The Second Captains Podcast

MY lapel badge is apolitical. YOUR lapel badge is a political statement. The FA chief executive Martin Glenn has already apologised for appearing to bracket the Star of David as an offensive symbol alongside the emblems of ISIS and Nazi Germany, but was some kind of mess inevitable given the FA's confused policy on what is and isn't a political symbol?It feels as though the Premier League is falling out of love with Antonio Conte. The Chelsea manager has been accused of a "crime against football" by Jamie Redknapp for setting up in a 5-5-0 formation at Eastlands. Is there any sense in which Conte deserves this?Once again we turn our attention to the rotting carcass of Arsenal. Is Rio Ferdinand correct that this is the worst Arsenal team of his lifetime, or is it time to give Glenn Murray the credit he deserves?Miguel Delaney joins us to analyse the fallout from City v Chelsea. Is there a pattern to Gary Neville's occasional splenetic outbursts when he disapproves of a team's performance? And what do Pep's employers think of his ribbon stance? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland are three games in, and are still on course for a Grand Slam. And after another hugely enjoyable weekend of Six Nations rugby, certainly the championship appears well within our grasp.Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley talk us through Ireland's roller-coaster 37-27 win over Wales, with plenty of errors as well as sparkling, physical rugby to consider. And with James Ryan, Jacob Stockdale and Chris Farrell all starring, we consider what might be one of Ireland's biggest ever lineups.We talk to Tom English of BBC Scotland about that wonderful win for the home team in Murrayfield that leaves us within touching distance of securing the championship with a weekend to spare, and we also discuss Eoin Doyle's sending off for Kildare... for not wearing a gum shield. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken's absence last week has led some listeners to wonder whether an automated Ken-3000 replacement could be commissioned to cover future time off, remixing and replaying the vast library of past Jose Mourinho commentary. Ken adds some new clips to the algorithm's memory cache with a dramatic U-turn.Chelsea are now struggling to get back into the race for Champions League qualification. Has Antonio Conte forgotten that motivation is about more than simply telling your players what to do?Does Scott McTominay have the potential to be a fixture in the Manchester United team? Is there anything new to say about Arsenal? And how will the yellow ribbon stand-off between Pep Guardiola and the FA play out? Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin join us to analyse.Meanwhile Diego Torres' reports on the goings-on at PSG have assumed the same place in the culture as Dallas occupied in the 80s. We crank his latest despatch through Google Translate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richie Sadlier joins Eoin and Murph in studio to talk about how football management can be an emotional business. When Ipswich took the lead against local rivals Norwich on Saturday, Mick McCarthy couldn't resist having a go at his own fans.Is there ever a right time to shoot back at the same people who have been criticising you for months? On reflection, probably not... but it doesn't mean it doesn't feel really good while you're doing it. We also praise the job Chris Hughton is doing as he leads Brighton to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and analyse his potential to be the next Ireland manager.Plus Sid Lowe joins us to wax lyrical about Andres Iniesta before he returns to Stamford Bridge, the site of his favourite goal-not-scored-in-the-World-Cup-final goal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Without the burden of knowledge or insight, and freed from the pressure of expectation of Irish medals, the 2018 Winter Olympics has been a non-stop fun-a-thon in Second Captains HQ.Sinead O'Carroll, news editor with The Journal, told us on the World Service ten days ago why she spurns sleep in order to follow the Games, and she's in studio today to talk over all the hurt, heartbreak and heroics.If your sole focus is winning the All-Ireland, is it okay to throw your hat at the league? That's the question we ask Michael Duignan, as Waterford lost their third game in a row on Sunday. Clare are a study in contrast, and he picks one county out as a team that could win the league, and use it as a springboard for success in the summer.Plus there's Murph's biased local commentary experience, and the spectacle of watching an athlete go through the entire span of human emotional experience on television. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland remain on track for the Grand Slam after their fully-expected 56-19 win over Italy, but what happened that we didn't expect? Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley give us their thoughts on week 2 of this year's Six Nations championship.Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw going down injured certainly wasn't in the play-book, and the expected stern Italian resistance for the first 60 minutes didn't materialise either.We also didn't see the impact of the Irish bench that we expected, but is that to be expected when the game is over after 20 minutes? We also salute Owen Farrell's almost perfect performance for England, rate the threat posed by doughty Wales, and discuss why the relationship between the IRFU and the Irish media appears to be at an all-time low.Plus - Eoin explains why he loves Keith Earls, Simon has an idea for livening up Ireland/Italy games, and we salute our skating-to-work Dutch listeners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was an amazing weekend for the King of the Golf but a bad one for Chris Smalling who finds himself serving as the Manchester United 'Pinata of the Week'.Jose Mourinho debuted a new magnanimous personality at St. James' Park but there is one person on whom the sunbeams of his warmth do not fall: his superstar midfielder Paul Pogba. Hooked twice in less than two weeks with United losing: is this war?Meanwhile Antonio Conte has explained that he is a victim of his own success at Chelsea: the club don't cooperate on transfers because he is too good at working with the players he already has.Jonathan Wilson joins us to discuss the North London derby, and the increasing hostility between football clubs and the journalists who the clubs have increasingly come to see as competitors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special World Service episode that we feel everyone should hear so we've made it available to all.World Service members will be familiar with our recent coverage of the extraordinary events in a Michigan courtroom, where the victims of ex-USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar finally had the opportunity to stand up to their abuser in court.It’s the sort of justice that’s long been denied to the alleged victims of George Gibney, the ex-Ireland swimming coach.It’s almost 25 years since Gibney was charged with 27 counts of indecent assault and carnal knowledge of young swimmers. Those charges were later quashed, Gibney moved to America, and he’s remained there ever since, but new information has emerged that has resulted in a fresh push for justice.It’s a push being led by Maureen O’Sullivan TD who joined us on the show today, along with the Sunday Times journalist Justine McCarthy, author of Deep Deception: Ireland’s Swimming Scandals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yesterday, after Crystal Palace drew 1-1 with Newcastle, Roy Hodgson laid down some truth...With Roy's words in mind, we try to spend as little of today's show as possible discussing the penalty decisions at Anfield, as some other things happened besides. ('As little of today's show as possible' still equals a lot of time discussing those decisions).Rory Smith of the New York Times joins us to talk about touchline misconduct, and whether Liverpool currently have much to offer beyond the sensational goalscoring form of their top man Mohamed Salah. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin and Ken give you a rundown on what you missed on the world service this week with some help from US Murph, Shane Horgan, Matt Williams, Millie and Gareth Edwards.Join now at secondcaptains.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.