Second Captains Part II

Say Your Number

Ken's quasi Ger Loughnane impression was funny.

EltonJohn69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120058935#Comment_120058935

Also the 5th most assists in the history of football. Strange that Ken choose to leave this fact out…..

Raoul

Yeah. Clearly it's absolute nonsense. They are spending more time on it today and Murph is in agreement with Ken. I feel like Eoin isn't even sure how to argue because the lads are completely wrong. Just because they don't like the guy doesn't mean that he isn't worthy of praise.

dulpit

The one thing I'll say about Ronaldo (I don't like soccer, I don't watch soccer, so this is based on what I've heard from various podcasts/etc) is that he's a super individualistic player, to the detriment of the team at times. And that needs to be taken into account.

I was listening to a Malcolm Gladwell podcast and he mentioned that the sport of soccer is much more about the weakest link rather than the elite player in ensuring wins (basketball on the other hand is all about the super star). So if Ronaldo doesn't get involved in defending or other areas of the pitch, his weak link is amplified more than any star qualities he has...

Plus he's ab absolute tool, that can't be ignored.

siblers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120058935#Comment_120058935

Ken Seemed to be forgetting the types of goals he scored. He also has a a very impressive assist record. Ken (and Murph to a lesser extent) making him out to be some type of 6 yard goal poacher

Brock Turnpike

"This fella, Ronaldo, is a cod"

Ken Early - Jan 2023

atilladehun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120059023#Comment_120059023

Of course Giles is right. There isn't a human in the world who can be right about everything in football and churn out an entertainment show several days a week. Giles could have been talking about carragher, neville, keane, guardiola or klopp and still be right.

The whole reason football works is that it can never be perfected. City have all the money but lose sometimes. Brentford have no money but over achieve. Villa waste money. Spain don't make finishers and England don't make modric style in game managers.

Football is entertainment. Unscripted jeopardy. Ken doesn't have to be right, he just needs to engage and entertain as he describes the narratives. The tone of seriousness is just the accepted style but there's no way he believes everything he says as seriously as he says it. He wakes up each day asking himself how can i knock some ne craic out of this.

As Dunphy said, it's showbiz baby.

EltonJohn69

I think a Frank Lampard episode is incoming…..

dastardly00

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120062007#Comment_120062007

I was just an about to post the same 😂

humberklog

Ah, I think Ken was putting a marker down for it to be challenged.

This has happened a few times where a fairly banal (yet contentious) issue is duscussed and Ken takes an unpopular contrarian and contestable opinion.

In debating societies it's called "holding a flag". It means "come at this opinion and I'll have at ye even if I don't necessarily believe it myself".

They've done this before.

But this time it's been well set up.

I'm enjoying it.

Mantis Toboggan

I enjoyed their world cup coverage but that Ronaldo episode reminded me that I needed to cancel my sub.

The Davestator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120063649#Comment_120063649

Its not a bus - you don't need to announce you are getting off

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120063691#Comment_120063691

You really need to stop announcing to fellow commuters when you have to get off a bus

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120050960#Comment_120050960

..

http://web.archive.org/web/20220202094417/https%3A//jigsaw.news/

Raoul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120060946#Comment_120060946

That is just wrong though. He is super individualistic but it's only in the last one or two years that it has been to the detriment of the team.

The guy has won five champions leagues and seven league titles. A champions league with United and four with Real. Three premier league, two serie A and two La Liga titles. I'm not sure how his super individualistic nature was a detriment to those teams. He won the Euros with Portugal and he was practically only coaching in the final.

A lot of the arguments before the world cup were that if Messi wins the world cup that would seal the Ronaldo v Messi debate. Now it seems that since Messi won and a 37 year old Ronaldo has effectively retired... actually Ronaldo wasn't that great after all.

Absolute BS from anyone that doesn't consider him to be in the top 3/4 all time.

Did you smash it

I’m sure if Ronaldo was Irish, Ken would still be a doubter to his claims as one of the best, if not the best player of all time

EltonJohn69

Wasn’t Ken’s Twitter profile for many a year a picture of Ronaldo standing alone ? I think he has hated Ronaldo for a long time and now he sees a great chance to go mega troll.

Arghus

Ken definitely says a few things with his tongue in his cheek, but I think him not rating Ronaldo as one of the greats is pretty genuine. He's been throwing shade at him for years and years. I think you can say something that you know is a contentious take - and also believe it at the same time.

Look, there's a lot to dislike about Ronaldo. And I hated him myself for years and Messi is clearly the better of the two: not even a debate there.

But, I wouldn't be silly enough to not acknowledge that he's one of the best ever to play the game and he wasn't just some guy who happened to play when Messi did: he was the other huge figure in football over the last fifteen years. Ronaldo's reputation has taken a battering over the last year, but, as someone who doesn't support United and, yes, who did laugh at him during every petulant strop, it wouldn't be honest to also not acknowledge his greatness as well.

It is all showbiz baby, as an earlier poster has remarked, and sure, lookit, Ken can say whatever, but, I dunno, he went down in my estimation when he said that.

Ol' Donie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064158#Comment_120064158

Ah deadly, thanks a million!

Salvation Tambourine

Eoin really didn't want the guests to downplay the Celtic Symphony being played in the RDS at all. I enjoyed one of the lads saying the Irish women's team video was much worse because it really was.

cmac2009

Anyone noticing any sound issues in the last week or so, finding the conservational sound very low and have to increase the volume, and then decrease again when the audio beds come on as it seems to revert to normal levels.

The Davestator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120072310#Comment_120072310

The thing that infuriated me was the contributor says Leinster were wrong to play the foggy dew in the RDS as it references English guns and this wasn't fair to Stuart Lancaster.

Whatever about Celtic Symphony, trying to brush away our history and culture for fear of offending a couple of English men was laughable.

WindmillWarrior

Yeah, it's shoddy, and can scare the f*ck out of you sometimes!

There was mention of a new producer, maybe he's still getting the hang of it...

johnytwentyten

Jesus yes, ears are bleeding, get the same issue on Matt Cooper

Brock Turnpike

Branno, sort it FFS!

SheepsClothing

Ken has had a bad start to the year when it comes to defending his entrenched opinions.

The idea that Ronaldo isn't among the best players ever and that there was never a time that there was a debate in the comparison to Messi is just untrue. There was definitely a period around the time Messi's Barcelona were losing 8 - 2 to Bayern and Ronaldo was coming off his third consecutive champions league win, that it was felt that Ronaldo was a better over 30's player than Messi. Messi's world cup win was needed to cement his status as the better player.

Then there's the dogmatic dismissal of the job Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle, like the only reason they are where they are is due to petro-dollars spent. The actual facts are that they have only the 5th highest transfer spend in the league over the last two seasons and (more importantly) the 9th highest wage bill. Given where they came from, it can only be concluded that Howe has done a fantastic job since coming in.

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074149#Comment_120074149

On one side that squad at his disposal doesn’t look capable of a top 4 finish no matter what money was spent on it to Howe’s credit.

on the other side we have clubs now like city and Newcastle for whom money is unlimited, there are no financial decisions to be made based on money being a finite resource. When you get to that stage it’s hard, for me anyway, to give credit to Howe or pep.

on the Ronaldo thing he is just wrong.

Brock Turnpike

I think the real issue Ken has is Howe's position seemingly being that Newcastle have gotten to where they are by hard work alone. To ignore the money is just weird, and yet Howe seems to do that (or downplay it at least) whenever it gets brought up.

cheese sandwich

Howe is a smarmy jerk so I’m quite happy for Ken to continue to dismiss him, even if his stubbornness is becoming increasingly untenable

humberklog

"Put some respect on my name!"

No.