Plymouth fret League One return after Foster misstep – Oppo profile Monday, 8th Apr 2024 09:54 by Clive Whittingham It had all been going so well for free-flowing Plymouth after their promotion, but the abrupt departure of Steven Schumacher to Stoke and the abandonment of their effective attacking style by replacement Ian Foster has left them on the brink – Jay May from Argyle Life gave us his lowdown. How would you assess the season for Plymouth overall? Up until the last couple of months I was really pleased. It never felt like we were in a relegation battle. It felt like we were hovering around the lower end of mid table, picking up important points, with a great home record. We smashed our transfer record twice in the summer to bring in Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker, both of whom we’d had on loan previously. There was a lot of buzz and excitement. Things were going great. And then in the last couple of months we have just gone into total free fall and relegation is starting to look like a very real possibility all of a sudden. Plymouth in the league so far… Any bitterness towards Schumacher for the manner of his departure? Incredible job he did for you guys, and it feels like one of those managerial moves that shafts both clubs and the bloke himself. Would have been better off sticking around... There is a bit of bitterness, yeah. I think we’ve calmed down a bit now but there was a lot of anger to begin with. I think a lot of that anger came from the fact that he had done such an incredible job for us and that he could have continued to do so. Not just that, the fact that he was so embedded in the club, with 100% backing from the board, we could have been relegated this season and kept him on. He was fully part of the board’s long term plans and could have built a fantastic career here, gained so much experience, before leaving us for a much bigger team. We always knew he’d go eventually but Stoke did feel like a bit of a kick in the teeth. And, let’s be honest, it’s not going amazingly well for him there. I don’t think Stoke would stick by him the way we would have. It does seem like an odd decision and I’m intrigued to see where it takes him from here. All that said though, he did a great job for us, I have a bit of a soft spot for him and I wish him well. What did you make of the initial decision to appoint Ian Foster as his replacement? I wasn’t over the moon to be honest. He was a total unknown but I trusted the board’s decision. When Schumacher took over, we were his first proper managerial job. Our board has made a lot of good decisions over the last four or five years and so I’ve learned to trust them. They like to do things properly. But they got this one very wrong. Why hasn't it worked out? Very unlike Plymouth to be pulling the trigger so soon? Our whole thing is that we’re a values-driven club and that if you’re going to be part of the club, you have to buy into the values. One of those values is attractive, attacking football. It’s a non-negotiable here. I don’t know what goes on on the training pitch and in the dressing room but as soon as Foster arrived, the attacking football just stopped dead. We went from a really exciting team, banging in goals left and right, with a great home record, to barely being able to register a shot on target. Home Park has been a fortress this season, the only reason we’ve been in with a chance of staying up. And now we’ve lost five on the bounce at home without scoring a goal. It is very unlike us to pull the trigger so soon, and I’m glad it’s unlike us because I like the fact that we’re a more thoughtful and patient sort of club but it had to be done. We were free-falling into relegation the way things were going. How much bearing did the January business have on his failure? Azaz a big loss, quite a lot of inexperienced kids brought into a tricky situation... Yeah Azaz was a massive loss. He was fantastic for us this season and it hasn’t been the same without him. With regards to the kids being brought in, for me that was another red flag. Foster had spent years coaching in the England youth set up and then started bringing in all these teenagers. It just felt to me as if those were the only contacts he had. He just brought in a load of teenagers, threw them straight in the starting line up, breaking up the culture of a team that had gelled really well, and it just didn’t work. Summer Ins >>> Morgan Whittacker, 22, AM, Swansea, £1m >>> Bali Mumba, 21, RB, Norwich, £1m >>> Conor Hazard, 25, GK, Celtic, £175k >>> Mustapha Bundu, 26, RW, Anderlecht, Undisclosed >>> Julio Pleguezuelo, 26, CB, Twente, Free >>> Lewis Gibson, 21, CB, Everton, Free >>> Kaine Kesler-Hayden, 20, RB, Villa, Loan >>> Finn Azaz, 22, AM, Villa, Loan >>> Lewis Warrington, 20, CM, Everton, Loan >>> Luke Cundle, 21, CM, Wolves, Loan >>> Kaine Kesler-Hayden, 20, RB, Villa, Loan >>> Summer Outs >>> Niall Ennis, 24, CF, Blackburn, Free >>> Luke Jephcott, 23, CF, St Johnstone, Free >>> James Bolton, 28, RB, St Mirren, Free >>> Danny Mayor, 32, CM, Fleetwood, Free >>> Conor Grant, 28, CM, Port Vale, Free >>> James Wilson, 34, CB, Bristol Rovers, Free >>> Ryan Law, 23, LB, Truro, Free >>> Finley Craske, 20, RB, Torquay, Free >>> Will Jenkins-Davies, 18, CM, Torquay, Loan >>> Oscar Halls, 17, CB, Plymouth Parkway, Loan >>> Jack Endacott, 18, LB, Tiverton, Loan >>> Adam Parkes, 23, GK, Released >>> Brandon Pursall, 19, CB, Released Winter Ins >>> Matthew Sorinola, 22, LB, Union SG, Free >>> Adam Forshaw, 32, CM, Norwich, Free >>> Lino Sousa, 19, LB, Villa, Loan >>> Ashley Phillips, 18, CB, Spurs, Loan >>> Darko Gyabi, 19, CM, Leeds, Loan >>> Alfie Devine, 19, AM, Spurs, Loan Winter Outs >>> Macauley Gillesphey, 28, CB, Charlton, £300k >>> Matt Butcher, 26, DM, Wycombe, Free >>> Tyreik Wright, 22, RW, Bradford, Loan >>> Saxon Earley, 21, LB, Wycombe, Loan >>> Oscar Halls, 19, CB, Plymouth Parkway, Loan >>> Will Jenkins-Davies, 19, AM, Torquay, Loan >>> Zak Baker, 18, GK, Tiverton, Loan >>> Jack Endacoot, 18, LB, Tavistock, Loan Was it right to sack him? And what do you make of the caretaker replacements? I thought Warnock was a shoo in until the end of the season... Yeah it was right. It’s a shame, obviously. It’s not nice to see anybody lose their job. But he just wasn’t up to it. And there were rumblings that he’d lost the players, he never really connected with the fans. I think it was the right decision. I feel slightly underwhelmed by our director of football Neil Dewsnip and assistant coach Kevin Nancekivell taking over. I was initially really hoping for Warnock to appear and save the day. It would have been very exciting and a great story if it worked. But in reality, I think Dewsnip and Nance can offer a sense of continuity for the players. I’m hoping they can allow the players to return to the sort of exciting football they were playing before, just picking up where they left off, as opposed to Warnock coming in and introducing a whole new style of play. Stand out players/player of the year candidates? Although he’s dropped off a little bit recently- Morgan Whittaker of course. Third top scorer in the league. We turned down a bid from Lazio for him in January, which is a really bizarre sentence for me to say. He’ll be gone soon so we need to enjoy him while we have him. He’s been absolutely vital to us this season. Weak links in the side? Our defence has always been an issue. We just seem to leak goals. I’m not tactically astute enough to pinpoint exactly what’s going on there, but we just haven’t managed to get it settled this season. If we can return to our goal scoring ways, then we can deal with a slightly leaky defence. But the way we’re looking now, it is a massive problem. How do you see it going - will you stay up? Friday at Rotherham will be telling for us. If we come out playing that attacking, exciting football that we became known for, then yes I see us staying up. We have to get back to what we were doing before and quick. And I have a bit of faith that that’s what’s going to happen. But if we come out looking like we have in the last couple of months, then I can really see is going down. Links >>> Plymouth Argyle Official Website >>> Plymouth Herald – Local Press >>> Argyle Life/Green and White Podcast >>> Pasoti – Forum >>> Cornich Janner – YouTube Vlog The Twitter @loftforwords, @ArgyleLife1886 If you enjoy LoftforWords, please consider supporting the site through a subscription to our Patreon or tip us via our PayPal account loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk. Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
Blogs 32 bloggersQueens Park Rangers Polls[ Vote here ] |