Plymouth Argyle will be returning to the Championship as League One champions after beating Port Vale 3-1 at Vale Park.
The Pilgrims had already clinched promotion against Burton Albion at Home Park in their final home game, but their victory over the Valiants ensures that they will mark their return to the second tier for the first time since 2010 as champions.
James Plant gave the hosts an early lead before home grown midfielder Adam Randell equalised for Argyle on 34 minutes.
Four minutes later, skipper Joe Edwards put the Pilgrims in front for the first time in the encounter and in the second half substitute Finn Azaz found the target in the 61st minute - which put the outcome of the game beyond doubt, and clinched the title for Argyle.
It was the end of an incredible journey back to the Championship for the Pilgrims, who went into Administration within a year after being relegated from the division during the 2010-11 campaign; this ws a time when then manager Peter Reid stepped in to pay the club's heating bill at one point and he even made the 1986 FA Cup runners-up which he received during his time with Everton available for auction.
Upon entering Administration, the ensuing ten point deduction saw them relegated for a second successive season and Reid departed Home Park in September 2011 and was replaced by Carl Fletcher. All of these events occurred during the Administration process and the players were forced to defer their wages in full, alongwith the club's non-playing staff, and at one stage the players were prepared to go on strike if their salaries, or at least part of them, weren't paid.
Shortly afterwards, the Pilgrims exited Administration following a takeover by local businessman James Brent. The early years of Brent's ownership proved to be quite rocky, as they remained in League Two courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Oxford United in their penultimate home game of the 2011-12 campaign. Then in the subsequent 2012-13 season, they survived on the final day of the campaign after Barnet lost. By this time Fletcher had been replaced as manager by former Sheffield Wednesday and Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan.
Under Sheridan, the Pilgrims gradually improved, finishing 10th in the 2013-14 season and they made the play-offs in the 2014-15 campaign - where they were beaten by Wycombe Wanderers at the semi-final stage.
In the summer of 2015, there was yet another managerial change at Home Park as Sheridan left the club and was replaced by Scotsman Derek Adams, whose appointment heralded the first period of sustained success since the Paul Sturrock era. Adams' first season in charge in 2015-16 saw them reach the League Two play-offs again, but this time they were beaten in the final by AFC Wimbledon.
However, despite overseeing a big turnover of players in close season, Argyle went one better under Adams in 2016-17 and won promotion from League Two as runners-up. This was then followed by a seventh place finish in League One in 2017-18, after the Pilgrims had found themselves in the relegation zone at the half way stage.
Unfortunately, the Pilgrims were relegated back to League Two in the 2018-19 campaign, which saw Adams dismissed by new owner Simon Hallett, who took over from Brent in January 2018, and Ryan Lowe was installed as his successor.
Lowe's guidance saw Argyle bounce back at the first attempt in a Covid-19 hit 2019-20 season, as the Pilgrims ended up winning promotion via PPG (Points Per Game).
The Pilgrims then re-established themselves in League One before Lowe was enticed away from Home Park by Preston North End and his assistant Steven Schumacher was promoted from within as his replacement. Schumacher continued Lowe's good work and they missed out on the play-offs on the final day of the 2021-22 campaign, following a shock 5-0 home defeat to Milton Keynes Dons.
Nevertheless, Argyle bounced back in superb fashion by winning the League One title with 101 points, just a point shy of their club record points total for a season, which they gained in 2001-02 when they won the Division Three title under Paul Sturrock, and reached the final of the EFL Trophy for the first time, where they were beaten by Bolton Wanderers.
The Pilgrims' last three spells in the second tier have lasted for two years (1975 to 1977), and six years twice (1986 to 1992 and 2004 to 2010) - so there is another chapter set to be written by Schumacher and Argyle.
