Plymouth Leave It Late To Secure Survival
The 2023/24 season marked a return to the second tier of English football for the first time in more than a decade for Plymouth Argyle after a record-breaking campaign in League One saw the Pilgrims promoted as champions.
The Vertu Motors-backed side went into the Championship season amongst those sides expected to struggle against the drop, with Arygle one of the smallest sides in the division alongside the likes of Leeds United, Southampton and Leicester City – the latter having been relegated the previous campaign less than a decade after being crowned English champions.
Under the guidance of Stephen Schumacher, Argyle brought in a number of players during the off-season in a bid to strengthen the squad, with Morgan Whittaker converted a loan from Swansea into a permanent deal for a club record fee.
Bali Mumba, Mustapha Bundu and England U20 international Lewis Gibson also arrived on permanent deals, with Finn Azaz and Luke Cundle amongst a number of loan additions to the squad.
The season got underway at Home Park against Huddersfield Town, with Argyle kicking off life back in the second tier with a first win in the division for 13 years. Whittaker scored the opener in the first half before a fine strike from Mumba and a cool finish from Ryan Hardie wrapped up a 3-1 success.
Following a comfortable win against Leyton Orient in the first round of the League Cup, Argyle picked up an away point at Watford in a goalless draw before a narrow loss to Southampton courtesy of an injury goal ended the unbeaten start to the campaign.
Having slipped out of the League Cup to Premier League Crystal Palace, the next league game away at Birmingham saw Argyle beaten by an even later goal than the previous week before Azaz, Hardie and Cundle were all on target in an impressive 3-0 home win against Blackburn Rovers.
Defeat against former boss Ryan Lowe and his Preston North End side and a disappointing loss on the road to Bristol City came before arguably the best performance of the season from the Pilgrims when Norwich City headed to Home Park in late September.
A hat-trick from Whittaker helped Arygle to a third home win of the season in stunning fashion, smashing six goals past one of the sides that had been tipped to fight for the play-off positions at the very least.
It left Plymouth sitting just outside the top ten in the table but was followed by a run of four games without a win – including defeats at home to both Millwall and Swansea – that saw the side slip back down towards the drop zone.
By this stage of the campaign, it was clear to see that home form would be key, with the results at Home Park eclipsing those away from home. Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Stoke were all beaten at home as the season rolled into December but four defeats in a row away against Ipswich, Leeds, Coventry and Leicester meant Argyle were still looking over their shoulders heading towards the festive period.
Speculation was also building around the future of Schumacher when a vacancy appeared at Stoke City and a home win against Rotherham courtesy of a last minute goal from Whittaker would prove to be his final game in charge as he moved on to pastures new – leaving his old side six points clear of the drop zone in mid-table.
Director of Football Neil Dewsnip took control during the search for a new head coach, overseeing three draws in four games before Ian Foster was named as the new man in charge the day before Argyle defeated Sutton United in the third round of the FA Cup.
Foster’s first game in charge saw Argyle pick up a point at Huddersfield Town before the team secured successive league wins for the first – and only – time all season.
Hardie scored twice in a win at Home Park against Cardiff before a first half strike from Whittaker wrapped up a first victory on the road at Swansea City. That win came either side of an FA Cup tie with Leeds that would go to a replay before Arygle slipped out at the fourth round stage.
At that point, Plymouth sat 15th in the table, eight points clear of the bottom three and nine away from an unlikely play-off berth, but a difficult run of form would follow through February and March – with just a single win away from home against Middlesbrough.
Foster wasn’t helped by the departure of loanees Azaz and Cundle, but eight defeats in eleven games – and a run of five matches at Home Park without a goal – left Argyle just a point away from the relegation zone going into the final six games.
That led to the board taking the decision to remove the Head Coach from his role, with Foster dismissed and Dewsnip retaking control until the end of the campaign alongside first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell.
The first game of the crucial run-in saw Argyle return to winning ways with a goal from Mumba enough to see off Rotherham before a late own-goal secured a point at home to QPR to leave the gap to the bottom three at two points going into a home game with Leicester.
Expectations were relatively low given that Leicester were chasing vital points towards the championship title, but – cheered on by the Home Park crowd – Argyle produced a fine performance to grab the win thanks to a first half strike from Bundu.
Whilst that provided some breathing space at the bottom of the table, defeats to both Stoke and Millwall away from home meant Argyle headed into the final game of the season at home to Hull City at one of four teams bidding to avoid the drop.
A first half header from captain Joe Edwards put Argyle into the lead and a strong defensive effort in the second half ensured that Plymouth stayed up after a dramatic final day saw each of the teams battling against the drop pick up three points.
With survival confirmed, focus turned towards who would lead Argyle into a new season, with the board eventually turning to former Manchester United and England Wayne Rooney to take control ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.