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…
🏆 PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY (SAT 1 AUG 2026)
🟢 Plymouth Argyle 0
🔴 Bristol City 0
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.
👥 Argyle line-up
M Cooper (J Storer 59), W Harding (M Sorinola 70), M Ross, A Mitchell (J Pleguezuelo 59), A Hartridge, R Curtis, M Boateng (B Ibrahim 70), H White (B Wiredu 77), M Baidoo (X Amaechi 31), A Pepple (F Issaka 77), O Oseni.
Subs (unused): F Maund.
Yellow cards: X Amaechi 61, M Ross 88.
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.
🌟 Player in Focus: Alex Hartridge
One of Argyle’s summer arrivals, Devon-born Hartridge is primarily a centre back but spent the full 90 minutes at left back on Saturday.
He performed well throughout and linked up nicely with Baidoo for the first half an hour, and then with Xavier Amaechi for the remainder of the game.
He wasn’t shy in coming forward, showed he can deliver a good cross and offered an early glimpse of the long throws that could become a big weapon for Argyle this season.
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.
🔍 Go Deeper
Further reading and listening from across the Argyle community.
📝Plymouth Live’s Argyle reporter Chris Errington was at Home Park. Read his report here.
📺 Tom Cleverley gave his verdict on the game to Argyle TV. Watch the video here.
🔉 Pilgrims Podcast sat down with Cleverley earlier in the week. Listen to their chat here.
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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Next edition: Friday’s Weekend Preview.
Until then, thanks for reading.
Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing