- 2 years ago
Pompey Talk is back with Mark McMahon and Jordan Cross discussing all the latest transfer developments at Fratton Park, alongside what else lies ahead for the Fratton Park club in the remaining days of the transfer window.
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00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Pompey Talk. My name is Mark McVann and joining
00:05me today to discuss all things Pompey is the pearly, sickly, under the weather, Jordan
00:11Cross. Jordy, are you all right? Let's get that sorted first, yeah?
00:16I'm in a lean. I'm in a lean. There you go, let's go, let's go, come on, let's do it.
00:24Let's do it, yep, you're a trooper. Right, okay, so busy week for Pompey. First and foremost,
00:30the sending of Thomas Waddingham and then news that Pompey are closing in on a deal for
00:35Hayden Maffies, his fellow countryman. Let's go to Waddingham first. Has Pompey's narrative,
00:41has the narrative around his arrival changed a wee bit? We're told that he'd be one for the future,
00:46not for the here and now, but we're sure to get an inkling from Massino that if he's good enough,
00:51he'll be part of his plans between now and the end of the season.
00:55I don't know if they really should be pushing for him to have a great deal of involvement now,
01:00but it sounds like there's noise around the fact that he's here to push Colby Bishop,
01:05but he's a 19-year-old kid, come on. He's coming over to the Championship, a dogfight,
01:11a brutal dogfight in the Championship. We saw the levels of intensity Pompey needs to operate at
01:18against Stoke City, the relentless amount of work, and Colby Bishop was a really good example of
01:23that. So, yeah, it's great that he's in, definitely one for the future. But yeah, you're right,
01:35he's going to be around the first team set up now, it seems, and he's travelling with the team
01:41to West Brom this weekend, and whether he'll be in the squad or not, he's coming in to be
01:49a part of things now. But it's got to be managed though, isn't it? And expectations have to be
01:55managed as well. So, yeah, I mean, due diligence on the lad, and we'll be noting that it's been
02:01around a while now. He's a promising, he's a striker in the mould of a striker that John
02:08Massino seems to want to play with. There's been comparisons to Mark Feduka, which is an obvious
02:15one to make, but he's a relentless worker, and his goal ratio for someone of that age
02:24is impressive, but it's impressive in Australia and not in the Championship.
02:27So let's have that in there as well and keep it in context. But you're right, yeah, there's been
02:32a bit more that he's coming now. The first initial noise has been like, no way, and I'm still kind of
02:37going down that road somewhat, that we shouldn't be sort of expecting much from this lad.
02:42But, yeah, maybe a bit further down the line, but the noises certainly are that he'll be coming
02:47to push for involvement now. When you look at Pompey's team sheet on Wednesday night against
02:53Stoke, the only options they had from the bench, attacking-wise, was Harvey Blair and Christian
02:58Sadie, neither of whom John Massino brought in. He'd rather have put Zach Swanson out in the right
03:05when Matt Ritchie came off late. But when you consider both Yangi's out,
03:09Marco Mahony's still out, it's only natural that if you've got a young forward of that,
03:14yeah, he's in form, he's fit, he's ready to hit the ground running. It's only natural,
03:20I suppose, that you're sort of ready to adjust him to the first team, at least.
03:23Yeah, as you said, they're not a washer of attacking options, are they? Harvey Blair,
03:27we're talking about, come on, let's be realistic about how ready is Harvey Blair,
03:31anyone that saw his cameo at Swansea last year would have been saying firmly, you know,
03:37let's not worry about Harvey Blair too much at the moment. Yet here we are with that bench,
03:41as you say, Blair and Sadie are the only options. But I think the more pertinent point about the
03:47bench on Wednesday, which you can't lose sight of, is that Pompey were so relentless. They were
03:56shattered after that game because of the way they have to work and the levels they have to work at,
04:00the hard running, the pressing and the recovery runs. Yet John Massino only brought Isaac Hayden
04:07off at 67 minutes for Dezelle, and then his other two subs he made on 83 and 88 minutes.
04:13So what does that say about what he thinks about his bench? And that's the big issue that Pompey
04:19have to remedy for the home run in the Championship. And it has to be remedied with quality
04:24implies the same old mantra that can kind of impact things now.
04:29Yeah. Talking about impacting things now, the Hayden Matthews one.
04:35Surprised how quickly that's developed, even though he hasn't sang, but like we were showed
04:40away our understanding was at the start of January that he was one that they were definitely
04:44interested in. They've had that long standing interest, but maybe not for this window.
04:49All of a sudden that's escalated. 1.27 million pound fees agreed. He's coming here.
04:55Are you surprised just how quickly that has changed?
04:58Really? Because if you look at the way that the whole thing, if you look at the whole
05:02narrative from start to from the start to this point, Pompey, obviously were keen on him in the
05:07summer window and they pursued that deal. And our understanding, my understanding of that was
05:16it came up pretty late in the day in the summer. I think they just left themselves a bit too much
05:20to do to try and get a deal done in that time. So it was one they were always likely to revisit.
05:28In that time, Hayden Matthews' career has kicked on. He's made an international breakthrough
05:33with Australia, which leads me into the transfer fee. And I'll be honest, when they said 1.27
05:40million, I laughed at that. I thought that was ridiculous. And I thought that was a highly
05:44inflated figure. It's not. It's around what they, he's one of the most top two, top couple of
05:50valued Australians, young Australian players. And the fee is accurate. So, yeah, that was kind of
05:59an eyebrow raiser. But let's have it right. It's good that Pompey are spending these kind of fees.
06:04I'm slightly sort of segwaying here. But look at what's going on in the championship and around
06:09Pompey, you know, it's not a big deal to be spending 1.27 million particularly. It's great
06:14that Pompey have been back with that sort of money. And I think we're going back, you know,
06:18when was the last time Pompey was sort of spending that kind of money? We're going back to Eric
06:23Husserl, weren't we? I think way back when. So, but then you look at Kyle Joseph going to Hull.
06:34Was that two and a half million? Yeah. The guy that's gone to Cardiff, was it Yusuf Selat?
06:41Three and a half. Three, between three and four million. So, these are Pompey's relegation
06:46rivals and this is what they're spending. So, as much as it's kind of to be celebrated,
06:53that's, and Massino, John Massino himself has said, you know, this is the kind of, that's
06:57the level that they see Pompey being able to spend that for the right kind of player. So,
07:02yeah. Great that this lad's coming in. He's certainly more one for now.
07:09Yeah. He's more, I think the view was, he's a lot more kind of ready for the challenges.
07:15But yeah, Pompey just, again, they need the players. I mean, the Cotwell stopped at centre
07:20back. They've got four at the moment and players coming back. So, you'd have to review. That's
07:24going to be some quite interesting questions about that moving forward. But the players now,
07:29as we move to attacking areas, have to be these ones that, you know, John Massino has to trust.
07:34Yeah, no, definitely. We'll go into attacking ones in a minute. But did you, like I calculated
07:38six centre backs, although some of them were injured. Pompey got six centre backs on their
07:43books. Conor Shaughnessy's coming back very, very soon. Regan Poole's been delayed slightly.
07:50But again, the timing of it, when you've got Conor Shaughnessy coming back,
07:54is that, again, is it going to be Shaughnessy and Maffey's maybe competing for that space,
07:59that space that currently is occupied by Marnham Park?
08:03Potentially, I guess. I mean, you know, I've got my views on Marley. He's not a centre back by
08:08trade. But look at the results, the improvement in results with him in that position.
08:14Do you think that they'd be the kind of two? It's got to be judged, doesn't it? How,
08:18you know, Conor Shaughnessy has been out for five months and he's had an aborted, you know,
08:24return on the way, on that absence. So, and then Hayden Matthews, again, coming into,
08:32you know, a completely new environment. So, we do see a lot of, you know, yeah,
08:37there's an obvious adjustment for these players coming in from Australia as well. So, it's just
08:41going to be one that has to be looked at and judged. But there's obviously a lot of bodies
08:46there. Regan Poole, that's a bit of a blow that he hasn't, you know, since that Norwich game is,
08:52sounds further off there. But Pompocourt, right, well stocked. He'd be probably looking to
08:57get, actually get players out from those areas within the constraints of the 25-man squad.
09:03Well, they're too bad in that position because of the injuries at the moment.
09:07But that's a narrative that's, you know, going to develop. And also on the sort of exits on that,
09:13you know, Riley Taylor's now staying. So, that puts a bit of a question mark on Tom McIntyre.
09:17Can they find, you know, what happens with him moving forward as well?
09:21Potentially, you know, can they get him out on loan? I'm not sure. I'm not sure that's, you know,
09:25that's not something I've asked about, but it's an obvious consideration given all the players
09:30that are kind of back in, you know, hopefully on the way back in that department.
09:34Yeah. What happens to Marlon Pack if, if Matthews comes in, you've got Chauncey back fed?
09:40Like, where does he end up the rest of the season?
09:45Who knows?
09:48Well, I mean, he's a consideration for both roles, isn't he?
09:52Yeah.
09:53But the form in the middle of the park was a worry,
10:00this season. And that probably played into part of the thinking that
10:03maybe a move to centre-back could extend his career. So,
10:06yeah, he's adapting to that role. I just think he offers so much from that position.
10:12There will be mistakes because he's adapting to it, but he's not an out-and-out centre-back.
10:19But yeah, I just think that Marlon Pack's,
10:24he's got a lot to offer Pompey in so many, you know, wherever he wants to play.
10:30But yeah, as he comes to the sort of, you know, the latter stage of his career,
10:33he's got to find himself at home. So, that's an obvious consideration for that centre-back role.
10:39But yeah, there's so many permutations, Mark. You've got Hayden, you've got, as I say,
10:42Conor Sheppard, Chuck Nessie, and Marlon there as well. So, there's so many ways it can play out.
10:48Yeah. At one point the other night, Pack thought he was just playing for Chris Wilder,
10:53Sheffield United, when he did an overlapping run. It was one point in the second half playing
10:57right wing and I'm going, what are you doing? Get back there. Well, yeah, no, it was interesting.
11:01Sticking to the defensive, just for the moment, Chuck Nessie has come out again and said they're
11:06not necessarily looking for a left-back. Conor Ogilvie has obviously done quite well there in
11:11recent months. So, yeah, surprised by that? A little bit. Yeah, I think so. But, you know,
11:19given that on the surface of things, that means that Pompey have got one orthodox left-back,
11:22which they can farrow a season over. And you're thinking, okay, what happens, you know, in a
11:27situation that Conor, you know, although he's improving and he's had his difficulties this
11:31season in the Championship, isn't he, playing against these top draw wingers? But he's definitely
11:36been one of the sort of more solid and impressive performers of late. So, that's been pleasing.
11:42So, yeah, I guess what you have to look at is the options that, you know, well, there's a couple of
11:49factors. The first that Pompey have got, obviously, got a certain amount of momentum, but there's
11:54obviously got a certain amount of money to play with. So, they have to prioritise where they think
12:00the big areas are needed for improvement. And that clearly, for John at the moment,
12:05is in the attacking department. So, he has to be creative with how he works his squad.
12:11And so, he's then thinking, well, if I don't go and get another left-back,
12:15in that worst case scenario, what happens? He probably, I mean, we'll do a story about this,
12:21but the one person that hasn't been spoken about is Matt Ritchie. He's got experience in that place.
12:26But do you want to move Matt Ritchie back from where, you know, start moving the team around
12:31when it's sort of really starting to settle down and there's a good balance to it? So, more likely,
12:37more than likely, the backup would be to move a sort of Sax Swanson or Jordan Williams across,
12:41I think. That would be the more, yeah, the more likely outcome. That said, he's left it, you know,
12:49left it ajar, John Massino. So, I think if there were to be a cheap option or something came up
12:55late in the day, as often happens in the window, they wouldn't rule it out, but they've got to then
12:59balance up, you know, sort of the loan situation. I think consideration about volumes of loans as
13:03well. So, all that in the pot, but that's, it was a bit of a surprise, but then when you kind
13:09of boil down on the deeper reasoning behind it, you kind of realise that, you know, what's at play
13:15there. Right, okay. I know you're sick, so I've got two more. We'll try and wrap through these
13:20then. The forward areas, we know that Pompey looking for a right winger and then another
13:26attacking midfielder. Just what exactly can we expect there from Pompey between now and February
13:31the 3rd? Yeah, I think it's variable. The kind of, at different points in the last sort of
13:39four to six weeks, you kind of felt that Pompey would be looking, moving towards looking at
13:43fringe players around Premier League squads and perhaps even players that are kind of
13:49Premier League under-21s. But John has kind of cited Isaac Hayden as an example of a player
13:58in a Premier League squad that can come in and be ready, pretty much ready. So, that's a good clue
14:05there. Championship squads, yes. I think that there's definitely some noise about last week
14:12that they were starting to look more, there's more options coming up there in the kind of Rob
14:17Atkinson mould. So, I think, you know, if you want to be your Pompey scout, do your Pompey scouting,
14:24as we all do at this time here, you probably just have to look around the sort of the
14:30periphery of those squads on a match day, who's in, who's out. You know, the FA Cup sort of
14:36obligations for appearing in the window are over. Say, you know, for the example of Chelsea,
14:43I know Pompey were looking at options at Chelsea and they were hitting a bit of a brick wall
14:48because the kids, the bright young things at Chelsea that could have come in and made a
14:52difference were being involved in their European games. So, that was putting a bit of a barrier
14:59up for Pompey. So, yeah, there's ways to do your kind of own scouting and do a bit of homework if
15:05you're a Pompey fan and get out and look at those squads. And yeah, that would be the kind of the
15:10places you should be looking. But so, what we've got now, nine days, 10 days left, is it? So,
15:17you think that you would have thought things would start moving now?
15:22What the Pompey have got, Atkinson, Hayden, Waterman, Matthews, Matthews when he does
15:27come in. So, there's four there and you'd probably think another two at least, wouldn't you?
15:33Sorry, this is first question part two then. I said I only had two questions.
15:37Are they likely to be then loans rather than permanents?
15:42Yes, yes. I'll be looking at the market this month and I would expect those to be loans. Yes,
15:50I would. Fair enough. Good for clarification purposes there. And then finally, this is the
15:55last one then, Geordie. Departures then. What's your thoughts there? You've got Kamara wasn't
16:00even in the squad the other day. McIntyre, as you've already mentioned. Christian Sadie,
16:07there's already been some suggestion that League One clubs might be looking at him.
16:11When you've brought in Waddingham, is he further down the packing order? What's your thoughts on
16:15the whole departure situation there? I don't think Sadie won't be going anywhere.
16:21I know there was that talk, I can't remember the club now, but one of those sort of tittle-tattle
16:25transfer gossip stories. Nothing in that. Christian Sadie's firmly wanted him. He can
16:30bring Chaos, can't he? He offers something different. We're not at a rush with attacking
16:35options, Mark. So Christian Sadie stays this month. He doesn't go anywhere. I'm pretty sure of that.
16:43And for the others, I think Pompey just have to be selfish. Harvey Blair, Abdoulaye Kamara,
16:51people like that. They don't take up a squad's space and Pompey just have to cover their
16:57backsides. It might be a good idea to get some development minutes into them
17:02somewhere, but I don't think John Massino's got it. A bit like Riley Taylor last year,
17:06you have to cover your backside first. He wanted to keep him around just in case that situation
17:10develops. That's certainly the case with Harvey Blair. Abdoulaye Kamara, a bit less. I think
17:17that's been a bit of a disappointment at the moment. He's got a long way to go. We're not
17:21going to completely write him off yet. He could come back, but he's got a lot of distance to
17:26travel in so many different ways to fulfil the early promises that we saw in those cameos.
17:33But yeah, I think Pompey just will look to feather their own nest really and protect themselves.
17:40Obviously, the two lads that aren't involved in the squad, the deregistered lads,
17:46will look to sort something out there and then bits and pieces maybe around that.
17:53Yeah. Well, talking about protecting, Pompey protect themselves, Jordy, you go and protect
17:57yourself. You go and get underneath the duvet again, let the weather come in, feed you your
18:02breakfast, make your lunch and all that there and you look after yourself because you've got to tip
18:06the West Brom tomorrow. The mute bottom all splattered and coughed has been my friend in
18:11this Pompey talk. Well, Jordy, thank you for getting up off your sick bed to help us out
18:17today. Much appreciated. No worries, mate. And we'll thank you all for watching. We'll be back soon.
18:22Goodbye.
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