The Season of Goodwill

To all except Welsh assistant referees.

Back to normal now (well as near as possible) after the holidays.

Plymouth Argyle 2 (Fallon 38, Summerfield 57 pen) - 0 Southampton

An excellent result at home on Boxing Day lifted the spirits of the Green Army after a sustained period of no wins with a good performance from the men in green who played their opponents off the field. In front of the biggest crowd of the season the Pilgrims romped home following a powerful header from Fallon, cemented by a penalty by Summerfield early in the second, won because of a handball. Summerfield was a surprise choice to take the kick but most probably did as a two finger salute to the discontent amongst supporters. There were a few changes in the team including the recall of skipper Duguid who was fit again after injury, along with Noone and MacNamee, while others were rested for Arsenal.

Cardiff City 1 (Boothroyd 81) - 0 Plymouth Argyle

And then back to earth with a bump with the only league trip to foreign shores (Wales) where Argyle were denied a goal by the assistant referee who flagged for off-side and has since proven to have been wrong. Nonetheless there it was a much changed team that ran out for the last time at old Ninian Park due to The Big One this weekend, giving some semblance of a return to the good away form however clouded by MacNamee's dismissal in stoppage time. He won't be transfer listed for sure. Even so so many wasted opportunities again. But who gives a shit? We're playing Arsenal next week. Get out the flags (or not as they're banned at the Emirates), sink a couple of pints (dry transport from the Westcountry) and watch the greens get hammered for 90 minutes. The FA Cup where all men are equal, except some are more equal than others, and you'd think is the only game we're playing this year.

Merry Christmas

Well it's nearly over now, but hopefully you all had a Happy Christmas and are now sat on the sofa struggling with excess wind.

Convenient Scapegoat

Barnsley 2 (De Silva 37, Campbell-Rice 90 pen) - 0 Plymouth Argyle

A crap performance was put squarely at the door of Walton because of his dismissal, resulting in his effective bannishment from the club by being transfer listed. Walton was red carded from the Barnsley pitch after just 28 minutes on Saturday leading to what Sturrock has declared a breakdown in Argyle's game plan resulting in the defeat. Who knows is this is true? By many accounts the 28 minutes before the incident did not set the world on fire. But Walton's consist ant poor attitude and behaviour have finally proved too much. On the day the club announce credit crunch matters, this could not have been more convenient for the bean counters. After all Walton's never really been popular.

But even so, the run of bad games has equalled that at the beginning of the season and could be out done if there's another loss on Boxing Day. The difference is that we started falling from the right end of the table and the defeat on Saturday did nothing to the Greens position. Any other manager would be having a brown pants moment, but Sturrock has job security so he does need to be worried. The sympathisers say give him time, he's a proven. But how much time does he need? In a few weeks time its likely that the whole personnel at Home Park will change and the rebuilding will start again. You don't have time at Argyle. Maybe that's why attendances are falling chairman, but why bother doing anything to address that?

Watching Football is Not a Crime

Or is it?

The police have new powers called section 27 to ban anyone from an area for 48 hours if they suspect you of causing disturbance under the Violent Crime Reductions Act. The idea is that you can be removed from an area, such as the local club land for being DUI and potentially disorderly. However at least the South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester Police Forces have been using the order to remove large numbers of football supporters from whole counties under suspicion of potentially causing disturbance. They have at least detained Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle supporters in pubs (where it is purported to have been no disturbance) regardless of age, cautioned under Section 28 and escorted out of the county and beyond (Stoke were removed from Manchester as far as Stoke and Argyle from Doncaster as far away as Birmingham). This is regardless of whether these supporters originally came from where the escort took them or the age of the supporter.

The Football Supporters Federation has launched a campaign against what is considered to be a misuse of the Act. More details here.

Going to the Smoke

I've got a ticket to Arsenal after a load of wangling by other people, so will be off to the big smoke in January to be treated like a load of shit by the Met's finest. Happy days.

Argyle Talk

The fan's forum PAFC Talk has metamorphosed into Argyle Talk and is now available at www.argyletalk.co.uk

Lady Luckless

Plymouth Argyle 0 - 1 Birmingham City (Carsley 62)

Getting worse. A better performance from the boys in Green but the Blues take their only chance and win whilst the Pilgrims dither about. The Credit Crunch Christmas is biting at Home Park.

Plymouth Argyle 1 (MacLean 83) - 1 QPR (Helgusson 16)

A late equaliser saved further embarrassement from subsititute MacLean in yet another sloppy game at Home Park which saw the Pilgrim behind after just 16 minutes because of a rebounded volley during QPR's first true possession of the game after Argyle's domination. A series of missed opportunities ensued throughout the game, QPR's performance improved as time continued as the green shirts were second to every ball and every shot going high or wide. Thankfully this time the subsititutes lifted the game and were rewarded with a goal.
But over all 5 games without a win is not good enough.

Lady Luck?

Doncaster Rovers 1 (Stock 37) - 0 Plymouth Argyle

Lady Luck has decided to slap Sturrock on the arse he stated in his post match report. Luck? What's luck got to do with it? 2 games against bottom of the league clubs, two games lost. Great start to December and the festive period. But is typical Argo. Denied by a wonder goal and a wonder save. Not, denied and outclassed by ineptitude and bad football. Not good enough.

Choo Choo

What's this? A train? To the Emirates? Is it true?
It's quite unprecidented in this day and age for a club to charter a train to a match, but Argyle are ruuning a charter train from Plymouth to Finsbury Park (the nearest station to the Emirates), departing at 8am from Plymouth and 6pm from London.

Tickets cost £50 adult and £45 under 16 (accompanied only)

http://www.pafc.co.uk/page/AwayTickets/0,,10364~1476770,00.html

Coach Travel is also available

8,600

Arsenal ticket details

The club have been allocated 8,600 tickets for the FA Cup draw verses Arsenal at the Emirates.
Concentrate, because this is goint to get complicated:

Tickets will cost between £32.50 and £46 depending on where in the Emirates you are located.

If you have a GREEN SEASON TICKET for the GRANDSTAND or MAYFLOWER RESERVED SEATING, you must get your ticket on Sunday 7 December (10am - 4pm) or Monday 8 December (9am - 5pm).

If you have a GREEN SEASON TICKET for BLOCKS 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 you must get your ticket on Tuesday 9th December (10am - 4pm) and Wednesday 10th December (10am - 6pm).

If you have a GREEN SEASON TICKET for BLOCKS 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 you must get your ticket on Thursday 11th December (10am - 5pm) and Friday 12th December (10am - 6pm).

If you have a GREEN SEASON TICKET for BLOCKS 11, 12, & 13 you must get your ticket on Sunday 14th December (10am - 4pm) and Monday 15th December (10am - 5pm).

If you have a GREEN SEASON TICKET for BLOCKS 14, 15, 16 & 17 you must get your ticket on Tuesday 16th December (10am - 5pm) and Wednesday 17th December (10am - 5pm).

If you have a GREEN SEASON TICKET for MAYFLOWER UNRESERVED/DISABLED STAND you must get your ticket on Thursday 18th December (10am - 5pm) and Friday 19th December (10am - 5pm).

If there are any tickets left they will go on sale to WHITE SEASON TICKET HOLDERS. There will be an announcement on www.pafc.co.uk on Friday 19th December.

If there are any tickets left they will then go on sale to PILGRIM MEMBERS.

It is unlikely that any tickets will go on general sale.

There will be an equal share of each ticket price available on each day.

The Biggest Game

FA Cup 3rd Round, Arsenal v Plymouth Argyle, Saturday 3 January, Emirates Stadium.

So Argyle have drawn Arsenal in what is the biggest game in recent years, is it a good draw? Well there's probably zero chance of progession and as it's away no extra gate receipts. So probably not. But it'll give people a day out to see a big team. Ticket details are yet to be confirmed.

The Trouble with Argyle

Plymouth Argyle 1 (Gallagher 67) - 2 Blackpool (Dickinson 78, Dickinson 81)

Is that they are far too inconsistent. A run of good performances just outside the play offs and then they put in a load of shite, at home as well and not wonder the crowds are sub 10k. By all accounts today was a woeful day, save for Gallagher's 'wonder goal', that turned the crowd from elation to desperation in 3 minutes. This is not how you win fans.

It wasn't just individual problems, it was a collective collusion of crapness that should have wanted a bollocking at half time and definitely full time. Granted the team seemed more up for it at the beginning of the second half so their ears must be ringing, but by the end they should have bleeding ears after such an un'honest' performance. Or were they just 'tired'(!) that they let a late debutante substitute score two goals.

A Wee Bit of a Turn Around

Plymouth Argyle 2 (Mpenza , Gallagher) - 1 Cardiff City
Southampton 0 - 0 Plymouth Argyle

Back in September no-one thought that come the end of November the Greens would be in a play off position, but here they are. From the depths of last place to the heights of in 2 months is a fantastic turn around. The performances put in in the last two games were good too, one of which was in front of the country's eyes which normally is a slipping point for the Pilgrims.

The Greens were the better team on Saturday and, though maybe a little poorer on Tuesday, held their own at St Mary's to a 0-0 draw. This was even after enforced changes due to injuries. Does this mean that the team have turned a corner and are able to work together no matter who is in the XI (ie Sturrock can change his team and not play the same men every game)? Or was it a one off.

There are three games this week (Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday) and the main indicator will be Saturday's performance. No doubt though that a poor game would be blamed on the manager's get clause, tiredness.

PAFC Talk

The fans' forum PAFC Talk has been laid to rest by its owner due to personal reasons.
It is hoped that the forum will be resurrected soon.


UPDATE:
In order to rehost the site, we need approximately £60 a year. If you would like to donate, please do so via the PayPal site:

No-one Saves the Day

Coventry City 0 - 1 Plymouth Argyle (Noone 87)

Who put the ball in the Coventry net? Super Craig Noone. Doesn't really scan that well does it? But at 0-0 going into the break it was a turn around that Argyle came out and scored instead of conceding especially as it wsa Coventry who (you could say predictably) started the second half the better team. But for once it was a substritution who changed the game as Noone came on to score in the dying minutes of the game and hung on for the three points. Up until then there were the usual missed chances, including Mpenza, who had his first start of the season, in the 11th minute that was tipped round the post. Though Coventry were not without their chances either which saw Larrieu push a 30 yard strike just over the crossbar.

So the three points place Argyle currently 9th in the table.

It ain't Over till the Man Blows

Plymouth Argyle 2 (Doumbe 37, Mpenza 90) - 2 Charlton Athletic (Youga 86, Gray 90 pen)

There are 90 minutes in a game of football.
Well, there are more than 90 minutes in a game of football.

Well, it ain't over till the man blows his whistle, so technically a game of football could go on for days. But even so, a game has a set period of time and anything can happen. It usually does. In Argyle's case they get comfy on a 1-0 lead, nothing unusual there when leading, go into autopilot and defend the lead, the deeper the better, and again they let it slip away. So they wait until the 90 minutes is over to regain the lead but then concede a penalty immediately afterwards! It's laughable really if it wasn't so frustrating.

Most of the reports coming out of Home Park concluded that Argyle should be happy with the draw, so something must have been bad and Summerfield was on the end of it. But should people be surprised? It's Argyle's party trick and guaranteed that being in the lead is a nail biting event just as playing catch up is a non-event. But to let the lead go twice, and to concede penalties in back-to-back games is ludicrously poor form. It seems that yet again Sturrock's decision on substitutes was lacking in the fans' opinion. But who are we to question the Messiah? What do we really know?

PG's Trips - Steel City Red Blues

Sheffield United (Beattie 49 pen, Beattie 57) 2 - 0 Plymouth Argyle

Just a quick one today:

We always get shit refs.
2 gifted goals - a fair result? Well the direction of the 3 points, possibly yes. The way the goals happened, probably not. But all in all the slack performance that the Greens gave, they probably would not have got anything from the Steel City's red half. And to be honest, we have not really been playing well for some time. Luckily, everyone else played worse.

A big problem that looms like a black cloud is the ineffectiveness of the team to come back from being behind. In all 15 games when Argyle went behind, never have they managed to score. And secondly, the nervousness in front of goal. The big white netty thing is where the ball should go. You don't get points for farting around and looking all flash in the penalty box, just to lose posession. Goals mean points (and points mean prizes!).

A wasted afternoon.

O Come all Ye Faithful

The ever popular Argyle Christmas Carol concert will this year be held on Monday 15 December, 18.30 in the Devonport Stand.

Keep Sunday Special

The Argyle Superstore (Home Park) will no longer be open on Sundays, however Centre Spot (Drake Circus) will be open as usual.

Match tickets are currently being handled by the superstore on non matchdays, however Argyle have not stated whether the Box Office will also be closing. Tickets are still on sale at Centre Spot or via e-ticketing.

You may Experience Interruptions to your usual Service

I shall be away for 6 weeks from Sunday 1 November until Sunday 14 December, therefore I may not be able to update this blog as often as usual.

Apologies for any Inconvenience.

Wednesday, Tuesday, Which Day?

Sheffield Wednesday 0 - 1 Plymouth Argyle (MacLean 22)

Well they've only gone and done the double. The fixtures computer threw up Wednesday twice in the same month (and then not forgetting the other Sheffield in the same week) and gave the chance for Argyle to beat them within a month. 5 goals to nil.

A sickness bug forced some changes to the squad, which begs the question, would Sturrock have done made changes anyway? It seems not as the defence remained the same. Just one more chance. However elsewhere MacLean was installed along with Paterson and Walton which paid dividend for Steve as he netted the only winning goal in 22 minutes after giving 110% off the blocks against his old club.

By all accounts, a much improved performance. Though can you get worse than poor? Actually, with Argyle, yes you can. But the players have pulled their socks up (or had them pulled up for them) as they held out the early lead that can go astray all so easily.

So this Saturday sees a return to the red side of the Steel City. Stupid really. Lets hope the 4 journeys do not have an adverse affect.

Appallingly Bad Foul Play

Plymouth Argyle 1 (Cathcart 80) - 3 Ipswich Town (Garvan 28, Garvan 41, Lisbie 48)

There is very little positive to be taken from today's woeful game verses Ipswich save for a few individual performances. Sturrock's faithful (save for one enforced change because Fallon is injured meaning McNamee got a start) were tired and stale in a very poor performance, and Ipswich, knowing what they were getting, took full advantage. The only saving grace being Cathcart's 80th too little too late goal. Couple the team's inadequacies with bad officiating and you have a wasted afternoon at Home Park and 3 lost points in a yo-yo league.

The referee managed to hand out 11 yellow cards and convert another to a red (to David Norris - karma not his best friend) in a stop start, 90 minutes of cluelessness. Oh and a was it or wasn't it penalty. It wasn't, apparently. Argyle were on the offensive from kick off and missed two fairly easy goals but once they were 1-0 down all hope evaporated as goal 2 and 3 came. Few saw Argyle getting anything on the scoresheet as it could have so easily been 4,5..-0.

So what now? Sturrock says time for freshness and about bloody time too, he hopefully in a roundabout way be saying that he pushed his faithful too far . Ipswich were the football team and Ipswich went home happy. Next week is the turn of the two Sheffields, unusually both away, but they might not have the referee to distract from their performance then.

Or Maybe you Can

Plymouth Argyle 1 (Fallon 18) - 0 Preston North End

After losing at Derby, Argyle replied with a very scrappy and nail biting win verses Preston. Sturrock kept faithful to the predictable starting 11, but cracks are starting show. Some will say that a win is a win is a win and that there should never be any negativity. But there is always room for improvement. If the team are looking tired then substitutions are needed, but none were forthcoming except for Fallon's injury which might see him out come Saturday. Preston were always in with a chance and came very close many times save for Larrieu's keeping skills, and they had these chances because there was plenty of poor passing and possession all over the field. With games coming in quick succession now, there needs to be some freshening of legs, but it's a huge gamble to make: a win and your fine, a loss and you're head's on the block.

On another Home Park witnesses a bizarre account of officiating with referees and assistants who were clearly confused by this 'football officiating' business. The guys in black were inconsistent throughout the game especially with fouls - near identical offences warranting a host of different outcomes, and an assistant who couldn't tell when a ball was in touch or not. Maybe they were all upset at being told to get off the pitch by one of the groundskeepers during their pre-match inspection.

Update: Apparently Fallon's fine. So we all know the team for Saturday.

You Can't Win Them All

Derby County 2 (Hulse 45, Green 52) - 1 Plymouth Argyle (Gallagher 8)

By all accounts a good solid display with an out of sorts scoreline that doesn't do justice. Aside from a short wobbly period Argyle had a solid game starting well with Gallagher's "wonder goal" off his left foot after just 8 minutes. And 1 goal advantages are not Argyle's speciality. And conceding early goals just gives you time to come back. It's no surprise that the wobbly period happened when Derby, skippered by ex-Green Connolly, scored twice to take all 3 points.

But Derby did have an advantage. They knew what was coming. As I said in my previous post, Derby had 2 weeks to study everything to do with Argyle while Luggy could only fiddle at training. The exact same team ran out at Pride Park that had run out the last 5 games and Derby probably knew who, what, where, how and what sized underpants. Though the Argyle goal probably just served to put their backs up and caught them off guard especially as it was scored from outside the penalty area.

But as the old adage goes, you can't win them all. But not winning in this league has a big impact. Argyle have fallen from 5th to 13th as quickly as they climbed from 24th to 5th. Is it time for a refresh in the team this Tuesday? But then again, what really are the options?

Idiot's Guide to Playing Plymouth Argyle

On the eve of the next league game (verses Derby County) we all wonder who Sturrock will field at Pride Park. Will he stick to his tried and tested formula or go for something different. Most will say if it ain't broke don't fix it. But the trouble with tried and tested is that it can be awfully predictable. If Larrieu, Doumbe, Cathcart, Seip, Barker, Mackie, Duguid, Summerfield, Clark, Gallagher and Fallon always play then other managers will know what's coming. The 'Idiot's Guide to Playing Plymouth Argyle' will soon be flying around Championship Clubs up and down England and Wales. There has to be some sort of element of surprise surely?

Gooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

If you want to join in the goal music at Home Park here are the lyrics

Ilari, ilari, ilarie,
O-o-o
Ilari, ilari, ilarie,
O-o-o
Ilari, ilari, ilarie,
O-o-o
É a turma da xuxa que vai dando seu alo

in your best Spanish accent of course. Simple really once you know.

Now, this begs the question as to why we have goal music. Quite simple probably because it's friendly, it's American after all and anything they go is so the customer 'has a nice day'. The days when a crowd would cheer a goal are gone for now because we need to inject a certain amount of holiday camp campness into football so it appeals to the family demographic, and be honest were you not happiest when you were at Butlins or Pontins (other holiday centres are available) or a wedding and the DJ would put on Music Man or Superman and the whole dance floor would fill and your gran would struggle to keep up? Fast forward through Saturday Night and the Macarena into the 2000s with The Ketchup Song and Tragedy. Did they not make you smile? Or go hideously wrong? In fact what has been distinctly lacking recently is a summer hit cheesy song with actions. Probably because people have changed and unless you are forced by a Redcoat or bladdered in Ibiza no one does that anymore.

So why do we have to at football? Because we have to. Short of every supporter snipping the PA system's wires the powers that be believe that supporters are incapable of making atmosphere. And again if you're honest, when the crowds are low and the team play crap, Home Park is very lacking. Sometimes even being 4-0 up does little to raise more than a murmur. Maybe the solution is to have an experimental no-music day and see what happens. If we're sat in silence twiddling our thumbs and drinking Bovril. You'd only have yourself to blame.

And why Ilarie? It was played at the Beijing Olympics apparently. At the swimming

MacLean told to Shove Off

Or more politely told that he is able to seek employment elsewhere just 5 months after his then record breaking club signing of £500,000.
So victim #1 of Sturrock's way/budget balancing, who else will follow him out of the door?
Another waste of time, effort and money. It's very unlikely that £500,000 and his wages since will be recouped significantly.

We're on a Break!

Not much happening as league football has to take an international break.
So plenty of time to start knitting all those extra clothes to save fuel bills this winter.

McCormick Sentenced

Luke McCormick has been sentenced for 7 years and 4 months after pleading guilty to driving under the influence and causing 2 deaths by dangerous driving earlier this year. McCormick was twice over the legal limit when the landrover he was driving crashed into a car killing two children and severely injuring the driver. McCormick left Argyle this summer though mutual consent.

McCormick's case has caused consternation throughout the country and many will say, and have already said, that this sentence is not justice enough for what he has done - although the relatives are "pleased" with the verdict but not his eligibility for parole after 3 years and that Luke will still be a relatively young when released. McCormick has wasted 4 lives through his actions and will probably never recover - if he survives his imprisonment.

You've been Tango'd

Plymouth Argyle 4 (Beevers 15 og, Gallagher 25, Mackie 29, Seip 89) - 0 Sheffield Wednesday

Hee hee, happy days. Argyle in shock 4-0 win puts them 5th in the table. I don't think anyone expected such a drubbing of one of Sturrock's former clubs yesterday. And he showed no live lost for his former tenure.

Once again the winning formula was put out - the same team, the same Blackley in the dugout. A win. And this time with no reply from the opposition. Home Park witnessed 3 goals in 15 minutes with the first coming 15 minutes into the game when Wednesday made the biggest mistake of the whole game and Beevers accidentally put the ball into his own net and at the same time putting the Owls on the back foot. Argyle seized this luck like a gift from God and replied with Gallagher tapping in the delivery from Mackie immediately followed by Mackie bagging his own effort. 3-0 going into the break.

As discovered at Ashton Gate and Selhurt Park half time makes or breaks the game, but even though Wednesday now could argue they had the advantage of the very difficult weather conditions they could only galvanise a short period of attack to put Larrieu under some pressure, who once again remained resolute between the sticks. This once again did lead Argyle to do their usual performance when leading and defend deep leaving them vulnerable. But thankfully this time they did not crumble. Although the game was effectively over Seip decided to grap a bit of attention by netting the 4th and final goal to send the Owls away well and truly shot down. And in someways the club did Tangoman a big favour by banning him for his antics last season - not least he would have froze his nads off if he had gone topless.

2 Points Lost or Take the Draw

Bristol City 2 (Akinde 63, Nobel 88) - 2 Plymouth Argyle (Mackie 6, Fallon 18)

A division of opinion over this result, did Argyle lose 2 points or should we be happy with the draw? After the second half performance of City and the scoreline turning 2-2, some have cited that 'we would have taken a draw before the game', whilst others believe that after the strong Argyle first half performance they fecked up and threw away 2 good points. And indeed the Turnips fans certainly agreed that it was a case of 2 points lost with their '2-0 and you fecked it up' chant.

So, what went wrong? Sturrock kept faithful to his winning formula with just one change on the bench with Noone replaced by Paterson. And it paid off immediately with 2 goals within the first 20 minutes from Mackie picking up the ball from Seip, followed by Fallon's 10 yard volley. Going into the break Argyle were well ahead in gameplay and seemed to have it sewn up, but pride does come before a fall and half time is probably the most crucial 20 minutes ever in a football match because this is when games are really won and lost. And it was Bristol who capitalised on this after what must have been a very blue-aired dressing room, the Robins ran out on to the pitch with new found confidence and took over the field and control of the game. Argyle were being held to ransom and it was probably inevitable that they would get a goal back. But not two.

Sturrock's team again tired very easily under the attack and heads began to drop, tempers flared and mistakes were made. And substitutes were made. Ineffective substitutes were made. Again, whilst the opposition took full use of their subs and changed the game, Sturrock made some forced changes because of tiredness that really did not do anything to the team's momentum. The fact that we have professional players who cannot stand a 90 odd minute game is very worrying. What is more worrying is that we cannot make full use of our small squad because of fitness, personal clashes and poor form. On top of that some players have to leave. Not a good situation.

But Argyle do remain unbeaten in 4 games, which considering what has come before is a huge achievement and they remain in the top half of the table in 12th position.

Oi! Dorset, give us our Flag back!

This September, the people of Dorset voted for a new county flag:



Cunningly though they've changed some of the colours so we wouldn't notice.
Bloody cheek really .

Deforestation

Plymouth Argyle 1 (Fallon 41) - 0 Nottingham Forest

90 odd minutes, one sending off and one dismissed penalty later Argyle had continued their winning streak by defeating Nottingham Forest at home - the first home win of the season. The winning side at Palace and Watford was changed only by a shuffle of the bench with Noone taking Easter's place after he left for Millwall this week. However, it was Rory Fallon not Gallagher who struck home the only goal of the game nearing half time, but the scoreline could have been so different. Forest's best chance went wide by a few centimetres as Larrieu missed the save that was certain to go in only to be intercepted with centimetres to go. Forest has a number of chances in the second half that were thwarted by Larrieu as they lost all the control that had seen them victoriously enter half time, meaning they had to slog out the rest of the game, compounded by Mackie hitting the bar.

Luggy again left most of the managing to Summerfield and the mysterious man in the dugout - now identified as team coach Blackley. Apparently this is due to a dodgy tummy, yet he was as inanimate at Palace. Is Sturrock taking a more back seat to management then? But even so the game was scrappy, and thankfully Forest were not that good. But the first win at Home Park has put Argyle in the top half of the table (12th) and blown away the dark clouds that have gathered this season and Bristol City awaits on the horizon.

Buy 1 Get One Get Another Game Half Price

If you purchase 1 ticket for either of the home fixtures verses Preston North End (Tue 21 Oct) or Ipswich (Sat 25 Oct), you will be able to purchase a half price ticket for the other game.

Therefore purchasing 1 ticket for Preston will entitle you to half price entry to Ipswich and vice versa. A bit complicated, and who would really do it the other way round (ie plan to go to Ipswich game on a Saturday and suddenly decide to go to the Tuesday Preson game as well?) At least its a step in the right direction.

Offer News

Budgetting

Is the credit crunch hitting Argyle? Why does Luggy have to sell players before he can buy any more? How small was our budget this summer? OK, the club broke their signing record with twice with MacLean and Walton (who has so quickly fallen out of favour and looks more like a folly and a waste of money) but £500,000 and £750,000 respectively in the world of football is not that much money. And then there's bench warmer Mpenza rumoured to be on £10,000 a week. Are these players just sticking plasters brought in to heal the board-supporter-manager relationship that was in tatters over the last 6 months, and are already ready to be shipped out in January after not featuring in games and thus won't be seen as great losses? When the day comes that football does finally implode then maybe Argyle will stand tall above those clubs who have gone to the wall, but will that really happen? Until the time comes when every club tightens its belt and footballers are earning minimum wage, Argyle will always be seen as a tight club.

Funny, but Come On

Argyle's latest PR campaign is to produce a poster for each home game which is downloadable from the official website for supporters to print.

The Nottingham Forest effort:



Which admittedly is quite funny, but come sweetie darling, on what sort of PR is this? A few posters are going to encourage the missing thousands? Even Eddie Monsoon could do better than that!

PG's Trips: Happy Days are Here Again

Crystal Palace 1 (McCarthy 85) - 2 Plymouth Argyle (Gallagher 28, 56)
Saturday 20 September
Selhurst Park

The Match

So our troubles have finally gone, the Greens are back and on the way up. At least away from home. Even so there are still a number of concerning points - like the "Argyle disease" of taking and defending corners - they can't do it. Simple. And this leads to a very tense finish to the games. Something that is so unnecessary.

In a reversal of recent events it was the Palace home crowd who left early and booed their team off the field. What a difference a week makes. Sturrock, aided and abetted strangely with Stapleton from the dugout, didn't make any changes to the winning team from Watford and paid dividend again. Though it does beg the question of what were the point of the making those million-pound signings and not playing them. A bit of a drain in resources. We've already been told that Sturrock has to sell to balance the books - so speculate that they'll be right out the door again in January. What a waste of time. And not to mention the speculation of the primadonna behaviour of the dressing room of these big egos. There's a lot we don't know and it doesn't help when fans speculate.

The Greens were placed under quite heavy pressure by the Eagles and Romain was challenged a fair few times but fortunately Palace were unable to find the net until the 85th minute when McCarthy was unchallenged in a poorly defended corner. At the other end of the pitch Gallagher provided the two winning goals in clean style. So what of the home form this Saturday? The optimistic fans have berated the fair-weathers for their pessimism and unbelief in King Luggy recently, but with Argyle you can never take anything for granted.

The Ground

Likable. The away 'end' is the end of the Arthur Waite stand which flanks one half of the pitch opposite the dugouts. It's a stand of many levels. The turnstiles are straight off the road onto an open concourse from which you are led down into the refreshment concourse and out into the seats. The front third are plastic bucket seats and the top remaining are older wooden seats. Get the wrong seat and you have a limited view - either cause the sun's too bright or the roof's too low or the pillar's too wide. The gents toilets are down some steps again and although large contain cubicles you have to fight your way out of - pick the wrong one and you're stuck until someone shoulders the door in for you! The refreshments have been 'motorway serviced' with a selection of outlets - the Express Cafe selling burgers, hot dogs and soft drinks with a very very small bar, Wimpy doing slightly more expensive burgers, hot dogs and soft drinks with no bar and The Pie Shop doing very expensive pies and pies.

Everything's going to be Alright

Everything's going to be ok. Hurrah! The Greens are going up! Vive la green wave!

Watford 1 (O'Toole 82) - 2 Plymouth Argyle (Duguid 30, Summerfield 70 pen)

Well we can all breathe a huge sigh of relief because Sturrock got out his broom, brushed aside 7 deadwood players and swept in a new regime leading to the first win of the season. Get out the flags and prepare the champagne for promotion.

Following his hard words on Saturday Sturrock made 7 changes to the squad namely Stack, MacLean, Walton, Easter, Puncheon, Barker and Folly out and Larrieu, Cathcart, Summerfield, Paterson, Fallon, Clark and Mackie in. Players who did not fit in with Sturrock's vision or attitude have been hoicked out and have to earn their way back. And it worked ... for now. There are still 6 months of the season to go and though it might have worked on a Tuesday night in Watford, doesn't mean it'll work again. But credit where it's due, he took a huge gamble and it paid off. But if his new signings and big monet players are to be left out and off loaded, then what was the point of signing them and wasting the money to start with?

To all accounts and purposes, Argyle played neat and tidily with the new line up and for once deserved a win with their two goals (nearly 3) coming from Duguid struck the ball off Fallon's wrong-facing pass. The second came courtesy of a penalty taken by Summerfield off a handball. Watford's consolation goal coming from bungled corner defending. Still something to work on. There's no love lost between the two sides.

Out of Ideas

Plymouth Argyle 1 - 2 Norwich City

Hurrah a new wave of optimism swept through the Green Army after the recent signings and we were well on the road to recovery. Until 15.00 today. When Surrock ran out of ideas.

The lack of fitness of the new signings was made public but people didn't notice that none of the 'new wave' would be playing for much of today's game. So Luggy chose a player who has no intention of ever wearing a green shirt again to be the main strike force. To all intents and purposes the game was worse than the Swansea match - and that takes some beating. Nothing went well and Norwich should have won by 6 clear goals, add to that the Greens were playing with just 10 men following Timar's dismissal for two bookings.

What exactly happened over the last 2 weeks in training? Because it certainly didn't seem like much on the field, many players not even knowing who their team mates in green were. And Sturrock did nothing. It's as if he has no clue what to do to remedy the situation. Some people are calling for his sacking, and to be fair if he was any other manager the situation would be worse. Sturrock is lucky that he is still seen by many as Argyle's Saviour. But for how much longer? 2 games, once the new signings have played? Christmas, when the team has formed properly? Or on relegation? That's the trouble - some have unshakable belief in things coming good, others don't. Who will have the last laugh? One things for sure. Neither will back down.

Yellow Peril

Don't park your car at Home Park!

Or else you risk a £70 fine, your car towed and 3 points on your licence.

Did you know that there's a 5 minute waiting time limit at Home Park? No? Neither did I. But apparently there is, and the police are out in force to patrol it.

Therefore only use a marked parking space from now on.

(more)

Information Diarrhoea

After what seems like years of silence from Home Park the new initiative meeting last night released a huge bout of information diarrhoea from Paul Stapleton. In a nutshell, he spoke about:

The Redevelopment of the South Stand
Due to start in 2010 with the new planning application due to go in front of the planning department next year in collusion with a commercial partner. The 10.9 acre site could include 10 pin bowling, indoor tennis courts, conferencing and events facilities and retailing. (more)

The Argyle Foundation
The new look youth development, named the Argyle Foundation, will see 2,500 (special season ticket holders) pay £117 a year to invest in youth development. In return for the £117 investors will be entered into prize draws with prizes of up to £10,000. (more)

The Japanese Connection
Is due to turn up investment and players next year once their season finishes. The club is in daily contact with K&K and has viewed various DVDs of players. (more)

Facilities
In addition, Harpers Park training ground is to be redeveloped in the near future.

So there we have it, a scheme to get more money out of already paying supporters to fund (almost individually!) youth players (but with the chance to win one of our fabulous prizes - cuddly toy?); a possibility that phase 2 (oops, Redevelopment of the South Stand because it doesn't include the corners) dependant upon various other developments and it getting through planning and past the Friends of Central Park's campaign to stop the Life Centre and any development in Central Park; and we maybe getting some Japanese players.

I can see why some people are jumping for joy, letting off fireworks and parading to Home Park on Saturday. I can see why some can't really get excited.

But at least for once, we know something

It's Not Our Fault Guv'nor

Paul Stapleton has released a statement today ahead of the "new initiative" tomorrow explaining the delicate balancing act he and the board have had to face over the last year. He states that since 2006 the club have spent £3.8 million on players and that the succession of record signings are evidence that the club lived up to the promise of 'having a go' at reaching the Premier League. Receipts from players totaled £5.4 million, but the excess has had to go to shoring up the falling gate numbers.

So there you have it - there is no money. It's all gone on players and various other unnamed expenditure blamed on the falling gate numbers. So perhaps you could technically say that it fans didn't stay away then there wouldn't need to be any balancing to do. It's all your fault really.

Again.

One in One Out

Argyle operating a night club policy of one out one in?

Apparently because we've now 'over spent' by bringing in new players, old players will have to leave to balance the books. Why? Again it begs the question of what happened to the money from January and summer? How can there be a shortfall in the books?

Argyle to Axe Players

Last Minute (.com)

The transfer window slammed shut today with Argyle sneaking in a signing just before someone's fingers got trapped in the form of Emile Mpenza. Former Manchester City striker has joined the Greens on a one year contract after making 25 appearances last season in which he scored 5 goals. He also has 17 international games and 54 caps to his name.

The signing has been welcomed with flags and a palm-leaved highway by many of the Green Army as Mpenza should obviously boost the strike force of the squad, maybe it's just desperation after such a poor summer that a player of (perceived) quality has joined the team. Likewise the signing has gone far to placate concerns over the lack of goals and recent poor performances. Maybe though it's unfair to heap so many hopes onto one player and all eyes will now be on the next league game verses Norwich as week on Saturday.



Mpenza Pens Deal

New Loanees

As the (slightly extended) transfer window slams firmly shut until January, Argyle have brought in some last minute loanees namely Paul Gallagher and Nicolas Marin.

24 year old Gallagher is on a season long loan from Blackburn Rovers and made his debut verses Burnley (and got his first booking to boot) and likewise French midfielder Marin has come from the first division Sedan.

Anything to help build up such a weak squad is welcomed.

Ooh, What Could it Be?

A new initiative from Argyle to be announced on the 10th and 11th September, by invite only to green members.
Intriguing

At Least it wasn't a Loss

Burnley 0 - 0 Plymouth Argyle

A crucial game which might have decided the direction Argyle were taking this season ended in a no score-draw against fellow relegation zone 10 men Burnley. At least it wasn't a loss, ending the 70 odd years of losing at Turf Moor. But on the other hand it wasn't a win yet and there hasn't been a (recognised) goal for 3 games.

Sturrock's fetish for chopping and changing the team continued as same-day loanee, Gallagher, was included straight away in the squad, almost rivalling the 12:10 signing for last-minuteness. In all accounts it was a better performance from the Greens, though it could hardly get worse than the Swansea game, but even so they couldn't get a goal against a 10-man Burnley. But a point is a point, even if it does nothing much to the league table. Now there's another 2 weeks off before the next league game for some magic to happen.

So glad I didn't make the trip north anyway.

One Step Backwards, Two Forwards?

The speculation about Argyle's ambition has been rife for the last few years but recently it has taken a hard knocking. There seems to be a feeling that rather than being an established Coca Cola Championship club, the board would rather Argyle were a successful League One club. Surely this cannot be right? The thinking behind it is that the success of winning the (then) Third and Second Leagues in quick succession generated loads of interest in the club and high gate prices and thus people were riding the crest of the feelgood wave. And it can be replicated again.

But there's a flaw. In fact several.
1. Relegated clubs do not always do well, there could well be an exodus of players, leaving yet another decimated squad.
2. Relegation means that what extra fans the club had might not turn up.
3. The feeling of 'been there done that'. People have seen Argyle promoted and then stagnate - why should it be different next time around.

Therefore I do not believe that the board want Argyle to be relegated. And anyway if they do, they're bloody stupid. So what is the making of the current situation. Certainly the problems have been deeply ingrained for years and since Sturrock left first time, each subsequent manager has had problems with the frugality of the expenditure. But success was built in frugality so what has changed? Argyle have not moved with the times, football has become one huge megaglomerate money monster. It be anything in the game you must flash the cash. And Argyle have not done that. So far they've been surviving by the skin of their teeth. Sooner or later those teeth will drop out.

Easter to go

Circumstances that cannot be resolved at Plymouth mean that Jermaine Easter is to leave Argyle. Easter has fallen out of favour with supporters and to many will not be a great loss to the side, but we can hardly be letting any more players leave!

Official announcement

A load of Crap

Plymouth Argyle 0 - 1 Swansea City (Scotland 44)

Absolutely apalling. "The worst performance [I've] ever seen [...]" says Sturrock, "This is going to be a hard season." Not much to encourage anyone of the 8,500 people who did turn up to come again is there. Of course it could all just be a case of 'We wuz robbed' following D'Urso's ruling that disallowed the perfectly good equaliser. A goal that Sky Sports deemed perfectly reasonable (but surprise surprise Swansea manager Martinez agreed with the referee). But no one has trotted out such an excuse as there's a collective depression descended over the Green Army as Argyle are now in the relegation zone. But hey it's only been 3 matches, there's a whole season to go yet. Maybe it's just a dodgy start rather than a dodgy finish or a slip up in the middle.

Sturrock has made just one change from the team that lost 2-0 at Reading, with MacLean replacing Mackie in a team "still waiting to click" (Martinez). We'll be waiting a long time judging why their performance whilst the Swans majestically sailed through the game bagging their winning goal just before half time from Doumbe's misplaced pass.

Next week the Pilgrims travel to Burnley who must be putting out the flags to celebrate their traditional 3 points, as Argyle have not won there in recent years. Let's hope it won't be a case of crash and Burn-ley.

Reading between the Lines

Reading 2 (Sonko 13, 49) - 0 Plymouth Argyle

A shambles by all accounts and a double whammy of two near identical goals by the same player who wasn't in the squad last season. The prudency of resting some of the squad in the equally diabolical performance verses Luton obviously didn't help as there were 6 more changes to the squad that ran out at Kenilworth Road. It looks like such swapping will continue for the forseeable future as no one combination is working at the moment. To be fair Argyle did have some chance of scoring but never looked like really threatening the goal. So once again it looks like Argyle are back to normal business.

Argyle sign Noone

20 year old Craig Noone [noon, not no one] has been signed by Argyle from Stockport County for yet another undisclosed fee in the region of £100,000.

So continuing the raid on lower leage (and in fact non league) clubs, Argyle are once again showing what they're really about.

High Noone

PG's Trips : Championship you're having a Laugh

Luton Town 2 (Jarvis 16, Plummer 78) - 0 Plymouth Argyle [CLC]
Kenilworth Road
Tuesday 13 August 2008

The Match

Oh how the league 2 -30 point fans taunted and oh how right they were. Outclassed and outplayed by a near non-league team. All the good work from Saturday undone. Not good enough.
Sturrock was never taking this match seriously, why bother with a silly little league cup when you're potentially going to be fighting for league survival. Well Luton cared. And cup runs bring in money. Oh I forgot we don't need any of that.
The first half was appalling play by Argyle formed from a combination of 1st and 2nd choice players, but the 2nd choice players really did nothing to show their worth. In fact neither did many of the 1st choices! And that's how it remained, Argyle strangers to the game except for a a brief stint in the second half following what must have been a half time bollocking. Argyle almost redeemed themselves when they found the net only to be disallowed for handball. Not a good night all round. What will Reading bring?

The Ground

Not changed at all. A strange and awkward ground built in people's backyards with the turnstiles and toilets in the front rooms of a terrace row, leading up past the bathrooms next door into a converted terrace with a low slung roof. Perfect for creating noise, if there was anything to create noise about. The seats are so close together you risk splaying your legs into the splits to fit. There are minimal facilities with up to 2 tea bars at either end of the terrace, and obstructed views all round. The pitch is totally enclosed by an odd assortment of stands including conservatory executive boxes down one flank (over which numerous balls are lost), a terrace so narrow it only has bus stop style seating down the other, and an added odd bit stuck up in one corner. It's great!

Things always happen while you're away

Missing the signings of Walton, Barker and Cathcart just because I was away last week.
Typical innit.

Wolves at Home in the Rain

Plymouth Argyle 2 (Fallon 7, Seip 56) - 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Kightly 19, Vokes 78)

So the jitters of preseason were smashed by a strong thrilling opening game in the lashing rain. Especially as one of the starting XI, Chris Barker, signed at 11:50 the very same day. The conditions were appalling but the newly laid and drained pitch held up really well and so did both teams as there was very little between them at times, but it was Wolves who had to battle to come back both times with two easy goals, the second of which on review could be deemed to have been offside.
Sturrock dropped Timar and gave captaincy to Duguid, increasing rumours that the he wants to permanently give a new signing the skippership, likewise Larrieu was replaced by Stack in goal and the two new signings, Walton and Barker were given pride of place on the pitch. A gamble that paid off as they more than held their own apart from the defencive problems that led to both equalisers. And they probably rue the many missed chances to increase the goal count.

Plymouth Argyle - the Definitive Guide for Away Fans

Who are we?

Plymouth Argyle, that's P-L-Y-M-O-U-T-H A-R-G-Y-L-E. Known as the Pilgrims or the Greens.

We are in Plymouth, Devon, the South West, you know the sticky out bit down the bottom left hand corner of the United Kingdom. The place that is not Portsmouth or Wales or France.

How to get here

If you're using prat-nav Home Park's post code is PL2 3DQ.

Travelling by car means finding the M5 south towards Exeter and continuing on the A38 towards Pymouth. When you pass the Welcome to Plymouth sign you need to turn off at the 3rd exit - Manadon Roundabout. Plymouth Argyle FC is signed from here if you get lost. After coming off the A38 take the second exit onto the A386. Continue ahead until you pass a petrol station on the right. The car park and ground are visible on the left.

By train, take any First Great Western, CrossCountry or South West Trains service travelling to or through Plymouth. When you exit the station, turn right and head out to the main road. Here you have a choice. Either turn right and head under the railway bridge and walk, or cross the road by the footbridge and catch a bus from the stop. If walking, cross straight over the roundabout at the bottom of the hill and head up the other side. A sign directs you to turn right into parkland, just follow this wide path straight ahead.

Club Contact details

Plymouth Argyle FC Ltd, Home Park, PLYMOUTH, PL2 3DQ

Box Office telephone number: 0845 338 7232

Box Office opening times: Mon - Fri: 9am - 5pm; Sat (non matchday): 10am - 3pm; Sat (matchday) 9am - 3pm & half hour after FT; Sun: 12pm - 3pm; Mon before Tue home game & Fri before Sat home game: 9am - 6pm(closed bank holidays)

Argyle Superstore telephone number: 01752 558292

Argyle Superstore (Home Park) opening hours: Mon - Fri: 9am - 5pm; Tue (matchday): 9am - 8.45pm; Sat (non matchday): 10am - 3pm; Sat (matchday): 9am - 3pm & 5pm - 5.30pm

Home Park

Home Park is effectively 2 separate grounds - the newer Devonport, Lyndhurst and Barn Park stands, and the original grandstand and Mayflower enclosure. Away fans are accommodated in the Barn Park end, which is at the farthest end from the car park. Access to this is to the left of the ground only.

The Box Office, Shop and Club Reception are located behind the Grandstand through the private and rough car park (if it rains, bring your wellies!). A trip to the Box Office and back to the away end necessitated a walk around the whole of the ground as there is no direct access between the Box Office and away end.

The away end generally serves alcohol (£3.00 for a bottle of Carlsberg), hot and cold beverages and hot and cold snacks. The club might choose to not serve alcohol depending on whether your support has a naughty following or not.

Depending on how many fans expected the seating may be unreserved, else the from row is row A, working to Y at the back. As you face the pitch, seat numbers get larger from right to left.

Expect stewarding to be quite strict - especially when standing for long periods of time (normally over 5 minutes). If you do not comply, expect to be ejected from the ground.

What to do beforehand?

If you arrive early you might wish to make the 20 minute walk (or bus ride) back into the city centre. Else the nearest pub to the ground is the Britannia Inn on the corner of the large road junction by the bus depot. The management are quite haphazard about whether they open or not on match days, especially afterwards. Facing the Britannia is the Embassy who sometimes allow away fans in. The alternatives are a fair walk away, either though the park to Mutley Plain straight across the junction by the Britannia towards Torpoint you will find Stoke at the top of the hill or back up towards Manadon Roundabout is the Cherry Tree pub.

Luggy in Trouble

For calling Dundee "Scumdee Bastards" when addressing the Arab Army after the game on Saturday

DUNDEE United legend Paul Sturrock has been caught on camera having a foul-mouthed swipe at his former team's arch rivals.
Ex-Scotland striker Luggy, who revealed last week he has Parkinson's disease, made the dig at Dundee FC at the weekend.
The Plymouth Argyle manager entertained his old club in a friendly match at Home Park on Saturday. He was captured on mobile phone footage being given a standing ovation by hundreds of United fans who stayed behind after their side's 1-0 victory.
As Arabs fans chanted, "Paul Sturrock f****** hates Dundee," their idol came on to the pitch from the dressing room with a microphone. The 51-year-old got rapturous applause as he told the crowd of around 200: "You've had a great season. "Make sure you beat those Scumdee b******* the next time you play them."
The jibe was recorded by a fan who posted it on a videosharing website YouTube.
From The Daily Record

How precious of them. Especially when compared with all the chants that get sung on the terraces including 'Sheep-shagger' remarks towards Clark from the Arabs. Or is it cause he's a manager. Wonder if Holloway had said the same, would it have been seen as so serious?

The offending video:


Meanwhile, some light relief:

Streaker!

Plymouth Argyle 0 - 1 Dundee United (Sandaza 47)

The Arab army bring all the fun of the fair and go home with the goldfish and the giant cuddly toy after obviously taking tips from Yeovil Town by grabbing the goal during the traditional post half time snooze.

After some decision making by Luggy following the contrasting Yeovil and Truro games, he still went with what he considered his strongest team, but made more use of substitutions to allow more players a game. And it nearly worked as the two teams locked each other out during the first half. But the usual half time nap alarm clock had not gone off by the time the teams retook the field and United's Sandaza took advantage. However the lead obviously wasn't entertaining enough as a United fan decided to streak on the pitch. Incidentally why are streakers always the smallest endowed men? The Arab Army in fine voice with the alcohol singing throughout the game. And in some cases the alcohol being drunk throughout the game - do they not know the rules about no alcohol pitchside? Argyle's game fizzled out and limped home resulting in an epic half hour bollocking by Sturrock in the changing room as the real tangerines encamped themselves in the away stand and chanted his name until he finally came out and took their applause.

Tickets, Please!

Get Away!

Supporters are now able to purchase away tickets on line with Argyle's e-ticketing, as well as home tickets. However Cup tickets are still not yet available on line.

Reading Ticket News

Sale Dates:
Green Members - Thursday, July 31
White Members - Monday, August 4
Pilgrim Members - Tuesday, August 5
General Sale - Wednesday, August 6

Price:
Adult - £23
Over 65's - £17
17 - 21 Year-Olds - £17
Under 17's - £12

Coach Travel (departs 09.30):
Adult Members - £20
Adult Non-Members - £23
Child Members - £18
Child Non-Members - £21

E-Ticketing

PG's Trips : I am Sorry that the 17.25 is running 35 mins late

Truro City 0 - 1 Plymouth Argyle (Easter 19) [PSF]
Treyew Road
Wednesday 30 July 2008

The Match

A much better and spirited performance compared to the previous night. A little worrying that Luggy believes the team he fielded verses Yeovil to have been his strongest XI. Maybe he should swap them over. There was a real friendly atmosphere about the place and with the capacious on tap alcohol, the football did seem to take a back seat for many people. Luggy wasn't in the dugout but watching from the terraces, leaving Kevin Summerfield to oversee the team's tactics.
Summerfield started with the basic 4-4-2 which, though basic, works and provided a strong start. Truro responded with pressure and caused Stack to make some good saves with the hosts probably playing the better football. However the goal came from some poor handling by City skipper which was taken advantage of by Fallon who passed it to Easter.

The Ground

About 20 minutes up hill from the station. Not much help if the train is delayed 35 minutes because someone decides to walk into a train at Exeter.
The ground is flanked on one side by temporary tiered uncovered seating, opposite a covered terrace. Behind the goals equally uncovered. The facilities are all at one end consisting of the club house and bar, and a walk-in tea hut. This being non league, alcohol is allowed on the terraces and home and away fans mix non segregated. Both of which are a novelty and add to the experience. During torrential rain, the lack of cover is not good.

Squad Numbers

The squad numbers for next season have been released:

1 Romain LARRIEU (gk)
2 Karl DUGUID
3 Jim PATERSON
5 Krisztián TIMÁR
6 CHRIS CLARK
7 Jason PUNCHEON
8 Yohann FOLLY
9 Steve MacLEAN
10 Jermaine EASTER
12 GREEN ARMY
13 Mathias KOUO-DOUMBE
14 Rory FALLON
16 David McNAMEE
18 Gary SAWYER
19 Marcel SEIP
20 Luke SUMMERFIELD
21 Graham STACK (gk)
24 Ashley BARNES
25 Jamie MACKIE
26 Yala BOLASIE
27 Lloyd SAXTON (gk)
28 Shane WHITE
29 Damien McCRORY
30 Dan SMITH

The only change being Easter who has moved from 36 to 10, along with promotion for White, McCrory and Saxon.

PG's Trips : Even Yeovil can afford a Scoreboard

Yeovil Town 1 (Tomlin 46) - 0 Plymouth Argyle [PSF]
Huish Park
Tuesday 29 July 2008

The Match

Was someone going for the record for how many Off Sides you can have in one game? It seemed that whenever Argyle went forward, up went the flag. And not too sure whether it was the officials or players who were off side happy. Over all a pretty dire performance from the so-called first team.
Sturrock fielded who he considered his strongest team: Larrieu, McNammee, Seip, Timar, Paterson, Folly, Clark, Duguid (who is going to be forever known by announcers this season as dug-weed), MacLean, Mackie and Puncheon with Doumbe, Fallon, Easter, Smith and Stack on the bench. The starting 4-3-3 formation proved in effective, but was kept till near the middle of the second half, and allowed Yeovil to dominate most of the game and proving them to be the better team. The defence was pretty good, along with some individuals, but as a team it was not there. Even when Yeovil sent on nearly all their substitutes, Argyle could not take advantage, showing only 15 or so minutes of any real pressure on the other Green and Whites.
The goal came right after kick off of the second half, in Argyle tradition of early goals when caught napping. Somethings don't change.

The Ground

Huish Park is quite a good ground. The away end terracing being uncovered and incomplete (the terracing structure extends up behind the back fence for some feet). There rest of the ground is low slung roofed terrace behind the goal and seating flanking the sides. This means that they can generate a lot of noise, even when only a few are singing.
In contrast to the basic starkness of the stand, the facilities are quite good. There is only one "tea bar" (ie doesn't sell alcohol or pies!) which does cause queues, but no more than your usual refreshment bar, but sells reasonably priced pasties, sausage rolls hot dogs, and hot and cold beverages. A beer marque has been erected outside the ground if you feels the need for a tipple before the game, and there are a couple of pubs nearby. Lavatory-wise, the gents toilets are exquisite though, very spacious and complete with flower arrangements! There are no TVs or betting shops and no cover in the event of a downpour, unless you hide in the toilets. At the back of the terrace is a large electronic scoreboard, and two matching older scoreboards on the tops of the flanking stands.
This must be one of the best signed grounds in the country when approached from the A303, car parking is £2.00 from various places around the industrial estate, but be warned the official car park is a field.

Sturrock Downer

Paul Sturrock seems to have been on a bit of a downer this week, firstly accouncing that he has Parkinsons Disease (and has had it for some time), and then releasing an official rant about the transfer market. Sturrock suffers from a mild form of the disease, controlled by tablets and has been suffering for over 8 years.

In this official announcement Sturrock bemoans the trouble he has experienced this summer, but yet again it seems a case of 'change the record for crying out loud'. This seems the standard copy and paste response from Argyle every transfer window, the same excuses trotted out every time. And its wearing very very thin.

Tony Pulis in and article for The Herald states that such excuses are standard and that Argyle are going to get nowhere unless there is sufficient investment and drive.

Austria

Plymouth Argyle 1 (McCrory 77) - 1 Furth (Ilicevic 40)

The first of the rearranged games on the Austrian tour saw Argyle draw 1-1 in heard fought game featuring mainly trialists and youth, with youth team member McCory netting the equaliser.

With the cancellation of FC Nuremberg the rearranged game will be against Romanian side Petrolul Ploiesti.

Plymouth Argyle 2 (MacLean 66, Summerfield 68) - 0 FC Unirea

OK, so it wasn't FC Nuremberg or Petrolul Ploiesti but another 2nd division Romanian side that sounded too much like a bodily function. By most accounts a fairly slow game with both goals coming (in Argyle tradition) within minutes of each other.

Timar Signs, McCormick Leaves

Kristian Timar has agreed to and signed a 3 year contract with Plymouth Argyle, ending suspicion that he might be following Halmosi out of the door. Timar was voted last season's player of the season.

Meanwhile Luke McCormick has had his contract terminated my mutual consent. McCormick was the driver of a vehicle that crashed and caused the deaths of two boys on the M6 back in June.

Rotten to the Core

This weekend I read an article in the News of the World sports section (see here). Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordon has expressed a damning opinion about football being 'rotten to the core'. Jordon has decided to walk away from football by selling Palace to the highest bidder after becoming fed up with all that football stands for these days.

In particular he cites that Lampard is not worth £150,000 a week, which is hard to disagree with. There was once a time when you could say that footballers' careers are short and therefore they need the money for after their career is over. However now the money situation has got too much. With people facing the credit crunch and tightening their belts, the outrageous demands of these celebrities and heroes is forcing clubs to spend more, to put up their prices and is seeing more and more clubs going into financial problems. the money issue has always been a problem with Argyle and year on year players turn down the club because they cannot compete with the big boys. How on earth can Ronaldo claim that he is treated like a 'slave'?

But Jordon doesn't rest all the blame on the players themselves, but shares it equally among the supporters who, whipped up into the frenzy that football has become' demand more and more from players and the clubs. He says that fans will demand the biggest signings and only the best will do - division winners, champions, cup finalists, Europe and beyond - year on year or else.

At the moment football has become a maelstrom, an unstoppable tempest, of itself going round and round until one day, which surely is coming soon, it will not be able to sustain itself and will explode leaving a big mess. As the economy starts to turn, that day could come sooner than expected.

As Jordon says "The reality is that football is a bulls*** world - an insidious, insipid, egotistical, greedy, self-motivated game ... the game descends into a bickering war over inflated contracts, lack of loyalty, greed, corruption and arrogance."

Official Site Make Over

The official Argyle site is currently undergoing a make over with the appearance of several new sections such as Captain's Blog (but who will write it?), information about Argyle's past campaigns, history, kits, statistics and ex-players. In addition it appears that ground tours will become a new revenue stream with an as yet to be filled section has appeared.

Check it out

On Tour

At this moment the team will be on their week long Austrian Tour/Retreat as part of preseason, unfortunately FC Nuremburg have cancelled their match, meaning more training ground work. Before the team left they suffered a poor friendly verses Kidderminster.

Kidderminster Harriers 2 (Bowler 35, Richards 67) - 2 Plymouth Argyle (Mackie 40, Mackie 75) [PSF]

Apparently Kidderminster made Argyle's defence look foolish for both of their goals, and in general the performance was so poor that Kidderminster should really have won the game as Argyle had to come back from behind twice.

3 weeks till the new season...

It Never Rains

From nothing to 5 within weeks.

Argyle have made their 5th signing of the season with Yala Boalise joining the Pilgrims from Maltese club, Floriana. The 19 year old turned own Austrian top division team Sturm Graz and Bundesleige Hoffenheim.

Sturrock describes him as a wild card with quick pace and a large potential and is confident he can replicate Jamie Mackie's time at the club.

At the same time, keeper Graham Stack has been confirmed at Argyle's 4th signing. Stack began his career at Arsenal before moving to Reading and loaned to Leeds and Wolves.

Hiya Yala
Stack Up

Go West-on

Weston-super-Mare 1 (Browns, 66) - 1 Plymouth Argyle (Mullins, 16 (og))

Impressive solid display apparently, in spite of not being able to score goals against a Blue Square South league team, relying on an own goal by Weston to get on the scoreboard.

New signing McNamee made his debut with the squad whilst keeper Larrieu returned between the sticks.

Stack-ed in Argyle's Favour

Argyle have made their 3rd signings of the close season with the signing fullback David McNamee and are set to make their 4th with goal keeper Graham Stack

McNamee is the latest Scot to join what should probably now be SPL club Argyle, from Coventry after playing in the 1-1 draw against Weston-super-Mare. Injuries kept David out for much of last season whilst 26 year old Stack has impressed Sturrock in recent weeks' training.



Welcome David
Luggy's deck is Stacked

Matchday Ticket Price Increase

Prices for matchday tickets have been released

Devonport, Lyndhurst, Barn Park, Grandstand

Adult £24 / £26
Under 16 & Over 60 £16 / £18
Under 18 £7 / £8

Mayflower Seating
Adult £20 / £22
Under 16 & Over 60 £15 / £16
Under 18 £7 / £8

(before matchday / on matchday)

Players leaving, prices increasing, attendance decreasing...

Roll Up, Roll Up

Players at bargain prices!

Peter Halmosi has left the West Country and to make his new home in the new Premier League city of Hull for a rumoured £1.75 million just over half of what Argyle said they wanted for him.

In a time when all the blame is put on the supporters for not attending, the release of yet another of Argyle's better players with no sign of a like-for-like replacement (or indeed any replacement), its wearing very thin with some fans. The straw that broke the camel's back is homing nearer and nearer. At the moment many will be seeing a club which has little to no hope of competing this season with no players and no money and the possibility of relegation is being taken seriously.

Was this part of the 5 year plan?

Tivvy Town

Tiverton Town 0 - 1 Plymouth Argyle (Summerfield) [PSF]

The first preseason game saw Argyle win 1-0 after a MacLean missed a penalty, but who cares about the results of friendlies (well, Torquay United last season for one). There were 4 trialists on show last night, however their identities are shrowded in secrecy as Sturrock refused to name names. A keeper by the name of 'Hajduch' was announced by the public address who played the whole match, 'Rhim' played 70 minutes in midfield along with 'Mohamed', leaving a fourth totally nameless.

According to those who made the trip, the new signings of Duguid and Puncheon looked good whilst the trialists looked out of their depth for at least the first half except for Hajduch who had little to do. There are 2 more games this week - Weston and Kiddiminster - before the team fly off to Austria for the week. This is the time when new players should be bedding in, but we still have half a team to employ!

On the Box

Due to being shown live on Sky TV, Argyle's home game verse Cardiff on 22 November will now kick off at 12.45.

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Targets.

Is there any point blogging and getting excited about targets, when most of them don't sign?

Apparently Argyle have been chasing 3 target players Austian Jurgen Samuel, ex-Reading keeper Stack and another unmaned player (Fletcher?). 2 unmaned players have so far turned Argyle down and Sturrock has moved on to his next sightings.

How boring.

Guess who rules the World

Summer can be a boring time, when supporters squabble amongst themselves for any scrap of information making it past the turnstiles, but this summer has been more quiet than normal on the transfer front with just 2 incoming players. So what do Argyle do about it? They release excuses. And we've heard them all before mainly its the supporters fault for not attending the matches. The most recent excuses to add to the collection (and I'm sure I've heard this one before too) is it's the WAGs' fault.

Players' wives hold their husbands by the balls when it comes to choosing teams, and those teams in London or Manchester or any other big city will always score points on the WAGs' checklist - shopping, money, nightlife, exposure. Plymouth is too far in France for these celebrity conscious women it seems. (Petticoat Power)

And after you stop laughing at the absurdity of these heroes in shorts and their mistresses, the usual 'we don't have the money' excuses gets trotted out, thinly veiled though. Apparently the inflated cost of buying English players rules out any home-grown players, but getting the foreign ones is just as tough as they need time to adapt to the Argyle way of football. It seems that Argyle play a totally different game to the rest of the world and it'll take far too long for any non-English players to adapt. WTF?! (Johnny Foreigner)

The Small Screen

Due to being shown live on Sky Sports, Argyle's second home game of the season, verses Swansea on 23 August, now has a revised kick off of 17.20.

McCormick Suspended

Plymouth Argyle have official suspended Luke McCormick until further notice.

Statement

Go Furth and multiply

A slight change to the preseason tour to Austria sees Argyle now playing second division German team Greuther Furth instead of Petrosani.

The new fixtures list is:

14 July: Tiverton Town; Ladysmead: 19.45
16 July: Weston-super-Mare; Woodspring Stadium: 19.30
18 July: Kidderminster Harriers; Aggborough: 19.45
22 July: Greuther Furth (Laufen, Germany): 18.00
24 July: FC Nuremburg (Kaprun, Austria): 18.00
29 July: Yeovil Town; Huish Park: 19.45
30 July: Truro City; Treyew Road: 19.45
2 August: Dundee United; Home Park: 15.00
4 August: Swindon Town; The County Ground: 19.45

Kick offs subject to change

Live and Kicking

The back-to-back concerts at Home Park have been and gone, with Westlife probably having the edge over Meat Loaf. This year Argyle decided to go it alone in conjunction with the Pavilions and Ticketmaster, and the net result was almost the same except for the saving in stewarding (who were paid just £22 for the night). Home Park was set up virtually the same as last year save for a few tweeks, and the need to remove the Mayflower seating. Now we know why it's called temporary seating!

Another Incoming

The second signing of the closed season comes from Colchester in the form of Karl Duguid to fill the right back position. Duguid has signed a 2 year deal with the Pilrgims after 14 years playing for Colchester who were relegated last season. The 30 year old made 450 appearances for the Us in midfield or on the right as Colchester's skipper.

Karl's Marker
Duguid to be True

Dundee United Doings

I have added a new site to the recommended links today

http://dundeeunitedfc.blogspot.com/

is written by Chuck, and follows the progress of Sturrock of Arabia's former club. Read what the Arabs are getting up to before this year's preseason friendly.

Oh my Goodness! A Signing!

What? Argyle have actually signed a player. Jason Puncheon becomes the only addition to the squad so far this summer after he signed from Barnet for £250,000 in a 2 year deal.

Puncheon has been at Barnet since 2006 and made 42 starts for the Bees in the 2006/07 season and made 48 appearances last season scoring 11 goals.

Without doubt it is a little relief that a player has come in after all the departures (and potential departures), but it doesn't really go far enough considering the very small nature of the squad. Additionally Sturrock has once again looked at lower league players who do not have Championship experience. But at the moment, anyone is welcome to sign!