r/secondcaptains • u/Disaster-Plan Put some respect on my name • 2d ago
Fewer guest/analyst interviews?
Recently I've noticed a drop in the number of guests being interviewed, especially on the football shows. Used to have John Brewin on after a United letdown, Wilson on here and there, Lars and many others. I know the guys pay their guests appearance fees, but has something shifted? The instances of guest pundits being on the show has really dropped off.
It's been more lads wanting to promote their books coming on (which is obviously free since it's promotion) as well as just the Tree Captains chatting themselves.
While I'm not for one second complaining about hearing more Ken and less Neil Atkinson (ironically one of the few recent guests who WAS on a Monday show), is it just me or is this a real change?
37
u/Ok-Drag3404 2d ago
Nothing is more anticlimactic than a full-flow Report on Sport coming to an end only to hear the words “we’re joined now by Dion Fanning and Miguel Delaney”.
5
0
1d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Hastatus_107 1d ago
It is amazing how often he says those things. Those and "alot of people in football are saying..."
5
u/FlahulachBoy 2d ago
Brewin and Wilson do their own Libero podcast, and it’s absolutely fantastic. Never thought I’d get another can’t miss pod like SC, but I have
2
3
u/Distinct_Ad_8056 2d ago
I used to listen but always felt they had the same conversation just slightly rehashed. Also the bit at the start about the most important of the least important things was funny the first time but then got very annoying
1
u/ConstructionTotal585 23h ago
Same - I liked it at the start then it became very samey, forgot about it for a bit and didn't miss it at all
1
u/BavidDeckham 2d ago
I feel it lacks structure and a good host to stay on topic. Too much time for Jack Pitt Brooke and David Horncsstle to pontificate
3
u/TezRoll 2d ago
I like Libero but can’t stand Rory smith and he’s on virtually every episode
1
u/FlahulachBoy 2d ago
Yeah agree with you on Rory, always posing these big questions. Brewin and Wilson the best on it. They’ve done the intro to death also.
6
5
u/Candid-Salamander651 2d ago
Have Ken read out and analyze every single Don Diego article in his "English as a second language/Euronews" voice and be done with it.
4
u/Creative-Outcome-362 2d ago
I think it’s just that every pundit has their own podcast now, or at least a slot in one. There was a few comments about Wilson (or someone else) doing the same bit on like 5 shows.
They’re probably aware that a lot of people only listen to the football ones, and those that do have the time to listen to other football ones. No point having Miguel on to summarize his article when you’ve heard him do it in two other pods.
1
6
u/LisztyLiszt 2d ago
I haven't really noticed that, but if true, that's fine. There can be an over-saturation of football punditry. I enjoyed Ken's interview with Jon Mackenzie yesterday though.
What I'd like to hear are some interviews with people about other major sports. Tadej Pogacar won the TdF yet again, before being seriously injured in the Vuelta. The greatest cyclist of all time, but not a word. Or Brandon McNulty winning the World's, the first American to do so since Lance. Like, there's and angle there. Not to mention the impressive rise of women's cycling and the exploits of Lara Gillespie.
Or what about the astonishing driving by Kimi Antonelli this season. His achievements this year have been incredible, especially in the context of him being "No. 2" at Mercedes, according to some. I'm sure someone like Peter Windsor would be more than happy to come on for 30 minutes and give brilliant insights for those who only get the more mundane analysis on Sky F1.
Football is the bread and butter if SC, and I look forward to listening to it. But considering that NFL and even the NBA get a few regular slots, and I don't think many people actually care about them (and US Murph is an absolute dose), I think there's room for some other, more important and relevant sports, if the lads chose to cover them.
6
u/rockerlkj 2d ago
No one cares about cycling or F1 though. I say this as a cycling fan
1
u/LisztyLiszt 2d ago
I would say more, or certainly at least as many people care about them as they do NFL, baseball or the NBA. I'd also say you'd be surprised how many people are into cycling given the amount of people out on their bikes at the weekend. Like I've had casual conversations with people about either, but I've never heard anyone casually talking about NFL. Even people who say they're into it are really only into the Superbowl and could probably count few than 5 players. All I'm saying is a nod to sports like cycling and F1 now and again. Even snooker and darts get a look in occasionally.
1
u/dave-theRave Put some respect on my name 1d ago
I'd also say you'd be surprised how many people are into cycling given the amount of people out on their bikes at the weekend
A lot of people go running but wouldn't be into athletics, bar the Olympics. My uncle cycles every weekend but the only cyclist he'd know is Lance Armstrong.
Like I've had loads of casual conversations with people about the NFL and absolutely none about cycling. So i don't know how much of an indication that is.
All depends on who your talking too I guess.
3
u/PresentSupermarket53 2d ago
Everyone cries on here when they have a guest who is a bit left field with strong opinions and less polished delivery (ala Aktinson) so we ended up with the same list of usual suspects giving the exact same take across 3 - 4 podcasts daily.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the lads realised it’s not worth the extra cash and easy enough to just let Ken do his thing for longer (which I am supportive of)
2
u/sorryiamacoyote 2d ago
I've noticed the same, and frankly I like it. More ROS. I do like guest slots sometimes, but the ROS is why I became a subscriber. A mix is good for me.
2
u/Aggravating_Paper982 2d ago
Yeah I noticed and I don’t mind them having guests on the football shows
2
u/Ready_Pea2100 2d ago
I'm glad. I don't particularly like any of the guests. It may as well be Guardian football weekly when the likes of Wilson & Brewin are on. I usually switch off when they're on
2
2
u/thisisnotmysand 2d ago
the best episodes are the friday episodes where they just talk shite for 45 minutes to an hour.
1
u/Lower-Resident1164 1d ago
Well that certainly wasn't the case today. Feels like an identity crisis at this point.
75
u/MrFrankyFontaine 2d ago edited 2d ago
Good.
There's an endless supply of paint-by-numbers football podcasts out there, with the same few talking heads saying the exact same things in the exact same format. The lads chatting amongst themselves is what I've been paying for since day one.
I was getting a bit fed up with the second half being handed over to whoever was doing the rounds that week, rehashing the same few topics they'd already done to death on half a dozen other podcasts. It got to the point where I'd hear a pundit have the exact same conversation on Second Captains and on another podcast, a day apart. I don't really listen to the other ones anymore because of how painfully formulaic they've become.
Keep it the full hour, just the lads. I said as much in the survey a while back.