Pompey Talk: Neil Allen latest
Chief Pompey writer Neil Allen joins Mark McMahon to discuss all the latest from Fratton Park
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00:00 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Pompey Talk. My name is Mark McMahon and joining
00:06 me today to discuss all things Pompey is the news' chief sports writer, Neil Allen. Neil,
00:12 how's it going?
00:13 It's quiet, isn't it? It's really, really quiet.
00:16 Yeah, yeah. It's just that time of the season, isn't it? We're in limbo between retain lists
00:25 being announced, the season finishing and then the transfer window opening.
00:29 Yeah, people are on holiday. It's just a natural lull before the transfer window opens for
00:40 June. It starts getting a bit more exciting, doesn't it? So, yeah, we experience this every
00:46 year. It's not just us being useless.
00:49 I think a lot of fans will be wondering what's going on? Why is there no sayings being made?
00:55 But the club are always quite adamant that they'll not announce anything until the transfer
00:59 window opens and that they're working behind the scenes to do the necessary business.
01:04 Yeah, we've actually seen Rotherham have unveiled three signings so far, including Joe Rafty.
01:11 But they've had to explain that no one joins them until the end of their contracts. So
01:17 officially Joe Rafty, even though he's been released by Pompey, is still contracted here.
01:23 Same with Ronan Curtis, who's just been unveiled by Port Vale. He's still contracted to AFC
01:28 Wimbledon until that deal's over, end of May or whatever. So, yes, the clubs are announcing
01:36 signings now, but they're not joined yet. And that's something that probably a very
01:42 particular on Andy Cullen as well. He will only announce signings when they have officially
01:48 gone through, which means when the transfer window opens. So other clubs do it differently.
01:53 It's just preference, really. So it's nothing untoward. It's not Pompey being useless or
01:58 not doing any hard work or not trying to get players. As we've seen the last few years,
02:04 Pompey will announce it once the window's open and the contracts are official.
02:09 So is there a risk that Joe Rafterty could get an offer from someone else within the
02:14 next three weeks and say, no, I'm not going to Rotherham, I'm going now to Preston or
02:19 something like that. Could that still happen? Or is that, no, it's done and dusted, but
02:23 officially just wait. I've no idea about Rotherham, I don't know. I'm just trying to get a sense.
02:32 It's all agreed, I don't know what they've done, but Pompey will only announce it when
02:36 the window opens. So the Ronan Curtis one is especially interesting because I spoke
02:43 to the Port Vale's sports writer there. And for them, it's really important to announce
02:49 that as soon as possible. They're seeing tickets go on sale on June the 1st. They've just got
02:54 relegated. There's a malaise around the club. Fans aren't happy. So as soon as it got just
03:01 announced Curtis now, just getting that now, even though it's not the, it's still contracted
03:05 elsewhere officially, even though the window's not open yet, just get it out there so it
03:11 can just lift spirits of the fans, helpful towards season tickets. So it's just how you
03:16 want to operate it. But no, I can't see any players now going back. In the old days, many
03:23 years ago, I'm not saying this happens now, players would sign these contracts, forward
03:29 date it, put it away in the drawer and then get it out closer to time and give it to the
03:33 FA, you know, that's how it used to work. But that's illegal. I'm sure no one does that
03:37 now.
03:38 Yeah, no, definitely not. Well, yes, we have said it's a low period at the moment ahead
03:43 of the transfer window opening, but you have been speaking to Rich Hughes, you've been
03:49 speaking to Andy Cullen, you've been dropping John Massino a few text messages as well.
03:53 You've been cat in the loop. Yeah. So what's the sense amongst those about the transfer
04:01 window?
04:02 Even Rich Hughes said it's just a quiet time. The season's, well, the season's officially
04:09 still going on because the season ends with the FA Cup final or Champions League, if you
04:16 want to look at that, look at that. We've still got the Championship playoff involving
04:21 two teams, Leeds and some other team, I don't know. That's still got to take place as well.
04:26 So the season's still taking place. It's still ongoing. The Premier League season only finished
04:31 last weekend, but two clubs are still involved in the FA Cup. So yeah, naturally it's just
04:39 more difficult this time of year and quiet. And once that happens, things move in. But
04:45 it's not to say Pompeii aren't exploring options, they clearly are. Because as we know, last
04:49 year they signed five players in the first 48 hours of the transfer window. So that's
04:58 what happens. And to be fair, I've not seen anyone moaning at the moment. So people are
05:02 very realistic. They know how it works. It just takes time.
05:06 Yeah. We've been told by Michael Eisner, we've been told by Andy Cullen and Eric Eisner as
05:13 well that Rich Hughes has been working behind the scenes on Championship for this past few
05:19 months. And just when you mentioned there was a flurry of activity when the transfer
05:24 window opened last year, are you anticipating Pompeii just going right bang, here we go.
05:29 Here's a few signers to keep you happy in that immediate couple of days out of the window.
05:35 It could well be the case because for me, they've said a few times it won't be an overhaul,
05:40 but for me it needs to be. They need to strengthen every single position. That's a fair few players
05:48 as it is, isn't it? Probably might even need two goalies, at least one anyway, to be back
05:53 up to, to, to Will Norris for me, two or three wingers. Yeah. So because you've got Paddy
06:04 Lane, then you've got Scully and White and there's question marks over Scully and White.
06:09 So three wingers there. So they need to bring a fair few players, but the advantage Pompeii
06:16 had with this sporting director, they work very far in advance. They knew what division
06:22 they were going to be by the middle of April following Barnsley before the season was over.
06:27 So again, they can work to that list. They wrote two lists. They can work to that recruitment
06:31 list and it gives them longer to, to recruit as well. So that, that thing that you would
06:36 expect a racing start this window, wouldn't you? But again, today is what the 23rd and
06:42 the window opens in the 14th. So it's still a fair few weeks away, but that's what you
06:47 would imagine because they need to recruit a lot of players just like they did last summer.
06:52 They recruited 14. You'd imagine they're going to recruit just below that. Surely.
06:58 Yeah. I was going to ask you for a number like, but yeah, it's hard to pinpoint just
07:04 how many at this moment, some players could still leave, I suppose as well, but like,
07:08 when's it?
07:09 They've also said they want to look at some players when they return to training. So they
07:13 need to decide what they're going to do with White, what they're going to do with Scully,
07:17 who's to in particular they need, they want to have a look at them in training first.
07:21 They said, yeah, what happens to Ben Stevenson? He couldn't get into the team in league one.
07:27 Jack Sparks. We know he's below behind Ogilvy. Ogilvy will hopefully sign a contract, but
07:34 they still need to get a left back in. So does that bump Sparks to third choice? So
07:40 what happens to him? So there's plenty of decisions over the existing contracted players
07:45 as well. So I know 10 have left, potentially Swanson could leave, potentially Morel could
07:50 leave that's 12. Now, obviously all that 12 somewhere with kids, Minoga, Stuart White,
07:56 so they don't come into the equation that much. Schofield, but they still need to recruit
08:02 a fair amount of players. Surely more than 10.
08:05 Yeah. That's the thing. Like if you say, Rich Hughes is saying it's not an overhaul, but
08:10 it is an overhaul, not an overhaul. That is a 10, say 10 players. That's a massive number
08:16 still at the end of the day. Like, so there's a lot of work still to be, there's a lot of
08:21 work to be done, isn't there? And the Pumpey team that lines out in the championship next
08:24 season is going to be a hell of a lot different from the Pumpey team that won league one this
08:28 season. Isn't it? Yeah. They've got, they've got four contracted centre-halves, but they'll
08:32 still need to bring in another centre-half. Well, Riley Tyler could leave, couldn't they?
08:37 On loan. On loan, yeah. Yeah. They're obviously a big fan of his, but he may have to leave
08:41 on loan. If you go to the championship, they need to bring in another centre-half who can
08:47 play there. They have to. So obviously, Shulwagat's gone. So yeah, they need to recruit every
08:56 position right back. They need two right backs, of course, don't they? If you just want some
09:02 of those. What's your thoughts on the midfield at the
09:05 moment? If you, if you, if Pac, and I'll probably speak to you about Pac in a second, but at
09:10 the minute you've got Pac, Larry, Moxon, Devlin and Stevenson. There's five players, so they've
09:16 got numbers there, but it's not necessarily the strength that you'd expect the Pumpery
09:22 are going to compete in the championship next season, is it?
09:25 They'll need to recruit a few centre midfielders. For me, I thought they really missed Morrell
09:30 when he got injured. They no longer had the control of games they had before he left.
09:35 So Moxon's better coming forward. Moxon scored that worldy goal, didn't he? Against Derby,
09:42 which was absolutely crucial. What a vital goal that was. But they just missed that bite
09:50 on what Morrell gives them, keeping control of games, keeping hold of the ball. I thought
09:56 they were better with Pac and Morrell there. And Morrell also worked with Robertson as
10:00 well. So they'll need to strengthen that centre midfield, won't they? Definitely. A few in
10:07 there. And again, any players that can come into the championship now as well. Moxon's
10:12 an interesting one because he did a really good job, I thought, did very well when he
10:15 came in, didn't he? Adjusting to a new club, some important performances. Obviously, that
10:20 goal I mentioned as well. But it was interesting how he was in and out of the side. It was
10:27 never quite a regular starter. They kept moving it around, which shows that they didn't feel
10:32 he was quite ready at that point. In the pre-season, they'll obviously work on him and get him
10:39 up to speed with the system and how everything works. And we'll see how he develops. Do you
10:45 anticipate Moxon being, I'm not going to say first team regular because it's a squad business
10:50 at the end of the day, but do you see him being on the team sheet more than being on
10:56 the bench next season? Or will Pompey look to, for that centre midfield area, which is
11:00 such an important part of the team, the big reinforcements in there that's going to help
11:06 just solidify them? That could be the pivot for everything that goes on this season.
11:11 Well, it would be foolish of me to predict how many games Moxon will be playing next
11:17 year. But they need a couple of me, a couple of centre midfielders that are championship
11:24 ready, that have to be able to play in the championship. Marlon Pax at a year older,
11:30 we don't know how he will do. He'll be the ultimate choice if he signs a contract. Does
11:36 Robertson come back? And we know that Robertson's best position is deeper. He admits himself,
11:41 not a number 10, but deeper. And it didn't work well with him and Pac or Murrell. So
11:48 they need to bring in a few reinforcements. And then it's a case of what they do with
11:52 Moxon and how they look at matches and who does well. Again, this time last year, they
11:57 haven't signed any of these players, have they? This time last year, Regan Paul wasn't
12:01 here or Shaughnessy wasn't here. Shaughnessy didn't even make the first game of the season.
12:07 So it all changes. It's difficult to predict. That's why I don't like people saying, how
12:12 do you think Pompey will do in the championship next year? I haven't got a clue because they
12:16 haven't recruited yet.
12:17 Yeah, no, definitely fair point.
12:18 They haven't got the players in yet. The players that won in the League One title, Kamara,
12:27 he wasn't here this time last year, Norris. So we'll see how that develops there. But
12:33 we can look at it theoretically and say where they need to strengthen. They need a few central
12:39 midfielders without doubt there.
12:42 Nick, on Murrell, what's your gut feeling on Murrell? Have you seen the last of Murrell
12:47 on a Pompey shirt or could something still be salvaged there?
12:51 I have no idea. It depends on negotiations and how they go, doesn't it? Which obviously
12:56 we're not privy to. I would like him to stay, but the fact that they haven't taken his option
13:02 for various reasons and want to renegotiate, they know that opens it up to his potential
13:07 departure. The same as Swanson.
13:11 They run the risk of losing both those players. So that is a concern. That's the gamble. Do
13:19 they really want them? If they really want them, perhaps just take up the option. We'll
13:26 find out how that pans out. We don't know this situation with Murrell and with Swanson
13:32 and their contracts. Normally taking up the option gives an wage increase. And they say,
13:39 well, we want to renegotiate, look at length of deals, that sort of thing. Normally in
13:44 the past, when you see players with their options not taken up, it's very rare they
13:49 actually stay. Normally. But again, they need to negotiate this. I hope Murrell stays. I'm
13:58 a big fan of his. I think he is a huge part on and off the pitch. Great lad, terrific
14:04 character around the football club. Pompey have already lost Rafferty. He was part of
14:08 that leadership group with Pack and Bishop. So you just hope they don't lose Murrell as
14:14 well because you still want that core of good model pros around the place, don't you really?
14:19 So I really hope he stays because he just gives something Pompey that others don't.
14:27 Obviously more red cards, but he's also got other strengths as well.
14:31 I know we've discussed this a few times ourselves, but that leadership group you alluded to there
14:36 when you've got Pack, Rafferty now gone, Murrell could potentially lead Bishop. How important
14:42 is that there for Joe Massino? And how important is it that he gets replacements in there and
14:48 the new players step up to the plate there?
14:51 He very much lets the leadership group run the dressing room. So he puts his trust in
14:55 them, those four. Marlon Pack is a tremendous leader off the pitch. You see him around the
15:01 football club. We've all seen it. So the manager trusts him as a proper, proper captain. And
15:08 they play a huge role. By all accounts, Massino doesn't like to interfere too much in the
15:13 dressing room. He believes the players should be there running it and in charge of it as
15:18 well. So, but again, who do they recruit? They'll need to recruit some experienced players.
15:25 I know the model is get young players who can improve, flourish, potentially be sold
15:31 on, but they'll still need some experience. They need some championship experience. Yeah.
15:36 So they will come into that leadership group as well. The four of those players in the
15:41 leadership group, sort of a mention, Joe Rafferty is another one, Colby Bishop, model pros,
15:48 brilliant around the place. In the past, you get characters around the squad who just want
15:55 to just look out for themselves, don't you really? And it's just natural. It happens
15:59 in the walks of life, doesn't it? All professions. But those, those, those four were really good
16:05 fit last year and it was a tremendous team spirit. And I know it's easy to say that teams
16:10 have great team spirits because they're winning games. That's not always the case. As I said
16:15 before, Kenny Jacket won a lot of games as manager. Didn't have that team spirit. Nowhere
16:20 near have that team spirit, that togetherness as a squad. It's not just about winning games.
16:25 It's having the right characters there. And under John Massino and Rich Hughes, they had
16:32 that. They refined that. Some players left last summer, didn't they? And the dressing
16:35 room became better. It became stronger, bonded stronger. And that was purely because the
16:42 people still at the football club and those they recruited. So, yeah, it's a difficult
16:49 one, isn't it? When you lose Rafferty and potentially Morrell, that's half of that leadership
16:53 group who have such a key presence at the football club.
16:56 I know a lot of clubs will go through this here. Restructuring, reshuffling, all that
17:00 they're like. But Pompey had such a good team spirit last season and now it's going to be
17:06 back to square one. They're going to have to integrate new players. Is that going to
17:11 be very important for John Massino and all to make sure that they blend together very,
17:17 very quickly and form that close-knit group that proved so successful last season?
17:22 Yeah, it's sad to see the team broken up, I wrote about at the time, actually. It's
17:27 a shame because they're a good group of lads. It was a special, special season. They took
17:32 Pompey back to the Championship where so many have failed before. It was brilliant, wasn't
17:37 it? Great year. And it's sad that great people like Sean Raggett and Joe Rafferty have departed
17:44 in particular and Lowney's as well. But for me, it's a necessity. It's about evolving,
17:52 keep on improving. And I know a lot of supporters don't like club stalwarts, key figures like
17:59 the couple I mentioned leaving, but it's a fact of football, unfortunately. And Pompey
18:03 have to get better. Years ago, people like Gary O'Neill, Matt Taylor, they had to leave
18:09 for the squad to improve and get better. And they did because they won the FA Cup. They
18:13 got into Europe. You've got to keep changing. You can't stand still, especially you get
18:20 in promotion. So I have no doubt at all that Rich Hughes and his recruitment team will
18:26 now try to improve, get better players. Whether they are better players, well, we can't say
18:32 the future. Hopefully that will pan out to be the case. But it's just about evolving,
18:36 isn't it? And I know it's sad, but it's just a necessity. And people would moan if they
18:41 kept exactly the same teams as they went up. Because you're standing still then, I'm afraid.
18:47 That's the brute of Parville. You have to get in better players, better potential, because
18:52 the championship is a huge leap.
18:54 Yeah, yeah. We've mentioned Pac a few times there, but we know he was, him and Conor Ogilvie
19:02 were being offered new deals to stay at Fronten Park next season. It's all very quiet at the
19:07 minute. Is that simply because those guys are on holidays? Or is there anything to be
19:12 concerned about there?
19:13 Yeah, no. Did Ogilvie go to Vegas?
19:18 He did, yes.
19:21 Yeah. So Ogilvie and Pac were in Vegas for a month, it seems, wasn't it? So on the Tuesday
19:30 after the South Sea Commons celebrations, they went to Vegas for a week. They can't
19:37 come back. No doubt they've gone on holiday with their families. It's just a difficult
19:42 time of year, busy time of year to get contracts done. It's nothing untoward. It's just how
19:46 the busy schedule is, isn't it? And I'm sure it will progress over the next few weeks when
19:52 people come back from holiday. I know John Massino was on holiday up until last week
19:58 as well, even though he doesn't need to be involved a lot now, supposedly Richard Hughes
20:02 is territory. But it's just an early holiday period of the year, isn't it? That's all it
20:07 is. There's nothing untoward there. We'll find out more as it goes on.
20:12 You mentioned Alex Robertson at one point there as well. I know you've been on the blower
20:17 to him as well. What's the sense? Would he come back to Pompeii?
20:23 Yeah, yeah. He said he'd love to come back, which everyone would do, wouldn't they really?
20:29 It's a funny thing that every time Abu Kamara was asked in an interview, and naturally you
20:34 will ask him in an interview, have you enjoyed it? Do you want to come back? And John Massino
20:40 actually did joke about at one point, he said, if you're in press and you speak to this Kamara
20:44 and ask him if he's going to come back or a fan, he's not going to say no, is he?
20:48 No, exactly. Yeah.
20:49 I keep reading about how Kamara is desperate to come back. He said he'd love to come back,
20:56 but it's not down to the player. It's down to the football. Down to Norwich. The same
21:02 with Robertson as well. I know Robertson was at the Bolton game and fans were saying, oh,
21:06 do you want to come back? Of course he's going to say that. He's not going to sit there and
21:11 say no. Not a chance, he's not going to say that. But genuinely, they enjoyed it here.
21:18 Robertson's, the pair of them, nice lads as well. Really nice lads. We've seen some egos
21:25 over the years, especially in recent years with some low knees. Huge, huge egos. And
21:33 these guys are very down to earth, particularly Robertson and his background. You know, he's
21:38 been at Man United, Man City, very down to earth lads, really nice around the place.
21:43 And they both enjoyed the best forms of their fledgling careers so far at Fratton Park.
21:48 So why wouldn't they want to come back? But you have to be realistic. Players are saying
21:53 this, their parents, clubbers are saying this. It's no good saying, oh, Kamara wants to come
21:57 back, get him back, show him some ambition. Oh, wait a minute. Norwich failed to get up.
22:01 You would imagine he'd be past that first team score next year, wouldn't you really?
22:05 And then Robertson's a bit difficult. Robertson has got another year left at Man City. What
22:11 do they want to do with him? Do they want to cash in on him? It seems pointless letting
22:15 them out for a year and letting him leave for nothing. So what they... And again, when
22:19 I spoke to Robertson a couple of weeks ago, he doesn't know himself. It's still very early.
22:24 He doesn't know what plans Man City have for him. So it's difficult to say if he can come
22:28 back to Pompey or not. But the fact that Pompey is in the championship does help because he's
22:32 served his time in League One. If he goes on loan next year, it'll be for the championship.
22:38 So Pompey is going to be a very good option for that.
22:42 OK. Finally, then, we'll wrap it up. But just one more. Pre-season. There's no dates being
22:46 announced for Alain Hawkes, Gosford, Bogner. Pre-season tours. We know there's going to
22:51 be one, but we're not 100% sure where. What's the latest on the pre-season now?
22:57 I think you summed it up perfectly.
22:58 That's it.
22:59 That's it. No, no, obviously, we know bits and bobs. We're just waiting for the club
23:05 to confirm things. Andy Cullen said it's unlikely to be a friendly. John Massino says
23:14 there may be a friendly. So these things are all up in the air, aren't they? We don't know
23:18 ourselves at the moment. So we'll wait to find out. I mean, Andy Cullen did raise a
23:23 very good point with Radio Sonen when he said the problem with a friendly is it interrupts
23:30 the flow of a pre-season tour. So the players, the day before, do a little bit in the morning
23:37 before the friendly. The day after, they do recovery. So they're missing two days of training,
23:43 working on the training bits together, working on tactics, whatever, for a match. And I know
23:49 that does come into the thoughts of the management. Do we really need a friendly? But they're
23:54 definitely entertaining one. They would like one. And we'll have to see how that develops,
24:00 won't we really? But we'll still wait to find out that situation. We do know they're going
24:04 to go abroad for a week, from a Sunday to a Friday. So there is room for a friendly.
24:11 And it's about, can they get a friendly? I know last year, that friendly against the
24:17 Maltese team, they weren't too happy with the opposition. The fact the opposition were
24:22 already in a season and those that were present there will tell you there were a few nasty
24:26 tackles flying in. They were very aggressive. And you think, well, wait a minute, this is
24:30 Pompey's first pre-season. Please don't let's get injuries. And Pompey actually, after that,
24:36 not solely because of that, but after that did pick up a fair few injuries. I think went
24:41 to Gosport and they were about nine-out injured. So yeah, I know Rafty got injured in that
24:47 game, didn't they? The first pre-season. Bishop did as well from memory. So they've got to
24:53 think about that as well. I would like there to be a pre-season friendly because it's brilliant
24:58 to see the fans around there, the fans around the city or whatever area they're being. I
25:04 really enjoy that. And it was fantastic, especially two years ago when Danny Cowley had them in
25:10 southern Spain as well. So yeah, I hope there is a friendly, but we're waiting to find that
25:16 out. And yeah, hopefully the club announce it soon and the dates for the local games.
25:22 And it's good they have these local games as well.
25:24 Yeah, it's worth stressing too, that if there is no friendly on their abroad trip, that
25:30 the club have already said they will arrange an open training session for fans to come
25:35 along, still be part of their traditional going out and watching Pompey. But yeah, it
25:40 would be more like an open training session.
25:42 Yeah, well, we'll see what happens.
25:45 Yeah. Okay. Well, here, Dave, even though it's a little period in the transfer market,
25:50 you still got plenty of work to do. So we'll crack on and we'll thank everybody for watching
25:56 and listening. We'll be back soon. We'll see you all then. Goodbye.
25:59 Thanks.
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