The Second Captains Podcast

Eoin, Ken and Ciaran mark the weekend's dives out of 10. Sometimes you need to give the referee a little bit of help. David Moyes has been dubbed "the energy vampire" by an unnamed former Sunderland player. What is an energy vampire? How can you guard your personal energy against one? And how did such an inane metaphor about human relationships ever gain popular currency?John Brewin was at Middlesbrough to see Manchester City stagger towards the Champions League qualification line with a 2-2 draw.And Jack Pitt-Brooke saw Tottenham dominate Arsenal in the most one-sided North London derby in many years.Plus there’s Jesus Navas’ stats, second best Spurs, and Jose’s finger of blame. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All aboard the Second Captains helicopter as we use the journey time from Dublin to the match tonight in Manchester to convince you to join the Second Captains World Service.Go to secondcaptains.com now. The Gang's All Here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There have been a lot of great clasicos over the last 20 years - the Barcelona fans lobbing a pig's head at Figo, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos silencing the Camp Nou in 2003, the 6-2, the 5-0, Real's 2-1 title clincher in 2012... But last night's 2-3 win for Barcelona at the Bernabeu was probably more fun than any of them.This game had everything - five goals, incredible skills, flying elbows, a red card, open goal misses, and a brilliant last-second winner from the best player in the world.It was a terrible weekend for Manchester City and Liverpool, a good one for Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, and a very, very special weekend for Big Sam who was generous enough to give chapter and verse on the very special gameplan that silenced Anfield.We relive the Madrid-Barcelona drama with Dermot Corrigan, who was at the Bernabeu.And we argue over whether Spurs are better than Chelsea with Miguel Delaney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leinster and Munster bowed out of Europe this weekend, with plenty of what-ifs for both sides. Leinster will feel they had plenty of chances to beat Clermont in the south of France yesterday, and Munster similarly would love to have another crack at Saracens after they failed to raise a gallop in the Aviva on Saturday. Shane Horgan and Liam Toland acknowledge all the financial advantages of English and French clubs, but warn against the idea that we should be satisfied with losing semi-final appearances in this country. Are Galway favourites for the Liam McCarthy Cup this summer? Michael Duignan and Malachy Clerkin discuss their stunning 16-point defeat of Tipperary in the National Hurling League final yesterday. And after marking your card last week, Ilie Nastase confirmed his status as one of sport's biggest assholes this weekend. Plus there's the Rassie Erasmus news, Johnny Glynn's Grand Canyon and Eoin's safety. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin welcomes the return of title run-in mindgames. Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that Tottenham, unlike some of their rivals, are "not artificial". Antonio Conte has responded in an unexpected way, by claiming that Tottenham are the best team in the league. Judging by his own side's performance at Old Trafford, Conte might be right. Was United's victory a Chelsea collapse, or a Mourinho masterclass? Did it show that the United players are finally understanding the principles of the manager's football?We also talk about Everton's decision to ban The Sun after Kelvin MacKenzie's attack on Ross Barkley. Is banning newspapers ever justified? When you look at the details of this case, how much sympathy does The Sun deserve?Jonathan Wilson joins us to talk through the details of United's win. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin, Ken and Richie hit the showers to discuss Ken's hair treatment regime, the French elections and the latest from the World Service.Join us now at secondcaptains.com for access to all our shows. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken realises that he knows enough about golf to be a pundit on Sky's Masters coverage. All you do is draw sweeping generalisations from tiny details of body language, and keep that going for four days. Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke discuss Kerry’s evolution, poking the bear, Dublin’s slump in form and doing football a favour.Murph isn't here which means we can talk about Joe Brolly. What is the best way to take Brolly on when he is at full steam? Lawrence Donegan joins us to talk about Sergio Garcia's win, golfer beefs, and friendly rivalry nonsense. Plus there’s The Butler Cabin time warp, and McDevitt relives his fraught toilet encounter with Boris Becker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin and Ken look back at a weekend in which Dele Alli backed up all the hype of last week's podcast. Ken asks is there anything he can't do, Eoin wonders if its time to start comparing him to the greats.David Moyes says the Sunderland job is incredibly difficult. He said the same thing about the Man United job, which must have been difficult in a different way. Might Sunderland be better advised looking for a manager who is slightly less eager to point out how incredible difficult everything is going to be? Meanwhile Luke Shaw has been let out of captivity for a few minutes on the field but can he really trust Jose Mourinho after everything that has happened? We also talk about the superb new documentary "Les Bleus: Une autre histoire de France"Dermot Corrigan tries to explain why Barcelona keep bottling it in La Liga and we explore Neymar's hunger and Messi's magical nutritionist.Raphael Honigstein examines the science behind Arjen Robben's signature move, and looks ahead to the German clubs' adventures in Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things were already bad enough for David Moyes before he got the silly idea of immolating himself in a sexism firestorm. Was his comment to the BBC's Vicky Sparks at the end of his interview with the BBC "unforgivable," as some influential voices are claiming? Ronald Koeman was another one struggling with interviews as Sky encouraged him to take on the many enemies and losers who have criticised him.Only Jose Mourinho seemed to feel at home in the interview environment this week, and that after a disappointing draw with West Brom that meant United currently have their worst home win ratio of the Premier League era. Perhaps the fact that he OWNED the BBC's Conor McNamara will be of some consolation to the United faithful. We are joined by Tony Barrett to talk Merseyside Derby, and David Preece gives his view on whether Moyes can carry on at Sunderland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was like the good old days on Saturday, as Munster and Leinster ruthlessly took apart Toulouse and Wasps to advance to the European Cup semi-finals on Saturday afternoon. Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley reflect on what a difference a year makes - 12 months ago we didn't even have 1 team in the last 8, and now we have two teams who have shown they're capable of winning the competition outright. Former Kerry player and Irish Examiner columnist Mike Quirke looks ahead to next Sunday's league final between Dublin and Kerry - and predicts that despite trepidation down south at another heavy beating in Croke Park, the future still looks bright for Kerry. Plus we have Danny Cipriani, Murph’s Belgian waffles, Simon’s strip, clutch Dublin and a stonking Wexford win in Kilkenny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.