Saturday 6 August 2016

SEASON PREVIEW 2016-17: PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

After losing to AFC Wimbledon in last season's Play-off final, Plymouth Argyle will be aiming to go a step further in the 2016-17 campaign and win promotion.

However, the Pilgrims will be going into the campaign with a much changed side to the one that lined-up under the Wembley archway for only the second time in the club's history last May.

As well as seeing many of their loan signings - including Jamille Matt, Hiram Boateng and Jordan Houghton - return to their parent clubs, the Pilgrims also lost many of their permanent fixtures - perhaps most notably long-serving captain Curtis Nelson.

Goalkeeper Luke McCormick has been named as Nelson's successor as captain.

In addition to Nelson, other players including Reuben Reid, Peter Hartley, Gregg Wylde and Carl McHugh also decided to move on, thus ensuring Derek Adams - who recently signed a contract to keep him at Home Park until 2020 - had a busy summer on the recruitment front, making 12 new signings.

It is also worth noting that when Argyle lined-up for their pre-season friendly with Torquay United, only McCormick, Gary Sawyer and Graham Carey remained from their Play-off final defeat.

Adams' new signings include a number of players who played under him during his time as Ross County manager, such as Yannick Songo'o, Gary Miller and Jordan Slew.

They also feature a mix of youth and experience, all of whom have a point to prove which could be an important factor in helping the Pilgrims go one better in the forthcoming campaign, as they look to end their stay in League Two which started in 2011.


In: Ryan Donaldson & Jimmy Spencer (Cambridge United), Connor Smith (AFC Wimbledon), Yannick Songo'o (Blackburn Rovers) David Goodwillie (Aberdeen), Oscar Threlkeld (Bolton Wanderers), Gary Miller (Partick Thistle), Jordan Slew (Chesterfield),  David Ijaha (Whitehawk), Sonny Bradley (Crawley Town), Naurus Bulvitis (Spartaks Jurmala), Karleigh Osborne (Bristol City), David Fox (Crewe Alexandra), Marc McCallum (Livingston)

Out: Kelvin Mellor (Blackpool), Gregg Wylde (Millwall), Peter Hartley (Bristol Rovers), Curtis Nelson (Oxford United), Carl McHugh (Motherwell), Tyler Harvey (Wrexham), James Bittner (Newoort County), Deane Smalley, Callum Hall, Reuben Reid, Josh Simpson,

Player to Watch: David Goodwillie

As former Pilgrims' manager Dave Smith once said 'to win promotion, you need to score goals lots of em', and David Goodwillie is a player who has the pedigree to do just that.
Now 27, if Goodwillie can re-capture the form that saw Blackburn Rovers pay £2million for his services and earned him a Scotland call-up then Plymouth Argyle might just have the player who could become only the second 20 plus goals a season striker since the great Tommy Tynan - the departed Reuben Reid was the other.