LOI Central

As Mister Sun makes a rare appearance, we say goodbye to an FAI chief and look at mythical leaks and manager rumours doing the rounds. On the back of Bohs' two wins we talk to James Akintunde after his winning goal and he tells us about hanging with his boys in Dunboyne. We delve into the Dundalk goal drought before heading to the chip vans around the grounds for Pot Noodles and reindeer burgers. There's underrated versus cult hero, Dan's holiday dilemma, the plight of small town clubs, and the subdued atmosphere at some of the grounds. On a weekend of big games ahead, it's Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff, Rascals Brewery and Lily's Childcare you've to thank for this light hearted, therapeutic look at the league. It's episode 10 and we're in it for the ride!

As Hildegarde whips up a storm in Leinster house, storms play havoc with pitches and we finally realise that 8 seasons of this malarkey is completely redundant in the face of the Damien Duff renaissance, there's a gloomy outlook to this weeks pod. Ciaran Kilduff drops in to our Oliver Marketing studio to dissect the big news story of Stephen O'Donnell's termination as well as turning down numerous job offers from Johnny to stay at Athlone. Our Collar and Cuff mailbag is full of your opinions on pitches, Dundalk and the identity of our American continuity announcer who just released a new album. There's a 'best finisher' debate, institutionalism in dressing rooms, the value of an away fan and when public conversations should be private. All of the round ups and previews are in partnership with our sponsors who now have grown to include Lily's Childcare along with the stalwarts of defence, Future Ticketing, Collar and Cuff and Rascals Brewery. It's episode 9 and its a wee bit later than normal..

March of many weathers hasn't really lived up to its reputation and the constant rain has left sodden pitches countrywide for an Easter double header. While Duffer, once he gets out of Johnny's head, bemoans the state of said pitches, and threatens to produce his own "straight story" on his Da's ride on, there's a missing interview and a catch up with Jon Daly and Ruaidhri Higgins before we welcome Barry Murphy and his geometric geographical analysis of when a goalkeeper is not a goalkeeper and when 53 degrees north of the penalty spot isn't spot on. In the Collar & Cuff mailbag the lads discuss the biggest LOI crowd this century and explain why 'These Are Days' we'll remember even though 10,000 maniacs weren't in attendance and offer their take on O'Donnell and why Dundalk needed a UCD this season. As Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff and Rascals Brewery continue to nonchalantly sign off on this pod we also ask whats more relevant than a Damien Duff nothing story, what's it like to be a number 2, and what is Bob Dylan whispering to Johnny's unborn child. The Times they are a-Changin' but episode 8 is just more of the same.

As Dan hails the end of the international break, Johnny has gone on an international break of his own, dialling in from France after a star studded flight. The lads discuss the big issues of the week, and go over some old ground from last week with the future of TV, Bohs and the FAI all on the agenda before we check in with Greg Sloggett to chat about the love story that brought him to League One. There’s also more than a word from our sponsors as Johnny chats with Future Ticketing’s Liam Holton about the growth of the LOI as we prepare for a league game to cross the 10,000 barrier this week. For the week that’s in it, there’s Easter egg analysis, mailbag homework, Treaty praise, Cronin reviews and Johnny breaking the news of his summer window arrival. With thanks to Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff and our festival friends at Rascals Brewing, your weekly dose of confused chemistry is right here.

TV or not TV, that is the question, well the question Johnny has for himself with the Red Zone now in doubt because the prospective host has decided the entire medium is irrelevant. We move on from that bombshell to invite a central character from recent breaking news with ex Bohs assistant manager Gary Cronin joining us in the Oliver studios. Top of the agenda is what changed at Bohemians during the winter, the late transfer arrivals, the role of the assistant and the realities of losing your job at League of Ireland level. In the general mailbag, we talk Dundalk's foreign legion, the Shel-bourne inspiration, and contrasts between 2014 and 2024 that go beyond the social media cesspits that will make the next generation of Kent Brockmans redundant.  In conjunction with Rascals Brewing, Future Ticketing and Collar and Cuff leave your pseudonyms at the door as we present the hot off the press, up to the minute, breaking news,  topical episode 6 and we've even added sound effects!

As Bohs start their hunt for a new manager, we bring in the league’s management to discuss the overall state of play with Mark Scanlon dropping by. Facilities, fireworks, Harry Kane's firestick and finance are on the agenda as positive becomes the new interesting in a mailbag aimed at our FAI guest. The broadcasting picture, pitch battles and the obstacles to a red zone also feature. Before that we discuss the next step for Bohs after Declan Devine’s exit, shoeless presenters, and the demands for a Gavin Molloy appreciation society. It's long, it's early and brought to you by Rascals, Collar & Cuff and Future Ticketing.

It's antsy managers ahoy in episode four, as we trawl through the Zapruder film of the rainy nights in stadiums around the country. At Tolka, Johnny caught up with one of the less antsy ones, John Caulfield, after Galway United's narrow defeat to league leaders Shelbourne. Our Collar and Cuff mailbag comes chock full of conspiracy theories, manager angst, goalkeeping concerns and refereeing observations from a grassy Donegal knoll. Johnny got his goalkeeper fix in too when he caught up with Conor Kearns from Shelbourne. Before Dan considers if the uncertain climate around goalkeepers has been created by an uncertain climate. Not afraid of tackling the big debates we look at where our LOI stoppers might feature in the Kinder Bueno v Dairy Milk equation, speculate on new gigs for special treats Roddy Collins and Stephen Kenny and wonder if there are any Robbie Williams’ out there that wouldn’t improve Dundalk’s flaky rearguard. It's one of THOSE episodes that continue to be sanctioned by the good folk at Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff and Rascals Brewery so even though the sky is a hazy shade of winter, put on your headphones in your room and enjoy what was a truly Manic Monday!

This week, with Johnny's job count at 8 (or is it 7?), we reunited two old friends who met as teenagers with no idea of the journey that lay ahead. Padraig Amond was the hurler under a different name from Carlow with football ambitions. Eoin Doyle was a ‘lunatic’ from Dublin with no idea that he could make a living from the game. But both these cats got the cream, one of them scoring versus Man City and the other playing for every club that wasn't in the Premier League. In our weirdest mailbag to date, the electronic telegrams are asking about the Pat Scully bus trip, Super Sundays with Paul Cook, flares of the non-trousered variety, and clock-watching on the pitch. The two lads delve into their formative years, from Crumlin days and Milk Cup adventures in the shadow of Anthony Stokes to learning the game with Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers. There's a £25 million deal, a couple of dumb country fellas and the pros and cons of making it as a latecomer. Late developers may be on topic this week, but after listening to what we've gotten for you in conjunction with Rascals, Future Ticketing and Collar & Cuff, like the crowds so far, we're way ahead of the curve.

Now that we've gotten our first week of games under the belt, we tackle the sophomore episode, which can be a bit troublesome but not this time. We have two recently retired league stalwarts in studio. Barry Murphy, once keeper of both Shamrock Rovers and Bohemian goals, trades his Dundrum mailbag to give the lads a hand with a Bohs-heavy Collar & Cuff mailbag; and David McMillan, formerly of Dundalk, UCD and Saint Pat's, now plying his trade as an architect and is not very good at "The Chase". Pizza sceptic, Johnny continues where he left off with goalkeepers last season, there's the cost of LOI tickets compared to Ice Cream bars, the pathway to football, boisterous train drinking, and who will be the top scorer this year? As always we tip our indoor hats to Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff, and Rascals Brewery for feeding the machine, so go ahead and listen responsibly to this year’s difficult second episode, Nevermind the Crooked Rain or The Bends... Everybody knows this is nowhere...

We are back. Seems like everyone has a fancy season launch these days so we decided to 'outstyle' the competition by recording our Season 8 opener in the salubrious surroundings of Collar & Cuff who put a roof over our head for the recording but that didn’t stop Johnny from keeping his hat on. Our first mailbag of the year seeks title race projections, Galway United mentions and the definitive ranking of players we’ve never heard about before. There’s also a Monaghan United anecdote from our sponsors with Declan Mahon and extended chats with Patrick McEleney and John Russell about their hopes for a better 2024. We wouldn’t be around for it without the help of Collar & Cuff, Rascals Brewing and Future Ticketing. Tuck in and enjoy it like your favourite brand of hummus.