The Second Captains Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.