One Game at a Time: Difficult Second Season
H’away the lads (H’home) August 14th
International breaks take some getting used to. There was a time when Argyle were reliant on their opposition to muster the paltry three representative selections to get their weekend off. Now a mere four games into the Championship season and with the window slammed firmly shut behind them we have greens jetting around the globe to represent their nations This also allows us to take stock and reflect on the start and a window fraught with jeopardy and opportunity alike.
If you wanted a n example of Darwinian survival of the fittest then the transfer window is as good as it gets. The apex predators feed on the smaller prey who in turn devour from their lesser sized and so on. Every now and then evolution throws up a surprise and this seasons was recently relegated Birmingham heaving cash around like a drunk Texan billionaire in the Bellagio making them the poster boy for easy to dislike clubs in league One. Jay Stansfield found himself shown both the way home and his level.
Argyles window hinged n the end on two deals Cooper out was inevitable and whilst the Blades will make sense if they gain promotion it did feel like he was settling rather than becoming the top class keeper we all believed him to be. Time is on his side but when you see keepers like Ramsdale Trafford and Johnson being swapped around the lower levels of the Prem it does make you wonder why no higher up clubs thought to jump in.
The rapid arrival of Dan Grimshaw from Blackpool adds a keeper who is schooled in the Ederson style, even to the extent of using his number, which suits the Rooney playbook and looks a wise move in light of Conor’s occupational hazard of a broken foot sidelining the Irish shot stopper for potentially three months.
The arrival of the aptly named al Hajj at the Pilgrims has excited the Fanbase and the failure to land Baidoo will soon be forgotten in the new man turns out to be the Swedish Azaz and not the Swedish chef.
If the window was by and large a good one with sensible loans out for Waine and Earley, the final game before the break was frustrating in several ways.
in a game which statistically argyle were always close it was Stoke who had the best chances, largely kept at bay by another man of the match performance by Hazard. For all Argyles possession we created little that was truly threatening and the sucker punch was Manhoefs winner from a freak chance that could and probably should have been stopped before squeezing past Hazard on his near post
After two decent points from draws and with the system from Rooney clearly bedding in it is to Be hoped that the al Hajj arrival will be the missing jigsaw piece that gets argyle on the front foot.
If the last game before the international break was a disappointment the immediate news concerning injury was even worse. A nasty muscle pull at the airport following a fall at the security gate meant a thigh muscle injury for Mrs Progs and a rented Wheelchair for the duration of our Lanzerote break. Conor broke his foot as well.
Fortunately the prognosis for Mrs Progs is Better and she is already walking albeit with crutches so hopefully the holiday washing and lawn mowing won’t be too delayed next week on our return .
Better news on the scoring front the break with three Argyle derived goals. Pallson with a header from a corner (look it up son, there will be some black and white footage on the inter web to show you what I mean) and both the Wayne’s. Waineo from a rebound against the USA and Wazza from a free kick against Celtic Old Buoys. It was a beauty too. Sigh.
With the signing of Mario Marosi on short term contract to reinforce the keeping bench Argyle return To league action against the Black Cats of Sunderland, currently riding high with their best start for a Century with four wins out of four and yet to concede a goal from an opposition boot. Perfect.
Sunderland and Argyle come from opposite ends of the country and also opposite ends of football heritage. Despite this the Bank of England club and the pilgrims have spent the last few seasons in very close proximity.
It was Sunderland who benefited from Schumacher’s birthday disaster against MK and who went on to triumph in the play offs for promotion.
then the following season whilst the Greens gathered themselves for the season of a lifetime the Black Cats eschews consolidation and charged towards the play offs once again.
They finished sixth but fell in the play-off semis. Last season they were expected to make a similar charge but had a managerial Season that was not dissimilar to ours. Established boss Tony Mowbray left unexpectedly, apparently over the failure to sign a Replacement for the Loch Ness Drogba Ross Stewart.
His replacement was ex Qpr and Rangers self promoter Michael Beale. He promptly Fell out with the fans by claiming he had not worked in London. This despite copious evidence of his QPR reign. Then he fell out with the players. Especially Trei Hume whose attempted handshake on being subbed be pointedly snubbed.
The final straw seemed to be the emergence of a social media account that claimed the snub never happened, despite some forty thousand witnesses which then transpired to be co trope led by Beale. They ended a disappointing season just outside the drop zone under a three time caretaker in Mike Dodds. Shades of Nance.
The power behind the thrne here is ex Brum man Kristian Speakmann who handles all player signings. Their model is similar to ours in that they look to develop and sell or buy young Develop and sell. The first major fruits of this have been the sale to Ipswich of Jack Clark.
Speakmann also was behind the development of both Bellingham brothers . Kobe at Sunderland is already attracting interest. Indeed Carlo Ancelloti once wound up older brother Jude at Madrid by telling him he had bought the wrong. Either after Kones double at Rotherham.
This season the Mackems joined the queue for Will Still before settling in recently relegated Lorient boss Regis Le Bris . The respected youth coach had at least been learning English so imagine his horror at the first fans forum when he realised it would have been wasted time in terms of understanding his new and underwhelmed fans .
The best start to a league campaign I a century has mollified the crowds as has a youthful side supplemented by experience in the form off Alan Browne from Preston and long term football pantomime villain Luke Onien.
As happy as when he is ploughing through a more talented player ( look out Remi) as he is feigning multiple head injuries when caught out of position on the counter Onien whose only saving grace appears to be saving a dog for. A heart attack on the beach in Sunderland Til I die is the ultimate warning to what happens if you don’t control Gareth ainsworth. QPR last season pre Cifuentes is the other example.
With both sides possessing wide threats this should be an entertaining game. Their firm is frightening or unsustainable depending on your outlook. We are work in progress but that progress needs to include a win pronto.
Fortress HP would be a welcome return for us all. For me I will settle for being back with a keyboard rather than an iPhone for the next instalment.
Thanks for your patience.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
H’away the lads (H’home) August 14th
International breaks take some getting used to. There was a time when Argyle were reliant on their opposition to muster the paltry three representative selections to get their weekend off. Now a mere four games into the Championship season and with the window slammed firmly shut behind them we have greens jetting around the globe to represent their nations This also allows us to take stock and reflect on the start and a window fraught with jeopardy and opportunity alike.
If you wanted a n example of Darwinian survival of the fittest then the transfer window is as good as it gets. The apex predators feed on the smaller prey who in turn devour from their lesser sized and so on. Every now and then evolution throws up a surprise and this seasons was recently relegated Birmingham heaving cash around like a drunk Texan billionaire in the Bellagio making them the poster boy for easy to dislike clubs in league One. Jay Stansfield found himself shown both the way home and his level.
Argyles window hinged n the end on two deals Cooper out was inevitable and whilst the Blades will make sense if they gain promotion it did feel like he was settling rather than becoming the top class keeper we all believed him to be. Time is on his side but when you see keepers like Ramsdale Trafford and Johnson being swapped around the lower levels of the Prem it does make you wonder why no higher up clubs thought to jump in.
The rapid arrival of Dan Grimshaw from Blackpool adds a keeper who is schooled in the Ederson style, even to the extent of using his number, which suits the Rooney playbook and looks a wise move in light of Conor’s occupational hazard of a broken foot sidelining the Irish shot stopper for potentially three months.
The arrival of the aptly named al Hajj at the Pilgrims has excited the Fanbase and the failure to land Baidoo will soon be forgotten in the new man turns out to be the Swedish Azaz and not the Swedish chef.
If the window was by and large a good one with sensible loans out for Waine and Earley, the final game before the break was frustrating in several ways.
in a game which statistically argyle were always close it was Stoke who had the best chances, largely kept at bay by another man of the match performance by Hazard. For all Argyles possession we created little that was truly threatening and the sucker punch was Manhoefs winner from a freak chance that could and probably should have been stopped before squeezing past Hazard on his near post
After two decent points from draws and with the system from Rooney clearly bedding in it is to Be hoped that the al Hajj arrival will be the missing jigsaw piece that gets argyle on the front foot.
If the last game before the international break was a disappointment the immediate news concerning injury was even worse. A nasty muscle pull at the airport following a fall at the security gate meant a thigh muscle injury for Mrs Progs and a rented Wheelchair for the duration of our Lanzerote break. Conor broke his foot as well.
Fortunately the prognosis for Mrs Progs is Better and she is already walking albeit with crutches so hopefully the holiday washing and lawn mowing won’t be too delayed next week on our return .
Better news on the scoring front the break with three Argyle derived goals. Pallson with a header from a corner (look it up son, there will be some black and white footage on the inter web to show you what I mean) and both the Wayne’s. Waineo from a rebound against the USA and Wazza from a free kick against Celtic Old Buoys. It was a beauty too. Sigh.
With the signing of Mario Marosi on short term contract to reinforce the keeping bench Argyle return To league action against the Black Cats of Sunderland, currently riding high with their best start for a Century with four wins out of four and yet to concede a goal from an opposition boot. Perfect.
Sunderland and Argyle come from opposite ends of the country and also opposite ends of football heritage. Despite this the Bank of England club and the pilgrims have spent the last few seasons in very close proximity.
It was Sunderland who benefited from Schumacher’s birthday disaster against MK and who went on to triumph in the play offs for promotion.
then the following season whilst the Greens gathered themselves for the season of a lifetime the Black Cats eschews consolidation and charged towards the play offs once again.
They finished sixth but fell in the play-off semis. Last season they were expected to make a similar charge but had a managerial Season that was not dissimilar to ours. Established boss Tony Mowbray left unexpectedly, apparently over the failure to sign a Replacement for the Loch Ness Drogba Ross Stewart.
His replacement was ex Qpr and Rangers self promoter Michael Beale. He promptly Fell out with the fans by claiming he had not worked in London. This despite copious evidence of his QPR reign. Then he fell out with the players. Especially Trei Hume whose attempted handshake on being subbed be pointedly snubbed.
The final straw seemed to be the emergence of a social media account that claimed the snub never happened, despite some forty thousand witnesses which then transpired to be co trope led by Beale. They ended a disappointing season just outside the drop zone under a three time caretaker in Mike Dodds. Shades of Nance.
The power behind the thrne here is ex Brum man Kristian Speakmann who handles all player signings. Their model is similar to ours in that they look to develop and sell or buy young Develop and sell. The first major fruits of this have been the sale to Ipswich of Jack Clark.
Speakmann also was behind the development of both Bellingham brothers . Kobe at Sunderland is already attracting interest. Indeed Carlo Ancelloti once wound up older brother Jude at Madrid by telling him he had bought the wrong. Either after Kones double at Rotherham.
This season the Mackems joined the queue for Will Still before settling in recently relegated Lorient boss Regis Le Bris . The respected youth coach had at least been learning English so imagine his horror at the first fans forum when he realised it would have been wasted time in terms of understanding his new and underwhelmed fans .
The best start to a league campaign I a century has mollified the crowds as has a youthful side supplemented by experience in the form off Alan Browne from Preston and long term football pantomime villain Luke Onien.
As happy as when he is ploughing through a more talented player ( look out Remi) as he is feigning multiple head injuries when caught out of position on the counter Onien whose only saving grace appears to be saving a dog for. A heart attack on the beach in Sunderland Til I die is the ultimate warning to what happens if you don’t control Gareth ainsworth. QPR last season pre Cifuentes is the other example.
With both sides possessing wide threats this should be an entertaining game. Their firm is frightening or unsustainable depending on your outlook. We are work in progress but that progress needs to include a win pronto.
Fortress HP would be a welcome return for us all. For me I will settle for being back with a keyboard rather than an iPhone for the next instalment.
Thanks for your patience.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited:
