Good morning, and welcome back to The Argyle Briefing.
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.
🏆 LEAGUE ONE (SAT 5 SEP 2026)
🔴 Doncaster Rovers 2
May 51 (pen)
Grehan 90+5
🟢 Plymouth Argyle 3
Evans 28
Pepple 74
Watts 83
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.
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?
🔍 Go Deeper
Watch Cleverley’s reaction to Argyle’s first away win of the season.
Listen to the cast of Pilgrims Podcast’s thoughts on the game.
And watch the Green and White Podcast’s verdict on the win.
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