Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The latest Pompey news. Updates every day from the Pompey Sound News Desk. John Messinio has lauded Harvey Blair's display in Pompey's 1-1 draw against QPR on Boxing Day. I thought Harvey was excellent, considering it was his first start in seven months. Really pleased for Harvey. I thought he looks lively from what we've seen.
We've seen glimpses of that in the past and saw glimpses again against QPR. It was a solid enough performance.
Chapter 2: What recent performance did Harvey Blair deliver against QPR?
Fitness is the next thing for Harvey. First of all, it's to make sure he stays fit, and second of all, he builds up that fitness so we can see him for longer in games, and also in those games he can keep going, keep going, keep going. He worked really hard today, created plenty, and I was pleased for him.
It was curious, guarded praise, wasn't it, from John Massino for Harvey Blair, considering he turned in, especially in the first half, but also throughout his time on the pitch.
pretty impressive performance there was that moment in the first half when he took on his fullback and did a step over I mean where's that fullback been for the last 20 years hello people step over the ball he fell for it big time went to his left upfield Blair
stole three yards off him and had a chance to look up and get a cross in the cross was beaten out it was a near post cross flat maybe he could have pulled it back maybe he could have gone far maybe there wasn't anybody in the box who was expecting him to get to the position where he got and therefore they didn't get the position you'd want to be in when that cross arrives so maybe there was nobody there for him to actually aim at but the point is he absolutely skinned
there right back and I mean doesn't that lift your spirits as a supporter when one of your team skins one of the other team it's second only to scoring a goal isn't it and for all Josh Murphy's ability to out sprint his opponent push the ball past him and then get onto it first and get that crossing very quickly with no back lift so that the guy hasn't got an opportunity to stick out a leg and block it he does that time and time again he does that so well and
But what we saw from Blair was a twinkle toes moment. And there were several of them. On occasions, he cut inside, went past a man. I think went past two men on one occasion and got off an incredible cross field pass to Lang, which any creative number 10 would have been really happy, would have been celebrating. It was such a good pass.
It was right on his foot and it was low and it was flat and it was fast. It wasn't so low that anybody could get ahead on it. It was just about the right trajectory, but it was quick. And when you're receiving a long ball, you want it to be coming to you quickly because if it's up there floating, then there's going to be somebody right up your, you know where, when you receive the ball.
And, you know, that's when you can get a clattering or be made to look foolish because your control appears not to be so good because you're worried about the man breathing down your neck. So I thought Harvey Blair was a real 8.5. But Messina was a little bit tempered in his praise of him. Why? He keeps on about the fact that Blair's got to be consistently fit.
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Chapter 3: How important is fitness for Harvey Blair's future contributions?
And he seems to be suggesting that that is for Blair himself to organise, to control. I'm sure there's no implication that Blair doesn't look after himself. in terms of his nutrition, in terms of his sleeping and all the rest of it, all the rest of that.
But I think Massino is saying he needs to look after himself on the pitch and on the training ground because we want him fit for 98 minutes, especially with Murphy out for another couple of weeks, or so John Massino says. We need Blair fit for those games. And then thereafter, we need him fit because he's a very potent person, player, to have on the subs bench, as he proved against QPR.
Once again, John Massino handling his players with discreet diplomacy. Speaking on the subject of the January window, Rich Hughes, the Pompey sporting director, says... We find ourselves in December with some summer transfer window deals having not quite worked out as intended yet, this is not where we want to be in the table. Can we attract good quality signings in January? I think we can.
We're in roughly the same spot we were 12 months ago in terms of points on the board, and we were able to recruit last January to positively affect the group. That's the aim again next month. It may be that some of our business is done towards the back end of January, which comes with its frustrations, but there is money in the budget available for January.
We want to be as active and proactive as possible. There's a scenario where both statements can be true. Last January, we bought a mixture of players for the here and now and also some we thought could develop and grow with the club.
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Chapter 4: What did John Massino's praise for Harvey Blair reveal?
We have to move towards making decisions which allow us to be sustainable. That will dictate some decisions we make, but we need to keep both strategies moving forward. Of course we want to prioritise the here and now and get players who can make an immediate impact in the last few months of the season.
It will disappoint some supporters, maybe some people behind the scenes at Pompey, that the plan remains to look for players who can have an immediate impact on the game, on our game, on the season so far, come into the side, affect the side, because they're that good. They'll be experienced players. They may cost a few bob or they may come here on loan or they may come here on a free.
But whichever way they come here, we're going to be going for the kind of players... that Pompey fans want to see because they want to get out of the relegation zone as quickly as possible. That's kind of understandable. But as long as we got out of the relegation zone by the last day of the season, then that will be fine.
Maybe not the season that we hoped for and planned for and kind of implied that we were going to get, especially during the first six or eight weeks of the season when things were looking very much according to the script that we'd all bought into. But survival will do us this time round.
i think the indications to the eisners are clear that you need to spend a little bit more money if we're going to climb up that table which is a hard table a competitive table and as pointed out in a few informed places a table which is a league which is harder this year than it was last year for a variety of reasons some of them obvious some of them mysterious so the
transfer plan during the january window is to bring in some experienced players and maybe also invest in one or two youngsters who we think will be assets and have a long-term sustainability about them that will again disappoint one or two vocal fans but i think the vast majority of the 18,000 or so who turn up every home game, would turn up for every away game if the availability was there.
And then there's another 10,000 Pompey fans scattered around the region and around the world. I think most of them have got the savvy to understand that. I hope so anyway.
With football a rapidly growing sport in Australia, thanks in no small measure to Pompey's investment in young Australian talent, not to mention Wrexham's big media push down under, a number of Australian pundits specialising in commenting on the EFL have sprung up. One of the more prominent voices is that of Dirk van Riems, who is focusing a lot of his attention on Pompey's Australian recruits.
Here are his comments on the recent turn of events at Fratton Park, in particular, the injury to Connor Ogilvie, who Van Riems considers to be an enormously important player. Connor Ogilvie is Pompey's most underrated asset. The first time we clapped eyes on him down under, there was a question being asked, surely he's an Aussie?
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