From Rooney To Relegation - Why Plymouth Are On Brink Of Drop

So aft 2 seasons successful nan Championship, Plymouth Argyle are each but definite to beryllium heading backmost to League One.

Despite a flurry of affirmative results successful caller weeks, nan Pilgrims will return to nan 3rd tier unless they tin thrash title-chasing Leeds United by arsenic galore arsenic 13 goals connected nan last time of nan play and dream Luton Town and Hull City lose.

But while this play has not been successful, it has been afloat of stories.

From appointing, and past parting ways with, Wayne Rooney to beating Liverpool and scaring Manchester City successful nan FA Cup, 2024-25 will beryllium a play fewer Argyle fans will forget.

"I really sold it to her that this is nan Monaco of England," joked Rooney erstwhile asked really he persuaded his woman Coleen that taking nan Plymouth job was nan correct move for his career.

It was a light-hearted infinitesimal from nan astir high-profile caput coach nan Pilgrims had ever appointed.

As a erstwhile England captain, and ex-record goalscorer for nan Three Lions, Rooney had done it each arsenic a subordinate pinch Manchester United, but nan assemblage was very overmuch retired connected his coaching abilities.

A spell astatine Derby County had seen nan nine relegated to League One, though immense financial problems astatine nan nine absolved Rooney of overmuch blame, earlier an uneventful spell pinch Major League Soccer broadside DC United successful nan United States.

Then came a torrid clip astatine Birmingham City successful 2023.

Rooney was brought successful by nan club's caller American owners to play attacking football, but his spell saw Blues driblet from nan Championship play-off places to nan relegation area aft conscionable 2 wins successful 15 games successful charge.

"I kept a beautiful unfastened mind. I raised an eyebrow and I said to myself 'I dream it works'," said BBC Sport journalist Drew Savage, who commentates connected Argyle matches for BBC Radio Devon.

"I'd been trying to liking my colleagues astatine BBC Sport astatine a nationalist level successful Plymouth Argyle for each my profession and they very seldom listened.

"In those six months erstwhile Rooney was manager, I had much conversations successful nan agency astir Argyle and my colleagues who do athletics for BBC Breakfast and BBC News were acold much unfastened to mentioning Plymouth than ever before.

"So I wholly get what he brought to nan array successful position of exposure, of conscionable putting america connected on nan map.

"Having a head who was Wayne Rooney really helped successful nan sum we got. However, arsenic it turned out, a batch of that sum towards nan extremity was negative."

Rooney's first trial was a travel to Sheffield Wednesday - a nine Argyle had pipped to nan League One title conscionable 15 months earlier and who had, for illustration Plymouth, avoided relegation nan erstwhile May.

He opted for an attacking line-up, but it quickly, and spectacularly, backfired arsenic they mislaid 4-0.

Plymouth had conscionable 1 half-hearted effort connected target and saw Wednesday person 31 efforts astatine goal, 11 of which were connected target, successful nan morale-sapping loss.

"Pre-season had been decent, it benignant of came retired of nowhere," said Savage.

"We possibly hadn't played beardown capable sides but I surely wasn't expecting a 4-0 defeat.

"It was a problem that would go perpetual - successful acold excessively galore games teams could conscionable play done nan mediate of us.

"Something that did go a shape was Rooney blamed nan players. He besides later admitted possibly he'd played excessively galore of nan caller signings.

"But I ever sewage nan emotion nan measurement he thinks astir nan crippled arsenic an elite player, I don't deliberation he was ever managing successful nan magnitude of detail, tactically, that you request astatine Championship level - that you request to extremity losing 5-0 astatine Cardiff and 6-1 astatine Norwich."

Things improved a spot arsenic they won 3 and drew 2 much of their adjacent 8 convention games, but past nan slump kicked in.

Rooney would triumph conscionable 1 of his adjacent 14 games arsenic nan Pilgrims tumbled to nan ft of nan table.

By nan clip he mutually agreed to part ways pinch Argyle connected 31 December, he had seen his broadside neglect to people successful 11 of his 23 convention games successful complaint and concede 3 aliases much goals successful 8 of those matches.

Among nan scary shows Argyle fans will want to hide were nan 6-1 nonaccomplishment astatine Norwich, wherever Rooney said Plymouth's under-18s squad could person defended better, a 3-0 nonaccomplishment astatine Leeds, wherever his broadside did not person an effort astatine goal, and a 5-0 drubbing astatine past bottom-of-the-table Cardiff City having gone down to 10 men.

"When Rooney came he tried to play a definite style," explained erstwhile Argyle defender Brian McGlinchey, who useful arsenic a summariser for BBC Radio Devon.

"It was a batch of attacking play done nan lines, and sometimes I felt that possibly immoderate of nan players didn't person nan expertise to play that type of style and a batch of teams had worked Argyle out.

"I don't deliberation they were pragmatic capable to alteration their style to different teams they were playing and possibly set to wherever they were successful nan convention and wherever they were connected form."

Having appointed a caput coach everyone had heard of, Argyle went wholly nan different measurement and sewage personification successful that cipher had a hint about.

Step guardant Miron Muslic.

The Bosnia-born Austrian whitethorn not person had nan floor plan of Rooney, but he did astatine slightest person successful managerial acquisition having guided Belgian broadside Cercle Bruges to a Europa Conference League place.

His reign began slow pinch a 1-1 tie pinch Oxford United and a 1-0 location nonaccomplishment to Queens Park Rangers earlier his broadside were outclassed 5-0 astatine location by Burnley, nan Clarets scoring 4 times successful nan last 15 minutes of a five-goal first half.

But past came nan resurgence.

One nonaccomplishment successful 7 games, capped disconnected by 1 of nan top wins successful nan club's history.

"Just to beryllium location that time was an astonishing point I'll retrieve forever," said Savage of nan celebrated Sunday successful February when Argyle knocked Liverpool retired of nan FA Cup.

Plymouth had already beaten Premier League broadside Brentford successful nan 3rd information nether perennial caretaker head Kevin Nancekivell and injured skipper Joe Edwards.

But nether Muslic they put successful arguably nan astir memorable capacity of this season's title beating a Liverpool broadside who were clear astatine nan apical of nan Premier League, successful nan past 16 of nan Champions League and Carabao Cup finalists, 1-0 for 1 of Home Park's astir celebrated days.

"Any Liverpool squad connected insubstantial should beautiful overmuch hit immoderate Plymouth Argyle squad connected paper," Savage said of nan triumph against nan Reds, who had rested respective of their prima players.

"But nan Home Park crowd has played specified a domiciled successful truthful galore of nan results we person had, and they thin to beryllium results against teams we're not expecting to beat."

The important constituent of nan play came successful nan first half of March.

It started good - having beaten Liverpool, Argyle sewage a 3rd top-flight broadside successful nan FA Cup and came distant from their 5th information necktie against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City pinch a creditable 3-1 defeat.

But past it each went wrong.

They had a tally of 4 'winnable' games but mislaid to relegation rivals Hull City and Derby County, and were beaten 3-0 by Sheffield Wednesday - though a first distant convention triumph of nan play astatine Portsmouth successful nan mediate of nan tally salvaged immoderate endurance hopes.

But while bully wins complete Norwich City and Sheffield United further accrued fans' optimism, Argyle ne'er sewage retired of nan driblet zone.

"The caller head came successful and realised that he had to spell a batch much resilient, defensive, harder to beat," explained McGlinchey, who saw Argyle move to 3 cardinal defenders and a much compact and nonstop style of play

"They've sewage location to a definite degree, they've go a spot much dogged, obscurity adjacent arsenic connected nan beforehand ft arsenic much.

"But he's realised that defensively they weren't beardown capable and he's gone location and he played 5 astatine nan backmost and he's seen that they've had to alteration nan style of play."

It is simplistic to opportunity that Argyle were mediocre astatine some ends of nan section - but nan statistic do not lie.

They person conceded much goals than immoderate different broadside successful nan Championship, while a caller flurry of 8 goals successful nan past 4 games has seen them go nan highest-scoring broadside successful nan bottommost 3rd of nan array - but it was excessively small excessively late.

The deficiency of different striker was cardinal - pinch Muhamed Tijani retired for astir of nan play pinch hamstring issues, and Ryan Hardie's patchy wounded grounds complete nan Christmas and New Year period, goals were difficult to travel by.

"I still support that Argyle person not replaced Niall Ennis," Savage said.

"In nan League One-winning season, erstwhile nan goals from Hardie dried up towards nan end, Ennis was successful nan broadside and scoring goals.

"Argyle person grounded to onshore anybody other who's tin of consistently shouldering that burden.

"Tijani sewage injured and we've taken a while to activity retired precisely really to get nan champion retired of Mustapha Bundu.

"But if we'd signed a striker, tin of scoring goals successful nan January model past we would astir apt beryllium successful a amended position than we are now."

Argyle caput coach Muslic feels his broadside simply ran retired of clip to alteration course.

Having won 4 of their past six games they gave themselves a chance until Luton's precocious heroics complete Coventry connected Saturday near them efficaciously down.

"We are empty. We are heartbroken, but we will get up again," Muslic said.

"It was a massive, monolithic situation and I deliberation we took this situation pinch courage, pinch enthusiasm, pinch positivity, pinch a wholly different structure, different group up and we simply ran retired of games.

"It takes a small spot of clip to adapt, to alteration nan structure, to alteration nan mindset of nan team, almost to alteration a mindset of an organisation, of a nine and I deliberation we person been fantastic, but it's over."

Despite being backmost successful League One, Argyle are astir apt successful a stronger position financially past erstwhile they were promoted.

They person benefitted from 2 years of nan Championship's bigger tv woody and person invested successful infrastructure, specified arsenic a caller training crushed and improvements astatine Home Park.

Owner Simon Hallett has said he is adjacent to trading a liking successful nan nine to caller investors which could further bolster their coffers.

Last month, he said he was assured nan fund disposable to Argyle if they were to spell down would beryllium "considerably successful excess" of nan 1 successful their 101-point title-winning play successful 2022-23.

"Our occurrence disconnected nan transportation has enabled america to diversify and turn revenues to grounds levels," he said.

"Should we beryllium relegated, returns connected our investments position america good to stay financially beardown successful League One pinch nan expertise to money a highly competitory first-team squad."

But who will play for nan nine is different matter.

Argyle doubly collapsed their transportation grounds successful January to motion Ghanaian guardant Michael Baidoo and Ukraine defender Maksym Talovierov.

While Talovierov has been a deed astatine centre-back, Baidoo has struggled, failing to people aliases supply an assistance and seldom featuring successful nan past fewer months.

Both person world aspirations which mightiness beryllium difficult playing successful League One, while nan likes of guardant Hardie, wing-back Bali Mumba and goalkeeper Conor Hazard could each pull liking from different Championship sides complete nan summer.

It will beryllium a trial for Muslic - and whoever nan Pilgrims bring successful arsenic a method head - not only to clasp arsenic galore of their astir coveted players, but build a squad that tin bounce consecutive backmost to nan 2nd tier.