The Second Captains Podcast

Your World Service taster menu features, this week, a platter of football for your gorging pleasure. Man Utd, Martinez, Man City, and Haaland's moral core.

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George Gibney was yesterday sentenced to 15-and-a-half years in jail for the sexual abuse of four girls in the 1970s and 1980s, bringing to an end a decades-long fight for justice.

Two of the survivors from the 1990's case against Gibney join us in studio today, and they are very familiar to listeners of our “Where Is George Gibney?” podcast. Ber Carley and Tric Kearney stood behind Orla Poole, one of the complainants in the current case, as she waived her anonymity and delivered a powerful statement to the assembled media on the steps of the Cent...

Leinster are back at the RDS, and notwithstanding some teething problems (no scoreboard, floodlights blinding their out-half, 40 minutes without scoring), they cruised to a win over Cardiff in front of a capacity crowd.

Munster and Ulster played out a thrilling draw of questionable quality on Saturday night, but both teams will have regrets about not getting the win.

Erstwhile RDS kingpin Shane Horgan and former Connacht schemer-in-chief Jack Carty are with us to pick apart where the Irish provinces are ahead of the start of the European Rugby Champions Cup this weekend.

A crushing win for Manchester City at Anfield, who went a man up in the second half then tore Andoni Iraola's scufflers to pieces. A beaming Enzo Maresca hailed his players and supporters for creating a big noise of their own to counteract all the noise the hater media has been making since City were found guilty of the biggest cheating scandal in the history of English football.

City fans certainly looked like they were enjoying it - though according to the Manchester press, the situation is more complicated than it perhaps appears.

...

On this week's Second Captains World Service we discussed Maresca’s blind faith in Man City, how the Liverpool and City fans will react on Sunday and Ken and Branno headed off to the Garvaghy Road in Armagh to ask what defines “a long time ago”?

Plus there's Ronaldo's rant, Ireland under 21's beating England, all the young dudes in Irish rugby and next week we review Liverpool V City, the Rovers run-in is getting salty and the European Rugby Champions Cup is back.

To listen to all our programming throughout the rest of the...

Galway is one of only two counties to have won an All-Ireland football title with an outside manager, and they’re endeavouring to do it again with the unveiling on Saturday morning of their new manager, Kerry legend Eamonn Fitzmaurice.

Dara Ó Cinnéide played with him for years, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t fundamentally opposed to the appointment, notwithstanding the diamond Galway have gotten for themselves as he tells us on today’s show.

And Murph is punching up for a change, as he takes aim at the no-doubt extremely worried Ma...

After what at times came to seem like an eternity this international window has finally shut. Ireland ended their four match run with five points leaving them third in the table. But, bar a Troy Parrott goal for the ages, these last few weeks will be remembered long into the future for the debate off the field and the rancour inside press conference rooms, more of which occurred this weekend.

We chat to Ken from northern Serbia before he high-tails it for Belgrade and home.

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Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs. This week on the world service, amid a flood of football stories, we got stuck into Sham City.

We had a deep chat with Richie Sadlier about squad dynamics and player relations, given all that's gone down in this international window.

Dion Fanning was in studio today talking about Oireachtas soundbites and Heimir V media.<...

… And now some news from the Premier League. It was revealed last Friday that Manchester City are set to be found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges laid against them by the Premier League, which could quite possibly be the biggest story in the history of English football.

Miguel Delaney of the Independent is with us today to talk about sanctions, appeals and club compensation. We also talk to Archie Rhind-Tutt about the start of the Jurgen Klopp era in charge of Germany.

And there is, unfortunately, an unseemly spat about barber etiquette.

After the most dramatic, most divisive day in Irish football for a quarter-century… a football game. Gavin Bazunu was not a part of the Irish squad, Ireland bowed their heads for the Israeli anthem, no handshakes were exchanged, but the game happened, and Ireland went and won it 3-0.

Ken was in Debrecen to see this calamitous week through to its conclusion.

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We already knew this was going to be an international football week unlike anything we’d ever experienced and the sight of the Ireland football manager accepting the support of the Taoiseach over derogatory comments made about him by another country’s football association brought it into even sharper focus. We cover all that on the World Service this week, but we also wanted to get a broader view on these games against Israel so we got in touch with Ilan Pappe, an Israeli historian living in the UK and working as a professor with the College of Social Scie...

A rabble-rousing weekend in the PL saw Keith Andrews and Fabian Hurzeler humble the Basque Premier League princes. But when Brighton and Brentford smash one of the big teams, who really deserves the credit? 

We discuss why Wirtz is probably not gonna make it at Liverpool, before John Brewin and Nick Ames join us to talk about Brighton's thrashing of Arsenal, Manchester United strolling to a point at Fulham, and whether football really should be all about running. 

We also hear Sir Big Jim's latest views on some issues tangentially related to carbon di...

The rule changes made by Jim Gavin's Football Review Committee have dramatically improved/changed the game of Gaelic football forever. Now hurling wants a piece of that pie.

But why would "the greatest sport ever played by any man" want to change at all? Jamie Wall joins us to discuss hand passing, rucks and sideline cuts.

Branno was in Dalymount on Friday to see Bohs score late in a thrilling win over Drogheda to keep their title hopes alive, and with Pats and Rovers also winning, its shaping up to be a great...

In this week's best of show, you'll hear part of our interview with FAI Director of Football, John Martin, on why the FAI has committed to playing our Nations League games against Israel, Ken on teenage phenom JJ Gabriel's decision that he wants out at Man United at only 15 years old, and our football correspondent humbly reminds his audience of his towering stature. 

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The Premier League season labours past week 4 with a sense that things are yet to fully ignite - but the recently rebranded Pro Ref, formerly known as PGMOL, has hit its stride by issuing their first apology of the season. 

After a weekend dominated by the referees, it seems a good moment to welcome to the pod William Ralston, author of a new book about refereeing: "The Impossible Job - The Truly Unbelievable World of Football Referees."

What kind of person becomes a referee? Why do they do it? What makes a good o...

From the Air Force One fly-by to the Chinook helicopters to the talk on Irish unity to chants of "four more years" in the Doonbeg clubhouse, it was as strange a weekend as Irish sport has ever seen.

None of it bothered Shane Lowry, who put in a stunning 4 days of golf to beat the field by a record margin of 11 shots. Gavin Cooney was there to witness the chaos and the golf and he joins us in studio today.

Plus there's whiskey-washing, empty promises, Solheim celebrations and golf loves Trump.

...

The English teams have been tearing it up in the Champions League so far this week. We chatted to Lars Sivertsen about Martin Ødegaard’s blistering early-season form and signs that adoption of tactics long-favoured at Arsenal and Manchester City might be helping Liverpool turn a corner under Andoni Iraola?

The Parrott theme was strong throughout the week given he's scored the winner in the last two game. Ken was irked by some beak/peck errors on Real Betis' social media accounts and the commentary of TNT's Jonathan Pearce.

We also covered Mary McAl...

82,000 in the stadium and 1.6m watching on RTE - there's never been an event like this in Irish sport.

We look back on a mesmerising but surreal evening in Croke Park with Sinead O'Carroll and Malachy Clerkin. We discuss Katie's insights on Katie', grabbing the mic, how boxing was always the easy bit, and if she is 100% definitely retiring.

Plus there's Westlife, the Croker crowd, seeing both sides of boxing, walk-on music and doing it her way.

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For players new to La Liga, there's no better way to get people's attention than scoring the winner against Real Madrid. Betis Troy has lift-off - but did he really RAM Jose Mourinho's historic quotes back down his throat, or is it possible that the interpersonal rivalry element of this story has been exaggerated for dramatic purposes? 

We talk about Arsenal's dominant victory against Chelsea, and why, despite Michael Carrick's words, it shouldn't be much consolation for Manchester United that Everton's two goals were miracle-strikes. 

Miguel Delaney joins us to talk about Arsenal-Chelsea and...

It’s been a hell of a week on the World Service - Ken is  back - Katie build-up has been emotional - And on top of all that, we’ve made friends within Hector Bellerin!

Plus there was transfer window madness, and today one of Germany’s most respected football writers, Christoph Biermann, joined us to talk about his new book: Game Theory: How Luck and Analytics shape football.

Next week we have the Champions League, we will review Troy V Jose and Katie's fight, plus there's Trump's trip to Doonbeg and a few bi...

We welcome former world champ and one of the best coaches and boxing analysts in the world, Andy Lee into studio. Andy has coached Katie, has fought on the same card as her, and was in London for her moment of Olympic glory.

Ken took a look at who has moved, and more importantly, who hasn’t, on the final day of the transfer window, and how a butterfly flapping its wings creates an angry fan on the other side of the world.

To listen to all our programming throughout the rest of th...

Week two of the Premier League season has concluded - and SC’s football correspondent has finally deigned to check in. Ken explains his absence and reports on his activities. 

We follow Troy Parrott’s quest to establish himself at Ireland’s new pet club, Real Betis. Some unduly harsh reviews of his full debut remind us that Spain is traditionally a difficult feeding ground for number 9s. 

We talk about the spiralling inflation in the Premier League transfer market. How can this be explained? Is it new accounting rules? Too much money chasing...

It’s been a daft week here on Second Captains with a stonking opener to Premier League season, Troy Parrott making his La Liga debut, the biggest, fastest, strangest sale in sports franchise history, and Glasgow Celtic flaming out of the Champions League.

Next week is even tastier with Katie Taylor's historic fight in Croker and more importantly, the return of Ken Early!

To listen to all our programming, go to secondcaptains.com/join There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spoti...

Troy Parrott could be in line to make his La Liga debut tomorrow night in the Mestalla and we have some hot off the press Manuel Pelligrini quotes about competition for places and where he sees his new striker fitting in.

Last week Rory McIlroy finished third last at the St. Jude Championship, 25 shots behind the winner Scottie Scheffler. This weekend at the BMW Championship he came within three holes of winning the whole thing. All aboard the Rory-Coaster!

We chat to Mal Clerkin about Rory's very patchy season, golf beefs, the need for more...

The opening weekend of the Premier League had a bit of everything - surprise results, late goals, Newcastle/Liverpool and big-spending Spurs.

We chat to Richard Jolly, who was in St James Park to witness the Keegan tribute, and Lars Sivertsen about United getting mauled by Hull, Spurs' damaging defeat, Villa getting hammered by Brighton and Arsenal in cruise control.

Plus there's the Irish men of Brentford, Duff gets glazed, Kenny's glasses and Haaland's haircut.

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Welcome to our weekly Second Captains world service taster! Troy's move to Betis has lit up our lives in the last few days as we dream of press trips to Seville, watching him play in the Champions League, taking those Spanish smarts back to Ireland camp - It really is the perfect move. We also have the Premier League to look forward to, which looks more unpredictable than ever. We chatted to Rory Smith and Dion Fanning about the power vacuum in the league now that Pep is gone.

We have more Premier League next week...

A week that will live long in the memory concluded yesterday with Ireland coming away from the Birmingham track and the Parisian pool with an incredible haul of nine medals.

We reflect on Kate’s medal rampage and how she’s set for the Olympics, Corcoran’s perfect timing, Rhasidat’s fresh mindset and English’s glory with Cathal Dennehy and Sonia O'Sullivan.

The River Liffey's Paul O'Flynn reminds us of someone and a hero of Giants Stadium salutes a rising track star.

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The Community Shield has never lied to us yet, so what exactly should we make of Arsenal 3-0 Manchester City?  

Gavin Cooney is with us to say goodbye to Man City, and to crown Arsenal as back-to-back champions.  Is Elliot Anderson worth 116 million quid, or is his now-teammate Erling Haaland correct?  Martin Odegaard looks like he's got his swagger back, and Declan Rice is back for another year in the salt-mines.  

Plus there's Capitalist Gaels, the Jeff Bezos era looms at Liverpool, and Cup specialists St Pats completing Rovers' rough week.  

Mon...

Man United and Leeds selling out the home of the GAA, James McClean's Derry disaster, our lust for glory medal charge at the European swimming and athletics championships, the dog whisperer, trying to figure out who blew up the Nordstream Pipeline… it’s been another wild week of podcasting on the Second Captains World Service.

To listen to all our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website...

The warring football confederations of the world have once again spent the weekend slinging statements at one another. But is Gianni Infantino’s position substantively any worse than it was this time last week?

We look at some of the pre-publicity for the new Jose Mourinho Netflix documentary and wonder how we have come to such a pass that Mourinho can be considered ‘old school’.

There’s also more on why Vini Jr would have been better off joining Arsenal, and a new clutch of billionaires wanting to buy a chunk of the Premier League.

H...

The warring football confederations of the world have once again spent the weekend slinging statements at one another. But is Gianni Infantino’s position substantively any worse than it was this time last week?

We look at some of the pre-publicity for the new Jose Mourinho Netflix documentary and wonder how we have come to such a pass that Mourinho can be considered ‘old school’.

There’s also more on why Vini Jr would have been better off joining Arsenal, and a new clutch of billionaires wanting to buy a chunk of the Premier...

Camogie is in it’s “Let It Flow” era, and it made for a hell of a game between Cork and Galway, two sides that keep meeting in finals and two sides that.... straight up don’t like each other.

We chat to friend of the show Sinead O’Carroll of The Journal about Cork's narrow win, the beef between these two and the levels of physicality in the game now.

Plus there's Branno's fruit theory, Galway in finals, Seamus Coleman's GAA career and Irish athletics fans are denied their McPhillips - English showdown.<...

This week on the Pod the curious World of FIFA continued to unravel before our eyes. To help guide us through the labyrinth, experienced FIFA-ologist Sam Kunti joined us to chat Infantino and possible contenders for the throne.

To listen to all of our programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lot...

This week on the Pod the curious World of FIFA continued to unravel before our eyes. To help guide us through the labyrinth, experienced FIFA-ologist Sam Kunti joined us to chat Infantino and possible contenders for the throne.

To listen to all our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politic...

Galway are All-Ireland women’s football champions for 2026, ending a 22-year wait for their second title, but the result was in doubt right until the final whistle. And earlier in the weekend, 10,000 miles away, a collection of Ireland’s best gaelic footballers were taking on the best Australian AFLW players in a first international Aussie Rules match.

Five-time All-Ireland winner Noelle Healy, and one of Ireland’s star players Vikki Wall are with us to discuss last-minute controversies, the lacklustre final at the end of a positive season, and representing your country in front of a packed...

You'd have thought Gianni Infantino’s rambling, incoherent, self congratulatory instagram post to all the losers and haters out there would have been the main FIFA story of the week, but he has trumped it by unveiling a plan to sell the World Cup to private investors. Ken explained why selling the soul of football to American businessmen is bad for everyone involved in the game.

We also chatted to Tariq Panja of the NYT about how likely this is to happen and who can stop Infantino.

Mayo's All Ireland triumph dominated the wee...

Given their underdog status, the weight of history and the Clifford factor, how did Mayo pull this off?

We chat to Paul Flynn and Dara Ó Cinnéide about Moran's masterplan, teenage kicks, Mayo's energy edge and a sensational display from Ryan O'Donoghue.

Was this the greatest football season ever? Was this better than the World Cup? And what data did Ken utilise in order to predict a Mayo win?

Plus there's Cubs caps, Coyne's calling and "be more Mayo".

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75 years, the curse, the finals, all those heroes denied ... until yesterday, it finally happened, Mayo are the All Ireland Champions!

This morning Murph caught up with Kobe McDonald, Jordan Flynn and manager Andy Moran.

We discuss the greatest ever day in Croker, the many Hollywood moments and the reality living up to the dream.

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This week on the Pod marked the return of Ken from the New World and with him he brings tales of Argentinian conspiracy theories. We also had Gavin Cooney drop by to chat about the legacy of Kevin Keegan.

To listen to all of our programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast...

Galway wanted it to be one way, but it was the other way. Limerick are All-Ireland champions for the sixth time in nine years, and they were seldom troubled by an opposition that were outplayed, outfought and outgunned.

Jamie Wall and Joe Canning talk us through how Limerick came good on All-Ireland final day - again; the ageless brilliance of their best players, the new blood coming through, and why they’re still the ultimate challenge.

Plus we discuss the one happy Galway man yesterday, Kiely’s finals record, and facing not chasing.