The Second Captains Podcast

Manchester City have been making all the other Premier League teams look very ordinary, but how should we feel about the corporate empire that underpins their glorious football? Can we consider the football separately from what lies beneath?We discuss Ferran Soriano’s global vision as detailed to the Guardian’s Giles Tremlett. Is it a vision the rest of us can feel comfortable with?Human rights researcher Nick McGeehan joins us on the line to talk more about the power behind Guardiola’s throne.We also talk about a stunning racial gaffe by Antoine Griezmann, Ederson’s passing ability, and Mark Hughes’ blue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the second time in a week, all 4 Irish provinces were victorious in Europe - Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley give us plenty of reasons to be cheerful heading into the interprovincial games over the Christmas. Munster capitalised on Leicester indiscipline, while Leinster gutted it out to wear down Exeter in a thriller in the Aviva on Saturday evening. Throw in Ulster's try-fest on Friday, and it was a very satisfying couple of days all round. Ronan Sweeney scored the goal that kick-started an unbelievable comeback for Moorefield in the Leinster club football final yesterday, and he joins us too. Plus there's the Dubs getting shafted, disgruntled club players exacting revenge on innocent inter-county selectors, and the BBC's Mo Farah / Chris Froome problem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Manchester City ended Jose Mourinho's hopes of establishing a new unbeaten home record for Manchester United by establishing their own new Premier League record for 14 consecutive league wins in the same season.Was this, as Mourinho suggested, all the fault of referee Michael Oliver, or have City proved beyond doubt that poets do win titles? Are we looking at a second half of the season in which the main interest is derived from waiting to see which one of the Premier League supermanagers trailing in City's wake is first to go into full-on meltdown?Rory Smith of the New York Times joins us to discuss the Manchester derby.And Kieran Canning speaks to us from Madrid to talk about the reaction in Spain to the Champions League draw. Plus there's Klopp's fuse, ace time wasters, the tunnel incident, and Morbo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was billed as a classic battle across the Irish Sea, but when three Irish provinces took on the best from the Premiership, the result was 3-0 Ireland. Leinster took care of Premiership champions Exeter on the south-west coast of England, Ulster beat Harlequins in London, and Munster hammered Leicester in Limerick. Gordon Darcy and Shane Horgan are on hand to pick apart a wildly successful weekend for the Irish teams, including what Matt O'Connor the Leicester coach might have learned from Jose Mourinho, why Ulster blow so hot and cold, and why this doesn't necessarily rank among Leinster's best ever European performances. Plus there's the enduring allure of snow games in the NFL, the importance of the vibes man in dressing room lore, Peter O'Mahony pulling rank, and 'curse o'clock'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's European Champions Cup week, and after a barnstorming debut from Leinster's new signing James Lowe and the return from injury of Garry Ringrose, the options ahead of their big match against Exeter ‘Moneyball' Chiefs look impressive. Meanwhile, the dark clouds around Peter O'Mahony's future at Thomond Park are casting a shadow down south - we ask Gerry Thornley how the IRFU factor charisma into their balance sheet. Tiger Woods is back, and he looks happy, he looks relaxed... and he looks like a pretty good golfer. After a solid mid-table finish in a high-class field in the Bahamas on Sunday, Lawrence Donegan tells us where the ceiling is for this latest, re-modelled version of Tiger, and how it might have been the best swing he's seen from him since 2007. There's a welcome, much-sought-after return for David Attenborough analogies, the chipping yips, and playing GAA in the gloom of a December afternoon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Cup draw went ahead without Ireland and FIFA President Gianni Infantino left nobody in any doubt that he finds Vladimir Putin very, very funny.Meanwhile, a busy Premier League weekend featured managers learning on the job, Big Sam and Marco Silva already going toe to toe, and an extraordinary admission from former giant of the refereeing scene, Mark Clattenburg.We are joined by Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin to assess the games involving the Manchester clubs ahead of next weekend's derby. Is Mesut Özil, who ran the show at the Emirates, potentially the final piece of Jose's jigsaw?Plus there’s Emre Can the Greman man, Klopp’s updated outdated ideas, the battle of Stamford Bridge and Christmas present “inspo”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin and Ciaran realise that Ken, who has until now concealed a violent past, is not the man they thought he was. Meanwhile World Service listeners take Ken to task for spreading fake news about Lionel Messi. We discuss the best-paid teams in world sport and how Mohamed Salah is a new species in football: the fox outside the box. Simon Hughes joins us to discuss Everton's increasingly desperate manager hunt. Is Big Sam the big man the good burghers of Goodison are crying out for? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The November series ended on Saturday with 3 Irish wins from 3 games, as Ireland saw off Argentina 28-19 to complement the wins over South Africa and Fiji. But in the absence of a truly hard-fought win over top-level opposition, we're left to wonder just how much we learnt from the month. Shane Horgan and Denis Hickie run the rule over Jacob Stockdale, another explosive Irish winger with possibly a big career ahead of him, as well as the rest of the players who took a step forward, including Rob Kearney who stormed back into form against the Argentinians. Paul Kerrigan has had a tough couple of years with Cork, but he had a great day yesterday as his club Nemo Rangers won their 16th Munster title, beating All-Ireland champions Dr. Crokes of Killarney. He talks to us about being underdogs, using your history, and support from other Cork clubs. Plus there's Murph swearing like a sailor, headbutts, and being afraid of the Scots. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The returns from injury of Pogba and Zlatan helped Manchester United to enjoy their best day in a while, as Manchester City had another of those now-quite-normal days where they play some of the most stunning football in the history of the Premier League. Are Guardiola's team not getting the credit they deserve? It was a bad day for British football managers, as Tony Pulis was sacked by West Brom and David Moyes started his time at West Ham with a 2-0 defeat against Watford. We discuss their travails with John Brewin and Jacob Steinberg. Meanwhile, with a jocular post after their win in the North London derby, Arsenal inadvertently sicked a lot of their 12 million Twitter followers onto the journalist Adam Crafton, who had posted a combined Arsenal-Spurs XI consisting entirely of Tottenham players.Crafton noted the following day that he had since been subjected to sustained homophobic and anti-Semitic abuse, including death threats. Do clubs with gigantic followings need to take more care, or do journalists need to toughen up? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

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

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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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more 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". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more 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 become, and Sean Cavanagh's big chest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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