Second Captains @ The Irish Times

Join us at secondcaptains.com #shtones See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Liverpool are conceding a goal every seven corners. So why does Ken continue to insist that Jurgen Klopp knows what he is doing?We discuss the controversy over the Romelu Lukaku chant, and why some Manchester United fans continue to sing it even though the player has asked them to stop. Ken gets hypo on a hill, and realises he has something in common with Ilkay Gundogan.We also talk about a fantastic ripping yarn from Diego Torres - this one about Neymar's struggle to integrate at PSG. Jacob Steinberg and Jonathan Liew were at the King Power Stadium to see Liverpool's nervy win over Leicester. Were they impressed by what they saw? Do Klopp's critics have a point, or are they missing the point? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump has spent the weekend alternating between abusing top American athletes, and baiting the nuclear-armed North Korean dictator. He's called Colin Kaepernick and the other anthem protestors sons-of-bitches, announced that Steph Curry is not welcome at the White House and even dragged up the memory of Pat Tillman, the NFL player-turned-US soldier who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan 13 years ago, to further his vendetta.On today's show we try to pick through this trainwreck with Dave Zirin. How has the NFL responded to Trump's attack on their players? We also hear from former Mayo legend Diane O’Hora and journalist Elaine Buckley about a history making All-Ireland ladies final, which saw Dublin win a second title, after losing the last 3 finals - in front of over 46,000 people. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We like you and we like your style. Join us at secondcaptains.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another compelling, absorbing All-Ireland Football Final goes to the wire and once again Dublin emerge victorious by the narrowest of margins. Should Mayo have won it, or are Dublin just the best clutch side we've seen in Gaelic Football?The long west of Ireland winter stretches ahead for Mayo, with plenty of near misses, a sending off, and the usual diet of heartache and regret. Are they fragile mentally, or actually the gutsiest team of all time? Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke look at the key moments, the key men, Donal Vaughan’s return to civilian life and why Dublin's dominance is of the non-toxic variety.Eoin meets an unhappy Dubs fan and has a controversial nomination for MOTM.Plus there's Michael Lyster's stand-up routine, the foreboding symbolism of the Mayo county crest, Dublin's "99" call and Imelda May's explosive balladry See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Manchester United have another 4-0 win under their belt, and it's not even October yet. With Ken off work today, we see if we can't squeeze in some acknowledgement of Jose's managerial skills - Dion Fanning and Jack Pitt Brooke tell us to hold our horses. And even though the big game of the weekend, Arsenal/Chelsea, was a bit of a damp squib, were there signs of maturation in Arsenal's performance away to the champions? Or is it all just another chapter in the same old frustrating story that won't end until Wenger finally exits the club. We get an email from our smartest ever listener, Eoin continues to volley the deadest dead horse in podcast history, and we talk disallowed goal celebrations cut short by perfidious officialdom. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Fair View, The Player's Chair with Paul Galvin, one of the greatest ever chats with US Murph, our All-Ireland Show and to a lesser extent Murph's Country Pages.Join the Second Captains World Service and support independent, member-led, commercial-free broadcasting at www.secondcaptains.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Not for the first time, English football faces an intelligence crisis. There is evidence that unprecedented levels of ambient cash may be toxic to brain tissue. The hiring and immediate sacking of Frank de Boer is a new milestone in Premier League stupidity.Whose fault is the De Boer fiasco? Was he the architect of his own downfall? Is the Dutch football philosophy in need of an update? Or is the Premier League just the wrong environment to try to put it into practice Priya Ramesh and Miguel Delaney join us to discuss.We also hear from Kieran Canning about Barcelona's return to form, post Neymar. Now that superstars are a bit thinner on the ground than they used to be at Camp Nou, do they need to start taking better care of the ones that remain?Plus there's Eoin's Sadio Mane twitter blast, Jose's branded content and Lewandowski lashes out. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cork are well used to winning All Irelands in camogie and football, but this last second win in a grudge match against Kilkenny will be one that sticks out in the memory, even for Rena Buckley who now has a total of 18 All Ireland winners medals.Cliona Foley joins us in studio to talk about the incredible end to the game, the average 50 minutes before that, and why scores are going down in camogie in recent years and why teams must respond and evolve.Murph has been predicting a Mayo win since the start of the season, and his logic appears to be how close the 2016 final was, and "do you believe in magic"? To make sure his prophecy comes true he invited Kildare manager Cian O'Neill on the show to discuss how he prepared for the Dubs, what worked and didn't work, and to outline a possible template for Mayo success.Plus there's Connolly freebird, Cora Staunton's reboot, Aidan O'Shea at full forward and Ken sez to Mayo "please just give us a game". See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Martin O'Neill's snippy interview with Tony O'Donoghue was the perfect ending to a drab Irish display away to Georgia. Ken watched it with an unfamiliar crowd and offers a report on what the casual fan and the fans of the future made of it. Ireland had no discernible game plan, a fact that makes them stand out in an age of systems based teams. Dion Fanning joins us to analyse the game and why Irish football just can't seem to get it right.Meanwhile the volley debate rages on - Eoin thinks he is winning.Plus there's Wales' new golden boy, bigging up Serbia and how fitness has transformed modern sport. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a day awash with emotion and nerves in Croke Park, but in the end Galway were the ones to hold their nerve in near-operatic drama to win a first All-Ireland title in 29 years. Tipp's Eoin Kelly and Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times are in studio to dissect the match, with Noel Lane, 3-time All-Ireland champion with Galway, on the phone to tell us why this means so much to Galway people. Where do Waterford go from here, and how important is it that Derek McGrath stays on? And now that they have a home province, a story, a medal and a team to support Joe Canning, can Galway go on and dominate the game, as Tipp threatened to do on this day last year? Plus there's Joe's bus, Murph's Waterford-Galway family reunion, Tony Murphy's pain, and some glorious All Ireland Final audio mash ups. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the second year in a row, it's Dublin against Mayo in the All-Ireland football final and in truth, after this weekend, there's no argument - they're the two best teams in the country, and the two most likely to provide a dream final. We ask Mike Quirke if Jim Gavin is underrated, and he gives us the downbeat reaction from Kerry as they were out-thought, out-fought and out-played by Mayo on Saturday. Meanwhile Oisin McConville is purring at the thought of a brilliant Dublin display, and the imminent demise of the blanket defence. Ken Early is finding his way back from his home-away-from-home at the Howard Johnson Motel on Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas, but not before he spoke to Declan Taylor of the Hayters News Agency about McGregor's next move. We discuss why we all saw pretty much what we wanted to see from Vegas on Saturday night, why McGregor still divides the country, and why we don't have the luxury of indifference towards him. Plus we find out what makes Eoin weep, what Gaelic football could be

You know things are bad when rival teams feel so comfortable with the threat you pose that they have a pop at you, through their official twitter accounts. Arsenal’s 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool has resulted in renewed calls for Wenger’s head, and pundits such as Jamie Carragher describing everyone at the club as “cowards”.Richie Sadlier wants to ask angry Arsenal fans, why are you surprised and explains why Wenger is no longer the problem. We ask Richie if Arsenal need to get a bit worse, in order to make things better?Plus there’s maniacal laughs, doing ‘A Sadlier’ and Ken’s beautiful relationship with Vegas. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mayo manager Stephen Rochford is getting it in the neck from all quarters after disgracefully opting for tactics that took his team of lowly underdogs to the brink of an All Ireland final against the immortals of Kerry. Eoin delves into the history of tactical masterplans, and Ken asks "did Mayo lose"?Oisin McConville and Malachy Clerkin join us to dissect the wet n wild football on display, analyse Andy Moran's brilliance, and tell us, in no uncertain terms, who will win the replay. We also hear from Mike Quirke on the Kieran Donaghy - Aidan O'Shea match-up, and what basketball has to do with any of this.Plus there's the manic men of Mid-West, Ken en Espanol, and why putting out traffic bollards is the worst thing a human being can do. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Neymar has made a pretty decent start at PSG. His career is shaping up like an anime epic with him as the hero. If Barcelona are all about the beauty of efficiency, Neymar's PSG will feature a bit more of the beauty of showing off. Only two games into the English league season and Manchester United have already built up the momentum of a runaway freight train. Will Ken accept he got it all wrong about Mourinho's side?We also discuss how Chelsea's profitable player farm is football's greatest example of the Matthew principle at work.Paul Doyle was there to see Stoke rain on Arsenal's parade. Do English football dinosaurs Steven Gerrard and Martin Keown have a point about Mesut Ozil? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eoin, Ken and Ciaran look back at an incredible weekend of football in the Premier League and around Europe. Is it good that Diego Costa at least appeared to be supporting Chelsea when a journalist called to his house in Brazil over the weekend? Have Barcelona got any ideas cleverer than just trying to throw hundreds of millions at the best young players in the Premier League and Bundesliga?Do Liverpool want to be a big club, or do they want to have a lot of money in the bank?Will Jose Mourinho ever stop not talking about Spurs players' meagre wages?Kieran Canning breaks down Barcelona's desperation after they lost 3-1 at home to Madrid in the Super Cup first leg.Richard Jolly joins us to report on an impressive opening day win for a smaller-than-expected Manchester United side at Old Trafford. Plus we discuss Team Ireland at Burnley and the Stephen Ward Wonder-Strike. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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

Our Second Captains Premier League Night with Cadbury in The Sugar Club came chock-full of football legends, incomprehensible Dublin accents and bold predictions for the coming domination of Manchester City... and for those of you unable to wrangle a ticket, we present it here for your listening pleasure. Shay Given, Jason McAteer and Niall Quinn talk about how to engineer a move if you want out of a club, why players can't meet fans socially any more, how Pep Guardiola's sorted it all out, and Mourinho's team of giants (Quinner is a big fan). And then we talk to 'God' himself, Robbie Fowler, about growing up in Toxteth, becoming a legend for your home town team, getting tapped up by Johan Cruyff... and why he loved that nickname. Three Ireland internationals, and one Liverpool legend who might even have been an Irish legend too - it was a brilliant night, thanks to everyone who came along, and we hope you enjoy the chocolatey fruits of our labour. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Premier League is once again on the march, with Arsene Wenger initially saying ten teams could win it this season, before scaling that back to six. Ken and Eoin discuss the most popular fantasy football footballers, bonus points for insouciance, ABBA, heaving Aviva, Barcelona’s big buys, and the growth of fan culture and prize-money in women’s football.Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin look at the likely winners of the league this year. Chelsea should be feeling serene but all is not well with Antonio Conte while Arsenal have yet to secure the secure the future of Alexis Sanchez. Will it be down to the two Manchester sides who have brilliant squads, but unproven managers!!Plus there’s the semiotics of tracksuits and waving, Pedro’s horror tackle, Klopp’s central defenders, and the greatest signing in Premier League history, as voted by David Luiz’s number one fan, Ken Early. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was billed as the day Connacht would storm the citadel, but after yesterday's All-Ireland quarter-final double-bill, all 3 of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon have reason for regrets today. Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke are on hand to talk to us about Kerry's facile victory, Galway's no-show, Mayo's constant struggles, and Roscommon's high-energy, high-error-count display. It's not you, it's me - Rory McIlroy has taken the plunge and sacked his long-time caddy JP Fitzgerald. Malachy Clerkin tells us why Rory might not be the easiest man to caddy for. Ken for one doesn't want the job, and the attendant rather large crumbs from Rory's table, but Murph is weighing up his options, particularly after Ken Hurley's explosive GAA analysis debut last week - is there a place for an old dinosaur like Murph in today's media world? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.