick thinks yes, based on his experience at the 1986 World Cup.
Young Eoin savages Sir Bobby Robson and Carli Lloyd tells us about the time her coach laughed at her for saying she wanted to be the best player in the world.
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All-Killer-No-Filler Thursday is thrown wildly out of sync when a hare appears beside David’s car.
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David has achieved his life goal by having a wool colour named after him. What is left? Settling scores.
Today we go back 35 years to tell the story of arguably the greatest fight of all-time – Marvin Hagler v Thomas Hearns. We hear about bank robberies, dodgy entourages and watch back the greatest round of them all with the brilliant Andy Lee.
It’s one of those glorious occasions when the hype beforehand ended up significantly under-selling the action once the bell went.
Andy tells us why this loss hurt his and Hearns’ coach Emmanuel Steward more deeply than any other. He tells us about the man in the tuxedo who carried Hearns to his corner, and why Hearns hates that photo so much...about a character called Willie ‘Caveman’ Lee, and why 35 years on, it’s still hard to get people from the Kronk Gym to acknowledge the greatness of this one.Through the wonders of modern podcasting technology, you guys can watch the fight right along with us, just check twitter/insta for details.
https://twitter.com/SecondCaptains/status/1257241405300379648?s=20
And if you missed our brilliant show with Andy on his fight with Peter Quillin check it out here -https://www.secondcaptains.com/2020/04/07/episode-1740-andy-lee-watches-his-classic-2015-fight-against-peter-quillin-for-the-first-time-just-for-second-captains-world-service-members/
This week saw the return of the World Service Small Business Solidarity Shout-Out and with it, good old-fashioned donks.
Eoin continued to dish out scandalous stories of members' run-ins with Murph and Ken in our new Egomaniacs slot, run-ins which, needless to say, left them with a sour taste in their mouths.
And over on Achill Island, David regaled us with a description of a slightly surreal former job of his cleaning up sausage spillages in a German grocery warehouse.
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Today David lifts the lid on his career as a nine-year-old detective as the pain of our badly named listeners comes back thick and fast in 'Say My Name'.
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On today's Isolating podcast David announces his (at this time still untested) cure for Coco Pox and ignites his Monday mood with a brand new slot.
The question of whether the Bundesliga should return behind closed doors has proved controversial in Germany. On one side millionaire bosses, on the other, accelerationist ultras. Who really has the best interests of the game at heart? Felix Tamsut brings us up to speed...
We also discuss the quality of information in opinion polls, pandemic diabetes management, and why nothing can ever, ever, ever, ever compare to the men - and we use that word advisedly - of ‘03.
This week we did one of our best ever interviews - it was about the Oisin McConville final, with Oisin McConville, who told us what was going through his head at HT in the 2002 All Ireland Final.
Plus there's David O'Doherty daily, Ken V Keane REDUX, Djokovic the anti Elvis, egomaniacs, and a Player's Chair with Megan Campbell. Go to secondcaptains.com to join.
David watches the sun go down while sitting in the ruins of a Celtic ring fort and listening to Enya. It’s very mystical. Today's show also features his Dad playing your requests.
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Today on the podcast David explores Achill Island’s relationship with the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and reminisces about his karaoke days.
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The miserable Mike Ashley era at Newcastle looks to be drawing to a close. Cue mass rejoicing. But is it possible things could be about to get... even worse? How are Newcastle fans feeling about the prospect of their club being taken over by a Saudi-backed consortium? We talk to Alex Hurst, host of the True Faith podcast and chair of the NUFC Supporters Trust. Is a Saudi takeover the equivalent of winning the football lottery, or is one of the game's least lucky fanbases about to get acquainted with a new form of exploitation?
Its time for your weekly waft of Second Captains FOMO.
Ken talks about the Spain of old, Kenny Cunningham talks about the time he had Raul in his pocket, plus there's the apocalypse lovers, Kevin McStay turning down Brian Clough and World Cup hockey star Nicci Daly on her family business (motor racing), and delaying the Olympic dream for a year. Go to secondcaptains.com to join.
Let's cut to the chase here: today, David gets in the nude. Plus, get ready for the greatest Jigsaw News™ there's ever been.
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As David struggles with another jigsaw, his pianist father, Jim is back on the podcast to remind us all what an actual talent is.
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It's a very very special day for Eoin McDevitt, not that anybody notices until he reminds them of it, but several of you have noticed young Eoin's voice-a-likes.
Today we're joined by Sid Lowe, to talk about how FC Barcelona have managed to career off the rails even though Spain has been in lockdown for weeks. Why have six directors resigned, and what is the nature of the scandalous allegations pursuing the reviled President Josep Bartomeu?
Plus there's Roy Hodgson's documentary feast, Jose's jog, Ken's potholes and we give details on our next Second Captains watch-a-long, Ireland v Spain in the 2002 World Cup.
David is sad when he scares away a bee with a dildo but all is saved when, mid-episode, he receives his dream gift.
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It's to Achill Island we go again to check in on our Isolating host, David O'Doherty. The Joe Wicks of shouting in a car greets the new week with a breath of fire. Today's show also features his first ever recorded collaboration with his father, Jim on piano.
There was some major Irish football news over the weekend but before we get into the Mick McCarthy / Stephen Kenny story, we ask the question that has been obsessing much of the UK media: have greedy Premier League footballers done enough to protect society from the coronavirus?
Richie Sadlier and David Sneyd join us to talk about the Ireland managerial succession. How will Mick McCarthy's second stint be remembered? And what are their expectations for the Stephen Kenny era?
Plus there's bitin' yer hand off, our NHS, and Irish manager rhetoric.
You've probably heard the news that Stephen Kenny has just been confirmed as Republic of Ireland manager with immediate effect, so we think it's a pretty damn good time to replay our brilliant interview with the man himself from our most recent The Gang's All Here Shows (boy will there be a live show party when we get through this by the way).
Murph introduces the show this Saturday night. Stephen spoke to us in front of a packed house at Liberty Hall and this interview is one not to be missed, as his passion for his job shines through in every answer.
We discuss his advice to young players, why loan deals can be a poisoned chalice, why you shouldn’t be punished for being an Irishman, his commitment to his attacking philosophy, and how the u-21s performances have been a rare bright spot for Irish football last year.
We'll be back for more reaction with Ken, Eoin and Murph on Monday in the meantime this Saturday, you're allowed ONE DRINK, NO MORE, THEN YOU'RE OFF TO BED
The greatest Premier League game of all time, US Murph's memories of the day Magic Johnson told the world he was HIV positive, and David O'Doherty tries to make peace with the hares - its been an audio stew on the Second Captains world service this week, and you can eat and drink your fill for a fiver a month. No contracts, just love at secondcaptains.com.
Like President Bill Pullman in Independence Day, David uses his incredible rhetoric to make peace with the hares. It's a four-part Isolation podcast masterpiece (you'll barely notice the windy conditions of part two 😬).
To continue listening to David's daily podcasts from Achill, join us now so you never miss an episode: www.secondcaptains.com/isolating/
Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder. We make our way back to the island for the first show of the week where we find our host returning to the lair of the hare, armed only with a carrot. In differently-spelled hair news, David also gave himself a quarantine do and made an absolute balls of it.
When will football be back? What should happen when it does? Will the old structures still exist? And after the pandemic, will people still care?
Rory Smith and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to talk about what football could look like when it starts back up again. Is there a moral argument to write off the 19-20 season and move on?
Plus there’s solidarity donks, McGregror music, a Second Captains watch-a-long, Eoin’s green fingers, Ken’s noble aims and Murph’s nothing.
Ken reviews the official film of the 2018 FIFA World Cup from his exercise bike, DOD goes XXX, Pat Kenny freestyles and McGregor addresses the nation.
Things are weird. LETS GO PODCASTING.....
Today's trip to the island consists of a mix of essential fashion tips and a tale of blood-curdling horror. David discusses how to look fabulous during a pandemic and learns of the terrifying Monster of Achill.
To continue listening to David's daily podcasts from Achill, join us now so you never miss an episode: https://www.secondcaptains.com/isolating/
David O'Doherty is still tucked away on Achill Island with his parents as we go west again for Episode 4 of Isolating. Like Columbus or Magellan, David sets off on a great adventure to get a Lotto Quick Pick for his mother. He also receives important social distancing advice from Shaggy.
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Back to Achill Island we go for this week's final episode of Isolating with David O'Doherty, where we encounter our host goading local sheep to bleat for the podcast. David compares his victory in the 1990 Achill Island Junior Angler of the Year competition to the life of pirate queen Grace O'Malley. He also dearly misses his bikes.
It’s time to return to Achill Island and a "Smurf-blue sky" for episode 2 of Isolating with David O'Doherty. In today’s podcast, David is almost mugged by a gang of hares, but escapes back to the house where he intends to grow peaches and avocados.
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Everything in David O’Doherty‘s life has been cancelled so he decided to make a podcast.
Come with us to a car on Achill Island for episode 1 of Isolating with David O’Doherty. Strange new times in the world call for a strange new show on the Second Captains World Service. Short trips to David’s car will be daily during the Dystopian Spring Break.
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Jack McCaffrey is one of Ireland's most decorated sportspeople, and one of the best footballers of the last 30 years. But he's also a doctor, and he's experiencing life on the front lines of the HSE's battle to minimise the impact of COVID 19 on the country.
He joins us this morning to talk about how he's found the last week, the steps that we can all take to prevent further spread, how to protect your own mental and physical health and what to do if you're symptomatic.
Everyone else seems to be scaling back, but now sees like a good time to start increasing your intake of podcasts - David O'Doherty (!!!) joins us from a top-secret location to tell us about his new show with us here on the World Service.
Plus there's Ken on UEFA's decision to postpone Euro 2020, j'adore Inchicore, and opening the Tutankhamun's tomb that is Mick McCarthy's FAI contract.
Eoin, Ken and Murph discuss their different ways of coping with the COVID-19 shutdown.
Jonathan Wilson joins us to talk about the British government's after-you response and where football goes from here now that Wayne Rooney is leading the way for player's rights.
Jack Charlton teaches young Eoin a thing or two about preparing a squad for international competition.
Plus there's the Gibraltar Open, presenters in pants, and WWE does Beckett. And please keep social distancing.
France blew their chance of a Grand Slam yesterday as they capitulated to ill-discipline against Scotland, and this now means that two bonus-point wins for Ireland in our last two games will see us crowned (rather unlikely) Six Nations champions.
When these games will be played, and if they get played at all, is another matter entirely, of course. As the coronavirus looks set to wreak havoc on all sports over the coming weeks, we speak to Gerry Thornley and Tom English about red cards, Scotland's revival and the likelihood of finishing this tournament in 2020.
Plus - the permutation king makes a come-back... and then makes a bold, anti-Italian suggestion, Alun Wyn Jones gets his balls grabbed in his place of work, Joe Marler's previous banter bona fides, and Scotland earn our respect.
Is it within the power of one man to resurrect an entire football club? Perhaps science can produce some metaphors for Bruno Fernandes' astonishing impact on the Man United team.
Meanwhile Jose is once again throwing chunks of meat to the mob - but is anyone still eating it up?
We speak to Tobias Jones in the locked-down city of Parma about how people have reacted to the measures taken by the Italian government to reduce the spread of Covid-19, and the implications for the football season.
Hurling folk are never shy of offering an opinion when it looks like people want to meddle with their beautiful game, and they were out in force over the last few weeks to ensure that the black card would not be introduced in hurling.
That motion was duly blasted out of the water at Congress on Saturday, and there was also a full set of league fixtures this Sunday for Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times and former Waterford manager Derek McGrath to pore over.
Dublin and Tyrone played a football match in a hurricane, but it was a fight in a tunnel that garnered most of the attention on Saturday evening. Plus there's 34-man teams in hurling, Leinster's 6 foot 6 inch secret, Simon's starting 15 for our game vs France (in October), the Bank of England, and the Master of Wind.
According to Emmet Malone's survey of Irish football supporter preferences over the weekend in the Irish Times, the situation is much, much worse than Dermot Keely thought. It turns out that more than a million morons in this country support Manchester United or Liverpool. Today we try to figure out what's going on.
We also discuss the Sunday Times latest revelations about Mick McCarthy's golden handcuffs, and Stephen Kenny's media handcuffs.
Also we talk about the end of Liverpool's run, Man United's lucky escape at Goodison, a mediocre Clasico which saw the return of Argentina Messi, Villa's doomed bravery in the League Cup final, and different methods of handling the media.
And we're joined by Felix Tamsut of Deutsche Welle to talk about the farcical scenes at the end of Hoffenheim 0-6 Bayern - when play was twice stopped due to abusive banners directed at Hoffenheim's billionaire owner, and eventually resumed with a truce between the teams. Why have German football fans turned on the Hoffenheim benefactor?
On the World Service this week, Ken's brain-feed was scrambled by the Champions League, while Pep learned not to repeat the worst mistake he's ever made: listening to his players.
Andy Lee dropped into studio after arriving back from Las Vegas following Tyson Fury's rematch victory over Deontay Wilder, and he sincerely hopes Wilder doesn't believe his own excuse for losing.
Meanwhile, the now notorious Dub-basher Oisin McConville admits that Dublin's cynicism is something to be admired.
Optimism wasn't exactly in massive supply ahead of yesterday's 6 Nations game against England, but the scale of the defeat is nowhere near told by the final scoreline of 24-12. The scoreboard flattered us, but the performance spoke volumes. Ireland are way off the pace.
Shane Horgan and Denis Hickie give us their view on what was a dispiriting performance after two wins in our first two games in this year's championship. Scrum, lineout, driving maul, attack, at half-back... there are a lot of areas where vast improvement is required.
Former England out-half Paul Grayson joins the show to give us the England viewpoint, while Ken Early questions the patriotism of our players, Murph pines for the Twickenham wins of yesteryear, and McDevitt attempts to boil lances and lance boils, all in the same podcast.
In amongst all the VAR mistakes some football happened over the weekend. We look at how Man City shaped up ahead of what could be their last appearance in the Champions League knockout phase for a while, and empathise with the latest torment pulling at the heartstrings of The Sad One.
Dermot Corrigan tells us whether he shares Ken's view that Manchester City should destroy Real Madrid.
And John Burn-Murdoch joins us to talk about the Financial Times' recent look at the evolution of the link between wages and points accumulation - which turns out to be more complicated than you might expect.
It was a pretty crazy weekend of weather in Ireland, and yet somehow some hurling went ahead. Wexford/Kilkenny was the pick of the bunch, and we talk to Michael Duignan about what Davy can take from Wexford winning a battle like this against the former market leaders in that area.
And Irish rugby international Eimear Considine is in studio to talk to us about the Tackle Your Feelings app, aimed at teenagers to try and promote mental wellness. She talks to us about facing down the England juggernaut this weekend, losing wunderkind Beibhinn Parsons to her leaving cert commitments, trading the GAA for rugby, and confronting personal tragedy as a teenager.
Plus there's hurling goalkeepers and their Tom Crean impersonations, playing with the storm in the first half, and the politics of calling a game off.
As surely as night follows day, then the onset of Ken Early's holidays will precipitate some truly earth-shattering football news. But fear not, because on hand to discuss Man City's European football ban is the inimitable Richie Sadlier.
Richie was also in Dalymount Park for Saturday afternoon's Dublin derby between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, which was allowed go ahead, but which wasn't shown live on television for safety reasons. Richie tells us which one of him, Pat Fenlon and George Hamilton refused to get up in the gantry.
We're also joined by Sam Lee and Miguel Delaney to tell us how defiant Man City will be as they attempt to defend themselves in court, how huge a story this is, and we try and speculate as to how this will affect City's squad.
Plus there's swingers clubs, Monkeano, James Joyce, and Jodie Foster.
It was heated debate week on Second Captains: The truth about Sinn Fein, good and bad. Are themed jerseys, supporting good causes and craft beer the best for LOI clubs to grow their fan base? And is it fair to point out a rugby player's age? LETS GET IT ON!
Andrew Conway joins us in studio today, fresh off the back of what was probably his best-ever performance for Ireland on Saturday afternoon against Wales. He tells us about the conscious choice he made not to settle for being a provincial player when his career was faltering, how Joe Schmidt helped in turning his aerial game from being a weakness to a strength, and how he has worked on his mental game.
Ireland were confident, skilful and ambitious against Wales, but Shane Horgan thinks the team have a lot more to improve on before we can get too excited. Gerry Thornley believes Farrell’s faith in Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony has been vindicated, Shane believes we must also look at the opportunity cost.
Plus there's Finn Russell’s nuclear option, Beibhinn Parsons tearing it up for Ireland in the Women's 6 Nations, Eddie Jones playing the straight bat and sub-zero post-match interviews.
It's been a seismic weekend in Irish politics, and so everyone's first question as they watched the results roll in was surely - how are all the members of our favourite Oireachtas Committee getting on?
All in all it was a mixed couple of days for those men and women tasked with investigating John Delaney and the FAI - Ken gives us the low-down.
If it was all change in the political sphere, Mick McCarthy wasn't impressed. Speaking in Dublin today, he was more than happy to say that he would remain true to his more experienced warriors.
Plus there's teleporters, Troy Parrott staying put, Jordan Pickford bemoaning how heavily criticised England internationals are, and asks the question - at what stage can we start to forgive and forget the origin story of... RB Leipzig?
It wasn't the prettiest win you've ever seen, and it might not have been a win at all if Stuart Hogg had remembered how to score a try, but the Andy Farrell era is on its way.
Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley give us their verdict - what has changed since Joe Schmidt left, what changes should we make for Wales, will grit be our defining characteristic, and would 3 wins satisfy all involved?
France, meanwhile, blew all the pre-tournament predictions out the window with their stunning win over England yesterday... the pre-tournament predictions of everyone except Simon Nostrodamus Hick.
Plus there's Girvan Dempsey's try-scoring technique, French rugby's "handsome outhalf - success" correlation, Andy Farrell at the Web Summit, and what Ken Early stands for.
We briefly discuss the don't call it a bailout deal agreed between the Government and FAI last week, and the reasons why many people are against it.
City are winning the xG league so why are they 22 points down in the real one? We try to analyse some of the reasons why Liverpool have opened up such a gap.
Also today Ken casts a critical eye over the various portions of humble pie that have been presented to him by recent football events, and swallows a small morsel.
Michael Cox joins us to talk about why he believes football needs to take a harder line on tactical fouling.
The 6 Nations is back, and we’ll have the best coverage €5 can buy throughout the tournament with Shane Horgan, as we demonstrate on this latest gentle nudge in your direction towards the Second Captains World Service.
US Murph reports live from Miami as he looks forward to his beloved 49ers in the Super Bowl this Sunday night, and there’s Ken with a word of warning to Jack Grealish’s team-mates - do NOT touch his hair.
Sign up now for all 6 shows every week on the World Service at secondcaptains.com/join, for just €5 a month plus VAT.
The Allianz national hurling and football leagues are back, and Kerry and the Dubs gave us a pretty much perfect opening night performance. We had sportsmanship, brawls, insane cameos from Brian Fenton, Ciarán Kilkenny and David Clifford, and at the end of it all, another draw.
Oisin McConville and Sean O'Sullivan are on hand to talk us through all that, as well as Donegal's Mayo problem, Mayo's talent problem, and talented footballers named after fish.
Kobe Bryant's death in a helicopter crash yesterday has sparked a huge global reaction - we speak to Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated about his complicated legacy in the sport.
Plus there's planning for the mark, senior hurling politics, Duff beer, and the deeply unsatisfactory way we find out about celebrity deaths now.
Jurgen Klopp has thrown down the gauntlet to English football. Best of luck with your little competition, hope it goes well but I'm afraid I'm away that week. Nobody has ever disrespected the FA Cup like this before. Will he be allowed to get away with it?
We discuss where it all went wrong for the FA Cup, and what is happening with the mooted Saudi takeover at Newcastle.
Richard Sadlier joins us in studio to discuss Niall Quinn's new role at the FAI. What does Quinn's record suggest his priorities will be? And how happy should people be about the appointment?
It was the last round of the European Cup pool stage, and as Munster waited in vain for a miracle that never really looked like happening, Leinster and Ulster are the last two Irish provinces standing. Leinster's reward for finishing as the top seed is a home quarter-final against the reigning champions, but what shape Saracens will be in by that stage is anyone's guess.
Shane Horgan is back on the pod with Paul Rees of the Guardian to discuss why we still don't know what exactly Saracens did, what impact relegation will have on their English internationals, and what it means even for this year's European Cup.
Malachy Clerkin joins us in studio to talk about wins for Corofin and the Shamrocks of Ballyhale on All-Ireland club final day yesterday, and also why the GAA would do well not to over-sell the broader appeal of the provincial or All-Ireland club championships.
Plus there's the salt tears of Stephen Jones, Conor McGregor's winning return to the octagon, and a very bad week for the fíor-gaels.
Liverpool continue to sweep all before them and yesterday's victory at Anfield made it 21 wins in 22 matches. About such near-perfection, what is there left to say?
So naturally much of this podcast is about Manchester United. The heated viral argument between Keane and Carragher illustrated the tension at the heart of a struggling institution. Does Ole deserve more time? Has he been as selfless a custodian of the club's long-term interests as he makes himself out to be?
There's also talk about Chelsea's antisemitism initiative and Steve Cook's approach to game theory, before Mark Critchley and Jonathan Wilson join us to give their reaction to the game at Anfield and their analysis of where the two sides are at.
Last Friday on the Second Captains World Service Ken spoke to historian Brian Hanley about what Fine Gael were thinking with the planned RIC event and what the controversy tells us about Irish memory and the development of Irish nationalism - the show got a phenomenal response from listeners, and many asked us to make it free to all (as we did with the Jackson/Olding rape trial discussion - https://www.secondcaptains.com/2018/03/29/episode-1124-the-belfast-rape-trial-sexual-consent-and-a-toxic-dressingroom-culture/).
If you enjoy it, all that we ask when you finish up listening is to take 10 seconds to consider whether you might like to become a part of the World Service. It costs a fiver a month + VAT and you get daily podcasts plus full access to the archive, and can cancel whenever you want.
It always looked pretty tough, and now Munster's European Cup hopes are hanging by the thinnest of threads after they battled bravely for 70 minutes before coming up short in Paris against Racing 92.
Gordon D'Arcy and James Coughlan tell us what Munster's next step should be if qualification proves beyond them, if the talent gap is now too wide to bridge, what Ulster’s expectations should be and who should play 12 for Ireland.
Plus - we permutate up a storm, Eoin marvels at Teddy Iribaren and Teddy thomas as his new mic’d slot gains traction, and Ken berates Murph for his terrible, really bad, no-good, borrowed-from-rugby, VAR idea.
Jose Mourinho came up with a plan to defy Liverpool and it resulted in his team being passed off the pitch and failing to score in another defeat - his 5th in 13 matches at Spurs.
Nevertheless most Spurs fans seem happy with what has been redefined as progress. We try to break down this apparent paradox.
We also talk about Sergio Aguero's record-breaking feats and the sadness in Declan Rice's eyes.
We talk to Carlos Martin Rio of Panenka magazine about what's happening with Barcelona's overtures to Xavi, and why they seem to be convinced Xavi is their man, despite showing little apparent promise in his managerial career so far.
The top scorer in the 2019 All-Ireland championship was not David Clifford, Seanie O'Shea, or any of the Dublin five-in-a-row heroes... it was Cathal McShane of Tyrone. So it's a pretty big deal that he's heading to Australia this month for pre-season training with the Adelaide Crows of the AFL.
If, as seems likely, McShane is on his way, what will that mean for Tyrone - and what will it mean for the future of GAA/AFL relations that one of the best players in the country ups sticks mid-career and heads to the other side of the world? Oisin McConville joins us.
Gerry Thornley and Darren Cave, meanwhile, are ready to tell us about a pretty one-sided inter-pro series last weekend and the wave of new faces pushing for inclusion in a 6N squad, including big Stu McCloskey and a trio of Leinster backrowers.
Can Munster do a Munster and turn it all around in Europe, and can Ulster do what they’ve always struggled to do and beat a good French side away from home?
Adam Idah's spectacular hat-trick for Norwich was a glimmer of the old magic on a typically bleak FA Cup third round weekend.
Inspired by Chelsea's retro kit, we consider possible ways to spice up football's tired relationship with the Cup. Tom Pope gets a mention.
Elsewhere we consider Jurgen Klopp's comments on the craziness of the fixture schedule, and compare the physiological load on players today with what we know about the demands of football in the 1970s.
David Sneyd is in studio to talk to us about Ireland's Youthquake.
And Miguel Delaney joins us on the line to defend his thesis that Liverpool's ascent is just more of the same old hypercapitalism.
Ken reports from the FAI's reconvened AGM which took place at the Citywest Hotel yesterday. Is there anything to be said for setting up another committee?
We talk about Liverpool's 19-game victory lap, the emergence of the shoulder as the key part of the footballing anatomy, and the rest of the Christmas football, including that Friday night classic between Wolves and Manchester City.
Jonathan Wilson joins us to talk about Chelsea's win at Arsenal, what the January transfer window might hold for these clubs, and whether there is a way to fix VAR.
Last summer Richie travelled to Mayo for a chat with one of the most loved Gaelic footballers of all time, Andy Moran. It was such a fun interview we decided to make it our best of 2019 and its now available to all. During the interview, Andy revealed, unprompted, he had retired from inter-county football – a first ever X5SADS scoop - and how a good sleep conquers all.
It was a weekend that saw several more episodes in Britain's long national nervous breakdown. A day that began with one national broadcaster misleadingly quoting Stormzy ended with another assuring their audience that they are solidly committed to the fight against racism, despite any accidental impressions to the contrary.
Meanwhile Manchester United lost 2-0 to Watford with David de Gea making a mistake that leaves you wondering how close he is to losing the faith of the crowd.
At least it was a good week for the new FIFA Club World Champions Liverpool...
Jack Pitt-Brooke joins us to discuss what happened at Spurs yesterday, where the responsibilities of broadcasters lie in this increasingly fraught time, and whether the honeymoon is already over for Jose.
Plus there's AFTV strife, Souness' contribution to the race hate solution, and Cecil Rhodes' guilt.
Munster are still very much alive in their pool of the European Rugby Champions Cup, but they will rue missing out on a bonus point on Saturday against Saracens in London.
Shane Horgan talks to us about on-field decision-making, the magic of Larmour and Cooney, loose lips on the sideline, and Connacht's battling win over Gloucester that still gives them a mathematical chance of making it through to the European Cup quarter-finals.
We speak to Michael Conlan, after he went to 13-0 in his professional boxing career, with a win in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night against his last ever opponent in the amateur ranks - the man who beat him in the Rio Olympics and which sparked one of the abiding Irish memories of those games.
Plus there's a new brush sweeping cleanest in the ranks of the Olympic boxing judges, great European train journeys with Ken Early, and Simon's passions get impugned and disrespected by Eoin.
Today it turns out that John Giles and Ken do agree on at least one thing, but there are still some minor areas of difference to be ironed out.
Arsenal were made to look weak on the field by Manchester City, and off the field by their own communications department, who were quick to distance the club from Mesut Özil's post criticising Chinese persecution of the Uighurs in Xinjiang / East Turkestan. We discuss how Western sports teams should treat the question of their employees commenting on what in China are considered third-rail issues.
We're joined by Patrick Boyland, who covers Everton for the Athletic, to talk about Duncan Ferguson, his treatment of Moise Kean, and whether Everton think Ferguson or some other coach is the best long-term prospect.
And Joshua Robinson of the Wall Street Journal explains Arsenal's stance on Özil, and how their thinking changed on Arteta.
If you’re listening to this mini-podcast you probably know what you need to do to become a member and hear all the good stuff - go to secondcaptains.com/join, and its 5 euro a month.
We do this independently, driven by the support of our awesome members. If you’d like to get involved we’d love to have you, and don’t forget you can sign up for just one month, cancel after that if it’s not working out (but it will work out)... (but if it doesn't that's fine).... (but it definitely will).
On Friday afternoon, the FAI revealed the true disastrous state of its financial affairs.
Later that evening, we welcomed Richie Sadlier and 2019 Journalist of the Year Mark Tighe, whose reporting in the Sunday Times helped to bring about John Delaney's downfall as FAI CEO, to help us sift through the wreckage.
Munster, Leinster and Ulster all won in Europe this week, with only a disappointing second half from Connacht between us and a clean sweep... but the shadow of the Rugby World Cup malfunction still hovers.
Munster/Saracens was ruined by the weather in Thomond on Saturday, while Leinster made hay in the sunshine in Northampton. But not even those results could move Rory Best's comments in the IRFU World Cup review from top billing. Did he really throw Joe Schmidt under the bus? And did David Nucifora give him a hand while he was doing it?
Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times, and Chris Hewitt cover the on-field action, and Dennis Hickie refuses to completely agree that Schmidt's reputation is getting a battering.
Plus there's roofless theatres, host nations, and book reviews.
Freddie Arsenal DNA Ljungberg's Arsenal were recognisably Arsenal, and that is not necessarily a good sign. Is there a chance that Brendan Rodgers' links with the job could become more than "hypothetical"?
Jack Grealish's sensational performance at Old Trafford was a big part of the reason why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team still has only four wins from 14 matches. How long can this form go on before the patience runs out?
We also discuss Barcelona's new season documentary, just released on Rakuten TV.
Andy Hunter joins us to talk Everton. How can a team that on the face of it has a core of good players be... so bad? And with a list of upcoming fixtures that reads something like Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid 1956-60, Arsenal, Holland 1974, Leicester, Barcelona 2009-11 - what chance is there for Marco Silva to turn this around?
If Jim Gavin had resigned shortly after the five-in-a-row had been achieved, then it would have been seen as surprising, but not shocking. The fact that he has left the most high-profile job in the GAA as the calendar ticks into December means the news, which broke on Saturday morning, qualifies as a bombshell.
Oisin McConville and Michael Foley of the Sunday Times talk to us about why it happened now, what he did while he was in the job, and who's going to take over from him.
And in the midst of all that, we celebrate a final record which reads - played 107, won 86, lost 11, drew 10. Six All-Irelands, and one championship defeat in 7 years.
Ken wistfully recalls the Jim Gavin that he knew and loved, Murph's news nose was on-point in the hours before the announcement, and we have a little Blindboy taster ahead of a stellar month on the Second Captains World Service.
Much like last week on the World Service when Maurico Pocchetino was relieved of his duties at Spurs, the Emery news threw all our careful planning out the window - let’s just put out a podcast on the big news of the day and so that’s what we did.
That pod is out now - along with a fun look back on Tiger's last 10 years, a Champions League review and all the week's other big sports stories - you can have listen once you’re signed up on secondcaptains.com
Manchester City kept the chase going with a narrow win over Chelsea that saw Guardiola's team notch up an unwanted first. Are we seeing cracks appear on the glittering City facade?
Meanwhile the Ole-outometer was swinging more wildly than a Phil Jones attempted clearance as the Uniteds of Sheffield and Manchester traded the lead and shared the points. United stay ninth in the Premier League - but they're doing a lot better in a certain Other table, where they have some surprising company in the top six.
Jonathan Wilson and Rory Smith join us to talk about the weekend's football. Why can't Jonathan bring himself to believe in Ole? What emotions did the return of Jose make Rory feel? And what do they think of the BBC giving such prominence to offbeat South American ding-a-ling, the Copa Libertadores Final?
Ireland had 4 wins from 4 in Round 1 of the European Rugby Champions Cup last week, but we had to make do with 2 wins and a draw this week - and the only defeat came from what might have been the best performance of the lot, Connacht away to Toulouse.
We talk about Munster's thrilling draw at home to Racing with Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times and one of Racing's returning Munster-men Donnacha Ryan, as well as Leinster's gritty 7 point win in Lyon, and Ulster's victory over a sorry Clermont on Friday night.
That Clermont performance led some (including Murph) to question the integrity of the competition, and we also discuss nutmegs in rugby, November hurling in the tropics, and marvellous Brendan Maher.
It has been a dramatic week on the Second Captains World Service, and we thank the football Gods that Ken, Murph, Eoin and Richie were not armed during a particularly heated debrief on Tuesday after Ireland's 1-1 draw with Denmark.
With disaster narrowly averted, Ken went to Tallaght to see the Ireland u-21s, and his love of the game was duly restored, before his heart was crushed again by Daniel Levy and Jose Mourinho.
Check out what you've been missing on the Second Captains World Service as we roar at each other about James McClean, Matt Doherty, Mick McCarthy and many, many others...
The Rugby World Cup is barely over but time waits for no man, and it seemed like the Irish players were only too happy to re-focus their attention on a tournament that they actually like playing in, and have even won from time to time.
Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times guide us through the main talking points of the opening weekend of this season's tournament - with Saracens fielding a second string, Ireland's provinces invincible, and a lot of Irish players generally looking pretty angry.
Plus - there's an admonishment for Ken for not 'spoiler-alerting' the ending of a book that was written in 1856, Murph salutes a young GAA player heading 'off foreign', and an emailer tells us of the perils of coaching kids.
With the Danes in town and maybe ready to teach us another cruel lesson, we take refuge in nostalgia and revisit the week 10 years ago when Ireland went full Alex Jones.
We also look to the longer-term future, with Kieran Lucid and Brendan Dillon joining us in studio to bring us up to speed with what's been happening on the question of the all-island league.
But we can't hide forever from the present. Tonight it's Ireland v Denmark for a place in the Euros, and hopefully James McClean can prove as uncompromising a presence on the pitch as he was last week in the pressroom.
Eoin does his best to talk us into positivity, and there’s Mick bites your hand off, goal communism and cheats a-plenty.
Name another podcast that in one week gives you a 2 minute Denmark grudge audiobed, Yanis Varoufakis being told the EU humiliated him and Paddy Holohan telling Richie Sadlier what its really like to step into an MMA cage?
ITS THE SECOND CAPTAINS WORLD SERVICE.....YO!
The European Rugby Champions Cup starts this week, with last year's champions Saracens widely tipped to retain their title... or at least they were widely tipped, until they were given a 35 point deduction in the English Premiership, and fined £5 million for salary cap infractions.
We talk to Shane Horgan and Mike Aylwin of the Guardian about what Saracens' suspension tells us about the sport's business model, why rugby clubs need to rethink their strategy, and why other English clubs have wasted no time sticking the boot into Saracens since the punishment was announced.
Mary Cain used to be one of America's most talented young athletes, but in an interview with the New York Times last week she revealed the horrendous pressure she was put under while in the Nike Oregon project to drastically lose weight.
Sunday Times journalist Rebecca Myers wrote a fascinating piece yesterday on the back of this Mary Cain story about the culture of the sport and the effect on their bodies and minds of trying to live up to all the demands, and Rebecca is on the show today.
We also discover why passionate anthem-singing = wins, David Clifford wows us again, good news for fans of our "I'll Tell You Who Wrote It" book club, and we discover why rugby's demise is (predictably) actually football's fault.
Ep 1618: Liverpool Simply Stronger, City Get Mugged Off, Title Race Realities, Poppy Heat - 11/11/19 by Second Captains
The Ireland women's hockey team can't stop creating history - from a World Cup final, to record crowds, to The Olympics. We talk to Nicci Daly, one of the stars of a team that keep getting it done in tight games and on big occasions.
South Africa were far from perfect and won the Rugby World Cup with a game-plan that lacked ambition and scope, but had the best basics - scrum, lineout, maul, defence - of any team that's ever played the game. Were England and NZ too idealistic? Are defence coaches the most important men in the game? And we ask Eoin Reddan and Shane Horgan if Ireland were right to be conservative after all, and what the next step should be in the giant fix that's required.
Plus there's Katie's emotional night, styles make fights, Ken's tribute to Gay Byrne, and Ireland's peno shootout DNA.
Saturday saw probably the most heartbreaking come-from-behind win of Pep Guardiola's career, as City returned to their dressing room only to hear that Liverpool had scored a late winner of their own - but were the City manager's supposed comments about Mané's diving misreported?
Mané didn't really dive, of course, as VAR should have decided - and no, we can't avoid talking about VAR forever - it's clear now almost everyone has now turned against it, we discuss what's going wrong and why.
We also talk a little bit about Richard Keogh and Harry Arter.
Then we welcome David Sneyd to studio to talk about Shamrock Rovers' win in the FAI Cup final, his interview with Jack Byrne and the season that was in the League of Ireland.
From F2 freestylers, to Xhaka haters, to free love, to Irishmen loving England - its been another big week on the Second Captains World Service, and as its the start of the month, its the perfect time to secondcaptains.com/join
Arsenal v Crystal Palace didn't look a likely game of the weekend beforehand, but at the bloodthirsty cauldron the Emirates has become, anyone can end up being fed to the lions.
We also discuss Liverpool's victory over Spurs and what the future might hold for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane.
Then we're joined in studio by the F2 Freestylers, Jez Lynch and Billy Wingrove, who talk to us about how young players learn skills these days, and how the culture of football is changing - almost too fast to keep up.
Why always us? It’s been another horrendous Rugby World Cup campaign for Ireland, and we are left with the same old questions.
Eoin Reddan and Shane Horgan are both on the show today to try and make sense of our 46-14 mauling at the hands of New Zealand on Saturday.
There’s a fair bit of blame to go around, and we apportion it as judiciously as possible.
Eoin tries to rank and rate our World Cup humiliations (where does 2019 come in?), there’s tenured rugby players, and Eddie Jones’ finishers.
We've been trying not to talk about VAR too much but the Premier League isn't making it easy. With video referees apparently reluctant to intervene, is it time for the referees to be forced to take the opportunity to overrule themselves?
We also discuss a new study that suggests that while football may be a game you play with your brain, it appears not to be very good for your brain.
John Brewin and Mark Critchley join us to analyse yesterday's draw at Old Trafford. Was this a turning point for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? Has Ed Woodward's propaganda blitz over the last week reassured United fans? Did Liverpool show their true colours?
Last night we helped to launch Richie Sadlier's new book, Recovering, at the Chocolate Factory on King's Inns Street.
In this interview, Richie explains how he decided to write the book, discusses some of the personal revelations in the story, and tells us how he feels now it's all out there.
Irish football has been free of John Delaney for just over a week now - and already a great green wave of Gaelic genius threatens to engulf the Premier League.
Is it fair that Mauricio Pochettino's position at Tottenham should be questioned simply because his team were blown away by the most talented human being ever to emerge from the city of Galway?
After we have surveyed the happiness and unhappiness of various Premier League families, Miguel Delaney and Simon Hughes join us to analyse the weekend's football. How are Liverpool keeping their heads while all around are losing theirs? And what are Manchester United and Tottenham going to do about their embattled managers?
It's the start of the month, which means it's high time you joined the Second Captains World Service - but if just asking you isn't persuasive enough, here are some highlights from this week so far.
The Players Chair was back this week, with a rollicking good chat with Ireland and Wolves defender Matt Doherty. Richie talks to him about Martin O'Neill, Richard Keogh, 'personal' injuries and how likely or otherwise he is to start in Georgia next week.
You'll also hear Shane Horgan's rather scathing assessment of Ireland's performance against Japan, and there's Pat Kenny's rallying call to any Irish rugby players feeling the heat with this 5-day turnaround in Japan...
Ireland are still in the Rugby World Cup but... our 19-12 loss to Japan now means we must talk about the bad old days again.
We recorded a live podcast moments after the final whistle in our home-away-from-home, the Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin, with Andrew Trimble and Eoin Reddan, and some uncomfortable home truths were brought to us.
We are now an inconsistent team, and we have no real understanding of how well or badly we're going to play from week to week. That still means we could do something at this World Cup, but the smart money wouldn't be on it.
We also had the searing rugby insights of David O'Doherty, who gave us a master-class in the dark arts on the David O'Doherty Rugby World Cup Skillz Mat.
One emailer reminds us of Ireland's glorious tradition as rugby missionaries, and there's the Sexton conundrum as the team announcement for our next match on Thursday looms.
It's all over between John Delaney and the FAI. We reminisce about the bad times, and the crazy times.
Leicester's 5-0 demolition job on Newcastle posed a couple of questions. Is Jamie Vardy the most underrated player of his generation? And how has Coach Rodgers gone so quickly from being a bright young manager learning his trade, to a grandee of the game?
We also talk about Manchester City's victory at Everton, which featured a stellar performance from Riyad Mahrez, and more slightly confused soundbites from Pep.
Then Mark Tighe of the Sunday Times joins us to reflect on the last six months in the story of John Delaney and the FAI.
Liverpool made it six wins in a row but finished the match clinging on as Chelsea, inspired by their fans' generosity of spirit, threw everything at them in search of an equaliser. Manchester City won 8-0 and then the hero of the day, Bernardo Silva, soured the moment by blundering into a social media racism controversy.
Gabriele Marcotti joins us to discuss why the mood at Stamford Bridge remains buoyant in the face of poor results, the absence of Pulisic from Lampard's teamsheets, and to give his thoughts on Inter's victory in the Milan derby.
And Laurie Whitwell was at the London Stadium to see Manchester United's defeat to West Ham. Can he see any positives for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, where Jose Mourinho could not?
The Champions League is underway, the RWC 2019 is underway and grunge week is over - its the perfect time to join the Second Captains World Service secondcaptains.com/join .
Shane Horgan told us this week that he reckons England are going to win the whole thing, and along with Donnacha Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Gerry Thornley and Mattie Williams, you'll get all the biggest rugby brains giving you the best insight and analysis.
Earlier this week, Jonny Cooper told us about the words of consolation from Jack McCaffrey after his sending-off in the drawn All-Ireland final that inspired him for last Saturday's replay.
Plus Ken bullying Eoin, live show discounts and trouble in the camp.
'No-one likes us, we don't care' would appear to be the attitude of some Dublin fans... but is there a silent majority of the country who, while they'd rather see the cups getting shared around a bit, are nonetheless more than willing to give credit where it's due?
Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke give us their thoughts on the greatest team of all time, the players and manager that made them, and the fault-lines that could yet appear on the horizon.
Not even 24 hours after the Dubs won the men's final, their women's team were at it as well, and we speak to 2017 footballer of the year Noelle Healy, who kicked the last point of their 2-3 to 0-4 win over Galway.
Plus there's crowd trouble on the Hill, Eoin meets Michéal Martin, Oisin's beef with Johnny Magee, and Mike Quirke's new job.
Eoin returns from Seattle, and he's bearing gifts, which translates to both good news and bad news for Second Captains listeners.
There is no doubt what the theme is today as the dazzling young stars of Frank Lampard's talent factory blazed far too hot for Wolves to handle.
Sam Lee and Jonathan Wilson join us for a closer look at some of the weekend's football. Is there a solution for City's defensive problems in their youth teams? And why does Jonathan believe a reckoning is coming for Frank Lampard?
The Second Captains World Service aches for you. Here is a taste of what you've been missing.
Oisin and Mike on Brolly's Licence To Ill, Richie Sadlier on Troy Parrott's rise, Ken on Dubs all Ireland ceremony, and RWC 2019 build up.
Two weeks ago, Ireland conceded almost 60 points to England... so what the hell are we doing at number 1 in the world rankings? No-one seems to be paying it much heed, least of all here in Ireland, but it suggests we must be doing something right.
Eoin Reddan and Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times pick out the best bits from a second win over Wales in 7 days in the Aviva on Saturday, and why after the Twickenham humiliation, the only way was up.
James Ryan has emerged from Devin Toner's lineout shadow, and maybe there are less places to hide now, while Eoin Reddan is confident that Joe has remained confident throughout the last fortnight.
Sinead O'Carroll of thejournal.ie is in studio to talk to us about the best camogie final in years, as Galway win just their third title in thrilling style against Kilkenny.
Ken worries that the world is sniggering at our no.1 status, and we say goodbye forever to the Eoin McDevitt Rugby World Cup Panic Button... thank Christ.
If Ireland are Homer Simpson, then Georgia are Homer's assistant and guardian angel Karl, who helps him get promoted to executive in the Dimoxinil episode.
Once again they have sabotaged Ireland's opponents and simplified the task of Euro qualification. Tomorrow Ireland play Bulgaria in a friendly that allows Mick McCarthy to look at some of his bench options.
We talk about this morning's press conference, and catch up on what else was happening around Europe on international week.
Miguel Delaney joins us to talk about whether England are likely 2020 Euro champs, to give his scouting report on Ireland's next opponents Bulgaria, and to share his theory on why the international game in Europe has started to mirror some of the inequalities of the club game.
There simply is no better time to join the Second Captains world service than the first week of the month, with new editions of both Richie Sadlier's Player's Chair and Ken Early's Politics Podcast, and an Ireland V Switzerland review coming on Friday.
Richie was speaking to Paul O'Connell at Electric Picnic last Saturday, and Ken spoke to Richard Seymour, author of a new book called The Twittering Machine. For those of you who haven't succumbed just yet... here's a taster.
Dublin set off yesterday in pursuit of history, trying to become the first team to win the five-in-a-row. They eventually came within one kick of it yesterday evening, before Dean Rock's sideline free-kick dropped short and wide, and condemned us to a replay of yesterday's thrilling All-Ireland football final.
Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke were there, loved it as much as we did, and tell us why there's room for improvement everywhere, even amidst all the drama. Mike Quirke's bullish pre-match summation of the power of Kerry's bench was proved correct, Oisin's love affair with David Clifford, flaws and all, continues, and we cast half an eye towards a replay that is far from a foregone conclusion.
Shane Horgan gives us his instant reaction to the World Cup squad being announced today as Devin Toner, Jordi Murphy and Will Addison miss out.
Ken has some technique questions for Dean Rock, and some security questions for the Irish rugby team dressing room, as well as crying toddlers, unbearable excitement and card-happy Royallers.
Mane and Salah provided the drama but as far as the title race is concerned, the most significant moment of the Premier League weekend happened elsewhere.
Miguel Delaney was at the Emirates to see Arsenal come back to draw with Spurs. Is Unai Emery getting closer to his best first XI, and what bug fixes would Miguel recommend for the latest edition of the MP operating system?
Then we’re joined by David Sneyd who saw Seamus Coleman lead Everton to a 3-2 win against Wolves.
We also have the latest from the Ireland camp out at FAI HQ in Abbottstown.
2017 Footballer of the Year Andy Moran has announced his retirement from inter-county football. In a wide-ranging interview for ‘The Players Chair’ with Richie Sadlier on the Second Captains World Service, the man with more appearances for Mayo than any other player has said that having discussed it with James Horan this weekend, he’s made his decision to retire, and has told his team-mates that he will not return for another season.
Moran won a National League title earlier this year, Mayo’s first national title in 18 years. In between those two league wins the county had reached 10 national finals, three league and seven All-Irelands, including the 2016 replay. Andy was in the Mayo panel for them all, and only serious injury prevented him playing in all 10 – a cruciate injury that forced him to miss the 2012 All-Ireland, when he was the team captain.
Over the course of a 16-year career, he became one of the totemic figures on a Mayo team that was the compelling story of the GAA world in this decade.
He also spoke to Richie about becoming a father, losing his own Dad, Mayo’s goldfish bowl, and the second-half collapse against Dublin in this year’s All-Ireland semi-final.
The interview will be released on the second Captains World Service tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, at 7am. To subscribe to the World Service for just €5 per month (plus VAT), click here - www.secondcaptains.com/join
Ireland suffered a record defeat to England on Saturday, and the rather uneasy rumblings of last week have become fully-realised fears in the eyes of many Irish rugby fans - we press the panic button on today's show.
Shane Horgan sees our hopes of winning the World Cup disappearing over the horizon, and he's on with Gerry Thornley to pinpoint the many, many areas for improvement from a shockingly poor Ireland display in Twickenham.
Ken questions the very reason for the existence of these matches, before we move onto to an Irish sportsman who had a rather better time of it this weekend - Rory McIlroy won the Fedex Cup, and $15 million last night, and Alex Myers from Golf Digest tells us why, yes, 2019 has been a very good year for Rory.
Plus there's Ross Kemp on Ben Stokes, Jack Leach saves Superman, why the Connacht u-20s should take on Wales, and the Rory-Brooks Koepka FEUD that refuses to go away.
The Premier League weekend: David Silva sublime. David Luiz ridiculous. Eoin has some questions - cheap, nasty, and obvious ones.
Did Unai Emery play it too conservatively at Anfield? Who was to blame for Crystal Palace's first goal against Manchester United? And are managers seriously going to keep complaining about penalties not given even in the VAR age?
We're joined by Mark Douglas to talk about Newcastle's surprise win at Tottenham. Who are the people Steve Bruce claims to have shut up?
Plus there's Rash's peno pain, the Giles walk, Klopp's whatever and setting the bar for racist trolls.
It's been a bit of a roller-coaster year for Tipperary - an All-Ireland win looked pretty unlikely at the end of the league, looked very likely indeed after the Munster championship round-robin, and then after a 12 point hammering from Limerick in the Munster final, it looked a rather remote possibility again.
But from the ashes of that chastening day, they came good when it mattered - and in a game that will be remembered for Richie Hogan's red card, they were crowned All-Ireland champions yesterday.
Michael Duignan and Malachy Clerkin tell us why they reckon Tipp would've won it anyway even without the red card, how real life scar tissues helped this Tipp team mature, and even speculate on what next for Brian Cody.
Plus there's Eoin's hurler of the year, Murph's end of season celebrations, and Liam Sheedy's glazed eyes.
It's Monday, so it's time to talk about VAR. Ken defends himself against the "gammon" accusations and explains why his critics are wrong. In between there is some time to discuss the details of how Man City took Spurs apart.
We also talk about Frank Lampard's downbeat and strangely detailed assessment of Chelsea's draw at home to Leicester, and generally incorporate a range of up to date movie references.
David Sneyd was at Bramall Lane to see the "Brexit" Blades - featuring half an Irish international team - beat Crystal Palace.
And Dermot Corrigan talks to us about the sensational Liga debut of Joao Felix, and the somewhat less sensational start to the season by Barcelona.
Q: What do Derek McGrath, Ric Flair, the Mighty Magyars and Eoin tanking a Peter O'Mahony interview have in common?
A: THIS WEEK ON THE SECOND CAPTAINS WORLD SERVICE
On a balmy September night in September 2011, Eoin stood outside Mulligan’s on Poolbeg Street basking in the celebrations of Dublin’s first All-Ireland title in 16 years. More than that, he was basking in the love being shown by supporters from other counties who seemed genuinely happy for the Dubs to have their day in the sun.
Fast-forward to 2019 and with Dublin on the brink of 5-in-a-row, it’s fair to say that the neighbourly spirit on show that night has long since disappeared. Many neutrals don’t like the Dubs, not even when they produce 2 goals and 6 points without reply in one of the most exhilarating periods of play ever seen on a football pitch, perhaps ESPECIALLY not when they produce 2 goals and 6 points without reply in one of the most exhilarating periods of play ever seen on a football pitch.
Was it the defining performance of the greatest team of all time or just another step towards the death of Gaelic football? Oisin McConville joins us to work through the jumble of emotions he experienced watching Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final.
And Mike Quirke takes a close look at Kerry’s mix of youthfulness/Kerryness/David-Cliffordness and does his best to make a case that the Dubs can still be stopped on September 1st.
Manchester United destroyed Chelsea at Old Trafford, with Daniel James' emotional celebrations reminding the crowd why they love football in the first place.
It meant Frank Lampard started with the worst result of any Chelsea manager in the Premier League era, and there have been quite a few Chelsea managers. Is the selection of young players just a political ploy, as Jose Mourinho seems to think? Or does Lampard really believe Mount and Abraham can be the backbone of his new look Chelsea?
We also discuss the essential pointlessness of VAR as we saw it in the first round of matches.
Jack Pitt-Brooke joins us to talk about how Spurs turned it around against Villa, and what the future holds for Christian Eriksen.
It's August 1st, which means this is the PERFECT time to sign up to the Second Captains World Service!!
Sign up today, and you get maximum bang for your (5) buck(s), and to pique your interest, have a quick listen to this - as Murph gets humiliated by Oisin McConville, Stephen A Smith outlines how Eoin could get even more militant with those of you hesitating before signing up to us, and a clip from Ken's latest politics podcast, premiering tomorrow.
Robbie Keane is not in the mood to reminisce. Funny? Funny how?
Arsenal have found some spare cash, or at least some sellers willing to discuss terms. We also talk about why Gareth Bale is not going to China, and whether Real Madrid's technical committee has ever seen Paul Pogba play.
Also today, Gavin Cooney of the42 joins us to talk about what happened over the weekend at the FAI AGM - where Donal Conway appeared to outmanoeuvre Shane Ross.
There really isn't enough time between All-Ireland hurling semi-finals to digest the full magnitude of what went on this weekend, but we'll give it a shot today, as we try and sort out just how we're left with a fifth Tipperary/Kilkenny final in the last 10 years.
Michael Duignan and former Kilkenny legend Brian Hogan are magnanimous as Eoin admits that - yes, hurling folk DO bang on a bit about it but... bloody hell, what a sport. We talk about the myth of Cody, Liam Sheedy's magnificent job, and why the sweeper system is all Brian Hogan's fault*...
(*might not actually be his fault).
Plus - 'Brits out' says Donal Óg Cusack (we think), Ann Downey's insights into the Kilkenny mindset, Captain Murph, Cody - Sheedy comparisons, and if things get tough, just quit.
The Open came to Ireland for the first time in 68 years, and the Claret Jug will stay in Ireland, after Shane Lowry's extraordinary 6-shot win over the field at Royal Portrush yesterday.
We salute a man we can all say is as nice as he appears on TV, with Malachy Clerkin and Lawrence Donegan. We also lament the fact that just 24 hours after his success, Shane has already been usurped... by his own granny's scene-stealing cameo on RTE News.
Mike Quirke and Oisin McConville outline just why Lowry's win was so lustily celebrated by GAA people (and men of a certain age), before we delve into the modern classic Kerry and Donegal played in Croker on Sunday.
Plus there's turf mould, Tiger Woods in the bog, brandies, refreshing honesty and pop psychology snake-oil.
It's been another turbulent weekend for the FAI - but on the field maybe there are some signs that Irish football's fortunes are looking up.
Meanwhile Premier League clubs have been touring some humid and not-so-humid locations, aiming to boost fitness levels and bank balances, with varying degrees of success.
Sid Lowe joins us to talk about the increasingly hostile stand-off between Real Madrid and Gareth Bale.
It was a sunny Sunday when for once football was pushed into the shadows - but nobody keeps this baby in the corner for long.
La Liga clubs have been the most active in the summer transfer market so far. Has there been an outbreak of caution in the Premier League or is everyone just waiting until the last minute to lose their minds?
We discuss Manchester United's reported interest in Harry Maguire. Is £80 million for England's World Cup hero solid business, or one of the most insane examples of transfer mania yet recorded?
We join Oluwashina Okeleji in Cairo to talk about the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. What has happened to Nigeria's 90s flair? How does Kalidou Koulibaly compare to some other highly-valued centre-backs? And why are the Egyptians supporting Algeria?
After missing out last year, Mayo are in the Super 8s, and they seem destined to keep us entertained for another month or so... at least.
Mike Quirke and Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times give us their thoughts on the weekend's football, with Mayo surging past Galway, and wins for Cork, Meath and Tyrone.
There's one team the lads fancy to take a few heavy beatings... and it's not the Division 3 team. And there's the unbelievably tasty prospect of Mayo against Kerry in Killarney next Sunday to look forward to as well.
Willie Dunphy was one of the real leaders in the Laois hurling team that shocked Dublin yesterday, and he's on today's show talking to us about the day they conceded 10 goals to Cork, sweet deliverance over the last 8 days, and why they can keep it going too.
Plus there's Phil Neville's advice to the Cork footballers, Nesbitt watch, lovely Lahinch for the Irish Open, and Frances Murphy's molten hot take on the young men of Ireland.
Richie Sadlier joins us in studio to discuss covering the FIFA WWC for RTE, Team America, male and female celebrations, and Phil "the humble one".
We talk to Johnette Howard about how the team is perceived in the US, confusing brashness with confidence, Rapinoe's wars with Trump and where the fight for equal pay will go from here.
Tim Vickery chats to us about Brazil winning the Copa in Brazil, Jesus' moment of madness, and how Argentinian fans' calls for Leo Messi to become more vocal and communicative may have created a monster.
Plus there's Phil Brent, Jonathan Pearce magic, Pogba PR, COYDIG boos and CR7 watching himself on the big screen.
Jonathan Pearce went full Jonathan Pearce, England went full England and Dr Ken diagnoses glazed eyes.
Plus Murph on the GAA's Mr fix it, and Frances Murphy's birthday greeting.
Welcome to another taste of the Second Captains World Service.
A spying scandal has erupted ahead of the World Cup semi-final between England and the USA and Phil Neville has another national team set-up to criticise.
We look back at the quarter-finals and forward to tomorrow's much-anticipated Anglo-American showdown in Lyon.
Also today, we go through Swiss Ramble's snapshot of Arsenal's lost decade.
We're joined from Lyon by Caitlin Murray, author of "The National Team", a history of the USWNT, to talk about the Americans' march toward the final and why many perceive them as the villains of the tournament.
Plus there's the audacity of Hope Solo, football idealists, selling jerseys and putting out a Lance vibe in France.
The first part of the hurling summer has ended, and it's ended with Wexford and Limerick on top in Leinster and Munster. If that sounds like it has a real mid-90s vibe to it, then you'd be right.
Hurling Uber-mensch and the soul of Wexford, Liam Griffin, tells us why winning on the double, in minor and in senior, was so important for Wexford, and why it's a reward for hard work, planning, an exceptional playing group, and for Davy Fitz's application.
Two-time all-star Seamus Hickey wasn't surprised by anything he saw from Limerick yesterday, as they dismantled the form team of the summer so far Tipperary in the Munster final. He tells us what drives this young team forward.
Plus there's an attack on Wicklow from Murph, two fingers to Oliver Cromwell, professional fouls, flawless hurling, and feel-good vibes all over the place.
Ep 1501: Donegal Dominant, Dublin Dismissive, Kerry Unconvincing, The Dublin Q - 24/06/2019 by Second Captains
We didn't think we'd spend at least part of this week discovering factoids about the many and various ways that Scotland have managed not to qualify from World Cup groups, but after the misadventures of their women's team against Argentina last night, that is exactly what we've been doing on the Second Captains World Service.
We present the results of those findings here on this SC taster menu, along with Eoin's wife pranking him, Oisin McConville backing Donegal for Sam (in a manner of speaking), and US Murph on the Toronto Raptors' NBA finals win.
Nine of the 16 second round teams at the Womens' World Cup have been confirmed, and the Americans still look like the team to stop, after following up their demolition job on Thailand with a 3-0 defeat of Chile.
Meanwhile Paul Pogba has announced that he feels like a new challenge, somewhere else. But where? Who can afford him? And what direction do United take after he leaves?
Rebecca Myers of the Sunday Times joins us from Nice to talk about the USWNT - a "super-elite" sporting institution that has to deal with more than the usual share of political pressure.
It's been a dark time for the Gaelic football fans out there, as their game has been ignored in favour of the small ball, on television at least. So there's no better antidote for that than a reunion of the Second Captains punditry dream-team of Mike Quirke and Oisin McConville on today's show.
It will be a Cavan/Donegal Ulster final, after their stunning wins at the weekend - just what exactly has happened to make the Ulster championship the greatest show on turf this summer? And with the Dublin dominance continuing unabated, what steps are Meath taking to ensure that one day they'll be able to mount a challenge?
Plus there's another very profitable weekend on the golf course for Rory McIlroy, a day of shame for hurling (as one of their refs actually applies the rules), good news at last for Graeme McDowell, and a silver medal for the Irish oche-artistes at the world darts championship.
The Women's World Cup is underway in France, but the best player in the world is nowhere to be seen. We discuss the case of Ada Hegerberg and the Norwegian Saipan.
Meanwhile Ireland are top of the Euro 2020 qualifying group after an encouraging performance in the 1-1 draw in Copenhagen.
The Nations League final was a fascinating duel - we talk about Matthijs de Ligt, why he's so highly rated and why he hasn't yet decided on a destination.
Damien Delaney gives his view on Ireland's performance - are there real reasons to be hopeful, or is optimism getting the better of us?
Lars Johnsen of Josimar magazine joins us to talk about the case of Ada Hegerberg - why isn't she at the World Cup, and how has her stance gone down in Norway?
Champions League Final Fun, chilled Klopp, Ken On Tour and Rice to Man United all feature on our latest snifter of the Second Captains World Service. Disfrutas!
Leinster were able to bounce back from defeat in the European Champions Cup final to secure a third trophy in the last 2 years with a 18-15 defeat of Glasgow.
Eoin Reddan and Gerry Thornley run the rule over the Pro 14 final - a game where that defeat to Saracens, and the opening game of the Rugby World Cup against Scotland, both cast a shadow.
While Leinster were winning in Glasgow, Roscommon were doing what Roscommon do best - wrecking the best laid plans of Mayo with a stunning one-point win in Castlebar. We're joined by Shannonside FM legend Willie Hegarty.
Plus there's polished wood swing seats, Sir Bradley Wiggins' culture fix (and John Lennon fixation), the Connacht internecine hatred pie-chart, and another summer of Mayo.
The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, has attacked Manchester City and PSG for inflating the European football market, prompting a spicy response from Khaldoon al Mubarak. The City chairman's smooth delivery has charmed McDevitt - but do his arguments stand up?
We also discuss whether Matthijs de Ligt would be throwing his career away by joining Manchester United.
Finally Terry Daley joins us on the line to talk about the Chelsea culture war: Maurizio Sarri's first season seems respectable enough from a results point of view - so why are so many Chelsea fans against him?
"What is life, what is the reason why we live? It is to live these kind of emotions..."
So Pep Guardiola told the BBC in his pre-FA Cup Final interview. By this standard Saturday was another great day for the City manager, as he got to live almost the full range of emotions - from exultation as his players gave another fantastic performance, to fury as a reporter took the opportunity to ask him about money matters.
Why do City feel as though they're not getting the credit they deserve? What more do they have to do?
Jonathan Wilson and Rory Smith join us to analyse a week that was the most successful and perhaps the most irritable in the history of Manchester City, and the part the media have themselves played in the apparent decline of trust in their integrity.
We also chat about Kompany's next move, Mbappé's bombshell, and a flurry of dubious quotes involving Gareth Bale.
Who "barely fogs a mirror", and who "is as bould as a pig"? These, and other important issues are discussed on today's mini-promo-pod for non-members of the Second Captains World Service.
The two men responsible for those illuminating, evocative phrases are US Murph and Michael Duignan, and you can decide for yourself who said what about whom.
This week we cover Bielsa and Lamps, Tiger back to back, hurling's comedy show and Man City's many troubles off the field.
There's also Ken on Harvard and it's pompous wrought-iron signs, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, stupid laughs, and the bizarre listening habits of our world service members.
Afterwards, it seemed inevitable that Saracens' power-game would eventually wear down Leinster in Saturday's European Champions Cup final. But - was it really all that inevitable? Or were key mistakes at key times the reason why Leinster couldn't add a fifth European title?
Shane Horgan and Donnacha Ryan, a losing finalist last year with Racing 92, join us to discuss the turning-points, the decisions and the individual performances that turned this game in the London club's favour.
Eoin McDevitt was on tour with the Dublin hurlers on Saturday, and was in the ground for one of the great moments of hurling shithousery from Dublin selector Gregory Kennedy - if he had seen it.
Plus there's Mattie Williams getting confused with Declan Kidney, baldness is not a reason for despair, match-day car-parking, and genetics.
When City won the league in 2012, Carlos Tevez caused consternation by waving a banner saying "RIP Fergie" at the title party. This time the top two have expressed nothing but mutual respect, gratitude and admiration. It's all very decent and civilised, and everybody can congratulate themselves on their new found maturity.
But with Guardiola promising City will return even stronger, where now for the chasing pack? Can Liverpool possibly sustain their form into next season? Must Jurgen Klopp turn to the dark side if he hopes to ruffle Pep's beautiful plumage?
We speak to Sam Lee, Manchester City correspondent with Goal, about how Guardiola has kept City consistent and where they are planning to reinforce the squad for next year.
A snifter of Spurs lunacy, Richie Sadlier after his trip to Anfield and Ken on Ajax's trench foot
On this week's message to those of you wavering on the sidelines anxious but still unsure as to whether €5 can be spared for a subscription - we have a soupçon of our coverage of last night's Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona 'ridiculo', a sprig of Murphy misfortune, and a hefty dose of Ken Early.
It was a ridiculous night last night, and you won't hear better analysis of the fall-out anywhere else, so why not sign up today at second captains.com/join and be a part of the magic.
Everything is settled except the destination of the title. For Manchester City to drop points once already to Leicester City this season might have been bad luck. But twice would look like carelessness. Liverpool are already counting the cost of their progressive stance on concussion with the news that Mohamed Salah has been ruled out of Tuesday night's semi-final against Barcelona after the head injury he suffered at Newcastle.
It has been another tough weekend of headlines for the FAI, who are now openly soliciting ideas from the football family as to how they might sort out this mess.
Kieran Canning and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend's football. Will Pep be spooked by Liverpool luck? Can anyone explain the collapse of Arsenal? How would they advise Ed Woodward? And what exactly did Steven Gerrard think he was doing by announcing that Scottish football had surprised him - by how poor it is?
It's been another history-making week on the Second Captains World Service, as we call one of our most beloved guests 'a twat' live on-air.
Come have a listen at some of the other non-insulting stuff we've been talking about this week by joining us on www.secondcaptains.com for just €5 a month - stuff like Ryan McHugh, Donegal footballer, on being the scion of a great footballing family, concussion, and winning All-Irelands with Donegal.
Plus there's Damien Delaney on Lionel Messi... and why he thinks David Silva is the best player of the last 10 years in the Premier League! #awkward
Ep 1455: Marathon Mo Farah/Haile Gebrselassie Beef, Conor Murray Injury Update - 29/04/2019 by Second Captains
Marcelo Bielsa ordered his Leeds team to concede an equaliser against Aston Villa for reasons of sportsmanship, but at least two people aren't impressed by his act of integrity: Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, and our own Eoin McDevitt.
The title race inched remorselessly towards what looks an inevitable conclusion with City's victory at Burnley, but Leicester's form means Liverpool still have hope.
We discuss the high-stakes comedy of the top-four mini-league, with Arsenal and Spurs suffering bad defeats and Manchester United's good start against Chelsea undone by another baffling De Gea error.
And Phil Hay of the Yorkshire Evening Post joins us to talk about how Marcelo Bielsa's self-sacrificing gesture went down with the Leeds fans.
In this week's sampling of World Service fare, Ken outlines the cure for dissociation from reality as caused by our obsession with technology: League of Ireland football.
We looked back at the trauma inflicted upon the nation during last year's u17 European Championship quarter-finals with Ireland manager Colin O'Brien.
And there's also Countdown, a la Second Captains.
After the hysterical overreaction to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's initial success, we're surfing a wave of hysterical counter-reaction to Manchester United's dismal recent form.
After six defeats in their last eight, United face City on Wednesday, at risk of recording their worst run of form since 1981.
We discuss another weekend in this unprecedented title race, in which Liverpool after 35 matches have already broken their club record for Premier League points in the season, and yet are still rated just a 40-60 shot to win the title.
Alan Smith joins us to talk about Man United's humiliation at Everton and whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tough talk in the aftermath was convincing.
It's time for us to once again give you a little taster of what you could have been listening to this week, had you taken the plunge and become a Second Captains World Service member.
Leinster and Ireland legend Shane Horgan was in rare form looking ahead to this weekend's European Champions Cup semi-finals, as well as looking back 10 years, to the day when Leinster were nearly cheated out of their first Heineken Cup by the Harlequins 'bloodgate' controversy.
And there's also Ken's politics podcast from last week, after he spoke to David Wallace-Wells, author of "The Uninhabitable Earth", about the looming disaster of climate change.
Tiger Woods has won a few major titles in his time. 22 years ago he won his first Masters title by 12 shots. He won the US Open in 2000 by 15 shots. He won the British Open the same year by 8 shots. But has there ever been anything like the 1-stroke victory he held over the field yesterday afternoon?
Malachy Clerkin and Lawrence Donegan join us to talk about the magnitude of Tiger's comeback, the drama of his victory, and the lamentations of his vanquished foes. Is there now a chance again that he will take on Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major wins, or will the brilliance of his 15th carry him off into the sunset?
Plus - Eoin McDevitt is a tiger, and he wants you to hear him roar; Murph wants a lizard named after him, and Ken has the latest non-seismic news from the FAI.
With John Delaney's departure from the FAI expected - but at time of recording not yet confirmed - we discuss the latest developments at Abbottstown and how Irish football ended up in this mess.
It was another sensational weekend in what already looks like the highest standard of title race ever in the Premier League - with Salah returning to his best, Hendo forcing chunk after chunk of humble pie down Ken's throat, and Kevin de Bruyne compensating for the relative lack of drama in City's win over Palace with a superior Players Tribune interview.
We are joined by Rory Smith to talk about Liverpool's win, how they have evolved since last season, and why this rivalry - at least between the managers - has been so damn respectful.
Ken's mood got darker as the week went on, and it started with his philosophy on dreaming big.
John Delaney said nothing, which said everything about how Ireland works.
And in the Champions League we ask is Ole careering off course?
Its our weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service...
Watford are in the Cup final and Troy Deeney has some learnings he'd like to share.
It was another weekend when again City gently outwitted their opponents like a superintelligent AI. The impression of City's challenge is cool blue and serene, like a picture of our planet from space. Liverpool's challenge is summed up in the pictures of the celebrating Jordan Henderson, a man-sized aneurysm about to explode.
We're joined by Jack Pitt-Brooke to look ahead to Spurs v City in tomorrow night's Champions League quarter-finals. Does Kevin de Bruyne have the best brain in football?
It was an utterly brilliant weekend of rugby, with huge wins for Leinster and Munster, and a host of heroes and villains.
If Jacob Stockdale had touched the ball down when already over the try-line, or if Tadhg Beirne hadn't ensured he got the ref's attention to an off-the-ball incident, both Ulster and Edinburgh might have semi-finals to look forward to.
We ask Shane Horgan if he's ever hammed it up... and if he's ever dropped the ball over the try-line.
Plus there's Ross Byrne's platoon moment, Mayo fans in tears in March, Dan Leavy's injury nightmare, and the morals of diving.
Liverpool's late win over Spurs at Anfield didn't show either side at their very best - but it sure as hell gave everybody a lot to talk about. Why do we always praise and criticise players and performances based on how they end? When is the right time to pass in front of goal? Who should be the Player of the Year?
Jonathan Wilson joins us to explain the difference between bottling and choking and which of Liverpool and Manchester City are more likely to fall victim to either phenomenon in the coming weeks.
And Kieran Canning talks to us about yesterday's Old Firm game in which Steven Gerrard's hotheads were played to perfection by Celtic's troll king, Scott Brown.
Plus there's Kop sucking another one in, Salah on Salah, Bill Hicks, Philip Larkin, l'il Grizou and FAI to infinity.
Richie Sadlier on Mick's joyful football and fan free will, Ken on Ole (the only choice, James McClean's scary Irish Identity Test, Irish woman in AFLW Grand Final and Champions Cup QF AHOY!
Ep 1426: Tennis Protests, Hurling Semis, Mayo's Strange Campaign, Ken In OT - 25/03/2019 by Second Captains
In the history of totally daft weeks in Irish football, this one would have to rank pretty high - and we still have plenty of drama to come on and off the field.
As John Delaney retires from his role as Chief Executive of the FAI, for a newly-created role as Executive Vice-President, we ponder what this all means for the balance of power in the association. Is this tantamount to a demotion for Delaney, or will he continue to be the main power-broker?
We speak to Mark Tighe of the Sunday Times, who has done so much brilliant work to reveal this story, on how it went to press, the reaction, and the drama of a high court injunction mere hours before your story is due to go to press.
We're also chatting to former Ireland international Damien Delaney on Ireland's short-comings on the field on Saturday night, and why we can't use conditions as an excuse for a pretty terrible first performance of Big Mick's new era.
Plus there's Statement No. 7, teleportation devices, John The Baptist, and Sergio Ramos.
Ireland have had a miserable spring, and the scale of the 25-7 defeat to Wales on Saturday could hardly be over-stated. Why do the players lack composure? What has happened their skillset? Why are they so poor at comebacks? Is it time for a major overhaul of the game-plan?
Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times and Mattie Williams try (12.50 mins) and take stock of where we are after two really depressing defeats at either end of the tournament. Is Joe Schmidt burnt out? Does he need help from outside the group, and have we, in fact, become a bad team overnight - we try and supply some answers.
Ken gives his reaction (6.15 mins) to the news over the weekend that John Delaney loaned the FAI €100,000 of his own money to solve a short-term cash-flow problem in the association.
Plus there's Owen Farrell's Jedi mind trick, Corofin's All-Ireland final brilliance on St Patrick's Day, and Eoin reheats a McTepid Take first aired while under the influence...
Ireland seemed to learn something about themselves in the games against Italy, Scotland and England - and that regained momentum led them to a comfortable bonus point win over France.
Eoin Reddan joins Gerry Thornley to figure out what changed in the intervening weeks, what tactical issues were resolved, and what role high 5's and bro hugs played in the turnaround.
Aoife Lane, founder and former chairperson of the WGPA wrote a brilliant column in the Irish Examiner about why ladies football and camogie are run by separate organisations set aside from the GAA, despite the many and obvious ways in which the games co-exist together with Gaelic football and hurling - and she joins us for a chat.
Plus there's the man Eoin is pinning all our hopes on to win the 6 Nations, we get an update on the current whereabouts of friend of the show Ken Burley, we talk some more (but still not enough) about Carlow, and McDevitt workshops some of his stand-up material.
So looking back, Sergio, what have you learned from your experiences with Real Madrid?
Well, that's a tricky question, Terry. But as I always say, we skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor...
Sergio Ramos' Twitter self-interview provides some light relief after a more-than-averagely violent and chaotic weekend of football. It's a problem football hasn't spent much time thinking about lately: how can fans be dissuaded from invading the pitch and attacking the players?
Also today, we speak to Rory Smith about his NYT interview with Raheem Sterling and the media's role in fuelling racism and prejudice.
When Ciara Mageean sat down to record an episode of The Players Chair with Richie Sadlier last year, she was coping with changing coach, living in England, and trying to put disappointment behind her. We're delighted to catch up with her today to talk about her bronze in the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow last night.
Tommy Walsh is experiencing a third coming in the Kerry football team - 11 years after bursting onto the scene as a teenager, and 4 years after failing to make any impact on his return from Australia. It's been one of the stories of the NFL this year, and his club manager Mike Quirke is on the line to tell us what's changed.
Plus there's Ken's by-now obligatory near-death experience while abroad, we reveal the exclusive audio of the moment Peter O'Mahony asked Joe Schmidt if he and the boys could have a few beers, and the abomination in Ulster schools Gaelic football that had the country talking.
Ken is back from Australia and Eoin is back from Premier Sports to talk about the weekend's football.
Jurgen Klopp's tetchy responses after Liverpool's draw at Everton suggest that some of those questions about whether they took enough risk in the game were a bit too close to the bone.
Meanwhile City shrugged off more Football Leaks revelations to cruise past Bournemouth and retake the lead. How does this weekend affect the balance of the title race psychodrama? And why would neutrals rather see Liverpool choke than City?
Also today, Dermot Corrigan joins us from the Real Madrid training ground to discuss how the European champions are taking a week off being dominated by Barcelona at their own stadium.
Just what is going on with Ireland? It might seem a strange question to ask after a weekend that saw England beaten, Ireland win their second game in a row, and secure their first bonus point of the tournament - but that's where we are.
Shane Horgan is starting to get a little worried, and he's on the line to share his concerns. Ireland might just be trying too hard to force the issue. But when the brilliance of the New Zealand performance is still so fresh in the memory, it's hard not to be frustrated at the sheer number of elementary mistakes being made.
Wales legend Jonathan Davies is on the line to tell us just how good people in Wales are feeling after their monumental performance in taking down England on Saturday - a game that showcased all the glorious madness of the 6 Nations.
And while Congress was for the most part, deathly dull, there was one decision that rankled - Dublin will continue to be allowed play 2 games in Croke Park this year. There's a lot of blame to go around regarding this situation, and Murph doesn't spare any of the guilty parties...
Plus there's Peter O'Mahony's pre-France game hangover that we feel needs to happen, tired Italian stereotypes make a social media comeback, and Eoin actually really likes Warren Gatland.
The moment when Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to come off at the end of yesterday's Carabao Cup final might have been sadly indicative of the insanity of Chelsea's dressing-room, but Eoin McDevitt believes it might have more widespread implications for the game as a whole - was yesterday the day the lunatics took over the asylum?
Miguel Delaney found himself in the heart of the action yesterday as he interviewed and interpreted for the young Spanish goalkeeper after the game, and we're also joined by Dion Fanning and Jonathan Wilson. And as you'd expect, Jonathan has an example from the dim and distant football past... and the story is peak Jonathan Wilson.
Kepa's run-in with his manager overshadowed Jordan Henderson's own mini-strop on the sideline after Jurgen Klopp took him off, but what's going on with Liverpool? They failed to fire again against a severely-understrength Man United.
Plus there's Eoin vs Kinger, at least Chelsea's PR unit are a team, and as football tears itself apart over Kepa, the GAA world says 'so what, this happens every week'.
New slots including McTepid, Irish Scapegoats Of Days Gone By and Nesbitt's Lonely planet emerged this week but that hasn't helped Eoin's ego after once again he was made to look a fool by one of our rugby pundits.
We had loads of Champions league analysis, Damien Delaney on managers losing the dressingroom, previews for Man Utd v Liverpool, 6N talk, and Pep gets the "where did you get it all SO wrong" treatment.
Limerick ended 2018 as All-Ireland champions for the first time in 45 years, and they've started 2019 in menacing fashion - beating Wexford away before hammering Tipperary and Kilkenny in successive games.
Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times, and former Limerick captain Donal O'Grady are on the show trying to figure out if Limerick are going all-out for league glory, or if it's a case of them water-skiing on the good vibes of last August. And we discuss Jackie Tyrrell's assertion that they're not in the top 3 teams in the country - gross blasphemy, or something even worse than that?
We had a brilliant chat with Howard Bryant about his book "The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism" late last year, and he's back on the show today to talk to us about the news that Colin Kaepernick has settled his collusion lawsuit against the NFL.
Plus Murph reveals that some of his best friends are from Clare, we pay homage to Ken's hurling nous, and Stuart Barnes throwing petrol-bombs.
It's shaping up to be a big week for Jurgen Klopp, as his Liverpool team meet the challenge of Bayern Munich, a team Klopp has had reason to be at logger heads with over the years.
Simon Hughes of the Independent joins us to talk about why Klopp so angered Bayern during his time with Dortmund, his relationship with Uli Hoeness, the loss of Virgil, and why a draw might not be such a bad result tomorrow night for Liverpool.
We also talk to James Montague, author of the brilliant "The Billionaires Club", about the story of Bahrainian footballer Hakeem Al Araibi, who was saved from deportation and possibly death by a global movement led by former Australian Socceroos captains Craig Foster.
Plus there's #JadoreInchicore, Ken's Kastaway, Klopp sings, why a German curse can equal Irish good luck, and we launch German indie week.
Expect the worst says Eoin, after having his Irish heart crushed by England's Declan Rice.
Ken explains this whole sorry saga via a Valentine's message.
Pat Kenny has some good clean fun for you all.
And we have a teaser for Richie Sadlier's latest Player's Chair interview with Ireland's most decorated and most capped player of all time, the legendary Emma Byrne.
Eoin questioned the wisdom of Maurizio Sarri berating his players in public a couple of weeks back - today he informs us that in their last 3 away games since he said those words, they've conceded 1.2% of their entire premier league goals against.
Dion Fanning and Jonathan Wilson are on hand to discuss just how doomed Sarri is, and whether the only thing saving him is Roman Abramovich's new-found disinterest in the Chelsea project.
They also discuss whether the clamour for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to get the Manchester United job for keeps is now too loud to ignore, or if the games in the next 3 weeks against Paris Saint Germain and Liverpool will give us all a much better idea of his capabilities.
Plus there's Brian Clough, Gary Crosby, and apologetic punch-recipients.
Ireland picked up their first win of the 2019 Six Nations on Saturday, but it was pretty hard sledding for most of Saturday. Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley are on hand to adjudicate on where we stand after two games.
England's points bonanza against the woeful French means the title might be beyond us already, but does that give us free rein to experiment with the World Cup in mind? What are we learning from our hesitancy and nervousness in recent weeks? And is there any other option for Johnny Sexton but to stand where he stands and take the punishment he got again at the weekend?
We salute the rebirth of Gaelic football, the most entertaining sport on the planet, Jimmy Nesbitt makes a welcome return to our hearts and minds, and we have a new French cliché for the world to adopt.
Essence of Second Captains World Service - Noah McDevitt is only three weeks old but he needs a win this weekend. Eoin explains.
Ireland had an extraordinary 2018, but in their first game of the 2019 6 Nations, their back-to-back Grand Slam dream came crashing down around them. They were out-fought out-thought, and out-kicked by a brilliant England team.
Is it time to press the panic button? No, says Eoin Reddan - and there's a chance we learn quite a bit from this humbling experience. Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times, Simon and Murph all try and make sense of it.
Plus there's proud Preston, unreasonable expectations, widespread navel gazing, and looking ahead to Scotland.
Manchester City kept the pressure on Liverpool by beating Arsenal while Manchester United continued their resurgence under The Sunshine Man.
Rory Smith was at the Etihad to see Manchester City defeat Arsenal. Is Guardiola overthinking it? What happens when managers want to prove points rather than win them? And why do teams seem to find it so difficult to enjoy the process of winning a title?
Andy Hunter joins us to talk about where things have gone so horribly wrong for City's next opponents, Everton. How have they managed to spend £300m on players in less than two years and end up with this?
Have a whiff of the Second Captains musk - from Donnacha Ryan to Mike Tindall to US Murph on the Super Bowl, to Premier League fright nights.... its been a hell of a week.
Join the world service for daily shows, Richie Sadlier's Player's Chair, top class interviews and to observe Ken's continuing loyalty to David Luiz - at secondcaptains.com
It was a rough start to the GAA season on Saturday night, when it briefly looked as if Castlebar's MacHale Park might be blown away for the opening match of the Allianz National Football League.
A hurricane of a different sort ripped through Clones on Sunday however, as Monaghan turned a 6-point deficit into a 3-point win against the reigning league and championship winners Dublin.
Their captain Colin Walshe joins us on the line to talk must-win moments, super subs and offensive marks.
If the men's final at the Australian Open sounded like a pairing that could have happened in 2009, then the women's final would've sounded impossible even this time last year.
Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine joins us to talk about Naomi Osaka's back story, apologies and back to back grand slams, Petra Kvitova's return from getting stabbed in the hand, the great Novak Djokovic mystery and why variety beats dominance.
Plus there's the Blair Witch Project, motion sickness, Long Hug Therapy, Eoin McDevitt Junior, and Derek McGrath > Jose Mourinho.
It was another FA Cup weekend, so today's football show is mainly about Luke Kelly. David Sneyd wrote about Kelly's links to Irish football in yesterday's Mail on Sunday and he joins us to discuss it further in studio today.
We also talk about the former Ireland coaching dream team reuniting at Nottingham Forest.
It was a particularly big weekend for journalism, with Hugh McIlvanney's death reminding us of an old world that is vanishing, and Jesse Lingard's triumphant few days showing us the way ahead. We talk about other pundits including Neil Francis, Ruud Gullit and the email marketing consultant who annoyed Andros Townsend.
Plus there's McViolence, village elders, Germans importing English flair, Ole Gunnar Sunshine and Fergie on journalism.
January is a long, cold month, and sometimes the only thing for it is to wrap up warm, hunker down by the fireside, and download a podcast or two.
Ken and Murph talk you through what you missed on this week's Second Captains World Service - as we hear why Kerry are no longer contenders for the All-Ireland football championship, 40 is NOT elderly, and why football is still an integral part of Leave-Voting Britain's identity.
And we have US Murph on the Superbowl, Neymar's foot, a sneak and a Player's Chair interview with Steven Reid, as we discover Richie Sadlier was not always the bastion of common-sense he is these days...
It was a very, very satisfying weekend for Irish sports fans, with one of our most beloved sports-people Shane Lowry back in the winner's enclosure after a dramatic one-shot win at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on Saturday morning.
Having led by three going into the final round, he found himself 4 shots back on the 12th tee before making three birdies to win by a shot - and he joins us on the show to discuss how he was determined not to relive the mistakes of the US Open in 2016 when he found himself in a similar position.
And we look back at the seamless progression of all 4 provinces into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup, with Gerry Thornley and Tom English. Leinster face Ulster, Munster must travel to Edinburgh, and Connacht have to play Sale yet again in their quarter-final - but it was another impressive weekend of Irish muscle-flexing on the European stage.
Plus there's yet more Eddie Jones updates, Ken's latest impressions, and the world's greatest sports co-commentator.
It seems a little early for the Premier League run-in jitters, but Liverpool were made to sweat for their 4-3 win over Crystal Palace. Mo Salah is the fall-guy, but why has everyone conveniently forgotten about Andy Robertson's handball in the build-up to what turned out to be the winning goal?
James Horncastle joins us to discuss Maurizio Sarri, who launched the calmest ever verbal broadside against his own players after their 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday evening. Of the 3 rats that downed Mourinho's sinking ship, only 1 remains, but there are still plenty of problems for him to contend with, including the plodding Jorginho, who has failed thus far to impress many, including Rio Ferdinand.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may now be the Man United backstop, but has he done enough to be seen as the favourite for the job full-time now? Thierry Henry might be out of his job soon too at Monaco, while Neymar suffers baby heart-break with PSG.
It's been a great weekend for Irish Premier League goalscorers and Brian Clough anecdotes, as Declan Rice, Shane Long and Jeff Hendrick ran riot while Martin O'Neill returned to management with Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, Frank Lampard is convinced that Marcelo Bielsa has flouted English moral norms, but luckily for the Argentine he appears not to have broken any actual rules.
It was not such a good weekend for Rio Ferdinand: when any controversy pits you and Richard Keys against the world, it's time to start worrying.
We're joined by Jacob Steinberg and John Brewin to discuss Declan Rice's development, Mesut Özil's exile, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's credentials to be named the next permanent Man United manager.
It was the week that very nearly tore Second Captains apart - but we've made it to this time of the week again, unscathed, which means it's time for us to tell you what you've missed on the Second Captains World Service over the last few days.
We debate the achievements of David Silva, and things get heated when Murph is asked to put his money where his mouth is. And we get a taster of what delights lie in wait for us this month as US Murph talks us through the first weekend of the NFL playoffs, which go on for all of January.
Plus there's FIFA 19 stats, Eamon Dunphy's greatest ever radio performance, 'fanny merchants', Spurs - Man Utd manager playoff, and reports of a Neymar Coutinho swop deal .
Josh Robinson and Jonathan Clegg's new book "The Club: How the Premier League became the richest, most disruptive business in sport" provides a fascinating account of the business development of the Premier League, from the initial realisations in the 1980s that maybe football was something you could make money out of, to the multibillion-pound global business it is today.
We speak to Josh about the story of the Premier League and the people who have shaped it. Where did the founders get the idea? Does the league owe its success to the insights and actions of a few key individuals, or would it have happened anyway? And what is likely to come next?
But first up on today's pod, we speak to Newport County hero - and Carlow native - Padraig Amond, whose 85th minute penalty knocked Leicester City out of the FA Cup last night.
Happy New Year! Now go listen to this, our weekly reminder to you of the manifold benefits of being a Second Captains world service member.
We will have all the best coverage of the premier league title race - for a race is what we have, after City's 2-1 win over Liverpool last night - and we remind you of what Brian Kerr is looking forward to in 2019. And we explain why Ken told Eoin to f**k off earlier this week.
Sometimes, after a long, tiring festive period, you might feel your energy levels flagging. So as you prepare for another big night of socialising, what you might need right about now is a solid dose of positive vibes, and feel-good stories.
So we present to you two of the best from the sporting year of 2018 for our New Year's Eve show. Recorded live in front of a packed audience at the Liberty Hall Theatre, we speak to Limerick hurlers Kyle Hayes and Tom Morrissey, and Irish hockey heroes Nikki Evans and Chloe Watkins.
Limerick ended 45 years of hurt by winning this year's All-Ireland senior hurling championship, and our two young guests reflect on going through life-changing events at 20, playing with no nerves... and being born the day after the 1998 World Cup final.
Ireland's women's hockey team weren't chasing past glories, they were creating some history of their own by qualifying for a first ever World Cup final - and Nikki and Chloe tell us why you're allowed have fun at these things too.
Plus there's a reminder of how great this year's hurling summer was, Ken's managerial impressions, pre-match haircuts, and chilled out winners.
It's Christmas Eve, and maybe you're on your way home for a couple of days of peace and quiet with your family. So to ease you on the road, here's a very special Christmas Eve show containing what might just be our favourite World Service interview of the year.
When Paul Kimmage sat down with Richie Sadlier for an episode of the Player's Chair, we were unsure just how it would go. What we got was an emotional roller-coaster as Richie and Paul talked about where the anger and passion that drives Paul's best work comes from, visiting Tom Humphries in jail, and the loss of Paul's father, who he still misses terribly.
It's an extraordinary hour of radio, and we're delighted to present it to you now. Plus there's Eoin channelling Kimmage, Roy Keane and dancing fucking leprechauns.
Ep 1346: Munster Take A Beating, Leinster Hum, Ulster Puzzle Taking Shape by Second Captains
Jurgen Klopp knew that the power of narrative was against his team on Sunday evening, if this had been fiction, the writers could probably not have resisted inserting a "Mourinho Masterclass" plot twist. But this was reality not fiction, and Liverpool were too good.
With Mourinho's hold on Manchester United visibly unravelling, how long before the club's decision-makers bite the bullet?
We also talk a bit about the new Sunderland documentary which is showing on Netflix, and why the stony soil of Wearside is better ground for good documentaries to take root than the glossy surfaces of the City Football Group.
John Brewin and Daniel Harris join us to discuss the weekend's big match. Is the gap between Liverpool and Manchester United as wide as they ever remember it? How can the collapse of United's defence be explained? And how do they feel about the speculation surrounding an imminent possible takeover of the club by investors from Saudi Arabia?
It's just about that time again, when we remind you what you've been missing on the Second Captains World Service.
Our members will be hearing plenty from our live shows over the next couple of weeks, including our interviews with US Murph, Eamon Dunphy and the charismatic world champ Kellie Harrington.
We revealed our Second Captains Sports Book Of The Year... and we reveal the barely-believable story behind the Eddie Jones "scummy Irish" clip that we unleashed on the world the week before Ireland's Grand Slam game against England in March.
Plus there's a Champions League review, a Man Utd V Liverpool preview and and Dembele's "war on practice".
Clubs like Mullinalaghta (population: 447) just don't beat clubs like Kilmacud Crokes - it just, shouldn't happen. And yet in Tullamore yesterday, that's exactly what happened. Gary Rogers scored a penalty in the last minute of normal time to put them ahead, and he joins us on the show to talk about what it means for his club, for Longford, and for rural Ireland.
Gerry Thornley and Eoin Reddan talk to us about Leinster's ever-rising expectations of themselves, JJ Hanrahan's performance at out-half for Munster and Ulster's joy at their win away to Scarlets.
Meanwhile Stuart Lancaster says everything and nothing about his future; We read the tea leaves.
Plus there's crannog marsh huts, Judes man to the core Ken Early wraps a consoling arm around the shoulder to his neighbours and friends of a Kilmacud persuasion, and Murph reveals his super-power.
Saturday was a bad night for all the losers and haters out there as David Luiz showed just what kind of footballer and what kind of man he is against Manchester City.
We also talk about the controversy ignited by the apparent racist abuse of Raheem Sterling by some Chelsea fans and his Instagram response linking such incidents with racist media coverage.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Steven Gerrard is not happy with what he is seeing and he doesn't care who knows it.
We also bring you the first section of last night's show at the Liberty Hall Theatre with Jonathan Wilson, Dion Fanning and Jack Pitt-Brooke. They discuss the title race, how Pep works under pressure, and why Liverpool have emerged as the leading contenders this season.
Plus there's Mailbag with Ken Early, Hazard diplomacy, Copa Loco, and Matt Doherty goal machine.
Deontay Wilder was the champ, and the favourite going into this weekend's World heavyweight title bout, but Tyson Fury emerged with the plaudits and the praise, if not the victory, after their heavily disputed draw in Los Angeles.
Legendary boxing commentator 'Colonel' Bob Sheridan joins Eoin and the42.ie's boxing correspondent Gavan Casey to discuss just how 'disputed' this draw was, Fury's outrageous comeback from drugs, PED busts and humongous weight gain, and what fight they want to see next in the Fury-Wilder-Joshua triumvirate.
If it's December then it must be Ulster club football final time, and yesterday we were given a doozy, as Gaoth Dobhair became the first club from Donegal to win their provincial title in over 40 years. The most heartwarming thing in all of club GAA is the old county-man proving he can still kick it at club level, and Eamon McGee tells us just how good being that man is.
Plus there's the super-mario-kartification of football, lazy west Clare cattle farmers, and unbelievable comebacks.
City's imperious form puts all the challengers under unbearable pressure. Do Liverpool have the nerves of steel to respond? If they don't have nerves of steel, will luck do? And does there come a point at which repeated doses of luck crystallises into something more durable?
Christian Eriksen didn't have his best ever game in the North London derby. Another Dublin date with destiny weighing on his mind or is he simply a little bit scared of mad dogs?
Meanwhile as often happens after a disappointing result, the Manchester United bus has hit a few player-shaped speed bumps.
Jacob Steinberg was at Southampton to see Mark Hughes' last match in charge of the Saints, as Michael Obafemi contributed with an assist to their 2-2 draw against United.
Plus there's Fergie's boneyard, Southgate on Brexit, Victor Hugo, irrelevant Dier, Mick McCarthy filling the space and the "era of the gamesman".
On this week's taster menu of the Second Captains world service, we invite you to sample some of our choicest, most delicious bon mots from the week just gone.
Angry Richie Sadlier has been replaced by Rock of Sense Richie Sadlier in light of Ireland's managerial appointments, while Fintan O'Toole was in studio to talk to Ken on our latest politics podcast about Brexit, and "Heroic Failure", Fintan's brilliant new book.
For the uninitiated, there's chess ARMAGEDDON, and there's also Jordan Henderson's running style.
Ep 1328: Irish Managerial Merry-Go-Round - Schmidt Out, Farrell In, Kenny In (2 Years) - 26/11/2018 by Second Captains
Ken has this unfamiliar feeling....and he thinks it may be optimism??
Seven days ago, Martin O'Neill was preparing his Ireland team to face Denmark in our final Nations League fixture. Since then, he and Roy Keane have left their posts, and the FAI have hired not one but two managers, and a high profile assistant.
Mick McCarthy is back in charge for one qualification campaign, and one qualification campaign only - before he hands over the reins to Stephen Kenny, who leaves Dundalk to take over the Ireland u-21s for 2 years. What if Mick is wildly successful, or flames out? What if Stephen Kenny gets headhunted by a big Premier League club?
Maybe it was just Mick's refreshing perspective-filled press conference that has Ken feeling this way, or the look in John Delaney's eye!? We have Joe's Dion Fanning in studio to talk about what the FAI and John Delaney have done right, and wrong, what Robbie Keane brings to the table and what's next for Gun For Hire Roy Keane.
It's time for our weekly sneak peek at what we've been up to with our brilliant Second Captains world service members, and this week has been pretty bloody dramatic. The reaction to our extraordinary win over the All-Blacks continues with Shane Horgan, and we said goodbye to Irish football team manager Martin O'Neill.
We have a debut for our new football pundit - ANGRY Richie Sadlier, a really brilliant interview with Andy Lee about his new book "Fighter", Eoin's Poems made a thoroughly unwanted return, and Ken picks his new man for Irish football... And it's NOT Mick McCarthy.
It was a game between the teams ranked 1 and 2 in the world, and for a breathless 80 minutes, that's exactly what it looked like - a game of huge quality between two evenly matched teams.
That Ireland were able to win such a match augurs well for the future, but there's enough in the here and now to keep us very satisfied indeed as Ken, Eoin and Murph reflect on a classic Irish sporting occasion, before we are joined by Gerry Thornley and Eoin Reddan to give us the Irish angle.
And we hear from Jeff Wilson, The Golden Boy, one-time record New Zealand try-scorer to tell us just how awesome we are, and maybe give us a little hope that we'll be able to hold onto Joe Schmidt for another couple of years yet.
Plus there's former Tipp hurling legends assaulting hard-working journalists, re-watching the game in a happy daze on Saturday night and Sunday morning, and late 90's Otago Highlanders' highlights.
Is this... rugby country? The very real chance that life may be imitating advertising is the appalling prospect that greets the Irish football team as they prepare to take on old buddies Denmark in Aarhus tonight.
Seamus Coleman and Martin O'Neill insisted that they and the squad greatly enjoyed the win over New Zealand but can they really have enjoyed seeing the difference in the way the crowd at the Aviva reacted to the rugby and football versions of Ireland?
Jonathan Northcroft joins us to talk about his World Cup diary, Deadlines and Darts with Dele. He was mainly covering England for the Sunday Times, and 2018 has been a transformative year for the English national team. Is there anything in their turnaround from which Ireland can take heart?
It's our weekly taster menu of Second Captains fare - and this week things took a turn for the extraterrestrial as Ken wrestled with the news that alien invaders had been spotted along the west coast of Ireland.
In light of that devastating bombshell, the build-up to Ireland vs New Zealand seemed almost frivolous, but we had TV3 New Zealand's Ross Karl in studio waxing lyrical about Beauden Barrett, Shane Horgan on the things that have to happen for Ireland to win, and lest we forget - tomorrow we have a football show on all the reaction to Ireland/Northern Ireland tonight.
Ireland defeated Argentina on Saturday, the team that has ended our World Cup on 2 of the last 3 occasions lest we forget, but rarely has a win over a bona fide top tier nation been so readily digested and then ignored in the rush to look ahead to next Saturday's clash with New Zealand.
Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times and Matt Williams join us to take whatever learnings we can from last Saturday, before the hype begins in earnest. Are New Zealand all that brilliant any more? If they can barely squeak past an England team that couldn't win a line out, what have we to be scared about?
Is Rory Best's position in the team under threat? We discuss the loss of Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw, and the battle for number 1 in the world.
We enlist the spirit of Will Greenwood and Scott Quinnell to turn the hype up to 11, Ken and Murph are at daggers drawn already - and it's only Monday, and we salute the return of the trash-talking Eddie Jones... after one moral victory.
Manchester City's crushing dominance in the Manchester derby means Manchester United are roughly back to where they were before the last international break. It feels now as though their recent string of comeback wins have been papering over cracks that haven't gone away, and the outlook for the season heading towards Christmas is bleak.
Jack Pitt-Brooke joins us to analyse the Manchester derby. Was there anything United could have done to wrest the match away from City? And will fans ever really care about what many of them see as little more than creative accounting?
And Tom Williams talks to us about how France is adjusting to PSG's unprecedented dominance. Tom also explains the reasons behind Thierry Henry's miserable winless start as Monaco coach.
Welcome to our spritz of world service goodness. This week we talked about happy Jose, the Manchester derby, Liverpool's mojo, and we made the case for Simone Biles as the most influential and most dominant athlete in the world. Plus there's Ireland V Argentina build up with Shane Horgan and Diego "Mr 99" Albanese tomorrow (next week we will be talking All Blacks)and we had a great show on Wednesday - Ken talked to David McWilliams about liberal Ireland's economic miracle.
As the Centenary edition of Poppy Mania hits full throttle, James McClean and Neil Lennon have both complained that they have become the victims of anti-Irish racism in the UK. Meanwhile Nemanja Matic has unexpectedly entered the drama as a striking new character who could have a big future.
In this bumper football show, David Sneyd joins us in studio to talk about the FAI Cup Final, the difference between happiness and joy, and whether the future of Irish football is Irish-based.
And we speak to Rory Smith about the latest Football Leaks reports from Der Spiegel and its associated publications.
Please join us at secondcaptains.com to listen to our daily shows and support independent, member-led, commercial-free broadcasting.
A little taster of what was on the Second Captains World Service this week: Davy Fitz on whether he set out to settle scores in his new book, Kiwi conspiracy theories, rattled All Blacks.
It's almost certainly Julen Lopetegui's last day as coach of Real Madrid, after his side were hammered 5-1 at Camp Nou.
We talk through the aftermath of the match and conclude that the European champions have problems that a change of coach is not going to solve.
Jacob Steinberg was at Leicester this weekend to cover their match against West Ham. He joins us to talk about the helicopter disaster that claimed the lives of five people including the Leicester chairman, Vichai Srivadhannaprabha.
A taster of what was on Second Captains World Service this week: Man United's cunning plan, Murray on privacy and gossip, Champions League fun, beefs and brawls with US Murph.
Katie Taylor had a routine defence of her world title in Boston on Saturday night against a fighter who was woefully unable to offer anything on the front foot. Rather more dramatic is a new documentary, "Katie", which gets a cinema release this week and which offers deep insight into Katie the person.
Director Ross Whitaker (who has made "When Ali Came To Ireland" and "Axel" among a string of great Irish sports documentaries), is in studio along with Katie to talk to us about her relationship with her father, heartbreak in Rio and living a new life in the middle of nowhere in Connecticut.
We also look back at the weekend's rugby with Mattie Williams and Gerry Thornley, as Leinster's mask of invincibility fell in dramatic fashion in Toulouse, Munster defeated Gloucester, Cipriani went high and Simon Zebo annoyed some Ulstermen.
Plus there's the fog of GAA war, the art of small talk with promoters (and UFC stars), and showboating.
The Nations League may be gone for the next few weeks but the aftershocks continue to shake up the Irish punditry scene as Seamus Coleman takes clinical aim at Keith Andrews for criticising the team.
Meanwhile the Premier League title race looks exceptionally tight with the top five potentially separated by two points if Arsenal manage to beat Leicester tonight. But does the table belie the real story - which is that Manchester City's form is looking increasingly ominous for everybody else?
Dermot Corrigan was at Real Madrid's press conference to see Julen Lopetegui confirm that he would continue as coach at least for another few days.
And we speak to Deutsche Welle's Felix Tamsut about an extraordinary press conference at Bayern Munich, where the club main power-brokers called the media in for no other reason than to give them a damn good thrashing.
European Rugby is back, and it was an excellent week for the Irish provinces, as Leinster and Ulster both won against English opposition, and Munster came out of Exeter with a doughty draw.
Gerry Thornley and former Munster back-rower James Coughlan join us to talk about Leinster's thrilling style, Ulster's young fullback, Tadhg Beirne's best game so far for Munster, and Freddie Burns' horror-show.
Joe Brolly has called for the UFC to be banned, and Ken can't believe that he's talking about the Ultimate Fighting Championship and not the Ulster Football Championship.
Plus there's Gabriel Batistuta, Rui Costa, li'l US Murph's photographic memory, and Django Unchained.
Ep 1291: Good Ship Ireland, McCarthy Charm Offensive, Natural Goalscorer Worship - 15/10/18 by Second Captains
So it turns out if you insult Khabib Nurmagomedov's family, religion, and country... he's not going to like it very much.
Conor McGregor's pre-fight posturing might have just seemed like good PR, and even a good laugh, but Khabib was deadly serious when it came to seeking retribution in the ring, and against Mcgregor's team, in the immediate aftermath of the UFC lightweight world title fight.
Petesy Carroll and Joe Callaghan are on hand to talk us through a fight in which McGregor was comprehensively outclassed, and to discuss who was best served by the crazy, chaotic scenes afterwards - was it Conor, the fans, the sport of MMA or Dana White and the UFC?
Leinster and Munster served up a brilliant game on Saturday evening, a game where strangely enough pretty much everyone had something positive to take from it. Gerry Thornley and Denis Hickie look at Munster's new attacking formation, King James Lowe, and the Joey Carbery Ross Byrne battle.
Plus there's Galway's new rugby party HQ, making your own reality, and Karl Rove.
It turns out Pep Guardiola can do pragmatism with the best of them, and the much-hyped clash of Liverpool and Manchester City fizzled out in mild disappointment for an uncharacteristically conservative City and mild relief for misfiring Liverpool.
Instead we had to satisfy ourselves with an astonishing game at Old Trafford, in which Jose Mourinho defied the implacable forces bent on his destruction with a masterclass in rabble-rousing.
John Brewin joins us to discuss that match and how things are likely to play out from here.
But with some of Europe's biggest clubs also checking out the managerial market for replacements, is now the right time for United to act?
NOTE: This was initially a World Service members-only show broadcasted first on 2nd of October 2018. We have decided to re-publish the podcast today, the 4th of October, with the support of our members. For independent, member-led journalism like this in the future, please join the Second Captains World Service. Enjoy the show and thanks to all our members as always.
On the World Service today we have one of the most impactful interviews we've ever done.
It's the story of former professional footballer Brian Lenihan who played with Cork City before getting a move to Hull City and winning a call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad in 2014.
In April of this year, aged just 23, Brian was forced to retire from football for his own wellbeing. And in the latest episode of The Player’s Chair, he opens up to Richie about the mental health issues that lay behind that decision to step away from the sport.
Brian reveals the difficulties he had in coming to terms with his injury, the suicidal thoughts he experienced, and the multiple sessions of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) he received as part of his treatment.
It’s a difficult, sometimes dark but compelling interview for The Player's Chair. Brian hopes his openness will help others who may be going through similar difficulties.
Last year, Tiger Woods could barely walk. Last night, in chaotic, brilliant circumstances, he won his first PGA Tour championship in 5 years to reaffirm his return to the top of the sport. Not only has he battled back from technical, physical, psychological and emotional setbacks, he's also won a few new friends along the way.
Author, podcast host and friend of the show Lawrence Donegan tries to put it all into historical perspective.
Gerry Thornley and Mattie Williams join us to talk about Munster and Joey Carbery's awkward initial fumblings as they strive to make this relationship work, Connacht have their groove back under Andy Friend, and Felipe Contepomi is adding even more pizzazz to the Leinster back-room.
Plus there's Souness' stove-piping, Ken awaits Eoin McDevitt's return with unbearable anticipation, and we mention Jamie Dornan, Brian O'Driscoll and Condoleezza Rice in the same sentence so it must be Ryder Cup week.
Stand-in host Ciaran Murphy, like many Manchester United supporters, is angry with the double standards employed by the fake news media. Is it not time to HAMMER TOTTENHAM? Why should they always get off easy?
We discuss a Premier League Sunday that was dominated by unhappy shamrock Declan Rice and bench shamrock Matt Doherty, while on Saturday, victorious coaches Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola were angry with their players for different reasons.
Then Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson join us to dissect Spurs' performance and Harry Kane's malaise.
We also talk about the benefits of the ever-expanding army of ancillary coaches that can be found at many football clubs, and we ponder what Ketchup symbolises.
Harry Arter has become the latest Ireland international to decide that he'd rather not join up with the squad right now. Martin O'Neill has admitted that his decision may have been influenced by an altercation with Roy Keane during a previous Ireland camp. We discuss the reasons why players play international football: do you have to be a super-patriot like James McClean, or does careerism have its place? Meanwhile Denmark have sacked off their entire squad because of a commercial dispute between the DBU and the players. Jacob Staehelin of Danish podcast Mediano Fodbold joins us to explain the chaos. And Kieran Canning was at Celtic Park to see Brendan Rodgers' Celtic beat Steven Gerrard's Rangers in the first Old Firm clash of the season.
Oh Declan. The news that Declan Rice is "deliberating" over an offer to play his international football with England has sent Irish football into a tailspin, as many of us had already mentally installed Rice as the bedrock of the team for the next 15 years.
We discuss possible solutions for Jose Mourinho as he wanders in an existential vacuum and Eoin describes how he dealt with getting Poped out on Sunday early afternoon.
Richie Sadlier joins us in studio to discuss the news about Declan Rice. How should we feel about this latest lost sheep?
Then we are joined from Cairo by Mustafa Omar to hear more about the continuing dispute between Mo Salah and the Egyptian FA.
Plus Rodgers gets rattled, Keyes has a pop, Owen talks about his groin and Ozil has some phlegm.
The All-Ireland Football Final is next Sunday, a game in which few people, if anyone, give Tyrone much of a chance of discommoding Dublin. So just how do you get under their skin, and bring them to places they don't want to go?
The only team capable of doing that in the last couple of years is Mayo, and we talk to their midfielder Seamus O'Shea about how to go toe-to-toe with Dublin, what Mayo bring to the table that Jim Gavin's team don't like, and why Tyrone's build-up couldn't be going much better.
We also talk about recovering from injury, Stephen Rochford's proposed new backroom team, and being pinned down in Clonmel general hospital as they tried to pop his shoulder back in place... we salute the bravery of south Tipperary's first responders.
Plus there's Tipp's u-21s, Ken's chicken wings, and we solve the future of Gaelic football.
Ep 1243: Performing Pep, Jose's Prep, Pogba's Attitude, Shane Duffy's Rise - 20/08/18 by Second Captains
Ep 1237: Stupid Passing, Big Sam Roars, Mendy Media, Pogba Or Jose, What Are Arsenal? 13/08/18 by Second Captains
Welcome to a very special edition of the Second Captains Football Podcast, a live broadcast from the wonderful Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin. Warning: contains *beef
Our guest star is one of the best TV analysts in any sport, not just football, who spent an entire career racking up trophies at Manchester United…. We welcomed GARY NEVILLE to the stage.
We talked to Gary about mistakes he has made and how he has learned from them, how he lost and regained his confidence, and how his time as manager at Valencia impacted him personally and how he deals with managers now throwing his managerial career back at him.
The Premier League has returned and Manchester United haven’t set the transfer market ablaze with big money signings. Ken asks Gary why, if they’re so brilliant at making money off the field, why United aren’t the biggest spending club in the world, and if they have their priorities all wrong? *Things get heated between Ken and Gary, Eoin gets dragged into it, the crowd get involved, strong opinions get aired.
Plus there’s Pep showing the English how to play football, can Liverpool win the league, the Vieira Keane tunnel bust-up, the Wright Keane ITV bust-up, and we ask Gary “could anybody analyse those teams on telly?”
It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it’ll make you stand up and shout at your podcast device - its the 2018 Second Captains Premier League Night with Cadbury!
Cadbury - Official Snack Partner of the Premier League
The Premier League season starts on Friday week with Manchester United against Leicester, which is an interesting match-up because Jose Mourinho and Claude Puel are currently the first and second favourite managers to leave their jobs.
Mourinho has spent much of pre-season complaining about the quality of the squad at his disposal and for once Ken has some sympathy with his position.
If Manchester United aren't prepared to pay big money for the experienced players Jose wants, do they have to reconsider whether he is the right man for the job?
Miguel Delaney joins us to analyse what is happening behind the scenes at United.
Plus there's Neymar's boy inside, Wayne Rooney finds happiness and does positivity have any impact on outcome?
So it turns out those people writing off the Super 8s as a bad idea after one weekend might have been a little premature. It was a brilliant weekend of football, with pride of place going to David Clifford's injury time heroics to save Kerry from a second consecutive defeat.
Oisin McConville and Micheal Quirke discuss Clifford's luminous display, Rory Beggan's kick-outs, and Eoin breathlessly reports from his excursion to Omagh for his beloved Dubs' 3-point win over Tyrone.
We chat to Lawrence Donegan about Francesco Molinari's first major title for Italy yesterday at the British Open, and just how close we came to seeing Tiger write a story for the ages.
Plus there's Dave Alred's pressure principle, so much for Free Derry, Galway's easy side of the draw, Tiger's kids, and Omagh forgetting to bring the Galatasaray.
Here ends a bizarre, uplifting, brilliant, outrageous World Cup - France are champions after a 4-2 win against Croatia, in a game where bafflingly they managed to play poorly for large stretches, and still win comfortably.
Ken was there to witness Pogba, politicians and a penalty decision that shaped the game. For this latest VAR controversy, Ken peaks into the mind of the ref during the World Cup final.
We speak to Philippe Auclair about this French team, their cautious, under appreciated, ridiculously-garlanded manager Didier Deschamps, and a beautiful 20 years of success.
We talk to Dario Brentin in Zagreb about Croatian pride in defeat, Modric's perjury charges, and how politics has always been a murky force in their football, and will continue to be despite this magnificent month. Plus there's reaction on the streets of Dublin to the World Cup final, Vladimir Klitschko, Putin's poodle Conor McGregor, umbrellas, and Ken's team of the tournament.
It was a brilliant weekend for the Irish girls at the European u-18 championships with four medals from three athletes, and some championship records and PB's to boot.
Sarah Healy was the star of the show, winning a 1500/3000m double, but there was also gold in the 200m for Rhasidat Adeleke, and a silver for Sophie O'Sullivan, daughter of Sonia, in the 800m.
Derval O'Rourke is in Finland at the World Under 20's and she tells us why we should both be excited and patient with this extraordinary new crop of potential stars. We ask where all this success has come from and what the path from underage to senior is like in athletics.
Oisin McConville and Michael Foley join us to talk about the last round of qualifiers, and the annual post mortem on the Cork footballers - this year's looks particularly gruelling.
Plus there's sprinter's choice, the Leinster hurling final replay, Sarah Healy asks Europe to inspect the damage, and Sonia the supportive, stressed-out mum.
Another weekend, another barely believable series of storylines. We said goodbye to Messi AND Ronaldo on the same day, clearing the way for the supporting cast to take centre-stage.
Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are long-established in their own right, but Saturday felt like Kylian Mbappé's coming out party. We talk to Philippe Auclair about the French sensation who appeared in the football world apparently fully grown and self-assured.
Ken was in the Luzhniki Stadium yesterday and spoke to Sid Lowe and Barney Ronay after Spain departed limply at the hands of the hosts.
And today Ken speaks to us live from the cobblestones outside a boiling hot Samara Airport before heading to Brazil/Mexico, as he bemoans Mexican airplane etiquette, squashed sombreros, Cavani's cheekbone and Kasper Schmeichel's Zaire 1974 impersonation.
Mayo have illuminated the last decade of football, but they were dumped out of the championship last Saturday night when they lost a classic All-Ireland football qualifier to Kildare in Newbridge.
Oisin McConville is in studio to talk about the structure that Mayo's players need in order to get them over the line, why they might not get that with this manager, and why they're still the GAA story of the decade.
Michael Duignan is with us as well as we look back on the Munster and Leinster finals from yesterday, and the essential differences between hurling in the two provinces.
Plus there's Cork's belief, Boris Becker's diplomatic immunity, and Kildare winning the battle and then winning the war.
There may have been a few dissenting voices prior to this weekend, but be in no doubt now - this has been a brilliant World Cup. 27 goals in 6 games meant the tournament went turbo-charged in the last two days.
Ken was on hand to see England's hammering of Panama Was he impressed? Raphael Honigstein tells us about the German reaction to Toni Kroos' impossible, magnificent last-minute goal to beat Sweden.
And ahead of the last round of matches, we catch up with Oluwashina Okeleji as Nigeria's Super Eagles face Lionel Messi's Argentina.
Plus there's Maurice Fitzgerald, sending referees to The Hague, and unflattering Second Captains player ratings.
Join the Second Captains World Service for daily shows throughout the World Cup www.secondcaptains.com/join.
Ep 1190: Ireland Learn And Win, Galway Into Super 8s, Connacht Spanner, Eddie's Future - 18/06/2018 by Second Captains
Ep 1189: Brazil, Argentina, Germany Toil, Ronaldo Soars, Mexico Roars, England Darts - 18/06/2018 by Second Captains
World Cup Trap, Ken The Samaritan, Spain Shenanigans, Super Eagles Fly by Second Captains
We were in Kilkenny at the Cat Laughs Festival this weekend, and took two of our favourite comedians, David O'Doherty and Adam Hills, for a walk on the mild side.
With the World Cup starting in Russia in a few days and sports fans everywhere about to take a break from real life, we asked them why does sport get so much attention/love/hatred?
David also has some breaking news on the Real Madrid job, Adam tells us about his Rugby League career, and we explain the Socceroos World Cup curse.
Plus there’s Roseanne’s racism, the problem with gyms, and a very special live edition of Ken’s Champions League voice.
We expected a dramatic Champions League final, and it didn't disappoint. Real Madrid are three-in-a-row champions of Europe, and Liverpool are left to rue Loris Karius' extraordinary, unprecedented performance, and Mo Salah's first half injury.
Ken was there for us, and saw Karius' horror display, and the greatest goal he's ever seen, in the flesh. There's also his thoughts on Sergio Ramos being the exact opposite of a master of the dark arts, and we get reaction from all quarters, including the European Judo Union.
Ken spoke with Miguel Delaney, Jonathan Wilson and Mark Critchley in the stadium after the game, and we also have time to talk about Tana Umaga's tip tackle on Brian O'Driscoll, Gareth Bale's 'come and get me' plea, and how sport is cruel, God doesn't exist and the Champions League respects no moral code. HAPPY MONDAY EVERYBODY!!
The Leinster Championship was first into the fray last week, and with four games across both provincial round-robins yesterday, Eoin has called it - he's a big fan of the new-look All-Ireland hurling championship.
We have Michael Duignan and former Tipperary legend Eoin Kelly in studio to talk about Cork and Limerick's opening day wins, and Dublin's second spirited display in seven days, which ends with them leaving empty-handed again.
Will Tipperary's hurling public turn on their team, are Cork the real deal, and are Clare destined to forever lose close games? All issues up for debate on today's show.
Plus we remember the day Ken met Haddaway, Jonno Gibbs is put on the spot, and we lament Munster Rugby's inability to pass which is perhaps a more vexed problem than they're willing to admit.
Leinster are European champions for a fourth time after their gruelling 15-12 victory over Racing 92 in Bilbao on Saturday, bringing them level with Toulouse as the most-decorated team in northern hemisphere club rugby.
Shane Horgan, Matt Williams and Gerry Thornley are all on hand to discuss how Leinster have managed to turn it around just 2 years after losing 5 from 6 in their pool and Johnny Sexton questioning the culture of the club.
With a barely believable strength in depth, a huge fan base, an adaptable playing style, and a few more years left in Johnny Sexton, the future looks uncommonly bright all of a sudden. So the suggestion that Leo and Lancaster could take the reins with Ireland after RWC 2019 is the only foreseeable problem for Leinster.
Murph had his first taste of WWE live action on Friday, he breathlessly tells us what "Delete, Delete" means, plus there’s iron Donnacha Ryan, The Swerve to Bath and Ken gives his views on child labour.
Steven Gerrard has agreed to become the new manager of Rangers. Ken, who earlier today was exposed by his own sloppy journalism to the unforgiving nature of the Glasgow football rivalry, expresses his sympathies.
Arsene Wenger left the Emirates for the last time as manager towing a six-litre keg of wine gifted to him by an appreciative press corps; meanwhile Chelsea are mounting a late charge for the Champions League after beating Klopp's Kop flops at Stamford Bridge. Have Liverpool lost their rhythm at the worst possible time, or are they just running on empty?
Dermot Corrigan was in Barcelona to see the ten-man Spanish champions defend their unbeaten domestic record in a low-key end-of-season clasico. Are Real Madrid likely to change things up for the final against Liverpool?
Plus there's the return of Nesbittwatch...
It was a good weekend for Mo Salah, Ander Herrera, Olivier Giroud and Napoli, and a bad one for Shane Long, Declan Rice, Harry Kane and Mauricio Pochettino.
We discuss the weekend of glowing tributes to Arsene Wenger, and what they have tended to leave out. What kind of manager should Arsenal go for after Arsene?
John Brewin joins us to discuss Wenger's remarks after yesterday's match expressing disappointment with the failure of Arsenal fans to portray an appropriate image of unity to the club's global fanbase. Might this suggest that Wenger is somewhat... out of touch?
And we talk to Jack Pitt-Brooke about whether Spurs can be said to have bottled the Cup semi-final against Manchester United. And what are we to make of Mauricio Pochettino's repeated references to "another coaching staff" possibly being at Spurs in the not-too-distant future?
Manchester City have won the league and sponsors Etisalat have saluted the achievement with one of the great football videos.
We comb through the many "How City Did It" stories in today's papers and talk to Howard Hockin of the 93:20 podcast. When Pep asks his players a question, is he always expecting an answer? And if setting a points record would not necessarily be enough to establish City as the best Premier League team of all time, then which team deserves that distinction?
Jose Mourinho gave Paul Pogba another rocket after Manchester United lost 1-0 to West Brom. Can the two of them afford to take the chance that everything will work itself out in their third season together?
Plus there's Pep's refusal to compromise, I am Gigi Buffon, Rafa madness, Salah days, and where should the Player of the Year award end up?
As one bald fraud to another, Eoin McDevitt has pity for Pep's pain. Saturday was a good day for the Hairy Man, who heaped indignity upon the Smooth Man. Is there still hope of redemption for City after their nightmare week?
As for the matchwinner Paul Pogba, where has this player been until now? And can we expect to see more of him in the future?
We analyse the game with Jonathan Wilson: why have Pep's teams developed this unfortunate habit of conceding several goals in several minutes?
And Kieran Canning reports on City's mood from their pre-Champions League press conference.
So it's never happened before, but after this weekend a first Munster-Leinster European Rugby Cup final is looking perhaps more likely than at any previous stage in this competition's history.
Matt Williams and Gerry Thornley talk us through Leinster and Munster's thrilling wins over Saracens and Toulon, who between them had shared the last 5 titles. From Andrew Conway's miracle run, to Dan Leavy's almost supernatural performance in the back-row, it was an exceptional weekend of Irish rugby.
Oisin McConville is in studio to tell us how Dublin have managed to keep the show running despite blooding another batch of young players, and we all think it's time we started to take Galway seriously as contenders.
Plus there's Dele Alli's Renaissance painting, not being able to hit your driver, and Conor Murray in the boardroom.
NOTE: Our members have requested that this podcast be made free-to-air and we're happy to do so. This was initially a World Service members-only show broadcasted first on 29th of March 2018. The podcast was re-published for all today, the 30th of March. For independent, member-led journalism like this in the future, please join the Second Captains World Service. Enjoy the show and thanks to all our members as always for their support.
The 'not guilty' verdicts in the Belfast rape trial yesterday sent shockwaves across the country. It was described on national television last night as 'one of the most high profile trials in the history of this island', and today we discuss the fall-out from it, and the lessons sport - and wider society - can learn.
Sinead O’Carroll of thejournal.ie and Richie Sadlier are in studio to discuss the privilege of sportsmen, and their attitudes to women. Is the dressing room a breeding ground for toxic masculinity?
And we ask what can be done to educate young people, particularly young men, about sex and sexual consent.
What are you waiting for? Go and listen to this interview on the Second Captains World Service. Join us at secondcaptains.com/join.
For just the third time in our history, Ireland are 6 Nations Grand Slam champions. And this one was in a style that brooked no argument - from the moment Le Drop found it's way over the crossbar in Paris Ireland were the best team in the championship, accomplished front-runners, comfortable wearers of the favourites' tag and worthy champions.
Sean Cronin gave us that image of a bruised and beaten Mike Brown sitting on the Twickenham turf with three minutes to go - a fine, last-ditch tackle extinguishing the last faint hope of an English comeback, and Sean joins us on the show to tell us about his worst ever bout of pre-match nerves, post-match joy and meeting Shane Ross.
And Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley are on hand again to salute this fine Irish team, smokin’ Joe Schmidt, and talk about why the 2009 Grand Slam was the end of a journey, and this year can be the start of one.
Plus there’s Tadhg the magnificent, Jacob and the young un’s, how to Borg the All Blacks, why Le Drop is different to every other moment in Irish sports history, and have Ireland outgrown European rugby…
Now that's a week on the Second Captains World Service. Join us at secondcaptains.com/join.
It's our fifth birthday, and it's celebrations all-round as we begin a massive week for the Irish rugby rugby team this Monday afternoon.
Ireland are 4 wins from 4 games, scoring 17 tries in the process, and are now just a win in Twickenham away from a third Grand Slam in our history - so why are there still a few lingering questions surrounding our style?
We talk to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about the room for improvement still in this Irish team, the difference between peace-time rugby and war-time rugby, and why 3 Championships in 5 years might be more satisfying than a one-off Grand Slam.
Whatever about the lingering issues in Irish minds, the English team appear to be unravelling in a cycle of negativity, tiredness on the field, and excuses off it - is the Eddie Jones honeymoon well and truly over?
Ken's absence last week has led some listeners to wonder whether an automated Ken-3000 replacement could be commissioned to cover future time off, remixing and replaying the vast library of past Jose Mourinho commentary. Ken adds some new clips to the algorithm's memory cache with a dramatic U-turn.
Chelsea are now struggling to get back into the race for Champions League qualification. Has Antonio Conte forgotten that motivation is about more than simply telling your players what to do?
Does Scott McTominay have the potential to be a fixture in the Manchester United team? Is there anything new to say about Arsenal? And how will the yellow ribbon stand-off between Pep Guardiola and the FA play out? Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin join us to analyse.
Meanwhile Diego Torres' reports on the goings-on at PSG have assumed the same place in the culture as Dallas occupied in the 80s. We crank his latest despatch through Google Translate.
Richie Sadlier joins Eoin and Murph in studio to talk about how football management can be an emotional business. When Ipswich took the lead against local rivals Norwich on Saturday, Mick McCarthy couldn't resist having a go at his own fans.
Is there ever a right time to shoot back at the same people who have been criticising you for months? On reflection, probably not... but it doesn't mean it doesn't feel really good while you're doing it. We also praise the job Chris Hughton is doing as he leads Brighton to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and analyse his potential to be the next Ireland manager.
Plus Sid Lowe joins us to wax lyrical about Andres Iniesta before he returns to Stamford Bridge, the site of his favourite goal-not-scored-in-the-World-Cup-final goal.
Without the burden of knowledge or insight, and freed from the pressure of expectation of Irish medals, the 2018 Winter Olympics has been a non-stop fun-a-thon in Second Captains HQ.
Sinead O'Carroll, news editor with The Journal, told us on the World Service ten days ago why she spurns sleep in order to follow the Games, and she's in studio today to talk over all the hurt, heartbreak and heroics.
If your sole focus is winning the All-Ireland, is it okay to throw your hat at the league? That's the question we ask Michael Duignan, as Waterford lost their third game in a row on Sunday. Clare are a study in contrast, and he picks one county out as a team that could win the league, and use it as a springboard for success in the summer.
Plus there's Murph's biased local commentary experience, and the spectacle of watching an athlete go through the entire span of human emotional experience on television.
Ireland remain on track for the Grand Slam after their fully-expected 56-19 win over Italy, but what happened that we didn't expect? Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley give us their thoughts on week 2 of this year's Six Nations championship.
Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw going down injured certainly wasn't in the play-book, and the expected stern Italian resistance for the first 60 minutes didn't materialise either.
We also didn't see the impact of the Irish bench that we expected, but is that to be expected when the game is over after 20 minutes? We also salute Owen Farrell's almost perfect performance for England, rate the threat posed by doughty Wales, and discuss why the relationship between the IRFU and the Irish media appears to be at an all-time low.
Plus - Eoin explains why he loves Keith Earls, Simon has an idea for livening up Ireland/Italy games, and we salute our skating-to-work Dutch listeners.
It was an amazing weekend for the King of the Golf but a bad one for Chris Smalling who finds himself serving as the Manchester United 'Pinata of the Week'.
Jose Mourinho debuted a new magnanimous personality at St. James' Park but there is one person on whom the sunbeams of his warmth do not fall: his superstar midfielder Paul Pogba. Hooked twice in less than two weeks with United losing: is this war?
Meanwhile Antonio Conte has explained that he is a victim of his own success at Chelsea: the club don't cooperate on transfers because he is too good at working with the players he already has.
Jonathan Wilson joins us to discuss the North London derby, and the increasing hostility between football clubs and the journalists who the clubs have increasingly come to see as competitors.
Yesterday, after Crystal Palace drew 1-1 with Newcastle, Roy Hodgson laid down some truth...
With Roy's words in mind, we try to spend as little of today's show as possible discussing the penalty decisions at Anfield, as some other things happened besides. ('As little of today's show as possible' still equals a lot of time discussing those decisions).
Rory Smith of the New York Times joins us to talk about touchline misconduct, and whether Liverpool currently have much to offer beyond the sensational goalscoring form of their top man Mohamed Salah.
A growing number of Manchester United fans are peeved that Pep is getting a pass from the lamestream media despite his increasingly histrionic touchline behaviour. Does the City boss deserve condemnation for his latest display at Cardiff over the weekend?
A terrific game at Anfield was overshadowed by controversy over VAR. We try to unpick the problems with a system that puts all the responsibility for calling in video replays on the referees themselves.
Raphael Honigstein joins us to analyse Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's move to Arsenal. Is Dortmund's buy-young sell-young business model compatible with a successful club culture? And what can we learn from the German experience with VAR?
Plus there’s FA Cup tropes, Roy’s ticket, Germany’s appeal and being Neil Warnock.
Ken remains in the midst of a cigarette crisis. To calm him, we asked someone to rob his bike and invited Eamon Dunphy into studio to debate him. Then, we asked him to jump in a fake shower with Murph to record a promo for the Dunphy v Ken extravaganza.
Jump in with Eoin, Murph and Roy Keane for some of the week's highlights on the Second Captains World Service.
Happy New Year everybody! And to ring in 2018, it’s time for one last look at one of the highlights of 2017.
Recorded live at Langton’s Ballroom in Kilkenny City for the Kilkenny Cat Laughs comedy festival, here’s our chat with two of Ireland’s greatest comedians Dara Ó Briain and David O’Doherty.
Previously only for fully subscribed members, we present it here to the general public, as an indication of the sort of crazy nonsense that goes on behind that beautiful World Service curtain.
Manchester City have been making all the other Premier League teams look very ordinary, but how should we feel about the corporate empire that underpins their glorious football? Can we consider the football separately from what lies beneath?
We discuss Ferran Soriano’s global vision as detailed to the Guardian’s Giles Tremlett. Is it a vision the rest of us can feel comfortable with?
Human rights researcher Nick McGeehan joins us on the line to talk more about the power behind Guardiola’s throne.
We also talk about a stunning racial gaffe by Antoine Griezmann, Ederson’s passing ability, and Mark Hughes’ blue.
It was a quite astonishing night of football in Nice last night - Iceland defeat England 2-1, Roy Hodgson resigns in disgrace, and the Viking thunder-clap is heard around the world.
We get the Icelandic reaction from writer and historian Anton Ingi Sveinbjorsson, while Jonathan Wilson and Ken try and sift through the wreckage of another English tournament disaster.
Plus there's Joe Hart's chocolate wrists, Danny Baker and Chris Waddle's righteous anger, Steve McClaren's prescient commentary and George Hamilton's finest hour.
It's a scoreline and a performance that will live long in the memory. We discuss Shane Long's crazy eyes, Wes' redemption, and the moment between Robbie Brady and his family that will be an iconic moment for this generation of football fans.
Martin O'Neill's bravery in selection was utterly vindicated. Ken talks to Jeff Hendrick, Wes Hoolahan and James McCarthy in Lille, Richie Sadlier joins us in studio and we get the thoughts of Dion Fanning and Miguel Delaney.