Pilgrim's Progress
The beginning...
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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.
