Second Captains @ The Irish Times

Ireland have won both of their November Internationals so far - but the game widely expected to be tight they won handily, and the one they were expected to win handily, they scraped through. Where does that leave them going into next Saturday's test against Argentina? Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times and Shane Horgan are on hand to discuss the dilemma Schmidt faces with Joey Carbery at outhalf, and why Los Pumas are the ideal opponents at this stage of the World Cup cycle. Na Piarsaigh of Limerick City had never won a county title until 2011, but since then they've won 4 county titles, 4 Munster titles, and an All-Ireland title. After their latest provincial win, 2-goal hero David Breen talks to us about beating All-star goalie Stephen O'Keeffe at close range, commuting from the UK, and impressing his co-workers at Wasps RFC. Plus there's GAA masochism, Harry Arter's war of nutrition, Eoin's hamstring, and another grovelling public apology from Mark Horgan. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out i

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Ken returns from Copenhagen impressed by the city's sophistication and liveability and slightly taken aback by the rumbustious temperament of its people.We reflect on Ireland's performance in the 0-0. Was this anti-football taken to the Nth degree? Or do we need to recognise the often-unseen effort and tenacity that goes into a result like that?Which Laudrup was the best? Brian, Michael, or father Finn?Martin O'Neill was channelling the great Dave Allen in his press conference today. Between the laughs, we'll hear some of the Ireland manager's thoughts on tomorrow's decisive match.We hear from Danish journalist Kian Fonoudi on how the Danes felt after Saturday's draw. Meanwhile Michael O'Neill looked desolate last night after Northern Ireland were knocked out of the World Cup by Switzerland. On the plus side, the NI boss is hot stuff in the international jobs market. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Antonio Conte banished David Luiz to the stands and took all three points at home to Manchester United. Such a display of managerial decisiveness would impress most chairmen, but this is Chelsea.James McClean wondered why MOTD focused on his foul on Tom Ince but not the hail of projectiles showering down on him from the crowd. Does McClean also need to think about how he managed to lose the high moral ground against the Poppy people?Slaven Bilic has been sacked by West Ham but is David Moyes the solution to what ails West Ham? Have West Ham’s board noticed how Sunderland are doing lately?Daniel Harris and John Brewin join us to analyse Chelsea’s defeat of Manchester United. Are Jose Mourinho’s problems on the road being caused by a lack of adventure, or do the issues have a more fundamental cause? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carl Frampton had pretty much a dream 2016 - he won his first world title, and with it became Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year. 2017 has been rather gloomier, with a loss in the rematch to Leo Santa Cruz, a farcical return fight in Belfast which was cancelled with 24 hours notice, and a split with his management/training team, the McGuigans. But he's back in the ring on Saturday week, and he's with us on the show to talk about a fresh outlook, moving out of Barry's shadow, and falling in love with boxing again. Eoin attempts to be outraged by Stephen Cluxton's omission from the All-star team this year, which prompts Murph to wonder whether there should be a yearly limit to outrage-tweets, and there's the unwanted return to our collective consciousness of grunge week. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Eoin, Ken and Murph look back on a weekend that saw Jose Mourinho definitively answer the critics, in his own head.Following the release of his 2016-17 season diary with Guillem Balague, we discuss Mauricio Pochettino's belief in personal energy fields and the negativity-cleansing powers of lemons.And Joe Hart: when does agonising over a defeat cross the line into pointlessly insulting your team-mates?We hear from Kieran Canning after Real Madrid were toppled by Girona...And what does it mean that England are suddenly dominating world football at all teenage levels? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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The European Rugby Champions Cup weekend saw vital wins for Leinster and Munster, a dispiriting loss in France for Ulster, and Gerry Thornley and Eoin Reddan are on hand to talk us through the highlights. Ian Keatley and Cian Healy have both had their struggles in recent years, but as Eoin says, there is no new Ian, or new Cian - they're the product of their recent struggles as much as their own natural ability. And as Leinster's form graph continues upward, there are grounds to hope - not to expect, but to hope - of an Irish success in this competition, which is reason enough to celebrate. We also discuss the Leinster Intermediate championship game which ended with 10 players getting their marching orders, Ronald Koeman's exit from Everton, and the 'Second Captains Listener Copenhagen Travel Guide' (Copenhagen = clean, will charge money for food, drink, services). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise that one of the world's most in-form strikers so thoroughly destroyed the Premier League's most-mocked defence. But the shocking manner of Liverpool's collapse against Spurs at Wembley has left Jurgen Klopp facing the most awkward set of questions since his arrival at Anfield two years ago.We talk to Jonathan Wilson and Daniel Storey about how Spurs have surged ahead of their wealthier Merseyside rivals in 2017.Did the sure-footed Ander Herrera blunder by repeating his manager's claims about the Manchester United players lacking passion in the first half at Huddersfield?And how did Ronald Koeman think this ruminative pose was going to go down with an Everton fanbase that has grown catatonic with fury?Plus there's shame in the age of Twitter, slow Emre Can, Keano belittling Craig Gordon, Wagner's Terriers, and Zlatan's perfect knee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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We brave Hurricane Ophelia (or at least, the calm before the storm) to bring you a recap of the first weekend of the European Rugby Champions Cup, a weekend which saw all 3 Irish teams in the competition stay unbeaten. Gordon D'Arcy and Gerry Thornley are in studio to talk about the ongoing Munster coaching transfer saga, Leinster's academy beating moneybags Montpellier, and is Jacob Stockdale the next Irish wing to win his debut under Schmidt. Plus there's wise old owl Eoin in his bathrobe, and haphazard hurricane preparation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hurricane Ken and his meteorology mates Eoin and Murph refuse to let Mother Nature stop them podcasting - welcome to our Ophelia Special Second Captains Football Show. Why does Jose think 0-0 against a leaky vulnerable Liverpool side is good enough? Why is Jose discussing his future, and the delights of Paris? And what has Pogba's ability to link with current midfield teammates got to do with anything?Kevin De Bruyne is lighting up the Premier League this season, as he continues to look like the perfect blend of Steve Gerrard and Dennis Bergkamp. Can anyone stop Man City?Plus there's more anti Cork bias, Brolly on capitalism and Troy Deeney calling out Arsenal. Stay safe everyone! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leinster and Munster is always a big occasion in Irish rugby, and for the 10th time in 11 seasons, the home team took the spoils at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Eoin Reddan and Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times join us to talk about Munster's ongoing search for an out-half, room for improvement defensively with Leinster's young guns, and the European Cup games coming up this weekend. Pat Kenny's squash game gives us valuable insight into Weso's availability for tonight's big game, and we also have a potted history of getting O'Mahonyed - a fate which befell Reggie Corrigan on TG4 this week. Plus there's Eoin's hideous blunder, happy soccer fans - the global edition, and South American permutation wankers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Events over the last three days have conspired to create another absolutely massive night in Irish football. Ireland need to beat Wales in Cardiff to secure a playoff place for the World Cup in Russia next summer - no other permutations exist, which only serves to simplify the task and magnify the occasion. Richie Sadlier is in studio to talk about how the loss of Shane Long is a blow, but gives Martin O'Neill a chance to make a statement with his team selection. Ken is in Cardiff to give us the reaction from the two camps, and set the scene for a massive game. Plus we ask who's big and has tattoos, what the hell all duck or no dinner means, and if James McClean, the rampant centre-forward goal wizard, will do the business tonight. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Ireland go into the international break off the back of a stunning 1-0 win at Goodison Park, after Brady, Ward and Hendrick combined to score our best goal of 2017 to date, heaping more misery on Ronald Koeman. Simon Hughes brings us up to speed on where things have gone wrong.Elsewhere there is more pain for Liverpool, who keep winning on expected goals but not on real ones, while Carlo Ancelotti's reputation is being trashed by the players who weren't challenged enough for him at Bayern.But there is no doubt where the main story was this weekend. Barcelona played Las Palmas behind closed doors after the Spanish League refused to allow them to postpone the match due to the police repression on the city streets. Kieran Canning joins us to reflect on a momentous couple of days in Spain and what looks like a grotesque series of mistakes by the authorities in Madrid. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When you dream of winning your first event as a professional golfer, it probably isn’t a million miles from what Paul Dunne went through yesterday at the British Masters. He held off a late charge from Rory McIlroy, he won hitting a 61, and he chipped in on the last - and we speak to the man himself on today’s show. Also on today’s show - Lee Keegan, the reigning Footballer of the Year. We talk to him about cynicism in the game, the art of man-marking, and coming back for more next year. Plus there’s mists and mellow fruitfulness, surviving the Pro-14, and rampant Mayo goal wizards. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.