One Game at a Time: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde.
Eastward Ho! (Away) February 17th
Eschewing the hyper obvious St Valentine’s Day Massacre options for this week’s sub title, a performance and result from the weekend just gone shows, in the town of the Big One, the Big Dipper, Valhalla, Wallace and Grommits Thrill-o-Matic, and perhaps most unusually the 1904 creation by Sir Hiram Maxim, the Captive Aerial ride. Who would have though Blackpool would have a ride attributed to the man who created one of the greatest causes of massacres in modern day warfare. Appropriate for the outcome at Bloomfield Road though.
Well, after Saturday, expect the Alex Mitchell Headed Punchbag to be in situ if we are forced to trek north again next season. As for the Blackpool side, they will be undergoing mandatory concussion tests before the next match they face, because by half time, they were out on their feet.
Argyle had players returning, but, as has been frequently the case this season, what the fitness team giveth, the fitness team taketh away, and so Brendon Galloway is now off for a hernia op which will keep him out for a month or so. But with a bench that now contained Tolaj, Ibrahim, Amaechi and Mackenzie, and with Hazard and Kane in the team from the start, this was a much stronger squad than was available against Lincoln.
A subtle tweek to positioning, swapping Watts and Curtis also played well, and from minute one, this was an Argyle side that was pressing all over the pitch, and that continued to the half time whistle by which time the game, as far as Blackpool, and much like a sizeable portion of their crowd, had gone.
The opening goal was from Mitchell, the likeable Charlton loanee who karate kicked the ball past the lesser of two Northern Ireland goalkeeping options, Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Once again it looked like Argyle were going to take their half time cuppa, ill-rewarded for their first half dominance. Then Mitchell forced a good save from the overworked Farrell, only for Bim Pepple to show he can do the dirty business too, putting his head, and it transpired his teeth, into the danger area to force the ball in for number two as added time began.
Not two minutes later Malachi Boateng was quickest to react to BPF’s weak push out from a controlled side-foot shot from Kane, and three nil at half time more accurately reflected a half where Argyle led on the shot count fifteen love. It’s Wimbledon away soon too.
Evatt, watching from on high as he served a one match ban had to listen to his side booed off, and perhaps more tellingly, booed back on again.
For the travelling 1400 or so Greens it was now a case of, would the past failings of second halves kick in, with more than a few passing comment on the Southampton fight back from a similar score at Leicester earlier in the week.
On the hour, the livewire Watts scored the fourth to make sure the home side were truly dead and buried. A late farrago featuring Amaechi saw Husband red carded for retaliating against a borderline red card foul from the Argyle sub. No love lost between those two.
All that was left was for the ungracious Evatt to conduct an hourlong inquest with his demoralised side, followed by a post-match interview which gave no credit to an Argyle side that had schooled his team.
Argyle also survived the twin threat of ex-strikers with Obafemi and then, much later, Niall Ennis both making little impact on a back four that never looked like conceding. Argyle fans were simply glad that Obafemi was exactly what they had experienced last season. And less.
Argyle ended the day in the top half of the division for the first time since relegation, and for near enough two seasons worth of fixtures. It is a reality that in football, injuries happen, and, whilst Argyle have had an unfair amount of them, how you cope with them shows the measure of your squad. The side in the Premier League with the worst injury list? Arsenal.
Having a much deeper squad, and Pleggy (perhaps) and Matty will return to the selection board this week, will be essential as we enter a potential five-week period of Saturday/midweek games having sold Szuchs to Serbian football but regained the deselected Benarous. The first of those fixtures sees us trek back to East London and Leyton Orient, scene of Tolaj’s last minute backheeled winner which set us on the way for the much-delayed match against Swindon, no Luton, no, one of them, oh OK it is Luton after all, even though they lost, in the Vertu Cup quarter final.
Orient are a side we historically do OK against (despite the evidence of this season’s first meeting at Home Park) and generally speaking Brisbane Road is one of our better venues, despite the late great Laurie Cunningham inspired results of the mid 1970’s.
The season that sticks most clearly in everyone’s mind however in 2016/7, starting when, perhaps discombobulated by the sacking of manager Andy Hessenthaler, the Orient players that night somewhat lost their heads.
First up in the first couple of minutes was a horrendous lunge by Robbie Weir on Ben Purrington, which referee Chris Sargison deemed red worthy. Then, after an injury required an early substitution, Nigel Atangana replaced Liam Kelly (we’ll come back to him), Jimmy Spencer scored his first Argyle goal after a sublime dummy from David Goodwillie, and then Jake Jervis was brought down when clear by Jens Janse. So, fourteen minutes on the clock and Orient were down to nine men and one sub already used.
Atangana had a night to remember to forget when as a thirteenth minute sub, he was then hooked at forty-seven minutes for Harry Cornick. After his deal at the O’s he gradually drifted West via Cheltenham and Exeter and is now at Havant and Waterlooville.
The obvious one-way traffic finally delivered a second Argyle goal when Ryan Donaldson slotted from close range, with Graham Carey having a long-range duel with the Orient keeper. The small O’s crowd seemed to gain some satisfaction from the fact we didn’t run up the anticipated cricked score as they manfully defended the box.
The return fixture was in the midst of the Argyle promotion run in, and Argyle were expecting a home win against amn Orient side who were subsequently relegated, but the away team clearly had something to prove. Twice behind they managed to score two late goals to secure a three two win, and Liam Kelly managed to grab himself a six-match ban after he pushed over one of the Argyle ball boys in his haste to delay taking a corner.
Kelly left the O’s for Coventry and is now plying his trade at Rotherham, although he missed the trip to Home Park. Perhaps our ball boys are just too rough for him.
Orient, like Torquay United and Walsall, are one of those lower league sides that nobody really hates, or indeed cares about, unless you are playing them. The amount of vitriol Orient managed to exhibit in that one season still seems somewhat out of proportion to either our history together or indeed any preceding incident.
The Orient part of the name comes, it is believed, from the fact several of their notable early players worked for the Orient shipping line (now P & O), and not as has been spuriously offered, as a corruption for “late on the rent” for their Glynn Street first ground, or that they were sponsored by a chinese Laundry!
The club is majority owned by David Gandler, owner of a football streaming company, who has commited enough funds to get the club to the end of this season. They are still chaired by the former Chairman of Dunkin Donuts, Nigel Jarvis, and of course were in the past part of the Matchroom Organisation of Barry Hearn. They were also briefly sponsored by video games company Akklaim, which may explain the Mortal Kombat style of play adopted in that 2016/7 set of games against them.
Argyle plundered the Orient for the talent of Steve Castle and Kevin Nugent for the Shilton “nearly men“ team, as well as , indirectly Wayne Burnett, who arrived via Blackburn Rovers having started his career at the O’s.
But having scaled new heights at the home of the Blackpool Tower, Argyle turn their eye to London.
Will we be Jekyll or Hyde?
Roll up, roll up, for all the fun of the fair.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eastward Ho! (Away) February 17th
Eschewing the hyper obvious St Valentine’s Day Massacre options for this week’s sub title, a performance and result from the weekend just gone shows, in the town of the Big One, the Big Dipper, Valhalla, Wallace and Grommits Thrill-o-Matic, and perhaps most unusually the 1904 creation by Sir Hiram Maxim, the Captive Aerial ride. Who would have though Blackpool would have a ride attributed to the man who created one of the greatest causes of massacres in modern day warfare. Appropriate for the outcome at Bloomfield Road though.
Well, after Saturday, expect the Alex Mitchell Headed Punchbag to be in situ if we are forced to trek north again next season. As for the Blackpool side, they will be undergoing mandatory concussion tests before the next match they face, because by half time, they were out on their feet.
Argyle had players returning, but, as has been frequently the case this season, what the fitness team giveth, the fitness team taketh away, and so Brendon Galloway is now off for a hernia op which will keep him out for a month or so. But with a bench that now contained Tolaj, Ibrahim, Amaechi and Mackenzie, and with Hazard and Kane in the team from the start, this was a much stronger squad than was available against Lincoln.
A subtle tweek to positioning, swapping Watts and Curtis also played well, and from minute one, this was an Argyle side that was pressing all over the pitch, and that continued to the half time whistle by which time the game, as far as Blackpool, and much like a sizeable portion of their crowd, had gone.
The opening goal was from Mitchell, the likeable Charlton loanee who karate kicked the ball past the lesser of two Northern Ireland goalkeeping options, Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
Once again it looked like Argyle were going to take their half time cuppa, ill-rewarded for their first half dominance. Then Mitchell forced a good save from the overworked Farrell, only for Bim Pepple to show he can do the dirty business too, putting his head, and it transpired his teeth, into the danger area to force the ball in for number two as added time began.
Not two minutes later Malachi Boateng was quickest to react to BPF’s weak push out from a controlled side-foot shot from Kane, and three nil at half time more accurately reflected a half where Argyle led on the shot count fifteen love. It’s Wimbledon away soon too.
Evatt, watching from on high as he served a one match ban had to listen to his side booed off, and perhaps more tellingly, booed back on again.
For the travelling 1400 or so Greens it was now a case of, would the past failings of second halves kick in, with more than a few passing comment on the Southampton fight back from a similar score at Leicester earlier in the week.
On the hour, the livewire Watts scored the fourth to make sure the home side were truly dead and buried. A late farrago featuring Amaechi saw Husband red carded for retaliating against a borderline red card foul from the Argyle sub. No love lost between those two.
All that was left was for the ungracious Evatt to conduct an hourlong inquest with his demoralised side, followed by a post-match interview which gave no credit to an Argyle side that had schooled his team.
Argyle also survived the twin threat of ex-strikers with Obafemi and then, much later, Niall Ennis both making little impact on a back four that never looked like conceding. Argyle fans were simply glad that Obafemi was exactly what they had experienced last season. And less.
Argyle ended the day in the top half of the division for the first time since relegation, and for near enough two seasons worth of fixtures. It is a reality that in football, injuries happen, and, whilst Argyle have had an unfair amount of them, how you cope with them shows the measure of your squad. The side in the Premier League with the worst injury list? Arsenal.
Having a much deeper squad, and Pleggy (perhaps) and Matty will return to the selection board this week, will be essential as we enter a potential five-week period of Saturday/midweek games having sold Szuchs to Serbian football but regained the deselected Benarous. The first of those fixtures sees us trek back to East London and Leyton Orient, scene of Tolaj’s last minute backheeled winner which set us on the way for the much-delayed match against Swindon, no Luton, no, one of them, oh OK it is Luton after all, even though they lost, in the Vertu Cup quarter final.
Orient are a side we historically do OK against (despite the evidence of this season’s first meeting at Home Park) and generally speaking Brisbane Road is one of our better venues, despite the late great Laurie Cunningham inspired results of the mid 1970’s.
The season that sticks most clearly in everyone’s mind however in 2016/7, starting when, perhaps discombobulated by the sacking of manager Andy Hessenthaler, the Orient players that night somewhat lost their heads.
First up in the first couple of minutes was a horrendous lunge by Robbie Weir on Ben Purrington, which referee Chris Sargison deemed red worthy. Then, after an injury required an early substitution, Nigel Atangana replaced Liam Kelly (we’ll come back to him), Jimmy Spencer scored his first Argyle goal after a sublime dummy from David Goodwillie, and then Jake Jervis was brought down when clear by Jens Janse. So, fourteen minutes on the clock and Orient were down to nine men and one sub already used.
Atangana had a night to remember to forget when as a thirteenth minute sub, he was then hooked at forty-seven minutes for Harry Cornick. After his deal at the O’s he gradually drifted West via Cheltenham and Exeter and is now at Havant and Waterlooville.
The obvious one-way traffic finally delivered a second Argyle goal when Ryan Donaldson slotted from close range, with Graham Carey having a long-range duel with the Orient keeper. The small O’s crowd seemed to gain some satisfaction from the fact we didn’t run up the anticipated cricked score as they manfully defended the box.
The return fixture was in the midst of the Argyle promotion run in, and Argyle were expecting a home win against amn Orient side who were subsequently relegated, but the away team clearly had something to prove. Twice behind they managed to score two late goals to secure a three two win, and Liam Kelly managed to grab himself a six-match ban after he pushed over one of the Argyle ball boys in his haste to delay taking a corner.
Kelly left the O’s for Coventry and is now plying his trade at Rotherham, although he missed the trip to Home Park. Perhaps our ball boys are just too rough for him.
Orient, like Torquay United and Walsall, are one of those lower league sides that nobody really hates, or indeed cares about, unless you are playing them. The amount of vitriol Orient managed to exhibit in that one season still seems somewhat out of proportion to either our history together or indeed any preceding incident.
The Orient part of the name comes, it is believed, from the fact several of their notable early players worked for the Orient shipping line (now P & O), and not as has been spuriously offered, as a corruption for “late on the rent” for their Glynn Street first ground, or that they were sponsored by a chinese Laundry!
The club is majority owned by David Gandler, owner of a football streaming company, who has commited enough funds to get the club to the end of this season. They are still chaired by the former Chairman of Dunkin Donuts, Nigel Jarvis, and of course were in the past part of the Matchroom Organisation of Barry Hearn. They were also briefly sponsored by video games company Akklaim, which may explain the Mortal Kombat style of play adopted in that 2016/7 set of games against them.
Argyle plundered the Orient for the talent of Steve Castle and Kevin Nugent for the Shilton “nearly men“ team, as well as , indirectly Wayne Burnett, who arrived via Blackburn Rovers having started his career at the O’s.
But having scaled new heights at the home of the Blackpool Tower, Argyle turn their eye to London.
Will we be Jekyll or Hyde?
Roll up, roll up, for all the fun of the fair.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited:
