I’m a Plymouth Argyle fan, for my sins. Long-suffering with an emphasis on the suffering. It’s a long beaten cliche that “big six” fans aren’t “proper” fans, and that they don’t understand the trials and tribulations of supporting a side outside of their bubble, but there is some truth to it. The exception here is Tottenham of course, I genuinely sympathise with you.
It is completely understandable to have expectations based on the size of your club. A season outside of the top four may be cause for complete outcry for some. But ultimately the tonic for that is a summer of spending hundreds of millions and a managerial change without so much as a second thought to rectify the prior season. Truth be told, the stakes of these things can be so much higher for smaller clubs. And so with absolutely no subtext from what I’ve just said, allow me to take you through one of the most turbulent months I can ever remember as a football fan.
Embed from Getty Images31st of December
Plymouth Argyle are bottom of the Championship. Four points adrift of safety and ravaged by injury, head coach Wayne Rooney parts ways with the club by mutual consent. Leaving with him is Mike Phelan, after a grand total of 23 days at the club. This came shortly after photos and videos leaked of Rooney out drinking into the early hours, and appearing to invite people back into his flat. Rooney later clarified in a statement that these were family friends from the area that he was showing around.
Embed from Getty ImagesNotably, this means that the club is not required to pay out the remainder of his contract. Given that supposed investment is still lagging behind despite having been in the works for over a year, this is important for Argyle’s ability to operate in the January transfer window. First team coach Kevin Nancekivell and club captain Joe Edwards take joint charge.
1st of January
Having taken a solitary point from the last 21 available – including a 4-0 drubbing by today’s opponents Bristol City – managerless Argyle conspired to rescue a 2-2 draw with centre-back Julio Pleguezuelo notching his first for the club in the 91st minute. No one expects the Spanish intervention. A shred of light is offered at the end of the tunnel for the Green Army. Rumours swirl that previous manager Steven Schumacher is the favourite to take over having marshalled Argyle to the League One title with 101 points 18 months prior.
Embed from Getty Images3rd of January
Uh oh. Andre Gray left the club upon expiration of his contract in favour of Fatih Karagumruk in the Turkish second division. His last telling contribution in Green was a brace of screamers against Watford. With injuries to every other striker in the squad, this seemed troubling. Star centre-back Lewis Gibson also departed for Preston North End after his £1.5m release clause was met. Having captained the side for most of the season, this seemed equally troubling, It’s not all doom and gloom though, as Argyle broke their transfer record to bring £1.5m signing Michael Baidoo from IF Elfsborg in Sweden. After just missing out on the Ghanain’s signature in the summer, he had kept himself busy by scoring the winner against AS Roma in the Europa League. Swapping that for a relegation scrap with Luton and Cardiff? Your guess is as good as mine.
4th of January
A point away from home? A clean sheet away from home? We must be dreaming. A 0-0 draw with fellow strugglers Stoke City made watching paint dry look interesting. Just a second clean sheet of the season pushed the Greens a little closer to not losing pace with the escaping pack above them. Argyle fan sources seem incredibly confident that Schumacher will be the one to assume the hot seat. Given his dishonourable departure to Stoke just over a year ago, Argyle fans liken his supposed re-signing to taking back a partner after they’ve cheated. Nevertheless there is excitement around a club that has been devoid of such emotion for months on end.
Embed from Getty Images9th of January
Still without a new manager announced, the Green Army grew restless. Chairman Simon Hallet puts out a statement regarding the previous year, and the outlook for Argyle.
The Positives:
- In lieu of investment being finalised, he alongside minority shareholders Argyle Green would stump up the funds for the January transfer window.
- Recognition is made that the average Championship club operates with losses annually of £25m. A reminder is made that Argyle’s squad now costs £14m a year before transfers, when just three years ago this figure was £2.5m.
- The club is still being run in a financially sufficient way.
- “Raising the profile of the club” was not a consideration when hiring Wayne Rooney. Allegedly.
The Negatives:
- The investment is not particularly close to being finalised.
- The club’s budget is still dwarfed by almost every other club in the division.
The ???:
- Upon the departure of Wayne Rooney, the club cancelled a documentary that was in progress, documenting his life as Argyle manager. It is important to hail back to the notion that his hiring was not to raise the profile of the club. No further comment, your honour.
Amongst all of this, Polish international Tymoteusz Puchacz signs on loan with an option to buy from Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel. This deal had been known to many Argyle fans days prior to the official announcement, due to the Pole commenting “bomboclart” on an Instagram post claiming that the deal was done. Only Argyle.
Embed from Getty Images10th of January
That’s not Steven Schumacher. Argyle announced their new manager late in the evening, with the Austrian-Bosnian Miron Muslic assuming the hot seat. Previously at Belgian side Cercle Brugge, Muslic had taken the minnows from relegation candidates to only their fourth European qualification in their history. In the following days Muslic proceeded to take social media by storm with his four-minute opening speech to the team seemingly having all of Twitter ready to run through brick walls for him. Argyle rejoice – as well as the bookies, as Steven Schumacher had been backed into as short as ⅕ just the day before.
Embed from Getty Images11th of January
What’s the perfect tonic for the team with the worst away record across England’s top four leagues? Playing a Premier League side with the best home record across Europe’s top five leagues of course. FA Cup magic was in the air as Argyle inexplicably beat Brentford 1-0 to gain passage to the fourth round. Excuse me? Star man Morgan Whittaker bagged the winner in the final ten minutes, with a characteristic left-footed drive from outside the box. The 19-league-goal star from last season may be about to catch fire again. Muslic looked on from the stands as Kevin Nancekivell almost broke his own ankle and teared up during the emotional celebrations. Later in the month Nancekivell would be awarded the freedom of the city of Plymouth. Build him a statue. Suddenly everything is alright. Breathe.
Embed from Getty ImagesOh, and Adam Forshaw departs by mutual cancellation of his contract. Shockingly, given his poor form and the other events of the day, nobody really notices.
12th of January
That was worth it. Argyle drew Liverpool at home in the next round of the cup. In a very popular move from the club, priority is only given for tickets to those who had signed up for the club’s loyalty programme “Evergreen” before the 11th of January. One can only hope that no refunds were offered to Liverpool fans residing in Plymouth purchasing after this date.
13th of January
The departure of director of football Neil Dewsnip is formally announced. Having overseen one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, Dewsnip had become unpopular for his recent managerial appointments of Ian Foster and Wayne Rooney – statistically two of the worst four Argyle managers in history. Given his previous connection to the two, it was alleged by fans that these appointments were through friendship rather than what was best for the club.
14th of January
At this point this month already feels a year long. Argyle drew 1-1 at home to Oxford United for the first game of the Muslic era. Rami Al-Hajj netted for the Greens who were still operating without a recognised striker. In a sentence that could sum up Argyle’s season, Muslic said “if you can’t win, then don’t lose”.
18th of January
Back down to earth. Despite Daniel Grimshaw having his best game in goal for Argyle since his summer signing, Argyle are downed 1-0 by QPR. Perhaps cruelly, Grimshaw would end the month being confirmed as the Argyle backup ‘keeper to Conor Hazard. In truth 1-0 flattered a terrible Argyle performance, which Muslic ratified to the press. With no signings on the horizon, all of the goodwill around the club was beginning to dissipate, with people wondering what Muslic must think he’d walked into. There was also an allegation of racist abuse by an Argyle fan towards a QPR fan, which Devon and Cornwall police are investigating.
22nd of January
Uh oh. Really this time: uh oh. Argyle lost 5-0 at home to Burnley live on Sky, with all five goals coming in the first half. Multiple goals came from costly individual errors, most notably Burnley’s fifth, which came from an underhit backpass from captain Adam Randell. Chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” were compounded with sarcastic cheers whenever Argyle kept the ball for more than a passing moment. Oh and did I mention, Brendan Galloway was out for the season, leaving the Greens with just two fit centre-backs in a three centre-back system?
Embed from Getty ImagesAs if things could not get worse, Morgan Whittaker was not even in the squad. Muslic claims that Whittaker refused to be part of the squad given the bids received from Burnley and Middlesborough, whilst Whittaker maintains that it was a mutual decision. So to take stock: star player allegedly refusing to play? Check. Only two fit centre-backs? Check. One of (yes, remarkably there is competition) the most humiliating performances of the season? Check. The optimism of 11 days ago felt like a lifetime ago.
24th of January
Are you still with me? The inevitable was confirmed. Morgan Whittaker departed for Middlesborough for £6m plus add-ons. 12 months ago Argyle turned down a £9m bid from Italian giants Lazio for his services. With bridges burned, Argyle now had to rally and turn their heads to the small task of the longest away trip in the Championship: 4th-placed Sunderland.
25th of January
Football doesn’t really make sense does it? The Pilgrims rallied again for another late show, as Nathaniel Ogbeta snatched a 90th minute equaliser to earn a 2-2 draw. Inexplicable? Yes. Ogbeta had struggled for form so far this term, but his stabbed volley was a small rainbow amongst the torrential rain for Argyle. It’s only another playoff contender to play next.
Embed from Getty Images31st of January
Finally, the end of the month. Somewhat ironically, Argyle fans wanted the month to last longer, given the two acquisitions somewhat unbalanced by the six outgoings. Finally however, it looked like the Pilgrims defensive woes were to be addressed. In came Nikola Katic on loan from FC Zurich, and a new club record transfer for Maksym Taloverov from LASK. Both are over 6’4”, both of them are Eastern European, and both of them look like they should be opponents in the Rocky movies. The prospect of them playing in a back three with 5’10” Julio Pleguezuelo would make it look like their mum had asked them “take you little brother along with you won’t you?”. It’s just a shame that with one day of training in them they wouldn’t be ready in time for West Brom on the following day…
Embed from Getty Images1st of February
Pigs have flown. Plymouth Argyle Football Club have recorded a league win for the first time since the 5th of November, ending the clubs all-time record for games without one. West Brom struck first through Jayson Molumby, before Argyle were awarded a contentious penalty. After 15 games without tasting victory, I think you have a little luck to cash in. Ryan Hardie duly converted, before grabbing the winner on 88 minutes. To top it off, both new signings featured, with Maksym Taloverov putting in a man-of-the-match performance on his debut.
Embed from Getty ImagesEvery football club goes through rough patches. Star players leave, managers get sacked, and results don’t always go your way. Without these periods, times of success mean nothing. Yet as if by magic, 90 minutes have transformed the way Argyle fans feel.
Yes, we are still bottom, and yes, we are still the prime candidates to go down. We still most definitely need more signings before tomorrow’s deadline, and it’s unclear as to if they will arrive. But even as a club who have been through administration and back-to-back relegations in living memory, I can’t recall a more turbulent month.
There’s every chance that yesterday’s win will prove futile. The next few games could bring anything. I should reiterate: one win in 16. Being a football fan can bring delusion beyond all reasonable sense – both for better and for worse – and I strongly believe that few understand that more than Argyle fans in the past few weeks.
Here’s to Miron Muslic’s Greens.
