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GARY SAWYER
Full Name: Gary Dean Sawyer
Born: 05 July 1985
1. Came from: Trainee Went to: Bristol Rovers
1. First game: 08 August 2006 Last game: 13 March 2010
2. Came from: Leyton Orient Went to: Retired
2. First game: 08 August 2015 Last game: 08 September 2020
Appearances: 298 (285/13) Goals: 6
Born in Enfield, North London, Sawyer moved to Bideford at an early age, and as a product of the Argyle youth set-up, developed into a versatile left-back or central defender. After signing a professional contract with Argyle, he had a spell on loan with Weymouth in 2003-04 and then spent the next two seasons on loan at Exeter City. Whilst at St James Park he played in the famous FA Cup ties against Manchester United and made over 70 appearances.
On his return to Home Park he established himself in the first team squad and was voted the club's Young Player of the Year in 2006-07. The first-choice left-back for the majority of the following three seasons, Sawyer missed some time due to injury and, after turning down a new contract offer, moved on loan to Bristol City in March 2010. That summer he did make the move to Bristol, but to Rovers not City, on a two-year deal. Despite failing to score in 69 games for the Gas, Russell Slade made Sawyer his first summer signing of 2012 for Leyton Orient. In three seasons with The O's he played 88 times and scored a single goal before being released by the club following their relegation to League Two at the end of the 2014-15 season.
In June 2015 Sawyer returned to Home Park for a second spell, becoming the first signing of Derek Adams' reign. From being a virtual ever-present in the new manager's first season, his second campaign was impacted by injury, and he made just 22 appearances throughout the 2016-17 season as Ben Purrington established himself in the first team. However, following Purrington's sale to Rotherham at the end of January 2017 and Sawyer's recovery from injury, he re-established his position in the side and finished the season strongly.
In June 2017 he accepted the offer of a new contract at Home Park, as Argyle prepared for life back in the third tier. Injuries to Luke McCormick meant that Sawyer wore the captain's armband for most of the first half of the 2017-18 season. A further one-year contract was signed in June 2018, and with Luke McCormick retiring, he was named club captain.
In the summer of 2019, following relegation to League Two, he was once again offered a new one-year contract, and was retained as captain by Argyle's new manager, Ryan Lowe. With Lowe at the helm, Sawyer played predominantly as the left-sided centre-half in a back three.
In February 2020, Sawyer was shown the first red card of his Argyle career, being sent off in the 85th minute of a 1–0 win at home to Newport County. During his time suspended, he served in a coaching capacity for Argyle's under-23 side. However, in just his third game back from suspension, he was sent off again, this time in the 40th minute of a 2–1 defeat at Bradford City. After 35 starts and one substitute appearance across the season, Sawyer was offered another one-year contract extension, following the club's promotion back to League One, so adding another promotion medal to his League Two runners-up medal from 2016-17.
However, Sawyer made just one appearance in the 2020-21 season. In September, at home to Norwich City Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, he was was stretchered off with a serious ankle injury after an opponent landed on him, and he was later ruled out for the rest of the season. In May 2021 the club announced that his injury had forced him to retire at the age of 35.
The club also announced that Sawyer would take up an ambassadorial role with the club, including "elements of coaching in the Pilgrims’ new-look and ambitious Academy set-up, outreach work with the Argyle Community Trust, and specific club duties both on match-days and throughout the week".
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APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]
The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.
I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.
The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.
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