Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle

Full name	Plymouth Argyle Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Pilgrims[1]
Founded	1886, as Argyle F.C.
Ground	Home Park, Plymouth (Capacity: 18,000[2])
Chairman	James Brent
Manager	Carl Fletcher
League	League Two
2010–11	League One, 23rd (relegated)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.

Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the club's 42nd in the second tier of English football. The team holds the record for most championships won in the third tier, having finished first in the Third Division South twice, the Third Division once and the Second Division once.

The club takes its nickname from an English religious group that left Plymouth for the New World in 1620. The club crest features the Mayflower, the London-based ship that carried the pilgrims to Massachusetts. Former League club Boston United are also known as the Pilgrims and feature the Mayflower on its badge; Boston was the starting point on the pilgrims' journey. Plymouth Argyle were the only club to play in a principally green home strip until 2003 when Yeovil Town gained promotion to the Football League. After Hull City earned promotion to the Premier League, the city of Plymouth is now the largest in England never to have hosted top-flight football. They are the most southern and western League club in England.

History

Main article: History of Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Stadium

Outside view of the Devonport Stand

Main article: Home Park

The original ground of the professional club at Home Park was destroyed by German bombers during The Blitz on Plymouth in World War II. Having been rebuilt after the war, Home Park was largely demolished as part of an extensive process of renovation, and the first phase of a new stadium built by Barrs plc was completed in May 2002. The new Devonport End was opened for the 2001 Boxing Day fixture with Torquay United. The other end, the Barn Park End, opened on the same day. The Lyndhurst stand reopened on 26 January 2002 for the game against Oxford United. Plans are currently under discussion regarding the completion of the refurbishment of the ground with the replacement of the Mayflower stand. The ground is situated in Central Park, very near to the residential area of Peverell. Towards the end of the 2005/06 English Coca-Cola Championship season, the club decided to buy the stadium for £2.7 million from Plymouth City Council, releasing the ground from a 125-year lease. This purchase was concluded in December 2006.

In the summer of 2007, the club, having failed to persuade the UK authorities^[3] of the case for retaining a standing terrace, decided to add 3,500 temporary seats to the Mayflower enclosure.^[4] This is likely to drop the capacity to just under 20,000 from 20,922 (an exact figure is not yet available). Former Argyle chairman Paul Stapleton stated that work on a new South Stand at Home Park was to finally start in 2010. However, after England failed to be chosen for the 2018 tournament, and Plymouth Argyle entering administration plus selling the stadium back to the council on the 14th of October for £1.6 million ^[5], this project is now in serious doubt.

Rivalries

Further information: West Country derby

The club's traditional rivals are fellow Devon side Exeter City; other rivalries exist with Bristol City, Bristol Rovers and Portsmouth (the Plymouth–Portsmouth game is known as the Dockyard Derby)^[6] Although the rivalry with Exeter City has been blunted for a while due to a difference in divisions, Argyle's relegation into League One, coupled with Exeter City's survival, reignited the tensions. A distinct rivalry arose between Argyle and Luton Town after inflammatory comments made by Joe Kinnear who was manager of The Hatters during the 2001–02 promotion season, although this mutual antipathy has now somewhat abated. Similarly, after the departure of Ian Holloway to Leicester City in November 2007 a noticeable mutual dislike arose, culminating in Argyle's 0–1 victory at the Walkers Stadium in early February 2008 although this mutual antipathy has now similarly subsided.^[7] In the 1990s, Argyle had a rivalry with Burnley as the Clarets beat them in a Division Two (now League One) play-off semi-final in 1994, and relegated them on the last day of the season four years later. However, the rivalry has subsided over the past few years, especially after Burnley's promotion to the Premier League in 2009.

Players

Current squad

As of 18 November 2011.^[8][9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Romain Larrieu (club captain / player-coach)[10] 2 DF Durrell Berry 3 DF Robbie Williams 4 MF Carl Fletcher (player-manager)[11] 6 DF Curtis Nelson 7 MF Luke Daley 8 MF Simon Walton (team captain) 10 FW Craig Sutherland (on loan from Blackpool) 11 FW Warren Feeney 13 DF Ladjie Soukouna 14 DF Onismor Bhasera 15 MF Luke Young

No. Position Player 17 FW Jared Sims 18 MF Jordan Copp 19 DF Ben Gibson (on loan from Middlesbrough) 20 MF Conor Hourihane 21 MF Will Atkinson (on loan from Hull City) 22 DF Maxime Blanchard 23 GK Jake Cole 24 FW Isaac Vassell 25 DF Jordan Pearce 26 MF Jed Harper-Penman 27 FW Matt Lecointe 28 DF Paul Bignot (on loan from Blackpool)

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 16 DF Jamie Richards (at Barnstaple Town until 1 December 2011) — MF Damien Johnson (at Huddersfield Town until 30 June 2012)

No. Position Player — FW Rory Patterson (at Linfield until 30 June 2012)

Retired numbers

• 12 – The Green Army (supporters)^[12]

Reserves

The club's reserve team, up to the end of the 2010–11 season, played in the Football Combination. The club also entered a team in the South Western League, but withdrew from that competition after one season in 2007. The club confirmed their withdrawal from the Football Combination on 27 June, alongside 18 other Football League clubs. The club will now arrange reserve fixtures on dates of their choice, rather now follow a fixture list.^[13]

The reserves' honours include the Southern League Championship in 1922, 1926, 1929, 1934 and its League Cup in 1933, 1934 and 1936; 1934 was the first Southern League Double.^[14]

Player of the Year

Main article: Plymouth Argyle F.C. Player of the Year

Year Winner 1966 Johnny Newman 1967 Norman Piper 1968 Pat Dunne 1969 David Burnside 1970 Derek Rickard 1971 Jim Furnell 1972 Dave Provan 1973 Neil Hague 1974 Ernie Machin 1975 Paul Mariner 1976 Paul Mariner 1977 Neil Ramsbottom

Year Winner 1978 George Foster 1979 Fred Binney 1980 George Foster 1981 David Kemp 1982 John Sims 1983 Gordon Nisbet 1984 Gordon Staniforth 1985 Tommy Tynan 1986 Kevin Hodges 1987 Tommy Tynan 1988 Steve Cherry 1989 Tommy Tynan

Year Winner 1990 Nicky Marker 1991 Kenny Brown 1992 Dwight Marshall 1993 Steve McCall 1994 Steve McCall 1995 Marc Edworthy 1996 Mick Heathcote 1997 Chris Billy 1998 Martin Barlow Carlo Corazzin 1999 Mick Heathcote 2000 Paul McGregor

Year Winner 2001 Wayne O'Sullivan 2002 Graham Coughlan 2003 Paul Wotton 2004 Mickey Evans 2005 Paul Wotton 2006 David Norris 2007 Lilian Nalis 2008 Krisztián Timár 2009 Romain Larrieu 2010 Carl Fletcher 2011 Carl Fletcher

Noted former players

Main article: List of Plymouth Argyle F.C. players

Richard Morris[15] Bob Jack Jack Peddie John Sutcliffe Harry Wilcox Septimus Atterbury Fred Craig Moses Russell David Jack Jack Leslie Frank Richardson Sammy Black Jack Cock Ray Bowden Pat Jones Bill Shortt

Alex Govan George Dews Gordon Astall Jack Chisholm Neil Dougall Maurice Tadman Johnny Williams Wilf Carter Johnny Newman Barrie Jones Mike Bickle Johnny Hore Steve Davey Norman Piper Bobby Saxton Colin Sullivan

Jim Furnell Paul Mariner Gary Megson Billy Rafferty Kevin Hodges David Kemp Gordon Nisbet Tommy Tynan Russell Coughlin Andy Morrison Steve Castle Paul Dalton Michael Evans Steve McCall Peter Shilton Bruce Grobbelaar

Dwight Marshall Paul Wotton David Friio Graham Coughlan Hasney Aljofree David Norris Ákos Buzsáky Taribo West Scott Sinclair Lilian Nalis Paul Connolly Barry Hayles Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Dan Gosling Rory Fallon

For details on former players who have a Wikipedia article, see: Category:Plymouth Argyle F.C. players.

Team of the century

For the centenary celebrations, an all time best team of Plymouth Argyle players was chosen by fans of the club.^[16]

1		GK	Jim Furnell
2		DF	Gordon Nisbet
3		DF	Jack Chisholm
4		DF	Graham Coughlan
5		DF	Colin Sullivan
6		MF	Ernie Machin
7		MF	Kevin Hodges
8		MF	Johnny Williams
9		FW	Paul Mariner
10		FW	Tommy Tynan
11		MF	Sammy Black &
		MF	Garry Nelson

Manager: Paul Sturrock

World Cup players

The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to Plymouth Argyle.

• George Baker (1958)
• Rory Fallon (2010)

Club officials

• Club President: Chris Webb

Boardroom

• Chairman/Owner: James Brent
• Chairman of Football Operations: Peter Ridsdale
• Finance Director: Martin Baker

Management

First Team

• Manager: Carl Fletcher
• First Team Coach: Romain Larrieu
• Coach: Kevin Nancekivell
• Goalkeeping Coach: Rhys Wilmot
• Prozone & Fitness Coach: Scott Russell
• Physio: Paul Atkinson
• Chief Scout: Bob Shaw

Youth Team

• Manager: Kevin Hodges
• Physio: Steve Brown
• Centre of Excellence Manager: Allan Evans
• Youth Development Manager: Gordon Bennett
• Youth Development Officer: John James
• Chief Scout: Peter Distin

Managerial history

Main article: List of Plymouth Argyle F.C. managers

1903 Frank Brettell 1905 Bob Jack 1906 William Fullarton 1907 Committee 1910 Bob Jack 1938 Jack Tresadern 1947 Jimmy Rae 1955 Jack Rowley 1960 Neil Dougall

1961 Ellis Stuttard 1963 Andy Beattie 1964 Malcolm Allison 1965 Derek Ufton 1968 Billy Bingham 1970 Ellis Stuttard 1972 Tony Waiters 1977 Mike Kelly 1978 Malcolm Allison

1979 Bobby Saxton 1981 Bobby Moncur 1983 Johnny Hore 1984 Dave Smith 1988 Ken Brown 1990 David Kemp 1992 Peter Shilton 1995 Steve McCall 1995 Neil Warnock

1997 Mick Jones 1998 Kevin Hodges 2000 Paul Sturrock 2004 Bobby Williamson 2005 Tony Pulis 2006 Ian Holloway 2007 Paul Sturrock 2009 Paul Mariner 2010 Peter Reid 2011 Carl Fletcher

Honours

Plymouth Argyle's list of honours include the following.^[17]

Honour	Number	Years
League
Football League Second Division Champions	1	2003–04
Football League Third Division Champions	2	1958–59, 2001–02
Football League Third Division Runners-up	2	1974–75, 1985–86
Football League Third Division South Champions	2	1929–30, 1951–52
Football League Third Division South Runners-up	6	1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27
Football League Third Division Play-off Winners	1	1995–96
Southern Football League Champions	1	1912–13
Southern Football League Runners-up	2	1907–08, 1911–12
Western Football League Champions	1	1904–05
Western Football League B Runners-up	1	1906–07
South West Regional League Champions	1	1939–40
Domestic Cups
FA Cup Semi-finalist	1	1983–84
FA Cup Quarter-finalist	1	2006–07
Football League Cup Semi-finalist	2	1964–65, 1973–74

Records

Main articles: List of Plymouth Argyle F.C. records and statistics and List of Plymouth Argyle F.C. results by opponent

Club records

• Record attendance at Home Park: 43,596
  • vs Aston Villa, Second Division, 10 October 1936.

• Joint Record victory: 8–1
  • vs Millwall, Second Division, 16 January 1932, Home Park.
  • vs Hartlepool United, Second Division, 7 May 1994, Victoria Park.
• Joint Record victory: 7–0
  • vs Chesterfield, Second Division, 3 January 2004, Home Park.
• Record League defeat: 0–9
  • vs Stoke City, Second Division, 17 December 1960.

• Record FA Cup victory: 6–0
  • vs Corby Town, FA Cup Third Round, 22 January 1966.

• Record FA Cup defeat: 1–7
  • vs Tottenham Hotspur, FA Cup First Round Replay, 19 January 1910.

• Record League Cup victory: 4–0
  • vs Portsmouth, League Cup Second Round, 9 October 1973.

• Record League Cup defeat: 0–6
  • vs West Ham United, League Cup Second Round, 26 September 1962.

• Most League points (2 for a win): 68
  • Third Division South, 1929–30.

• Most League points (3 for a win): 102
  • Third Division, 2001–02.

• Fewest League points (2 for a win): 27
  • Second Division, 1967–68.

• Fewest League points (3 for a win): 41
  • Championship, 2009–10.

• Most League goals: 107
  • Third Division South, 1925–26.
  • Third Division South, 1951–52.

• Most goals in a season: 33
  • Jack Cock Third Division South, 1926–27.

• Most goals in one match: 5
  • Wilf Carter vs Charlton Athletic, Second Division, 27 December 1960.

• Fastest five goals
  • Argyle defeated Chesterfield 7–0 at Home Park to record their joint biggest win. In the process they also broke the English record for the fastest five goals scored in a professional game–after just 17 minutes. The goalscorers were: Lee Hodges (4 minutes), Tony Capaldi (11 minutes), Nathan Lowndes (12 & 17 minutes) and David Friio (16 minutes). Friio went on to complete his hat-trick, scoring in the 36th and 89th minutes. Football League Second Division, 3 January 2004.

Seasons

Main article: List of Plymouth Argyle F.C. seasons

Current

Main article: Plymouth Argyle F.C. season 2009–10

Argyle improved their finishing position in the league every season from 2000–01 until 2007–08.

Recent seasons

Season	Tier	League	League Record								FA Cup	League Cup	Top Goalscorer		Attendance
			P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Position			Name	Goals	League Average
1998–99	4	Third Division	46	17	10	19	58	54	61	13th	R3	R1	Dwight Marshall	12	5,322
1999–00	4	Third Division	46	16	18	12	55	51	66	12th	R4	R1	Paul McGregor	16	5,371
2000–01	4	Third Division	46	15	13	18	54	61	58	12th	R1	R1	Ian Stonebridge	12	4,944
2001–02	4	Third Division	46	31	9	6	71	28	102	1st	R2	R1	Graham Coughlan, David Friio	11	8,788
2002–03	3	Second Division	46	17	14	15	63	52	65	8th	R3	R1	Marino Keith	12	8,980
2003–04	3	Second Division	46	26	12	8	85	41	90	1st	R1	R1	David Friio	15	12,654
2004–05	2	Championship	46	14	11	21	52	64	53	17th	R3	R1	Paul Wotton	13	16,419
2005–06	2	Championship	46	13	17	16	39	46	56	14th	R3	R2	Paul Wotton	9	13,776
2006–07	2	Championship	46	17	16	13	63	62	67	11th	QF	R1	Barry Hayles	14	13,011
2007–08	2	Championship	46	17	13	16	65	32	64	10th	R4	R3	Sylvan Ebanks-Blake	13	13,000
2008–09	2	Championship	46	13	12	21	44	57	51	21st	R3	R1	Paul Gallagher	13	11,533
2009–10	2	Championship	46	11	8	27	43	68	41	23rd	R3	R1	Jamie Mackie	8	10,316
2010–11	3	League One	46	15	7	24	51	74	42‡	23rd	R1	R1	Bradley Wright-Phillips	13	8,613

‡ 10 Points deducted for entering administration

Most appearances

#	Name	Argyle career	Appearances	Goals
1	Hodges, KevinKevin Hodges	1978–1992	620	87
2	Black, SammySammy Black	1924–1938	491	184
3	Craig, FredFred Craig	1912–1915 1919–1930	467	5
4	Williams, JohnnyJohnny Williams	1955–1966	448	55
5=	Hore, JohnnyJohnny Hore	1965–1975	441	17
5=	Jones, PatPat Jones	1947–1958	441	2
7	Wotton, PaulPaul Wotton	1995–2008	438	63
8	Evans, MichaelMichael Evans	1990–1997 2001–2006	432	81
9	Leslie, JackJack Leslie	1921–1934	401	136
10	Russell, MosesMoses Russell	1914–1915 1919–1930	400	6

Most goals

#	Name	Argyle career	Goals	Appearances	Goal/game ratio
1	Black, SammySammy Black	1924–1938	184	491	0.374
2	Carter, WilfWilf Carter	1957–1964	148	275	0.538
3	Tynan, TommyTommy Tynan	1983–1985 1986–1990	145	310	0.467
4	Leslie, JackJack Leslie	1921–1934	136	401	0.339
5	Tadman, MauriceMaurice Tadman	1947–1955	112	253	0.442
6	Vidler, JackJack Vidler	1929–1939	103	256	0.402
7	Burch, FredFred Burch	1906–1915	92	239	0.384
8	Hodges, KevinKevin Hodges	1978–1992	87	620	0.140
9	Bowden, RayRay Bowden	1927–1933	85	153	0.555
10=	Dews, GeorgeGeorge Dews	1947–1955	81	271	0.298
10=	Evans, MichaelMichael Evans	1990–1997 2001–2006	81	432	0.187

Sponsorship

The club's current sportswear manufacturer is Puma, having signed a contract in 2011 to take over from Adidas.^[18] The club's main sponsor is WH Bond & Sons, a company specialising in agriculture, who signed an agreement to sponsor the club in the summer of 2011 to take over from Ginsters.^[19] Shirt sponsorship was not introduced by the club until 1983.^[20] Beacon Electrical were the first company to have their name on the shirt of Plymouth Argyle, but it lasted just one season. Ivor Jones Insurance was the next sponsor and their agreement with the club lasted for two seasons. National & Provincial (now merged with Abbey National) were sponsors for the 1986–87 season before the club signed an agreement with the Sunday Independent which would last for five seasons. Rotolok Holdings plc became the club's major sponsor in 1992, which was owned by then Pilgrims chairman Dan McCauley. This lasted for six seasons before the club linked up with local newspaper the Evening Herald. This would last until 2002 when the club accepted a deal put to them by successful local pastry firm Ginsters, which looks set to continue until at least 2012.^[21]

Period	Sportswear	Sponsor
1975–1976	Umbro	None
1976–1978	Pilgrim
1978–1980	Bukta
1980–1982	Adidas
1982–1983	Pilgrim
1983–1984		Beacon Electrical
1984–1986		Ivor Jones Insurance
1986–1987		National & Provincial
1987–1990	Umbro	Sunday Independent
1990–1992	Ribero
1992–1996	Admiral	Rotolok
1996–1998	Super League
1998–1999	Errea	Evening Herald
1999–2002	Patrick
2002–2003		Ginsters
2003–2005	TFG
2005–2009	Puma
2009–2011	Adidas
2011	Puma	WH Bond

See also

• Westcountry Derby

References and notes

Special thanks to BBC Devon: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8303000/8303515.stm

1. ^ "Plymouth Argyle". Football League. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
2. ^ "Plymouth Argyle". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
3. ^ No Standing Room | Plymouth Argyle | News | Latest News | Latest News. Pafc.premiumtv.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
4. ^ Sit, See and Hear | Plymouth Argyle | News | Latest News | Latest News. Pafc.premiumtv.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
5. ^ BBC News | Plymouth Argyle Home Park stadium deal agreed Retrieved on 2 November 2011,
6. ^ Fanning, Evan (28 January 2008). "Portsmouth 2 Plymouth Argyle 1: James keeps Pompey's hopes afloat". The Independent. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
7. ^ Fanning, Evan (11 February 2008). "Leicester City 0 Plymouth Argyle 1: Holloway mulls legal action over Plymouth comments". The Independent. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
8. ^ "First team". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
9. ^ "Squad numbers 2011–12". Plymouth Argyle. 29 July 2011. http://www.pafc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10364~2404675,00.html. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
10. ^ "Romain Larrieu profile". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
11. ^ "Carl Fletcher profile". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
12. ^ "Number 12". Plymouth Argyle. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
13. ^ "Reserve withdrawal". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
14. ^ Edwards, Leigh (1993). The Official Centenary History of the Southern League. Halesowen: Paper Plane Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 1-871872-08-1. 
15. ^ First international player
16. ^ "Plymouth Argyle's Team of the Century". BBC. Archived from the original on 18 August 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20040818140754/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/sport/2004/may/plymouth_team_of_century.shtml. Retrieved 18 August 2004. 
17. ^ Achievements. Greensonscreen.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
18. ^ Adidas Agreement. Pafc.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
19. ^ Perfect Partners. Pafc.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
20. ^ Historical Kits. Historical Kits. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
21. ^ Ginsters^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official website
• Plymouth Argyle archive
• Plymouth Argyle at the Football League official website
• BBC Sport – Club news – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club statistics
• Sky Sports – Club news – Fixtures & results – Club statistics – Video
• ESPN – Club news – Fixtures & results – Club statistics – Squad statistics