The Second Captains Podcast

Mayo and Kerry both spent time yesterday in the relegation zone, but they’ll spend this week looking ahead to a Division 1 final in Croke Park after a daft last day of the National Football League.Paul Flynn and Conor McManus look at this strange, fun, league campaign in full, with some flowers for newly-promoted Monaghan, and we go down through the divisions in search of possible championship bolters to put up a challenge to a faltering Dublin in Leinster.We also discover the truth behind Paul Flynn’s history with the shin-pad, courtesy of a listener, and Eoin tells us about the time he met the late, great George Foreman.

Two comeback wins in four days, new options announcing themselves all over the pitch - just a couple of months on from getting wiped out 5-0 by England, it feels as though things are going... well?Damien Delaney and Richie Sadlier join us to talk about the playoff victory against Bulgaria and where the Irish team is at, eight matches into Heimir Hallgrimsson's tenure. For Damien in particular, this is a big moment. He is ready to love again.Plus there's Evan Ferguson's parking, Good Will Hunting and have we got Ronaldo rattled?

Dan Burn, Eddie Howe, Yasir Al-Rumayyan: they dream the same dream, they want the same thing. At least they all did at Wembley Stadium yesterday evening. As for tomorrow, who can say... Rory Smith of the Athletic joins us to talk about the game. How did Newcastle so comprehensively get the better of the league leaders? And how does the result affect the perception of Liverpool's season, which still looks likely to end with a Premier League title? James Montague, who has a new book coming out next week on Saudi Arabia's takeover of world sport, was also at Wembley to witness Newcastle's day of destiny. We talk about what the victory meant for the Newcastle fans, the commitment of the PIF to further successes with Newcastle, and the rhetoric of human rights in the age of autocracy.

Let us take you by the hand and guide you through another week of independent, member-led broadcasting on the Second Captains World Service. Our first stop, the port of Stockholm via Darwin Nunez's - if not unforgivable then certainly unforgettable - penalty shootout miss against PSG on Tuesday evening. After a light lunch, we'll take in a conversation with one of the great sportswriters Donald McRae about his new boxing book, The Last Bell, and finish with last night's Madrid derby, as Ken goes microscopic on another penalty: Julian Alvarez's. Oh, and there's a bonus stop off at Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe's new Manchester circus tent. For all this and more, visit secondcaptains.com/join where you can sign up now for just €5 a month plus VAT. 

Ireland only had to make four tackles in the opening 18 minutes of this game, and they were ahead against a Dupont-less France early in the second half. But it was a worrying capitulation after that as Galthie's men scored 42 points in a game that will linger long in the memory.We talk to Shane Horgan, Chris Jones of the BBC and Ruaidhrí O'Connor of the Irish Independent about what went wrong after 18 minutes, what they could have done better in those opening 18 minutes, who was at fault for the avalanche of points conceded in the second half, the impact the yellow cards had on the result, King Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Sam Prendergast's mixed performance, the long term implications of the result, and our desperate need for speed. Plus there's permutations man, Ireland's European medal rush, and why France are good for rugby. 

Anger stalks the land, as discontented fans rebel against owners, against prices, against the way the game is going - but is anybody listening?To answer this question we consider the case of the lesser-spotted Chelsea Football Club, with contributions from co-owner Todd Boehly and coach Enzo Maresca.If this is how things are in ‘real football’ then maybe the Sidemen vs YouTube Allstars, rather than being a portent of Antichrist, is the way of the future?Lars Sivertsen and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the games at Old Trafford and Anfield. What is people’s problem with Bruno Fernandes? On the same theme, why does Martin Odegaard also get it whenever Arsenal have a bad result? And are PSG right to be so confident ahead of tomorrow night’s second leg against Liverpool?

Ireland approach a grandchildren to tell time moment in the 6 Nations, Alisson Becker puts in a lifetimer of a performance against PSG in the Champions League last 16, Old Man Murphy likes life under Jim Gavin's rule enhancements: a small but hearty taste of our week on the World Service. If your appetite is sufficiently whetted, go to secondcaptains.com/join for member-led, ad-free broadcasting now. 

Maybe he picked the wrong week to be away. Last week brought probably the decisive matches of the Premier League and a fight pitting Ian Harte against all the League of Ireland managers. This weekend was the FA Cup, arguments about the quality of balls, a story about a player disrespectfully bringing his dog to training. With the Champions League promising bigger things later in the week, Ken reviews his time in Miami and his trip to the really-quite-far-away Chase Stadium: did the jewel of South Florida live up to Will Smith's billing? We also talk about Manchester United's latest defeat, as is tradition.