RELEGATION RIVALS BOOSTED
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The latest Pompey news updates every day from the Pompey Sound Newsdesk.
What recent changes have Blackburn Rovers made to their squad?
Pompey's relegation rivals, Blackburn Rovers, have been given the green light by the EFL to make changes to their 25-man squad for the final stretch of the championship season. It's not just a single change, either. The league has allowed Rovers to make two tweaks, paving the way for them to add new signing Nathan Redmond, the former Southampton winger who arrived on a free transfer last Friday. The move will look familiar to Pompey fans, who used the same rule back in their first season in the Championship in 2024-25. After new signing Ibrahim Boat suffered a season-ending knee injury just days after arriving from Fulham, the club was able to remove him from the squad list.
Who is Nathan Redmond and why is he significant for Blackburn Rovers?
That freed up a spot for Kobe Bishop to be re-registered two months later, when he returned from heart surgery. Rovers, currently 19th and just three points ahead of Pompey, have now done the same. With defensive pair Sondre Tronstad and Lewis Miller both out for the season, Blackburn have taken them off the list. This has allowed them to register 22-year-old academy product George Pratt, who has 10 senior appearances and spent the first half of the season on loan at Chorley for the final seven games. But they didn't stop there. They also used the second available spot to snap up one-cap England international Nathan Redmond on a free, getting the deal done before the March 26 deadline. The 32-year-old winger, who once cost Southampton £10m back in 2026,
What challenges do Blackburn Rovers face in the championship?
has been a free agent since his short-term contract at Sheffield Wednesday ended in January. He struggled for game time at Hillsborough, clocking up just 103 minutes across six appearances. Before that, he had a tough two-season spell at Burnley, where he played only 14 times before being let go last summer. Despite his lack of recent action, Rovers boss Michael O'Neill is clearly hoping Redmond can provide a spark for an attack that has managed only 36 league goals all season. One less than Pompey, whose own struggles in front of goal are well known. To get him up to speed, Redmond played 45 minutes for the under-21s this week. After the international break, Blackburn, who have played one more game than Pompey, are away to Birmingham before hosting West Brom on bank holiday Monday.
As for Pompey, they still have one open spot in their squad, which could go to Josh Knight if he can prove he's recovered from his back injury. So that piece of shrewd administration by Blackburn means that they have strengthened their squad significantly going into the final seven games for them of the season.
What are the implications of Gus Caballero's international debut?
And of course, they're also technically strengthened by the fact that with Northern Ireland being knocked out of the World Cup preliminaries, their manager, Michael O'Neill, who was dividing his time between being manager of Blackburn and manager of Northern Ireland, is free now. to concentrate on avoiding relegation for Blackburn. Whether that means that they're going to get better results than they would have done if he was also thinking about the upcoming Bosnia and Herzegovina game, which is now something that Italy have got on their plate, only time will tell. But on paper, Blackburn is at three points ahead of us, but we have a game in hand, are considerably strengthened by developments during the international break.
A spectator in the south stand during the home game against Derby was seen laughing out loud when a Pompey wag pointed out that Pompey had three loan players on the pitch, two from Luton and one from Santos. To be fair, it was a nice arch remark. However, the fan's observation had a serious side. At the end of the season Pompey may have an option to buy a player who made 12 appearances for one of the world's most famous sides prior to his loan move to Fratton Park. Gus Caballero has just made his international debut for Paraguay, in a 1-0 victory over Greece coming on for half an hour as a substitute. Paraguay's management, their head coach, and Paraguayan journalists, appeared to agree that Caballero's debut was satisfactory, and that they would welcome the opportunity to see more of him.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:07
2
What recent changes have Blackburn Rovers made to their squad?
0:07–0:46
3
Who is Nathan Redmond and why is he significant for Blackburn Rovers?
0:46–1:33
4
What challenges do Blackburn Rovers face in the championship?
1:33–2:37
5
What are the implications of Gus Caballero's international debut?
2:37–5:09
6
How do Leicester City fans compare to Pompey fans?
5:09–6:13
7
What factors contribute to the loyalty of Pompey fans?
6:13–8:43
8
Why is the comparison between Leicester and Pompey fans controversial?
8:43–11:54