Neil Allen, Mark McMahon and Jordan Cross bring you a brand new show talking all things Portsmouth FC.
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00:00This is how it is. Pompey have stepped up a level. It's harder. Pompey in League One were one of the top clubs in League One.
00:07One of the biggest clubs in League One. Now they're in the Championship. And with a great respect to Pompey, they're no longer one of the top clubs in this division, at this level.
00:16So, you compete against huge clubs, aren't you? With bigger tendencies, greater financial pull as well. So, it's a more difficult environment for Pompey.
00:29But as ever, it's all about recruitment. They've recruited extremely well, we know, since Rich Hughes came to the football club.
00:36So, he has to somehow find his gems, get players that no one else has noticed, has watched. And it's tough.
00:44But they're clearly working away, trying to bring the right players in. And they stepped up a level, Pompey.
00:51They need players to also be good enough for that level. So, they're not competing with League One clubs now. They're now competing with Championship clubs.
01:05Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Pompey Talk. My name is Mark McMahon. And joining me today to discuss all the latest goings on at Frampton Park is Neil Allen and Jordan Cross.
01:16And the lamps. Say hello to the lamps as well.
01:19Which way does the lamp look better? Does it look better like that?
01:23We're here to talk about Pompey, not lamps. So, let's crack on. Subject transfer window. We're right in the middle of it at the minute. Pompey have made five signings.
01:34Before we delve into the signings, what's happening, do you want to give us your thoughts on the process so far? The five signings that Pompey have made?
01:45Yeah. First of all, we know they need more signings. Rich Hughes has admitted that. He says he wants five to six more signings.
01:53Obviously, people want them to happen as soon as possible. Not quite that simple. But the club are looking for more players.
02:01And as we're discussing here, there's obvious positions that need strengthening.
02:07As it is, they've signed a new right back, which they needed in Jordan Williams, who actually has looked really good in preseason.
02:15As Jordan would no doubt agree, we saw them out in Croatia. He's got a real drive to him, intercepting the ball and then just drives with the ball forward.
02:25Very attacking player. Bit different to Joe Rafty in that respect.
02:31And I think Sammy Silvera's caught the eye as well. Tuesday night at Gosport, for me, the two outstanding players were Josh Murphy and Sammy Silvera.
02:42Admittedly, they only had 45 minutes, they played in different halves and it is difficult to judge players.
02:48But those two were the standout, with Murphy scoring a good goal and Silvera on the left.
02:54They both played on the left, actually, in different halves, which was interesting. But they're the two that really stood out.
03:00And they're the exciting players to watch this season, in particular, those two.
03:05But Pompey need more players, don't they? Recruitment's OK so far, but still much more to do.
03:12Jordan, what's your thoughts?
03:15Yeah, encouraged. Very encouraged by the start. We know the window goes through different periods.
03:22There's an evolution to a transfer window. Obviously, the focus at the start will be on free transfers.
03:27And for Pompey's money, they've got their premium free transfers that they were looking for in Murphy and Williams.
03:35That's a big box tick. Five in the building very quickly. Ruben Swan, obviously, a young prospect of a midfielder.
03:44He'll probably go out on loan next season, probably somewhere like Hawks. One for the future.
03:49We'll probably see more of that with the way Noam coming through from the academy.
03:53We might well see more young players coming in at that. Jordan Archer, good number two.
03:58Likely to see another keeper come in. And of course, as I say, Sammy Silvera, which was, I think, a bit of a curveball even to Pompey.
04:05No more than a few weeks before the deal emerged. I don't think Pompey thought a deal was on for Silvera,
04:12given his first strong, decent first season at Middlesbrough. But a player that Pompey went for a year ago,
04:19and fair enough, went for the championship with Borough. But they're looking to really kick on Middlesbrough.
04:25I think they've got really high expectations. So their development for Sammy was to get him out on loan in the championship,
04:32which you don't often see between two clubs. So yeah, that was a deal that emerged.
04:37So really encouraged by that. But we've obviously hit a bit of a lull now.
04:41And let's face it, we've got a lot of work to do still.
04:46There's a lot of question marks about the Pompey squad going into the championship.
04:50And I think there's some, you know, almost kind of the high tariff signings.
04:55You know, you call it that. High tariff signings are still to come. Really important.
04:58We look at the midfield, probably touch on that. Another goalkeeper to say centre back, maybe a focus and maybe a 10 as well.
05:08And plus the wingers. We've got two wingers out of favour.
05:11So lots of work still to do. And I think we've got to look at it going late into the fees part of the window.
05:17And of course, we can talk about the loans, which will probably happen towards the end of the window.
05:22Before we go into each individual position, what Pompey need.
05:26Are you surprised that I think it's maybe 10, 11, 12 days since Pompey last signed a player?
05:32Is there a reason why they're in this period at the moment where nothing's happening?
05:39It's just how the market works. If you're dealing with a free transfer market,
05:44it inevitably is very quick, isn't it, to start the window. That's largely fulfilled now, that market.
05:50And Pompey are looking to buy players, negotiate. Loans will happen towards the end of any window.
05:56It's just not straightforward. You can't expect all the players to sign before preseason starts.
06:01This is how it is. Pompey have stepped up a level. It's harder.
06:05Pompey in League One were one of the top clubs in League One, one of the biggest clubs in League One.
06:10Now they're in the championship. And with a greater respect to Pompey,
06:14they're no longer one of the top clubs in this division at this level.
06:17So you compete against huge clubs, aren't you, with bigger tendencies, greater financial pull as well.
06:26So it's a more difficult environment for Pompey. But as ever, it's all about recruitment.
06:33They've recruited extremely well, we know, since Rick Hughes came to the football club.
06:37So he has to somehow find these gems, get players that no one else has noticed, has watched.
06:43And it's tough. But they're clearly working away, trying to bring the right players in.
06:49And they stepped up a level, Pompey. They need players to also be good enough for that level.
06:56So they're not competing with League One clubs now. They're now competing with championship clubs.
07:02I know it's frustrating. I know fans want players straight away. But it's not that simple.
07:07All we can do is judge Pompey by the end of the window.
07:10And hopefully they've got the quality required to stay in the championship.
07:14Because that's what this season is. Forget doing any of that nonsense and going for the playoffs.
07:19It's about staying up in this division after waiting so long to get here.
07:24So hopefully they can upgrade the players and get a stronger squad.
07:28Because, as I say, no doubt we'll go into this.
07:31There are positions for me that are glaring that need considerable strengthening.
07:36Jordan, we all know the lure of Pompey, the appeal that the club has.
07:41But have Pompey realistically got the finances to compete with some of their championship competitors
07:47when it comes down to that third type of factor?
07:50Simple question. No.
07:52I mean, Pompey are competing now against clubs that are in receipt of parachute payments,
07:57have been in receipt of parachute payments.
07:59That are going to have playing budgets many, many times what Pompey will be going in,
08:04even with Pompey's improved finances at championship level.
08:09There's no secret about that. Pompey will have gone, as Neil quite rightly says,
08:13from a big fish to a small fish.
08:16And also, when they're competing for these players, these players are going to have options as well.
08:22I mean, you're going to be competing against Leeds, West Brom, even Derby's coming up.
08:27They're big clubs and well-resourced clubs as well.
08:31So it's not going to be straightforward.
08:35And Pompey could go out and sign five players yesterday if they want to
08:39and appease that, I'm going to get players through the door now.
08:42I think they're right to. And it's a bit of an art form as well.
08:47They've got to look at when's the right time to twist and when's the right time to stick
08:52when they're looking for their priorities and then move on to a second or third choice if that's the way.
08:58So it's an art form. It's one that we've got a lot more faith in Pompey to execute properly,
09:03quite rightly, since Rich Hughes has been in situ.
09:06Look at his record. And it's one that, let's face it,
09:10although there is some angst among supporters, I think a lot of them now,
09:14actually probably the majority of supporters have got faith in Pompey to go out and get the job done properly.
09:19Neil, before we go into our first break, you've already mentioned that they still want five or six new players.
09:27No, the team needs to strengthen, doesn't it?
09:30So having said that, Zach Swanson, they expect him to sign.
09:35He'll resolve the right-back issue. They want a third choice goalie.
09:39So they're not for the first team. But if you look at the centre of midfield,
09:43the options for the first game at Leeds are Marlon Pack, Tom Lowry, Owen Moxon and then Terry Devlin.
09:52So that's the options for the centre of midfield.
09:54Don't forget Paul Ben-Stevenson.
09:56Oh, sorry, Ben-Stevenson. Sorry as well. Sorry, Ben-Stevenson.
10:00He just doesn't get the gun all the time, doesn't he?
10:03So they're the options for the centre of midfield.
10:06They're very happy with their wingers at the moment, as it stands,
10:09because they've got three wingers challenging for two spots, plus White and Scully.
10:17They're happy up front as well.
10:19They need another centre-half because you're going up with centre-halves.
10:23I know McIntyre's played at this level in the Championship, but they need another centre-half, don't they, really?
10:29So there's still first-team places there, and they will judge it on pre-season.
10:34But back to the point about the budget, Pompey won the League Two title comfortably last year,
10:39won promotion comfortably last year, and they didn't have the biggest budget.
10:43Biggest budget, splashing the cash, does not necessarily make a team successful.
10:49It's about using that budget.
10:51And as Jordan mentioned, Rich Hughes has done a phenomenal job picking up bargains,
10:56quality players, excellent loan players.
11:00He's signed so many good loan players.
11:03We're still talking about desperate to get some of these loan players back.
11:06So there's a lot of strength there and a lot of credit in the bank, really, for Rich Hughes and his recruitment.
11:13And now they've stepped up, they have to strengthen positions.
11:16He has to find some gems from somewhere, doesn't he?
11:19And some of those players last year they signed, we hadn't really heard of them,
11:25especially the loanees, but they proved right.
11:28So it's about using what you've got and also having an excellent head coach in place as well, isn't it?
11:34Recruitment is all about a good head coach in place and a good recruitment.
11:38And that's what Pompey have had.
11:40Okay, lads, time flies when you're having fun.
11:43We need to go to a break. We'll be back with you after this short interview.
11:55Hello and welcome back to Pompey Talk.
12:11Let's go straight back into it, lads.
12:13Individually wise, there's been a lot of rumours going around, especially this week in particular.
12:19Let's sort of go through some of those.
12:22Abid Kamara, it was reported elsewhere that Pompey were readying a bid,
12:27a permanent offer to bring Abid Kamara back to Fenton Park.
12:31But the club have already responded to that there and that there looks to be way off the mark.
12:36I would suggest Abid Kamara has got a very good agent.
12:41He's very adept at getting clubs and information out there, isn't he?
12:46I think we've seen in his time at Pompey, there was no end of Brentford and Stokes and even Leipzig
12:53and a number of teams on the continent.
12:56So there's a constant stream of clubs and attention.
13:01Which Abid Kamara, let's face it, doesn't really need really because he does his talking on the pitch
13:05and that's plenty enough talking from Abid Kamara's dog starts moaning in the background there.
13:11But yeah, I think that one, it's one that Pompey are keeping tabs on
13:17and they've said that pretty consistently.
13:20I think they're also aware that it would be more unlikely that Abid Kamara would be available
13:27given that he's had that outstanding form which sees him now going really championship ready.
13:33Never say never was the words from John Massino to whoever when speaking to him at Croatia last week.
13:38So that would be my take on Abid Kamara, which has been pretty consistent all the way through really.
13:45It was interesting speaking to John Massino after the Gosport game about the Kamara link
13:50which emerged earlier on from a website that claimed that Pompey were readying a bid.
13:56And I actually wrote in my article, he laughed it off and he did actually laugh it off.
14:01He made a joke about saying, well, readying a bid, if we want to bid for a player, we'll just bid.
14:06Why would we prepare to bid a player and tell people we're about to bid for a player?
14:10Get that fax machine turned on.
14:15It's just a bizarre phrase, isn't it?
14:17You know, you're telling people, yeah, I'm going to put a bid in for Abid, put it in.
14:21So, and he did laugh and it's just nonsense.
14:26You have to be realistic with Kamara.
14:29How much would he fetch?
14:301 million, 2 million?
14:32He's just been capped by England in the 20s as well, let's not forget as well.
14:35He's got another year on his contract.
14:38Norwich, he's been part of their pre-season.
14:40He was one of their poster boys, wasn't he, for the new kit as well.
14:46In contrast, has Gavin White been a poster boy for Pompey's kit?
14:49Does that mean Gavin White's going to, you know, you only get players that are going to be hugely part of the future.
14:54They're going to be a poster boy.
14:57So, Pompey haven't got a million to spend.
15:00They haven't got 2 million to spend.
15:02They haven't got 3 million to spend or whatever Kamara would fetch.
15:05So, you have to look at it realistically and logically.
15:08And even though we all want him back, he had a great time here.
15:12He loved it.
15:13Pompey rates him tremendously.
15:17It's difficult.
15:19But also, they're in a good position for wingers.
15:22As I mentioned earlier on, they've got three wingers there for two places.
15:26So, if Kamara came as well, how would you fit him in and the cost and all sorts?
15:30So, I just can't see it happening, unfortunately.
15:35And Norwich have a say in this as well.
15:37They own him.
15:38They're the parent club.
15:39If they don't want to sell him, you can't do anything about it.
15:42Or loan him.
15:43What was the reaction then, whenever Carmichael Dembele's name was mentioned again?
15:49Yeah, John referred to it.
15:51He just made a joke about another one.
15:53They're readying a bid for him, I suppose he said.
15:55And again, he doesn't like talking about other clubs' players.
16:00He makes a point of that.
16:02But sometimes, it was just a nonsense rumour.
16:05He would just shut down.
16:06It's as simple as that.
16:07Was that someone he shot down?
16:09Yeah.
16:10Yeah, yeah.
16:11You have to look into…
16:12Sometimes, managers, especially John Massino, who'd say,
16:14Oh, he's another club's player.
16:15I won't talk about that.
16:16And yet, he tries to read the body language and the likelihood.
16:18He comes out and denies a player straight away on the record.
16:22I think he's telling the truth there, isn't he, really?
16:25So, I mean, things can change.
16:27You know, things can definitely change for Kamara if Norwich do want to let him go.
16:32Because Pompey are interested.
16:33But as it stands, I can't see that happening.
16:36And he's ruled out the other one as well, isn't he?
16:38Dembele.
16:39So, they're the two lions that came out this week, aren't they?
16:42The main links that Pompey have been part of.
16:46Dembele's a player that John Massino likes and has been an admirer of
16:51and has been used as an example of sort of where they were kind of setting their bar for some players.
16:57But, again, it's a constant sort of stream of information,
17:01sort of looks like agent-led, Matt, and a number of clubs.
17:05If a pathway was to open for Dembele, I'm sure Pompey would want to explore it.
17:10Is it realistic?
17:12You know, we're not quite sure.
17:13It's not quite clear at the moment, is it?
17:15But, yeah, I mean, as I say, Neil's kind of sort of dealt with that
17:18in the latest sort of elements that's coming out.
17:20But you're going to get that this time of season.
17:22You're going to get a lot of agent-led sort of stories that are coming out.
17:25And I think the way that they, you know, certainly I wasn't at the Gospel game this week,
17:29but it seems that they've been pretty sort of clear about their responses in both of those.
17:34Again, if you look at the wingers, Josh Murphy's arrived, very highly regarded.
17:39He plays on the left wing, would be one of the top earners, comfortably.
17:43He's arrived.
17:44You've got Paddy Lane who had a tremendous year last year as well.
17:47You've got Savera on loan as well.
17:49Would you need another winger, first choice?
17:53It's difficult.
17:54You can't put them all, play them all.
17:56You can't have two on the bench.
17:57It's difficult.
17:58You surely have to prioritize your money elsewhere because other positions
18:02do need strengthening.
18:03And that's not even looking at White and Scully.
18:05We're talking about three wingers battling for two places.
18:09Well, let's talk about White and Scully.
18:11I was going to talk about Alex Robertson, but you mentioned them.
18:14What is the latest there?
18:16It seems to me that both of them may have a future elsewhere,
18:20but that may not be as easy as it seems.
18:23That's it.
18:24That's exactly it.
18:26I mean, White and Scully contracted.
18:28White was a premium player at League One level, came up with pretty high profiles.
18:33Signed them, which didn't live up to expectations.
18:35But he's on money he may not get for the rest of his career, frankly.
18:41So he's going to be wanting to make the most of that contract.
18:46Can they get someone, a buyer for a player that hasn't really done it
18:51in League One level last season?
18:53Now in the championship, stepping up.
18:55These are the issues that Pompey face.
18:57So, yeah, they say that the official line, they're happy with the lot
19:01in wide areas.
19:03It's caveated by the fact that I think ideally they might want to get rid
19:06of one or two, which is pretty clear.
19:09Again, a couple of vibes on that last week was, you know,
19:13never say never with the prospect of maybe Gavin White returning to Ireland.
19:18But there's a lot of obstacles to overcome in terms of getting there
19:22with his wages.
19:24Neil, I spoke to somebody about White in particular, and they told me
19:28he's determined to come back to Pompey.
19:30This preseason, wants to fight for his place, wants to prove people wrong.
19:34But we're not seeing that at all from him, are we, so far?
19:37With White and Scully, they both need to hit the ground running
19:43in preseason.
19:44Scully has been at every training session, and he played the first half
19:49of the game against Gosport.
19:52White wasn't there for the first day.
19:55He's picked up an injury.
19:56He didn't do full training in Croatia.
19:59He didn't play Tuesday.
20:01He's not going to play the next two friendlies at the weekend.
20:05He's not even in full-time training, let alone in competition
20:09for friendly matches.
20:10So already, White's well behind everyone else.
20:14Scully's playing, so that's separate.
20:16But White, he's not hit the ground running.
20:20Sometimes players just have a wretched time at football clubs
20:23for whatever reasons.
20:25He missed his celebration in the last two games of last season
20:28with illness.
20:29It's not stacking up, really.
20:33He's not really proving to anyone that he's going to be capable
20:36of challenging for a spot in the Championship next season.
20:39Let's not forget, he's played in the Championship before,
20:41but that was sporadic over four years, loaned out elsewhere
20:44to League One.
20:45Is a player who didn't perform at Pompey at League One level
20:48going to suddenly start performing for Pompey at Championship level?
20:51Are Pompey still realistically hopeful someone could materialise,
20:55or should we all just be forgetting about this?
20:57We don't want it to be Ben Thompson, two-point duel
21:00at the end of the day.
21:02No, I mean, not surprised that clubs are interested in that.
21:06For obvious reasons, that's for sure.
21:07There'll be a number of clubs interested in him,
21:09and Pompey will hope they're in a strong position with both him
21:12and, well, they certainly are with Tino Andra and with history,
21:17I suppose.
21:18The fact that their previous good experiences of Pompey,
21:22again, with both of them, the pathway to a deal
21:26isn't straightforward.
21:27I mean, they're both entering the last year of their contract.
21:30In the case of Andra, he's on big money.
21:33With Alex Robertson, you know, they need to work out
21:37whether Man City are going to try and monetise what they can for him,
21:40get as much as they can, or does he sign another contract?
21:43I mean, there's all sorts of different factors at play here.
21:46I mean, conceivably, he could even go abroad,
21:49where I think compensation rules are slightly different to here.
21:54So there's a number of considerations, and it's not straightforward.
21:58But the hope will be that, you know, certainly with Alex,
22:02if Pompey sits tight, something will be happening late.
22:05You'd have to suspect the realistic pathway for Pompey
22:09would be another loan.
22:10So there's a lot of factors out of their control with Man City on that one.
22:14Tino Andra wants to come to Pompey.
22:16Again, I think he was on, like, high 28,000 pound a week,
22:20so big money.
22:22So, yeah, a lot of mileage in those ones to come still.
22:26They had mixed games, really.
22:28They both started the first 45 minutes.
22:30Sean Patton, a 17-year-old from Derry,
22:34missed a couple of great opportunities.
22:36Ball was pulled back, six yards out, first-time shot,
22:39over the bar both occasions.
22:41He put another one in the side netting.
22:44John Massino sort of referred to it after the game,
22:46but he'd be disappointed not to have scored,
22:49and he should have scored, or at least hit the target
22:51with a couple of those opportunities.
22:53And then Jamal Baptiste at the back,
22:56he started off a bit shaky with his distribution.
22:59Very early on, he was basically challenged to square a ball
23:03across the box, and he put it between two Pompey players
23:07with no one near him.
23:08And then he was a bit shaky, but he grew into it.
23:10He wasn't challenged defensively.
23:12It was a very comfortable performance from Pompey, both halves.
23:16They weren't challenged defensively at all,
23:18so it's difficult to judge.
23:19I think it's difficult to judge Baptiste,
23:21but with Patton, I know he's a young lad, 17-year-old lad.
23:25Yeah, he didn't really excel with those chances,
23:29and that was disappointing.
23:31Well, Pompey are pre-season-friendly Friday night
23:34at the Hawks, and Saturday at Bodnar.
23:37I'm sure both of you will be there,
23:39and we will hopefully be reporting on some victories.
23:43We'll see you all again soon. Goodbye.
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