We all like getting excited for the start of the season, don’t we? It’s like that feeling in the days leading up to Christmas. After a long spell having been starved of any football, we all like to embrace the excitement that finally the emotional rollercoaster is going to start again.
Not to mention the social aspect, going to games and catching up with mates over a drink or two. As I mentioned in previous columns, I am particularly excited for the Tom Cleverley era at Argyle. I wrote in June about how he seems a great fit for the Club Argyle ethos and wants to play an attractive yet impactful passing style.
Plymouth Argyle – Negative Viewpoints?
All that being said, I regret to find myself writing a column that has more negative viewpoints than positive.
As much as I want to keep that Christmas excitement feeling going, it’s currrently a bit like having a Christmas where the presents have been left out in the rain, the pudding has been dropped on the floor and everyone has been told to work a night shift.
Read The Previous Argyle Life Article
Plymouth Argyle Fans in Austria: Why Pre-Season Is About More Than Football
Am I exaggerating for effect? Possibly. But it’s hard to maintain that the squad isn’t currently living up to the realistic expectations of most Argyle fans.
In the February 2025 Fans Forum, chairman Simon Hallett said that if we were to drop into League One, we’d be one of the biggest spenders in the league. At the most recent Fans Forums, he was slightly less bullish but still assertive in his stance that it was at the very least in and around the top six budgets in the division.
He did state that many of the player sales had gone to offset some of last season’s losses, but nonetheless there was the very clear message that money is there to spend.
This is not the time for a deep dive into the finances and the suitability of our budget for our needs. Perhaps that can come later. The one premise we can work on is that it should (at minimum) be able to compete at the sharp end.
So, the question remains, why does our squad currently look like it’s gearing up for a mid table finish?
This is not to denigrate or downplay our playing staff. Having spoken to a few of them in Austria and watched several interviews they all seem like excellent young men. Further, I think every one of them has something to offer be they first choice, rotational or development players.
But, imagine if you will, Tom Cleverley is a chef. He needs not just good ingredients but the right mix of ingredients in order to prepare a 5 star quality dish. At the moment, it’s like he is working with his hands behind his back.
The main transfer soap opera this summer has been the long and (at time of print) doomed pursuit of a number nine. Rumarn Burrell and Dale Taylor have both been targets and opted to move elsewhere.
Cleverley had to start the season with Owen Oseni, who has never scored above National League level and who Cleverley admitted is ‘not quite there yet’ as his only fit recognised striker. Bim Pepple, who was excellent for Southend in the same league, was injured but even he was only fair to middling in League Two for Chesterfield.
They’re both clearly long term signings to some extent but they’ve been forced to step up to bat due to our failure in squad management. Hardly suggests the ‘HMS win the league’ budget that was being implied.
The goalkeeping department is another area for concern. Luca Ashby-Hammond may well have shown excellent mental resilience to recover from his blunder on the pre-season tour but it’s a huge ask to suggest he can cover for Conor Hazard who’s out injured until September, if not beyond. Ashby-Hammond last played competitive football in League Two over a year ago – again, he’s been thrown in not just at the deep end but into the whirlpool.
Without wanting to sound like a stuck record, the defence isn’t in a good place either. The injury recurrence of Julio Pleguezuelo is of real concern especially with the news he may now require an operation. We have two fine right-backs in Edwards and Sorinola but apart from that?
Victor Palsson, despite his brief renaissance under Miron Muslic in the centre of a back three, looks completely all at sea in a high line four favoured by Cleverley. Brendan Galloway also looks to have lost a yard of pace – a superb footballer in his day but it’s maybe a case of one injury too many? I hope it’s just a dip in form and he’s back to his brilliant best soon but suffice to say I have my doubts.
The midfield is probably where we look healthiest – which isn’t to say we look healthy. Bradley Ibrahim has shown some quality and Brendan Wiredu covers an immense amount of ground and can drive forward brilliantly with the ball. Even then, we don’t have an obvious candidate for a player who can slow the game down and dictate the tempo like Jordan Houghton so often did (allowing others to thrive in the process).
The Excellent talents of Xavier Amaechi and Bali Mumba
I will say that Xavier Amaechi and Bali Mumba are excellent talents to have in the wide areas and Caleb Watts had a stunning debut against Barnsley, despite the loss. Even then, we are badly lacking in depth and it means Freddie Issaka cannot get the loan time he so badly needs.
All in all, I hate to be so down on our prospects so early on.I’d love nothing more than for three or four quality additions in key areas and for the existing players to rise to a League One title winning level. I’d love this column to age like curdled milk left on the side for a month.
At the moment though, the quality and depth of the squad is not satisfactory. If Tom Cleverley were to somehow get us into the top two, it would be an even more extraordinary and implausible achievement than Steven Schumacher doing the same in 2022/23.
It’s a huge few weeks for our season – the transfer activity has to be fast and it has to be impressive.
Read More Argyle Life HERE
