Second Captains

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Cup Dream is Dead, Prague Week EndsIt’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).  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 knifeTom 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). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.