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How Big A Club Is Argyle?
- Thread starter Green 4 ever
- Start date
C
charlee
Guest
I have always thought that we should be a championship club however our attendances over the years suggest maybe a league one club.
Sub Mega-wannabe. Should be comfortably mid-Championship with occasional forays higher and lower.
Sub wannabees.
I honestly think we had our chance and blew it when Holloway flounced off to Leicester.
I fully support living within our means but expect that approach to see us as a mid table league one side at best and for us that is probably right.
That said i think full time professional football will be restricted to the top two leagues only with the rest being semi professional within the next 5 years or so.
All clubs at our level are cutting back and quite right too but that will only lead to a steady decline for the majority.
I honestly think we had our chance and blew it when Holloway flounced off to Leicester.
I fully support living within our means but expect that approach to see us as a mid table league one side at best and for us that is probably right.
That said i think full time professional football will be restricted to the top two leagues only with the rest being semi professional within the next 5 years or so.
All clubs at our level are cutting back and quite right too but that will only lead to a steady decline for the majority.
Shane Harris":q20wmj7i said:
Holloway left us fairly early in the season, and only in 7th.
At around the same point in the next season (November 2008-2009) Sturrock had us in the play-offs.
Then we lost to Blackpool (I think it was them anyway) and went on a 20 game horror run. I'd like to know what caused that run, whether it was just a poor team, or something going on behind the scenes. I think it could have been the latter, because we went from looking like genuine promotion contenders to relegation fodder very quickly.
So no, I don't think losing Holloway was to blame for our demise. Holloway did alright, but was only around for a year and a couple of months, and managed to drag Pulis' team that finished 14th up to 11th - hardly a magnificent achievement worth singing from the hilltops about. At the same point in the next season with a supposedly weaker team, Sturrock had us in the play-offs. But then it all went wrong.
The only clubs who think we're "big" are in this division, and if we're down here for more than a couple of years they'll stop thinking that.
The vast majority of fans can't be arsed looking at "potential" or "catchment area". If Northampton made it to the Premiership, they too would probably be able to attract 20000 fans regularly.
We're about the 50th biggest club in the country, which is nothing to be ashamed of, but we're no "big club".
The vast majority of fans can't be arsed looking at "potential" or "catchment area". If Northampton made it to the Premiership, they too would probably be able to attract 20000 fans regularly.
We're about the 50th biggest club in the country, which is nothing to be ashamed of, but we're no "big club".
"Bigness" is such a subjective concept having nothing to do with current league position and something that fans will always argue about. On your bandings we're probably in the Sub Wannabee category as you say "no recent history of extravagant failure" for a wannabee club and our current predicament might be described as such.
However, I would argue that there are some clubs on the wannabee list that I'd argue we'd be at least on a par with in terms of "bigness" (e.g. Carlisle, Millwall, Huddersfield, Port Vale even Wigan may be in the Premier League but I'd argue they're relatively a smallish club).
For League 2 we're a "big" club, in the top 5 for "bigness". In League 1 we'd be top half, but when we were in the Championship, I always felt we had a small club feel about us, even when we finished in the top half. Like I said, this has nothing to do with league position. I've always thought our natural position is top half Div 3(in old money - League 1 to the kids), maybe bottom half Div 2 (Championship) on a good day.
But maybe that's just because I started watching Argyle when we were in the old Division 2 and anywhere below that has felt like a dip from our natural position ever since. A colleague supports Oxford and always says they are massive just because they won a League Cup in the 80s.
However, I would argue that there are some clubs on the wannabee list that I'd argue we'd be at least on a par with in terms of "bigness" (e.g. Carlisle, Millwall, Huddersfield, Port Vale even Wigan may be in the Premier League but I'd argue they're relatively a smallish club).
For League 2 we're a "big" club, in the top 5 for "bigness". In League 1 we'd be top half, but when we were in the Championship, I always felt we had a small club feel about us, even when we finished in the top half. Like I said, this has nothing to do with league position. I've always thought our natural position is top half Div 3(in old money - League 1 to the kids), maybe bottom half Div 2 (Championship) on a good day.
But maybe that's just because I started watching Argyle when we were in the old Division 2 and anywhere below that has felt like a dip from our natural position ever since. A colleague supports Oxford and always says they are massive just because they won a League Cup in the 80s.
G
Greenskin
Guest
Manchester Green":177y33ox said:
I think that underestimates us somewhat – Plymouth is bigger than Northampton with a much greater (uncontested) catchment. We suffer from our History though – a few years of success would transform us but the transformation would become apparent years later i.e. when the ‘habit’ has formed and the kids take their kids. Norwich and Southampton had poxy crowds when I was growing up and were considered small fry – but after periods of success they’re now ‘big’ compared to us, not to mention the effect of smart new stadia. What about Blackpool ? 10 years from now they’ll be getting gates they could barely dream of a few years ago even if they’re at the same level. If Bolton, Blackburn, Wigan, Norwich, Swansea can operate in the Prem with 20k+ crowds (well maybe not quite Wigan) then I'm sure Argyle could. If that ever happened even for a few years then if we returned to say L1 or L2 I’d bet we’d regularly attract much bigger crowds than we do now.
I think we have to remember the average wage people earn in our area , far less than anywhere else in the country.This makes it far more difficult to commit money to support a football team.Strong league one would be good , with a smaller admission price.
G
Greenskin
Guest
Ave_IT":2b3feu57 said:
Don't bother mate,you're wasting your breath.It just won't sink in,unfortunately.