Does Jeff Bezos care about the soul of Liverpool FC?

Does Jeff Bezos care about the soul of Liverpool FC?

Probably not, as Paul Fennessy tells Niall Kelly. But what is it about Premier League football clubs that make them so compelling to billionaires? Well, the eye-watering increase in value of Liverpool during the reign of FSG - where their 2010 investment of £300m is now worth around £4.5bn - is part of the appeal. As is the scope for further growth, where hyper-capitalist minds see much more financial potential in football than has already been realised. And do people come any more hyper-capitalist than Bezos? How does this mindset, and the treatment of Amazon workers, square in a city such as Liverpool, with their long tradition of trade unionism and standing up for workers’ rights? Is there likely to be resistance to the news that a consortium including Bezos will likely assume control of a third of the club, and probably more in future? Or will news like this will be met with little protest, once the results on the pitch remain positive? ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The psychology of Mayo

On this week’s 42FM, Sinéad O’Carroll is joined by Ian Robertson, a neuroscientist and clinical psychologist, Professor of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, and author of ‘The Winning Effect’. In a recent Irish Times article, Professor Robertson explained how Mayo’s approach to historical failures was in direct contrast to that of Thomas Tuchel’s England football team. But why were their responses to adversity so varied? How much could be gleaned from Kobe McDonald’s pre-game grin as he and his teammates paraded around the storied ground of Croke Park? And if the curse of Mayo wasn’t real, might it have had a placebo effect? ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

How much is too much sport on TV?

Sinead O’Carroll and Niall Kelly are in reflective form after a highly-anticipated sporting weekend fell flat. The pair were left questioning their life choices after the All-Ireland hurling final, Open Championship and World Cup final, replete with half-time show, failed to deliver. The expected buoyant mood which would carry through the week on foot of Super Sunday did not materialise. And if your mood is determined by the quality of sport on TV, do you need to reassess your priorities? Or are we in too deep; in thrall to live sport on TV every weekend, and a lot of nights during the week? Are we forever destined to plan our lives around our favorite teams and games to a degree that has become all pervasive in the era of seasons that don’t end and more matches and events than ever being broadcast? ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Why VAR has absolutely no place in the GAA

‘The whole conversation is stupendously ridiculous’ says Sinead, who fears for football and hurling should video review be introduced. Sinead tells Niall that any embrace of technology beyond HawkEye and goal-line sensors would lead to decisions which are no less contentious, while making the overall player and fan experience ‘way less fun’. It’s a rocky road, says Sinead, and we need only look to soccer and rugby for clear evidence that the quest for the perfect decision is futile and counterproductive. Niall is not sure if this ‘stone age or nowhere’ policy is too vibes based, and wonders whether Sinead would be as ready to accept that sport and life are inherently unfair in the very moment when her favourite team has paid the ultimate price for a wrong call. It is, Sinead concedes, hard to recall such a situation given Kildare’s lack of brushes with success in recent seasons. But in the event of such glory she would give it up for greater principles: perfection should be strived for with greater training and support for referees, but ultimately we have to accept their best-intentioned human failings. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Trump’s World Cup, where sport and politics mix freely

David Sneyd dials in from America to chat to Sinead O’Carroll and Niall Kelly about the US President’s intervention in the World Cup. Our reporter on the ground thought he might get through the rest of the World Cup talking about just football - until Donald Trump decided to call his fellow president, Gianni Infantino, the Fifa version, to see about a review to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia. This duly happened, allowing the striker to face Belgium on Monday. Fifa said the decision was not influenced by Trump, but the ensuing row dominated the final days of the US World Cup campaign. It also throws up questions still being considered after the US have been eliminated by Belgium. Is there shock at Trump’s act? Or was something like this grimly predictable? To what extent is it unprecedented, even in the chequered history of Fifa? Does it taint this World Cup’s integrity? What about Mauricio Pochettino? A respected coach at the elite level, where does this leave his standing in the game? What will be the trickle down effect of other teams looking to get cards overturned? Will there be consequences, lasting or otherwise, for Fifa or Infantino? ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.