Second Captains @ The Irish Times

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ep 1455: Marathon Mo Farah/Haile Gebrselassie Beef, Conor Murray Injury Update - 29/04/2019 by Second Captains See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It has been a banner few weeks for FAI statements, with each one more dramatic than the last. Today's edition featured confirmation that John Delaney would indeed appear at the Oireachtas committee hearing on Wednesday, and a tantalising suggestion that the FAI board were not quite as up to speed on matters relating to the €100,000 bridging loan as had been previously suggested. John Heslin has been a part of Westmeath football for a while now, so he knows better than most of the crazy yo-yoing that Westmeath have done in the football league - of the last 12 years, 10 of them have finished with them either getting promoted or relegated. They won promotion from Division 3 this year, and finished it off with a league final win over Laois on Saturday, and John joins us on the show. Matt Williams tells us how excited he is about the arrival of the Irish 7s team onto the main circuit for the 2020 season after their victory in Hong Kong this weekend plus there's PhDs and football, Rory McIlroy, Becky Lynch and 're

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? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A lock of Second Captains World Service hair (probably Ken's)... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ep 1426: Tennis Protests, Hurling Semis, Mayo's Strange Campaign, Ken In OT - 25/03/2019 by Second Captains See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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. See ac

A taste of the Second Captains world service this week See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.