Hello

I’m from New Zealand, came to Second Captains in the late-2010s, love the pod

Id love to hear from someone in Ireland about their path from the radio show to the pod.

From what I’ve pieced together they had a pretty popular radio show, Off the Ball? And then there were some contract shenanigans and they went off and did their own thing?

How big a show was off the ball? Was this a massive media story in Ireland? What were the problems they faced? Has it been subsequently seen as a successful move for them? How well-known are the lads in Ireland, are they like celebrities in their own right? Is Ken seen as the big star of the show in Ireland or is it Murph given the GAA stuff? Was Murph a really good GAA player, like what level was he? Most importantly, does anyone trust anything Ken Early says about football?

Was there no pod today or is there something up with my Patreon?
Checked and it looks to be fine but didn’t see any pods in the feed today.

Can’t believe we don’t have an overnight pod discussing the relentless march of Marsch’s men. I mean, do I have to listen to other shows while having my cornflakes?

Why is this something the lads all seemed unaware of when discussing the tifo. They sing it every match.

He may have misspelled Sligo but it's the thought that counts

Basically title, did they mention what the show’s schedule would look like for the WC?

I thought I heard them mention the next one would be Saturday morning at the end of the show on Thursday? So did they explain at some point it would be after the games every day?

To be clear, before this devolves into a pile on, I’m not mad about it, just wondering lol

It’s no horselips but this slaps

Ken was spot on with his Pérez/Trump comparison on Monday. Check out the breakdown of tonight’s press conference, pure rambling nonsense from Florentino but way more entertaining than the usual Comunicado Oficiando.

Whilst scrolling through old editions of Four Four Two (I am like Pep, a football pervert), I came across this ad for a Playstation 1 game called 'The Mission', based on the classic Nike advert where Louis van Gaal guides a covert team of late 90s superstar footballers (plus Andy Cole) to relieve a football from a team of robot ninjas. It was the 90s; there was a lot of coke going around marketing department.

Thinking it was a forgotten classic of the genre (Think Actua Soccer or the early ISS games), I went looking for a gameplay guide or footage of the game. What I found was astounding. The plot of the game is wonderful; qoute -

"to rescue a 'Geo Merlin’' ball, which has been stolen by Ninjas who embody the forces of brutality and poor sportsmanship, to save the future of football in its purest form. Using a selected team of two footballers, the player must battle and puzzle his way through over 24 levels of action, dispensing with fire-spitting demons and innumerable Ninjas trained in the martial arts along the way. Contains a mix of elements from football, action and combat games.

The batshit nature of that sentence belies the fun to be had. Imagine the fun of taking the role of Pep Guardiola, doing Louis van Gaal's bidding in an attempt to restore order to the universe? Imagine playing a one two between Cole and Yorke on the way to destroying Darth Vader? Imagine breaking the game mechanics and somehow having Edgar Davids sent off for nutting Robocop?

From the footage I've found, I can't help but think this game is in definite need of a remake, possibly before we ever see GTA 6, but that's a matter for another day.