Second Captains @ The Irish Times

Yes, Eliud Kipchoge knocked 30 seconds off his own marathon world record but.. he still didn't break through the 2-hour barrier. We have some simple advice that should do the trick.Federer charmed and sobbed his way through his farewell event, the Laver Cup, winning fans' hearts one last time - but has he got what it takes to become a great coach?A listener argues the GAA should embrace its amateur status and eradicate under-the-table payments to managers and set the players free from the training "arms race". And Murph puts into context how good Zach Tuohy is at a game he didn't grow up playing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland have done it again, starting well and taking the lead against a higher-ranked side away from home and then going down to defeat in the second half. We analyse the game and some of the criticism that has followed.We also discuss some recent interviews with Mark Lawrenson and Eric Cantona.Dion Fanning and Kieran Canning join us to talk about the match at Hampden. As we fight to stay positive, can we take heart from Scotland's development over the last few years? and to look ahead to Nations League B new boys England's dead rubber against Germany tonight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack McCaffrey hasn’t played for Dublin since a cameo off the bench which ended in injury against Tyrone in Omagh in February 2020. Paul Mannion’s last game was the 2020 All-Ireland final.  They were both off the Dublin panel, presumed retired - until yesterday evening. We get the Fair View of their surprise return to inter-county football, what it means for Dublin… and what it means for everyone else, with 4-time Kerry All-Ireland winner Sean O’Sullivan. We also pay homage to David Beckham’s queueing stamina, Ken casts his eye over proceedings in London this morning, and we salute Eddie Butler’s love of Wales.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's more than one way to make your name in the Premier League. Until now Nathan Collins has been trying the quiet excellence way, but on Saturday against Man City he hopped on the fast track to building his profile internationally.We also discuss a disgraceful episode in Spain, and the sad scenes at Munich's Oktoberfest, where Bayern's top brass tried and failed to look like they're having a good time despite dropping nine of the last 12 points.James Horncastle joins us to talk about how Juventus lost their stranglehold on Italian football. What and who is to blame for their fall? And who will win the culture war between the traditional values of Italian football and an ambitious new generation of internationally-influenced coaches? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are English football people so down on Todd the mouthy American interloper? What is a long snapper? And would it surprise you to hear the New England Patriots were involved in one of the oldest cheating scandals in NFL history? That means US Murph, Champions League and fun times on the World Service this week. Join us for ad-free, member-led broadcasting for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a series of terrible VAR decisions in the Premier League last week we heard many VAR advocates claim "it's only in England they don't know how to use it, VAR is working perfectly everywhere else." Right on cue, Juventus-Salernitana generates the Exxon Valdez of VAR decisions.We also talk about whether Pep Lijnders' recent book is as dangerous a signal for Liverpool as Didi Hamann fears, and relay the views of our favourite Argentine football writer on the signing of Darwin Nuñez. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shane Lowry is back in the winner's circle for the first time since his Open victory at Royal Portrush in 2019, courtesy of a faultless Sunday performance at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth yesterday.  He was pushed all the way by Rory McIlroy, who fell literally an inch short of forcing a playoff - we talk to Malachy Clerkin about Shane's lovely habit of winning big tournaments, why Shane described this as one for "the good guys", and why human rights have disappeared from the PGA/LIV war of words.  We try and find out, as Malachy wrote a few weeks ago, if Rory is the most underrated person in Irish sport. There's also Terry Kennedy, Georgie Best, and why is Garth so big in Monaghan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Champions League is back, Thomas Tuchel has been shown the door and friend of the show, Rory Smith of the New York Times has a new book out on the data revolution in football... That means lots of football on the World Service this week, and lots of good reasons to sign up now. Join us for ad-free, member-led broadcasting for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shane Walsh made his debut for Kilmacud Crokes in the Dublin senior football championship, and his new club sent a message to every other club in the country with a powerful display. If they were a county, would they win Division 3? But it was salt of the earth Dublin GAA man Eoin McDevitt making impassioned calls for one young footballer to put his life on hold to give back to his community today - as retired Dub Paul Mannion put on a clinic.Nick Kyrgios has the star power to keep the celebrities coming to Flushing Meadows after Serena departed the scene over the weekend, and Ciara Mageean finally gets the better of Laura Muir. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

VAR will be good, they said. It will reduce the amount of time people waste pointlessly arguing over wrong decisions, they said.Ever mindful of the wants and needs of our listeners we tried not to do too much VAR talk today but after a weekend like that it's not easy.Mark Critchley was at Old Trafford to see Erik ten Hag's clinical Manchester United end Arsenal's 100% start.And after Celtic's 4-0 win against Rangers, Kieran Canning talks to us about their fantastic form heading into tomorrow night's Champions League match against Real Madrid. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service which includes Ken on grammar, Caitlin on Serena's secret sauce, Murph on losers and Pep's machine gun dilemma. Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. It takes less than two minutes to set up, there’s no contract, no obligations and no hidden fees.1 Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory McIlroy became the first 3-time winner of the FedEx Cup last night, chasing down the world number 1 Scottie Scheffler who held a 6-shot lead going into the final round. But what’s the difference between the 18.5 million dollars Rory won last night and the Saudi money on offer in LIVgolf? There’s also Damien Delaney’s dad’s hurling exploits for Cork, Paul Galvin in Leap last week, and why watching a brilliant sportsperson mentally implode is so enjoyable. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spurs suffering, Arsenal allegedly overcelebrating, Richarlison’s swift justice, Steven Gerrard’s brow scrunching up ever more tightly – season 22-23 is boiling up nicely. Thankfully we can still say: nobody beats Mark Travers ten times in one game.We also dissect the Sunday Times’ inside story of the Cristiano Ronaldo-Man United stand off.Lars Sivertsen and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend action. Is Haaland showing up the Premier League? Why are Aston Villa fans so angry with Steven Gerrard? And will Antony prove cheap at the price? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthony Joshua had a couple of things he wanted to get off his chest after he lost a split decision to Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night - listeners wanted Ken's thoughts, and Ken is more than happy to provide them. It was a brilliant European athletics championships for Ireland, with Ciara Mageean and Mark English both winning medals on the track, and we have a new Dublin hurling manager in Micheál Donoghue, who won an All-Ireland title with Galway in 2017. And we also have Pat Kenny's thoughts on the soundtrack to the long, hot summer of 2022.  Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesse Marsch is winning points faster than friends in the Premier League as hard-running Leeds make a lot of other managers look bad.  After Casemiro's tearful Real Madrid farewell, we debate whether his signing is a good idea for Man United. Meanwhile there are hints of trouble in paradise as Jurgen Klopp points out he's not in charge of deciding how much Liverpool spend on midfielders.  John Brewin and Miguel Delaney join us to talk over the weekend's action. Did they enjoy the spectacle laid on by Saudi v UAE? Has Gabriel Jesus brought Man City's culture with him to Arsenal or is he playing so well because he's left it behind? Are Spurs' title-contending credentials looking less convincing after their midfield struggles against Chelsea and Wolves? And why have Tuchel's Chelsea lost control? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

There were contrasting weekends for the two stars of last month’s All-Ireland senior football final as Fossa’s David Clifford got mobbed by tiny pitch invaders so cute even Ken couldn’t have a problem with them, while Kilkerrin-Clonberne's Shane Walsh was at a wedding as his club secured a dramatic win over Headford. Paul O’Donovan's unstoppable march to becoming by-common-consent Ireland’s greatest ever sportsperson continued this week at the European Championships - so what the hell is Murph complaining about?And with Jamie Vardy now being linked to Manchester United, does the transfer committee at Old Trafford now include… every Twitter user on the planet? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

The weekend marking the 30th anniversary of the Premier League belonged to Graeme Souness who declared after watching Chelsea 2-2 Spurs that "we've got our football back."We argue about what that means and whether this new direction is likely to lead anywhere good.Laurie Whitwell and Dion Fanning join us to talk about the weekend's football. Should fights between managers become a more regular PL staple? And what's the fallout at Man United after their 4-0 thrashing at Brentford?  Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our weekly taster of the Second Captains World Service which includes Ken on goal hatching, poor Bernardo Silva, US Murph on the Irish-American broadcast poet, and rugby's uncomfortable conversation. Join for a fiver a month at secondcaptains.com/join. It takes less than two minutes to set up, there’s no contract, no obligations and no hidden fees. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

The GAA's first foray into using a ref-mic was a resounding success on tg4 yesterday (as exclusively revealed by Frances Murphy during her TV guide on Friday), and we had a thrilling, tense, physical, All-Ireland camogie final this weekend as well. If we're playing rugby league commentary on this show then you better believe it has an extremely high "northern English people shouting at each other" quotient. And we've further proof that Xhosa commentary is the best rugby union comms around. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

City's midfield made the passes, Erling Haaland scored the goals, and all is rosy in their garden, once Guardiola gets used to his new job as a guy who talks about the younger Haaland for a living.Elsewhere it appears the Premier League has rolled out interesting new rules which mean lots of random fouls are no longer fouls. Will this encourage the fast-flowing furious football we all crave?Jonathan Wilson and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to analyse the weekend's football. Are there any obvious solutions to Man United's problems in the short term? How did Gavin Bazunu get on at Spurs? And just what are PL defenders supposed to do about Haaland? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.