The Second Captains Podcast

''The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function''. Did you know F Scott Fitzgerald was actually referring to Ken Early?After breaking the minds of many of our members with Friday's Oasis podcast, Ken and Branno today react to the backlash. Is it ok to have fun? Did Branno consume 2.5 pints? Who was being condescending to who? Do us humans even know what we want? And is it all the algorithm's fault?As the rest of the country was preparing to have the time of their lives at Oasis, Simon was geeking out on some Southern Hemisphere rugby as the apparently hopeless underdogs Australia came from 22-0 down against world champs South Africa to win in Ellis Park Johannesburg for the first time in 62 years. How did this happen? Can Australia now win the World Cup? Is Joe Schmidt a genius? And was this the result of the season for Andy Farrell? We talk to Tom Decent of the Sydney Morning Herald.And we have great news ahead of our live show in London on Wednesday September 24th - the special guest will be Arsenal legend Ian Wright! Go HERE for tickets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not for the first time this weekend, Ken wonders if he is going insane, as English football shows once again that it can never forgive a goalkeeper for getting fouled at a set-piece. We discuss Keith Andrews' harsh introduction to life as a head coach, the varied fortunes of a raft of new super-striker signings, and the Friday night match that led to Arne Slot having to negotiate a grilling live on TV with Jamie Carragher. Mark Critchley and Nick Ames join us to talk about Arsenal's 1-0 win at Old Trafford. Was this game oddly more encouraging for the losers than the winners? Viktor Gyökeres is currently undergoing the now-traditional internet hazing meted out to most new PL strikers - but are there signs he is going to struggle? And how might Arsenal reconfigure to get the best out of him?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hold onto your britches folks, cos things went a little wild on the world service this week what with the Premier League hype machine in full flow, daily Isak transfer tittle tattle, Shels getting their hearts broken and most importantly, the official launch of Kencall.And after a weird summer of club world cup dystopia and Ken getting high on X it is finally time for some good old fashioned actual Premier League football to watch and talk about, and we got two of the biggest brains in the biz, Rory Smith and Miguel Delaney, on the line our bumper preview show.Second Captains presenters and "some" world service Arsenal fans had a roller coaster relationship last season, but we extend a giant olive branch with our London live show special guest – it’s Arsenal legend and one of our favourite people in football, Ian Wright!!!! The show is on Wednesday September 24th at the Earth Theatre in Hackney, London. If you wanna be there to see Ian get onto secondcaptans.com/live and get your tickets. They're moving fast.Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to 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 Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’  ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a month of All-Ireland finals, we finally got a close one - and in the end, we got a surprise winner, too.  Cork were going for three-in-a-row, had beaten Galway by 11 points in the League final earlier this year, but had no answer to Galway's fast start, relentless physicality and last-minute heroics.  Dublin camogie captain Aisling Maher has had an eventful year, which started by leading the skorts strike, and she's on the line today with Sinead O'Carroll of The Journal to review yesterday's final, the new refereeing approach which has revolutionised camogie, and why we're still talking about integration.  We also discuss the worst Hawkeye referral in Croke Park's history, red cards, and why GAA players continue to be world leaders in spite.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack Grealish has gone to Everton on loan. We hope he finds meaning there. We try to understand why it never worked for him, with reference to some of the things Guardiola said in a surprisingly candid recent interview with GQ. Dion Fanning joins us to talk about the Community Shield, which saw the team with no new signings look more organised and dangerous than the team with €300 million worth. We also discuss the recent news that the FAI’s dream of a fully-aligned football calendar has effectively been abandoned, after the FAI confirmed that leagues who want to play winter football can apply for exemptions.What does the failure of the unified plan mean? And what are the likely implications for the FAI?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The momentum behind "No Prem Ken" is building as our football correspondent put in another stonking performance this week on the world service. Welcome to our best of show!We had Shels' shock win against the champions of Croatia, Man United rolling the transfer dice, football twitter madness, Son’s public display of emotion, the latest instalment of Inside Sir Big Jim, Infantino’s friends in high places and Orlagh Nolan on Dublin's masterclass against Meath, Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It’s dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join – there’s no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no adverts and we’re independent and Irish owned. Yoiu can listen on any good podcast app, on Spotify or on our website secondcaptains.com. Next week we will be previewing the Premier League, chatting to US Murph about bananas, looking ahead to Oasis and having all kinds of good clean fun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Lions return triumphant from the 2025 tour of Australia with a 2-1 series victory... but was that the bare minimum?  Shane Horgan and Gareth Rhys Owen of the BBC's Scrum V are on the show this Bank Holiday Monday to review why the Lions ran out of steam on Saturday's third test.  We discuss whether Andy Farrell returns to Ireland with his reputation enhanced, which Irish players have grown or wilted during this tour, and how good or bad this Australian team really are.  We also discuss how to spend a 30-minute storm delay, and the insane final moments of the fifth day of the fifth test between England and India which included some heroics from Woakes and an incredibly tight finish.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our world service best of show, and what a humdinger of a week it was with Tom Brady and Keith Andrews getting the reality tv treatment at Birmingham and Brentford, Ken chatting to QPR and Ireland's soundest man, Jimmy Dunne, the Lions tour exploding into life, and Jonathan Wilson taking the gloves off for some cricket chat.Plus there's question marks around the whole Newcastle/Saudi project, democratic dictator debates, ageism in football, the Rooster of Barcelos, and "word of the week".Sign up for 5 euro a month to hear all our shows. It’s dead easy, just go to secondcaptains.com/join – there’s no sign up fee, no sneaky add-ons, no contracts, no minimum stay, no ads and we’re independent and Irish owned. Next week we will be reviewing the women’s Euros, Kerry V Donegal, the Lions 2nd Test, and there will be the usual avalanche of football transfers, news and drama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England have won their second consecutive Euros, a Lionesses XI built out of different types of rocks and hard places ultimately proving too tough for Spain to break down.Today we learn about the lighter side of Sarina Wiegman, look at what England's win signifies in these exciting days for the meaning of Englishness, and reflect on the overall impact of Euro 2025. We also discuss the knock-on effects of Luis Diaz' transfer to Bayern, and whether top clubs' increasing fixation on 22 year olds is creating market opportunities for old foxes like David Moyes to exploit.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2025 All-Ireland senior football championship is finished and Kerry are worthy champions, again.  Two of the great GAA pundits, Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville, are in studio to discuss this magnificent season of gaelic football 2.0.  How did Kerry defuse the Donegal zonal defence? Where did they find their energy after losing to Meath 8 weeks ago? Is David Clifford even human?  We also examine Jim McGuinness’ performance and whether he was out-coached yesterday, and we look ahead to a bright future for the sport.And of course just because Eoin was off on Friday doesn’t mean he missed his chance to pay his respects to Hulk Hogan.  The balance is redressed in emphatic style today.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.