The Second Captains Podcast

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.

Hold onto your britches folks, cos things went a little wild on the world service this week what with the Premier League hype machine in full flow, daily Isak transfer tittle tattle, Shels getting their hearts broken and most importantly, the official launch of Kencall.And after a weird summer of club world cup dystopia and Ken getting high on X it is finally time for some good old fashioned actual Premier League football to watch and talk about, and we got two of the biggest brains in the biz, Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney, on the line our bumper preview show.Second Captains presenters and "some" world service Arsenal fans had a roller coaster relationship last season, but we extend a giant olive branch with our London live show special guest – it’s Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright!!!! The show is on Wednesday September 24th at the Earth Theatre in Hackney, London. If you wanna be there to see Ian get onto secondcaptans.com/live and get your tickets. They're moving fast.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.

After a month of All-Ireland finals, we finally got a close one - and in the end, we got a surprise winner, too.  Cork were going for three-in-a-row, had beaten Galway by 11 points in the League final earlier this year, but had no answer to Galway's fast start, relentless physicality and last-minute heroics.  Dublin camogie captain Aisling Maher has had an eventful year, which started by leading the skorts strike, and she's on the line today with Sinead O'Carroll of The Journal to review yesterday's final, the new refereeing approach which has revolutionised camogie, and why we're still talking about integration.  We also discuss the worst Hawkeye referral in Croke Park's history, red cards, and why GAA players continue to be world leaders in spite.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack Grealish has gone to Everton on loan. We hope he finds meaning there. We try to understand why it never worked for him, with reference to some of the things Guardiola said in a surprisingly candid recent interview with GQ. Dion Fanning joins us to talk about the Community Shield, which saw the team with no new signings look more organised and dangerous than the team with €300 million worth. We also discuss the recent news that the FAI’s dream of a fully-aligned football calendar has effectively been abandoned, after the FAI confirmed that leagues who want to play winter football can apply for exemptions.What does the failure of the unified plan mean? And what are the likely implications for the FAI?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The momentum behind "No Prem Ken" is building as our football correspondent put in another stonking performance this week on the world service. Welcome to our best of show!We had Shels' shock win against the champions of Croatia, Man United rolling the transfer dice, football twitter madness, Son’s public display of emotion, the latest instalment of Inside Sir Big Jim, Infantino’s friends in high places and Orlagh Nolan on Dublin's masterclass against Meath, Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It’s dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join – there’s no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no adverts and we’re independent and Irish owned. Yoiu can listen on any good podcast app, on Spotify or on our website secondcaptains.com. Next week we will be previewing the Premier League, chatting to US Murph about bananas, looking ahead to Oasis and having all kinds of good clean fun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Lions return triumphant from the 2025 tour of Australia with a 2-1 series victory... but was that the bare minimum?  Shane Horgan and Gareth Rhys Owen of the BBC's Scrum V are on the show this Bank Holiday Monday to review why the Lions ran out of steam on Saturday's third test.  We discuss whether Andy Farrell returns to Ireland with his reputation enhanced, which Irish players have grown or wilted during this tour, and how good or bad this Australian team really are.  We also discuss how to spend a 30-minute storm delay, and the insane final moments of the fifth day of the fifth test between England and India which included some heroics from Woakes and an incredibly tight finish.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our world service best of show, and what a humdinger of a week it was with Tom Brady and Keith Andrews getting the reality tv treatment at Birmingham and Brentford, Ken chatting to QPR and Ireland's soundest man, Jimmy Dunne, the Lions tour exploding into life, and Jonathan Wilson taking the gloves off for some cricket chat.Plus there's question marks around the whole Newcastle/Saudi project, democratic dictator debates, ageism in football, the Rooster of Barcelos, and "word of the week".Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It’s dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join – there’s no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no ads and we’re independent and Irish owned. Next week we will be reviewing the women’s Euros, Kerry V Donegal, the Lions 2nd Test, and there will be the usual avalanche of football transfers, news and drama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England have won their second consecutive Euros, a Lionesses XI built out of different types of rocks and hard places ultimately proving too tough for Spain to break down.Today we learn about the lighter side of Sarina Wiegman, look at what England's win signifies in these exciting days for the meaning of Englishness, and reflect on the overall impact of Euro 2025. We also discuss the knock-on effects of Luis Diaz' transfer to Bayern, and whether top clubs' increasing fixation on 22 year olds is creating market opportunities for old foxes like David Moyes to exploit.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2025 All-Ireland senior football championship is finished and Kerry are worthy champions, again.  Two of the great GAA pundits, Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville, are in studio to discuss this magnificent season of gaelic football 2.0.  How did Kerry defuse the Donegal zonal defence? Where did they find their energy after losing to Meath 8 weeks ago? Is David Clifford even human?  We also examine Jim McGuinness’ performance and whether he was out-coached yesterday, and we look ahead to a bright future for the sport.And of course just because Eoin was off on Friday doesn’t mean he missed his chance to pay his respects to Hulk Hogan.  The balance is redressed in emphatic style today.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our world service best of show, and what a romper stomper its been this week with the Premier League transfer market getting red hot, Ken's north star, Eamon Dunphy, featuring heavily throughout, there's a much anticipated All Ireland football final match-up, the Lions are meowing their way to victory, and Ken has been meeting people in Tolka Park .... and the gym.... and in saunas.Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It's dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join - there's no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no ads and we're independent and Irish owned. Next week we will be reviewing the women's Euros, Kerry Donegal, the Lions 2nd Test, and there will be the usual avalanche of football transfers, news and drama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tipperary are the 2025 All-Ireland hurling champions, and their victory was as dominant and deserved as it was unexpected. As they’ve done all summer, Jamie Wall and Liam Rushe are on hand to pick through the bones of an unforgettable second half.Cork’s inability to adapt to the tactical picture Tipp presented them will haunt them forever. For Tipp, giving your perfect performance on the biggest day makes this as sweet as any All-Ireland win in their history.We also discuss cancelled homecomings, Ronan Maher’s upper-arm struggles, and where Cork go from here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evan Ferguson has joined the flood of under appreciated young Premier League players seeking to transform their careers in Serie A. James Horncastle joins us to talk about what awaits Ferguson in Rome - where he will be working under one of Italy's most respected coaches - what a young player like him should be doing (and not doing) to succeed in Serie A, and how Italian football keeps going its own way in an increasingly homogeneous football world. We also talk about Ratcliffe’s fishing trip and the latest transfer news, including some difficult days at Newcastle United, and listen as some giants of days gone by lament the spinelessness and lack of character of the young generation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our World Service taster which this week included Ken and Scottie Scheffler on the meaning of life, Patrice Evra brings you inside the dark culture of winning, Tom English of the BBC chasing Lions Down Under and Nicky English remembers his iconic ''soccer style'' goal in that hot summer of '87.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.

Chelsea are the new FIFA world champions after destroying PSG in another one-sided CWC knockout game. Johnny Infantino's long servile campaign paid dividends as Donald Trump showed up and dominated the extended post-match proceedings. The entire occasion was as though someone had started with the basic concept: imagine the Americans had invented football. To which we can only respond: why? Jonathan Wilson and Tim Vickery join us to look back on the final and to evaluate the tournament as a whole. Do they agree with Enzo Maresca's perhaps self-serving prediction that this competition is going to take over from the Champions League as the gold standard of club football?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If the price of one absolutely mega All-Ireland football final showdown is two pretty pedestrian semi-finals, then that’s a price we’re happy enough to pay. Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville are on hand to look back at Kerry’s composed win over Tyrone, and Donegal’s devastation of Meath in the weekend’s games. Will this final be a showdown between David Clifford and Michael Murphy, or will Donegal’s peerless cohesion be the deciding factor?Katie Taylor made sure, just in case there was still any doubt, that she'll be seen forevermore as a superior boxer to Amanda Serrano at the weekend, while also refusing to commit to ever fighting again in the aftermath. All this while still managing to get in a trademark Taylor verbal broadside at the post-fight press conference - a solid night's work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was a period of a few hours over the weekend when it looked as though Mikey Johnston might be going to Brazil to teach them how to dribble. Even Robbie Keane's intervention could not save the move. We talk about the Club World Cup, where Jurgen Klopp's direst predictions of injuries came true for Bayern's best player, Jamal Musiala. Should he even have been playing? And does Gianluigi Donnarumma deserve the criticism he's been getting from the original sweeper keeper, Manuel Neuer?We also talk about the confirmed and rumoured incomings - and recent outgoings - at Arsenal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cork hurlers have built up a following which some commentators are comparing with Heffo’s Army or, say, the Pope's visit to Ireland. They travelled from Kent station to Heuston on Saturday with, let’s be honest, a certain cockiness and Dublin’s quick capitulation made for a good day out for the red shirted horde. And then came "its a madhouse at Croker" on Sunday - our senior analyst Jamie Wall had tipped against Tipp. What’s he got to say for himself now? He’s joined in our studio by Dublin's Liam Rushe to discuss both semis and the score that never was.We also discuss lingerie shops distracting Easter Week rebels, turning the GPO into a coffee shop, dressing like an African prince and Murph gets back behind the wheel for another episode of the wildly successful new slot, Murph's Country Drives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Murph and Mark headed off to Croke Park together yesterday for the MARPH derby. Murph's initial arrogance slowly curdled into horror as he and everyone else in the stadium witnessed the return of the Royals; Meath are back!Mark is on the show today to celebrate on behalf of his people, but otherwise, it's wall-to-wall losers as Dublin and Armagh's Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville join Murph's Galway pity party. We chat about Kerry's classy, clever win over All-Ireland champions Armagh, Meath's miracle, the kick-out factor, Donegal depth, Dublin's limp display against Tyrone, and where they go now as Dessie Farrell steps down.Plus there's octogenarian ecstasies, and Ken's preferred candidate for the Dublin job. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friend of the show David Sneyd sent US Soccer into a tailspin over the weekend with his exclusive report that Brentford interviewed Mauricio Pochettino for the job they ended up giving to Keith Andrews. But doesn’t Poch already have a job? In Ireland we can empathise with the American soul-searching.Meanwhile, certain senior German grandees been engaging in the favourite activity of their kind: lighting up the feuilleton space with an exchange of controversial barbs. Jurgen Klopp described the Club World Cup as the worst idea ever implemented in football, just a week after Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hailed the genius of Johnny Infantino for coming up with the idea. We look into the competing claims.Plus there's FIFA's NFTs, Sky Sports bites back, Ken's Cuban and eggs in Italy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes the voice of Saipan (trailer), the Joe Duffy era coming to a close and a new door opening, Tim Vickery on Brazilian footballers' ability to sin and win, Messi's secret to longevity, and Ken on the USA V Italy cuisine wars.Plus there's Lions o'clock, climate change, ASMR, and the GAA football and hurling championships are red hot for the next few weeks.For access to all our shows from Monday to Friday go to secondcaptains.com/join – its 5 euro a month with no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no sneaky contracts, and no ads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14-man Dublin's win over Limerick on Saturday has been described as the greatest upset in championship history - is that hyperbolic or on the money? Is this the end of an era or can we expect to see a less dominant but still title-contending Limerick going forward? And what are Dublin capable of against Cork in two weeks' time? Jamie Wall and former Dublin hurler Liam Rushe are with us to answer those questions and more after an extraordinary weekend. It's probably for the best that Murph's away this week, because in the other preliminary quarter-final Galway rolled over against Tipperary, offering next to nothing. Now, Tipp take on Kilkenny in the semi-finals, with Jamie's prediction that Derek Lyng's men will go all the way this year still hanging in the balance. Plus there's the Chris Crummey debate ('debate') and the Second Captains slot Louth GAA never knew they needed.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken is back from holidays and so is Branno. Did they... go on vacation together?Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened... is what Branno's Shels-supporting friends are claiming they are thinking the day after Damien Duff walked out of the club. Today's show is mainly about perhaps the last-ever Duff-LOI Bomba - although it was a different competition that dominated much of our weekend bandwidth. Eoin brings us up to speed.David Sneyd joins Eoin, Ken and Branno to talk about Duff's exit. Why did he choose to go now? Is this an impulse decision, or one that's been coming for a while? Will the league be damaged by the loss of arguably its biggest star? And what next for Duff himself? Plus we've news of two new Stakeknife episodes, including a Q&A with Say Nothing author and New Yorker staff writer, Patrick Radden Keefe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another insane weekend of Gaelic football, and finally we have some teams departing the scene - including, most chaotically of all, Mayo. They conceded a last-second score to a team who needed it not even a small little bit, and they, Derry, Roscommon and Clare are gone. Former Galway player Barry Cullinane is on the line to chart his old team's progress through the Group of Death, and he's joined by Wicklow manager Oisin McConville, fresh from beating Westmeath and blasting the Tailteann Cup wide open. There's also time to discuss Meath's insane hammering of Kerry, a score-fest between Down and Monaghan, and the preliminary quarter-final draw, which managed to keep all the big dogs away from each other.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's football show contains all the meats of the football stew, from local LOI beefs to the state of the world game.First we chat to David Sneyd about where exactly things stand in the League of Ireland season, a season in which Damien Duff and Stephen Bradley are at each other's throats. Why? Because of Italian trance classic, Komodo by Mauro Picotto, of course. Then we speak to The Guardian's Barney Ronay, who's been on the ground in America for the opening weekend of the Club World Cup. We discuss Infantino's ICE World Cup, the dark mood in America and why the Saudi money and American marketing behind it all means it will probably succeed.Plus there's Auckland amateurs, birthday shoutouts and the Kalimotxo King.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.