A Round-up of Argyle News
Argyle News Sites: Greens on Screen's Daily Diary is a compilation of Argyle news, with help from these and other Argyle-related sites. On This Day: Also included on the three most recent days, facts from Argyle's history. |
Friday 28th February 2025
During the coming months, Argyle will announce exclusive benefits for supporters who have set up, or joined, a Supporters' Club. 27th
'Pleggy' has played 53 times for Argyle since arriving in the summer of 2023, including 18 games this season, showing his versatility in various defensive positions and formations. He scored his first goal for the Greens with a late equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Bristol City on New Year's Day. "I am absolutely delighted," Julio told Argyle TV, "I can't put into words a lot of the feelings that I have right now. I'm over the moon. The last 18, 20 months, I wouldn't change for anything in the world. I'm delighted that I can continue my career here. "I think the vision of the club is very clear. The project that we're trying to achieve is very contagious. It's something you want to be part of; I'm so happy that the club considers me part of that project."
26th
Update - a limited number of returns have become available to ST holders with 550 points or more. 23rd
At half-time, with Argyle a goal down, and playing poorly, most home fans watching would have taken a point. But, by the end, the 1-1 result felt slightly disappointing. The introduction of two substitutes - Bali Mumba at half time in a forward position, and Muhammed Tijani in the centre had a big impact on proceedings, with TJ scoring his first goal for the Club and Bali receiving the Man of the Match award. Argyle had been handed a lifeline when Mumba was felled by Goutas who was given a red card for his troubles. But Argyle were unable to make the numerical advantage count and the game petered out with 15 minutes of added time, mostly brought about by Cardiff's extensive time-wasting and apparent injuries. "[I have] mixed feelings, because we threw away the first 45 minutes," said Head Coach Miron Muslic. "We were not there. We were very sloppy; we looked very tired. "Cardiff were fresh, they had the full week to prepare, and the best thing about the first half is that we were only 1-0 down. "What I liked was the reaction in the second half. Bali gave us, immediately, the impact we needed. He gave us the energy and the boost we needed to get back into the game. His first action was a shot, the second [led to] a red card; it's a clear foul – last man, red card. He kept on being an attacking threat. "We kept on attacking, we kept on pushing, and we scored the goal to reward ourselves. It was a beautiful goal, in combination with Maksym [Talovierov], Moose (Mustapha Bundu)and TJ (Tijani), but we did not continue, and this is why it ended 1-1. "[After the goal], we should have stuck to the game plan, but we made a lot of wrong decisions afterwards. It was too hectic. "In the first 25/30 minutes of the second half we started very high, very intense, very dangerous, but we left our script and played in the favour of Cardiff. We can do way better. "That is what Cardiff wanted, for the last 15 minutes. We had the advantage of one player more, but we were not clean enough today. "This is also the learning we have to take. We have 12 games to go; we are going to have a lot of games that are hectic for the last 15/20 minutes. We have to stick to our plan, stick to our structure, stick to our organisation."
Goalkeeper Weeks has been a key feature in Argyle's youth sides in recent years, coming from a goalkeeper-heavy family with links to the Greens, and has penned a dual-signing agreement with Women's Championship side Bristol City. The 16-year-old has learnt her trade alongside current first-team keeper Lily Felgate and adds some much-needed depth between the sticks for the Pilgrims for the remainder of the season, and into the future. Freya has represented England through multiple age groups, most recently for the Under-16s against Switzerland, at St. George's Park. Edwards, a defender, joins the Greens after last playing for Scottish Women's Premier League side Aberdeen, featuring 21 times in all competitions. The 23-year-old started her career with Brighton's academy, spending five years on the south coast, winning the Manager's Player of the Year award in every season. A move to Cobham followed, playing for Chelsea Academy alongside a familiar face to the Green Army, Caitlin Smith. A trip across the Atlantic handed Edwards the opportunity to experience a different style of football, playing one season in the NCAA for Loyola University, Maryland, before returning to the UK and moving to Scotland. The defender has trained with Argyle for several weeks and now is delighted to make the deal official with the Pilgrims.
This result could have implications for the table positions, as Argyle came into this game two points above their visitors who occupied the second-to-bottom position. When the Greens were 2-1 up through goals from Charlotte Whitmore and Ellie Sara, they looked like going five clear – and with a game in hand. However, three minutes into added time, Billericay's Abbi Smith scored a sublime 25-yard effort to level the game and break Argyle hearts. "We're all gutted, to be honest with you," said Head Coach James Bradley. "I think we deserved to win the game, and then you get hit with that sucker punch in the 93rd minute. It's a great strike. "I think it feels like a loss because the performance was good, especially in the first half. I thought we played really well. We passed the ball excellently, created loads of chances. "We have to pick ourselves up now. It's gone; we can't do anything about it. We've got a two-week break now where we can get some really good work done on the training pitch, and then keep moving forwards." 22nd
Argyle: Hazard, Houghton (Boateng), Szucs, Wright (Mumba), Bundu, Puchacz, Randell (Gyabi), Katic, Al Hajj (Tijani), Talovierov, Palsson (Sorinola). Substitutes (not used): Grimshaw, Ogbeta, Pleguezuelo, Baidoo. 21st
The Robins' 2-1 victory - which came via goals from Hutt and Dani Gonzalez, with Tegan Finn getting one for the Greens - now places the sides equal in every table statistic in league play. Argyle Head Coach Jamie Lowry said: "The game was very disappointing. We weren't at the races, and I think missing a penalty after a couple of minutes potentially set us back and we didn't deal with the moment of the game. "We were far from our usual standards which we set ourselves in terms of performance, but that is something we haven't said very often this season, which is a credit to the players. It was an off day today from us, so it's something we need to bounce back from going into the next game."
Joe has also had experience working for Wolves as loans and recruitment analyst and spent time as Swansea City's head of academy analysis. He replaces Sam Morcom who departed for Premier League side Everton in January. 20th
"A deserved one," he said. "Nothing was easy for us today. It was a very physical and vertical game, with a million long balls to defend. Every throw-in from the sideline was into our box, so we did very well [to deal with it], especially after we conceded. "We know our situation. The pressure is there, and the pressure is on, but that's just the new spirit we have. We are bouncing back and we must bounce back again. In Sunderland we bounced back, against West Brom, and tonight, so it's a point that we take. "It can be a massive point for us if we can deliver on Saturday at Home Park as well and keep the three points. That is the plan, also. "To be fair, [the intensity and pressure was] amazing. It felt like, 'okay, this is England, this is the Championship and this, here, is Luton.' It was a little bit old school in terms of atmosphere. The crowd was amazing today, both sides but especially the Green Army and their support. "I'm also very, very happy that we scored our goal and equalised exactly in front of them. This point will give us a big boost to continue working. Muslic praised the 1,300 travelling Green Army: "The support was fantastic. We need them again on Saturday. They have to get up early, be in the stadium and make Home Park a fortress again, and then we will keep the three points at home." Argyle scored through a header from defender, Maxysm Talovierov, following the introduction of two substitutes, Kornel Szucs ad Muhamed Tijani. The Austrian credited both players' skillsets – and a bit of luck – as key components of the equalising goal and breakdown of the hosts in the final stages of the game. He said: "We had to be physical, turn the momentum and change the game into our side and our favour. We did it with Kornel because he's also very dangerous with long throw-ins. "Suddenly, Luton had to defend the throw-ins and all defend in the box. I think the physicality also of Tijani helped us in the end, but you always need a little bit of luck and we had this with the substitutions."
Several questions were asked about the promised investment in the Club. In response, Simon gave the following update: "We are closer to having a deal completely executed and approved than we have been. It's obviously taking much longer than we thought, though most people in this business tell us that most transactions take a year or so to go from beginning to end, so I guess in some ways we are on target, but it has certainly been a frustratingly long time for us. "Where we are now is that since we last talked about it in public we have actually got an agreed transaction, at least in principle. So the shareholders have agreed with the potential purchasers, we have more than draft but approved shareholders' agreements, share purchase agreements and so on. "We are continuing to make progress, but I have learned to my cost I shouldn't put timelines on them, but we are getting closer as every week goes by. "I think a continuing move along the line to future prosperity is a bit of a game-changer. We have talked at length about why we need new shareholders. We think, firstly, that we need to increase the amount of spending we have for the first team squad, enough to give us a more than reasonable, let's call highly probable, possibility of remaining in the Championship over the next two to four years while we build out the infrastructure. So the amount of money will include money over the next few years, extra money for the first team squad. It will include money for the infrastructure investments we have talked about, and we are beginning to plan. It will basically, I think, be a game-changer because it will elevate Argyle's infrastructure from where we are today, where I think we have a reasonable but small stadium that's fit for purpose but where we have training facilities that are not appropriate for the level of a Championship club. "I'm not going to put a sterling amount on it I'm afraid, it's going to be enough, but we are not talking about an investor who is going to pump £20m a year into losses for the foreseeable future until they get bored and walk away. There is an initial investment, there is then further investment coming in at our discretion over the next year or so, but that will all be the issuance of new shares. So I and the other shareholders, basically Argyle Green and Richard Holliday's family members, who own a tiny percentage, will be diluted. This is an investment as encapsulated in the shareholders' agreement that really preserves the identity of the club, preserves its strategic direction and vision and values going forward, which is one reason why it has taken so long to nail down. That's the commitment from the investor group. We have obviously talked to them about the dangers of relegation, and they have said they are committed to continuing to invest whichever division we are in. "One of the reasons why this transaction has taken so long is we have had to be clear in identifying party that buys into our vision, buys into our value and is willing to keep the same executive team, keep the same management structures that we have, essentially buy into the vision and values we have espoused." 19th
Argyle: Hazard, Houghton, Wright (Gyabi), Bundu, Puchacz, Randell, Katic, Al Hajj (Tijani), Sorinola (Szucs), Talovierov, Palsson. Substitutes (not used): Grimshaw, Mumba, Ogbeta, Obafemi, Boateng, Baidoo. 18th
Sales will commence at 10 am on Thursday 20 February, starting with season-ticket holders with 900+ loyalty points. Full details and pricing are on the official website: https://www.pafc.co.uk/news/manchester-city-emirates-fa-cup-ticket-information Fan guide and seating plan of the Etihad can be found here: https://www.mancity.com/away-fan-guide and https://seatpick.com/etihad-stadium/seating-plan.
17th
This year, some slight alterations to the induction process were made, with a Forever Green panel, chaired by first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell, deciding to automatically include three men: Bob Jack, Kevin Hodges and Sammy Black. Supporters were then asked to vote from two polling lists, split by eras, and from there two more men – Wilf Carter and Paul Wotton – have been added to this year's class. In Group 1 of voting, Carter prevailed over Steve Davey in second place, and Jack 'Jumbo' Chisholm in third. Ray Bowden was a close fourth, with Jack Cock and Maurice Tadman fifth and sixth. In Group 2, Wotton won by just 15 votes, ahead of Paul Mariner. Wotton's promotion-winning team-mates Michael Evans and Romain Larrieu were third and fourth, with Ronnie Mauge and Carl Fletcher next in the poll. Wilf Carter, fittingly, is the player with the second-highest Argyle goals total, behind Sammy Black. Carter bagged 148 goals in 274 appearances, a staggering ratio of goals. Carter arrived at Home Park from West Bromwich Albion, in August 1957, just before his 24th birthday. In his first season he scored 32 goals, and continued to notch at a stunning rate over seven brilliant years. He scored seven hat-tricks as a Pilgrim, and also became one of only two players ever to score five times in one game, in a 6-4 win over Charlton Athletic. Paul Wotton has achieved virtually all there is to achieve for a football-mad Janner. Born in Plymouth; progressing through the youth ranks of the club; into the first team and becoming captain; lifting two divisional championship trophies; and becoming a coach and achieving promotion that way too. Comfortable at central defence or in midfield, Wotton played 491 times in two stints, putting him at joint-second in the appearances chart, behind only Kevin Hodges. He also scored 66 goals, many from arrow-like penalties and stunning free-kicks. During his time at Argyle, he also won a Player of the Year award in what was a unique, unparalleled career as a Pilgrim. These five players join an illustrious list of players to have been inducted as Forever Green Icons.
Ryan has been in his post since August 2020, and has not only overseen the progression of the first team, but has played a pivotal role in improving the provision of coaching for women and girls in the area, helping to develop the Argyle player pathway. Prior to his stint as Head Coach, Ryan also spent time working for the Argyle Community Trust and the Argyle Academy. Academy coach James Bradley will take over as Argyle Women's Head Coach for the rest of the season. He will be assisted by Dan Greenough, who also works with Bradley with the Argyle Under-16s. They will join Matt Green & Jon Dawe. 16th
"We struggled in the first 10 to 15 minutes," he said. Blackburn were on us from the first whistle, wave after wave, but, after the first 10 to 15 minutes, we found our structure back. We got back in the game and had some good transition moments. "We missed a little bit of composure to stay clean until the end. The second half was more or less the same. Blackburn opened up the game with a beautiful goal and, from there on, it was difficult for us to bounce back. "The plan was to be structured, to be organised and then have some moments when we find the gaps for transition. I think we had them, but we have to be better and more calm in those moments. "Don't forget, it's still Blackburn, a play-off team. They have all the quality to maintain the pressure and to keep attacking us. "We tried to go all-in in the last 15 minutes, as we prepared another offensive play. Exactly in this moment, we concede. We then had a big chance, for [Michael] Baidoo from Adam [Randell's] early cross. [If that goes in, then] you never know for the last five or six minutes, but, in the end, it was a deserved win for Blackburn. "It is a little step back for us, but we will not continue this journey riding from win to win. The most important thing is that we are way more competitive than we have been just weeks ago. "We have to go again in a couple of days. We have a big one in front of us, then a big, big week in front of us, with two massive games. These are the games we want to compete in and collect points."
A gritty and determined performance ended in an upset for the Greens. An exciting attacking push over the final 20 minutes nearly rewarded them with a point or more, following the U's goal in the opening five minutes of the game. Defender Caitlin Smith expressed her frustration with the result. "I think we deserved to get a bit more from the game," she said. "To lose and concede an early goal is annoying, but I think there are lots of positives to take. "We had a great team performance and especially following on from the recent weeks, I think it's a lot to take into next week. I think in the second half of the game, we pushed on and to be honest, we had more chances than they did. We just couldn't take them. "Defensively, I thought we were really, really strong. [We] had a couple of mistakes, but managed to cover them well and going into next week, I think we'll look positively and take it into the week of training."
15th
Argyle: Hazard, Hardie (Baidoo), Wright (Tijani), Bundu, Puchacz, Gyabi (Houghton), Randell, Katic, Sorinola (Szucs), Talovierov, Palsson (Al Hajj). Substitutes: (not used): Grimshaw, Mumba, Ogbeta, Boateng.
A Cole Fisher brace and first-half goals from Fletcher Poole (after just 25 seconds) and Seb Campbell were enough to see Argyle over the line in their home Youth Alliance League tie. Head Coach Jamie Lowry said: "We started really fast today... and for the first 30-35 minutes we were excellent. Then, I think we just thought it was too easy. "We dropped off and it led to us giving them a goal just before half-time and then at the start of the second half, they made it 3-2. Luckily, a little bit of quality from Cole made it 4-2 and kind of killed the game, but overall, I'm slightly disappointed with the performance. "On the flip side, the conditions didn't make it easy, so it was a good learning curve for the lads, and obviously, another win to keep moving in a positive direction."
14th
Matt Williams has joined the Greens as the Head of Player and Coach Development for the Under-13 to Under-18s age groups. Matt arrives in Plymouth with a decade of experience from his previous role with Category 2 Academy Wigan Athletic. Matt Ellery has been promoted from his position as Foundation Phase Lead Coach to Head of Player and Coach Development for the Under-7 to Under-12 age groups. Tom Savigar has been appointed as the Foundation Phase Lead Coach with a primary focus on the Under-9 and Under-10 age groups. After 18 months with the Academy as Under-13s' assistant coach, Aaron Goulty has been appointed as the new Under-12s' Lead Coach. Aaron will be supported by Ian Stonebridge, who returns to the Academy as the assistant coach for the Under-12s. Charlie Hardcastle has moved from a casual Pre-Academy coach to a dedicated position as Under-6 to Under-8 Lead Pre-Academy Coach. 13th
Since then, the Greens have looked a different side-a 2-2 away draw at Sunderland three days later succeeded by a run of three wins in a row, beating West Bromwich Albion at home and then Premier League leaders Liverpool, in the Cup before demolishing in-form Millwall. "The turnaround started at half-time [against Burnley]," said Miron. "It took a lot of courage to go out [for the second half]. It was a good moment to change some things: to change the mentality, to change the attitude, to create a new working culture, a new DNA. "I'm very happy and very proud, because it is not easy to find ground again, after Liverpool. I think we, as staff, have been very clear that [Liverpool] was a historic moment, no-one will ever take it away from us, but we have to collect points in our competition – and we did it. "It's a big win; a massive, massive win for us. Emotionally it was difficult for the lads, for all of us, after Liverpool. You have to find the right balance, because the Championship is our daily bread, but all credit to the lads, because they did it outstandingly. "The plan was to go out and set the tone from the first whistle, to put them under a lot of pressure. We know if we keep our structure we can have our moments. I think the structure was there again, and we created goalscoring opportunities against a team that kept clean sheets in five of their last six games. "It was a strong performance. "The new spirit we have inside us is that it is not about personal feelings, it is about the bigger picture, and the bigger picture is Argyle. We are ready to fight for the green and white." 12th
Last year, PUMA donated more than £16,000 to an LGBTQ+ Fans for Diversity Fund to help LGBTQ+ supporter groups raise more awareness and support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in football. This year, for every goal scored with the Rainbow Ball across the Championship, League One and League Two fixtures from 6-17 February, PUMA will once again donate money to Football v Homophobia. This will support the charity's ongoing work in tackling discrimination in this area.
Argyle: Hazard, Ogbeta (Mumba), Houghton, Hardie (Baidoo), Wright, Bundu (Al Hajj), Randell (Gyabi), Katic, Sorinola (Szucs), Talovierov, Palsson. Substitutes (not used): Grimshaw, Boateng, Tijani, Issaka. 11th
The defender was a key part of the Argyle defensive line that picked up a vital victory against Milton Keynes Dons at the start of the month, as the side begins to push up the table. Giota won the supporters' poll with 38% of the vote, ahead of Ella Stephens (28%), Georgie Knott (17%) and Amii Kearley (17%). 10th
Argyle faced City in the League Cup semi-final in 1974, and have faced the Manchester giants once before in the FA Cup, in 1988. Fifth-round ties are scheduled to be played between 28 February and 3 March.
Born in Austria, Auer is a former professional goalkeeper and has also spent time as a goalkeeping coach. He now joins Head Coach Miron Muslic's staff, supporting Assistant Head Coach Adin Osmanbasic, first-team coaches Eddie Lattimore and Kevin Nancekivell, and goalkeeping coach Darryl Flahavan. Muslic is delighted to bring such a specialist position to the Argyle coaching staff. As he said, "Set pieces have become a really important part of the game in the past few years and I am really happy to bring Hubert in to focus specifically on improving our set pieces both from an attacking and defending point of view. "We are all aware we have not scored enough goals from set pieces this season and we hope to change that with Hubert's input and expertise." 9th
Argyle: Hazard, Pleguezuelo (Palsson), Hardie (Obafemi), Wright, Bundu (Tijani), Puchacz, Gyabi, Randell (Boateng), Katic, Sorinola, Talovierov. Substitutes (not used): Grimshaw, Mumba, Houghton, Al Hajj, Baidoo.
This was a to and fro game in which Dons took the lead through Dior Knorr's strike just before the half-hour mark, but a double from Charlotte Whitmore - which included a 96th-minute winner - claimed the three points. Assistant head coach Jon Dawe had nothing but praise for the gritty and determined 90-minute performance in South West London, and the continued growth of the Greens since the turn of the New Year. "[It was] just a fantastic effort from the girls," Dawe told Argyle TV. "It was just incredible. They're a special group. "This group of players, based on that performance today, are more than capable of staying in this division." Those points push Argyle out of the relegation zone, two ahead of Billericay Town below them. Argyle will now look for a third consecutive victory on Sunday, 16 February, away at Oxford United. 8th
Tegan Finn scored four goals, two in each half, with Seb Campbell getting two and Fletcher Poole one in a victory that neatly followed up the Young Pilgrims' FA Youth Cup win at Everton on Tuesday night. Head Coach Jamie Lowry was naturally delighted. "The boys did really well today and the win over Newport just tops off a great week, really," he said. "They worked really hard and were obviously full of confidence from Tuesday night, so overall a really good performance. They were nice and aggressive, on the front foot, had good energy and work rate. "We had lots of quality in front of goal to score seven goals. It is really pleasing to go through to the next round of two competitions in the space of five days." 6th
5th
"I'm pretty speechless to be fair," he said. "The boys were incredible. Left it all out on the pitch. They put the game plan down to a tee. Blocked tackles, made saves, passed the ball and defended like lions when they needed to. It's just an incredible performance and it's something they fully deserve. They work so hard day in, day out, the whole programme. I'm so proud of them. "I think the early goal maybe helped settle the nerves a little bit. "They say you can score too early, but I think after 43 seconds, at the start of the game, if you said 1-0 [to us] I'll take it. For the rest of them, the game plan was fantastic and they implemented and carried out. "As you can imagine, the boys are bouncing in the changing rooms. I can't speak any higher than what they've achieved together. And again, for the lads that missed out, are at home injured, have long-term injuries and things like that, this is a testament to them. So, this is not just for the 16 that were involved today, it's the whole academy, in terms of the scholars and then also the coaching staff throughout the age groups as well. "It's all a massive part of it, part of the journey, and it's a massive thing for our guys as well. I'm super proud and pleased for them." 4th
Argyle will now play another Category 1 academy side Aston Villa in the quarter-finals. 3rd
The 22-year-old started his career at Crystal Palace and spent time on loan at Queen's Park and Dundee, prior to joining Hearts last summer. He is the brother of former Argyle player, Hiram and becomes the second brother pair to play for the club after Aaron and Jordan Bentley. Head Coach, Miron Muslic, commented: "Malachi provides further strength in depth to the squad but also fits the profile of player we are trying to sign perfectly. "He is tall, athletic and physical and complements the style of play I am trying to implement here at Argyle." Head of Recruitment, Jimmy Dickinson, added: "Malachi is a ball winning defensive midfielder who will bolster Miron's options. "He adds athleticism and is also young and has loads of potential to develop and grow, and we believe he can do that under Miron's leadership here at Argyle." But interest in midfielder Etienne Camara of Belgian club, Charleroi, and in Notts County's Alassana Jatta did not materialise.
After only playing limited minute at the start of the season, Matty has impressed since returning to the side, appearing six times for the Greens in the month, and picked up an assist for Argyle's winner at Brentford in the Emirates FA Cup. He has rapidly become a fans' favourite, winning the supporters' poll with 46% of the vote. Julio Pleguezuelo, also fantastic throughout January, came second with 39%, while Conor Hazard and Victor Palsson received 10% and 5% respectively. 2nd
Two first-half goals, one from Charlotte Whitmore and one for Georgia Wilson, placed the Greens in a strong position for a win. Despite a Hannah Godfrey goal causing a few scares amongst the Green Army in attendance, Argyle held on and saw the game out for a big three points.
Argyle will also continue to benefit from use of the University's high-performance facilities and Middleton House, where several of the squad reside. 1st
Argyle: Hazard, Houghton (Gyabi), Pleguezuelo, Wright (Hardie), Bundu (Obafemi), Puchacz, Randell, Katic (Palsson), Sorinola, Baidoo (Al Hajj), Talovierov. Substitutes (not used): Grimshaw, Mumba, Ogbeta, Tijani.
All Argyle's home games across both the men's and women's teams throughout February will raise awareness in partnership with Argyle Pride. Warm up t-shirts at the start of this month highlight our Choose Respect campaign, to ensure an inclusive game for all, and key messaging will be shared across our website and social media channels, and throughout the stadium.
The 21-year-old joined Argyle temporarily last summer and went on to make 15 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring three goals. Two of those goals came in Argyle's 3-1 win over Luton in the Sky Bet Championship in September but after a long spell out with injury he has since struggled for first team opportunities. |
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