Plymouth Argyle’s visit to the New Lawn is the first EFL meeting between the 2 sides. Plymouth were one of the clubs relegated from League 1 last season and were favourites to make a quick return back to League 1 this season. They are a very well supported club – all away tickets for the match sold very quickly. Nobody is really sure where the ‘Argyle’ part of their name comes from. Their home ground, ‘Home Park’ has a capacity of some 20,000. Below is a view of the club from one of their supporters;
“We had a good start to the season, a win at Crewe and then at home against Colchester put us as top of the league but we then suffered a series of defeats and we dropped to midtable.
Our new manager Ryan Lowe is trying to implement a new style of play and formation, it’s been hit and miss so far as the players become used to a new era and style of football, on our day we have played some fantastic attacking football but in some games we have plenty of possession without threatening the opposition. Over the last month or so we have become more direct by hitting the balls into the channels and apart from a poor display against our Devon rivals Exeter City this new style of mixing possession and longer passes is getting the team some good results.
Ryan Lowe was a breath of fresh air when he arrived at the club in the summer, following relegation the club needed some positivity and enthusiasm and he provided that in bucket loads, although his media sound bites are starting to become tiresome for some fans.
Our majority owner is Simon Hallet, an Argyle fan and US based businessman and he has provided around £16 million so far, mainly through shares and investment. He also granted a £4 million loan to the club which he has recently cancelled, an incredible gesture from Simon and his wife Jane, his money is changing how the club operates by turning it into a sustainable club living within our means.
The refurbished grandstand is near completion and this will enable the club to offer corporate facilities seven days a week and bring in more non-matchday income. We could be looking at good times on and off the pitch.
Most opposition fans believe Argyle will get promoted this season, probably more so than actual Argyle fans, however we do need to put a run together to break into the top seven and our game against top of the table Rovers this Saturday is a tough one.
We don’t quite know what Argyle team will turn up in matches so it’s a difficult call to predict Saturday’s result, I’ll settle for a 1-1 draw. “
