- 10 months ago
Pompey Talk is back to discuss all the big issues coming out of Fratton Park. This week we celebrate Josh Murphy’s new deal and the way the Blues are evolving as a squad. There’s a focus on Colby Bishop’s form, Callum Lang’s future and Fortress Fratton as leaders Middlesbrough arrive at PO4. All that and much, much more.
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00:00Hello everybody and welcome to the latest episode of Pompey Talk. I'm Pepe Lacey and this week I'm
00:08joined by Jordan Cross to discuss all the key topics going around Pratt & Park at the moment.
00:14It's been quite a disappointing week on the results front for Pompey but there is some
00:19positive news to start on George and that is Josh Murphy. News I don't think many of us were
00:25expecting, would have liked this to happen but I don't think many of us were expecting it but
00:29it's happened. Josh Murphy, new long-term deal. What's your initial thoughts on it?
00:34Oh it's obviously fantastic news. Greeted as much as the hysteria and excitement around
00:42Conor Chaplin's return on deadline day. I mean you know for me the best piece of
00:48business in the championship on deadline day. I think after that you can count that as the
00:53best bit of kind of signing stroke contract news, Murphy goes down as the summer obviously
01:00just so so important. It's been quite, he's been quite forthright in the headlines hasn't
01:08he sort of with the talk of Leicester City and we all know how important it's been. We all
01:14know what an operator he is at championship level. I think he walks into probably any team,
01:21he helps any team in the division, no doubt about it. So that just shows you a team where
01:27Pompey are in terms of their championship evolution, how important he is. So great character and what
01:34it does show Pep is that he's spoken honestly and quite emotively about his connection with Pompey and
01:41how he's found a home here on the south coast and just shows it's not bluster. You know obviously we
01:48talk we can talk about the injury that he's going through at the moment, I'm sure we'll touch on that.
01:51I know for a fact there was there would have been some supporters, more pessimistic ones,
01:57right that's it it's an injury convenience we're not going to see Murphy again and he's off in January,
02:01you know sort of craziness like that. So to have this news and to have him tied down you know
02:08extent essentially a two-year extension to his deal that would run until next summer. Brilliant, I mean the
02:16prime asset maintained and kept and under wraps. The devil of course would be in the detail of the
02:21contract details in the menu eye of that. We're not privy to all that at the moment and what that
02:25means and then there's any break clauses in there and any figures that will be the hit will get him
02:31out of the club but he's protected and that and it's news that could be greeted wonderfully. I've seen
02:38all the memes, I don't think I could mention half of them but yeah they're totally justified.
02:44I mean just looking at it from an outside, Pompey obviously knew there would be interest in Josh
02:50Murphy over the summer, 21 gold contributions in his first season at Fratton Park like that's an
02:55outstanding figure and obviously the interest from Leicester came very very late in the window and
03:01Pompey just didn't make any, take no notice of it but it's a real statement of intent really from
03:07Pompey isn't it? He's one of their prized assets, one of their best players and they've tied him down
03:13to a new long-term deal and that just shows the ambition of the club at the moment.
03:17Yeah it's quite interesting isn't it because you know he's now 30 and he's now you know protected
03:22for you know was it 2028 isn't it? So I think in a way though it's interesting that Pompey have kind
03:29of gone out and given that contract length but with Murphy in a way he's kind of careers evolved
03:35you almost get in the prime years of Josh's life for a number of different reasons. I know
03:41clubs didn't, there was a talk of Leicester and there was interest from Leicester you can debate
03:45and the club sort of indicated intimating there was not, it didn't formalise into an official bid
03:51but obviously there was a degree of interest there and it obviously was clear that they weren't going
03:56to entertain anything that late in the window. But going back to my point, Josh has had the big fear
04:03attached to him early in his career going to Cardiff. By his own admission didn't probably knuckle down
04:09as much as he should have done and the pennies dropped in that that season at Oxford and then
04:13and then the season at Pompey. So I just think obviously watching Josh there's obviously plenty
04:20of fuel in the tank still. We're getting getting a prime Josh Murphy. Just so happens that players
04:26at 30 aren't seen as great assets because of their resale value. So it's worked, it's probably worked
04:33in Pompey's favour to some degree because you go and watch him on a Saturday you know what he's got.
04:38You know he's, he has been sort of a lot more injury free than at times in his career. I'll run it
04:48given the current situation. But yeah, hopefully, I mean we see him sometime on the other side of
04:55the international break and there's lots more to come from from Josh Murphy certainly this season.
05:00Are we seeing almost like a change of approach from Pompey? Because I remember years gone by under
05:07the Eisners and I wouldn't say Pompey were reluctant to hand out new deals to older players but you look at
05:13Christian Burgess Pompey were reluctant to hand him a long-term deal given his age. But Josh Murphy
05:19sort of seems to change that. He's 30 years old. He's got a new long-term deal which would take him
05:23up to 2028 which he would be 33-34. Now that's a big move by Pompey to hand the player of his age
05:32a deal like that. Yeah, you could argue either way whether it's been a shift in policy. It's certainly
05:40from over over in the medium term going back to kind of like Mark Catlin's days they certainly
05:46they said they wouldn't discuss contracts until the end of season. Of course, that was nonsense.
05:50They would be there would be talks going on but you wouldn't tend to see you'd have those discussions
05:54and then the deals would tend to be signed in the summer. Now obviously in the last couple of seasons
05:59we've seen we've seen a move away from that. We've seen Colby Bishop off the top of my head,
06:03Terry Devling, Regan Paul tied down to deals with the season up and running. So
06:08if you're talking in the last sort of season or so then yes it's been a shift but you know they're
06:12probably now settling into that to that formula and if you've got something to something to offer
06:17um and you're an asset and it makes sense to do that deal in with the season
06:24on on you know rolling along then then Pompey going to do that. So um Josh Murphy certainly
06:30worked you know worked into that area of kind of an asset for the longer term. So
06:34yes and no in terms you know this is your question you know over over sort of um a little bit of a
06:40while now we're seeing those contracts handed out and um and Josh being another great great great
06:45example of that. No it's not one I kind of want to ask but I kind of have to because Pompey fans are
06:51keen for it. Rich Hughes has discussed it recently as well but Callum Lang um his injury uh his contract
06:58Pompey fans are obviously thinking about what's next. You've got Josh Murphy signed a new contract,
07:03Regan Paul, Colby Bishop, Terry Devlin, everyone's talking about Callum Lang now Rich Hughes discussed
07:09it recently but it's more focused on getting him back to full fitness before any contract discussion
07:16can take place there. Yeah what was what was I've been sort of oh you know I've been out the window
07:20what was what was when was a Rich update recently? Right it was I think it was primarily focused on
07:26getting him back to full fitness. Oh the line as you sort of said there that was the angle. Yeah okay um
07:33yeah I think that was kind of a sensible sort of um way for Rich to to frame it um just done a story
07:40like just just today actually that um that Callum's had these sort of hamstring injuries and undergoing
07:45that surgery um and he's broadly in line for getting back to when he needs to get back which is um
07:53when when he hopes to be back and then now the Millwall game after the next month's international break
07:58is being specified as as as the game for that um he's on target for for that um you know return
08:05so yeah I mean that's that's that's that kind of upside of it dealt with interest isn't it I mean
08:11Pompey will want to tie down Gallum and I'm sure they'll be maneuvering to do that because he's
08:16another one that falls firmly into that category uh how that works out is going to be intriguing isn't
08:21it because there has been sort of noises about you know obviously Preston and there was a bit like
08:26maybe the Leicester stuff like Pompey were you know affirming how that didn't materialize into a bid
08:34as I remember it but there was noise and there was interest you know you start hearing more and more
08:38that there might have been something a degree of interest there from from Preston so what we will
08:43find out from Callum is how well he's settled in in the area um he obviously loves it here as well
08:48he's spoken about um in similar in similar uh terms to Josh uh but obviously he's a Scouse lad he's from
08:57that part of the part of the world and and if if a Preston move had accelerated it had probably gotten
09:03closer to the you know northwest so maybe there's a part of that in there that that you know is part
09:09of the narrative there uh but Pompey obviously will be doing everything they can to um to have those
09:14discussions and it's just probably an ongoing situation um and one that Pompey won't um leave
09:20unsolved I'm sure yeah I I'm really just as a an outsider looking in I I'm really impressed by what
09:26Pompey have what Pompey have done especially recently with Josh Murphy so penning Josh Murphy down
09:34Kobe Bishop Regan Paul Terry Devlin that's a real core of players that you know will be here for the
09:39for the foreseeable future and tied down with with long-term deals and I think that's a really good
09:45core and a real good base to build a team around when you've got John Messina on a long-term deal
09:50the one he signed last year that's that's a real good core a real good base for Pompey to build on and
09:55what they want to do in the championship yeah yeah and it gives the continuity doesn't it
09:59obviously with with John as the figurehead um and what what it does do in reality is protect assets
10:06isn't it um it doesn't mean that they're going to be staying there um we're all realistic you know
10:11if interest comes Pompey or a business like anyone else but they're protecting their assets and that
10:15means they're in control of the situation by in you know by and large so when you know a bit like
10:22the Murphy situation if you come in with you know lowball Pompey I mean Pompey are not just going to
10:28not entertain it they weren't going to entertain the Murphy situation anyway because it was so late
10:31but even if it was earlier they're in a position where okay slap 10 million down on the table and then
10:36we'll sort of have a talk about it um so that's what that what they can can do with their assets um and also
10:44we want to see the championship squad with Pompey's evolve and and I don't think they're there yet by
10:51a long stretch in terms of depth uh but you are seeing a kind of a nucleus laid down where Pompey
10:56have that core that you talk about um you know hopefully with Langley's fit smid um you know the
11:03much of josh josh murphy um and these players can become come sort of the foundation colby bishop
11:09second stitch these people moving forward but I think there's a it's fair to say also there's a
11:14there is a drop off from the from the sort of main players to the kind of peripheral players at the
11:20moment not the peripheral players are sort of more the squad players now that's natural because there's
11:23a lot of players that come in and adapting the young players but I think there's a big and I'm kind
11:27of moving away from your question but I'm just thinking it's worth addressing this there is a drop off
11:32from from the kind of I think Pompey have got a really good 11 12 but it's got a championship
11:39level now it looks really competitive we're all cooing about it um but John sounded a note of
11:44realism um recently he referenced the running game when they made a lot of changes and how poor that
11:49performance was and it's starting to be evidenced a bit more now so kind of touching back onto your
11:54question again yeah I think as we remove that cause there but it needs to be a constant evolution where
12:01again you're kind of topping up topping up getting these players and then getting the depth of squad
12:05which I think isn't quite there at the moment yeah that absolutely that leads straight on to my next
12:10question um and that is the debt the depth in the squad at the moment because Pompey have had some real
12:17injury problems to start the season you lose connor shotnessy callum lang josh murphy's missed a
12:23handful of games this season already nicholas smith you you've missed quite a lot of players and
12:28you've had some other players that come in off off the sides and there's been a drop in in results for
12:34pumping notably that of sheffield wednesday ipswich and watford's sheffield wednesday and watford in
12:41particular at home you look at and think pompey should win and they haven't quite done that yet
12:46with those type of players coming in yeah look the the players that have been lost if you lost your
12:53outstanding keeper you're losing you know josh murphy and these players connor shotnessy who's
12:58come back at a really high level connor chaplin out of the ipswich game as well look any team would
13:04feel that any team at the championship would feel that no doubt i just think pompey got to feel that
13:08a bit more a bit more keenly than a lot of others at the moment because you know mark kosnowski is not
13:15ready minhuk yang has not looked ready um before his excellent performance on wednesday um but even
13:24minhuk now i mean let's face it it's a big drop off from from josh murphy to minhuk he's he's a young
13:28lad you know on it on his second lay but kind of learning his craft still really he's still in these
13:34he's doing these teams isn't he so he's gonna have all the kind of peaks and shots of a of a young
13:39player so that pompey will will feel it look at chelsea at the moment with all their billions
13:46they've got a number of injuries and everyone's talking about how they're they're being hit by it
13:50so if they're being hit by it you know damn right pompey you know with their kind of spending even
13:56with the improved spending still kind of right on the bottom of the the championship hierarchy
14:00they're going to feel it so yeah and i've touched on it again i'm not i'm not going to repeat it i think
14:05it's going to be an evolution but there is a drop off at the moment and it's something that
14:08is pompey with with good squad planning which they have and then you know look look at where they
14:13were they are now from a year ago they're that much further on and it needs to be an evolution
14:19um that continues i mean you look at the first four or five games and after southampton and pompey
14:27fans were saying oh they're on a high they've had such a great start to season roll on the next three
14:32games and it's been one point from from three and everyone's now worried it's it's sort of where
14:38pompey are at the moment it's that it's just it's simply where they are they've got a number of
14:43injuries but there's there's no reason to panic really it's just they've got good enough squads
14:49um and there's just no need to panic it's just where pompey are isn't it i'm gonna be a bit of
14:54piss up and down isn't it there's no you say that they're fair from where they are last season but
14:59they're gonna have results i've been quite realistic about and not you know quite vocal about where pompey are
15:05and they still got to be looking at fourth bottom and there may be an improvement on the 16th they
15:09can get themselves into mid table what a season that will be and you know a couple of weeks ago
15:14it was looking like blimmin' heck we might even get ourselves in the top half of the table what a
15:17revelation that would be that's kind of where the bar needs to be at the moment for pompey and it's
15:22going to be something that happens over over over a number of seasons that might not be quick enough
15:26for someone of some people but that's that's where it is you've got to be realistic about all the
15:29improved spending and going and asking for kind of chaplain and getting him on like where are pompey in in
15:34the state of things at the moment in terms of they're miles off many many many of their rivals
15:39at the level so it's a you know it's a constant evolution and and i'm perfectly comfortable with
15:46with that where it stands at the moment and i think i think i think the majority of most right-minded
15:52pompey fans know the score yeah um i want to touch on on fratton park really because it's been sort of
16:00an unusual start um on home soil this season pompey was so dominant at home especially during
16:07the second half of the season i think it was two losses in 17 um in in the championship at fratton
16:12park and this season it's been two defeats one win and one draw which is it's not really been the
16:18same fratton park as what we saw last year which is quite surprising is it i thought no i thought it
16:26was quite possibly could be the case going in there it may switch swing back the other way i mean
16:31obviously the terrible away form and the fortress frat and i thought it might kind of not to the
16:37extreme of excellent away form and and terrible home form but i thought it might move may may move
16:42closer together um this season simply because pompey are the second season at the level they've
16:47come up they're saying they're really powerful fratton park teams that they're going to be
16:53less expansive than than a lot of them were if you look at how a lot of teams come to fratton
16:58park they were you know a lot of them were front-footed and and you're going to try to play a certain way
17:04they were trying to play a certain way playing out the back and where pompey was so strong
17:07yeah they were coaching too deep into analytics that pompey's pressing was was i think going right
17:16into the last couple of games yeah the passes per defensive action which is a metric for pressing
17:21it was pompey swansey in leeds uh i think they even poppy went above swansey at the end it was right
17:26there right at the top so that they are they we know how pompey evolved in there the way they set up
17:32through that through the season uh but yeah maybe maybe teams are going to we haven't kind of gone
17:37through the games with a fine tooth coming on how teams are set up this season you're going to see
17:40teams probably you know be a bit more harder you know to uh break down and sit in and when
17:46you know the sheffield wednesday gets something you know to hold on to they're going to be really
17:51you know dogged and and difficult to break down and you know if you give goals away or gift
17:57opportunities for for teams to hurt you then then they're gonna you know you're gonna you're gonna make
18:01it that much harder and uh i mean tuesday i'm sorry wednesday wednesday being a case in point
18:06wasn't it how well pompey performed and could have could and should have put the game to bed in the
18:11in the first half um and then in 11 stupid second half minutes kind of really shot themselves in the
18:18i mean what was it 30 less than 30 seconds for that goal after the restart if you're going to give away
18:22you know turnover possession from john swift and pompey were quite high up the pitch at that point
18:29maybe wouldn't you just kind of be okay well i settled in we've got an advantage played really well
18:34maybe they they were you know the adrenaline was still pumping they wanted to go out and be front
18:37footed which john often wants him to do but just for that couple of minutes at the start of the
18:41half let's kind of get the basics right and then and then grow into grow into half and and go from
18:46there and then there was a bit of an individual mistake i think from duzel not really dealing with
18:51a ball for the second goal so if you make those mistakes you've got to give yourself
18:55mountains to climb you know it home all way in the division but maybe there's all those factors kind of
19:00as a combination you know that they all go into the mix but yeah i asked my son to um
19:07be uh flag bearers for one game this season and i was do i go for the southampton game
19:12that'd be a bit crazy were they even allowed flag bearers for that one so my second choice was
19:16sheffield wednesday because i thought okay that's the best yeah you know what was i doing should have
19:23known it was pompey i think low involved i should have picked middlesbrough i should have picked tomorrow
19:27because it would be just like pompey wouldn't it yeah turned over by sheffield wednesday then go
19:32and put a performance in against the leaders who are unbeaten as they come to frat and part of all
19:35the problems so um yeah that's that would just be pompey and i'm not saying they're going to win
19:40tomorrow you know i could see them going and putting a really positive performance again getting a return
19:45from the game i want to touch on colby bishop because there's been a few critics of him um over the last
19:51couple of weeks one goal in his first eight it's not really sort of figures colby or anyone would
19:57be sort of expecting but time and time again throughout pompey's day there's been plenty of
20:03critics of colby bishop you bring i used the start of last year as a prime example when you had marco
20:10mining cassini yangi christian sadie and elia sorenson all interchange in that number nine shirt and
20:16none of them could quite hit the levels colby bishop did now okay he's not having a great start
20:21to the season but it's the same sort of critics that we're always talking about colby but he always
20:27finds a way regardless of the situation he always finds a way to to get back into it how do you assess
20:32his start to the season so far yeah he's not not having a great time um at the at the moment but
20:39and no one's immune to chris criticism let's have this right well i mean we are here especially as
20:44journalists to to criticize and you know we've had so many barnies about ratings when you give
20:48them a low rating for players over here but also players are very realistic about their performances
20:53and like they they'll be honest about them themselves like colby would want you know more
20:57he'd want more in terms of a goal return and and he was frustrated on wednesday it was clear i mean he's
21:02had a couple of games now where he's been swallowed up by big powerful defenders getting a little change
21:07out of the referee which he never gets any change out of the ref that was i mean but there was a kind of
21:12maybe a few more distress signals on wednesday from colby then you would often see he wasn't getting
21:18any favors but he was more he was in the referee's ear and getting frustrated and maybe kind of want
21:23to channel that a bit more and stay in in in the zone really um but you'd think as i say that colby
21:30would after everything he's done you know people would have earned that little bit of leeway but
21:36i just think some people just don't like colby bishop and yeah i don't get it i really don't
21:44get it i did after what he's done and not just his goal return but the art of leading the line
21:50is as a young strikers and a young number nine watch what colby bishop does and you'll learn from him
21:55um but maybe i just yeah it surprises me again i was out a couple of weeks ago my annual night out
22:05and um i ended up in a pub talking to some pompey fans and they were just really vehement and they
22:10don't they weren't having colby bishop and really not you really you don't see what he does and they
22:17just they just wouldn't they just couldn't see it and um it really surprises me that that's the case
22:23but just as i say maybe that that's it and that that's football maybe he's not a yakubu with electric
22:29pace and you know he's really exciting to watch but just he's got a everything you need to be a
22:34championship number nine and he's proved that um so maybe there's a bit of that that goes in in the
22:40mix with colby but you know what he's proved time and time again he proved that last season
22:45he's proved his worth in in his time at pompey in the league one and get this out of the division
22:49and how important he is and uh he could probably do a bit more help and you know if you've got josh
22:57murphy in the side what what what are you losing there you're losing that that wonderful crossing
23:02ability which which colby thrives on so maybe poppy at the moment have to look at doing things a little
23:07bit differently um you know you've got segs who likes to play in the channel and a half space and
23:13cut in that's not necessarily a crossing situation you know cold common chaplain's coming in there's
23:18the whole dynamic there wherever he fits into it so yeah maybe they've got probably looking to like
23:24work and evolve there and that's that's part of it as well um but yeah don't write off colby bishop
23:32that's what i wanted to touch and you just alluded to it there was the impact josh murphy has i think
23:37when you take josh murphy out the side you really lose that that sort of attack into the box those balls
23:44into the box where he's not one of those players that's gonna chase onto a ball and beat a defender
23:50for pace but in the box he's one of the most deadly he's one of the most potent strikers in the goal in
23:56the box sorry and when you take out his main source of of goals i.e the crosses into the box from josh
24:02murphy that sort of i wouldn't say limits his game but that that takes out a large part of his game where
24:08those balls where he's so deadly on getting to the end to you you haven't got that when josh
24:14murphy's not there i mean i don't need to say any more pep but you're not but it's more of a statement
24:19you've done it all for me there um with josh murphy he's a throwback isn't he as i say the inverted
24:27wingers are the de rigueur now and uh it's so but yeah the game's evolving with josh
24:34he's got that wonderful ability to take across early or go down the outside and defenders don't
24:39know where to get tight or drop off and they're kind of in that no man's land and then they're dead
24:44and that's what josh murphy brings to the table um and it's what colby thrives on um and yeah as i
24:49say that again look at the stats i have and and i bet but i'll bet the number of deliveries have gone
24:55down and that's that's colby's meat and drink so uh but what he does do and there's no one quite like
25:00him is it even though it hasn't quite happened if i'm honest in some of the recent games he's a
25:05really great exponent of the number nine trade leading the line holding the ball up um and people
25:10running off him the josh murphy's and segretich's so maybe things are kind of because kind of chaplin's
25:16not that kind of necessarily so explosive they're going to run in behind so yeah there's that and i'm
25:21not going to repeat myself but because i already sort of have to an extent but that's that's all in
25:26the mix as well i've just in time we're pushing the half an hour mark so i'll i'll i'll try to wrap
25:31it up um obviously there's going to be a return to fratton park tomorrow for for sammy silvera
25:37john massino spoke about him yesterday in his in his pre-match presser it's he sort of had like a
25:43i've written my story this morning a mini career revival he's been outstanding by the sounds of it
25:48which i don't think throwback 12 months ago that's quite a career turnaround yeah i'm glad i'm glad for
25:55sammy because he's a lovely chap he's a real good lad um he's a he's a typical bright and breezy aussie
26:02uh really nice to deal with just didn't work for him at pompey but it happens it look these these
26:07things and he didn't didn't work for a pompey and you know how was he 23 24 and then he kind of goes to
26:15blackpool doesn't work for him and now he's you know playing a part for the league leaders were unbeaten
26:20it's it's just the way it happens at a new you know new turnover manager a new start and um
26:27obviously they see a role for him so um i hope he gets he's not going to get you know a wonderful
26:34reception but i hope doesn't get a terrible one either i don't think he deserves that didn't work
26:38for him and he became a bit of a scapegoat didn't he for you know last december when when the bristol
26:45city was i wasn't at the game but it got ugly and i was in the way once the fans yeah it's not
26:53nice to see that and once fans go that way we're not all fans but an element of the fans and there's
26:59no way back for it i think that kind of that that was the final now in his coffin really when it when
27:04it went that way and like he was always going to go back probably going to go back anyway but once that
27:08happened he was you know his time at pompey was done um but yeah it was he probably just was the
27:15the target of the fans frustrations at a time when you know things didn't go well over the first half
27:20of last season did they really it took probably a long time to get going um and when they did get
27:26going they were still susceptible for absolute thrashings because the defensive sort of issues they
27:31had that's not a lot that's it shouldn't be on sammy silvera should it so no i i i hope he gets um
27:37you know i'll say probably hopefully probably a non-plus the fans won tomorrow and you might get
27:42the usual we've seen you before chan i'm sure um and pompey fans fans leave it at that yeah well
27:49fingers crossed then jorge thanks for joining me today uh it's been a pleasure we've been going
27:54almost half an hour which is an extended version of pompey talk but it's been great to catch up and uh
28:00you'll be you'll be in fashion tomorrow yes mate yeah so we will see you uh in the next episode
28:06thanks for joining us
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