Plymouth Argyle F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Plymouth Argyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Plymouth Argyle Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Pilgrims, The Greens, The Gyles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1886 as Argyle F.C. Turned pro. 1903 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Home Park Plymouth |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 20,922 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Paul Stapleton |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Ian Holloway |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | The Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Championship, 14th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plymouth Argyle Football Club (commonly known as the Pilgrims, the Greens, the Green Army or simply Argyle) are an English football team, playing in the Championship league.
They are one of only two clubs in the Football League to play in a principally green home strip. It is the most southern and western league club - this has not stopped the Green Army (colloquial name for Argyle fans) travelling in large numbers, despite the nearest away game for the 2006-7 being Cardiff, at 153 miles away, and the furthest being Sunderland at 412 miles.
Peter Shilton, the former England goalkeeper who played a record 125 times for his country, was Plymouth manager from 1992 until 1995, but was unsuccessful in trying to arrest a decline which saw the Pilgrims slide from the second to the fourth tier of the league in the space of three years. Plymouth have been more successful in recent seasons, winning the Division Three title in 2002 and the Division Two title in 2004.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] The Plymouth Pilgrims
The club takes its nickname from the groups of people that left Plymouth for the New World. The club crest features the Mayflower, the Plymouth ship, which carried many of the original pilgrims. Their mascot is called Pilgrim Pete.
[edit] Foundation and formation
The club was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, the first match taking place against Dunheved College (now Launceston College) in Launceston where many of the club's first members had been educated. Poor performance on the pitch led to it going out of existence in 1894 before being resurrected in 1897. In 1898 it became one part of a general sports club, the Argyle Athletic Club. Much speculation and rumour surrounds the origin of the name Argyle. The most popular explanation is that they were named after the nearby Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an army regiment with a strong football side of its own. Other theories suggest that the name comes from the nearby public house, The Argyle Tavern; where the founder members may have met. Alternatively they were named after a local street called Argyle Terrace. The club adopted its current name when it became fully professional in 1903 joining the Southern League. Argyle's first professional game was on September 1, 1903[1] against West Ham United resulting in a 2-0 win for Argyle with the first goal being scored by Jack Peddie. In 1920 Argyle entered the Football League Third Division as a founder member. Uniquely, between 1921/2 and 1926/7, they finished second in the Third Division South six seasons in a row, thereby avoiding promotion.
[edit] Club records
Argyle's record victories are 8-1 wins over Hartlepool United and Millwall. On 3 January 2004, this winning margin was equalled with a 7-0 thrashing of Chesterfield, a game which is also notable for it being the fastest first five goals scored in English League football, 17 minutes. The club's record defeat is 9-0 by Stoke City in 1960. Also in 2004, goalkeeper Luke McCormick set a record of seven games without conceding a goal. Argyle's fastest ever goal was scored after 11 seconds by forward, Nick Chadwick, the £250,000 signing from Everton. The goal was scored against Crystal Palace during the 2005/2006 season, 17 December. Plymouth went on to win the game 2-0.
[edit] 1984 cup run and 1987 promotion challenge
In 1984 Plymouth reached the FA cup semi-final despite being in the third division. After a decent cup run where they beat West Bromwich Albion and Derby County. They lost to Watford in the semi-final. Three years later they finished seventh in the Second Division, just missing the division's new playoff zone - and the chance of First Division football. But they were unable to keep up their good form, and were relegated in 1992 despite the appointment of legendary goalkeeper Peter Shilton as player-manager.
[edit] 1995 relegation to Division Three
Shilton guided a determined Plymouth side to third place in the new Division Two during the 1993-94 season, but they lost to eventual winners Burnley in the semi-finals. Their form slumped the following season and they were relegated a short time after Shilton left the club to be replaced (on a short-term deal) by player Steve McCall. McCall's contract was not renewed and in came Neil Warnock as his successor.
[edit] Up, then down again
Warnock took Plymouth to Division Three playoff glory in his first season as manager, but he was sacked within a year as the club narrowly avoided being relegated back to the basement division. They went down a year later under Warnock's successor Mick Jones, and Jones's successor Kevin Hodges lasted three years before a failure to attain promotion (or even a playoff place) cost him his job.
[edit] The Sturrock Revolution
The appointment of Paul Sturrock as manager in the summer of 2001 marked a turning point in Plymouth's history, and in his first season they collected a club record of 102 points to clinch the Division Three title and gain promotion to Division Two. They narrowly missed out on the Division Two playoffs in 2003, and Sturrock moved to Southampton in March 2004. Promotion as Division Two champions was sealed weeks later, ironically in Plymouth's first game under the management of Blobby Williamson.(Fat useless f@cker)
The 2003/04 season was Argyle's 100th since becoming professional in 1903. The club put on several celebratory events, whilst the team won several awards. See: Plymouth Argyle F.C. season 2003-04.
[edit] Plymouth in the Championship
Williamson was never very popular with Plymouth fans, and his tenure lasted just 18 months before he made way for Tony Pulis. Pulis was on his way out of the exit door in even less time, returning to Stoke at the end of the season to make way for Ian Holloway.
They finished February in 12th place, but a wide gap has opened up between them and the teams in the top six, making their promotion bid more difficult than it had appeared earlier in the season. Despite this disappointment, the team made significantly better progress than in recent seasons in the F.A. Cup, reaching the quarter-finals after beating Championship league leaders Derby County F.C. in the 5th round. In the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, they was drawn at home to Premiership struggler's Watford, but lost out to a Hameur Bouazza strike.
Plymouth made a strong start to the 2006-07 Championship campaign, and were soon looking capable of qualifying for the playoffs. The January transfer window saw considerable activity in the transfer market with the arrival of Hungarians Krisztián Timár and Péter Halmosi on loan with a view to a full deal later in the year, the signing of Rory Fallon from Swansea City F.C., and Kevin Gallen and Scott Sinclair on loan from QPR and Chelsea respectively.
In late 2006, Viz magazine published a one-off comic strip, "The Pirates of Plymouth Argyle", depicting Plymouth Argyle FC as a shipload of 18th-century pirates. Several of the characters in this strip were given the names of then-current players on the real Plymouth Argyle team.
[edit] 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 club is situated in Central Park, very near to the residential area of Peverell. Towards the end of the 05/06 English Coca-Cola Championship season the club decided to buy the stadium for £2.7 million off Plymouth City Council, releasing the ground from a 125 year lease. This purchase was concluded in December 2006.
The current capacity of the stadium stands at 20,922 of which most is seated, though the Mayflower Enclosure along one length of the pitch is still terracing.
[edit] Rivalries
The club's traditional rivals are Exeter City and the two Bristol clubs, but due to Argyle's recent successes they have now been in a higher division for some time and so rarely play each other. The last meeting between Argyle and City was on 26 February 2002 at Home Park, and Argyle triumphed 3-0 in front of 16,389 spectators. Earlier in the season the Greens had won 3-2 at St James Park, thus completing the "double". The principal rivalries are now against Cardiff City (after a particularly unpleasant encounter at their Ninian Park ground which ended in the away fans having to be escorted out of the ground by armed police, and the travelling coaches being bricked), Southampton and the battle of the ports for when Plymouth and Portsmouth were both main battle ports in the wars.
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
The current Plymouth Argyle first-team squad as of March 25, 2007.
|
|
12 Green Army is not a real player, but was registered by the club as a tribute to the supporters. The idea behind assigning the number 12 was that the great support from fans gives Argyle a similar advantage to having an extra (twelfth) player.
[edit] Out on loan
|
|
[edit] Reserves
The Plymouth Argyle Reserves play in both the Pontin's Holidays Combination and the South Western League. South Western League home games are played at Tiverton town.
[edit] Youth team
The current Plymouth Argyle youth squad as of October 07, 2006.
|
|
[edit] Player of the Year
Since 1966 the player of the season award has been made by Plymouth Argyle fans to the best player of the past season.
|
|
[edit] Team of the century
For the centenary celebrations, an all time best team of Plymouth Argyle players was chosen by fans of the club.[2]
| 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
[edit] Club officials
[edit] Boardroom
- Chairman: Paul Stapleton
- Vice Chairman: Robert Dennerly
- Board of Directors: Nicholas Warren, Phillip Gill, Tony Wrathall, Damon Lenszner
- Chief Executive: Michael Dunford
[edit] Management
- Manager: Ian Holloway
- Assistant Manager: Tim Breacker
- Assistant Coach: Des Bulpin
- Goalkeeping Coach: Geoff Crudgington
- Chief Scout and Stikers coach: Gary Penrice
- Phyiso: and FA Fitness Coach: Paul Maxwell
- Head of Youth Development: Gordon Bennett
- Head of Youth Coaching: Mike Pejic
- Centre of Excellence Manager: Dave Leonard
- Youth Development Officer: John James
[edit] Manager history
Team managers of Plymouth Argyle and the dates they took over.
[edit] Records
[edit] Team records
- Highest Attendance: 43,596 v Aston Villa, Division Two, 10 October 1936
- Record League Victory:
- 8-1 v Millwall, Division Two, 16 January 1932
- 8-1 v Hartlepool United, Division Two, 7 May 1994
- Record League Defeat: 0-9 v Stoke City, Division Two, 17 December 1960
- Record Cup Victory: 6-0 v Corby Town. FA Cup 3rd round. 22nd January 1966
- Record Cup Defeat: 1-7 v Tottenham FA Cup 1st round replay 19 January 1910
- Most League Points (2 for a win): 68 Division 3 South 1929-1930
- Most League Points (3 for a win): 102 Division Three 2001-2002
- Most League Goals:
- Highest Scorer in One Season: 32 Jack Cock Division 3 South 1926-1927
For detailed statistics see the statistics page.
[edit] Seasons
A detailed history of past seasons can be found at the past seasons page.
[edit] Top goalscorers
Top 10 players by goals scored in all competitions.
| Pos | Player Name | Years | Goals |
| 1 | Sammy Black | 1924-1938 | 185 |
| 2 | Milf Carter | 1957-1964 | 148 |
| 3 | Tommy Tynan | 1983-1985 1986-1990 |
144 |
| 4 | Jack Leslie | 1921-1935 | 134 |
| 5 | Maurice Tadman | 1947-1955 | 113 |
| 6 | Jack Vidler | 1928-1939 | 103 |
| 7 | Fred Burch | 1907-1915 | 95 |
| 8 | Ray Bowden | 1927-1933 | 87 |
| 9 | Kevin Hodges | 1978-1992 | 86 |
| 10 | Mickey Evans | 1991-1997 2001-2006 |
81 |
[edit] Other notable players
For a full list of players with articles on Wikipedia, see Category:Plymouth Argyle F.C. players.
- Fred Binney
- Jack Cock
- Jack Robinson
- Sammy Black
- Paul Mariner
Bruce Grobbelaar- John Hope Peddie
- David Jack
Archie Goodall- Jack Leslie
- Marcus Murphy
- Billy Rafferty
- Peter Shilton
- John Uzzell
- Andy Morrison
Taribo West who had a brief spell with Argyle just prior to Bobby Williamson's departure
[edit] Famous fans
[edit] League honours
A list of all major honours that Plymouth Argyle has won over the years.
| Competition | Achievement | Year(s) |
| Division Two (New Format) (3rd tier) | Champions | 2004 |
| Third Division (Old Format) (3rd tier) | Champions Runners-up |
1959 1975, 1986 |
| Third Division South | Champions Runners-up |
1930, 1952 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 |
| Division Three (New Format) (4th tier) | Champions Play-off winners |
2002 1996 |
| Southern League | Champions Runners-up |
1913 1908, 1912 |
| Western League Division One | Champions | 1905 |
| Western League Division One 'B' | Runners-up | 1907 |
| South West Regional League | Champions | 1940 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Plymouth Argyle F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News - Recent results - Upcoming fixtures - Club stats
- Plymouth Argle FC : Official website.
- PAFC TALK - Plymouth Argyle Forum : Unofficial Forum and Fansite.
- P@SOTI (Plymouth Argyle Supporters On The Internet) : Main Fan Forum.
- GreensOnScreen : A unique and unrivalled site offering comprehensive audio/visual round ups of games as well as many excellent links.
- Semper Viridis : A complete statistical record of the club and players from 1903 to date.
- Rub Of The Greens: Rivals forum and fanzine.
- Argyle Mad : General news and team info site from the Footymad site.
- The PAFC Myspace
- To be a Pilgrim: Argyle Blog
- Plymouth Argyle at the Football Club History Database
| Plymouth Argyle Football Club |
|---|
| Plymouth Argyle |
| Statistics | Seasons | Home Park |
| Football League Championship, 2006-2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Barnsley | Birmingham City | Burnley | Cardiff City | Colchester United | Coventry City | Crystal Palace | Derby County | Hull City | Ipswich Town | Leeds United | Leicester City | Luton Town | Norwich City | Plymouth Argyle | Preston North End | Queens Park Rangers | Sheffield Wednesday | Southampton | Southend United | Stoke City | Sunderland | West Bromwich Albion | Wolverhampton Wanderers edit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
