THE DAILY DIARY

Argyle News Sites:

Greens on Screen's Daily Diary is a compilation of Argyle news, with help from these and other Argyle-related sites.

Plymouth Argyle FC

The Herald

Western Morning News

News Now

On This Day:

Also included on the three most recent days, facts from Argyle's history.

Saturday 31st December 2022

Argyle have fought off strong interest from a number of clubs, including Championship sides, to secure the signing of New Zealand international Ben Waine from A-League side Wellington Phoenix. Waine, a highly-rated 21-year-old striker, has arrived in Devon, passed a medical and agreed terms ahead of an official move for an undisclosed fee when the transfer window opens on 1 January, subject to EFL and international clearance. Ben sampled his first Home Park experience from the directors' box as Argyle overcame Wycombe Wanderers on Thursday night, and was inspired, despite higher league interest, to make Plymouth his new home after learning more about the project unfolding in Devon.

A longstanding transfer target at Home Park, speedy forward Ben joins from his hometown side Phoenix, based in the capital of New Zealand. Former Pilgrim Scott Wootton is part of the squad for Phoenix, who are seventh in the A-League after nine games of the season. A product of the Phoenix academy who holds a British passport through his parents, Waine made his first-team debut in April 2019, shortly before his 18th birthday, and became the club's youngest ever goalscorer the following November. Prior to this, Ben played for the Phoenix reserve team as part of his footballing development as a scholar. Waine's raw talent and eye for goal has seen him gain regular international recognition throughout his fledgling career, representing the All Whites through the international age groups, including the FIFA under-20 World Cup in Poland in 2019, where he scored twice in a 5-0 win over Honduras. Waine is also an Olympian, having represented New Zealand in the Tokyo 2020 games following an incredible preliminary campaign, in which Ben scored eight goals from just five appearances as New Zealand qualified as the Oceania representatives for the games.

Excellent form back at Wellington Phoenix earned a nomination for the A-League Young Player of the Year in 2021, and a call-up to New Zealand's senior national side came soon after, with Waine's first senior international goal proving the winner in a 1-0 victory over Papua New Guinea in a World Cup qualifier in March 2022. While their playing styles may lack similarity, Waine follows in the footsteps of Rory Fallon, who played 160 times for Argyle between 2007 and 2011, and earned legendary status in New Zealand by scoring the goal that qualified the All Whites for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Steven Schumacher said of the signing: "We are delighted that Ben Waine has joined us at Plymouth Argyle. He is a player I have been tracking for over a year now, and we made an attempt in the summer to try and bring him to Home Park. "I want to thank Andrew Parkinson, Simon Hallett and the board for continuing the pursuit, and allowing us the opportunity to buy Ben and give him his chance to play in England. Ben is a young player who has a tremendous attitude and a willingness to learn and improve. Hopefully he can help score the goals that will maintain our push for promotion, and I'm sure all of the Green Army will be excited to see him play." Director of Football Neil Dewsnip added: "I'm really excited about the signing of Ben. He is somebody we tried to bring to Argyle in the summer, but it proved to be challenging, Thankfully, we have managed to get him at last. "l believe he will aid our promotion challenge and will add further competition to an already impressive group of front players. I'd like to acknowledge the work undertaken by Jimmy Dickinson and the support given by Andrew Parkinson, Zac newton and David Ray in the process of signing Ben."

There has been a lot of excitement in New Zealand about 21-year-old Ben Waine, who has agreed a deal to sign for Argyle on 1 January, for an undisclosed fee from Wellington Phoenix. "I'm buzzing to join Argyle," Ben said in an interview with Argyle TV. "It's a dream come true moving over here, I'm just excited to get started. My whole family is from the UK. Other than me and my sister, everyone is British. I've always had that interest, and football has been a big part of my life. As soon as I thought it was possible to move over here and start playing, it was something I became obsessed with. For Argyle to give me a chance, an opportunity to be part of this team, is amazing. Hopefully I can return the favour. I had a few video calls with the gaffer, and what he and the staff put together and showed me, me and my family were quite taken back. I'm not sure if that is the norm here, but it isn't on my side of the world. Everything from the way we play, to the people and the staff, it's given me a really, really good feeling."

As well the information from Argyle's current personnel, a pair of former Pilgrims played a part in helping Ben decided that Home Park was his preferred destination. Scott Wootton, a central defender who played 68 times for Argyle between 2018 and 2021, was a team-mate of Ben's at Wellington Phoenix. In addition, Kiwi legend Rory Fallon, a Pilgrim from 2007 to 2011, who wore the green and white 160 times, had a hand in Waine's choice. Ben sought the counsel of both ex-Greens, and got the same glowing reference from both. This helped him to make his mind up to leave Phoenix, where he has spent his entire footballing career so far, to try his luck in Devon. "The ultimate dream was to become a professional footballer, to play for my hometown," said Ben. "Then, as I started to progress with that team, my eyes were opened. Some of the foreign boys in that team, including Scott Wootton, who played here, opened my eyes to teams like Argyle. Scotty had a lot to do with it. He told me a lot of good things, and to be here is amazing. I was talking to him constantly, and he didn't have a single bad word to say about this club, and as a place to live. He said that it is awesome, and that I would enjoy it. I'm already starting to see that. I know Rory very well. He was part of the national team setup and I got to know him there. He has also moved over to Wellington and is part of the academy, so I did a little bit of work with him there in the past few months. Ever since Argyle became a possibility, I was on the phone constantly with him. Like Scotty, he couldn't speak highly enough of the place and the people here. It was a no-brainer."

Admittedly a little bleary-eyed following his long transit, Waine arrived in Plymouth in time to watch Argyle's 1-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers at Home Park on Thursday night. Ben was impressed on getting his first taste, in person, of the Green Army and of the team that leads League One as we enter 2023, and is understandably excited about the new, metaphorical journey on which he about to embark. "Before coming over I had watched a few games on Argyle TV," he said. "To be here in person, with the atmosphere and energy, was something I'm not quite used to. The only negative about watching the game was that I wasn't playing! To be part of the English football culture is what I am looking forward to the most. My big strength is my workrate. I guess that is a given in football these days. Also, my forward movement and finishing. Hopefully I can bring all those together here. The team are doing really well. The big focus is on trying to add to that; this team are doing amazing already, hopefully I can add to that and the team keeps kicking on."

30th

Dan Scarr's first goal of the season was a while in coming, but when it did arrive, it was a very precious one. Scarr scored just after half an hour into Argyle's game against Wycombe Wanderers at Home Park, with what proved to be the only goal of the game. The big defender was on hand to nudge home with his left foot from close range following Adam Randell's superb left-wing corner. "It's about time!" Scarr said. "I was running around like a headless chicken then got to the goal! It was a good ball in by Rands which is sometimes all you need. I managed to lose my marker and gamble on the keeper missing it. It was a tap-in really. I think if you keep putting the ball in the right areas; we do get a lot of corners, especially at home. Teams are going to make mistakes at some point, and hopefully one of our players is there to tap it in."

The win means league leaders Argyle have now won both games against Wycombe this season, following an identical scoreline when the teams met at Adams Park in October. Steven Schumacher changed Argyle's usual shape, employing Scarr in the centre of a back four. Although Wycombe put Argyle under severe late pressure, the Pilgrims earned their third clean sheet in four matches, and stretched their lead at the top to four points. "They're the toughest games of the season," said Scarr, of Wycombe. "We've had to prepare in different ways. We've had to go out of our usual styles both home and away when we've played them. It's credit to us and the staff that we have adapted and we've picked up two wins against Wycombe which not a lot of teams will do. For a lot of the first half at the start, we had good spells on the ball. The back four was working and we had a lot of passes out, and we sustained pressure. That is what we needed to do, what we worked on, and did well. It's tough, especially against Wycombe. You feel like you are sinking deeper into your own box. It's like the whole pitch has suddenly gone and you are playing uphill. To defend the box as well as we did, we had players like Danny [Mayor] putting tackles in, as well as Adam Randell, Jordan Houghton and all the defenders. It means a lot. We pride ourselves on keeping clean sheets, that is the foundation to press on. The ball can fall anywhere. It can fall to one of their players at any time, but we defended well, and I think we deserved it. We need to not get ahead of ourselves, realise we are a good team and top for a reason. We need to press on, not sit on our laurels, keep working hard, keep pressing and see where we end up."

29th

A solitary first-half goal from Dan Scarr ensured Argyle entered the new year as leaders of League One, as it secured a 1-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers. Set-pieces have not been a great source of goals for Argyle but Scarr remedied that with the winner on 33 minutes, volleying home from close range after a terrific whipped delivery by Randell.

Argyle: Cooper, Gillesphey, Houghton, Wilson, Scarr, Hardie, Mayor (Butcher), Cosgrove (Ennis), Whittaker (Bolton), Randell, Lonwijk. Substitutes (not used): Burton, Edwards, Mumba, Issaka.

Argyle beat 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers on Thursday night to solidify their position at the top of League One, but there was a troubling postscript to the game. Wycombe forward Tjay de Barr was treated by medical personnel for several minutes after the final whistle, and taken to hospital for tests, although a Wycombe update on social media indicated that de Barr was awake and alert. Steven Schumacher echoed the thoughts of everyone at Plymouth Argyle in sending our best wishes to Tjay and praising the medics for their attention. Schumacher said: "Just before the end of the game, he ran into Danny Mayor, there was a collision, and he said to the referee he was struggling to breathe. The ref kept checking on him, asking if he was ok, and he said he was. When I got to him he was coughing a lot, and he was on his side. The referee said he might have been coughing up blood. At the end, it got too much for him and he's gone down. They checked all his vitals – his oxygen levels and his SATs – and they are quite confident that he is fine. It was a bad one, and quite scary for everyone. It puts the result into insignificance, we wish him well and hope he gets home safe."

Before that, Argyle had battled to a second single-goal victory over the Chairboys this season, via Dan Scarr's goal on 33 minutes. Scarr converted, from close range, Adam Randell's inviting corner, marking the first occasion from which the Pilgrims have scored from a set piece. "It's been a long time coming," said Schumacher. "We've had some real big chances, and we looked a threat all night from set plays, they were well designed – credit to Mark Hughes – and the delivery from Rands for the goal and Dan Scarr getting in there was top class. When you get the delivery right, you've got a chance. We still need to be a bigger threat from set plays, we know that, but to beat Wycombe twice with set-play goals is brilliant, because that's their big strength as well."

Scarr's goal came in a first half in which Argyle were on top, and created numerous chances. The opportunities continued into the second half, but Wycombe rallied, and the closing stages were very tense for the Green Army in the sold-out home sections of Home Park as the Chairboys had a few chances to level. Argyle held on, though, to a win and a three-point haul that more than satisfied the manager. "I thought it was a good game," he said. "We created some really good chances and played well, especially in the first half. The two centre forwards were a threat all night – Sam and Ryan, then Ryan and Niall – they were excellent and gave us something to build from, which is what you need against Wycombe. They keep coming at you, and if you've got no-one at the top end of the pitch who can look after the ball then it can be a long night. Wycombe have been in brilliant form, they are a good team and playing well at the moment. Our lads had to defend, put their bodies on the line amazingly to keep another clean sheet. We got through a really tough game and managed another big three points which keeps us going in the right direction. It was a similar situation on Monday at Cheltenham. Teams throw the ball in the box, it goes down the line a lot, it's coming in front of the goal and you've got to show good character. You've got to get people in the right positions. The video information we did before the game tonight was exactly that. Some good examples of how we did it against them last time, and a couple of good examples of what we did against Cheltenham. That's important. We know how much talent some of our players have got, the creative players, but they are putting in a real shift and as long as they keep doing that then we'll have chances to win games."

28th

When Argyle won 1-0 at Wycombe Wanderers earlier this season, the joy on Steven Schumacher's face echoed that of every Argyle fan. It had been a while since a win against the Chairboys, but Schumacher put together a plan, and via Sam Cosgrove's early goal, brought three points back from Buckinghamshire. "It's a different game; a different test," said Schumacher. "We're going to have to be ready for it. At Wycombe we spoke about what we had learned from previous seasons, getting beaten there convincingly, and we felt we had to do something different, which we did. It worked, and it came off. This game will be slightly different. We're at home, on our pitch, which is bigger than their pitch, and we want to implement our style and put our stamp on the game, which means passing the ball. It's important we try to do that; to play at a tempo and with a bit of excitement that another sell-out crowd can get behind and make some noise."

As Schumacher states, home tickets for the game have sold out, and with the game against MK Dons is rapidly heading the same way, the boss is grateful to the faithful support shown by the Green Army this season. "The support is greatly appreciated," he said. "Because of the performances the lads have been putting in, people want to come and watch. That's brilliant, and it's important that our ground is full for a number of reasons. Everyone needs to understand that the games we get here are not foregone conclusions. We've been so strong at home, but it doesn't happen automatically. We don't just turn up and it's an easy game. Our fans make a big, big impact for us. Getting behind us from the very start, getting the noise going, making it intimidating for the opposition to play in, and encouraging our players, all make a big difference."

Wycombe have been in good form of late, winning four of their last six games, with just one defeat, and have conceded just two goals in that period. "They are in very good form," said Schumacher. "Better form than we played there. They had a few injuries before we played them, but they seem to have their full-strength team back. Wycombe make it tough for teams all the time. They've got really good attacking players who can score goals out of nothing. We're not expecting anything different from Wycombe. It's going to be a physical game, and one we are going to have to be ready for, to compete with them, and try to play our football where we can and cause them problems. They will have watched us and seen how well we've been doing here, and will know they are not in for an easy game either."

26th

A fabulous late strike from Morgan Whittaker was enough to keep Argyle at the top of League One with a 1-0 win at Cheltenham, and a very merry Boxing Day for almost 1,500 amazing Pilgrim fans who made the Christmas trip. After a tight start to the game, the Greens gradually grew in confidence and control, knocking on the Robins' door for long periods before Whittaker served up a delicious winner.

Argyle: Cooper, Gillesphey, Scarr, Butcher (Houghton), Edwards, Mayor (Roberts), Ennis (Cosgrove), Mumba (Wilson), Whittaker, Randell (Hardie), Lonwijk. Substitutes (not used): Burton, Jenkins Davies.

Steven Schumacher never expected there to be too many goals in Argyle's trip to Cheltenham Town, which he explained in his post match interview. "We expected a really tough game here," said Schumacher. "We know Cheltenham are a hard-working, honest group. They are organised and don't concede loads of goals. They've won 1-0 five times this season so there is never a lot in the game. We had to make sure we matched them, competed with them as much as we could, and play our football when we had the opportunity to. We knew it would be a tough test and it proved that. Thankfully we managed to keep our patience to produce one moment of quality that has won us the game."

Said quality moment came from Whittaker blocking a ball in midfield and driving forward before striking a true, low shot into the net in front of around 1,500 jubilant members of the Green Army. "Morgan is that type of person and that type of player," said Schumacher. "He keeps trying. There was a spell for five minutes before his goal where the touches bounced off him a little bit, and I was thinking it was not going to be his day, but I keep him on the pitch because as he has proved time and time again because he gets into those areas and he can score. It was a brilliant finish. That gets him to eight. He's playing with loads of confidence and doing the business for us."

At the other end, Argyle kept a second clean sheet in successive away games. they were tested, especially from a late chance by the lively Alfie May, but held out to play their part in the win. "They all defended really well," Schumacher said. "It looked like Cheltenham's best way of scoring was from one of their long throws where the balls bounce around. You need to get first contacts on the long ball coming in initially, then get your body on the line to block shots. We managed to do that. I got a bit nervous when Alfie May had a shot which got blocked and it looked like it might spin into the goal, but Michael Cooper reacted great and caught it. It's a brilliant clean sheet. I'm pleased for everyone."

Schumacher stuck with the same starting 11 that began the 2-1 win against Morecambe nine days previously, but once again effectively used substitutes to good effect. Just after the hour mark Jordan Houghton, Ryan Hardie and Sam Cosgrove came on, with a slight tweak to Argyle's formation following. "I felt we played well last week against Morecambe," said Schumacher. "We had a nice balance to the team. The lads who came on last week made a good impact and won us the game, so it was a tough decision to go with the same team, but I just felt that for this game, that was the best starting 11. We went with that team today and, thankfully, we got it right and won the game. We changed shape a little bit after the substitutions. We played well early in the second half, but we just didn't get the break of the ball, so we put the two strikers on, Jordan as a single pivot instead of two in there, and it gave us an extra attacking player on the pitch. We went for it. The next game is going to probably be a different starting 11, and the one on New Year's Day will be the same. We're going to need everybody in the squad over the next five or six days. It's tough and demanding. When you are playing well and winning games then you look forward to the next game; you just want to play. Tomorrow we will get the boys in for a recovery session, the lads who need to do a bit extra will do a bit, then we'll plan for the Wycombe game, and prepare like we always do, then hopefully put in another good performance at Home Park to keep the run going."

23rd

For the sixth season in a row, Argyle are away on Boxing Day. For the second season in succession, their opponents are Cheltenham Town. "We know the way," said Steven Schumacher. "We don't need the sat-nav to get to the hotel. It's going to be another good game, hopefully. The previous games we have had there against them on Boxing Day have been entertaining. Last year's one, we got a great result, and hopefully we can put on another good performance in front of what will be another sell-out in the away end. If we get the same performance and result as we did last year, then no-one will moan, no-one will complain, and it will have been a good day. For us to do that, we have to make sure we play really well. It's going to be a hard game. It's always tough, every time we go there. The pitch feels really small, you have to battle and fight, and earn the right, which we did last year. We counter-attacked twice for two goals. It might be something similar this year. I love the Boxing Day matches, I just wish that we'd get one at home. I don't think it's fair that we've had six on the spin away from home. It would be nice for our fans to enjoy a local Christmas, not have to worry about driving the next day, and go to our local pubs on Boxing Day."

Cheltenham are 17th in League One, but have lost only two of their last nine games, and only one of their last seven home fixtures. Strikers Alfie May and Dan Nlundulu have eight goals between them so far, and were highlighted by Schumacher as threats when the sides meet on Monday, as well as Cheltenham's strong defensive record. "They don't give you too much," Schumacher said. "They've won 1-0 five times, so it shows how defensively solid they are, and how organised they are. Their defenders are physical, no nonsense, and they defend their goal well. They have under-performed on what their expected goals would be. They create some real good chances and haven't been clinical with them. We need to make sure we don't give them too many chances because we know Alfie May is a quality player at this level, and Dan Nlundulu is a handful. Defensively we have to be on it, and we need to pass the ball as well as we possibly can on a tight pitch."

22nd

Last night Argyle came from 3-0 down at half-time against AFC Wimbledon in the Papa Johns Trophy, to draw 3-3 and then win a penalty shoot-out, so Steven Schumacher can probably be forgiven for using the cliché-est of all clichés. "It's obvious, but it was a game of two halves," he said, the trite line said with quite a bit of his tongue still filmy in his cheek. He was not wrong, of course. Wimbledon led thanks to two early goals from giant forward Kyle Hudlin and a strike close to the interval by Ayoub Assal, and you would be instantly forgiven for thinking the Pilgrims' Trophy run was over for the season. Schumacher, though, retained hope, and made a triple half-time change, bringing on Nigel Lonwijk, Adam Randell and Morgan Whittaker for Dan Scarr, Caleb Roberts and Brandon Pursall. Bali Mumba was introduced soon after, too, and suddenly Argyle's attacking impetus was evident. Three second-half goals, all scored by Sam Cosgrove, brought Argyle level, and a 4-3 penalty shoot-out win, in which Callum Burton made a telling save, set up a quarter-final tie against Bristol Rovers. Schumacher said: "I thought Wimbledon played well in the first half and scored two goals early on in the game, which we felt we could have defended better, we just didn't have enough desire to stop the crosses in the wide areas or defend the box properly. It was sloppy from us. Wimbledon were a threat. The big lad up front, Hudlin, was a handful, and they played some really good stuff. From about 35 minutes we changed shape and got a grip of the game, and then conceded another really poor goal from some poor defending. You're thinking 'that might be it, it might be game over' but we rolled the dice at half-time and got some quality onto the pitch that was sitting on the bench. They produced the goods and, fair play to the lads, it was a good reaction, and we've gone on and gone through, which is great. One of the changes was already planned – Nigel was coming on for Dan, and they were playing 45 minutes each – but getting Morgan and Adam on there gave us a little bit more experience, so Butch [Matt Butcher] went to left back, Rands gives us a bit of energy in midfield and Morgan gives us the quality that we know. That isn't taking anything away from the three lads who came off, they are quality players. I just felt we got down the left side, having two left-footers there who were forward-thinking – Butch and Jack – putting some good balls in. I felt after we got the third goal there was a few minutes left and we might have just snuck it, we were the only team that looked likely to go on and win it, but it had to be on penalties and Cal the Dragon did his job!"

Cosgrove spent half of last season on loan at Wimbledon, as they were relegated from League One. He scored just once for the Dons in 15 appearances. Contrast that with his Argyle tally thus far: ten starts, ten sub appearances, ten goals. Not only did his hat-trick take him to double figures for the season, but it dragged Argyle into a shoot-out, during which Cosgrove converted from 12 yards. It was some night for Cosgrove, particularly after, according to Schumacher, he could have done better for Wimbledon's opener. "Big Sam scored three great goals; I think he will be delighted," said the manager. "I heard one of their fans shouting 'Wimbledon reject' as he was walking up to take his pen – his fourth goal of the night. In the first half, I thought he did ok. Defensively, for Wimbledon's first goal I think he could have done a bit better for us, and we said that to him at half-time. His reaction in the second half, he put himself in good positions, scored three goals and maybe could have had another couple."

Schumacher also singled another player his reaction in the second half. Oscar Halls, a defender who only turned 18 in November, was making his fifth appearance for Argyle, all of which have come in this competition this season. He played on the right of a back three in the first half, and in a duo with Lonwijk after the break. Schumacher was impressed by Halls' attitude just as much as his performance. "Young Oscar, we said to him at half-time that he has to defend better, and sense danger," said Schumacher. "I said this last time he played, and he made a mistake – I like his character. He never shirks. He doesn't shrink or go into his shell. He was brilliant in the second half. Him and Nigel were really aggressive and kept getting the ball back. It was really pleasing."

The win has set up a last-eight tie with Bristol Rovers, whom Argyle have already met in this season's competition. That game finished 1-1, and Argyle won a shoot-out to gain an extra point in the group stage. The sides met in league action, too, in a game that finished 2-2. The stage is now set for another fascinating encounter. "We go to Bristol Rovers and we are two games from Wembley," said Schumacher. "It's getting closer, and you can see tonight that the standard is [getting better]. Wimbledon didn't play on Saturday, so they could play a stronger team than maybe they have done in the previous rounds. I'm sure Bristol Rovers will do the same. We're two games from a really big day out for everyone. We'll go there, pick a team that we think can win the game, and I'm sure Bristol Rovers will do the same. It will be a feisty encounter like it always is, and we look forward to the quarter-final."

21st

In the wake of a sensational World Cup final and the drama of penalties, Argyle delivered their own night of tension to book a quarter-final trip to Bristol Rovers in the Papa Johns Trophy.

The Greens had to recover from a three-goal deficit with Sam Cosgrove scoring a fabulous second-half hat-trick to level the match at 3-3 and set up the penalty drama. A top save from Callum Burton gave Bali Mumba the ultimate responsibility of converting the decisive spot-kick, and he took it with Messi-like confidence.

Argyle: Burton, Houghton, Scarr (Lonwijk), Butcher (Issaka), Hardie, Cosgrove, Craske (Mumba), Pursall (Randell), Endacott, Halls, Roberts (Whittaker). Substitutes (not used): Cooper, Jenkins Davies.

Members of Argyle's men's and women's teams made a heartwarming return to Derriford hospital last week following two years of absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, spreading Christmas joy and giving gifts to children who deserve a special lift in a challenging time. First Team Coach Kevin Nancekivell, no stranger to this Christmas-time tradition, led a group of visitors to the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust's (UHP) children's wards on level 12. Kevin said: "It's a really special day in the calendar at the club, and one we've missed out on over the past couple of years because of the pandemic. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces. We live privileged lives in football, and it's very important that we as players and coaches stay connected with the people of our city and region. A few of hours of our time is the least we can offer to families who deserve all the love and support that the community can offer at Christmas time. We can learn a lot from the resilience and courage of the children, parents, and hard-working NHS staff that we meet on every visit."

As well as bringing gifts for the young patients, the players did meet and greets in the lounge areas of the Woodcock and Wildgoose wards where many of the patients, their families and staff got to talk to the players, take pictures with them and even get autographs. The visitors were also escorted through Children's Assessment Unit and Children and Young Peoples' Outpatients department, as well as into the wards, in order to visit patients who were unable to attend the meet and greets.

Some of players were then invited down to UHP's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to meet the families of critically ill babies and bring the much needed gifts of joy and laughter to families going through tough times. Speaking about the visit, Carrie Jones, Interim Ward Manager for NICU, said: "Thank you to the staff and players of the men's and women's teams at Plymouth Argyle for taking the time to visit our parents on the neonatal unit. They were extremely grateful to see the team and also for the gifts brought for their babies."

Argyle representatives were fondly welcomed by patients and staff alike across the areas they visited, including Sue Rodgers, Play Specialist Team Leader, who said: "It is wonderful to have the Plymouth Argyle teams come and visit the children and their families on the wards. They bring fun, laughter and a lot of smiles to everyone, including the staff. "Having something exciting to distract our patients is invaluable and helps to reduce anxiety around being in hospital."

20th

Argyle have a chance, on Wednesday night, to reach a prospective Papa Johns Trophy quarter-final tie with Bristol Rovers, but first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell is not looking past AFC Wimbledon, the Pilgrims' round-of-16 opponents. Wimbledon, 12th in League Two, are in good form heading to Home Park, and although Green eyes are understandably casting a glance towards a possible trip to Wembley in three wins' time, Wimbledon fans will rightly be thinking the same. "It's a great chance for us to progress in the competition," said Nancekivell. "We've done well in it so far, and we've got a stiff challenge against Wimbledon but we're looking forward to it. They are in a good vein of form, so we know what we're up against. Hopefully we get the right result, then we can maybe, maybe, maybe start thinking about what could happen. We can only focus on the next game, which is Wimbledon. Fingers crossed we get the result, we will be well prepared, we had a good day's training, and the lads are ready to go."

Trying to get a handle on what both team line-ups might look like is tough in the competition, as teams tend to use the competition as an opportunity to get some experience into younger players and some valuable minutes for senior players in need of game time. This, though, is part of the value in the Papa Johns, as Nancekivell explained. "The games have been invaluable for some of the lads to get minutes in that haven't been playing regularly or have been coming back from injury. Also, for young lads to get games in a first-team environment, on the pitch in a cup competition, with senior players, has been fantastic. We've seen a lot of them involved, and hopefully we'll see more on Wednesday night. They have to earn the right, first of all, to be involved in the squad, and then getting a chance to start in the team. They have done that, and when they have done they have taken their opportunity. The gaffer has shown in his time here that he is prepared to put them in if they are good enough. Age isn't a barrier. When they have played they haven't let anyone down and have done the club proud. Wimbledon have made changes in the Papa Johns Trophy, as we have. To gauge their team is a little more difficult than if it was a league game, but they will want to keep their run of form going. They'll be saying the same things we are saying. They see a potential trip to Wembley not too far away too, and they'll come down expecting to give us a right good game. We want to keep the momentum going. We had a great win on Saturday, a really good performance. Everyone has come in with a spring in their step, and we're good to go."

19th

Evergreen, Argyle's new membership initiative, is less than a week old and the Green Army have responded with magnificent enthusiasm. With new members signing up every hour, at just five days old, Evergreen is already rapidly approaching half of the peak membership numbers reached during the Big Green Lottery's 14-year lifetime. More crucially, though, Evergreen members are already eclipsing monthly the contribution the Big Green Lottery made to football operations at Home Park during its peak. One of the main driving forces behind Evergreen was to ensure that fans' motivations and wishes were placed at the forefront of the scheme. Argyle have monitored the extensive feedback received from supporters since launch and amendments are already being made to ensure that the membership offering fits the Green Army as best as possible.

17th

Argyle will spend Christmas Day at the top of League One after a dominant Pilgrim victory against Morcambe. Inspired by a superb display from goalkeeper Connor Ripley, who saved a first-half penalty, Morecambe had their resistance broken by a tremendous goal from Niall Ennis and substitute Sam Cosgrove wrapped up the three points. The visitors did give themselves some late Christmas cheer with a well-taken consolation from former Green Anthony O'Connor in stoppage time.

Argyle: Cooper, Gillesphey, Scarr, Butcher (Hardie), Edwards, Mayor, Ennis (Cosgrove), Mumba, Whittaker, Randell (Houghton), Lonwijk (Wilson). Substitutes (not used): Burton, Craske, Roberts.

The weather was the big talking topic heading into Saturday's game against Morecambe at Home Park. The playing surface, and manager Steven Schumacher, were both under it. Schumacher was not feeling 100%, and had his side not broken down the visiting Shrimps, who came to Home Park bottom of the League One table, his seasonal sniffles would have been compounded by frustration as Argyle seemingly could not break Morecambe down, even having a Morgan Whittaker penalty in the first half saved by the outstanding Connor Ripley in the Morecambe goal. Eventually, Morecambe were breached, and it was no more than Argyle deserved. In a game in which the Greens created 32 shots, a goal by Niall Ennis 20 minutes from time put Argyle ahead, and a second from Sam Cosgrove soothed residual nerves. They probably returned a little when former Pilgrim Anthony O'Connor got one back in stoppage time, but the 2-1 scoreline, and the three points, were fully warranted.

"I thought we played really well," Schumacher said after the game. "We played some nice football and created loads of chances: over 30 shots on goal. We probably should have taken more to make it more comfortable, but I felt overall it was a good day, a professional performance, because we knew it wasn't going to be easy. The way Morecambe play can be frustrating. We said to players that we had to be patient. It might take until the 70th or 80th minute to get the goal, but as long as we keep trying to do the right thing we will be fine. Some of the football, especially in the first half, was excellent. It was nice to have Danny Mayor back, it gives us an option to attack on both sides of the pitch. Thankfully, we stuck to the plan, Niall slotted one in, and Sam Cosgrove made another impact from the bench. I always felt we were going to get the goal. I wasn't too nervous that it wasn't going to happen. I was more relieved when we got the second. At 1-0, we needed a cushion, as it proved. They produced a nice piece of quality at the end and scored to make the past couple of minutes more nervy than it should have been."

The result, coupled with Ipswich's 1-0 defeat against Wycombe Wanderers, meant Argyle returned to the summit of League One following a brief spell in second place. "The lads played well, I am delighted we got three points and are top of the league for Christmas Day," said the manager. "Getting on to 47 points before the halfway stage is an incredible amount of points. The lads have done fantastically and deserve loads of credit. We needed to win today, as with the few tough away games we have had and the last performance here which wasn't great, the win was the most important thing. I'm delighted that it is over. We've won a good game. It's freezing cold. I'm sick. But we're top of the league."

After two sub appearances on his road to recovery, Danny Mayor started, and played 90 minutes against Morecambe on Saturday. "I think you could tell I was tired by the end, I looked shattered, didn't I?" he said. "It's nice to get back playing – and winning. It wasn't pretty towards the end but the main thing that we got three points. It has been 12 weeks; it takes a little while to get going. I feel ok. I feel like there is definitely more to come, and the sharpness will come over the next couple of weeks. I love the lads; I love this club. It's great to see us winning, but to be back out there…I've missed it. You can't get too frustrated and start shooting from anywhere, start making silly decisions. You have to stick to plan and hope that in end you manage to get the goals. We did today."

Mayor had kind words for his old Bury team-mate Ripley, Morecambe's goalkeeper, and accepted that he and his current colleagues could have grabbed goals a little earlier, and more frequently. "He was on fire, to be fair," sad Mayor, of Ripley. "I know Rippers, I played with him a couple of years ago, he is one of the better goalies in this division. He showed it today. We've got to take our chances, though. I could have had three. Morgan Whittaker could have had three, Joe Edwards could have had five! It was one of those days, but that is why you keep going to the end, and that's why we have subs who come on to make an impact."

15th

When Argyle take the field against Morecambe on Saturday, it will be the first time in 10 weeks that the Pilgrims play on a Saturday at Home Park. Argyle will be hoping for several returns to normality, not just the day on which the game is played. After nine straight home victories, the Greens lost last time out on Sky Bet League One, going down 2-0 on a Friday night against Port Vale. On that occasion, manager Steven Schumacher was serving a one-match touchline ban, but the boss will be back he belongs, in the home dugout, for the Shrimps' visit. "It feels like a long time ago," said Schumacher of the return to playing on a Saturday at 3pm. "It is what everybody looks forward to: Saturday afternoons, going to watch your team. Hopefully we can put on a performance that was better than the last time we played here. I'm looking forward to being down on the sideline. I missed the last one, and it didn't feel great not being on the touchline when the crowd is full. I didn't feel part of the game. The most important thing is to try to get a better performance. We didn't play well against Port Vale. They were the better team. We actually created a few chances in that game, but didn't take them. We need to take the chances we create against what will be a very organised Morecambe side.

In the away dugout will be a familiar face. Derek Adams, who was the Pilgrims manager for four largely successful seasons, is the current Morecambe boss, in his second stint with the club. "Everybody here knows how well Derek sets his teams up. Defensively they are hard to break down. Looking that their results this year, they have only won a couple, but they have drawn nine games, which shows they are competitive. They have quality in their team that can score goals.", Said Schumacher, "We need to be patient. We need to start games well, but if it is getting a little bit tricky, and we have to find a way to break them down. We need to keep our patience, our discipline, and hope someone shows a bit of quality to go and win the game."

It has been an exceptionally cold week in Plymouth meaning that standard preparation for Saturday has still not been straightforward, but Schumacher said his adaptable squad will not see it as an issue, and will be fully focused on getting back to winning ways at Home Park. "The conditions have been tricky," Schumacher said. "We had to call one off in midweek, training was put back a couple of hours on Thursday to give the pitches a chance to thaw out a little bit. Everybody up and down the country is having to deal with these issues at the moment. It's been eventful. Our players will be ok. They'll be prepared, and ready to go against Morecambe on Saturday."

Argyle's away trip to Accrington Stanley will now take place on Tuesday, 24 January, at 7.45pm. The Pilgrims were originally scheduled to travel to the Wham Stadium on Saturday, 7 January, but as Stanley are still in the Emirates FA Cup, and have their third round tie on that day, a new date has been agreed.

14th

It is only a little over three years since Gareth Law left Argyle after a year working in the club's physiotherapy department, but after returning to Home Park fold recently, he has already noticed a world of difference. "It's a very different club now to when I was here previously," said Gareth. "I was here when the old changing rooms and medical room was here, and we transitioned into the Portakabin. We did get into the changing rooms that we are in now, but we were wearing hard hats!. We got relegated and I wasn't sure what, position-wise, was available for me here, so I made the decision to leave. Once this position became available, I was always up for coming back. We have fantastic facilities now. Club-wise, it's different management, different ideas and different ambitions. The club's on the up, and it's great to be on board."

Although over three years since he was an Argyle employee, it is not all that long since Gareth has been at Home Park, for personal and professional reasons. He is the father of wing back Ryan Law, who has played 31 games for Argyle's first team, having progressed through the club's academy, and is currently on loan at Gillingham. "My son has been at Argyle for many years, I've been here as a supporter of his on many occasions. It was a difficult decision to leave Exeter. I had a good time there, the club looked after me really well. I got on with all the players and the staff. Exeter are ambitious in themselves, but for me it was a case of where Schuey sees himself and the club going, and you can see what is being put in and infrastructure and the way the club is developing off the pitch."

Before going into physiotherapy, Law had a professional career with Torquay United, whom he later became the physio for, and spent over a decade in the Gulls' medical department. Gareth believes that his experience on the pitch can aid him in bringing along the recovery of Argyle's current crop of pros. He also outlined some of his philosophies when it comes to his important role, including revealing that he is assessing all of Argyle's current medical provisions. "At the moment, I am doing a review of everything we have got," he said. "We need to develop a gym. We travel to one, but it's not ideal because it is off-site. Marjon are great, Derriford Nuffield is fantastic. The fact we can go there and use the facilities is great, but we'd like a little bit more on site. I want to be the best, so that's where we have got to get to. I think when it comes to the position-specific side of things, and the rehab, a wing back is going to be slightly different to a centre half, for example. My experience helps to know what is required in that position. I can then focus my sessions around that. I try to get them on the pitch as early as possible, but it's got to be safe. The goal is to get outside, because that's where the player wants to be. It's a target, a piece of goal-setting, and once we achieve that, the player is happy, and the gaffer is happy seeing them on the pitch. The health and safety of the players is paramount. We all want results, but at the end of the day sometimes a player needs to miss one game so he can play the next six. You can chuck him in and he might miss the next six because you risked him too early. I want a nice, clear medical room. I don't anyone in there; that's my goal, an empty medical room. If I've done that, then I've done my job properly."

Gareth actually has one more goal that he would like to achieve this season. Having been part of the backroom staff at Torquay when they got into the EFL, and with Exeter last season as they achieved promotion, Law wants to complete the Devon set. He said "I've had a promotion from the National League to League Two, and from League Two to League One. I want to get the triple."

13th

Argyle have announced the launch of a brand-new and exciting Argyle membership scheme, the Evergreen Fans Fund. Evergreen is a subscription Fans Fund that provides the Green Army with a full range of fantastic Argyle benefits, while supporting football operations at Home Park. The spiritual successor to the outgoing Big Green Lottery scheme, Evergreen puts the Green Army in control of where they'd like their membership subscription to be spent – with options including First Team Operations, the Argyle Academy, and the club's Sports Science department.

Speaking on the launch of the scheme Argyle Chief Executive Officer Andrew Parkinson said: "We are delighted to be able to launch our new membership scheme today. Evergreen provides a great opportunity for our supporters to have a clear voice on how their membership is used to boost the club's progress, and receive brilliant benefits and experiences in return. Having requested, and received, detailed feedback from supporters on how they would like a membership scheme to operate, we are confident that Evergreen will be a success for both the club and the Green Army. The launch of Evergreen is another step forward in our ambitions to become a sustainable Championship club. Your membership can be the difference in achieving that goal."

12th

Tuesday Papa Johns Trophy tie against AFC Wimbledon has been postponed due to a frozen pitch at Home Park. The fixture will now take place at 7pm on Wednesday, 21 December.

11th

The clean sheet against Cambridge United on Saturday could be 'massive', according to Matt Butcher as Argyle had not kept a clean sheet in their previous seven league games. "I think we knew coming into the game they were going to be difficult to play against, and break down," said Butcher. They were going to want to make it a fight, and the conditions played into that as well. I thought we did well at that after the first 15 or 20 minutes, I thought we grew into the game and stood up to that challenge. In the last few weeks we've probably come off it a tad, in terms of that fight aspect of the game. Getting a clean sheet was massive for hopefully putting another nice run together. At the start of the season, when we were on a winning run, we were basing our form off clean sheets, and letting flair players do the talking at the other end. If we are not keeping clean sheets it makes it harder to win games. If we can go back to that being the basic, go back to putting in performances like that, we know we have the quality to score goals."

Butcher played the game at left back, in a back four. The versatile 25-year-old has played in wing back, central midfield and at centre back this season, and continues to display his valuable adaptability. "It's another different position. I spoke to the gaffer in the week about playing different positions, and like anyone, I'll play anywhere to be in the team and help win games. I've played there in the past – a long time ago – and I'm happy to do that to help the team."

10th

Another big save from Mike Cooper and some near-misses was the story of Argyle's 0-0 draw at Cambridge. Cooper found a super stop to thwart Sam Smith deep in the second half, while the Greens were unable to find their normal radar to seriously trouble Cambridge goalkeeper Will Mannion.

Argyle: Cooper, Gillesphey, Houghton, Wilson, Butcher (Scarr), Edwards, Hardie, Miller (Mayor), Cosgrove (Ennis), Whittaker, Randell (Mumba). Substitutes (not used): Burton, Lonwijk, Issaka.

Steven Schumacher was pleased with his side's battling characteristics in their goalless draw with Cambridge United, coming away with a clean sheet and a point in tricky conditions. With the bitter weather causing games to be called off across the country, the boss sees the draw as a positive one, given the circumstances. "It might turn out to be a good point in the end," said Schumacher. "Obviously we wanted to come here and try and get three, but I thought it was a tough game. It was a battle. The pitch was really hard, really firm, obviously with the conditions. The groundsmen did brilliant, by the way, to get the game on, so fair play to them for that. It was just a bit of a slog. There wasn't too many clear-cut chances in the game, but we've come out of it with a clean sheet, so that's a bonus."

Argyle's first goalless draw since Easter was also the team's ninth clean sheet of the season – hard-earned against United, and good groundwork for Schumacher's side to try and begin another strong run of results. "I think the clean sheet is a major positive, as it's been a little while, and it was a tough game today," said Schumacher. "Their forward players are their best assets in their team – all four of them are a threat, who started the game today, then they've got (Joe) Ironside on the bench, who's a good player for this level. The lads defended really well. I thought for the first 15 or 20 minutes, it was tough – we were on the back foot a little bit. But once we settled into the game and got to grips with it, I thought we were good. We limited them to very few chances. Michael Cooper made a real good save late on in the second half. A clean sheet is really good – something for us to build on."

Schumacher once again tweaked his approach to combat against the opposition's threats, opting for four defenders who, with Matt Butcher excellently stepping in at left-back due to Brendan Galloway's injury, coped well with Cambridge's forward threats. "We just felt that going for a back four here today was probably the best option, he said. "Matt Butcher did brilliant; he stepped in again. He was going to play in midfield, but obviously the injury we had to Brendan Galloway in the week made our mind up that Butch had to play left-back – and he done great. Their front four are good, and if we've got players who are man-for-man against them, then they all defended really well."

Argyle did create opportunities that forced last-ditch defending from the hosts, and from half-time onwards, Schumacher looked to make changes to swing the match in Argyle's favour, including Danny Mayor joining the fray for the second half, as Mickel Miller was replaced a precaution from his first league start of the season. "We had to bring him off because Mickel just said he felt a little bit tight in his hamstring," said Schumacher. "We probably might've done that after 60 minutes maybe anyway, because Mickel's not played much football, but he was just saying he wasn't sure on his hammy – just more of a precaution. We wanted to try and win the game. The substitutions; Niall Ennis comes on and he's a bit different to Sam Cosgrove. I thought their lads at the back dealt with the aerial balls we had to play quite well, so Niall gives us something different. Then Bali Mumba late on, trying to get him on the pitch, and Dan Scarr has to come on as he gives us a bit more height from set plays. We tried everything to try and win the game. They made two great blocks. I remember one from Morgan (Whittaker) in the second half; if that goes in, we win the game. Macaulay (Gillesphey) had one in the first half that I don't know how the referee didn't give us a corner, because it's great defending again."

The aforementioned Scarr made his return from injury late on in Cambridgeshire – another positive sign for Schumacher's squad. "It's important, because we haven't got a big squad," said Schumacher on Scarr's appearance. "Obviously again, we had an injury in midweek with Brendan, which isn't good news, so getting Dan Scarr back is good. Danny Mayor looks as though he's getting up to speed. Danny did brilliant when he came on, and had a good chance. I think if he hit the target, it probably goes in. Mickel Miller looked alright, so we'll just get through these next few, then once January comes, hopefully we go and strengthen. But it's a battling point. Not a brilliant, fantastic performance that we'll remember for years, but it's another point in the right direction; another good one away on the road. Not the end of the world, and we'll move on."

9th

In the first game of his second year as Argyle manager, Steven Schumacher will lead his team to Cambridge United, looking for the perfect anniversary gift. Wednesday marked 12 months exactly since Schumacher took the job, and the joy in his voice when answering questions on the landmark indicates just how much it has meant to him. "It's been amazing, it's gone fast. It feels as though it's flown by, so much has happened within what feels like such a short space of time. I've loved it, every single minute of it and hopefully the next 12 months will be as successful. Winning at Cambridge would be a great anniversary present. We need to go, put a performance on and get to the level of the high standards we've set. I don't think we' played well enough in the last game, so if we can get back to somewhere near what we've been playing then that would be great give us a chance to get a result and celebrate on the way home."

The last game of which Schumacher speaks was a 2-0 loss against Port Vale at Home Park, the first time Argyle had dropped points at home this season. In discussing the defeat with the squad, Schumacher noted a word that was used to describe the performance, and is using that as impetus to correct things in Cambridgeshire. "One of the players used the word when we did the debrief: that we were 'disjointed'," he said. "All the units didn't function properly, the way a successful team does. It wasn't always one unit in particular that was poor, it just like, as a team, we weren't quite right. If we can just bring all that back together, be a bit more compact, be a bit more solid when we haven't got the ball. If we do all those jobs right then when we do get the ball we are in a better position to go and attack. That's the beauty of the group that we've got: the ownership and the relationship that we've got. I didn't come up with that particular word. I was trying to show the clips and evidence of what we were seeing. When we put it over to the floor and said 'What you think lads?' it was one of the players who said: 'I just feel like we were a little disjointed'. They're an intelligent group our players. When you allow them to speak and tell them their opinion genuinely, you get the answers that you're thinking. I'm quite happy with our play; I'm not going too overboard. We lost one game and we didn't play particularly well at Home Park. Let's just recognise it and let's try and do better in the next one."

Cambridge, 20th in League One, are managed by Mark Bonner, and have won just one of their last ten league games. Schumacher knows Bonner from their days together on the same coaching course, and although marginally younger than Schumacher, he is also in his first managerial job, having been at the Cambridge helm since 2020. "Let's not forget that they did brilliantly last year," he said. "I know Mark; he's a good friend of mine, we speak on the phone every now and again to see how we're both getting on. Lately they've struggled for results, but that's the flows of football. It doesn't go all your own way all the time, but I know for a fact he will have them really motivated this weekend and well organised to play against us. We had tough games against them last year - they took four points off us - so it's not an easy game at all - and it won't be like that on Saturday either."

8th

Argyle Director of Football Neil Dewsnip has rated Steven Schumacher's first year in charge of Plymouth Argyle as an 'incredible success' while looking back on Schumacher's tenure. "That was an interesting day in my life, this time last year," said Neil. "He has become much more mature in the way that he makes decisions. He has had to do that because the expectations when you are the manager are completely different to when you are the assistant manager. In my mind the last year has been an incredible success, to get right to the edge of the play-offs and to be where we are at this stage in the league is an amazing journey. I wouldn't want that journey to be undervalued. The players must take great credit in that, but it is the relationship that Steven has with the players which is key. Not just Steven, but the staff that are immediately around him. Mark Hughes, it was announced on Tuesday, has a new contract, which is another positive sign, and Darren Behcet and Nance assist him on a day-to-day basis. It is a really good environment. It's very much about development. We sometimes forget that the staff are developing every day; Argyle's philosophy would be that we are all learning, myself included. We're on a journey to make Steven Schumacher the best manager he can possibly be. His record would be pretty impressive as a League One manager."

Dewsnip is appearing weekly on Argyle's podcast to discuss the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, and a topic was raised of squad management. Not only is England manager Gareth Southgate, and all other bosses in the World Cup, tasked with ensuring their players are happy, fit and motivated, but it is a job that is required on a day-to-day basis for any club manager, Schumacher included. The Argyle manager has earned praise for his use of substitutes throughout the season, and Neil explained a little about the rationale behind team selection and the planning that goes into it. "It's a real skill that every manager needs to develop very, very quickly," he said. "Keeping people happy isn't the same as rotating the squad. It is easy to keep people happy: you just pick them. I have deep discussions with Steven and other technical staff at Argyle. There's a real thoroughness to the way we want to play against whichever opponent It is, and what the team needs to look like to give us the best chance of winning. Steven's attention to detail over the last few months is probably what has got us into such a good position. "We talk about a concept of starters and finishers these days. In times gone by, logically, everyone would think that the starting 11 is the best team. That's not necessarily true anymore. The finishers have a really clear role to play, and it's about impact. The game plan won't necessarily be to start with 11 players and those 11 to play the whole 90 minutes. That can happen, but the likelihood is that because of physicality of the game, if people are playing full pelt – in our system, that is very often the wing-backs, or the front players – they are unlikely to be able to get the distance playing at the tempo we expect them to play. The finishers understand that this is going to be the case, there is a high probability they are going to come onto the field. There is no magic number, but a trend is that around 60 or 65 minutes changes are made, and there is an expectation from the staff that they are not just coming on to have a nice time, they have to make an impact in the game. It's planned. It's not just 'we'll throw him on', there is a lot of planning that goes on, right until the end of the game."

6th

Argyle assistant manager Mark Hughes has agreed to extend his time with the club with new deal lasting until 2027, in line with the contract recently signed by Steven Schumacher. Hughes joined Argyle, initially as a coach, in January 2022, a month after Schumacher's appointment as Argyle manager, leaving Bristol Rovers, where he had been a player/coach. On Keith Downing's departure in May, Hughes stepped into the role of Schumacher's assistant, continuing an association that has permeated both men's footballing career. Steven and Mark both cut their teeth as young players at Everton, under the guidance of Neil Dewsnip, who is now Argyle's Director of Football. "I'm delighted that Mark has agreed a new contract," said Dewnsip. "I'm really pleased with his progress as an individual. As a youngster, he always had a great insight into the game, and his opinions have matured over the years. Argyle's first team are now getting the benefits of those insights. Mark and Steven work really well together as a duo. I think we have seen the rewards from that this season. We have a very tight team, also including Darren Behcet and Kevin Nancekivell. I look forward to more progress from Mark on the future."

Another new addition to the Argyle backroom team is Gareth Law, who joins as Head of Physiotherapy. Law previous spent time with Argyle as a physio, between 2018 and 2019, before moving on to become Head of Physiotherapy at Exeter City. Gareth is the father of Argyle left wing-back Ryan Law. "We welcome Gareth to Argyle as Head Physiotherapist, replacing Nick Fulton, who we thank for his service to the club," said Dewsnip. "Gareth is very experienced, and I am looking forward to working together with him."

In August 2022, the Argyle announced that an agreement had been reached to acquire the site of the Parkway Sports Club in Ernesettle, subject to planning permission being granted. In the time since that announcement, the owners of Parkway Sports Club have informed the club that the terms of sale have changed and that the club would need to purchase the land at risk – in other words, before planning permission has been granted. This was not suitable to the club. As a result of this development, Argyle have announced that they have agreed in principle to purchase the site of Goals Plymouth, which sits adjacent to Home Park on Outland Road.

Argyle Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Parkinson, said: "While it has been a challenge getting to this stage, the benefits for the club from this change of course are substantial, and we are very excited by the prospect of delivering our vision for the club much closer to the familiar surroundings of Home Park. This represents an outstanding opportunity for us, and I'm sure that supporters will share in our anticipation. As I said when we initially announced the plans for a new first-team site, infrastructure enhancements are essential if Argyle are to prosper in the coming years, and this is another big step in the right direction. I would like to thank Goals Plymouth for their professionalism and communication throughout the process."

Argyle Director of Football, Neil Dewsnip, said: "Acquiring the site of Goals Plymouth is extremely exciting for the club, and presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to build even greater foundations for footballing success. As I have talked about before, having the best training facilities for our players is vital if we want to become the best Argyle we can be. As we all know, the ambition for this club is to operate at a higher level. I very much look forward to playing my role in the development of the facility."

3rd

A 2-0 defeat at home to Port Vale ended a series of impressive sequences for Steven Schumacher's Plymouth Argyle. Vale ended the nine-game winning sequence at Home Park, and became the first side to keep a clean sheet against them all season. The win for the visitors also ended a 15-game unbeaten league run that stretched back to 16 August. Two second-half goals, both from Vale's James Wilson, were enough for the visitors, and Schumacher conceded that Vale deserved their three points.

"We didn't deserve anything from the game," he said. "There are no excuses. Port Vale were the better team throughout the whole game. They started better than us and had a little bit more hunger and desire than we did. I'm disappointed. It hurts when you lose any game. When you haven't lost for so long, then you forget how this feeling. It wasn't quite us. We conceded two poor goals and been punished for it. The first was from a set play, again, which we are not pleased about. Someone has got first contact and it looks like it hit Wilson, who was in front of the goalkeeper, and could be offside. It took a deflection and went in the goal. The second goal was a scruffy one when we didn't have 11 men on the field, because the substitute wasn't ready to go on, which we need to speak about."

Although far from at their best, Argyle did carve out a number of excellent chances which they would expect to score from, most notable from Ryan Hardie at the end of the first half and Niall Ennis shortly after the Greens went 2-0 down. "It's a frustrating night all round," said Schumacher. "We had a bit of go, second half, and had some good chances. Ryan Hardie had a great chance at 0-0, just before half-time. Niall Ennis missed a couple of good ones you would expect him to score in the form he has been in. I don't think we were at it; we weren't at our best. It didn't look like us. When you have nights like that you need a little bit of luck or some inspiration from someone to get everyone going. It's going to hurt for a few days, we are all disappointed. But we will look at the positives: we've gone so long unbeaten. This is the first time we haven't scored in the league this season. We haven't become a bad team overnight but we have to better in the next one. It's not a 'wake-up call', but the run had to come to an end at some point. It's come to an end here at Home Park, which we didn't want it to, and it's going to make us refocus and get back to basics."

James Wilson was in philosophical mood after Argyle's 2-0 home defeat against Port Vale ended the Pilgrims' long unbeaten run. The Argyle defender felt that both goals were preventable, and suggested that defeat might prompt the side into some improvements, although was cogent enough to not feel too deflated. "It isn't the end of the world," he told Argyle TV. "I'm not going to get too down about it; you lose games in a season. But it's the manner of the defeat. We definitely tried; we just didn't get things right on the night. I think they came with a gameplan and we didn't adapt to it well enough. We turned over the ball way too many times and gave them chances they shouldn't really have had. It's really disappointing, but we need to take our medicine and learn from it. We're going to play against teams that play that way a lot, and we have got to do better. We've probably not been at the races for the last couple of weeks in terms of performances. Maybe we go back to the drawing board and get back to what we were doing, that is the main thing. We've just got to be better in those moments. The lead up to the goal wasn't good enough. These are things we discuss. We've got to get better."

2nd

Jordan Houghton says that decent points gained on the road recently will look even better if Argyle can beat Port Vale under the Home Park lights tonight. "It's been good to get a bit some intense training in, and some rest as well," said Jordan. "We had a lot of injuries and knocks from a tough few weeks. It was a refresh, ahead of a busy Christmas period. It's an important time. We're ready to attack the next block of games. We'll all set to have a look at Port Vale and do some tactical work ahead of Friday night. Every game that we play here is great. It's going to be another sell-out, and an evening game which makes it more special. We're looking forward to getting back out there. We picked up a couple of decent results on the road, when you look at how the games panned out, now we are looking forward to being back at Home Park. If you look at Lincoln and Burton, every season you get the same kind of quality of game, and toughness of opponent. Where they are in the league is irrelevant, they are still battling. We are not just going to roll teams over, especially away from home. It kept our unbeaten run going, and meant we picked up points away from home, which is big when you are going from promotion. If we get a win on Friday, those points away from home look very good."

Houghton expects Vale to pose a threat, and to stick to their footballing philosophy. He said: "They'll come out, they play with a lot of energy and not really afraid, which is why they are doing so well. Some teams shy away from playing their game, and think about the opponents. I think they will come and play how they want, and how they have been doing. It should be an interesting match-up, and an exciting game."

Two second-half goals in the space of five minutes from Port Vale striker James Wilson finally ended Argyle's amazing 100% record at Home Park. The Pilgrims had chances on the night, Ryan Hardie and Niall Ennis both going close, but it was one of those games when nothing bounced in favour of the Greens.

Argyle: Cooper, Gillepshey, Houghton, Wilson, Edwards, Hardie (Mayor), Ennis, Mumba (Miller), Whittaker (Cosgrove), Randell, Lonwijk (Galloway). Substitutes (not used): Burton, Butcher, Issaka.

1st

Steven Schumacher says he cannot wait to get back in action at Home Park. Friday's game against Port Vale is another sell-out for home fans, who have had to wait through the entire month of November without league football. "If it half as good as the atmosphere for the Exeter game then it will be special," said Schumacher. "Night games are always good here, I love it under the lights. It's a sell-out again, which is amazing. I can't wait. It feels like forever ago, but roll on Friday. It's been a long time. We played the Charlton game, which was a lot different to what we will find on Friday night. It's important that we know what's got us so much success at Home Park, we need to try to emulate that and do it again."

Argyle had no game last weekend, and with a lengthy injury list and several walking wounded, the break was a welcome one. Not only has the squad had some time to rest and recover, but Schumacher reported some good news about several players who recently been sidelined with injury. "Danny Mayor has had a full week of training," said the boss. "He did a little bit Thursday and Friday last week with Elliot Turner, and has trained with the group since Monday. Thankfully, he is back in contention as well, which is a big boost. Dan Scarr we will see this year. The plan for him is to be with Elliot and the performance team Monday and Tuesday of next week. He'll train with the group Thursday and Friday, and depending on how all that goes, he will possibly be involved at Cambridge, if not definitely for Morecambe. Mickel Miller did really well again Charlton. He got 45 minutes and looked strong, after doing 10 or 15 minutes at Burton. He's had a full week of training, and looked stronger every day. He's ready to start playing his part. The break came at a good time. We had three away games on the spin, picked up a few injuries and the lads looked a little bit tired. Having that weekend off gave everybody time to breathe and take stock of what's been going on. The players who hadn't played an awful lot of minutes trained on the Friday, and everybody else had three days to go and see family, or do whatever to switch off. We got them back in on Monday, everybody looked really fresh. There was a zip about the training session. It's been good all week. Fingers crossed we can take that into Friday night."

Friday's opponents Port Vale are 10th in League One, having been promoted last season. Schumacher is expecting Vale to be energetic and combative, but trusts his team to match that. "I think they are doing great," said Schumacher. "They had a brilliant start coming up from League Two, and settling straight in. They have carried on their momentum that they had built last year. They cross a lot of balls into the box and get bodies in there. They are a hard team to play against. They get after you and pressure which is tricky. They are not going to stand and let us have it all our own way. We will try to play with the energy that we need. If we go through some adversity, which I'm sure we will at stages in the game, we overcome it and the crowd stick behind us, keep encouraging the players. We have shown that when we are at it, and we go ahead at Home Park, we look a strong team. If we go behind, we have it in us to react."

Diary Archive: