Pilgrim's Progress

Thrilling Battle at the Top

The second half of December saw the emergence of a thrilling Premier League title chase, with Arsenal leading by 7 points going into the table-top match against Argyle on 30 December. 

Plymouth scored first, Erick Sanchez despatching a penalty after just 7 minutes, but then two goals from the Gunners saw them extend their lead in the table to 10 points.  Then Rayan Cherki stepped in.  He equalised in the 61st minute, which then saw the match develop into a true end-to-end spectacle, as both sides went for the win.  Even a draw for Arsenal would be a good result, as it would leave them with a 7-point cushion at the end of the year, but Cherki had other ideas, chipping Ramsdale at the end of a counter-attack from Argyle, to seal the win.

Cherki celebrates scoring the winner against Arsenal 

Arsenal remain as league leaders, albeit by 4 points instead of the 10 it could have been.

Otherwise, Argyle completed their Champions League group with a win in Sevilla, with three of the youngsters scoring the goals, the last one coming from rising star and right-midfielder Victor Alves, who cut in from the right to shoot across the goalkeeper into the net.

The win confirmed Argyle’s position as top of the group, well ahead of PSG who beat Sparta in the other match.  Sevilla will drop to the Europa League.

Argyle’s “reward” for finishing top is a Round of 16 tie against none other than Real Madrid – probably the cruellest draw they could have had at this stage.  It looks like the end of the road for them, though manager Bobby Stones will no doubt be plotting to find a way round the serial winners.

Argyle also despatched a below-strength Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals; a strange decision by Pep Guardiola to field a weakened side when so close to Wembley.

Facundo Delivers

Facundo Farias is repaying the investment Plymouth Argyle made in the summer.  The Argentine leads the Argyle internal ‘Golden Boot’ chase with 18 goals from 13 matches.  Most of these have come in the Premier League, as Facundo only made his debut in the Champions League in match 5.  “I’ve been focusing Facundo on the Premier League, so he can become acclimatised to living and working in the UK.” Said manager Bobby Stones.  Nevertheless, his debut on the European stage was marked with a goal against Sparta Prague at the start of December.  “I think we can now consider him acclimatised,” Stones added with a grin.

His 6 assists, added to his goals, makes him the deadliest player for Argyle this season, showing that his game is not just about scoring goals.

The young striker was plucked from Inter Miami in the summer, for a fee of £35 million.  Farias played as an attacking midfielder in Miami, just as he had in his home country for Colon, but Stones quickly put him up front, where he has already scored three hat-tricks and is joint leader of the Premier League golden boot chase, albeit with a better goal-to-game ratio than anyone.

It is fair to say that Farias is one of Stones’ most successful transfers to date, and we may well see him score a lot more in the coming years.

Arsenal are holding on longer than I expected. But at least you beat them, ending the year and ending their hopes of another invincible season.

Farías continuing, and I'm sure he would lead that golden boot race, if only he played more games. Crazy goal per game rate there, especially with other players also having almost similar numbers. 13 in 13, 12 in 15, 10 in 13 etc. Your team doesn't lack goals / goal scorers.

Tough luck with Real Madrid. I'm a runner-up myself, with Rangers, so I would expect such an opponent in my draw. But being a group winner surely you'd have wanted an easier one.

Good run and nice to see re youngsters got the job done against Sevilla. Dunno if it's some code on the game, but even if you go on and win 5 back to back titles premier league sides still line up against teams like Plymouth as if in The Championship still especially in cup games. I just faced a full strength Arsenal in The League not so much in Carabao Cup, semi realistic, but don't think they'd change up as much when facing fellow Premier League sides more so in your case when performing better.

Didn't catch Cheeky last time and he was very fun to use in FIFA 23 and able to play pretty much anywhere from the flanks attacking mid and a back up striker.

Gomez Humbles Hollywood

Academy graduate Mikel Gomez (17) showed Hollywood-backed Wrexham a lesson in finishing in the third round of the FA Cup.  The youngster netted 5 times and only just missed, by the width of a goalpost, a chance to equalise George Best’s record 6-goal haul against Northampton Town in the FA Cup 5th round in February 1970.

Gomez celebrates his 5th

The young striker was simply on fire in an 8-0 victory against Deadpool’s side that saw three other academy graduates score one each.  It was, as expected, a match of total dominance by the Premier League champions, even though the team was comprised entirely of ex-academy players and other fringe squad members.

“Simply breathtaking,” was the verdict of manager Bobby Stones.  “Every time he plays, he gives me something to think about.”

Argyle Reach the Carabao Cup Final

The Pilgims will go to Wembley for the final of the Carabao Cup after beating Arsenal 7-3 on aggregate in the semi.  Argyle put the result of the tie almost beyond doubt in the first match at the Emirates, winning 0-5, before a second string side narrowly lost the return at Home Park, 3-2, as Manager Bobby Stones rested players.  It will be Argyle’s first final in this competition.

Argyle will once again face Aston Villa in the final; a repeat of last season's FA Cup final.

Plymouth Close the Gap to 1 Point

Argyle won both their Premier League matches in January, closing the gap behind Arsenal to just one point, as the Gunners lost 3-1 to Brentford in one of their two matches.

Plymouth into 5th Round of FA Cup

Facundo Farias inspired Argyle to a 4-2 FA Cup 4th round victory at Old Trafford, netting a hat-trick and assisting Roberto Alvarado’s opener.  Argyle slipped in concentration at the end of the match to allow the Reds to score twice, but it was simply too late for United to salvage the tie.

Quiet Window for Argyle.

Plymouth made no purchases in the transfer window, and sold just the one player, as right back Junior Tchamadeu moved to Luton Town in a £2.5 million sale.

“There was simply nobody available that we wanted to buy,” said manager Bobby Stones.  “We have a great squad anyway and it’s always hard to find value in January.”

Whether the Pilgrims will come to regret making no acquisitions is yet to be seen.

Mason Greenwood is back for Man United, I see. Still on the payroll in my Man United save, still being on loan at Getafe. And I haven't yet decided what to do with him come summer. We'll see what happens. Congratulations on the league cup final. Funny to see Aston Villa as the opponent again. Seems Argyle have some rivalries going on with other clubs starting with an A; Arsenal (League) and Aston Villa (cup)... 

That Facundo Farias pops up each and every time in a lot of people's career saves

Gap well and truly closed to Arsenal setting up a potential close tight run in for the title. Thunderous win in the cup against Wrexham too.