LOI Central

After a week with a news cycle dominated by European ties, Stephen Kenny's new dawn and bizarre goings on at Dundalk, we welcome two guests with some experience of all of the above. Mark Rossiter and Ciaran Kilduff discuss the Kenny factor, what Dundalk have lost, and how the Shamrock Rovers players will feel about their AC Milan opportunity. Killer also discusses life at Shelbourne and shared experiences with Gary Deegan, while Rossi breaks down Sligo's improvement and also reflects on his role in the Bohemians and Wolves friendly that set Matt Doherty off on the road towards stardom.

We're back after a week of high drama and Paul Corry joins Johnny and Dan to pick through Dundalk's journey from Perth to Italy, the lessons of the European results so far and what we can expect from Rovers and Bohs tomorrow. Dan talks with Andre Wright about Bohs' trip to Hungary, Johnny wrestles with his emotions around John Caulfield's Galway arrival and we hear snippets from the League of Ireland's Big Fil - Filippo Giovagnoli - about what he's got to offer during his kamikaze mission

Dundalk's Champions League campaign ended abruptly at the first hurdle and Johnny and Dan pick through the bones to ask what their exit says about where the club stands right now and where they go from here. We also have a lengthy chat with Alan Bennett about Cork's upturn in fortunes, the buzz of watching youngsters develop on their potential and the dynamic of being a 38-year-old veteran in a young man's league. Johnny also hears from Tim Clancy in the aftermath of a Drogheda win that prompted more upheaval at Galway.

This may be a year of restricted travel, but there's a global feel to this week's show. Sligo Rovers' South African born New Zealand international Ryan De Vries tells us about Japan, love, life, his roundabout route to The Showgrounds and his uncertain future (54:13). Conor McCormack reflects on almost a decade in the LOI, his Italian adventures and his favourite European experiences ahead of Derry's jaunt to Lithuania (25:30). And Dundalk's Patrick McEleney discusses his relief at getting back on the pitch ahead of a Champions League tie in Hungary against Slovenian opposition (09:02). There's all of that and the review and preview of a big week for Shamrock Rovers with a bit of live FAI Cup draw reaction thrown into the mix.

We've a busy show after a lively return to action. Dundalk's (sort of) new signing Dave McMillan joins us to discuss returning home from Scotland and opens up on the lessons of his time away and the differences between football in the two countries. Pain loving Gary Deegan talks to Dan in Donegal and we hear from Declan Devine on Derry's up and down resumption. There's also FAI politics fatigue, streaming reviews, Cork's loud suffering and whether it's too early for Johnny to call the league yet.

The LOI is back and LOI Weekly is weekly again. With our new sponsor, Lottoland, coming on board, we're returning to our audio roots for the rest of a season which has turned from a marathon into a sprint. Georgie Kelly joins us to discuss his move from Dundalk to St Pat's and Daire O'Connor (Cork), Rob Cornwall (Bohs) and Luke Byrne (Shelbourne) share their enthusiasm about the short road. Johnny and Dan are back under the same roof to discuss football without fans, the LOI's pandemic politics, new LOI directors, Euro dilemmas and a lot more besides.

We're back for another double header length episode, and two guests who had very different plans in mind at the start of the year. Ruaidhri Higgins joins us after the mid pandemic move from Dundalk's coaching team to Ireland's backroom staff and explains his special relationship with Stephen Kenny, the specifics of his new brief and why he realised early in his career that his top level ambitions would likely only be realised as a coach. Meanwhile, Padraig Amond joins us ahead of a round of golf with his season at Newport County over. The League of Ireland export reflects on Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers memories and encourages today's generation of players to be open to markets beyond England.

We're still in limbo about whether the League of Ireland 2020 season will return and the FAI's interim deputy CEO Niall Quinn is central to the attempts to try and make it happen. He joined the lads to discuss the health challenges, the financial risks, and the search for support to remove the concerns of clubs who feel they won't be able to afford a behind closed doors return. We hear about UEFA's stance, the First Division position and why waiting until 2021 could pose serious problems for the league's short and long term future. We also discuss the FAI's broader vision for the league, Ruud Dokter's role, the national underage leagues, All-Island league plans and more...

We're back with another bumper show, longer than your average FAI Cup final with the standard extra-time and penalty shootout, to pass away some lockdown time. Dan explains the thinking behind his Irish Indo list of the top 50 League of Ireland players 2000-2020, with Johnny offering his brief take on each selection before we bring in our special guests. Conan Byrne runs through the results of his poll on the all-time greats and puts forward flaws in Dan's thinking and admits the Covid-19 crisis could have an unexpected impact on his career. Then we are joined by high ranked stars Paddy McCourt and Stephen O'Donnell to discuss comparing eras, the attributes of the best players they encountered, and also get the lowdown on Stephen Kenny and Ruaidhri Higgins based on their shared experiences. We also discuss if it's possible to open minds to closed doors.

‘It might be a while before we are on the road again but we were joined for our latest lockdown production by Eoin Doyle who gave us an entertaining account of his journey through the League of Ireland en route to his career in England. Bus trips with Paul Cook and Pat Scully feature heavily and he also explains why plans to move home are on the backburner for now. We also catch up with referees Paul McLaughlin and Alan Patchell to learn what attracted them to the lifestyle and what they would change about it. Johnny and Dan also discuss Dundalk statements, Trump press conferences and much more besides.