Ian De Lar from Plymouth website www.pasoti.co.uk (Plymouth Argyle Supporters On The Internet) has been in touch this week with his thoughts on the season opener.
I’ve been an Argyle fan since the late 70’s, just missing the Billy Rafferty/Paul Mariner golden era, although I have been lucky enough to witness a couple of promotions.
As a club Argyle have bounced around tiers two and three and recently tier four, with higher League One probably our average all-time placing. We are yet to reach the financial riches of the Premier League and have the dubious distinction of being the largest city in England never to have played in the top flight of football. No football quiz is complete until that question is asked!
Manager Ian Holloway was good for Argyle and Blackpool. He obviously steered Blackpool into the Premier League and while at Home Park he almost got us promoted from the Championship. His attacking and entertaining brand of football won many plaudits amongst the Green Army but he suddenly departed for Leicester City while Argyle were heading towards a play-off place. At the time the fans were angry because here we were about to achieve something quite unique and extraordinary and Holloway decided to abandon it all. He has since explained his reasons for leaving which have placated some fans.
In the here and now we have Ryan Lowe as manager who plays a similar attacking style of football as Holloway (such a shame we can’t see it in the flesh at the moment). If an opposition team scores two goals, we’ll just score three. That mantra saw us promoted in third place last season under the points per game system – although the manager, players and fans have all said that Argyle would have won the title if the season had concluded in the normal fashion of 46 games.
Just like Holloway, Ryan Lowe has lifted not only the team but the whole club, aided by a shrewd and sensible owner in Simon Hallett, whose financial investment has not only enabled a new grandstand to be built but also provided funds to get the club through the COVID pandemic. Hallett is also a great communicator and regularly gives updates to the fans.
It’s a pity Ryan Hardie will have to miss Saturday’s game but we are grateful for Blackpool allowing us to loan him again. When he arrived midway through last season everything clicked and the team finally had someone – along with Luke Jephcott – to convert the many chances that were created.
I can see it (though iFollow) being an entertaining game on Saturday.
Do you want to have your say? Email your articles to jane@janestuart.co.uk for consideration for the new guest blog feature. I enjoy hearing from fans of other clubs but Blackpool fans are more than welcome too.
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