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Plymouth Argyle Conclusions

07/08/2023

The 2023/24 Championship season is here, and the usual Saturday evening Twitter meltdowns are back! It was a disappointing collapse as Huddersfield lost 3-1 on the opening day of the season in Devon. Town was the team that looked most comfortable throughout the game, but yet again, the simple defensive mistakes plagued them as they did 12 months ago.

Inadequate Pre-Season

Now I wasn't someone who made the mammoth trek down to Devon for Pre-Season or saw much of the Stockport and Heerenveen games, but the quality is not what is representative of Championship level. Town did play Accrington Stanley and Derby County behind closed doors as well, but neither are totally representative either. The goals conceded by Town had a pre-season feel about them. If Town were to have conceded from a wonder strike like they did against Liskeard Athletic at Plymouth, then I don't think there would be many complaints, but the feeling I come away with is that Town's defence was not match sharp. The mistakes made by the defence you would expect to see in pre-season not the first game of the campaign.

Yes, it was a huge improvement on whatever that pre-season was under Schofield, but it is hard not to question the level of competitiveness of Town's opponents.

Square Pegs in Round Holes on The Opening Day is Criminal

Coming into the game with David Kasumu out injured and Jonathan Hogg not officially playing any minutes in pre-season, it seemed like Warnock was set to play REG and Rudoni in midfield by default. Scott High and Josh Austerfield were available, but with Warnock seemingly uninspired by the former Scottish U21 international High and Austerfield unproven, his hand was forced.

It is made worse that Pearson went off injured in the first half and instead of the ONLY NAMED CENTRE BACK on the bench coming on, Jonathan Hogg was brought on while REG is moved to centre back. The issue I have is that Edmonds-Green is not good enough to play at centre-back in the Championship, while he hasn't been utilised there under Warnock before either. Secondly, if Hogg is deemed 'fitter' than Yuta Nakayama, how was he not deemed fit enough to start? I like Hogg, but he is 35 this December, it is a problem that we rely so heavily on him, but as soon as he came on, Town looked stronger in midfield on the ball.

This may seem like I am having a go at Neil Warnock here, but I am not, it is more of a question of the recruitment not being good enough. Holmes and Camara leaving are not big losses, but from a squad depth point of view, they are. If this is the sort of situation we are facing on the opening day with injuries, we'll be calling up U19s in the December run in (slight exaggeration).

Town desperately needs to act in the transfer market. The calls have been to sign a striker, but for me, they need a central midfielder above all else. Someone like Callum Styles at Barnsley comes to mind, but it is reported he has a £2 million release clause in his contract. A fee in that region (or it seems any fee at all) is not feasible for Town in its current financial state. Another option is to look at the Premier League loan market, but when Preston is reportedly paying a £1 million loan fee for Tom Cannon, we may struggle there as well. It is tough for the recruitment team, but I suppose that is what they are paid to do.

Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker

Plymouth's two record signings: Mumba and Whittaker cost the Home Park outfit £1 million each. Mumba was one of the standout full-backs in League 1 last season, managing 6 goals and 10 assists. He is only 21, can play up either flank and is athletic. He is exactly the profile of player Town should be going after. Likewise, with Whittaker, he also played on loan at Plymouth like Mumba and managed 9 goals and 7 assists in 25 appearances before Swansea recalled him from his loan in January. He can play anywhere across the front line and behind a striker. At 22, he again is the profile of player that Town should be going after. You only need to look at Viktor Gyökeres who cost Coventry a similar fee, and they were able to sell him on for over £20 million. Even though this might be an extreme case of return on investment, I feel confident in saying that the pair will leave Plymouth for in excess of £5 million each in the future. While this season Town have to sign to fit Warnock's demands, next season, these are exactly the sort of signings Town need to look to make.

Some fans may say: 'It's another project player like Simpson', but the difference is the level (and the fee they come in at). Simpson came in for less than half a million and had only played at League 2 level before, Whittaker and Mumba were proven at the top end of League 1.

Sorba Thomas is in a Better Position Than 12 Months Ago

Bali Mumba scored a fantastic solo effort, and while Town's (and in particular Sorba's) defending was questionable, it is going to be clipped and put online. Now Bali Mumba is a very athletic player and had our defence on strings for much of the game as he was able to breeze past players. In hindsight, Sorba should have pulled him down and taken the yellow, but Mumba was just too quick for him. Thomas has yet again been scapegoated on social media for his 'defensive' work-rate, but for the goal Mumba gets past: Sorba, Josh Ruffels, REG and Jonathan Hogg, yes you read that right, Hogg was two yards away and didn't stop him. The criticism is boring and repetitive from last season as people just pile in on social media and it's sad.

What won't be clipped up on social media is Sorba tracking sprinting all the way back to left back to stop a Plymouth attack. His play in the attacking third (which is what he is in the team for) was excellent. He should have had at least one assist. He put in a great cross to an unmarked Koroma, who really should have scored from close range.

With social media it is so easy to throw 'abuse' and 'criticism' at people and it's especially prevalent within football. You only have to look at a player like Phil Jones whose career was severely affected by the abuse he received online. Granted he made mistakes and was injury prone, but it was amplified by keyboard warriors on social media. The over-analysis of everything he did and being 'memed' caused Jones to leave social media in 2017. Players even 10/15 years ago were never under this level of microscopic scrutiny and it is only going to get worse as technology advances.

It is not a defence of Sorba, nor am I condoning his own use of social media, as that leaves a lot to be desired (especially his Snapchat story), but the constant bombardment of abuse at him is not going to help.

Middlesborough is a Chance For The Squad Players to Throw Their Hat's in The Ring.

It feels like it is the 5th season in a row that we are throwing in the towel in the cup, but it is a competitive opportunity to give some of the squad players a chance. This season Town needs to stay up above all else and while a cup run could help massively with confidence, it is a risk that Town can't take. It seems clear that Warnock trusts a handful of players, but then there are players like Brodie Spencer, Josh Austerfield, Kyle Hudlin and Loick Ayina that he likes the look of, but they haven't proven it at a level where it matters. It is a fine line though, you can't just throw the B team in as 'boro would be overpowering to the point where nothing would be gained. There needs to be a balance between the 'trusted' players and the ones 'given a chance to impress'.

Even though Town could lose by a cricket score, given Middlesborough's quality, it is against a team that are of a level that Neil and Ronnie can critically assess the players at. My predicted lineup therefore would be:
Chris Maxwell; Brodie Spencer, Michal Helik, Loick Ayina, Yuta Nakayama; Sorba Thomas, Josh Austerfield, Jack Rudoni, Jaheim Headley; Kyle Hudlin, Kian Harratt.

It is tricky to predict as I don't think anyone really has much of an idea/ expectation for the game, but with the state Town is in (and I don't like using this phrase) they need to use it as a 'competitive friendly'.