Argyle still a ‘work in progress’ according to new boss Lowe
Despite an exciting 3-0 opening day away league victory at Crewe Alexandra, Plymouth Argyle’s new boss, Ryan Lowe, has been keen to keep his players’ feet firmly on the ground. The Pilgrims made it a winning start on the opening day for the first time in four seasons, giving Argyle a good platform to build on as they seek to achieve an instant return to League One football. However, Lowe insisted that his new-look squad was very much a “work in progress”, with plenty of development and improvement to come.
It’s that time of the year when football fans will be looking at their long-term accumulators, deciding which teams are most likely to win the leagues and using the raft of free bet promotions listed on Oddschecker to good effect. Argyle are certainly one of the most hotly-tipped teams to win League Two, given their impressive summer squad strengthening. Argyle’s gain has been very much Bury’s loss, with boss Ryan Lowe, his assistant and five first team players from the Shakers’ promotion-winning squad making the move to Devon.
A narrow 1-0 home win against likely promotion contenders Colchester United will also have done little to curb the enthusiasm on the terraces. A crowd of more than 10,000 was inside Home Park to watch Ryan Lowe lead his side to back-to-back League Two victories and cement their place as one of the teams to beat in the fourth tier.
A look at the new recruits from Gigg Lane
• Danny Mayor
Playmaker Danny Mayor had offers from some of the most ambitious League One outfits but opted to make the switch to Home Park to play under his former boss. Mayor is a rapid, direct left winger with the best years of his career still ahead of him. Mayor is not only capable of creating, he’s also liable to get on the scoresheet himself. However, an opening-day assist against Crewe will have done his confidence the world of good.
• Byron Moore
Wide forward Byron Moore spent the best part of a decade with Crewe Alexandra, before appearing for nearby Port Vale, as well as Bristol Rovers and Bury. Moore was a key figure in the Shakers’ promotion-winning campaign under Ryan Lowe and has been recruited on a free transfer to provide an aerial threat and athleticism in the front line. He’s not known for his prolific goal scoring, but he is a willing runner and an excellent team player.
• Will Aimson
Centre half Will Aimson is a player just starting to make his way up his development curve. After failing to make the breakthrough at Hull City, he impressed at a lower level with both Blackpool and latterly Bury last season. He was a lynchpin for the Shakers last term and even managed to notch four goals himself from set plays. He’s a defender who is also comfortable on the ball and confident playing as part of a back three that Lowe likes to adopt.
• Callum McFadzean
McFadzean is a very promising defensive midfielder-cum-centre half that has worked his way through the ranks of Scotland’s youth teams. After graduating from the Sheffield United academy, McFadzean then branched out and played north of the border with Kilmarnock, before playing another full season with Bury last term. McFadzean was only signed to a six-month deal initially, but such was his impact that Lowe and the Shakers opted to extend his contract to the end of the campaign; and it’s little surprise that Lowe has returned for him at Plymouth.
• Dominic Telford
Twenty-two-year-old Dom Telford is a player with a bright future ahead of him. Having played at Lancashire Schools level, Telford eventually made the grade in the professional game at local side, Blackpool. He made his first team debut in the 2014-15 season and did enough to earn a switch to Stoke City the following year. However, at the end of his three-year stay in the Potteries, Telford joined Bury last summer. Lowe primarily used Telford from the bench at Bury, but he’s certainly a solid squad player to have at the League Two level.
Ryan Lowe’s managerial career to date
At the tender age of 40, Ryan Lowe is still very new to football management. He only finished his playing career in 2018 but was fast-tracked into management at Bury, firstly as caretaker and then full-time manager in 2018-19. After releasing 11 and bringing in 11 new faces, Lowe set about overturning the negativity that had surrounded the club in recent times.
After a relatively slow start to the campaign, Lowe and his Bury side took the second half of the League Two campaign by storm, eventually finishing in the top three promotion places and achieving a semi-final finish in the EFL Trophy to boot. Lowe’s managerial philosophy is said to have been inspired largely by Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp. Lowe’s high-press, attack-minded 3-1-4-2 system has drawn plenty of plaudits, and he seems intent on implementing the same setup with Argyle.
Home Park’s ongoing redevelopment
Caption: The iconic old grandstand (left) is no more. Photo by Euanargyle, CC BY-SA 4.0
Between £9 and £10 million has been invested in Argyle’s redeveloped Home Park stadium. The total rebuild of the Mayflower Grandstand, creating an additional 5,304 seats and state-of-the-art hospitality facilities, will offer a new and impressive landmark on Plymouth’s cityscape. It’s hoped that the redevelopment will be concluded by the end of 2019, transforming Home Park into an 18,000 all-seater stadium fit for League One, and even Championship, football in the future.
Much of the funding has been pumped into the project by chairman and majority shareholder, Simon Hallett. Mr. Hallett has also enlisted the professional advice and support of Andrew Parkinson, who once lead the commercial operations at Liverpool FC. Mr. Parkinson is tasked with transforming the supporter experience at Home Park, and the new Mayflower Grandstand will go a long way towards creating an experience fit for the next generation of Argyle supporters. It’s certainly fair to say that were it not for Bury FC’s off-field collapse at the end of 2018-19, Plymouth’s 2019-20 campaign—and the atmosphere throughout the club—could have been much, much different.
