Chapter 1: What were the key takeaways from the Millwall game?
For various valid reasons, nobody from Pompey Sound was able to get to the Millwall game. And since we feel it's important that we do talk to somebody who watched the game, we contacted one of the Mussino family, certain in the knowledge that they were there en masse and have a good footballing brain. And sure enough, John Mussino's dad, Gordon, was kind enough to fill me in on his views.
First of all, what... are his main takeaways from the Millwall game.
The team are playing with much more confidence than they'd shown hitherto. I suspect a lot of that is down to Abu Adams and to a slightly lesser extent, Millie Alley and a rejuvenated Marlon Pack and John Swift. Mm-hmm. That's the main takeaway, really.
Yes, those last two names that you mentioned, these are, politely, they're seniors. Yes. And now they're bringing their seniority, both of them. Swift, it's very recent. Marlon Pack, I suspect it's simply always been there in him.
Well, I was at the game with, amongst others, a Millwall fan on Saturday, and he immediately clocked that Marlon... bringing his senior game, indeed, in terms of both winning fouls and slowing it down when it needed slowing down. I mean, against Charlton, he was caught out for pace a couple of times, but he's going to be.
Yes, his argument there, I've seen, is that speed was never one of his great strengths.
No, but I do remember him as a youngster playing at 15 years ago. Well, we all were, but there you are.
I didn't know he'd played alongside John. That's new to me and probably new to quite a few Pompey fans.
Yeah, he was on loan, I think, to Wickham at the time from whoever it was. But yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm right about that. I'm not...
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Chapter 2: How have players like Abu Adams and Marlon Pack influenced team confidence?
So it's working quite well. I do worry that tomorrow might be a slight bridge too far for some of the senior players, as it were. Yeah. Yeah.
There'll be a queue for the ice bath.
Yes. I've just looked it up, and indeed he made his Football League debut on loan at Wickham in 2009. Interesting. Yeah. Very interesting.
Can I ask, what do you make of the new boy? We had a glimpse of Caballero, but we saw a full hour of him. Well, you did. You saw a full hour of him on Saturday. Your thoughts?
Well, I mean, what I like about him, apart from the fact he seems to have bags of confidence and took his goal very, very well, is that he's a big lad. Yes. He's not, you know, and with greatest apologies to the likes of... the South Korean champions.
Min-Hok Yang, yes.
Yes, and others who have been very skillful players, but very, very lightweight in terms of the championship where you need to be big. He does fulfil all that, so... You know, and he's done it on a cold Tuesday night at Charlton. So it's not as though he's going to be phased by some of this stuff.
Your typical championship game sometimes seems to me to be just a knuckle duster short of a brawl. Yeah, yeah.
A bit like ice hockey.
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Chapter 3: What role does seniority play in team performance?
right and I don't ask my three other sons or I don't give their work scrutiny. I have to bite my lip sometimes. I'm a great advocate of three at the back and two wing backs and John has always not gone against it but he prefers the traditional back four. I've expressed my views and that's that.
So, yeah, we... I mean, he has enough pressure on him anyway without me going on asking him why he's not doing this or that. And his mum, of course, is always concerned whether he's warm enough on the sidelines.
I've heard her saying over and over, he needs a longer coat.
He was in shirt sleeves on...
Yeah, but when you're a good manager, everything is a statement.
Yeah. Oh, and by the way, you said you enjoyed your Saturday afternoons. Have you noticed that we only have one more three o'clock home kickoff?
What are your thoughts on that? And what about John's as well?
And that, I think, might go as well. Oh, God. It's Leicester and they're bound to kind of move that. I mean, I don't like it. I really don't like it. You know, 12.30 on coming up on Saturday, it's a rush to get there. And then you've got this, well, it's okay in the afternoon, but... Really, I want to be at football at 3 o'clock.
Routine. We need our routines. Gordon, you and I are long enough in the tooth to admit that our Saturday afternoons from late August through until the end of the season have taken care of themselves. Now, what do you do on a Saturday when you haven't got a 3 o'clock kick-off, even if it's 12.30? It's all wrong.
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Chapter 4: What are the strengths of new player Caballero?
a bigger transfer budget is necessary.
Yeah. I haven't spoken to him about it because it's been so chaotic with away games. Charlton Millwall has sort of not been around much. Same with tomorrow. But hopefully we'll have a chat with him on Tuesday. on Saturday, that's a legitimate topic rather than why didn't you play so-and-so right by midfield, etc. I think that's a legitimate topic. So I'd be interested to find out his thinking.
But I mean, we all think the same. I think so. I think, you know. I think two years of doing it on a tight budget would wear anybody down.
It would. It would, although I thought he looked very young and relaxed after the Millwall game, and who wouldn't?
You do, yes, exactly.
Exactly. Good. Gordon, thank you so much for your time.
Well, hopefully see you on Saturday.
Can't wait.
All right.
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