Second Captains @ The Irish Times

So looking back, Sergio, what have you learned from your experiences with Real Madrid? Well, that's a tricky question, Terry. But as I always say, we skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor...Sergio Ramos' Twitter self-interview provides some light relief after a more-than-averagely violent and chaotic weekend of football. It's a problem football hasn't spent much time thinking about lately: how can fans be dissuaded from invading the pitch and attacking the players? Also today, we speak to Rory Smith about his NYT interview with Raheem Sterling and the media's role in fuelling racism and prejudice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Ciara Mageean sat down to record an episode of The Players Chair with Richie Sadlier last year, she was coping with changing coach, living in England, and trying to put disappointment behind her. We're delighted to catch up with her today to talk about her bronze in the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow last night. Tommy Walsh is experiencing a third coming in the Kerry football team - 11 years after bursting onto the scene as a teenager, and 4 years after failing to make any impact on his return from Australia. It's been one of the stories of the NFL this year, and his club manager Mike Quirke is on the line to tell us what's changed. Plus there's Ken's by-now obligatory near-death experience while abroad, we reveal the exclusive audio of the moment Peter O'Mahony asked Joe Schmidt if he and the boys could have a few beers, and the abomination in Ulster schools Gaelic football that had the country talking. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ken is back from Australia and Eoin is back from Premier Sports to talk about the weekend's football.Jurgen Klopp's tetchy responses after Liverpool's draw at Everton suggest that some of those questions about whether they took enough risk in the game were a bit too close to the bone. Meanwhile City shrugged off more Football Leaks revelations to cruise past Bournemouth and retake the lead. How does this weekend affect the balance of the title race psychodrama? And why would neutrals rather see Liverpool choke than City?Also today, Dermot Corrigan joins us from the Real Madrid training ground to discuss how the European champions are taking a week off being dominated by Barcelona at their own stadium. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Just what is going on with Ireland? It might seem a strange question to ask after a weekend that saw England beaten, Ireland win their second game in a row, and secure their first bonus point of the tournament - but that's where we are. Shane Horgan is starting to get a little worried, and he's on the line to share his concerns. Ireland might just be trying too hard to force the issue. But when the brilliance of the New Zealand performance is still so fresh in the memory, it's hard not to be frustrated at the sheer number of elementary mistakes being made. Wales legend Jonathan Davies is on the line to tell us just how good people in Wales are feeling after their monumental performance in taking down England on Saturday - a game that showcased all the glorious madness of the 6 Nations. And while Congress was for the most part, deathly dull, there was one decision that rankled - Dublin will continue to be allowed play 2 games in Croke Park this year. There's a lot of blame to go around regarding this situ

The moment when Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to come off at the end of yesterday's Carabao Cup final might have been sadly indicative of the insanity of Chelsea's dressing-room, but Eoin McDevitt believes it might have more widespread implications for the game as a whole - was yesterday the day the lunatics took over the asylum? Miguel Delaney found himself in the heart of the action yesterday as he interviewed and interpreted for the young Spanish goalkeeper after the game, and we're also joined by Dion Fanning and Jonathan Wilson. And as you'd expect, Jonathan has an example from the dim and distant football past... and the story is peak Jonathan Wilson. Kepa's run-in with his manager overshadowed Jordan Henderson's own mini-strop on the sideline after Jurgen Klopp took him off, but what's going on with Liverpool? They failed to fire again against a severely-understrength Man United. Plus there's Eoin vs Kinger, at least Chelsea's PR unit are a team, and as football tears itself apart o

New slots including McTepid, Irish Scapegoats Of Days Gone By and Nesbitt's Lonely planet emerged this week but that hasn't helped Eoin's ego after once again he was made to look a fool by one of our rugby pundits.We had loads of Champions league analysis, Damien Delaney on managers losing the dressingroom, previews for Man Utd v Liverpool, 6N talk, and Pep gets the "where did you get it all SO wrong" treatment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Limerick ended 2018 as All-Ireland champions for the first time in 45 years, and they've started 2019 in menacing fashion - beating Wexford away before hammering Tipperary and Kilkenny in successive games. Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times, and former Limerick captain Donal O'Grady are on the show trying to figure out if Limerick are going all-out for league glory, or if it's a case of them water-skiing on the good vibes of last August. And we discuss Jackie Tyrrell's assertion that they're not in the top 3 teams in the country - gross blasphemy, or something even worse than that? We had a brilliant chat with Howard Bryant about his book "The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism" late last year, and he's back on the show today to talk to us about the news that Colin Kaepernick has settled his collusion lawsuit against the NFL. Plus Murph reveals that some of his best friends are from Clare, we pay homage to Ken's hurling nous, and Stuart Barnes throwing petrol-bombs.

It's shaping up to be a big week for Jurgen Klopp, as his Liverpool team meet the challenge of Bayern Munich, a team Klopp has had reason to be at logger heads with over the years. Simon Hughes of the Independent joins us to talk about why Klopp so angered Bayern during his time with Dortmund, his relationship with Uli Hoeness, the loss of Virgil, and why a draw might not be such a bad result tomorrow night for Liverpool. We also talk to James Montague, author of the brilliant "The Billionaires Club", about the story of Bahrainian footballer Hakeem Al Araibi, who was saved from deportation and possibly death by a global movement led by former Australian Socceroos captains Craig Foster. Plus there's #JadoreInchicore, Ken's Kastaway, Klopp sings, why a German curse can equal Irish good luck, and we launch German indie week. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Expect the worst says Eoin, after having his Irish heart crushed by England's Declan Rice. Ken explains this whole sorry saga via a Valentine's message.Pat Kenny has some good clean fun for you all.And we have a teaser for Richie Sadlier's latest Player's Chair interview with Ireland's most decorated and most capped player of all time, the legendary Emma Byrne. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eoin questioned the wisdom of Maurizio Sarri berating his players in public a couple of weeks back - today he informs us that in their last 3 away games since he said those words, they've conceded 1.2% of their entire premier league goals against. Dion Fanning and Jonathan Wilson are on hand to discuss just how doomed Sarri is, and whether the only thing saving him is Roman Abramovich's new-found disinterest in the Chelsea project. They also discuss whether the clamour for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to get the Manchester United job for keeps is now too loud to ignore, or if the games in the next 3 weeks against Paris Saint Germain and Liverpool will give us all a much better idea of his capabilities. Plus there's Brian Clough, Gary Crosby, and apologetic punch-recipients. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ireland picked up their first win of the 2019 Six Nations on Saturday, but it was pretty hard sledding for most of Saturday. Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley are on hand to adjudicate on where we stand after two games. England's points bonanza against the woeful French means the title might be beyond us already, but does that give us free rein to experiment with the World Cup in mind? What are we learning from our hesitancy and nervousness in recent weeks? And is there any other option for Johnny Sexton but to stand where he stands and take the punishment he got again at the weekend? We salute the rebirth of Gaelic football, the most entertaining sport on the planet, Jimmy Nesbitt makes a welcome return to our hearts and minds, and we have a new French cliché for the world to adopt. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Essence of Second Captains World Service - Noah McDevitt is only three weeks old but he needs a win this weekend. Eoin explains. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ireland had an extraordinary 2018, but in their first game of the 2019 6 Nations, their back-to-back Grand Slam dream came crashing down around them. They were out-fought out-thought, and out-kicked by a brilliant England team. Is it time to press the panic button? No, says Eoin Reddan - and there's a chance we learn quite a bit from this humbling experience. Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times, Simon and Murph all try and make sense of it. Plus there's proud Preston, unreasonable expectations, widespread navel gazing, and looking ahead to Scotland. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Manchester City kept the pressure on Liverpool by beating Arsenal while Manchester United continued their resurgence under The Sunshine Man. Rory Smith was at the Etihad to see Manchester City defeat Arsenal. Is Guardiola overthinking it? What happens when managers want to prove points rather than win them? And why do teams seem to find it so difficult to enjoy the process of winning a title?Andy Hunter joins us to talk about where things have gone so horribly wrong for City's next opponents, Everton. How have they managed to spend £300m on players in less than two years and end up with this? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have a whiff of the Second Captains musk - from Donnacha Ryan to Mike Tindall to US Murph on the Super Bowl, to Premier League fright nights.... its been a hell of a week. Join the world service for daily shows, Richie Sadlier's Player's Chair, top class interviews and to observe Ken's continuing loyalty to David Luiz - at secondcaptains.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a rough start to the GAA season on Saturday night, when it briefly looked as if Castlebar's MacHale Park might be blown away for the opening match of the Allianz National Football League. A hurricane of a different sort ripped through Clones on Sunday however, as Monaghan turned a 6-point deficit into a 3-point win against the reigning league and championship winners Dublin. Their captain Colin Walshe joins us on the line to talk must-win moments, super subs and offensive marks. If the men's final at the Australian Open sounded like a pairing that could have happened in 2009, then the women's final would've sounded impossible even this time last year. Caitlin Thompson of Racquet Magazine joins us to talk about Naomi Osaka's back story, apologies and back to back grand slams, Petra Kvitova's return from getting stabbed in the hand, the great Novak Djokovic mystery and why variety beats dominance.Plus there's the Blair Witch Project, motion sickness, Long Hug Therapy, Eoin McDevitt Junior, and Derek

It was another FA Cup weekend, so today's football show is mainly about Luke Kelly. David Sneyd wrote about Kelly's links to Irish football in yesterday's Mail on Sunday and he joins us to discuss it further in studio today. We also talk about the former Ireland coaching dream team reuniting at Nottingham Forest.It was a particularly big weekend for journalism, with Hugh McIlvanney's death reminding us of an old world that is vanishing, and Jesse Lingard's triumphant few days showing us the way ahead. We talk about other pundits including Neil Francis, Ruud Gullit and the email marketing consultant who annoyed Andros Townsend.Plus there's McViolence, village elders, Germans importing English flair, Ole Gunnar Sunshine and Fergie on journalism. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

January is a long, cold month, and sometimes the only thing for it is to wrap up warm, hunker down by the fireside, and download a podcast or two. Ken and Murph talk you through what you missed on this week's Second Captains World Service - as we hear why Kerry are no longer contenders for the All-Ireland football championship, 40 is NOT elderly, and why football is still an integral part of Leave-Voting Britain's identity. And we have US Murph on the Superbowl, Neymar's foot, a sneak and a Player's Chair interview with Steven Reid, as we discover Richie Sadlier was not always the bastion of common-sense he is these days... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a very, very satisfying weekend for Irish sports fans, with one of our most beloved sports-people Shane Lowry back in the winner's enclosure after a dramatic one-shot win at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on Saturday morning. Having led by three going into the final round, he found himself 4 shots back on the 12th tee before making three birdies to win by a shot - and he joins us on the show to discuss how he was determined not to relive the mistakes of the US Open in 2016 when he found himself in a similar position. And we look back at the seamless progression of all 4 provinces into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup, with Gerry Thornley and Tom English. Leinster face Ulster, Munster must travel to Edinburgh, and Connacht have to play Sale yet again in their quarter-final - but it was another impressive weekend of Irish muscle-flexing on the European stage. Plus there's yet more Eddie Jones updates, Ken's latest impressions, and the world's greatest sports co-commenta

It seems a little early for the Premier League run-in jitters, but Liverpool were made to sweat for their 4-3 win over Crystal Palace. Mo Salah is the fall-guy, but why has everyone conveniently forgotten about Andy Robertson's handball in the build-up to what turned out to be the winning goal? James Horncastle joins us to discuss Maurizio Sarri, who launched the calmest ever verbal broadside against his own players after their 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday evening. Of the 3 rats that downed Mourinho's sinking ship, only 1 remains, but there are still plenty of problems for him to contend with, including the plodding Jorginho, who has failed thus far to impress many, including Rio Ferdinand. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may now be the Man United backstop, but has he done enough to be seen as the favourite for the job full-time now? Thierry Henry might be out of his job soon too at Monaco, while Neymar suffers baby heart-break with PSG. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.