Second Captains

Nearly 100 days on from the announcement that Stephen Kenny’s time as Republic of Ireland manager was up, we finally have a successor... on an interim basis for the March friendlies against Belgium & Switzerland. We digest the news and speculate on what might happen if things go well for John O'Shea, and the heat this appointment takes off the FAI.

Elsewhere, Ken fears for Man United ahead of the Manchester Derby this weekend with an emboldened City side lying in wait.

Plus, it's been a big week for the GAA with the much-trumpeted appointment of Jarlath Burns as president, who has made it his mission to save Gaelic Football.

To join up go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month plus VAT, with no contracts, no minimum stay and no sneaky fees.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken was at Wembley to see Caoimhin Kelleher help Liverpool to what Jurgen Klopp described as his sweetest-ever trophy.

We talk through the action of the day, why young players seem to play better for Liverpool than they do for Chelsea, and why Chelsea don’t give their supporters anything to get behind.

Rich Jolly and Jacob Steinberg join us to talk over the Carabao Cup final - and also Fulham’s late win at Old Trafford. Why did this trophy mean so much to Klopp? How much longer can Mauricio Pochettino cling on? And while we’re at it, what about Eric Ten Hag?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Too much winning", we cry, as Ireland march relentlessly towards another grand slam. 

The expectations are now so high that a flurry of penalties in the second half and some aimless attacks in the first half against a young Wales side have us demanding improvements, and fast. We chat to Chris Jones of the BBC and former Ireland winger Shane Horgan about Bundee's power, Ireland's bench strength, the fast start Frawley and Nash have made to their international careers, and if a reduced gameplan for England would trouble Ireland in two weeks time.

Plus there's Duhan the try-machine, Garbisi's tee trouble, and the new Eddie Jones documentary.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you hear the one about the CEO who jokingly asked for cash in lieu of holidays, had the nuance of the gag missed by the Finance Director and was accidentally paid more than the allowable salary agreed under the state bailout, leading to the President of the association openly doubting confidence him in from of a government committee? It may sound insane.. but this is the FAI we're talking about.

Meanwhile, breaking news around the redevelopment plan of Belfast's Casement Park ahead of the 2028 Euros had us asking questions into the actual usefulness of the project as well as the geopolitics at play.

Finally, we got around some football talk after an emotional Liverpool comeback win over Luton had Klopp reminiscing on some of his greatest nights as a manager.

To join up go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month plus VAT, with no contracts, no minimum stay and no sneaky fees.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie Wall’s Fitzgibbon Cup pedigree is pretty special. He was a selector for Mary I’s first win in the competition in 2016, was in charge in 2017, and in another David vs Goliath triumph won their third national title on Saturday, against 3-in-a-row chasing University of Limerick.

He joins us on today’s show along with his selector Podge Collins, the former Clare All-Ireland winner and All-star (and his first cousin), to talk to us about their relationship, what makes the Fitzgibbon so special, and their post-match celebration seen around the world.

We also discuss our two-time world champion Daniel Wiffen, and the imminent return of Flynn and Murph.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish football fans don't ask for much these days, but when it comes to finding a new national team manager they still want a little mystery in their lives. So over the weekend when Chris Coleman shot to the top of the contenders list the general response appeared to be, through a chink too wide comes in no wonder.

We chat to Dion Fanning and Gavin Cooney in studio about Coleman's credentials, the real/rumoured list of candidates, the FAI's fun faction, and how messy the whole managerial search appears to be.

We also look at the form and feet of Liverpool and Ireland's Caoimhin Kelleher, the Nathan Collins stock market, Evan's goal drought, Erling's misses, and the Jota - Nunez master blaster strike partnership.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to your weekly taster of the Kevin Brannigan World Service. With the domestic leagues kicking off this weekend, we've reunited the Sneyd & Branno dream team to raise the curtain on the League of Ireland season and weigh up Stephen Bradley's potential as the future Republic of Ireland manager.

Plus there's a clip from tomorrow's show where we delve into the prospect of a doping-friendly sporting event fronted by Australian swimmer, James 'The Missile' Magnussen.

To join go to secondcaptains.com/join – it’s a fiver a month with no contracts, no minimum stay, no sneaky fees, no obligations, no ads and you can listen to us on Spotify or any normal podcast app on your phone, laptop or tablet, or on our website. Email [email protected] with any questions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Declan Rice: to be fair, quite useful. A pity most West Ham fans didn't wait around long enough to see his goal. In the wake of a record-equalling home defeat for West Ham, we wonder what David Moyes has to do to get a little credit around here?

Manchester United remain undefeated in 2024. They might not yet be the most spectacular of the teams chasing the Champions League spots but perhaps they look the most sustainable.

Archie Rhind-Tutt joins us from Germany to talk about Bayer Leverkusen's 3-0 thrashing of Bayern Munich. Xabi Alonso's team are the only unbeaten side in the top 5 leagues. Is it too soon to say we have found the new Pep?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland have won 10 Six Nations games in a row now, and continue to do it in style with another 6 tries against Italy, and their first 6N/5N clean sheet since 1987.

We chat to Gerry Thornley of The Irish Times and Tom English of BBC Scotland about Jack Crowley's passing game, Henshaw's case for holding onto the 13 jersey, who would replace Hugo Keenan if he's badly injured, why England are going to be tough to beat in Twickers, and if Scotland should blame the ref, the TMO, World Rugby's protocols, or themselves, for a defeat to an out of sorts French team.

We get told to turn that frown upside down by a listener, and Murph looks at Jim McGuinness' soccer CV and wonders if he could do a job for the Republic of Ireland.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our regular best of show which this week features Arsenal's lightly celebrated win over Liverpool, a mild mutiny at Chelsea and AFCON fun with Oluwashina. We also have Vegas Murph, Ireland's Grand Slam plan, lotsa (GAA) league analysis and pedants on pedants.

To listen to 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 5 euro a month for independent, commercial-free, member-led podcasts with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club 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?’.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.