LOI Central

Santas sack is full, Ireland isn't, but the stadiums are apparently. It's the LOI Central 2023 clip show. Remember when Dave and Maddie would spend an entire episode of 'Moonlighting' arguing about what happened in the past year and throw in 34 minutes of clips from the past season? Well we would never do that! Instead we throw in 10 mins of classics and another ten minutes of the Bootleg Series Volume 2023 where Roddy does his thing live in Rascals. a session so rare it has only been released on Record Store Day in Malaysia. How's that for a Christmas present? We also tinselled up the studio in Oliver and went hell for leather on the news and blues from the last few months and either accidentally or incidentally stumbled across Johnny's college chicken, Dundalk's crazy transfer rumour mill and every other clubs slot machine of hype. So there's a full hour of festivities for under your podcast tree from Rascals, Collar and Cuff and Future Ticketing. And you know what...It's actually not bad.

In the week where the cup final became 'cool' we decamp to the kitchen to end as we mean to go on and pore over the spectacle and the season whilst bringing you the PFAI awards nominations with Stephen McGuinness. We also have a chat with Jack Moylan about leaving Duffer for Lincoln and talk contrasting cup final emotions with Jonathan Afolabi and seasoned veteran Chris Forrester. It's the longest mailbag of the season, but who's in control of it? It's no country for old men, a successful season for Shamrock Rovers? Maybe, managers in waste management, tummy tickling, collecting rent from a Bohs fan and the circle of life. If that's not enough for our bumper end of year extravaganza with Collar and Cuff, Future Ticketing and Rascals Brewery, there's also a hint that there might be even more on the way, or is there?

It’s cup final week but there’s more than one show in town and we kicked it off with a special Episode 39 in Rascals HQ on Monday night. We brought together some of the liveliest members of the Irish football family for a show that sent producer Del into overtime in the editing chair. Our bleep button is out of contract and the F bomb count soared when Roddy Collins and Trevor Molloy arrived on stage so it’s not one for the school run. Before we hear from Roddy and Trevor, Paddy Barrett and Keith Ward joined us on stage to reflect on the season just gone and their 2021 cup final memories. Prior to that, we also play some of Dan’s chat with Paddy’s boss Damien Duff after Shels’ win in Drogheda on Friday. We’re not really sure how to summarise our chat with Roddy and Trevor but we’ve salvaged the bits that were suitable for broadcast and there’ll be more to come before the year ends. We’ve got Egypt winning the Euros, dinner dates with Pat Dolan, shoe shopping with Paul Byrne, and much much more. It's a seriously good ride from Future Ticketing, Collar and Cuff and our Monday night hosts Rascals Brewery. It might not be totally legal but it's here and its now!

Welcome to Episode 38 with Johnny and Dan or is it Dan and Johnny? As Shamrock Rovers clinch their fourth title in a row, we speak to a victorious Lee Grace and Stephen Bradley, grade the Hoops season and debate the importance of winning it with kids. Beyond that, we ruminate on the standing of the league's goalkeepers and goalscorers, discuss the merits of the Bohs staredown and sift through the wreckage of Dundalk's rumour mill. We also have Johnny's disregard for guard of honour controversies, a steadfast denial of Duffer's virus allegations, a thinly veiled come and get me plea to George the Greek and an unexpected letter from Poland! All of this as we count down to our live show with the help of our partners in Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff and our hosts at Rascals Brewing. Never mind trick or treat. Get your trivia right and you could be joining us.

So it's official, we've sold out. Not to the man, but our live show in Rascals Brewery on November 6th has sold out. On this week's podcast you can find out how to get your hands on the last few tickets Johnny had stashed in an old overcoat at the back of the wardrobe. You can also hear from Shelbourne keeper Conor Kearns who touches on most things from Left-wing politics, to his dribbling stats to displacing a Love Island hopeful. As usual the mailbag deals with the old chestnuts, like the new stand in Tallaght, foreign benefactors, and Virgin versus RTE. We also look at what makes an assistant manager mentionable, why Shels is a proper place to play and who would go to an opera in Ferrycarrig? All as usual in conjunction with Future Ticketing, Collar and Cuff and the venue for our sold out live show, Rascals Brewery. It's into the final stretch now and this one's just over an hour!

Last week’s trivia might have been a failure but this week we bring you Trivela, the prospective new owners of Drogheda United who give us their first big interview since stating their intention to take over the Boynesiders. Benjamin Boycott and Wesley Hill dial in from the USA to discuss their plans with Dan, a long call with investors who say they're in it for the long haul. Johnny was dining with our sponsors at the ‘Aviva’ but as we try to move past the international window, we hear from James McClean on an initiative that should be relevant to both the LOI and the national team. Beyond that, we’ve got the usual mailbag japes featuring Canadian club names, political disinterest, Dan’s dodgy eyesight and Johnny’s attempts to diagnose if anyone involved with Shamrock Rovers is actually happy. Rascals Brewery, Future Ticketing and Collar and Cuff have all submitted affidavits that they were not responsible for the burning rice, but they were responsible for episode 36. Enjoy!

As we reach the business end of the season, we've got a cup final on the mind to distract Johnny from his title race addiction. Our hosts review the two semis and look forward to maybe a record breaking attendance at the final in the stadium soon to be known as The Dublin Arena. Dan, fresh from Switzerland has his own opinion on that and wonders if England will pay for our third tier! Guest wise, we welcome last years star of our live show, the million pound Eoin Doyle to talk about why he retired, his future in childcare, colonic irrigation, greasy agents, the madness of King Vincent, and why Jordan Pickford won't be on The Chase anytime soon. There's the ever popular mailbag, why away fans bans hurt everyone, unlucky Kacper, and a date for you to save in November. Yes, we're coming back into the arena because the good people at Rascals Brewery, Collar and Cuff and Future Ticketing demand it. It's episode 35 and it's a hoot!

It's semi-final week and will Johnny build bridges with Galway ahead of their clash with Bohemians? As part of Johnny's rehabilitation we sent him on a solo mission to the stadium formerly known as Lansdowne Road to meet with his people, a 66/1 Bohemian, the not so boring Cian Coleman and Jamie Lennon. In the week where Aertel finally get's the plug pulled we reminisce about page 222 and Roddy Collins keeping score. The bulging mailbag has everything from Bradley versus Duff to budgeting, refereeing schedules, fireworks in the gantry, and away fan allocations. There's a 'Deep Throat' source in Johnny's Whatsapp, Russian bots, trigger words, the death of the segue live on air and lots of dark web. It's a bumper edition today in association with Future Ticketing, Collar and Cuff and Rascals Brewery, and hold on, isn't that Martin Lawlor over there?

So Galway United return to the halcyon days of Premier Division participation after a win in Kerry that leaves Johnny channelling Sylvia Plath, Leonard Cohen and even an underweight Christian Bale. In a post Rascals Rocktoberfest haze our intrepid reporters cast their eyes over the Weekend's action where UCD won our hearts but Derry failed to capitalise. Referees were under the spotlight again, Shels penchant for dark arts is discussed in a busy mailbag with Cork misery and European permutations also on the agenda. After their morning sausage rolls it was a hasty retreat from Glasnevin to the Aviva to talk contrasting fortunes with Gary O'Neill and David Cawley. As long as Future Ticketing, Rascals, Brewery and Collar and Cuff keep us on the air we will continue to ask and answer the same questions, drink from half empty glasses and leave you with the confused feeling whether the show needs an extension or an extinction. All of this confusion and melancholy is all part of your regular scheduled dose of windswept broadcasting that is episode 33. It's not dark yet but it's getting there!

Well, we've got it all this week. Western gunslingers taking on those boys back east, Cold War double agents crossing the border by bicycle in the rain, boyhood hero worship, misquotes galore and organic sausages. If, like Alan Keane, you subscribe to the Galway United conspiracy theory then make sure you catch our mailbag which has more grassy knolls than an Oliver Stone film. As well as all this, we have late penalties in Derry, a Pat's crisis perhaps? Is Galway more attractive than Dundalk? And Dan finally sees the merits of 'the Red Zone'. All of this 'award nominated' mayhem is brought to you by Future Ticketing, Collar and Cuff and Rascals Brewery. It really is great to be "unwittingly very good at something", and that's a quote!