Oh What a Surprise

Ridsdale has bought the club.

CVA-Accepted

Last Friday Argyle's creditors agreed to the CVA and accept less than a pound return for every £1 invested in the club. That hurdle over with, the next is the announcement of the preferred bidder - who is rumoured to be neither of the forerunners so far.

Following the end of season 1-4 blow-out loss to Orient in traditional Argyle style, now begins the process of rebuilding (yet again) the club both on and off the pitch for the start of life in League Two in a few month's time. Certainly the 60% of income cap on wages will be interesting to watch being played out, with many players still on Championship wages. A few will most certainly be leaving, and already loanee and first choice keeper, Button, has returned to Spurs following the end of his contract. And so another era in the history of Argyle is set to begin. Let's hope it's done correctly this time.

10 Years

10 years ago in 2001/02 Argyle escaped from the 4th tier of football (then known as Division 3), 2 "5 year plans"' worth of time, just to end up back at square one (well, npower League 2, not quite Blue Square One - yet). In fact, Argyle's wikipedia entry has already been updated! Was it worth is? Has anything actually been learnt?

It took the Pilgrims 4 years following their relegation in 97/98 to climb back out of Division 3/League 2, then a consolidation year in Division 2/League 1 before reaching the dizzying heights of the Championship. How soon is the comeback going to happen this time? As we all know it is no one's god-give right to play at any expected tier of football (outside the more established Premier League teams where they have preferential treatment anyway); there were expecting a bounce-back on relegation to League One and no doubt the same are expecting an immediate come back this time. But Argyle are not like that as history foretells.

Meanwhile, the actual existence of Argyle in League 2 is still not guaranteed. Whoever updated wikipedia may have been too quick off the mark.

You've Never Had it so Good

A misquote by PM Harold MacMillan, sometimes atttributed to Margaret Thatcher. MacMillan was of course talking about post war 1957 Britain that the Conservatives had built and we all know what came of them. Similarly a few years ago the Green Army had never has it so good; the club were riding high in the 2nd tier of English football with a bright manager and a youngish up and coming team, but yet on the verge of a second successive relegation, this time into the 4th tier of the football pyramid, as Liam Byrne wrote to his successor at the demise of NuLabour, 'Sorry, there's no money left'.

During the flying high times, the board were lamenting the 'never had it so good' message to all, with promises of Premier League football and a(nother) 5 year plan, and many believed it. Though as is clear to all the personal greed of those in charge, the reluctance to let go or seek investment, got in the way of the real goal of a football club - success. Instead, as even now in administration, property development took over. The World Cup bid was in the main a quick fix way of getting the stadium finished, and the surrounding area covered in money making property, and when that inevitable fell, as there was no longer any strong footballing foundation, the club crumbled. Even still, the direction Guilfoyle looks to be sending the club appears to be the same, with no attempt to market the club to anyway, and only property developers interested.

And so, as Argyle head into another history repeating recession, how long before the Green Army have never had it so good again?