Pilgrim's Progress

Lindberg Promoted as Two Leave

The end of December saw the announcement of the promotion of Johannes Lindberg to the first-team squad. 

The exciting young Swede (16) is a Centre-back who has impressed in academy matches, and is expected to be given game time this season, as the number of matches ramps up.

Meanwhile, Mattia Zanotti (RB) left to join RC Celta for £8 million and Lorenzo Monteiro (ST) left for Boca Juniors for £3 million.

We have no indication of any potential incoming transfers for Argyle at this point.

Hat-Trick Duo

Two Plymouth players scored hat-tricks in January, as Plymouth maintained their lead in the Premier league, progressed in the FA Cup and got through to the Carabao Cup final.

Facundo Farias hit three in the premier league match against Blackburn Rovers, netting with a penalty, a goal from free play and an exquisite free kick, to make it a unique trio.  The free kick was a beauty, coming from the left-hand side of goal and beating Blackburn’s goalkeeper with ease.

Farias was matched in the following game – the demolition of Middlesbrough in the FA Cup 3rd round – by Lucien Devaux, who also included a penalty in his haul.  Devaux has featured mainly from the bench this season, and grabbed his chance with both hands – or perhaps it should be feet!

Meanwhile, The Pilgrims won the double-header Carabao Cup semi 6-4 on aggregate against Manchester City.  An easy 4-0 win at Home Park saw 4 different names on the scoresheet, whilst a 4-2 defeat at the Etihad saw Premier League Golden Boot rivals Erling Haaland and Facundo Farias trade goals. 

Plymouth will play Tottenham Hotspur in the final, after Spurs comfortably beat Bournemouth.

The other two matches this month saw the Pilgrims scrape a draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, by the same score as the earlier match between the sides, and in the same manner, and a routine win against Burnley in the FA Cup 4th round.  This time, it was a late brace from substitute Daniel Ashton that rescued a Stamford Bridge point that Argyle simply didn’t deserve.  Manchester City failed to capitalise on Argyle’s slip at Chelsea, as they also drew 3-3 at Aston Villa.

All of which leaves Argyle three points ahead of Manchester City:

…whilst Farias continues to lead the Golden Boot chase, his lead over Haaland now stretched to seven:

Plymouth Secure Narrow Advantage in Turin

Argyle secured a narrow lead in the Champions League round of 16 first leg in Turin, as they came away with a 1-2 scoreline, which could have been 0-2 but for a late lapse.  In a tight match, Bukayo Saka fired the Pilgrims into the lead on 61 minutes and Fabio Miretti doubled the score 5 minutes later.  The remainder continued as the stalemate the first half had been, until Nico Williams popped up with a goal, after the Argyle defence momentarily went to sleep.

Saka Scores; Miretti Celebrates and Match Stats

An advantage is an advantage, though, and Plymouth will fancy their chances on home soil.

Meanwhile, the Pilgrims gained 7 points from 9 in their three Premier League matches, easy wins against Watford and Nottingham Forest keeping them ahead of Manchester City, only for Newcastle to almost get a win at Home Park.  Argyle were looking well beaten and 2-0 down at half time, until Facundo Farias stepped up with a 14-minute brace in the closing stages to maintain the Pilgrims’ unbeaten run.

Farias’ late interventions earned him yet another Man of the Match award.

Surprise Departures from Plymouth

Argyle have announced the surprise departures of three players, as manager Bobby Stones appears to be trimming his squad.  All three will leave the club at the end of the season.

Centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite has been sold to Marseille for £11.7 million,  goalkeeper Ignacio Valencia will join Leicester City in a £13.4 million move and central midfielder Alen Novak is to join Bournemouth for £15.5 million.

“We have a number of talented youngsters coming through and we need to provide space in the squad for each of them.  It’s therefore only fair that we allow players to leave so that they can get the playing time that they want, at this stage in their careers,” said Stones. 

“Each of these clubs is getting a very good player and we wish the players well in their future careers.  Fans will probably still see them on the pitch in the last few months of the season, but of course the priority will be for the players coming through to get game time, too.”

Branthwaite: Looking forward to moving to France

"I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing in France," said Branthwaite.  "It's a totally new departure for me and the weather is great in the south of the country!

"I'd like to thank the gaffer for the help he's given me.  I know I didn't break into the first team on a regular basis, but I've learned so much whilst here.  I'll be looking out for the Argyle results, for sure." 

Branthwaite and Novak in particular have mostly been on the fringes of the team, often coming on as substitutes, but Valencia was clearly the number two goalkeeper and featured regularly.  However, the development of goalkeepers Laporte, Lopes and Meza is such that the Pilgrims clearly consider him to be the one to move on, at this stage.  Ironically, the injury to Quentin Kuhn has meant that Novak has started quite a few games recently, but the young German is due back soon and Novak was apparently becoming agitated at the prospect of returning to bench duties.

When asked about further departures, Stones refused to ruile them in or out.  "Obviously, we never know what might transpire, so you'll just have to wait and see."

Trophy Won

Argyle won the Carabao Cup with a convincing 5-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.  Goals from Farias, Battaglia, Cherki and Miretti went unanswered by Spurs, who simply couldn’t handle the Pilgrims on the day.

“We deserved the great day out” said Manager Bobby Stones.  “The players were magnificent and our fans deserved the celebrations at the end.”

Otherwise, Argyle completed a close 3-2 win at Molineaux, against a Wolves side who fought hard from start to finish.

A string of indifferent results from Manchester City see them fall behind Liverpool, who are now second, 6 points behind Argyle, which means the Devon side have extended their lead, compared to the end of January.

Facundo Faris continues to lead the Golden Boot chase, six goals ahead of Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, who has overtaken Erling Haaland.

Farias also leads the Argyle scoring chart by a considerable distance, on 32 for the season as a whole.  Next comes Rayan Cherki, 18 goals behind.

"We are not a one-man team," said Bobby Stones, reacting to the accusation at his latest Press conference.  "Yes, Facundo scores a lot, but otherwise, many of our players have healthy scoring records."

I know that YOUR Plymouth Argyle isn't the same as the real life Plymouth Argyle. But still it's kind of fun to see Spurs entering a final, hoping to FINALLY break their curse, only to leave with a 5-0 defeat. Ouch. Oh, and sorry to any Spurs fans out there. I'm supporting Man United and need to take any win I can get these days.

Farías 32 goals in 21 games, he's like a cheat code mate, haha. 

Argyle Ease into the Quarter-Final

The Pilgrims completed their Champions League Round of 16 5-3 aggregate victory over Juventus with a 3-2 win at Home Park.  Battaglia opened the scoring, only for Milik to equalise soon after half-time.  Goals from Miretti and Cherki made things a bit more relaxing and, despite a further Juventus goal near the end, progress was effectively tied up with 20 minutes to go.

On other cup matters, a thrilling, full-bloodied FA Cup 5th round 6-3 win against Leeds was as chaotic as the scoreline suggests.  Leeds are very combative and high-energy; a throwback to the Bielsa years, and this was far from a comfortable match.

In the league, Argyle’s championship push continued with a routine win over Fulham and a comeback draw against the Gunners.  Argyle were 2-0 down at half-time but a formation change for the second half saw Plymouth more competitive and they secured the draw courtesy of Facundo Farias and Ozziel Herrera.