The Second Captains Podcast

The Nations League may be gone for the next few weeks but the aftershocks continue to shake up the Irish punditry scene as Seamus Coleman takes clinical aim at Keith Andrews for criticising the team. Meanwhile the Premier League title race looks exceptionally tight with the top five potentially separated by two points if Arsenal manage to beat Leicester tonight. But does the table belie the real s...

European Rugby is back, and it was an excellent week for the Irish provinces, as Leinster and Ulster both won against English opposition, and Munster came out of Exeter with a doughty draw. Gerry Thornley and former Munster back-rower James Coughlan join us to talk about Leinster's thrilling style, Ulster's young fullback, Tadhg Beirne's best game so far for Munster, and Freddie Burns' horror-show...

Ep 1291: Good Ship Ireland, McCarthy Charm Offensive, Natural Goalscorer Worship - 15/10/18 by Second Captains Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So it turns out if you insult Khabib Nurmagomedov's family, religion, and country... he's not going to like it very much. Conor McGregor's pre-fight posturing might have just seemed like good PR, and even a good laugh, but Khabib was deadly serious when it came to seeking retribution in the ring, and against Mcgregor's team, in the immediate aftermath of the UFC lightweight world title fight. Pete...

It turns out Pep Guardiola can do pragmatism with the best of them, and the much-hyped clash of Liverpool and Manchester City fizzled out in mild disappointment for an uncharacteristically conservative City and mild relief for misfiring Liverpool. Instead we had to satisfy ourselves with an astonishing game at Old Trafford, in which Jose Mourinho defied the implacable forces bent on his destructio...

**NOTE: This was initially a World Service members-only show broadcasted first on 2nd of October 2018. We have decided to re-publish the podcast today, the 4th of October, with the support of our members. For independent, member-led journalism like this in the future, please join the Second Captains World Service. Enjoy the show and thanks to all our members as always.**On the World Service today...

Europe were deemed to be the underdogs going into the weekend's Ryder Cup, but it was very much an old-school Ryder Cup in the end - the US had all the stars, Europe had all the team spirit, and it ended with a convincing 7 point win for the home side. Malachy Clerkin had barely set foot back in Ireland before he came in to us, and he's joined by Lawrence Donegan to pick apart another European cel...

Chelsea and Liverpool used to straight up not like each other. And yet their last two matches, despite being played out in a bizarre atmosphere of mutual respect and admiration, have been remarkably entertaining. Can you get it on even if you also get along? We discuss that match and some of the other weekend highlights, including a searingly honest and yet perplexing analysis of Manchester United...

Last year, Tiger Woods could barely walk. Last night, in chaotic, brilliant circumstances, he won his first PGA Tour championship in 5 years to reaffirm his return to the top of the sport. Not only has he battled back from technical, physical, psychological and emotional setbacks, he's also won a few new friends along the way. Author, podcast host and friend of the show Lawrence Donegan tries to p...

Ep 1273: Pogba's Points, The Mendes Derby, Chelsea's Control Freak, Liverpool's Headstart - 24/09/18 by Second Captains Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dublin have been the best team in ladies football for the last two years, but yesterday they finally got the result they needed to truly frank that form, when they beat their old nemesis Cork in the All-Ireland final in Croke Park. 10-time All-Ireland winning legend Valerie Mulcahy and Malachy Clerkin join us to discuss whether this is a changing of the guard, and if Dublin are about to embark on...

Stand-in host Ciaran Murphy, like many Manchester United supporters, is angry with the double standards employed by the fake news media. Is it not time to HAMMER TOTTENHAM? Why should they always get off easy? We discuss a Premier League Sunday that was dominated by unhappy shamrock Declan Rice and bench shamrock Matt Doherty, while on Saturday, victorious coaches Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola we...

Ep 1262: Serena's Outrage, Why She Is A Nuance-Free Zone, Dominic Ryan Retires With Concussion, Solos In Slaughtneil - 10/09/2018 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Nations League turns out to be not bad, eh. We discuss the opening weekend of UEFA's new tournament, why it seems to be working despite the dull and convoluted format, and the latest reports on the strife in the Ireland camp. Then we talk to Peter Crouch about his new book, How To Be A Footballer, and look at some of the Jon Walters related highlights in the book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Harry Arter has become the latest Ireland international to decide that he'd rather not join up with the squad right now. Martin O'Neill has admitted that his decision may have been influenced by an altercation with Roy Keane during a previous Ireland camp. We discuss the reasons why players play international football: do you have to be a super-patriot like James McClean, or does careerism have it...

Dublin are now utterly dominant, that dominance franked by a convincing fourth All-Ireland final win in a row against a valiant but outclassed Tyrone team. Oisin McConville thinks Tyrone missed an opportunity, and Mike Quirke tries to put this Dublin era into a historical context. From the moment the season began, it was clear that Dublin were heavy favourites to end the summer as champions. Is th...

Oh Declan. The news that Declan Rice is "deliberating" over an offer to play his international football with England has sent Irish football into a tailspin, as many of us had already mentally installed Rice as the bedrock of the team for the next 15 years. We discuss possible solutions for Jose Mourinho as he wanders in an existential vacuum and Eoin describes how he dealt with getting Poped out...

The All-Ireland Football Final is next Sunday, a game in which few people, if anyone, give Tyrone much of a chance of discommoding Dublin. So just how do you get under their skin, and bring them to places they don't want to go? The only team capable of doing that in the last couple of years is Mayo, and we talk to their midfielder Seamus O'Shea about how to go toe-to-toe with Dublin, what Mayo bri...

Even in a bad game, in this extraordinary year hurling found a way to be exceptional, as Limerick dominated the All-Ireland champions Galway for 70 minutes, and still nearly got caught in injury time. Thus ends a 45-year wait for an All-Ireland title for Limerick, and they celebrated in style. We try and celebrate the year in review with two All-Ireland winners of our own, Eoin Kelly and Michael D...

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This year's All-Ireland football final will be between Dublin and Tyrone, after Tyrone pipped Monaghan by a point, and the Dubs eased past Galway in the semis. The question is starting to be asked though - are even the Dublin fans bored by Dublin's dominance at this stage? Ken launches a stirring defence of his boys with a passionate charm offensive, before Mike Quirke and Oisin McConville join us...

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Welcome to a very special edition of the Second Captains Football Podcast, a live broadcast from the wonderful Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin. Warning: contains *beefOur guest star is one of the best TV analysts in any sport, not just football, who spent an entire career racking up trophies at Manchester United…. We welcomed GARY NEVILLE to the stage. We talked to Gary about mistakes he has made a...

The hardest working man in showbiz, Ken Early, has been working right through the Bank Holiday weekend. He soaked up the goodwill towards Alisson Becker in the Aviva stadium, pored over the latest transfer news, and admires Steven Gerrard's Rangers mindset. Monaghan mastermind Malachy O'Rourke has guided the county to their first senior All Ireland football semi final in 30 years, and the locals a...

Hurling is no longer a sport, more a sneak preview of what the heavenly after-life will be like. Murph is apparently still walking in a daze around Croke Park, so we get Ken's thoughts on the sport of the Gods. Is this a freakish year, or has the sport got better? Can Clare win the replay? Is there anything Limerick can't do? And what's on John Mullane's Spotify playlist? Clare’s All-Ireland winni...