[Amelia Chaffinch]

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I'm not going to lie, I've missed this football lark so pleased to say it's back on Saturday. Neil Warnock starts this campaign by setting sail with his armada to newly promoted Plymouth Argyle. They've been out of the Championship since relegation in 2010. Unfortunately, this was followed by another relegation to League Two. They played bouncy bouncy for a while but last came back to League One in 2020. They were promoted as champions having had a massive 31 wins and 101 points. They're no mugs, obviously.
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This is the sort of match we knew we'd start with and, I'm not going to lie, I'm worried that we'll lose it. I like Plymouth but not that much.

They've been around since 1886 and played at Home Park since 1901. They have remained faithful to the green and white since the beginning except for going rogue with changes mainly in the 1970s.  I'm not going to lie, though, who didn't make the occasional fashion faux pas in the 70s?

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They're managed by Steven Schumacher who's been there since 2019, originally as assistant to Ryan Lowe (now at PNE) and took over as manager in 2021. I'm not going to lie, he probably won't be given as long as that in the Championship.


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The Current Squad according to wikipedia is

Kaine Kesler-Hayden is no stranger to us, of course.

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Top 10 Scorers last season:

Of these, Niall Ennis has signed for Blackburn (one to watch there?), Finn Azaz has returned to Aston Villa, and Sam Cosgrove has returned to Birmingham City.

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Head to head is not bad...

... but, I'm not going to lie, our last encounter was a loss. That was an FA Cup 3rd round draw at home on 9/1/21. We lost 3-2, having been 1-0 up, then 2-1 up.

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I'm not going to lie, I couldn't find many who played for both. There was Chris Billy who Neil Warnock took with him when he left us for Plymouth, Damien Johnson who was on loan with us from Plymouth, and Graham Carey who was on loan with us from Celtic and signed later in his his career for Plymouth. According to wiki, Carey is still playing for St Johnstone. Like I said, Neil Warnock has managed both but, I'm not going to lie, there's not many he hasn't managed.

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Are you going?

You'll be in the Barn Park End.

There doesn't appear to be any specific away pubs so better have a look at one of the away fans' guides. Here's one:

AWAY GUIDE

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Famous Plymothian Sportspeople

Sharron Davies, swimming

Tom Daley, diving

Trevor Francis, football

Sir Francis Drake*, bowling

*listed as a famous person from Plymouth but wiki page shows Tavistock. However, this is so close, I'm wondering if it was once a part of Plymouth. 

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A couple or three bits of random nonsense:

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As Plymouth is a naval port...

Because everyone needs a native American and a cowboy on a warship.

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There's a recurring catchphrase in this thread. Which Plymouth supporting comedian uses it a lot?

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one, Chaffers.

Have to admit that I know next to nowt about this Plymouth team. Fortunately, Mr Warnock knows all about them having been watching them all last season as his local team.

Hopefully, having had a proper pre season, as opposed to the debacle that took place last July, we'll continue what we have been doing lately. Notably the wins against Stockport and Heerenveen, which was a continuation of the great form shown at the end of last season.

[jjamez]

I'm not going to lie but I don't know what to expect or who the comedian is either.

It's fair to say our transfer dealings have been nondescript so far, but Warnock said at the end of last season he'd only want 1 or 2 quality signings so let's see what else comes, so far they've been reactionary.

As for Plymouth, they've lost Ennis but signed a few so it'll be interesting to see how they fair. The step up from league one to championship is no longer as large as it once was, obviously there is some step up but I fully expect Plymouth, Wednesday and Ipswich to be more than competitive this season

[theo_luddite]

Nice one for the first thread of the season AmChaff

I'm not going to lie, having had to Google him, I'd not really noticed that phrase as part of his routine. I must pay more attention, but he's someone I just don't pay much attention to to be honest. No idea why, but you don't have to like every comedian or comedy programme they appear in, just like you don't have to like every football club, whether you like comedians/comedies or football (or not).

[Baggiebob(BBB)]

Nice write up. The lighthouse and the distillary was interesting. How u got to know about the players was amazing. Well done u and hope more to follow.

[Amelia Chaffinch]

At what point in the article did the phrase "I'm not going to lie" start to annoy you all? 

---

I always think, when someone says that, does that mean that everything else they say is a lie? 

[Lord Snooty]

I'm not going to lie, it is annoying.

[SHEP_HTAFC]

Great thread AmChaff
Know next to nowt about Plymouth.....never been there....never likely to go....know none of their players etc etc.
But they will be fired up for their first home game in the Championship for 13 years.....need to be ready to weather the storm.....tricky first game.
Hoping for a draw.....but could be a defeat unless our lot step up.

[Lord Snooty]

Sorry, Amelia. I forgot to remind you to write up about this fella.

https://www.efl.com/news/2022/october/pl...home-park/

Plymouth Argyle have unveiled a statue in honour of former player Jack Leslie.

Marking Black History Month, the figurine was officially uncovered on Friday afternoon in front of a crowd gathered outside of Home Park.

Among those in attendance were Plymouth supporters, Jack’s surviving family members, and campaigners who have been fighting to recognise the former Pilgrims captain’s achievements, along with current and former Argyle players.

Leslie, who played 400 times for the Pilgrims, scoring 137 goals between 1921 and 1935, was selected to represent his country almost a century ago and would’ve become the first black player to represent England, but his name never appeared on the team sheet.

“Such was his prowess that he got called up for England in 1925 but then, controversially, his name was dropped, so he should have been the first black footballer to play for England, rather than just being selected for England,” explained Greg Foxsmith, Co-Founder of The Jack Leslie Campaign.

“We want to acknowledge that injustice and celebrate his achievements. What really overwhelmed us was that this hasn’t just been supported by people from Plymouth – although obviously they have in huge numbers – but across the South West and across the whole country.”

He also received an honorary cap which was presented to his granddaughters - Lesley Hiscott, Lyn Davies and Gill Carter – who were present on this special day.

“It’s truly inspirational. I think what happened to Jack should never have happened back in 1925," current Argyle boss Steven Schumacher added. "All of the credit should go to the guys in the campaign who have been driving this message forward.

“When I first came to the Club, we read about the story and we knew how much of an Argyle legend Jack Leslie was, and now the whole world knows it about it. The story is out there. He’s rightly been awarded his posthumous England cap.

“I know the campaign organisers went to the FA and when they told them the story about Jack, the FA recognised that there was a wrong that happened in 1925. Now, they’ve put that wrong right. We’ve rightly recognised Jack’s legacy with a statue outside the stadium that everybody can now see every time they turn up.”

Former Pilgrims midfielder Ronnie Mauge said: “Plymouth Argyle Football Club are travelling in a direction where we represent the community and the diversity that comes from the community, and we replicate that at the Football Club.

“Having the Jack Leslie statue outside of the Football Club brings a whole new meaning to diversity now as well.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1579403868361793537

[Amelia Chaffinch]

Finn Azaz is back for a further year's loan from Aston Villa.

Finn Azaz: Plymouth Argyle agree season-long loan for Aston Villa midfielder - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66383419

I obviously wrote my thread too soon.