Football Season Guide

Plymouth’s first season back in the Championship saw them survive by the skin of their teeth on the final day and it probably shouldn’t have got that close. Argyle were never in the relegation zone at any point, but a disastrous second half of the campaign almost saw them slip back down to League One. The sudden departure of the man who brought them up, Steven Schumacher, appeared to catch the club completely off-guard in December and it took them almost a month to appoint a permanent replacement, which they ultimately got wrong. Ian Foster’s disappointing tenure lasted less than three months, the shortest reign for any permanent manager in the club’s history, and losing five home games in a row without scoring was the final straw for the supporters. Director of football Neil Dewsnip and first team coach Kevin Nancekivell managed to drag the team over the line in their second stint in charge at the end of the season. The club have made a splash by appointing Wayne Rooney as their new boss, but it has garnered a mixed reaction from the fans after his dreadful spell in charge at now relegated Birmingham last season. There’s a feeling in certain circles that he has been appointed more for name value than his coaching abilities and it will be up to Rooney to win the Green Army over. Another reason for Plymouth’s decline last season was their overreliance on loan players. Finn Azaz and Luke Cundle both shone but left a gaping hole when they were recalled by their parent clubs. It has been a similar strategy so far in the summer transfer market with midfielder Darko Gyabi, winger Ibrahim Cissoko and striker Muhamed Tijani joining on loan. The defence has been bolstered by Nathanael Ogbeta and Victor Pálsson on free transfers. No big money has been spent but no high-profile departures have occurred yet either, but there is bound to be constant speculation over Morgan Whittaker who was the fourth highest scorer in the Championship last season with 19 goals. Argyle would do well to keep hold of him come the end of August.