Second Captains

Eoin and Ken discuss touchline dress codes, Tim Sherwood's bracing style of man-management and the importance of correct pronoun usage. Raphael Honigstein joins us to give the latest on Uli Hoeness' tax trial as Bayern prepare to face Arsenal. And Sid Lowe tries to explain how Barcelona could lose to Valladolid over the weekend. Does Tata Martino have enemies within the camp?

Eoin McDevitt has had a few sleepless nights since O'Driscoll Day, and the only cure is a Six Nations Championship. He talks to Gerry Thornley and Matt Williams about the emotional recovery, creative development under Schmidt, and why France's performances up to now can be ignored. Keith Duggan met and interviewed one of the most interesting men in football, Kerry manager Eamon Fitzmaurice. We talk to Keith about the man, the county and the generation gap thats developed in the game. Using medics as human shields, Paris pain, Donegal 2011, and groovy rugby also feature.

Joe Schmidt has only made one change to his starting XV. We ask Shane Horgan and Bernard Jackman about conservatism, Sexton's form, and what is an acceptable result for Ireland. Managers not having any say over what players their club signs is a growing issue in English football. We talk to Brian Murphy about what has long been an accepted practice in American sport. Office politics, cheap pants, Leinster bias and boastful predictions also feature.

Eoin and Ken talk over Ireland's defeat to Serbia last night and conduct a finishing clinic for strikers who are wondering why they keep missing one on ones. Emmet Malone discusses the quandary facing O'Neill - Robbie Keane's finishing ability or Shane Long's all-round game And Brian Kerr analyses Ireland's new midfield combinations

Eoin and Ken discuss the Irish football awards, the Pardew outrage, and Sol Campbell's allegations about racism at the highest level of English football. Emmet Malone brings us the latest from Roy Keane's briefing in Malahide. Philippe Auclair on the weirdness of big-match in-stadium build-ups. And Graham Hunter on yesterday's Madrid derby.

It’s a points party and everyone’s invited in the National Football League so far this year, with scoring totals up and open football the order of the day. Is this all the black card’s doing? We ask Anthony Moyles for the defender’s take. Rory McIlroy is back competing for tournaments, but the manner of his meltdown at the Honda Classic last night raises questions about his winning temperament. And Andy Lee has called out Matthew Macklin for a fight all of Ireland would love to see – we speak to Lee about whether we can expect them to get it on. Ken also has some thoughts on his driving test, and the partitioning of Dublin GAA in the interests of fairness to their country cousins, which he’d like to share.

Eoin and Ken discuss the shadow of doom hanging over David Moyes, the compatibility of Manchester United's attacking players, and the ethics of publishing secret recordings. Gabriele Marcotti joins us to talk about the likely impact of Moyes' hi-tech scouting bunker on all this. And Jonathan Wilson considers Chelsea and their potential player of the year contender, John Terry.

The NFL Combine is a little like the old TV show ‘Superstars’, where young college American football players perform a series of rigorous calisthenics for the benefit of professional teams seeking to draft them – US Murph tells us about one of the dafter parts of American sporting life. Formula One is an almost exclusively male environment, and author and former ITV pitlane reporter Beverly Turner says the possible introduction of one female driver for next year isn’t going to change a whole lot. Plus we hear about the French in rugby free-fall, from Grenoble coach and former Irish international Bernard Jackman. A good week for punditry, Roy Keane vs Mrs Carrick, why Hitler gave bunkers a bad name and Raymond Domenech all in the mix too.

Eoin and Ken discuss the Bundesliga CEO's acid sarcasm, the fairytale of Stamford Bridge, and whether Liverpool can become the first team with a dodgy defence to win the league. Emmet Malone joins us from Nice with reaction to Ireland's worrying but exciting Euro 2016 draw. And Jack Pitt-Brooke explains why Chris Hughton remains under so much pressure at Norwich despite the weekend's win over Tottenham.

Ireland are still alive, and we’re still fightin’ for this title, as Kevin Keegan would say. We accentuate the positives from our heart-breaking 3 point loss to England with Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley. Malachy Clerkin was at the Sochi Winter Olympics, and his walk to the Irish Times this morning was the coldest he’s been since he left Dublin. We ask him if it should ever have been given to Sochi, and if any of the sport took his mind off the hilariously temperate climate. We ask the broader question of who can actually afford to host these global sporting events any more, do we need to stop using Jonny Sexton’s Paris adventure as an excuse, analyse Ireland’s Euro 2016 group, and the silencing of Peter O’Mahony.

Eoin, Ken and Murph discuss sycophantic rugby players, the misery of being a sub in bad weather, the death of the granny rule and yokelish Irish fans. We ask Bernard Jackman and Trevor Hogan if England's plan for a long march to Twickenham could backfire, and ask them exactly what Joe Schmidt is scheming up for what the Irish coach describes as his greatest challenge yet. We also have Martin O'Neill's underwhelming squad announcement, tension between Murph and Pierse Brosnan, the Hick from French lick, and the importance of walking slowly.

Eoin and Ken discuss the conspiracy between Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger to completely discredit almost everything that was said on Monday's programme. They also explore themes such as greed, player ratings, and predestination. Dion Fanning was at the Emirates last night to watch Arsenal's meltdown up close, and Jonathan Wilson tells us whether he believes this week's European humiliations have conclusively proved that English football is finished as a serious force.

Eoin and Ken discuss whether it's fair to dismiss Arsene Wenger as a failure simply because he no longer wins trophies. Simon Kuper talks to us about whether France is happy to see its league dominated by foreign-funded sugar daddy clubs. And Raphael Honigstein on the different challenges that await the players of Arsenal and Fulham as FC Bayern and Felix Magath head to London.

The world of hurling celebrated Kilkenny’s demise last summer as the end of an era – so why are they favourites for this year’s All-Ireland title? Their 1 point defeat to Clare in the opening round of the league gave us some indication of where they are for 2014. England tight-head prop Dan Cole has been ruled out through injury – former England out-half Paul Grayson surveys the damage that could cause. And Shane Horgan tells us about the newly humble English rugby player. All this plus a possible new tactical role for Mike Ross, Irish Dallaglio, Neil Francis, Sexton book, and Murph’s history as a specialist in failure.

Eoin and Ken are inspired by Brendan Rodgers, and divided on the subject of whether Tom Cleverley's recent interview was reasonable or stupid. Richie Sadlier joins us in studio to provide some perspective on the Rodgers effect. And Ben Lyttleton profiles Eden Hazard, who, now that he has stopped stuffing his mouth with hamburgers, has a shot at becoming the outstanding player of his generation.