One Game at a Time: A Few Good Men
The Brickies (A) January 17th
Argyle, with their injury hit squad slowly building back to what could be considered rude health, now they have managed to stand up Jack Mackenzie for long enough to measure him for his Wembley suit as the most likely date for his first appearance looks like being a speculative Vertu Cup Final, make the journey to the appropriately located Cripple Sidings Lane, for one of the fixtures only last year voted least likely to be a game between the “form teams” of League One.
Given where the clubs were the last time they met, a drear one nil home defeat, memorable only for Luca Ashby Hammond laying his penalty curse, the game carries a faint echos of the season gone for Argyle.
Once again Angry Tom will be watching from the posh seats, in the truest sense, after his second red of the season this time for attempting to dismantle a dug out at The Memorial ground, in protest against Argyle being on the receiving end of the only correct decision the referee and his assistants managed in almost ninety minutes play.
Argyle also go into the game with some decent overall form, against a side that having escaped the gravity pull of League 2, find themselves close to the play-off slots, and having most recently extended Schuey’s dire London Road form with a three-one tonking of Notlob.
One difference from the last game will be that, Having seemingly sparked a small revival by winning at Home Park, long time rotational job sharer, Darren Ferguson was relieved of his duties and, in a shock decision, was not replaced by Grant McCann, then as now weaving his magic at Doncaster. He is currently in the process of using the transfer window like a desperate Scrabble player who has a hand full of consonants that sadly for once doesn’t spell Szmodics. Instead, they plumped for recently decapitated Swan Luke Williams who has instilled a degree of organisation and, worryingly for the Argyle back four’s hamstrings, pace.
With the window almost halfway through it would be remiss not to spend a little time paying tribute to a player who, became an object lesson in how to leave a club that can’t really afford you any more. This may be in part, it seems,because there is a possibility that we are having to afford a record signing Dubai Mike, currently poncing about the Middle East. Bali Mumba departed for the frozen waste of Huddersfield, a side who are hoping they are signing the player who surgically sliced their Championship version into tiny slices whilst scoring a memorable opening day goal after the 101 point season where he sparkled and shone amongst League One defences.
He was signed after what was a slightly underwhelming loan spell at today’s opponents from Norwich as part of that triumvirate with Azaz and Whitaker. In truth his start was inauspicious, with an early red card in a friendly at Yeovil, but it didn’t take long for him to win over the Argyle crowd. He didn’t score bundles of goals but, boy when he did you would remember them. Ipswich and Exeter at home, sweet true strikes that turned games that could have slipped away. Ipswich away, in a last minute, OK, ever so slightly deflected equaliser that silenced the Champions elect crowd at Portman Road and was celebrated as exuberantly as an ex-Budgie players goal should be in Suffolk.
Adopted by the Not the Top 20 pundits as their favourite League One player, he won the Divisions Player of the Season award, pipping a graceless Amad Diallo to the award. He played with a smile on his face almost always, and whilst the last two seasons have not seen him sparkle the same way, he scored goals at a crucial time, notably at Rotherham, to help keep us up in the Championship.
He was remarkably available, with few significant injures, and none of the emotional baggage of Morgan. Signed as part of the strategic “buy young and cheap and sell expensive strategy” he was our joint record signing in that brief glorious period when Argyle made two seven figure signings within days of each other. Sigh.
If his effort was always top drawer, he has not, in footballing parlance, kicked on. Undoubtedly at the top of the wage scale in League One, to recoup his transfer fee, more or less, and lose a hefty wage bill, whilst replacing him for a tenth of the cost can be framed as good business. When that replacement creates as many goals in his debut as Bali has done all season, admittedly against a limited opposition, then you can see why we have gone from Bali Hi to Bali Bye.
Window attention is currently focussed on the centre half position, and with the loss of a potential ex player and captain from the prospective list after Curtis Nelson opted for the Follywood Bowl with no Soul and joined Franchise FC we head to Posh with a bare bone back four consisting of Joe 90, who more and more looks like that’s a nickname based on age, not stamina, Eastenders Mitchell and Ross ( if only Alex could change his name to Phil) and newly discovered goal machine Brendan Galloway, who has returned from Africa looking as hungry as he ever did and with two goals in two games from corners. Pinch me.
With Szuchs the only other option with experience, it seems unlikely we will plunder the inexperienced market despite rumours of Korean/English prospect Isaac Lee being plucked from Flint. Is it only me that thinks a centre half called “Zac Lee” sounds like a Janner solution made in heaven. Make it happen, Derek.
Meanwhile Argyle have a chance to take a step further away from the abyss, and with Caleb Watts back and assisting and scoring, plus the division’s top marksman in Tolaj, as we showed at Bristol, we do now seem to have goals, albeit sadly at both ends.
Whilst the window in January is always fraught and tends to go ballistic in the last week, it does seem that “a few good men” would help transform the side from abject strugglers to borderline contenders. And who doesn't love a film that starts and ends with Semper Fidelis. A greater restructuring is coming in the summer when the fraught position of goalkeeper will be addressed, as goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell channels his inner Jack Nicholson.
“You want the ball, Conor? You can’t handle the ball”.
But he will still be in goal later. Or if not actually in goal per se, on the goal line.
Posh is not our finest ground of late, although a Panutche Camara inspired four nil League Cup win stands out, but even the Champions of 22/3 had their backsides handed to them in a five-two drubbing. Home of the outspoken charman time-share king Darragh McAnthony, the outspoken Director of Football Barry Fry and the, let’s call it ill-advised, fly on the wall documentary “Big Ron Manager” when Ron Atkinson was sent in to troubleshoot the side in the mid 2000’s at least we can be grateful that should we get to the Vertu final they won’t be there. Posh do have an intriguing record in that at Wembley they are played five won five, so if they do make the play-off final, lump on!
Two in form teams. One suspended manager. Leaky defences and pacy attacks.
Sounds like a nil-nil to me. But we do have a knack for a late goal.
Lucky socks on.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Brickies (A) January 17th
Argyle, with their injury hit squad slowly building back to what could be considered rude health, now they have managed to stand up Jack Mackenzie for long enough to measure him for his Wembley suit as the most likely date for his first appearance looks like being a speculative Vertu Cup Final, make the journey to the appropriately located Cripple Sidings Lane, for one of the fixtures only last year voted least likely to be a game between the “form teams” of League One.
Given where the clubs were the last time they met, a drear one nil home defeat, memorable only for Luca Ashby Hammond laying his penalty curse, the game carries a faint echos of the season gone for Argyle.
Once again Angry Tom will be watching from the posh seats, in the truest sense, after his second red of the season this time for attempting to dismantle a dug out at The Memorial ground, in protest against Argyle being on the receiving end of the only correct decision the referee and his assistants managed in almost ninety minutes play.
Argyle also go into the game with some decent overall form, against a side that having escaped the gravity pull of League 2, find themselves close to the play-off slots, and having most recently extended Schuey’s dire London Road form with a three-one tonking of Notlob.
One difference from the last game will be that, Having seemingly sparked a small revival by winning at Home Park, long time rotational job sharer, Darren Ferguson was relieved of his duties and, in a shock decision, was not replaced by Grant McCann, then as now weaving his magic at Doncaster. He is currently in the process of using the transfer window like a desperate Scrabble player who has a hand full of consonants that sadly for once doesn’t spell Szmodics. Instead, they plumped for recently decapitated Swan Luke Williams who has instilled a degree of organisation and, worryingly for the Argyle back four’s hamstrings, pace.
With the window almost halfway through it would be remiss not to spend a little time paying tribute to a player who, became an object lesson in how to leave a club that can’t really afford you any more. This may be in part, it seems,because there is a possibility that we are having to afford a record signing Dubai Mike, currently poncing about the Middle East. Bali Mumba departed for the frozen waste of Huddersfield, a side who are hoping they are signing the player who surgically sliced their Championship version into tiny slices whilst scoring a memorable opening day goal after the 101 point season where he sparkled and shone amongst League One defences.
He was signed after what was a slightly underwhelming loan spell at today’s opponents from Norwich as part of that triumvirate with Azaz and Whitaker. In truth his start was inauspicious, with an early red card in a friendly at Yeovil, but it didn’t take long for him to win over the Argyle crowd. He didn’t score bundles of goals but, boy when he did you would remember them. Ipswich and Exeter at home, sweet true strikes that turned games that could have slipped away. Ipswich away, in a last minute, OK, ever so slightly deflected equaliser that silenced the Champions elect crowd at Portman Road and was celebrated as exuberantly as an ex-Budgie players goal should be in Suffolk.
Adopted by the Not the Top 20 pundits as their favourite League One player, he won the Divisions Player of the Season award, pipping a graceless Amad Diallo to the award. He played with a smile on his face almost always, and whilst the last two seasons have not seen him sparkle the same way, he scored goals at a crucial time, notably at Rotherham, to help keep us up in the Championship.
He was remarkably available, with few significant injures, and none of the emotional baggage of Morgan. Signed as part of the strategic “buy young and cheap and sell expensive strategy” he was our joint record signing in that brief glorious period when Argyle made two seven figure signings within days of each other. Sigh.
If his effort was always top drawer, he has not, in footballing parlance, kicked on. Undoubtedly at the top of the wage scale in League One, to recoup his transfer fee, more or less, and lose a hefty wage bill, whilst replacing him for a tenth of the cost can be framed as good business. When that replacement creates as many goals in his debut as Bali has done all season, admittedly against a limited opposition, then you can see why we have gone from Bali Hi to Bali Bye.
Window attention is currently focussed on the centre half position, and with the loss of a potential ex player and captain from the prospective list after Curtis Nelson opted for the Follywood Bowl with no Soul and joined Franchise FC we head to Posh with a bare bone back four consisting of Joe 90, who more and more looks like that’s a nickname based on age, not stamina, Eastenders Mitchell and Ross ( if only Alex could change his name to Phil) and newly discovered goal machine Brendan Galloway, who has returned from Africa looking as hungry as he ever did and with two goals in two games from corners. Pinch me.
With Szuchs the only other option with experience, it seems unlikely we will plunder the inexperienced market despite rumours of Korean/English prospect Isaac Lee being plucked from Flint. Is it only me that thinks a centre half called “Zac Lee” sounds like a Janner solution made in heaven. Make it happen, Derek.
Meanwhile Argyle have a chance to take a step further away from the abyss, and with Caleb Watts back and assisting and scoring, plus the division’s top marksman in Tolaj, as we showed at Bristol, we do now seem to have goals, albeit sadly at both ends.
Whilst the window in January is always fraught and tends to go ballistic in the last week, it does seem that “a few good men” would help transform the side from abject strugglers to borderline contenders. And who doesn't love a film that starts and ends with Semper Fidelis. A greater restructuring is coming in the summer when the fraught position of goalkeeper will be addressed, as goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell channels his inner Jack Nicholson.
“You want the ball, Conor? You can’t handle the ball”.
But he will still be in goal later. Or if not actually in goal per se, on the goal line.
Posh is not our finest ground of late, although a Panutche Camara inspired four nil League Cup win stands out, but even the Champions of 22/3 had their backsides handed to them in a five-two drubbing. Home of the outspoken charman time-share king Darragh McAnthony, the outspoken Director of Football Barry Fry and the, let’s call it ill-advised, fly on the wall documentary “Big Ron Manager” when Ron Atkinson was sent in to troubleshoot the side in the mid 2000’s at least we can be grateful that should we get to the Vertu final they won’t be there. Posh do have an intriguing record in that at Wembley they are played five won five, so if they do make the play-off final, lump on!
Two in form teams. One suspended manager. Leaky defences and pacy attacks.
Sounds like a nil-nil to me. But we do have a knack for a late goal.
Lucky socks on.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited:
