The Second Captains Podcast

Ken reports from the FAI's reconvened AGM which took place at the Citywest Hotel yesterday. Is there anything to be said for setting up another committee? We talk about Liverpool's 19-game victory lap, the emergence of the shoulder as the key part of the footballing anatomy, and the rest of the Christmas football, including that Friday night classic between Wolves and Manchester City.Jonathan Wilson joins us to talk about Chelsea's win at Arsenal, what the January transfer window might hold for these clubs, and whether there is a way to fix VAR. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last summer Richie travelled to Mayo for a chat with one of the most loved Gaelic footballers of all time, Andy Moran. It was such a fun interview we decided to make it our best of 2019 and its now available to all. During the interview, Andy revealed, unprompted, he had retired from inter-county football – a first ever X5SADS scoop - and how a good sleep conquers all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a weekend that saw several more episodes in Britain's long national nervous breakdown. A day that began with one national broadcaster misleadingly quoting Stormzy ended with another assuring their audience that they are solidly committed to the fight against racism, despite any accidental impressions to the contrary.Meanwhile Manchester United lost 2-0 to Watford with David de Gea making a mistake that leaves you wondering how close he is to losing the faith of the crowd. At least it was a good week for the new FIFA Club World Champions Liverpool...Jack Pitt-Brooke joins us to discuss what happened at Spurs yesterday, where the responsibilities of broadcasters lie in this increasingly fraught time, and whether the honeymoon is already over for Jose.Plus there's AFTV strife, Souness' contribution to the race hate solution, and Cecil Rhodes' guilt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Munster are still very much alive in their pool of the European Rugby Champions Cup, but they will rue missing out on a bonus point on Saturday against Saracens in London. Shane Horgan talks to us about on-field decision-making, the magic of Larmour and Cooney, loose lips on the sideline, and Connacht's battling win over Gloucester that still gives them a mathematical chance of making it through to the European Cup quarter-finals. We speak to Michael Conlan, after he went to 13-0 in his professional boxing career, with a win in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night against his last ever opponent in the amateur ranks - the man who beat him in the Rio Olympics and which sparked one of the abiding Irish memories of those games. Plus there's a new brush sweeping cleanest in the ranks of the Olympic boxing judges, great European train journeys with Ken Early, and Simon's passions get impugned and disrespected by Eoin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today it turns out that John Giles and Ken do agree on at least one thing, but there are still some minor areas of difference to be ironed out. Arsenal were made to look weak on the field by Manchester City, and off the field by their own communications department, who were quick to distance the club from Mesut Özil's post criticising Chinese persecution of the Uighurs in Xinjiang / East Turkestan. We discuss how Western sports teams should treat the question of their employees commenting on what in China are considered third-rail issues. We're joined by Patrick Boyland, who covers Everton for the Athletic, to talk about Duncan Ferguson, his treatment of Moise Kean, and whether Everton think Ferguson or some other coach is the best long-term prospect.And Joshua Robinson of the Wall Street Journal explains Arsenal's stance on Özil, and how their thinking changed on Arteta. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re listening to this mini-podcast you probably know what you need to do to become a member and hear all the good stuff - go to secondcaptains.com/join, and its 5 euro a month.We do this independently, driven by the support of our awesome members. If you’d like to get involved we’d love to have you, and don’t forget you can sign up for just one month, cancel after that if it’s not working out (but it will work out)... (but if it doesn't that's fine).... (but it definitely will). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Friday afternoon, the FAI revealed the true disastrous state of its financial affairs.Later that evening, we welcomed Richie Sadlier and 2019 Journalist of the Year Mark Tighe, whose reporting in the Sunday Times helped to bring about John Delaney's downfall as FAI CEO, to help us sift through the wreckage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Munster, Leinster and Ulster all won in Europe this week, with only a disappointing second half from Connacht between us and a clean sweep... but the shadow of the Rugby World Cup malfunction still hovers. Munster/Saracens was ruined by the weather in Thomond on Saturday, while Leinster made hay in the sunshine in Northampton. But not even those results could move Rory Best's comments in the IRFU World Cup review from top billing. Did he really throw Joe Schmidt under the bus? And did David Nucifora give him a hand while he was doing it? Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times, and Chris Hewitt cover the on-field action, and Dennis Hickie refuses to completely agree that Schmidt's reputation is getting a battering. Plus there's roofless theatres, host nations, and book reviews. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freddie Arsenal DNA Ljungberg's Arsenal were recognisably Arsenal, and that is not necessarily a good sign. Is there a chance that Brendan Rodgers' links with the job could become more than "hypothetical"? Jack Grealish's sensational performance at Old Trafford was a big part of the reason why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team still has only four wins from 14 matches. How long can this form go on before the patience runs out?We also discuss Barcelona's new season documentary, just released on Rakuten TV.Andy Hunter joins us to talk Everton. How can a team that on the face of it has a core of good players be... so bad? And with a list of upcoming fixtures that reads something like Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid 1956-60, Arsenal, Holland 1974, Leicester, Barcelona 2009-11 - what chance is there for Marco Silva to turn this around? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If Jim Gavin had resigned shortly after the five-in-a-row had been achieved, then it would have been seen as surprising, but not shocking. The fact that he has left the most high-profile job in the GAA as the calendar ticks into December means the news, which broke on Saturday morning, qualifies as a bombshell. Oisin McConville and Michael Foley of the Sunday Times talk to us about why it happened now, what he did while he was in the job, and who's going to take over from him. And in the midst of all that, we celebrate a final record which reads - played 107, won 86, lost 11, drew 10. Six All-Irelands, and one championship defeat in 7 years. Ken wistfully recalls the Jim Gavin that he knew and loved, Murph's news nose was on-point in the hours before the announcement, and we have a little Blindboy taster ahead of a stellar month on the Second Captains World Service. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.