Second Captains

… And now some news from the Premier League. It was revealed last Friday that Manchester City are set to be found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges laid against them by the Premier League, which could quite possibly be the biggest story in the history of English football.

Miguel Delaney of the Independent is with us today to talk about sanctions, appeals and club compensation. We also talk to Archie Rhind-Tutt about the st...

After the most dramatic, most divisive day in Irish football for a quarter-century… a football game. Gavin Bazunu was not a part of the Irish squad, Ireland bowed their heads for the Israeli anthem, no handshakes were exchanged, but the game happened, and Ireland went and won it 3-0.

Ken was in Debrecen to see this calamitous week through to its conclusion.

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We already knew this was going to be an international football week unlike anything we’d ever experienced and the sight of the Ireland football manager accepting the support of the Taoiseach over derogatory comments made about him by another country’s football association brought it into even sharper focus. We cover all that on the World Service this week, but we also wanted to get a broader view on these games against ...

A rabble-rousing weekend in the PL saw Keith Andrews and Fabian Hurzeler humble the Basque Premier League princes. But when Brighton and Brentford smash one of the big teams, who really deserves the credit? 

We discuss why Wirtz is probably not gonna make it at Liverpool, before John Brewin and Nick Ames join us to talk about Brighton's thrashing of Arsenal, Manchester United strolling to a point at Fulham, and whether foot...

The rule changes made by Jim Gavin's Football Review Committee have dramatically improved/changed the game of Gaelic football forever. Now hurling wants a piece of that pie.

But why would "the greatest sport ever played by any man" want to change at all? Jamie Wall joins us to discuss hand passing, rucks and sideline cuts.

Branno was in Dalymount on Friday to see Bohs score late in a thrilling win over Drogheda to keep their ...

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The Premier League season labours past week 4 with a sense that things are yet to fully ignite - but the recently rebranded Pro Ref, formerly known as PGMOL, has hit its stride by issuing their first apology of the season. 

After a weekend dominated by the referees, it seems a good moment to welcome to the pod William Ralston, author of a new book about refereeing: "The Impossible Job - The Truly Unbelievable World of Footb...

From the Air Force One fly-by to the Chinook helicopters to the talk on Irish unity to chants of "four more years" in the Doonbeg clubhouse, it was as strange a weekend as Irish sport has ever seen.

None of it bothered Shane Lowry, who put in a stunning 4 days of golf to beat the field by a record margin of 11 shots. Gavin Cooney was there to witness the chaos and the golf and he joins us in studio today.

Plus there's whiskey...

The English teams have been tearing it up in the Champions League so far this week. We chatted to Lars Sivertsen about Martin Ødegaard’s blistering early-season form and signs that adoption of tactics long-favoured at Arsenal and Manchester City might be helping Liverpool turn a corner under Andoni Iraola?

The Parrott theme was strong throughout the week given he's scored the winner in the last two game. Ken was irked...

82,000 in the stadium and 1.6m watching on RTE - there's never been an event like this in Irish sport.

We look back on a mesmerising but surreal evening in Croke Park with Sinead O'Carroll and Malachy Clerkin. We discuss Katie's insights on Katie', grabbing the mic, how boxing was always the easy bit, and if she is 100% definitely retiring.

Plus there's Westlife, the Croker crowd, seeing both sides of boxing, walk-on music an...

For players new to La Liga, there's no better way to get people's attention than scoring the winner against Real Madrid. Betis Troy has lift-off - but did he really RAM Jose Mourinho's historic quotes back down his throat, or is it possible that the interpersonal rivalry element of this story has been exaggerated for dramatic purposes? 

We talk about Arsenal's dominant victory against Chelsea, and why, despite Michael Carri...

It’s been a hell of a week on the World Service - Ken is  back - Katie build-up has been emotional - And on top of all that, we’ve made friends within Hector Bellerin!

Plus there was transfer window madness, and today one of Germany’s most respected football writers, Christoph Biermann, joined us to talk about his new book: Game Theory: How Luck and Analytics shape football.

Next week we have the C...

We welcome former world champ and one of the best coaches and boxing analysts in the world, Andy Lee into studio. Andy has coached Katie, has fought on the same card as her, and was in London for her moment of Olympic glory.

Ken took a look at who has moved, and more importantly, who hasn’t, on the final day of the transfer window, and how a butterfly flapping its wings creates an angry fan on the other side of the world.

Week two of the Premier League season has concluded - and SC’s football correspondent has finally deigned to check in. Ken explains his absence and reports on his activities. 

We follow Troy Parrott’s quest to establish himself at Ireland’s new pet club, Real Betis. Some unduly harsh reviews of his full debut remind us that Spain is traditionally a difficult feeding ground for number 9s. 

We talk a...

It’s been a daft week here on Second Captains with a stonking opener to Premier League season, Troy Parrott making his La Liga debut, the biggest, fastest, strangest sale in sports franchise history, and Glasgow Celtic flaming out of the Champions League.

Next week is even tastier with Katie Taylor's historic fight in Croker and more importantly, the return of Ken Early!

To listen to all our programming, go to seco...

Troy Parrott could be in line to make his La Liga debut tomorrow night in the Mestalla and we have some hot off the press Manuel Pelligrini quotes about competition for places and where he sees his new striker fitting in.

Last week Rory McIlroy finished third last at the St. Jude Championship, 25 shots behind the winner Scottie Scheffler. This weekend at the BMW Championship he came within three holes of winning the whole thing....

The opening weekend of the Premier League had a bit of everything - surprise results, late goals, Newcastle/Liverpool and big-spending Spurs.

We chat to Richard Jolly, who was in St James Park to witness the Keegan tribute, and Lars Sivertsen about United getting mauled by Hull, Spurs' damaging defeat, Villa getting hammered by Brighton and Arsenal in cruise control.

Plus there's the Irish men of Brentford, Duff gets glazed, ...

Welcome to our weekly Second Captains world service taster! Troy's move to Betis has lit up our lives in the last few days as we dream of press trips to Seville, watching him play in the Champions League, taking those Spanish smarts back to Ireland camp - It really is the perfect move. We also have the Premier League to look forward to, which looks more unpredictable than ever. We chatted to Rory Smith and Dion Fanning about the po...

A week that will live long in the memory concluded yesterday with Ireland coming away from the Birmingham track and the Parisian pool with an incredible haul of nine medals.

We reflect on Kate’s medal rampage and how she’s set for the Olympics, Corcoran’s perfect timing, Rhasidat’s fresh mindset and English’s glory with Cathal Dennehy and Sonia O'Sullivan.

The River Liffey's Paul O'Flynn reminds ...