Argyle are through to the FA Cup second round after eventually overcoming seventh-tier Alvechurch in front of just over 10,000 fans inside Home Park. A Will Evans brace, a first goal in green for Michael Baidoo and a fourth from Ronan Curtis sealed the Pilgrims’ progression to the second round at the start of next month.

Job done, we’re in the hat

For the first time since 2021, Argyle emerged victorious in the FA Cup first round. Back then it was a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in a replay — a brace for Jordan Garrick and one for Ryan Hardie, but you already knew that — that kickstarted a run to the fourth round that ended with an extra-time defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Since then, Argyle have lost to Grimsby Town and Wycombe Wanderers in their two other appearances in the first round, but yesterday’s victory over Southern League Premier Central outfit Alvechurch ensured that it wouldn’t become three defeats on the bounce.

It means that for the first time in five years, Argyle will be in the draw for the second round, which takes place about two miles up the road at Bolitho Park tomorrow night, when Plymouth Parkway make their first round debut at home to Berkhamsted. Could a first-ever Plymouth derby be on the cards in round two?

Baidoo is back

That wasn’t the only first of the weekend. For the first time since a defeat to Leeds United on the final day of a 2024/25 campaign that ended with relegation from the Championship, Michael Baidoo made a competitive appearance in an Argyle shirt — and he marked it with his first goal for the club.

Rising from the bench to replace Xavier Amaechi on the hour, Baidoo found space in the box to steer a low cross from Jared Rendle into the far corner before doing what many Argyle fans thought they’d never see — wheeling away to celebrate a goal.

It’s been quite the journey for Baidoo since his arrival for a then-record fee in January 2025. A disappointing first four months in the Championship preceded a year on loan in Qatar, and then the prospect of a redemption was cruelly taken away by a hamstring injury at the end of pre-season. But now he’s back, and hopefully this was his first step towards repaying that transfer fee.

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Star performer: Will Evans

With the regular stats unavailable for Saturday’s game, this week’s star performer is Argyle’s chosen player of the match, and it was a fine afternoon for the Pilgrims’ number nine, who scored his first two goals at Home Park.

The first a few minutes into the second half was the crucial one that finally broke the visitors’ resistance, with Evans nicking the ball off defender Jessy Bavanganga inside the box and steering it past goalkeeper Redman Evans from a tight angle.

That goal relieved the tension inside Home Park, and his second goal nearly 20 minutes later made sure of the victory. He met Curtis’ delivery at the near post and got enough on it to bundle it over the line. It wasn’t a beautiful goal, but they all count the same.

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Should the first half be a concern?

First of all, let’s preface this by saying a match is 90 minutes, not 45 minutes. Over the full 90, Argyle did what they needed to do, scored four goals and got the job done. However, the first 45 minutes was rather forgettable.

It wasn’t for the want of trying, Argyle did have six shots in the first half. But besides an Evans header from an excellent Oliver Irow cross, these didn’t trouble Redman Evans in the Church goal, and there’s an argument that Argyle should be doing much better than that against a semi-professional team some four divisions below them.

Things did improve in the second half, presumably after some strong words from Tom Cleverley, with the Pilgrims converting four of nine shots on goal as the part-time visitors tired, but a stronger first-half showing would have made the afternoon a bit more comfortable.

A busy day for Rendle

It was a good day for 17-year-old left-back Jared Rendle, who crowned his fourth senior appearance for the Pilgrims with an assist for Baidoo’s goal. The teenager came off the bench in the 71st minute to replace Alex Mitchell, and provided the low cross for Baidoo to sweep home Argyle’s third goal seven minutes later.

That alone would been a decent shift for one of Argyle’s brightest academy products, but this was Rendle’s second match of the day, having played the first 45 minutes of the under-18s’ 2-1 victory over Swindon Town in the Professional Development League Cup.

That victory for the young Pilgrims secured their place in the PDL Cup quarter-finals for the first time. Factor in the FA Youth Cup and the senior side’s EFL Trophy campaign as well, and Rendle will have plenty of opportunities to impress in the coming weeks.

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Argyle recorded their first goalless draw since a stalemate at a Watford side managed by Tom Cleverley back in March 2025, with Reading the visitors to Home Park for only Argyle’s second draw of the season.

Argyle have now won just one of the last four home games, but the Pilgrims are still in the play-off places.

Storer steps in between the sticks

The most notable omission from the starting line-up yesterday was that of ever-present goalkeeper, and potentially Argyle’s player of the season thus far, Murphy Cooper. The summer signing dropped out at short notice due to a family emergency, and we wish him well.

It meant a surprise league debut for James Storer, whose action in an Argyle shirt has so far been limited to the Carabao Cup defeat to Coventry City and the Jersey Mike’s Trophy wins over Crystal Palace and Newport.

Despite an early hiccup when he almost dropped the ball over his line, the 22-year-old, who also joined the Pilgrims in the summer, recovered to put in a solid display as he kept his first clean sheet for the club, with FlashScores rating him as Argyle’s player of the match with a score of 7.8 out of 10.

The goalkeeping department was a hot topic for the wrong reasons throughout much of last season, and it does seem as if Argyle have done well in correcting this in the summer and we now appear to have a good pair of custodians.

Home form a concern?

Last week I talked about Argyle continuing their unrivalled away form, but the home form continues to be an issue. The Pilgrims have now dropped 11 points in home games — won three, drawn one, lost three — with their tally of ten points from seven outings at Home Park placing them 11th in the ‘home games only’ table.

Argyle have won just one of the last four home games in the league, which came when Xavier Amaechi profited from a clearance striking Alex Hartridge in the face to score a last-gasp winner against AFC Wimbledon. Despite the win, it was a poor performance, and you could argue there hasn’t been a good performance at Home Park since the 3-0 win over Barnsley.

We are clinging on to a play-off spot in spite of our excellent away form. If promotion is to be achieved, the home form must improve.

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Bim needs a break

Cleverley said before Saturday’s game that Owen Oseni is set to return for next week’s FA Cup first round tie against Alvechurch, and that match at Home Park would be the perfect time to give Bim Pepple a rest.

The Canadian is Argyle’s top scorer this season with five goals, and while he scored a crucial penalty in the 3-2 win at Cambridge a week ago, five games have passed since his last goal in open play, which came in the 2-0 win at Leyton Orient.

He missed the victory over AFC Wimbledon with an injury and has played nearly every minute of the four matches since despite not being fully fit, and that’s because there hasn’t been a proper alternative with Oseni on the sidelines.

Now Oseni is set to return to the fold, the Alvechurch game feels like the ideal time to give Bim a much-needed break.

Still in the top six

Despite the concerns that exist around our home form and injuries in attack, Argyle are sitting nicely in fifth place in the League One table. It’s not been a perfect run so far this season, but we would all have taken that after 14 games before the start of the campaign.

It’s perhaps a little tiresome to keep casting back to last season, but this time last year we’d just lost 2-0 at Mansfield Town, a few days after losing to Exeter City by the same score. We were in the relegation zone, below all four teams that would eventually get relegated, with only 13 points.

We’ve taken that many points just from our away games this season and are ten points better off. With a new system getting more out of Amaechi and Will Evans, and with Oseni and Michael Baidoo set to strengthen the attack in the coming weeks, things are looking much brighter.

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A Louis Appéré own goal, a Bim Pepple penalty and another from Xavier Amaechi clinched victory for the Pilgrims. The win was the perfect tonic after back-to-back defeats and takes Argyle back up to fourth in the table.

Cleverley changes it up

After those back-to-back defeats to Huddersfield and Stevenage, all eyes were on what Argyle chief Tom Cleverley was going to do for Saturday’s visit to Cambridge. The answer was a switch of system to a back three, with Argyle lining up in a 3-4-3 (or 3-4-2-1 if you prefer).

Wes Harding and Julio Pleguezuelo joined Alex Mitchell to form the back three, with Jack MacKenzie and Matty Sorinola returning to the line-up as wing-backs either side of Harvey White and Tyreeq Bakinson. Pepple led the line on his own, with Will Evans dropping slightly deeper and towards the left while Amaechi fulfilled that role on the right side.

It may only be one game, but this appeared to suit Argyle much better, and the result speaks for itself. Harding looked happier in a slightly more central role and MacKenzie performed well as a wing-back. Giving Amaechi the license to cut in from the right suits him down to the ground, and Evans put in his best shift in a green shirt to date.

Evans’ best game in green?

Let’s talk more about Evans, because it’s been a mixed start to life at Argyle for the 29-year-old summer signing from Mansfield. He’s chipped in with three goals as part of a two-man attack, normally alongside Pepple, but he’s been burdened by the comparison to last season’s top scorer Lorent Tolaj, who, in terms of personnel, he effectively replaced in the summer.

He’s not an out-and-out striker though, and he was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Cleverley’s shift in system yesterday. Getting him to drop deeper and wider allows him to put himself about a bit more and link the midfield to the attack, and being a little further from goal also takes some of the pressure to score goals off his shoulders.

As you’ll see below, he was the player of the match according to WhoScored’s ratings, and this system might be what’s needed to bring the best out of him.

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MacKenzie makes his mark

It’s been a long time coming, but Saturday’s game may well have been the moment Jack MacKenzie finally announced himself as an Argyle player. The Scottish left-back joined from Aberdeen in the summer of 2025 but his time at Home Park has been blighted by injuries.

MacKenzie returned to the line-up yesterday to make only his eighth start since arriving at Home Park, and a solid display in the new left wing-back role will hopefully provide the launchpad for his Argyle career. As the only specialist left-back in the squad, it’s felt like that left-sided role has been waiting for him while he regained fitness, and now may finally be his chance to nail that spot down.

Amaechi or White?

One of the questions to emerge from yesterday afternoon was whether Argyle’s second goal was scored by Amaechi or White. It has been given to the former, but should White feel a little hard done by?

After setting up the opener, an own goal by Appéré, Amaechi was involved in the build-up for the second, beating two men as he cut in from the right and passed to Bakinson, who laid it off to White.

Argyle’s number seven took aim from the edge of the box and his effort took a touch off Amaechi as it flew past Eastwood. That touch appears to be why Amaechi has been given the goal, but with White’s strike seemingly set to hit the target even if it hadn’t struck his team-mate, White may feel like he can lay claim to that one.

Top of the away table

While Argyle’s home form hasn’t been anything to write about since Cleverley took over, the away form is a completely different story. Since the start of last season, the Pilgrims have taken 43 points from 29 home league games — an average of 1.48 points per game that is only good enough for 14th in the division.

Compare that to the away form however, and the difference is stark in that the numbers are so similar. In the same timeframe, Argyle have collected 42 points from 30 away league games under Cleverley. That tally has not been bettered by any other team in that period, with Stockport and Lincoln (now in the Championship) seven points behind the Pilgrims.

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It was this fixture last season that really had me believing that Argyle could sneak into the play-offs. Goals from Owen Dale, Bim Pepple and Owen Oseni overturned a 1-0 half-time deficit to clinch a fourth successive win at Home Park back in March, sending the Pilgrims above their opponents and into seventh — one point off the top six.

It wasn’t to be, but after a slightly slow start to this term, Cleverley’s boys have taken that late-season form into the current campaign and sit at the top of League One. We are in the privileged but pressured position of knowing that a victory keeps the Pilgrims there, regardless of what happens elsewhere.

Huddersfield will be a tough nut to crack though, and Martin Drury’s side, currently three points behind Argyle in fourth, have had a week to stew on snatching a draw from the jaws of victory at home to Sheffield Wednesday, having been 2-0 up with 87 minutes on the clock.

“We’re all really excited by this weekend,” Cleverley told Argyle TV. “It’s two top teams and had they not conceded in the very last minute last weekend it would literally be first against second and we’re all excited by that.

“Thinking back to last year, your Luton at home, your Huddersfield at home, Cardiff at home, there was a different feeling in the air from our supporters than maybe, with all respect, to some different games like last week — a 12.30pm kick-off doesn’t help the atmosphere.

“We really have to be the catalysts but I think Saturday could be special inside [Home Park] and we need to make it as difficult for the opposition as possible.”

What threat will the Terriers pose?

Led by head coach Drury, the Terriers are fourth in League One with 16 points from nine games, but surrendering that two-goal lead at home to Sheffield Wednesday last week means they are now three points behind the Pilgrims.

Town have lined up in a 3-4-3 for the majority of their games and they are one of four teams to have lost only once this season, with their only league defeat coming at newly-promoted Bromley a month ago.

“They have not given up much in terms of opportunities against or goals against this season, [they’re a] really solid team,” Cleverley said. “System-wise, it could be anything. They started in a back four at the start of the season and changed to a back three. Style-wise, I think they would come under the effective football team. They’re not trying to win any beauty contests, a bit like ourselves, but they’re trying to be as effective in every phase as possible, which is exactly how I see the game.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for what Martin’s doing there and done there, I’d say they’ve probably gone to the next level from last season, and it’ll be a really good challenge. But, I’m sure all of those things are being said by the opposition and we’re hoping for a great intensity and atmosphere, and may the best team win.”

Town’s star man so far this season has been 25-year-old winger Derensili Sanches Fernandes, whose eight goal involvements is the highest in League One. The Dutchman has four goals and four assists in nine appearances, and his average rating of 7.48 on WhoScored is the highest of the Huddersfield squad.

Joe Taylor is the Terriers’ top scorer with six goals in eight games, and we can expect to see the familiar face of Bali Mumba. Part of Steven Schumacher’s title winners of 2023, Mumba has worked his way back into the Huddersfield line-up after he was sent off in their opening-day win over AFC Wimbledon.

Will Pepple come straight back in?

The biggest selection issue ahead of tomorrow’s game is whether Bim Pepple will come back into the side after missing the win over AFC Wimbledon.

Cleverley was unwilling to risk the Canadian last weekend after he picked up a hamstring injury earlier in the week, but the Argyle boss confirmed yesterday that Pepple trained that morning and is available to face Huddersfield.

Cleverley said he probably wouldn’t manage the full game, so if he does return to the line-up then it’s likely he would be replaced later on.

As for who he replaces, it would probably be a straight swap for Caleb Watts, who deputised up top in Pepple’s absence last week and scored Argyle’s opening goal.

Meanwhile, skipper Joe Edwards is set to miss the game after picking up an injury against AFC Wimbledon, but Cleverley is optimistic that he’ll be able to feature against Stevenage in midweek. The smart money would be on Matty Sorinola taking his place in the line-up, but the other option is Wes Harding moving back to the right and Jack MacKenzie coming in on the left.

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🏆 LEAGUE ONE (SAT 3 OCT 2026)

🔴 Leyton Orient 0

🟢 Plymouth Argyle 2

Pepple 52
Evans 56

Top of the league again

It may not mean a great deal at this stage of the season, but being top of the table is never anything to be sniffed at, and yesterday’s result means Argyle are now the League One leaders for the first time since clinching the title and promotion to the Championship in 2023.

There are a few caveats. Bradford City, who we deposed yesterday afternoon, have a game in hand on us, while Sheffield Wednesday have two games in hand. Plus, there are still 39 games to go, and we certainly showed last season that where you are after nine games (17th) won’t necessarily be where you end up (8th).

Tom Cleverley rightly said in his post-match interview to Argyle TV that no-one in the team will be getting carried away by being top of the league in October, but that doesn’t mean the fans shouldn’t enjoy it. It doesn’t happen often for most fans — as above, it had been more than three years since we’d last been on top — so why not revel in it?

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Bouncing back from Burton

Last week I wrote about while the Burton defeat didn’t feel catastrophic, the important thing was to show it was a one-off, that it wouldn’t happen again. Every team has a blip every now again, but the best ones make sure it stays at that and they bounce back with a positive result next time out.

Had Argyle lost again yesterday, then maybe there would have been some cause for concern. But we didn’t. We put in a solid shift, in the second half especially, and got the win to prove that last week was the exception.

This has been a common theme under Cleverley. We lost 20 times in all competitions last season — with 15 of those coming before the turn of the year — and we won the next game on ten occasions. We only lost four times in the league after Boxing Day during our brilliant run, and we won the next game three times.

Whether that’s down to good work on the coaching team, a strong mentality within the playing squad or a bit of both, it’s an invaluable quality that we’re going to need to retain if we want to sustain a push for promotion.

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It’s great to have Joe back

For the first time since the final day of last season, club captain Joe Edwards returned to Argyle’s starting line-up to make the 288th appearance of his Argyle career, and while he may be turning 36 at the end of this month, there’s no doubting the influence he still has in this team.

Edwards had a knee operation in the summer and missed all of pre-season as a result, with his participation in Argyle’s fine start to the campaign limited to 74 minutes of action across three substitute appearances.

Father Time may be catching up with him, but it’s clear to see that he can still bring a lot to a side challenging at the top of League One. He slotted in at right-back, with vice-captain Wes Harding swapping to the other flank to accomodate the skipper, and he drove the team on towards the win.

His influence as a leader is undoubted, but his tangible quality is still there. He won more aerial duels (ten) than any other player on the pitch, he provided one of the six interceptions made by Argyle players and only Harvey White made more than his three key passes.

Joe90 is back, and long may he continue.

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It’s been a little while, but we’re back.

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After missing the chance to climb to the top of the division seven days ago with that surprisingly flat 1-0 defeat at home to Burton Albion, Tom Cleverley’s side were presented with another opportunity to scale the League One summit when they pitched up at Brisbane Road (currently the BetWright Stadium) to take on Leyton Orient.

The first 45 minutes were, shall we say, uninspiring, but Cleverley’s half-time words had the desired effect with Bim Pepple and Will Evans striking the decisive blows — a scrappy opener and a delightful second — within ten minutes of the restart.

With their tails up, Argyle asserted their dominance in search of a third. It didn’t come, but the damage was done. Orient began to see a bit more of the ball with the Pilgrims having effectively declared, but Richie Wellens’ side never looked like finding a way back into this one.

The most notable occurence in the final part of the match was the travelling Argyle contingent’s sustained chanting of “we are top of the league”. Bradford City had started the day as leaders but the Bantams had been pegged back at Reading. With that game ending 1-1, Argyle have taken their place at the top of the tree.

Last week’s loss to Burton was a bit of a reality check, but Argyle did so well in bouncing back from defeats during their brilliant run last season, and they’d done it after the Leicester defeat a month ago, so the challenge here was to do that again.

But another slow start and another sloppy opening 45 minutes meant there was plenty of food for thought at the break. It wasn’t a bad performance by any means, but the number of players who weren’t quite at it and amount of misplaced passes resembled the Burton game somewhat.

However, Cleverley clearly got his point across during the interval and it took barely six minutes for Pepple to put Argyle in front, with the Canadian tucking it in from two yards after goalkeeper Nathan Baxter had saved Ronan Curtis’ header.

A scrappy opening goal it may have been, but it settled Argyle down and the second goal arrived a little over three minutes later. Curtis was one of a few who failed to make an impact in the first half, but after playing a part in Pepple’s goal he provided a superb first-time cross for Evans to head into the far corner.

With Argyle pressing for a third, news of Reading’s equaliser came through and it was all fun and games in the away end. A third goal didn’t come, but there weren’t any in the other end, so the points were safely on the bus back to Devon.

There weren’t any more in Reading’s goal either, so Argyle are top of the league for the first time since that glorious afternoon in May 2023. Can we dream of a similar story in a few months’ time?

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Hello and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.

Here are my notes from Saturday afternoon.

It’s frustrating, but it’s all OK

As disappointing as yesterday’s result was, it didn’t leave me feeling like there was too much to be concerned about. Given how well the team has played lately — four successive wins in all competitions prior to Saturday — you can expect players to have the odd off day. The problem for us was most of the team had it in the same game.

Burton deserve credit — their plan would have been to nick a goal and then dig in, and that’s how it played out. They would have seen that Oliver Irow has been one of our brightest sparks in recent weeks and they marked him out of the game. They did well to nullify Bim Pepple’s threat, albeit with referee Simon Mather turning a blind eye to the customary manhandling of the Canadian.

What was most odd about the performance was that it was such a big drop-off from recent weeks, and almost out of the blue. It felt flat from the first whistle, both on the pitch and in the stands, and given Argyle had the chance to end the afternoon as League One leaders, it was the opposite atmosphere to what you would have expected.

Nonetheless, I don’t think we should be losing too much sleep after that defeat. Although any home defeat, and one to a team that we beat 7-0 on aggregate last season, is far from ideal, there’s more than enough about this squad to prove at Leyton Orient next weekend that this was a one-off.

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Too many missed chances

It’s perhaps a bit harsh to be critical of a attack that had scored 15 goals in the four preceding games, but one area that needs a bit of work is composure in front of goal. As flat as the performance was yesterday, Argyle had enough chances to win the game and didn’t take them.

Bim Pepple had one big opportunity in each half — a free header in the first and a one-on-one in the second — and both should have hit the back of the net. Xavier Amaechi’s was perhaps the biggest of the lot when he fired over with only Burton keeper Corey Addai to beat, and Will Evans couldn’t keep his header on target in the first half when he had the freedom of the Barn Park penalty box.

There’s no doubting we didn’t do enough to win the game yesterday, but defeat could so easily have been avoided had any of these golden chances gone in, and we’d be talking about a lucky point (or three) rather than a dismal defeat.

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Burton’s goal a perfect storm

The winning goal was a bit of a nightmare from an Argyle point of view, and I wonder whether Tom Cleverley may have regrets on how it came about. The Argyle boss had swapped out the left side moments before Jack Armer’s strike secured the points for the Brewers.

Caleb Watts and Joe Edwards came on to replace the left side of Irow and Matty Sorinola, with Harding moving across to left back. Harding and Watts had only a few moments together down the left before Burton began an attack down the very same side, and a few moments after that it was 0-1.

Not only that, but Argyle were also down to ten for that moment with Pleguezuelo on the sidelines after being treated for an injury. It looked as if he was going to make way for Mathias Ross at the same time as Watts and Edwards came on, but Cleverley delayed that particular change until after the goal had been scored.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but had he made that change at the same time as the others, and kept 11 green shirts on the pitch, then maybe that goal is prevented?

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Tom Cleverley’s side came into Saturday’s game on a run of four wins in a row in all competitions and four wins in their last five in the league — a run that had taken them to the giddy heights of third in League One.

With only four matches taking place due to international call-ups, Argyle knew that victory at home to Burton Albion — a team the Pilgrims had beaten 3-0 and 4-0 last season — would take them to the even giddier heights of the top of the table.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

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The first half produced perhaps the most forgettable 45 minutes of the season from an Argyle perspective. The performance was flat and the atmosphere inside Home Park mirrored what was on the pitch.

There was not a single shot on target from either side, with Argyle’s best chances falling to frontmen Bim Pepple and Will Evans. Brewers gloveman Corey Addai failed to claim Ronan Curtis’ cross and Pepple nodded it over at the far post, while a short corner routine gave Evans a free header at goal, but he powered it into the smattering of Burton fans behind.

Between those two efforts was Argyle’s biggest scare at the other end. There was a whiff of a foul when Kain Adom shrugged off Julio Pleguezuelo in the Pilgrims’ penalty area, but Alex Mitchell rescued his defensive partner with a brilliant, potentially goal-saving, last-ditch block.

Hopes of a reaction at the start of the second half were quickly checked with skipper Wes Harding needing to produce another goal-saving challenge to deny Jack Armer within two minutes of the restart, with Charlie Webster shooting over from the resulting corner.

It didn’t get any better and Argyle’s inability to rouse themselves inevitably led to a Burton goal. Raphael Borges Rodrigues danced past Harding on the left side and laid the ball off to Caylan Vickers. His shot was well saved by Murphy Cooper but Armer followed up and his powerful strike proved too much for Mitchell on the line.

Argyle finally began to wake up from their seventy-minute slumber but the quality in the final third was still sorely lacking. Caleb Watts, introduced from the bench 15 minutes earlier, had a header saved before Pepple finally broke free of the defence and bore down on goal. With only Addai to beat, his shot wasn’t clean and the visiting keeper gathered the effort.

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Then came the best chance of all. Two substitutes combined with Bradley Ibrahim threading a brilliant ball through to Xavier Amaechi who did the hard bit and beat the defender to the ball, but with the goal at his mercy, he contrived to drive the ball over the bar and into the Devonport End.

Argyle continued to push for an equaliser but it never felt like it was coming and Burton saw the game out. It probably turned out exactly how Gary Bowyer’s side had hoped it would. For the hosts, this was not in the script.

It could have been the day that Argyle climbed to the League One summit. Instead, it was a missed opportunity. But while the result was disappointing, this was also the worst performance of the season so far.

With a week to dwell on this defeat before we head to Leyton Orient, let’s hope this was just the off day to end all off days.

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Are you still basking in Saturday’s win at Doncaster? Good news, I’m going to dig into it a little more. In today’s edition, I’m taking a closer look at three talking points that arose from our win in Yorkshire.

Cleverley shows game-changing ability

“Some people may have viewed this a positive away point today, but it’s just not in my nature. I went to win the game with the substitutes and ultimately they have to go out there and deliver it, and they did.”

Those were Tom Cleverley’s words to Argyle TV following Saturday’s game. At 1-1, a point away from home may have felt sufficient, but Cleverley wanted more. He brought Caleb Watts, Owen Oseni and Alex Hartridge on, and all three had a hand in at least one of Argyle’s second and third goals.

It was a particularly effective string to former Argyle boss Steven Schumacher’s bow during the 101 campaign in 2022/23. I lost count of how many times he made substitutions or tactical tweaks that turned a defeat or a draw into a win, and it took us all the way to the Championship.

Expecting Cleverley to achieve the same outcome is ambitious, if not a tad unfair, but there will be many occasions this season where he will need to make the right calls at the right time to turn a point into three, and he showed at the weekend that he can do just that.

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Watts reminds us of his quality

It’s fair to say Caleb Watts has had his ups and downs during his spell at Home Park. He sparkled on his debut at the start of last season, scoring Argyle’s goal in a 3-1 defeat at home to Barnsley on the opening day of 2025/26, and it gave the Green Army a glimpse of what was to come.

Only, it hasn’t come anywhere near as often as we, or he, would have liked. Having signed for the club while Miron Muslic was still in charge, the 24-year-old has been one of several victims of Cleverley’s shift to a 4-4-2 during last season, and this tactical shift, plus time in the treatment room, limited him to 21 starts last year.

Another injury prevented him from playing any role in pre-season, and when Cleverley strongly intimated that one of him or fellow number tens Xavier Amaechi and Michael Baidoo would probably have to leave in the summer, it felt like his days as a Pilgrim might be numbered.

But his 30-minute substitute appearance at Doncaster on Saturday reminded everyone — Cleverley included — just why so many of us were excited by his early endeavours last season. Within a few minutes of coming on he fizzed a shot inches wide of the post before teeing up Bim Pepple to restore Argyle’s advantage.

He then grabbed a deserved goal for his efforts, showing composure to steer Pepple’s pass past the two defenders between him and the Rovers net to clinch was proved to be the winning goal.

Watts’ challenge during his time as a Green has been to turn these bright flashes into a sustained spell of form — could this be his time?

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Suddenly, the squad looks strong

In the last couple of seasons it has felt like Argyle’s treatment room has been at or near capacity at all at times. However, save for a couple of longer-term injuries to Michael Baidoo and Malachi Boateng, there is something close to a clean bill of health at Home Park — and it showed on Saturday.

Owen Oseni was the latest player to return to availability following his four-week spell on the sidelines, and his appearance on the bench gave Argyle something they have hardly had this season, a striking option amongst the substitutes.

And it paid off. Oseni’s fresh legs from the bench gave the Pilgrims something different, and it yielded two goals in the next ten minutes. Rather than relying on Pepple and Will Evans up top for another 90 minutes, Oseni could reignite his partneship with the former while the latter moved out wide.

It’s not just Oseni, either. Watts’ return to fitness gives Cleverley an alternative in the final third, while Bradley Ibrahim offered relief to the midfield duo of Tyreeq Bakinson and Harvey White. With Jack MacKenzie hopefully a week or two away from returning, we’re finally at the point where Cleverley is having to leave players out of the squad.

And that is a good thing. For too long the matchday squad has picked itself due to lack of options. Now, squad places are at a premium and standards will have to stay high among the players if they are to keep their spots. That will only be a good thing for Argyle’s hopes of success this season.

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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Good morning, and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.

Well, that was better, wasn’t it?

While the midweek trip to Leicester ended in disappointment, it was a much happier visit to Doncaster yesterday afternoon with Argyle recording their second win of the League One campaign.

Here’s your matchday review.

After surviving an early scare when Brandon Hanlan dragged a shot narrowly wide, Argyle took the lead with a lovely move just before the half-hour. Bim Pepple laid the ball off for Oliver Irow to shoot, with Rovers keeper Tommy Simkin parrying the strike to the feet of Will Evans who could hardly miss from six yards.

Pepple thought he’d doubled the lead when he expertly volleyed in from close range but the flag was up for a debatable offside decision, and that decision took on extra significance with Rovers levelling shortly after the break. Matty Sorinola brought down Owen Bailey as he tried to clear a loose ball and referee Matt Corlett pointed to the spot, with Alfie May powering his penalty high to Murphy Cooper’s left to level the score.

Tom Cleverley turned to his bench to inject some extra energy and his decisions paid off with Argyle restoring their lead midway through the second half. Caleb Watts was one of the changes and he slipped a pass through to Pepple, who stroked the ball past Simkin.

With an assist to his name, Watts duly added his name to the scoresheet as well to extend Argyle’s lead in the 83rd minute. Alex Hartridge had been on the pitch a matter of moments when he headed the ball towards Pepple who, under pressure from Simkin, nodded it down for Watts to steer past the two covering defenders and into the net.

It wasn’t a completely clear run to the winning line, with Sean Grehan heading in at the back post in the fifth minute of six added on to make the final few moments unnecessarily nervy from an Argyle point of view. But, Corlett blew the whistle shortly after to signal the Pilgrims’ first away win of the season.

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Tom Cleverley’s reaction

Immediate thoughts on the result:

“I felt after the third goal for us it could have been 4- or 5-1 and it probably should have been, so we’re disappointed to concede a soft goal towards the end but I’m thrilled with the result and the mentality.

“To suffer Tuesday’s setback, which was a big opportunity missed, and suffer a setback in-game today where whether it was a penalty or not — those decisions are not going for us at the minute.

“Then, to come back from an in-game setback, ultimately with the substitutes winning us the game today and their impact, is really pleasing because the mentality of the players is strong.”

On Caleb Watts’ impact from the bench:

“His intensity, his understanding of what the game needs [is excellent]. He is the best that we’ve got in the box in terms of sniffing a goal out. For want of a better word, he’s horrible in the box. He would throw anyone to the ground or out of the way to score a goal. He was excellent.”

On the attacking subs made at 1-1:

“I think that shows my mentality with what I think about draws. Some people may have viewed this a positive away point today, but it’s just not in my nature. I went to win the game with the substitutes and ultimately they have to go out there and deliver it, and they did.”

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The Bigger Picture

Sheffield Wednesday are the new League One leaders after they won at Peterborough to earn their third successive win — they’ve also won all three of their away games this season.

Huddersfield Town would have kept their place at the top had they beaten Notts County, but Oliver Cooper cancelled out Marcus Harness’ opener for the Terriers.

Leicester City’s bumpy start to life in the third tier got its biggest jolt yet with fellow relegated side Oxford United putting four past the Foxes on their own patch. The former Premier League champions would be bottom of the league had Argyle beaten them in midweek.

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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Good morning, and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.

Well, that was a frustrating night in Leicester last night. We’ll cover the immediate fallout from the defeat to the Foxes in today’s briefing.

Leicester suffered an early blow when an accidental collision between goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk and Ronan Curtis inside the opening minute forced a very early end to the Foxes custodian’s evening.

City showed their attacking quality with former Argyle loanee Bobby De Cordova-Reid twice coming close, but looked vulnerable at the back with Will Evans twice lacking the composure to find a teammate after Argyle pinched the ball in the final third.

And the five minutes of added time for Stolarczyk’s injury proved crucial as the Foxes finally burst into life. Will Alves’ shot took a heavy touch off Alex Mitchell’s leg and flew over Murphy Cooper to give the hosts the lead.

And within two minutes it was two. Sammy Braybrooke took aim and Cooper could only push his low effort to the feet of Harry Howell, who stroked it in from close range.

Argyle improved after the break with substitute Bim Pepple and Alex Hartridge forcing saves out of the hosts’ replacement keeper Alex McCarthy.

Matty Sorinola struck the post from range and Caleb Watts brought a fine stop out of McCarthy late on, but it never really felt like the Pilgrims were going to dig their way out of this one.

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Tom Cleverley’s verdict

“It’s an overwhelming feeling of opportunity missed. I think if you can come anywhere and turn the ball over and create turnovers in their box five or six times in the first 40 minutes you expect it to end in goals. We got the press bit right but we unfortunately didn’t get the transition bit right and not even close.

“I say we’ll work on it but we don’t have any time to work on it. That’s the nature of the beast in League One. They’re a group of players that desperately need some training pitch work and we just won’t have that time until next week.

“It’s an opportunity missed, and even then for a large period in the middle of the game we didn’t show anywhere near our own best version and we still could’ve scored three in the last ten minutes. So, massive opportunity missed.”

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The Bigger Picture

Huddersfield are the new League One leaders after Joe Taylor’s fourth and fifth of the campaign helped the Terriers to a 3-1 win over relegated Oxford.

But it was more bad news for new boys Bromley, who slipped to a second five-goal defeat in as many games, with the Ravens going down 5-0 at home to Leyton Orient.

Sheffield Wednesday, who beat Bromley 7-2 at the weekend, were on the winning side again at Wycombe, while Doncaster, who visit Argyle on Saturday, drew at home to Notts County.

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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Good morning, and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.

That was much more like it. Argyle produced their best performance of the campaign so far as they made light work of a Bradford side that hadn’t even conceded a goal this season.

Let’s look back at a lovely afternoon.

Despite the Bantams arriving at Home Park as the early pacesetters with four wins out of four in all competitions and not a single goal against, this was about as comfortable a win as Argyle will have all season.

The early signs were good with Tyreeq Bakinson drilling a shot narrowly wide, and the chances kept coming with Bim Pepple and Alex Mitchell nodding over from good deliveries before Will Evans lashed the ball over the bar.

The worry was that Argyle wouldn’t convert their dominance into an advantage on the scoreboard, but the breakthrough came just before the break when an Oliver Irow cross found its way to Julio Pleguezuelo, starting in place of the injured Mathias Ross, who volleyed it past Bantams goalkeeper Jon McCracken.

To grab a goal before the break was excellent, but to grab a second just after it was even sweeter. Harvey White had one effort disallowed in first-half stoppage time, but he got his moment five minutes into the second half, with his low strike from distance taking a small deflection to steer it past McCracken.

And from that point it was a cruise to the finish line for the Greens with Bradford offering little resistance. Critics would suggest that the size of the victory should have been greater, but a win is a win, and Argyle are truly up and running now.

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A good week for the new signings

If the opening-day defeat to Stockport and, to a lesser extent, the 1-1 draw at Wycombe a week ago demonstrated that Argyle urgently needed reinforcements, then Saturday’s win showed that Cleverley and director of football Derek Adams have done well in plugging the gaps in the squad.

The season-long loan signings of winger Oliver Irow and central midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson — from Tottenham and Leyton Orient respectively — were confirmed last Monday and the pair impressed in the Carabao Cup loss to Coventry, with Irow scoring Argyle’s first goal in the 4-2 defeat at Home Park.

Irow has already shown to be a consistent threat out wide in his two games in green, and his crossing ability looks to be a big weapon in Argyle’s armoury for the rest of the season. One of his deliveries yielded the opening goal, with his cross from the right falling for Pleguezuelo to volley into the bottom corner.

Bakinson arrived as a replacement for Brendan Wiredu, but has come into the starting line-up following Malachi Boateng’s unfortunate injury last weekend, and the Orient loanee had another good game alongside Harvey White. Early signs show that this could be a strong, dynamic partnership in the centre of the park, with both players not afraid to get forward.

White has already showed his keenness to have a shot, and got a deserved first Argyle goal in the second half, but Bakinson could have scored the opener when his effort whistled narrowly past McCracken’s post in the opening exchanges. Having an attack-minded midfield pair could be vital in spreading the goals around the team.

Perhaps 4-4-2 is still the way to go

The defeat to Stockport exposed the flaws in Cleverley’s preferred 4-4-2 system, with the Hatters ripping through Argyle’s two-man midfield with ease as they ran out comfortable 3-1 winners on the opening weekend.

The midweek defeat to Coventry offered more optimism with the 4-2-3-1, so it was slightly disappointing to see Cleverley revert to a 4-4-2 for Saturday. However, the excellent performance certainly vindicated the Argyle head coach’s decision.

Irow and Ronan Curtis were excellent in the wide midfield roles with the latter enjoying a return to the kind of form he showed in the second half of last season. As mentioned above, Bakinson and White performed well in central midfield, and Will Evans is slowly growing into his role as part of a striking pair with Bim Pepple.

The Stockport game told us that an alternative setup was sorely needed, but Saturday showed that Cleverley is sticking with 4-4-2 for a reason. Perhaps, he and Argyle have now got a solid Plan A and Plan B for the rest of the campaign.

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Three’s the magic number in defence

Mathias Ross was a somewhat surprise omission from the starting line-up, with Cleverley stating before the game that he needed a small procedure after a facial injury got infected, and that he should be fine for Tuesday.

It meant that Alex Mitchell, back from injury himself, partnered Julio Pleguezuelo in the heart of defence on Saturday, making it the third league game in a row that Argyle have started with a new central defensive partnership.

That’s never a particularly good thing — ideally, you have a consistent partnership in central defence — but it hasn’t seemed to affect the Pilgrims, with the latest defensive duo dealing with almost everything Bradford threw at them, which admittedly wasn’t a huge amount.

Indeed, they performed well at both ends of the pitch, with Pleguezuelo opening the scoring with a well-executed volley and Mitchell a constant penalty-box threat at set pieces.

The question will now be whether Ross comes back into the team for Leicester tomorrow, but it’s an excellent problem for Cleverley to have.

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Matt Friday
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Good morning, and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.

Argyle are off the mark for the 2026/27 season. It could and maybe should have been three points, but the Pilgrims took what is hopefully the first of many points to come from their trip to Buckinghamshire on Saturday.

Today, we’ll pore over the 1-1 draw at Wycombe and what needs to be done between now and the end of the transfer window.

A strong start to Saturday’s trip to Adams Park would have been just what Tom Cleverley was looking for after last week’s home humbling, but instead he had to deal with the loss of ever-present midfielder Malachi Boateng to a knee ligament injury just four minutes into proceedings.

Despite this, Argyle got a foothold in the game with Ronan Curtis shooting just over the bar before Will Evans fired the Pilgrims in front at the end of a lovely team move. Xavier Amaechi, Bradley Ibrahim and Harvey White were all involved before Evans stroked the ball beyond former Argyle custodian Conor Hazard.

Argyle could, and perhaps should, have been two goals up at half-time with Evans doing brilliantly to control a Julio Pleguezuelo pass with his chest and fire it past Hazard, but Argyle celebrations were cut short by the assistant’s flag for offside.

Wycombe stepped things up after the break with Jack Grimmer shooting wide before Mathias Ross pulled out a goal-saving tackle to deny Cauley Woodrow, while another flag spared Murphy Cooper’s blushes after he spilled a Daniel Harvie shot at the feet of Emre Tezgel, who tucked the ball in from an offside position.

But the home side’s persistence eventually yielded an equaliser with 15 minutes to play. Ewan Henderson whipped in a free-kick from the left flank and Connor Taylor rose highest to nod it past Cooper.

Argyle were out on their feet at this point and now hanging on for the draw, and although a late chance for Harvie left hearts in mouths momentarily, the Pilgrims held out for their first point of the campaign.

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A fine first goal for Evans

Critics will argue that Will Evans should have opened his Argyle account by now after passing up some excellent opportunities against Exeter and Stockport, but the summer signing from Mansfield has broken his duck now — and he did it in some style.

He finished off a superb team move midway through the first half, with White, Amaechi and Ibrahim all involved in the build-up. That trio put together a fine passing move down the right side to slice through the Wanderers defence, with Ibrahim playing the decisive final pass to square it for Evans, who did the rest.

Receiving the ball in the centre of the box with his back to goal, Evans took a touch, swivelled on the spot and curled the ball beyond the reach of the outstretched Hazard. A brilliant finish, and the Argyle supporters behind the goal had the perfect view.

It’s been a challenging start to life as an Argyle player for Evans. Coming in as a de-facto replacement for Lorent Tolaj isn’t easy, and missing some big chances already this season won’t have helped to settle him. Hopefully that goal gives him a much-needed shot of confidence.

Should Evans have had another?

Buoyed by his first goal in green (orange), Evans had the ball in the net a second time in the final minute of the first half, only for the assistant’s flag to rule it out for offside — but should it have been ruled out?

Evans produced another bit of individual excellence to control Julio Pleguezuelo’s lofted pass with his chest, before shrugging off a defender and steering the ball past Hazard and into the bottom corner.

The second picture of the three above shows the exact moment Pleguezuelo connected with the ball, and it appears as though Evans had avoided straying beyond the final defender, which looks like the number three, Harvie.

It’s tough to get a definitive view, and the angle of the footage isn’t perfect, but on the stills above it does seem harsh on Evans and Argyle. Going two goals up right on the stroke of half-time would been very significant, and would most likely have changed the course of the second half.

Again, though, it’s an excellent bit of skill from Evans — and a fine pass from Plegezuelo — so hopefully this and his first goal will give him the confidence going forward.

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Two new faces coming — more needed?

Cleverley confirmed after the match that two new signings are set to be completed between now and the Carabao Cup second round tie at home to Coventry City tomorrow night. This is good news and sorely needed, but is it enough?

One is a midfielder to replace Brendan Wiredu, who signed for League Two side Salford City on Friday, and rumours on PASOTI suggest that it could be former Argyle man Tyreeq Bakinson of Leyton Orient. But with Boateng limping out of Saturday’s game, is there a need for another central midfielder if he is out of action long-term?

The other signing is a wide player, which has been a requirement ever since Michael Baidoo hobbled out of the pre-season draw with Bristol City. Ideally, this will be someone who can immediately come into the starting line-up on the left of midfield, with current incumbent Amaechi not entirely suited to the role.

The need for extra numbers was stark in the final minutes of Saturday’s game. With two subs required for Boateng and Pleguezuelo, who came off with cramp, and with Caleb Watts coming on for Amaechi in a separate tactical switch, there were no opportunities left for Cleverley to make his final two changes.

The squad is getting lighter and lighter as injuries mount, and those who were out on the pitch were out on their feet in the final stages on Saturday. On another day, that would have cost the Pilgrims a goal, and a point.

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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Is tomorrow the day Argyle’s season truly begins?

Last week’s League One opener didn’t go to plan and the Pilgrims are on the back foot already. But, there are still 45 games to turn it around — let’s hope the charge towards promotion gets going now.

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It’s only the second league game of the season and already there is a little bit of pressure on the Pilgrims. Last week’s chastening opening-day defeat at home to Stockport was an eye-opener for all the wrong reasons.

An improved performance is imperative, but getting a result is just as important. Should Argyle taste defeat again, then minds will be cast back to the start of last season when Tom Cleverley’s side lost each of the first four games. The best way to nip that narrative in the bud is to go out and deliver on Saturday and collect the points.

Argyle’s first away day of the season takes them to a familiar foe in Wycombe Wanderers. Adams Park has been the venue for a few tough afternoons and evenings in recent years. There was the League Two play-off semi-final defeat in 2015, a 1-0 loss in Argyle’s last League One relegation season in 2019 and an FA Cup first round exit just last season.

On the flip side, there was a narrow win in Derek Adams’ first season in charge back in 2015 and another one in the League One title-winning campaign under Steven Schumacher, but perhaps the biggest of of the lot came in December last year. A 1-0 victory on a cold Tuesday night sparked a three-match winning streak and a run of only one defeat in ten games as the Greens well and truly turned their campaign around.

Tomorrow’s game might not end up being as prophetic, but a win — or at least a draw and a good performance — should do wonders for the morale and confidence of the team and the fanbase.

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A wide midfield conundrum and a centre-back switch?

Cleverley has a few decisions to make this weekend. Assuming he retains his preferred 4-4-2 and doesn’t switch to the 4-2-3-1 that Argyle finished the Stockport game with, the question, once again, is about the wide midfield roles.

Last week, Xavier Amaechi was dropped in favour of Matty Sorinola, with Ronan Curtis moving to the left. But, Amaechi was one of Argyle’s better players when he replaced Sorinola midway through the second half, so has he done enough to earn a recall?

The next question is at centre-back. Alex Mitchell was withdrawn at half-time against Stockport with a knee tendon issue and Cleverley said that his minutes will need to be managed over the next couple of games.

That may mean that Julio Pleguezuelo, who replaced Mitchell on Saturday, comes into the line-up tomorrow. If Mitchell does start, then that might be a substitution that we can expect to happen later on.

Some good news on the injury front is that Caleb Watts will be back in the squad tomorrow. Watts hasn’t featured in a match, competitive or otherwise, since the end of last season, so is unlikely to play a major part against Wycombe. Although it’s not his natural position, he’ll provide a striking option from the bench, which is something Cleverley didn’t have last week.

Watts could be occupying Brendan Wiredu’s spot on the bench amid strong rumours linking the midfielder to League Two side Salford City. When asked about the rumour in yesterday’s press conference, Cleverley admitted he could be a player that could leave the club, so there appears to be a fair chance of that deal happening.

Cleverley also confirmed that Jack MacKenzie should be available for selection from next week, which will be a big boost to the defence. It means Alex Hartridge should keep his place on the left side for tomorrow and against Coventry in midweek.

Predicted XI:

Cooper; Harding, Ross, Pleguezuelo, Hartridge; Curtis, Boateng, White, Amaechi; Pepple, Evans.

Know the Opposition: Wycombe Wanderers

There was something of a similarity between Argyle and Wycombe in terms of how they fared in League One last season. A slow start cost Mike Dodds his job with the Chairboys down in 19th towards the end of September.

Michael Duff took over at Adams Park and led them up the table and firmly into play-off contention. However, unlike the Pilgrims, their season tailed off spectacularly, losing seven of their last 11 games to finish in 11th — 12 points off the top six and ten behind Argyle.

The teams met three times last season, with Wycombe winning the FA Cup first round tie at Adams Park in November before Argyle triumphed 1-0 in the league at the same venue a month later, before Bim Pepple’s stoppage-time goal rescued a 1-1 draw at Home Park at the end of December.

A familiar face is set to don the gloves for Wycombe tomorrow, with former Argyle number one Conor Hazard joining the Chairboys after turning down a new contract at Home Park. He arrives alongside experienced centre-half Steve Cook, with the 35-year-old having more than 150 Premier League appearances under his belt.

Cauley Woodrow is a new signing of sorts, with the forward making a permanent move from Luton after scoring nine goals while on loan from the Hatters last season.

Other key players for Wycombe, who generally employ a 4-2-3-1, include versatile midfielder Fred Onyedinma, who enjoyed the best season of his career in terms of goals, finding the net ten times in League One in 2025/26.

Wycombe come into this game off the back of a 1-1 draw at Blackpool in their opening league game, having lost 2-1 at home to Stevenage in the Carabao Cup first round the week before.

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Next edition: Monday’s Weekend Review.

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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Good morning, and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.

Well, that wasn’t what we had in mind.

Five days after the dramatic Devon derby triumph, the plan would have been to use that as a platform to build some momentum at the start of the league campaign. Instead, Saturday’s result was about as disappointing as it gets.

Today, we’ll pick the bones out of the Pilgrims’ defeat to Stockport, what it tells us about this Argyle side and where they stand after the opening weekend.

Optimism was high after the Carabao Cup victory over Exeter, but it didn’t take long for reality to bite. Thirteen minutes, to be precise. That’s when Stockport’s Jack Diamond drove down the right flank and bore down on goal, and with the Argyle defence sitting off, he cut inside and fired off a shot that Matty Sorinola could only divert past the helpless Murphy Cooper in the Argyle goal.

Argyle were on the ropes and the Hatters took full advantage. Alex Mitchell lost possession on the halfway line and Diamond found himself in oceans of space down the right again, with Wes Harding only managing to clear his low cross against the leg of Kyle Wootton and into the net.

The hosts settled down a little bit afterwards and new signing Will Evans missed a huge opportunity to bag his first goal in green when he headed over from Malachi Boateng’s cross. That swung the momentum back towards the visitors and Cooper was called upon to prevent both Wootton and Diamond from extending Stockport’s lead before the break.

The resistance didn’t last long, though, and it was 3-0 a few minutes into the second half. Ryan Glover received the ball on the right and with Argyle sitting off again, he cut inside and drilled the ball into the far corner.

Stockport appeared to declare at this point, and that, coupled with a shift from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, allowed Argyle to get a foothold. Xavier Amaechi came off the bench and pulled a goal back with a chest and half-volley into the bottom corner after Harvey White’s corner was only half cleared.

Things could have gotten interesting had Brendan Wiredu’s close-range tap-in — his first touch after coming off the bench — not been chalked off for an apparent foul on Hatters goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff, but Argyle deserved nothing from this game.

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Are we paying for pre-season?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but is Argyle’s pre-season schedule a reason for a slow start to another campaign? For the third year running, the Pilgrims have put in a disappointing performance as they lost their opening match (lost 4-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in 2024, lost 3-1 to Barnsley in 2025).

It’s not going to be the only reason, of course. In the two previous summers Argyle have had new managers with new systems. But this summer was, in theory, a far more settled one. One constant among the last three summers has been a lightweight pre-season line-up, which begs the question: is it leaving Argyle undercooked?

Argyle’s pre-season schedule tends to follow the same pattern every year, with the bulk of games coming against local non-league clubs like Plymouth Parkway, Truro City and Torquay United. The only higher-ranked team Argyle have faced in the last three summers are Bristol City, who have visited Home Park in each of the last two years.

Other than that, and two warm weather training camp matches against German side Eintracht Braunschweig and Orlando Pirates of South Africa, all of Argyle’s other pre-season fixtures have been against non-league opposition. These matches are often about fitness, but they need to prepare the team as well. Are these games going to prepare the team for the rigours of League One?

One theory is that clubs no longer want to make the journey down to Plymouth for a friendly. Frankly, that is fair enough. Most other teams have plenty of other options that are much closer, and many can probably get a flight somewhere else for less hassle.

If this is the case, then do Argyle need to offer to travel to other teams instead? It’s more travelling for a team that already does more of it than most others, and it’ll cost money — but should the club consider it an investment in the team? Put a bit of extra money towards better preparation, and if that turns even one early-season defeat into a win then that could be the difference between making the play-offs or missing out.

Time to ditch 4-4-2?

It would be a big call to drop something that served Argyle so well last season. Cleverley’s switch to 4-4-2 was a pivotal moment in the campaign, with results taking a turn for the better soon afterwards, but was that upturn in form solely down to the formation anyway?

A League One side can surely find success with more than one formation, and Saturday showed that having two in midfield has some serious flaws. When Boateng and White pressed high, it left vast amounts of space between them and the defence that Stockport exploited time and time again.

When Cleverley switched to 4-2-3-1, adding that extra man in midfield, the team instantly looked better. One caveat here is Stockport also dropping their intensity, having already effectively secured the points. But, the team were no longer outnumbered in the middle and had greater control because of it.

It’s also far more suited to the current squad. Cleverley has mentioned several times that the squad has too many number 10s — namely Amaechi, Caleb Watts and Michael Baidoo — that don’t fit in a 4-4-2. Also, Ibrahim is more suited to a more advanced midfield role, and Tegan Finn and Freddie Issaka are more are more suited to the more attack-focused wide roles behind the striker, than the wide roles in a 4-4-2.

And, it would ease the ongoing striking issue. Argyle only have three senior strikers on the books, and it’s currently two with Owen Oseni injured, so if you play with two up front then you’re needing both to play 90 minutes. In a 4-2-3-1, one striker starts and you have at least one alternative on the bench if you need to change things. Right now, Argyle don’t have this option.

Even if Cleverley still feels that 4-4-2 is the way forward, Argyle still need a Plan B for matches like this, and 4-2-3-1 could be it.

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A way back for Amaechi?

Life comes at you fast, and this weekend may have been a bit of a rollercoaster for Xavier Amaechi. He started it on the bench after losing his place in the starting line-up to Matty Sorinola. At that point, you may have wondered if the writing was on the wall for Amaechi’s Argyle career.

Being overlooked in favour of another player who isn’t a wide midfielder has got to sting, and with Argyle needing to ship out players before they can bring any more in, could that be the motivation for Amaechi to find a new home before the end of the transfer window?

But, fast forward to 5pm on Saturday and his situation looks brighter. He replaced Sorinola just before the hour with Argyle already 3-0 down by this point, but he had a bigger impact on the game and even scored Argyle’s consolation. His effort, a chest and volley into the corner, did take a deflection, but his original strike was still on target.

He could have ended up with two goals, had he not scuffed a shot wide of Whatmuff’s left post ten minutes earlier. But maybe that goal could be the spark that he needs to reignite his Argyle career — could it be the confidence boost he sorely needed?

And, as mentioned above, a more permanent shift in formation to a 4-2-3-1 would suit Amaechi down to the ground. He has been one of the big victims of Cleverley’s successful shift to a 4-4-2 last season as he’s much more of an inside forward, cutting in from the right and getting a shot away, than a traditional wide midfielder that hugs the touchline and whips crosses in.

He could also play as the number ten in the middle of that attacking trio behind the striker. Suddenly, he’d go from being somebody that didn’t fit any position to being somebody that could play in three of them.

The Bigger Picture

AFC Wimbledon’s heavy 3-0 defeat at Huddersfield, who had former Argyle man Bali Mumba sent off after an hour, keeps Argyle off the foot of the table.

Bromley marked their first ever League One fixture in style, with summer signing Victor Adeboyejo scoring the only goal in their win at Barnsley.

In fact, none of the four promoted sides lost on the opening day. Notts County came from behind to draw with Leicester, MK Dons let a lead slip in stoppage time as they drew at Oxford, and Cambridge survived a Wigan fightback as they won 3-2.

But the result of the opening day may well go to Luton, who roared back from 3-1 down at Reading to win 4-3, courtesy of a Gideon Kodua winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Jack Marriott even bagged a hat-trick for the Royals, but it ultimately meant nothing.

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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

It all starts here. Another nine-month marathon is about to begin.

It’s been a much more settled summer on and off the pitch, a Devon derby victory over Exeter has started the season with a bang, and there is an air of optimism and excitement with a new league campaign about to begin.

What could go wrong?

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It’s only one game, but it could mean so much more than that. How tomorrow goes could well set the tone for the next nine months.

The opening weekend has gone reasonably well for Argyle in recent seasons — they’ve won three and lost three of their opening league games since 2020. All three wins came on home soil (versus Huddersfield in 2023, Barnsley in 2022 and Blackpool in 2020), but the chastening 3-1 defeat to Barnsley 12 months ago still lingers in the memory.

Back to the present day and the first game of 2026/27 sees last year’s beaten play-off finalists Stockport County make the trip to Home Park. That fact alone means this should be a tough opener, but it’s especially tough to call given the changes up in Greater Manchester, with a new manager in Jim McNulty and a raft of incomings and outgoings at Edgeley Park.

While the Hatters began their season with defeat on penalties to Doncaster Rovers, Argyle got the dream start to the new term with that derby-day win over Exeter on Monday night. Let’s hope the euphoria of that night under the lights can carry on into the weekend.

Derby bragging rights aside, tomorrow is when it really matters and a stronger start is an absolute must this season. The Greens were still without a point after the first four games of the 2025/26 campaign — that can’t happen again this year if they are to live up to some pundits’ pre-season predictions (more on that in a moment).

A win — or a draw at the very least — and a positive performance is the order of the day. Fingers crossed.

Are Argyle the title favourites?

That’s a big question. Co-hosts of the excellent Not The Top 20 podcast, George Elek and Ali Maxwell are probably the leading authorities on the EFL — and they’ve tipped Argyle to win League One.

And they’re not the only ones. Opta’s ‘supercomputer’ has projected that both Argyle and Luton Town have a 14 per cent chance of winning the league and a 24.9 per cent chance of automatic promotion. George and Ali also had Luton completing their top two.

This may have caught some Argyle fans by surprise. It is perhaps slightly optimistic, with 43.3 per cent of voters on a PASOTI poll predicting that the Pilgrims will finish in the play-offs. Compare that to only 2.3 per cent of voters believing they will be champions, although 29.6 per cent did predict automatic promotion (i.e. a second-place finish).

My own feeling, at this moment in time, is that somewhere in the play-offs is most likely. Right now, the top two feels a bit out of reach, although anything’s possible if the Greens come close to replicating their form from the second half of last season.

The remarkable end to last season was the basis of George and Ali’s prediction, and I can understand the logic of that. Both Argyle and Luton finished the 2025/26 campaign incredibly strongly, and their squads are much more stable when compared to the unknown quantities of relegated duo Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday, who are the bookies’ favourites to win League One.

But, I still think Leicester are the team to beat, regardless of their off-pitch woes. Although they’ve sold many of their high-earners from their Premier League days, their squad should still walk the division. If they start well, I can’t see anyone catching them.

But George and Ali were very nearly spot on with their prediction of Argyle to finish ninth last season, so who am I to argue?

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Who starts on the left?

With Argyle still looking rather light in the four attacking positions, the main question regarding the line-up for tomorrow’s opener is once again: who starts on the left flank?

Xavier Amaechi started on the left against Exeter and gradually grew into the game before being replaced by Matty Sorinola. He occupied the right side with Ronan Curtis switching to the left, before Freddie Issaka took that position for the final few minutes.

Of those four options, I’d say the likeliest is Amaechi getting another go from the start. While it wasn’t his finest game, there were certainly a few bright moments. It’s also worth remembering that it is an unfamiliar position for him, and he hasn’t had a proper run in the team since last August. This could be his chance.

There’s also the chance Cleverley could utilise his mid-game switch from the start and move Curtis to the left with Sorinola going on the right, but that’s more likely to remain a Plan B for now. Issaka’s lively five minutes against Exeter, in which he grabbed an assist, was promising, but not enough to warrant a starting spot.

Cleverley also confirmed in yesterday’s pre-match press conference that he has a decision to make regarding Caleb Watts, who has recovered from an ankle injury. Given he hasn’t been on the pitch since the end of last season, I’d imagine he won’t be risked for this one.

Predicted XI:

Cooper; Harding, Ross, Mitchell, Hartridge; Curtis, Boateng, White, Amaechi; Pepple, Evans.

Know the Opposition: Stockport County

Eight years ago, Stockport County were beginning their sixth consecutive campaign in the National League North. Fast forward to today, and the Hatters are preparing for their third crack at promotion to the Championship after back-to-back play-off defeats.

It’s been a wild ride for County in the last few years, but a glorious era came to an end in the summer and a new one is beginning. Dave Challinor, the man who led them to two of their three promotions from the sixth tier to the third, parted ways with the club after their play-off final defeat to Bolton Wanderers in May.

Tasked with taking the club to the next level is former Stockport defender Jim McNulty, fresh from leading Rochdale back to the EFL. Hes not the only new face at Edgeley Park, with the club waving goodbye to ten players and saying hello to ten more — including former Argyle goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond.

Three of their star men from last season are among those still at the club. Top scorer Kyle Wootton found the net 18 times in League One last term, centre-back Ethan Pye played every minute in the league, and experienced skipper Oliver Norwood provided eight goals and 11 assists from midfield.

The Hatters are still settling into a new system under McNulty, but they lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation in their Carabao Cup defeat to Doncaster Rovers last weekend, having spent the majority of last season playing a 3-4-3.

Last season saw the home team triumph in both meetings between Argyle and Stockport. A late Wootton goal gave them a 2-1 win at the end of January, with the Pilgrims prevailing 4-2 at Home Park back in September. A repeat of that result would do nicely.

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Next edition: Monday’s Weekend Review.

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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Good afternoon, and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.

There’s nothing quite like a derby-day win to start off the season. Today, we’ll pick the bones out of last night’s Carabao Cup first round victory over Exeter City, what it tells us about this Argyle side and where they stand after the first taste of competitive action.

Football is back, and life is good.

Home Park was packed on opening night and the reward for those in attendance was a fairly uninspiring first half, with clear-cut chances few and far between. Ronan Curtis should have converted Bim Pepple’s low cross but his tame shot was saved by Jack Bycroft. Pepple did manage to find the net when he headed in from Xavier Amaechi’s angled cross, but used his hand to control the ball in doing so.

Argyle’s best spell of game came in the second half when Pepple nodded over from Malachi Boateng’s cross, with new signing Will Evans missing the chance to bag a debut goal soon after when he latched onto Harry Kite’s weak backpass and blazed it over Bycroft’s bar.

As time ticked down, the feeling that this one was going to be settled by penalties began to grow. But then, a twist. Ethan Sutherland signed for Exeter on loan from Wolves earlier in the day and he entered the pitch in the 65th minute, and walked off it again in the 88th after receiving a second yellow card for pulling back Matty Sorinola.

The ten men of Exeter had two minutes plus an additional four of stoppage time to dig deep and take Argyle to penalties — but then came the breakthrough. Just after the fourth official’s board went up, Argyle won a corner. From it, Harvey White’s delivery found the head of Alex Hartridge, who found the net from three yards. Cue bedlam in the Devonport End.

And just like that, it was 2-0. Argyle sub Freddie Issaka chased down a lofted pass and beat the onrushing Bycroft to it. He laid the ball off to Pepple, who rolled it in to seal the win, and set up a second round tie at home to Coventry City.

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Hartridge is an Argyle hero already

I was going to use this section to talk about Argyle’s defence as a whole, but decided to focus on Hartridge instead because he ended up having a rather busy night — match-winner and Sky Sports’ player of the match on his competitive Argyle debut in the derby against his former side.

A native Devonian, Hartridge came through the Exeter youth system and made more than 170 appearances for the Grecians between 2016 and 2025. If you’re a City fan, he’s clearly been a big player for you in the past. Naturally, when you then see him line up against you for your biggest rivals, you’re going to find that a little tough to take.

However, the abuse Hartridge received from elements of the Exeter support crossed the line. He even said so himself after the game. Fans sang derogatory chants about his family, and one threw a lighter in his direction when he prepared to take a throw-in during the first half.

💬 Alex Hartridge to BBC Sport:

“I think it’s pretty clear that [the abuse] went too far.

“The rivalry and the game that this is is great because of the animosity between the fanbases and that’s why it’s so good, but it’s not nice to see it spill over and to be a part of that.

“It definitely gave me a bit more and it made that sweeter, the way it ended.”

But Hartridge certainly had the last laugh. With barely two minutes left to find a goal and avoid a penalty shootout that no member of the Green Army wanted, it was Hartridge who rose highest to nod White’s corner in at the back post.

Even besides the goal, it had been a very assured competitive debut for Argyle’s new man. Playing in arguably his secondary position of left-back in the continued absence of Jack MacKenzie, he gave plenty of glimpses of how solid an operator he can be in that role.

Argyle fans that saw the goalless draw with Bristol City in pre-season would have seen his mighty long throw, which got several outings on Monday night. Tom Cleverley and his staff still need to work out how to make proper use of that weapon, but it’s a weapon for sure.

He also demonstrated his crossing ability with three or four excellent deliveries that could have resulted in a goal or two on another night, and showed a turn of pace to keep up with City winger Andrew Oluwabori during a quick counter from the visitors.

And then there’s the goal. You don’t need to score the winner in the derby to endear yourself to your new fans, but it certainly helps.

Attacking options take another hit

Defensively, there is plenty to like about this Argyle squad, but issues remain in the attack. Cleverley talked about the lack of attacking options after the Bristol City game, and Evans has been brought in to help that. However, a fresh injury to Oseni — a thigh injury is set to keep him out for four weeks — means Argyle are back to square one.

Currently, there are four senior players to fill the four attacking positions: Curtis and Amaechi on the flanks, and Pepple and Evans up top. What that means is you get an issue like on Monday night — the game is goalless so you look to the bench for options, and there are none.

Oseni is out for the best part of a month and Michael Baidoo is out for roughly three months. Tegan Finn isn’t really a wide midfielder or a centre-forward but he’s still on the sidelines anyway, and the same goes for Caleb Watts, who has operated as the second striker in the past. Freddie Issaka looked lively in his cameo last night, but is he up to League One football?

There appears to be space left in the squad for one further addition, owing to the belief that Argyle are quite close to the Salary Cost Management Protocol limit for wages, which is 50 per cent of turnover for League One clubs.

Cleverley is targeting either a centre-forward or a wide player for that position, likely as a loan. What would make the most sense is someone who can cover both positions, so you would expect this to be the most likely outcome between now and the end of the transfer window.

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The perfect way to start a season?

Ultimately, victory in the first round of the Carabao Cup is going to have zero impact on how Argyle fans look back on the season in nine months’ time. But, it can have a big impact on the mood around the club and the fanbase at a crucial time of the year.

Had Argyle lost on Monday night, plenty would have shrugged and written it off as an irrelevant cup tie. But, plenty wouldn’t have done. Had Hartridge and Pepple not scored in stoppage time, and had Argyle lost the resulting shootout, talk would have turned to how they didn’t take their chances and how the inability to replace Lorent Tolaj’s goals is going to undermine Argyle’s promotion ambitions.

Or, the talk would have been about Cleverley’s failure to win a derby at the third time of asking. Is there something wrong with his management of these games? Is there a mentality problem within the squad?

Instead, Argyle’s win removes most of that noise. Sure, questions remain around the attack — I’ve already asked it myself — but it’s a good result that instantly lifts the mood and gives the club some momentum straight away. It was a very different story this time last year. Remember those four league defeats on the bounce?

The start of August is a time when all football fans should be optimistic, and starting the season with a Devon derby win, regardless of what competition it’s in, is about as good as it gets.

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Next edition: Friday’s Weekend Preview.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Here we go again — another new season is upon us.

It’s been a long wait for competitive football to return, and Argyle have had to wait a little bit longer than everyone else. Tom Cleverley’s side begin their 2026/27 campaign under the Home Park lights and in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday night.

Their opponents? You may know them…

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The wait is finally over. Precisely 100 days after Argyle’s play-off hopes were dashed at the end of last season, the Pilgrims will be back at Home Park to begin their new competitive campaign on Monday night. However, this is no ordinary start to the season.

The first visitors to the Theatre of Greens in 2026/27 are none other than Argyle’s nearest rivals, Exeter City. When does a fierce local derby ever get scheduled for the first week of the season? When it’s a Carabao Cup first round tie. A knock-on effect of the expanded World Cup has pushed the start of the league season back a week, so the Carabao Cup is taking centre-stage instead.

For what it’s worth, Argyle come into this game off the back of an unbeaten pre-season, winning five of their six games and conceding only two goals. It’s hard to read too much into beating the likes of Plymouth Parkway and Tavistock, but the goalless draw against Championship outfit Bristol City offered plenty of encouragement.

Crucially, it’s been a far more settled summer compared to 12 months ago. The permanent arrivals of Wes Harding and Alex Mitchell have added continuity, while Murphy Cooper, James Storer, Alex Hartridge and Harvey White are already settling into life in PL2. We can expect at least a couple more to arrive, but the foundations are already in place.

While league ambitions will dominate the months ahead, opening the season against local rivals in front of the Sky Sports cameras adds an extra layer of intrigue. It’s the first real opportunity to see how Cleverley’s new-look side performs when the result really matters.

This is no ordinary cup tie

This may only be the Carabao Cup, but this is no ordinary cup tie. Every match against Exeter City has a significance, regardless of what competition it’s in. Win on Monday, and the club and supporters will get a huge boost and momentum going into the new season. Lose, and the mood may sour before the league campaign has even begun.

It’s been so long since the two teams have met in the League Cup that the last time they did so was when the competition was a two-legged affair back in the 1985/86 season, when the Grecians prevailed 3-2 on aggregate. Argyle have never won a League Cup tie against Exeter in four attempts, winning just one of the ten individual matches played across those four meetings.

But that’s ancient history. In the here and now, Argyle are an upwardly mobile League One side taking on an Exeter team that was relegated to League Two at the end of last term. Cleverley’s boys will be the favourites going into this tie, without a doubt, but derby duels aren’t always true to form.

City may have been relegated to League Two, but they took four points off Cleverley’s side last term. Argyle’s 2-0 defeat at St James Park last October was one of the low points of the campaign, and the 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture in April proved significant, given Argyle went on to finish two points outside the play-offs.

With this game taking place at a packed Home Park, it will give the new arrivals an instant introduction to what playing for Argyle means, and what this rivalry means for both sets of supporters.

Whether Argyle go out in the first round of the cup or make it into the second round won’t have any bearing on how successful the season will be. But the result — and more importantly, the performance — could set the tone for the campaign ahead.

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Baidoo setback leaves attack looking thin

The 2026/27 season hasn’t even begun yet, and the injuries that have blighted the last two campaigns are already rearing their ugly heads. The news that Michael Baidoo, star of pre-season, is ‘out for months’ with a hamstring injury has put the cat amongst the pigeons on the eve of the new season.

Cleverley appears to be sticking with the 4-4-2 that served Argyle so well in the second half of last season, but Baidoo’s injury means the front four positions currently pick themselves due to a dearth of other options. Barring any transfer market developments between now and Monday night, Bim Pepple and Owen Oseni will lead the line, with Ronan Curtis and Xavier Amaechi occupying the wide positions.

Speaking of transfer market developments, Argyle have reportedly agreed a fee of £400,000 plus add-ons for Mansfield Town forward Will Evans, according to Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph. The 29-year-old can play either up front or on the left, so could be the ideal addition to Cleverley’s squad. He is reportedly due to have a medical on Friday, so could be involved on Monday night.

Whether it’s Will Evans or someone else, Argyle are expected to add further reinforcements before the end of the transfer window — and maybe even before kick-off on Monday night — so this situation should only be a temporary one. But right now, Cleverley has very little room for manouevre in the final third.

Predicted XI:

Cooper; Harding, Ross, Mitchell, Hartridge; Curtis, Boateng, White, Amaechi; Oseni, Pepple.

Know the Opposition: Exeter City

Although they managed to take four points off Argyle in their two league meetings, last season was not a happy one for Exeter City. The Grecians won only one of their last 20 games as they plummeted down the table and through the trapdoor into League Two. Matt Taylor returned to the club as manager in March after Gary Caldwell left for Wigan, and he has quite the task on his hands.

Financial issues forced City to slash their budget last season, and relegation has only deepened the problem. Finnish midfielder Ilmari Niskanen has left for Blackpool, while 19-goal top-scorer Jayden Wareham is being heavily linked with a move away, with Argyle rumoured to be among the clubs keeping an eye on him.

Argyle will know all about Wareham, with the 23-year-old scoring City’s second goal in the 2-2 draw at Home Park in April. Taylor has used a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2 in pre-season, so assuming he’s still at the club on Monday, he’ll be expected to lead the line in either system.

Attacking midfielder Reece Cole is another name that may strike fear into Pilgrims’ hearts. The 28-year-old scored against Argyle in both games last season while playing behind Wareham, and played on the right of the 4-4-2 in their final pre-season friendly. If Argyle can keep him and Wareham quiet, they’ll fancy their chances.

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Next edition: Monday’s Weekend Review.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing

Good evening, and welcome to The Argyle Briefing.

It may have ended in a goalless draw, but there was a lot to like about the way Tom Cleverley’s side played in their penultimate pre-season friendly.

We’ll pick out the main talking points from an encouraging afternoon at Home Park and what it tells us heading into the new campaign — only one week to go now…

For the second successive summer, Bristol City provided the opposition for Argyle’s sole pre-season friendly at Home Park, and the 7,556 in attendance were treated to a confident display from the Pilgrims right from the off.

Barely a minute had elapsed when Bim Pepple broke through the defence and rolled a shot wide, and the early Argyle pressure continued for much of the first half an hour with Pepple, Michael Baidoo and Owen Oseni coming close.

An injury to Baidoo on the half-hour mark coincided with a little dip in Argyle’s attacking tempo, but Oseni nearly found the breakthrough moments before half-time when he struck the post.

The second half was a more sedate affair with a raft of substitutions from both sides disrupting the flow of the game — but this was an encouraging afternoon for the Greens, offering plenty of reasons for optimism before the real business begins next Monday.

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What a difference a year makes

Twelve months ago, Bristol City exposed just how much work Argyle had to do before the new season. This time, the roles were almost completely reversed.

Two goals from Emil Riis condemned a new-look Argyle to a 2-0 defeat to the Robins in this fixture last July, and City were good value for that win in a game they dominated. It proved an ominous warning. Argyle went on to lose their opening four competitive matches as a completely new squad struggled to gel.

Fast forward 12 months and the difference is stark. Argyle were the better side against their higher-division opponents and their positive attacking play and composed defensive display showed just how far this team has come in the last 12 months.

Last summer brought wholesale change, with a new head coach, coaching staff, chief executive and almost an entirely new squad. This year, there has been far more continuity — and it showed.

There are still new connections to be made, but many remain from last season. Alex Mitchell and Mathias Ross quickly rediscovered their understanding at the heart of the defence, while further forward Argyle produced combinations that belied a pre-season friendly. Baidoo’s slick move with Oseni and Ronan Curtis was the best example of all.

Pre-season results don’t matter, but performances do. Saturday showed Argyle are entering the new campaign in a much healthier place than they were 12 months ago.

Let’s hope Baidoo injury isn’t a bad one

If there was one concern to emerge from an otherwise encouraging afternoon, it was seeing Baidoo leave the field before half-time.

Argyle’s former record signing was having a fine afternoon until it ended abruptly on the half-hour mark. Baidoo had just played a central role in Argyle’s best move of the afternoon, exchanging a clever one-two with Oseni before slipping Curtis through on goal.

Moments later, he slumped to the turf clutching his right hamstring and immediately called for the physio. He looked visibly upset as he walked off, pulling his shirt over his face as he left the pitch to be replaced by Amaechi.

Baidoo’s Argyle career has been a disappointment, to put it mildly. Signed for a then club-record £1.5 million in January 2025, he struggled to make an impact before spending last season on loan in Qatar. Few expected him to still be at Home Park when pre-season began, but he has been arguably Argyle’s standout performer this summer

While primarily a number ten, he’s played on the left of midfield in Cleverley’s 4-4-2 and been allowed to drift into the middle — something he was doing to great effect until his untimely injury on Saturday.

💬 Tom Cleverley on Baidoo injury

“I thought for 25 minutes we were outstanding as a team and he was a big part of that. We can play in a little bit more of a controlled way with Michael because he’s so good on the ball.

“I’ve been really impressed with his quality, his speed, his intensity… We’re all disappointed and no-one more than Michael.”

Cleverley confirmed after the game that it was a hamstring issue and that it “doesn’t look great”. Argyle will find out the extent of the injury when Baidoo has a scan on Monday. With the competitive campaign now just days away, Argyle will hope the injury proves nothing more than a precaution. If it does, Baidoo has already shown enough to suggest he could become a key player this season.

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Any new striker would fancy this challenge

Notwithstanding a new left-sided midfielder should Baidoo’s injury be a bad one, replacing last season’s 21-goal forward Lorent Tolaj remains the biggest piece of the puzzle — and the eyes of any prospective new striker would have lit up had they been at Home Park on Saturday.

The old cliché says that you shouldn’t worry about not finishing chances; when you’re not creating chances is when you should worry. Well, there was no worry about that against City — Argyle had nine shots in the first half alone as they repeatedly carved out chances against their Championship opponents.

The chances came from all over the pitch. Curtis repeatedly delivered dangerous crosses, Hartridge and Harvey White provided quality from wide areas, while Baidoo and Malachi Boateng combined well around the edge of the box.

That’s not to say Pepple or Oseni don’t deserve their place — the pair combined for 28 goals in all competitions last season. But, there is a Tolaj-shaped gap in the squad that needs filling.

The quality of the chances only served as a reminder of what Argyle are now missing. Replacing a striker who scored 21 goals last season was never going to be straightforward, but Saturday suggested the opportunities will be there for whoever eventually fills that role.

Argyle won’t struggle to create chances. They simply need someone else to put them away.

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Thanks for reading The Argyle Briefing.

If you enjoyed this edition, please consider sharing it with another Argyle supporter. Every recommendation helps the newsletter grow.

Next edition: Friday’s Weekend Preview.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing