Second Captains

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to our world service e taster show! To access all our shows go to secondcaptains.com/joinTo 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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=20Graham 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?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 [email protected] - Subject KenCall. We still have tickets remaining for Monday night by the way at secondcaptains.comBen 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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“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 [email protected] - subject line KenCall. Keep them under 30 seconds please. For tickets go to secondcaptains.com/live  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING WITH SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S SHOW, THERE’S ALWAYS HELP AVAILABLE. HERE’S SOME PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP:WWW.AWARE.IE - AWARE IS THE NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH ORGANISATION, PROVIDING FREE SUPPORT, EDUCATION AND INFORMATION.WWW.SAMARITANS.IE - SAMARITANS PROVIDE CONFIDENTIAL, NON-JUDGEMENTAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, 24 HOURS A DAY Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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 tooTo 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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