Mark McMahon is joined by Neil Allen to discuss Kusini Yengi's time at Pompey after the Aussie striker sealed a free-transfer move to Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen.
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00:01Hello and welcome to this bite-sized edition of Palmy Talk. My name is Mark McMahon and
00:06joining me today to discuss Cassini Yangi is the news' Neil Allen. Neil, we got word
00:12yesterday on Sunday that Cassini Yangi has left Fratton Park and went to pasture
00:18north of the border in Aberdeen. Was that a surprise to you?
00:25It didn't take long really, didn't it? Suddenly Sky was saying in the morning that he was
00:28off to Aberdeen and obviously when a player leads a football club such as
00:33Pompey, you've got no inkling where he's heading to. Pompey's staff wouldn't have
00:39either. He's gone, he's at their sights now and you see never quite know where a
00:43player's going to pop up. He's got a new move quite quickly really,
00:49isn't he? These things can drag on and I think to our knowledge he's the only
00:55member of Pompey's squad that have departed, they've got a club already. Which shows you
01:00how in demand Yangi was and also how interested he was in the projects at
01:05Aberdeen and without doubt he had offers in this country, offers abroad and he's now
01:11in Scotland and good luck to him. He put a video out didn't he on Saturday, a really
01:17well-produced video showing his best bits and great moments and that's what he'll be
01:23remembered for, primarily for the good moments in the promotion season.
01:29Yeah, it was very quick and although he had a poor season at Fronten Park last season,
01:37his qualities, we all know what he's capable of. It shouldn't really surprise us that there
01:41has been interest in him this summer after Pompey announced that he was departing.
01:46Yeah, he didn't show any qualities at all for the Championship, let's be honest. I know his
01:52season was wrecked by numerous injuries, repeated injuries. The games he did play in, the games
01:59he started, he was very poor. He clearly doesn't suit the John Massino pressing system he's used
02:07at the moment, whereas someone like Colby Bishop thrives in that and it made sense really for him
02:14to leave. Pompey could have extended his deal, keeping that pay in there on the off chance they
02:22could sell him at all, but they decided that a clean break was best and John Massino explained that
02:26and the reasons behind that at the end of the season. So yeah, it's a shame it didn't work out,
02:30but I think it was just best for all parties. He's gone now and obviously we're going to be reflecting
02:36on his excellent moments at the football club. For me, I know I supported this when I tweeted
02:43the other day about his outstanding legacy, but it was. He was a huge, pivotal member of a side
02:52which won the League One title to return to the Championship. Second top scorer and again,
02:58we're going to talk about his great moments there. So for me, he serves every respect and
03:02the Pompey fans have given him that respect for his part in that big, big season.
03:09Yeah. 26 games he played that year in League One, was Pompey won the title. Nine goals.
03:15That was decent shown from a guy who had only played for Western Sydney Wonders in the A-League
03:2112 months prior to that there. Nobody should underestimate just the impact he had at Fratton Park
03:27in that first season.
03:28Wait a minute. Overall that season, he got 13 goals overall from his second top scorer.
03:35And now I've seen plenty of players enter the Hall of Fame and lauded as legends and heroes
03:43over the years that didn't achieve anywhere near what Kassini-Yenghi achieved in that season.
03:48Second top scorer in a title winning, League One title winning side. That's excellent.
03:54Yeah.
03:55It really is. And obviously, we're going to separate what he, his failings in the last season
04:00and they have been failings, no doubt about that at all. But I wrote it at the time when
04:04he left. History will be kind. You will be remembering Kassini-Yenghi's successes. And there
04:12were many in that season. Bolton at home. Peterborough away.
04:17Yeah. Against Ricardo Santos, who at the time was considered the best defender in League
04:22One.
04:22Yeah. Superbly. Peterborough away. It's an iconic Pompey game. His goal, the celebration.
04:30Yeah.
04:31Everyone knew at the night that Pompey were on their way to promotion. And let's not forget,
04:35he scored in the game in which Pompey beat Barnsley to win promotion and the title in April
04:432024. He scored in that game. So these are key moments. And think about Yanghi. He was
04:52very unpredictable, but he was capable of a bit of magic. Even in games when he didn't
04:56play very well. I think Cambridge might have been one where he was struggling in the game
05:00and he won a penalty. Correct me if I'm wrong. But there are moments like that where he just
05:06made things happen. And the start of the season coming off the bench, scoring his debut, didn't
05:14he, in various competitions. Hit the ground running.
05:18Yeah. I was going to say, at one point last season, I'm sorry, in that 2023-24 season, people
05:24were even saying he should be ahead of Colby Bishop in the tackling order. So when you
05:30had a great season like that, you had the fans on the side, why did it go wrong? What went
05:35wrong? And we know he had the injuries. We know he went off on international duty when
05:39perhaps he shouldn't have. But why could he not replicate that form in this current Pompey
05:46side in the championship?
05:48Well, firstly, the argument about the international duty. I don't blame a player going on international
05:53duty. If he's been called up for the international side, Pompey have obviously held torts in Australia
05:58because they've got good links, as we've been told. The decision was made. I would not have
06:03a go in for that. If a player turned down England, we were all having a go at the player, wouldn't
06:07we, really? So he wants to play for his country. I get that. The problem was he kept coming back
06:12injured, didn't he? Which is hugely, hugely frustrating. The other aspect is, why didn't it work
06:18for him in the championship? It might simply be the case of, he's not good enough at the
06:23championship. Might be that. Injuries played a huge part. But not every player who was outstanding
06:30in that League One title winning side have been good enough at championship level so far.
06:38Paddy Lane hasn't proven himself either, has he? So Connor Ogilvie, it took him a while, didn't it,
06:44to come to fruition and put in those performances. So it might be just a case of, he's not good enough
06:50at that level. So I'm glad he's not been pining to stay at that level with other clubs. I'm glad
07:00he's just gone a clean break and gone elsewhere to try and prove himself. But again, we would always
07:07remember the good times. In years to come, Cassini Young is going to come to Fratton Park and have a
07:11tremendous reception and rightly so for what he achieved in that promotion season. A lot of
07:17these games from the bench, they just made things happen. He scored goals, good goals as well.
07:23And for me, Colby Bishop was always ahead of him. I've long argued this. I'm not doing it with
07:29hindsight. I've said it many times on here, many times on social media, I've had arguments
07:33people last season. Sorry, the promotion season, 23-24. Bishop brings so much more to the team,
07:41to John Massino's system. But Yang, he also played a massive part, second top scorer. Outstanding.
07:48Yeah. He was obviously very popular with the fans. He always had a smile on his face. He always had
07:54time for the fans on a match day, even if he wasn't playing. However, as you mentioned, he didn't
08:01have a great season. And on that basis, there wasn't that many people demanding that Pompey
08:07had him a new contract when that retain list came out, was there?
08:10No, not at all. No, I think that everyone was very realistic. Massino started in a few games,
08:16didn't he? And he just didn't work at this level, didn't he? And everyone was very realistic that
08:22his time was up. I could barely recall a dissenting voice saying, why have we let him go? I mean,
08:30somebody said it the other day, but again, that's with hindsight, isn't it? Oh, he's moved to Aberdeen.
08:34We shouldn't have let him go. Well, that's with hindsight. No one said it at the time. No one said
08:38at the time, hey, let's give him a new deal because he might move to Aberdeen and you might get money
08:42for him. No one said it. At the time, I think everyone agreed. It wasn't a shock. It wasn't even a
08:49shock when he wasn't handed a new deal at Pompey. They could have easily initiated the 12-month clause,
08:55but they didn't want to do that. And everyone sort of struck their shoulders. So be it. We knew he was
08:59going to go. Just when you say shock, I remember the time we put in our headline, shock departure.
09:05To me, it was a wee bit of a shock because we all assumed that Pompey would hand him a 12-month contract
09:10and then perhaps sell him and make a wee bit of money on him. So the nature of his departure,
09:14I suppose, technically was a shock. I said at the time, I thought it would make business sense to
09:20renew the option and try and cash in on him. But that question was put to John Massino after
09:26he was released. And he explained the reasons why. They didn't want to, a bit clumsily phrased
09:33here by me, but they didn't want to be lumbered with a player on a decent wage next season who
09:38they don't want and they're looking to sell. What happens if you can't sell him? What happens
09:43then when you've got too many strikers in your squad? You've got another wage you don't want
09:47in your squad. So they couldn't run the risk of that. And let's not forget, Cassini-Yang
09:52would be more attractive to any football club as a free agent. So if he's got interest this
09:57summer, that's because he's a free agent. It's not because anyone has to pay 100 grand
10:00plus to Pompey. So yeah, that was the decision Pompey made. And it's worked for both parties,
10:06doesn't it really? He's got his fresh start. He's got a decent football club. He's got European
10:10football. And Pompey now have got a wage off their books for a player they didn't necessarily
10:16want to help them with their budget.
10:20Yeah. As you mentioned, this is the last question, sorry. As you mentioned earlier,
10:24he put up his video on social media. It was accompanied by a classy message to everybody
10:30at Pompey thanking the club, thanking supporters for their support. He leaves with a heavy heart
10:35and he realised he didn't do enough this season. So a real class act, Cassini-Yangie, which
10:41sort of fits the billing that Pompey fans had with him. On that note, if any ever
10:46Dean fans are watching this here, what can you say to them that's going to make them
10:50excited to have Cassini-Yangie in their ranks next season?
10:54There's so much potential there. It sounds laughable, really, because he's 26. But he's
10:58got a bit of pace about him, great physicality. He's got an eye for goal. He's got an eye for
11:04the unpredictability. He can be a pest of pain, cause defence problems. We saw it in League
11:111 all the time. We saw it against, as you mentioned, against Bolton and some of the
11:16Bolton's defenders there. He's a real pest and fans loved him. There's a song. Pompey's
11:27promotion song was centred around Cassini-Yangie. That shows you how highly regarded he was and
11:33what he contributed in that season as second top scorer. Things just happened when he was
11:39on a pitch. Even when he was playing badly, things just happened. A late tap-in, winning
11:45a penalty, just a predictability about him. So I prefer to remember him for that season
11:52rather than the shadow of the player we saw in the Championship with his injuries and struggling
11:57to come to terms at that level. And for me, he'll always be fondly remembered at Fratton
12:01Park.
12:01No, definitely. OK, Neil, thank you for your time. This is a bite-sized video this week,
12:07so thank you for your time. And as always, we thank Cassini-Yangie for his efforts at Pompey
12:12and we wish him well at Aberdeen. Until we meet again, see you later. Goodbye.
12:18Bye.