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| Full name | Plymouth Argyle Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Pilgrims, The Greens, Argyle. |
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| Founded | 1886 as Argyle F.C. | ||
| Ground | Home Park Plymouth Devon, England (Capacity: 19,500[1]) |
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| Chairman |  Sir Roy Gardner |
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| Manager |  Paul Sturrock |
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| League | The Championship | ||
| 2008–09 | The Championship, 21st | ||
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Plymouth Argyle Football Club (pronounced /ˈplɪməθ ˈɑrɡaɪl/), commonly known as Argyle, or the Pilgrims, is an English professional football club and is one of only two clubs in the Football League to play in a principally green home strip (the other is Yeovil Town). It is the most southern and western league club.
The club takes its nickname from the group of English Separatists that left Plymouth for the New World in 1620. Former League club Boston United are known as the Pilgrims and also feature the Mayflower on its badge; Boston was the starting point on the Pilgrims journey. The club crest features the Mayflower, the London-based ship, which carried the pilgrims to Massachusetts. Plymouth is currently the largest city in England never to host top-flight football, after Hull City were promoted to the Premier League in 2008. The club mascot is named Pilgrim Pete.
Contents |
History
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This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (October 2009) |
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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. They played several friendlies against local rivals, Plymouth United Poor performance on the pitch led to it going out of existence in 1894 before being resurrected in 1897 as one part of a general sports club, the Argyle Athletic Club.[2] In 1898, Argyle F.C. produced its first rulebook. The club's ground was given as Marsh Mills, an area on the edge of the city of Plymouth, which still hosts sports.
Much speculation surrounds the origin of the name Argyle. One explanation is that they were named after the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an army regiment with a strong football side of its own. Another theory is given the respective geographical placements - suggests the name comes either from the nearby public house, The Argyle Tavern, where the founder members may have met, or the local street named Argyle Terrace.[3]
The club adopted its current name when it became fully professional in 1903 joining the Southern League. Argyle's first professional game was on 1 September 1903[4] 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 1921-22 and 1926-27, they finished second in the Third Division South six seasons in a row, thereby missing promotion.
The closest they ever came to playing in the Football League First Division was in 1952-53, when they reached fourth place in the Football League Second Division, their highest finish to date.
1984 Cup run and 1987 promotion challenge
In 1984 Plymouth reached the FA Cup semi-final despite being in the Third Division. After a successful cup run in which they beat West Bromwich Albion , a top division team at the time, and Derby County, they lost 1-0 to Watford in the semi-final at Villa Park courtesy of a George Riley goal. Three years later they finished seventh in the Second Division, just missing the division's new playoff zone and the chance to move to the First Division (now the Premier League). 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.
In 2007, Argyle got to the quarter finals of the FA Cup, but lost 1-0 to Watford at Home Park. In the build up to this game, many pundits and fans relived the semi final the two teams played 23 years ago.
1995 relegation to Division Three
Shilton guided Plymouth to third place in the new Division Two during the 1993-94 season, but they lost to eventual winners Burnley in the play-off semi-finals. Their form slumped the following season and they were relegated to the basement division (for the first time in their history) 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.
Up, then down again
Warnock took Plymouth to Division Three play off glory in his first season as manager, with the semi final being a memorable affair. Argyle played Colchester United and were 1-0 down from the 1st leg, but won 3-1 at Home Park in the 2nd, meaning the Pilgrims were going to Wembley for the first time in their history. A header from Ronnie Mauge on 65 minutes gave Argyle a 1-0 win over Darlington at the national team's stadium.
But Warnock 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 play off place) cost him his job. At this point Argyle were in danger of going bust, and it was the lowest point in their history. But then came Paul Sturrock...
The Sturrock revolution
The appointment of Paul Sturrock as manager in November 2000 marked a turning point in Argyle's history. He saved the club from relegation out of the Football League (they were 4th from bottom when he became manager), and finished 12th in his first season.
The following campaign proved to be the most successful in the club's history, as they went on to win the Division 3 title. Although, the season did not start well for the Greens after defeats against Shrewsbury Town (0-1), Watford (0-1, League Cup) and Rochdale (1-2). But Argyle's first win of 2001/02 came in style, as they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Rushden & Diamonds. Argyle were then unbeaten in the league for another 19 games before losing 2-1 at Scunthorpe United. On 17 November Plymouth faced non-league Whitby Town in the FA Cup 1st round and were held to a 1-1 draw, and only just beat them 3-2 in the replay at Home Park. Nonetheless, their excellent league form continued, and promotion was sealed with 2 games to spare as Argyle won 4-1 at Darlington. On the last day of the season Argyle deafeated Cheltenham Town to finish the season with a club and league record of 102 points to clinch the Division Three title. It also saw goalkeeper Romain Larrieu (and the team) gain a club record 28 'clean sheets' that season.
In 2002/03 They narrowly missed out on the Division Two play off, finishing two places outside it in 8th. That season started well for them, but some disappointing results against several teams near the bottom of the table saw them finish 26 points off 6th place. Plymouth's best result saw them hammer Peterborough United 6-1 in March.
Argyle were one of the favourites to win the Division Two title ahead of the 2003/04 season, and they proved everyone right as they earned their 2nd promotion in 3 years. In the early stages of the campaign Argyle were hanging around the mid-table spots, and things weren't looking very good for the Green Army. But a rampant run in October saw the Pilgrims leapfrog everyone and climb into 1st place. They thumped Tranmere Rovers 6-0 at home before a 4-0 win against local rivals Bristol City in the LDV Vans Trophy. Sturrock's starlets then won 5-1 at fellow high-flyers Port Vale, and a 3-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday put the Greens top. On 3 January, Argyle picked up their joint record win after beating Chesterfield 7-0. But Sturrock surprisingly moved to Southampton in March 2004, meaning Kevin Summerfield briefly took charge of the club, but Bobby Williamson was appointed manager soon after. Promotion as Division Two champions was perhaps uniquely, in Plymouth's first game under the management Williamson - a 2-0 defeat of Queens Park Rangers in which Mickey Evans and David Friio both scored in the final 9 minutes of the game.
Plymouth in the Championship
Argyle's first game in the newly re-branded 'Championship' saw them draw 0-0 at home to Millwall, who were FA Cup finalists the season before. Argyle's strong start continued, and they sat 2nd in the table- their highest ever position- briefly after a 2-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion. But their impressive run failed to continue as a long string of defeats followed, although they did impress with a 2-0 win at Wigan Athletic (who eventually finished 2nd and won promotion) and a 3-0 success over Sheffield United. Plymouth's biggest win of 2004-05 resulted in a 5-1 home win against Brighton in March. The club secured survival 5 games before the end of the season with a 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest, and eventually finished 17th, 5 places above the drop zone.
The 2005-06 season started with a superb win at Reading (who went on to win the league with 106 points, and only lost 2 games) as striker Nick Chadwick scored in the dying moments of the game. But after that Argyle struggled, and Bobby Williamson was sacked as manager. His assistant, Jockey Scott, became caretaker manager, but his reign started with a 2-0 loss at Norwich City, before gaining a 1-1 draw at Home Park against fellow relegation rivals Crewe Alexandra. The next game saw the Pilgrims earn only their 2nd win of the season with a 1-0 win over rivals Burnley, with veteran striker Mickey Evans scoring a 46th minute goal. Scott's final game in charge resulted in a 2-1 loss at league 2 side Barnet in the 2nd round of the Carling Cup. Tony Pulis was appointed manager just a few days later, and his first game in charge was a 0-0 draw away at Southampton, Argyle's first point at St. Mary's for 28 years. That was followed by a 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United, who went on to earn promotion to the Premier League that season, and that result saw the Pilgrims slip into the relegation zone. But the turning point in Argyle's season was on 1 October and was a 2-1 win at home to Pulis's former club Stoke City, as Hungarian international Akos Buzsaky scored a 77th minute winner. On December 17, Nick Chadwick scored Argyle's fastest ever goal after 11 seconds against Crystal Palace, and Tony Capaldi scored another in the last few second of the game to make it 2-0. Many believe that these two consecutive goals are the most widely separated in any football match. But Pulis gained a reputation for being a boring manager, as most of Argyle's games ended 0-0, 1-0 or 0-1, and their biggest win of the season was a 3-1 success at home to Coventry City, and that game also saw on-loan striker Vincent Pericard score a hat trick on his full debut. Some memorable results for the Green Army that season was the 2-0 win against high-flying Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 0-0 draw at Leeds United, who went on to reach the play-off final at the Millenium Stadium but lost 3-0 to Watford.
The final game of the campaign was also the last legendary striker Mickey Evans would play for Argyle, in a home game against Ipswich Town. With the score at 1-1, Evans scored with a trademark header on 57 minutes to give Argyle a win and to give him the perfect send off. In total, Evans played 432 times for his home town club (in 2 spells) scoring 81 goals. The Pilgrims finished 14th that season, in the end well clear of the relegation zone.
In late 2006, Viz magazine published a one-off comic strip, "The Pirates of Plymouth Argyle", depicting Plymouth Argyle 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.
Pulis was on his way out of the exit door very soon, returning to Stoke at the end of the season to make way for Ian Holloway to join the club. Holloway's first game in charge was a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves, with striker Barry Hayles scoring a debut goal. An impressive and memorable win at Sunderland soon followed, as the Green Army travelled the longest distance to an away game that season, and despite going 1-0 down after just 30 seconds, Nick Chadwick scored 9 minutes from time to give the Pilgrims a 3-2 win. On September 12, local rivals Cardiff City visited Home Park, and despite being 3-0 down after 49 minutes, Argyle came back to draw 3-3. Plymouth's strong start to the 2006-07 Championship campaign continued, and they were soon looking capable of qualifying for the play off. The January transfer window saw considerable activity in the transfer market with the arrival of Hungarians Krisztián Timár and Péter Halmosi (initially on loan but both signed permanently in May 2007 as part of an option to buy arrangement), the signing of Rory Fallon from Swansea City, and Kevin Gallen and Scott Sinclair on loan from QPR and Chelsea respectively. But Argyle's form dipped in the second half of the season- after they finished February in 12th place, a wide gap 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 FA Cup, reaching the quarter-finals. They beat league 2 Peterborough United at the 2nd attempt in the 3rd round, then a superb solo-goal from on-loan youngster Scott Sinclair (which was officially voted 'goal of the round') helped them to a 2-0 win at Barnet in the 4th round. They beat Championship league leaders Derby County 2-0 in the next, but in the quarter finals, they were drawn at home to Premier League strugglers Watford, but lost out to a Hameur Bouazza strike against the run of play. After a run of five consecutive wins, Argyle finished the 2006-07 in 11th place, their highest league finish for 20 years.
Before the start of the 2007-08 season, manager Ian Holloway said that Plymouth were capable of earning promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history, and they made a good start to the new season with a 3-2 win at Hull City (who went on to win the play-offs). The club's good start continued as they stayed near the play off places for the first few months. However, on 21 November 2007 Ian Holloway controversially resigned to take charge of Leicester City.
Sturrock Returns
On 27 November 2007 Paul Sturrock resigned from Swindon Town to rejoin Plymouth Argyle. On 9 February, the Green Army went to the Walkers Stadium to face Holloway's Leicester (the game was also live on Sky Sports). To add some more 'spice' to the game, Argyle chairman Paul Stapleton accused Holloway of luring some of the club's star players away, and both sets of fans wore Holloway t-shirts, with 'Holloway is a liar' and other slogans written on some of the Argyle fans' shirts. Anti-Holloway chants could be heard from the away end constantly, and a goal from Peter Halmosi on 34 minutes gave the Pilgrims a memorable 1-0 win. Leicester were eventually relegated on the final day of the season, with Holloway being sacked. That victory was followed with a good run of form for Argyle, including a 2-1 win away at local rivals Bristol City, with Rory Fallon scoring twice. But Argyle only won 1 of their final 7 games, meaning that they missed out on the play-offs but finished 10th- continuing the club's unprecedented record of improving their league position every season since the turn of the millennium.[5] In the FA Cup 2007-08, despite losing 2-1 at Fratton Park in the 4th round, they had the honour of being the only team to score against Portsmouth, the eventual winners.
With many of the team's key players leaving Home Park during 2007-08, the following season promised to be a challenging one for the club. The Pilgrims began the season with a string of poor results, but a 2-1 win at Watford in mid-September sparked a good run of form for Argyle as Sturrock's new side began to come together. The Scottish manager celebrated his 100th win in charge of the club (from 2 spells) with a 4-0 thrashing of former club Sheffield Wednesday at Home Park. It was starting to look as if Argyle would make the play-off, but consistency proved to be a problem. A 0-0 draw at struggling Southampton started an awful run for Argyle, and they finished 2008 in 15th place- now 8 points adrift of the play offs. On 3 January 2009, Argyle travelled to the recently built Emirates Stadium to play against Arsenal in the FA Cup 3rd round. Arsenal scored 2 quick goals after the break, but Club (now team) captain Karl Duguid scored after 53 minutes to pull one back for the Greens. But Gunners striker Robin Van Persie scored his second of the game 5 minutes from time to give Arsenal a 3-1 win. Argyle's league form plummeted throughout the early stages of the new year, and they had to wait 9 league games into 2009 to get their first win of the year- and it was an extremely important one as well, as it was a 1-0 success at eventual league winners Wolves. On loan Blackburn Rovers midfielder Paul Gallagher scored the only goal after just 44 seconds. That was followed by a 2-1 win at home to Watford, with Gallagher scoring twice. Although Argyle couldn't keep up their revival for long as a run of 3 consecutive defeats put them in serious danger of relegation. But a late goal from defender Gary Sawyer gave them a crucial 1-0 win at fellow struggler's Blackpool, and that was followed by a 4-0 win against Coventry City (all 4 goals came in the 1st half), which looked to have secured survival. Plymouth then drew 1-1 at Birmingham, who ended up getting promoted, but a 3-0 home loss against Doncaster put Argyle right back in danger of relegation. But after a 0-0 draw at QPR and Norwich's failure to beat Reading (2 games before the end of the season), Argyle's survival was confirmed. The club finished 21st in the league table, five points and one place clear of the relegation places - Argyle's first season where they didn't improve their league position for eight years.
At a packed press conference on 2 July 2009, Sir Roy Gardner took over the chairman's role with Keith Todd CBE, Yasuaki Kagami and George Synan appointed as board directors.[6]
Argyle scored just 5 minutes into the 2009-10 season, with Krisztian Timar heading home at Crystal Palace, but the match finished 1-1. A last minute own goal from Kaspars Gorkšs gave them another 1-1 draw at home to QPR. But Argyle then went on a run of 7 consecutive losses, despite putting in some decent performances. But their effort was rewarded on 29th September after a 2-1 win at newly-promoted Peterborough United, and that was followed with another 2-1 success, this time against Scunthorpe United.
Legendary former player Paul Mariner was appointed the club's head coach in late October after assistant manager Kevin Summerfield was sacked. Mariner's first game on the sidelines was at home to one of his other former clubs, Ipswich Town, and resulted in a 1-1 draw. That was followed by a shock 0-1 win at promotion chasing Middlesbrough, in Gordon Strachan's first game as Boro manager, with Jamie Mackie scoring a 64th minute goal, and a 2-1 home win over Doncaster Rovers with goals from on-loan midfielder Alan Judge and Rory Fallon both getting their 3rd goals of the season.
Stadium
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 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, Argyle failed to persuade the UK authorities [7] of the case for retaining a standing terrace decided to add 3,500 temporary seats to the Mayflower enclosure [8] This is likely to drop the capacity to just under 20,000 from the previous 20,922 (an exact figure is not yet available) for the 2007/08 season. Argyle chairman Paul Stapleton stated work on a new South Stand at Home Park to finally start in 2010, Although this may soon change as the World cup bid has been announced,so stadium changes may be delayed in preceedings.[9]
Rivalries
The club's traditional rivals are fellow Devon sides Exeter City and Torquay United, Bristol City (sometimes referred to as "The Turnips") and Portsmouth (the Plymouth-Portsmouth game is known as the Dockyard Derby.[10]) The last competitive meeting between Argyle and Exeter was held in 2002 at Home Park in a league game which Argyle won 3-0. The rivalry between Argyle and their fellow Devon clubs has been blunted in recent years as Torquay and Exeter have been playing in lower divisions. 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 1-0 victory at the Walkers Stadium in early February 2008 although this mutual antipathy has now similarly subsided.[11] 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
- As of 9 November 2009.[12]
Current squad
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Squad number 12 is reserved for the Plymouth Argyle Green Army
Players out on loan
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Reserves
Plymouth Argyle Reserves play in the Totesport.com Combination. The club also entered a team in the South Western League, but withdrew from that competition in 2007.
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.[13]
Player of the Year
Since 1966 the player of the season award has been given by Plymouth Argyle fans to the best player of the past season.
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Notable former players
- Fred Binney
- Jack Cock
- Jack Robinson
- Sammy Black
- Paul Mariner
- Bill Harper
Bruce Grobbelaar- John Hope Peddie
- David Jack
Archie Goodall- Jack Leslie
- Forbes Phillipson-Masters
- Billy Rafferty
- Tommy Tynan
- Peter Shilton
- Andy Morrison
Taribo West
Mickey Evans
David Friio- Paul Wotton
Peter Halmosi- Ákos Buzsáky
- Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
- Dan Gosling
Émile Mpenza- David Norris
Team of the century
For the centenary celebrations, an all time best team of Plymouth Argyle players was chosen by fans of the club.[14]
| 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
Club officials
Boardroom
- Chairman: Sir Roy Gardner
- Vice Chairman: Paul Stapleton
- Board of Directors: Tony Wrathall, Robert Dennerly, Keith Todd CBE,
George Synan, 
Yasuaki Kagami, - Chief Operating Officer: Tony Campbell
- Financial Manager: Ollie Rayner
- President/Ambassador: Yasuhiko Okudera
Management
- Manager: Paul Sturrock
- Head Coach: Paul Mariner
- First Team Coach: Vacant
- Goalkeeping Coach: Geoff Crudgington
- Chief Scout: Andy King
- Fitness Coach:
Scott Russell - Physio: Claire Turner
- Youth Team Physio: Vacant
- Head of Youth Development: Gordon Bennett
- Head of Youth Coaching: Mike Pejic
- Centre of Excellence Manager: Allan Evans
- Youth Development Officer/Youth Scout: John James
- Youth Scout: Peter Distin
- Kit Manager: Steve Meds
Managerial history
Team managers of Plymouth Argyle and the dates they took over:
| Number | Date appointed | Nationality | Manager name |
| 1 | 1 August 1903 | |
Frank Brettell |
| 2 | 1 August 1905 | |
Bob Jack |
| 3 | 1 August 1906 | |
Bill Fullerton |
| 4 | 1 August 1910 | |
Bob Jack |
| 5 | 1 April 1938 | |
Jack Tresadern |
| 6 | 1 September 1948 | |
Jimmy Rae |
| 7 | 1 February 1955 | |
Jack Rowley |
| 8 | 1 March 1961 | |
Neil Dougall |
| 9 | 1 November 1961 | |
Ellis Stuttard |
| 10 | 1 October 1963 | |
Andy Beattie |
| 11 | 1 May 1964 | |
Malcolm Allison |
| 12 | 1 May 1965 | |
Derek Ufton |
| 13 | 1 February 1968 |  |
Billy Bingham |
| 14 | 1 March 1970 | |
Ellis Stuttard |
| 15 | 11 October 1972 | |
Tony Waiters |
| 16 | 1 May 1977 | |
Mike Kelly |
| 17 | 14 February 1978 | |
Lennie Lawrence (Caretaker) |
| 18 | 16 March 1978 | |
Malcolm Allison |
| 19 | 5 January 1979 | |
Bobby Saxton |
| 20 | 1 June 1981 | |
Bobby Moncur |
| 21 | 1 October 1983 | |
Johnny Hore |
| 22 | 1 November 1984 | |
Dave Smith |
| 23 | 6 July 1988 | |
Ken Brown |
| 24 | 6 February 1990 | |
John Gregory (Caretaker) |
| 25 | 1 March 1990 | |
David Kemp |
| 26 | 2 March 1992 | |
Peter Shilton |
| 27 | 2 January 1995 | |
Steve McCall (Caretaker) |
| 28 | 22 June 1995 | |
Neil Warnock |
| 29 | 3 February 1997 | |
Mick Jones |
| 30 | 21 June 1998 | |
Kevin Hodges |
| 31 | 4 October 2000 | |
Kevin Summerfield (Caretaker) |
| 32 | 31 October 2000 | |
Paul Sturrock |
| 33 | 4 March 2004 | |
Kevin Summerfield (Caretaker) |
| 34 | 20 April 2004 | |
Bobby Williamson |
| 35 | 6 September 2005 | |
Jocky Scott (Caretaker) |
| 36 | 23 September 2005 |  |
Tony Pulis |
| 37 | 28 June 2006 | |
Ian Holloway |
| 38 | 27 November 2007 | |
Paul Sturrock |
Records
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
- 7-0 v Chesterfield, Division Two, 3 January 2004
- 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, 22 January 1966
- Most league points (2 for a win): 68 Division 3 South 1929-30
- Most league points (3 for a win): 102 Division Three 2001-02
- Most league goals:
- Highest scorer in one season: 32 Jack Cock Division 3 South 1926-27
- When Argyle beat Chesterfield 7-0 in 2004, they broke the record for the fastest 5 goals in English football, after 17 minutes- here are the goalscorers: Lee Hodges (4 mins), Tony Capaldi (11 mins), Nathan Lowndes (12 & 17 mins), David Friio (16, 36 & 89 mins)
- From the 2000/01 season to 2007/08, Argyle improved their league finish every season. Below are those finishing positions:
2000/01: 12th, Division 3 (now League Two)
2001/02: 1st, Division 3
2002/03: 8th, Division 2
2003/04: 1st, Division 2
2004/05: 17th, Championship
2005/06: 14th, Championship
2006/07: 11th, Championship
2007/08: 10th, Championship
2008/09: 21st, Championship
League honours
A list of all major honours that Plymouth Argyle have won over the years:
| Competition | Achievement | Year(s) |
| Second Division (3rd tier) (New Format) | Champions | 2004 |
| Third Division (3rd tier) (Old Format) | Champions Runners-up |
1959 1975, 1986 |
| Third Division (4th tier) (New Format) | Champions Play-off winners |
2002 1996 |
| Third Division South | Champions Runners-up |
1930, 1952 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 |
| 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 |
Seasons
Current Season: 2009-10
Top goalscorers
Top 10 players by goals scored in all competitions:
| Pos | Player Name | Years | Goals |
| 1 | Sammy Black | 1924-1938 | 184 |
| 2 | Wilf 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 |
Shirt sponsors
| Years | Sponsor |
| 1983-1984 | Beacon Electrical |
| 1984-1986 | Ivor Jones Insurance |
| 1986-1987 | National and Provincial |
| 1987-1992 | Sunday Independent |
| 1992-1998 | Rotolok |
| 1998-2002 | Evening Herald |
| 2002- | Ginsters |
Source: Historical Football Kits
See also
References and notes
- ^ Ground capacity
- ^ Danes, Ryan (2009). Plymouth Argyle The Complete Record. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-85983-710-8.
- ^ Tonkin, W. S. (circa 1963). All About Argyle 1903-1963. pp. 7.
- ^ "First Match - First Report from WMN 1903". pafc.co.uk. http://web.archive.org/web/20070308121756/http://www.pafc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/TheGreatsDetail/0,,10364~421021,00.html. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
- ^ "Wolves 1-0 Plymouth". www.bbc.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7368635.stm. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
- ^ The New Chairman
- ^ No Standing Room | Plymouth Argyle | News | Latest News | Latest News
- ^ Sit, See and Hear | Plymouth Argyle | News | Latest News | Latest News
- ^ This is Plymouth
- ^ The Independent
- ^ The Independent
- ^ "First-Team Squad". Plymouth Argyle F.C.. http://www.pafc.co.uk/page/TeamHome/0,,10364,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ Edwards, Leigh (1993). The Official Centenary History of the Southern League. Halesowen: Paper Plane Publishing. p. 54. ISBN 1-871872-08-1.
- ^ "Plymouth Argyle's Team of the Century". BBC. http://web.archive.org/web/20040818140754/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/sport/2004/may/plymouth_team_of_century.shtml. Retrieved 18 August 2004.
External links
- Plymouth Argyle FC : Official website
- Plymouth Argyle Ladies : Official website
- Greens on Screen: Info, Stats and Facts about PAFC
- Argyle Insider : club news and social networking site for fans
- Pasoti : Fans Forum
- Argyle Talk : Fans Forum
- Plymouth Vital : News, Interviews, Fans Forum
- The Argyle Review : Club Database, every Player, every Result since 1903
- BBC Sport : Plymouth Argyle's Page
- Sky Sports : Plymouth Argyle's Page
- Virgin Media : Plymouth Arygle's Page
History database
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