The Argyle Podcast

Argyle Fives on festive matches – Festive FivesEvery fan enjoys football over the festive period. The traditional Boxing Day matches always produce a unique atmosphere and quite often a lot of goals. In the 40s and 50s games would be played back-to-back against the same side. Local games usually get arranged for this time of year and there is a freshness around the New Years Day fixtures. Goals, C...

Bursting onto the scene At 14 he was playing at Twickenham for England juniors, at 16 he was making his Argyle debut and at 44 he is still turning out on a Saturday for Plymouth True Blues. Lee Phillips packed a lot into a relatively short time at Argyle. He was thrust into the limelight as a teenager, becoming the youngest player to play for the club in 1996. A quick and powerful striker, it was...

“…not a bad ball in…” Few Argyle players have experienced as much as Mark Patterson did in his four years at Home Park. Having arrived from Derby Country and once again teaming up with Peter Shilton, Pato experienced a playoff semi-final defeat, then relegation to the basement division and a subsequent promotion at Wembley, where he also claimed the assist. A North East lad, who played out his dre...

“Both ends that is all…” Kevin Wills will forever go down as a legend of South West football. Maybe more fondly remembered by Truro City supporters for his double, scoring at both ends, in the FA Vase final triumph in 2007. But he also won promotions with both Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle. Joining the Greens in the late 90s, Willsy made his breakthrough in 1998 as an exciting forward. Despit...

The next Trevor Francis. Well, it didn’t quite turn out like that for George Foster, but he certainly has no complaints about his career. The Plymouth born, football mad kid who grew up watching the sides of the late 1960s got his big chance against the player he was always likened to. Being thrust on to try and deal with one of the best forwards in the country, in a position you’re not accustomed...

Football, cricket, triathlon – in that order. What does it take to become one of Wayne Rooney’s most trusted people within football? Well, ask Pete Shuttleworth. Since their first meeting at Derby, Wayne as a player and Pete as a Performance Analyst, they have pretty much been at each other’s side, wherever they have gone around the world. Pete’s journey to becoming an Assistant Coach to one of th...

He’s a superstar. Three time Olympian and rowing gold medallist Greg Searle is somewhat of an inspiration. After winning gold with his brother in 1992, bronze in 1996 and narrowly missing out in 2000, he was not content and 20 years later was back in a boat, at the age of 40, winning another Olympic medal. From being inspired by his history teacher to being the best in the world and with a couple...

Argyle Fives on best partnerships. If Mariner won’t get you, Raffery will. One of the deadliest striking partnerships in Argyle's history and there have been quite a few. In the latest episode of the Argyle Fives series, Charlie Price, Kevin Nancekivell and Rob McNichol try to narrow down all of the legendary partnerships into a condensed list of five. Strikers, defenders, midfielder, coaches and...

Shell suit Shelly  When a 16-year-old Paul Connolly arrived in Plymouth from Liverpool, not many would have imagined he would have gone on to become one of the club’s greatest full backs. ‘Shelly’ became an integral part of the Paul Sturrock revolution, featuring heavily in the 2003/04 promotion season. As the years and managers went on, he kept his place and was a strikers dream with his maraudin...

Fireman Rhys. The name Rhys Griffiths might not mean that much to Argyle fans; a six-month spell which saw three goals in 17 matches doesn’t scream club legend. However, that short period of time meant so much to Rhys. The Cardiff born forward enjoyed a prolific time in his home country. He combined playing with working in the fire service and was a seven-time golden boot winner in the Welsh Premi...

“Bradley Wright Wright Phillips” A short but clearly affective spell at Home Park for Bradley Wright-Phillips helped propel his career in the right direction. Being from a famous footballing family, football was obviously going to be the career path for young Brad and his brother Shaun. They both made a breakthrough at Manchester City but while Shaun was on the upwards trajectory, Brad struggled f...

With the summer transfer window now over, Head of Recruitment Jimmy Dickinson opens up about how he feels the business has gone. Nine new players have come into the club, with significant money paid. New markets explored and exciting additions who have already made an impact on the pitch. It hasn’t all be plain sailing and brining in quality players to improve the squad hasn’t been easy, but in th...

Kevin Hodges, quite literally, is THE Argyle legend. Two promotions, part of the incredible FA Cup semi-final side of 1984, numerous player of the season awards and, by a country mile, the club’s record appearance holder. From the young lad who turned up in Plymouth after his hometown club’s youth set-up had folded, to the father figure to younger players in the dressing room, Kev’s journey has be...

‘He must have four lungs.’ To play 620 matches for one club over a 15-year spell, he probably did. Kevin Hodges, quite literally, is THE Argyle legend. Two promotions, part of the incredible FA Cup semi-final side of 1984, numerous player of the season awards and, by a country mile, the club’s record appearance holder. From the young lad who turned up in Plymouth after his hometown club’s youth se...

Cherry picking! Whether playing against us or for us, Steve Cherry has been involved in some of Argyle greatest moments over the last 40 years. As an opposition goalkeeper in 1984, he watched as an Andy Rogers corner flew past him and gave Argyle an historic FA Cup quarter-final win. Fast forward 12 years and he again, in involved, this time for us, as Neil Warnock led Argyle to a 1-0 win at Wembl...

Argyle Fives on opening weekends. As we are building up to the opening weekend of the Sky Bet Championship season for 2024/25, what better way to get us in the mood than looking back at some of the best opening day matches from our history. The anticipation is always huge, everyone full optimism for the campaign ahead and over the years there have been some memorable ones. Glorious weather, wonder...

The Ox in the Box. When Barry Hayles signed for Argyle in the summer of 2006, aged 34, many thought he was in the twilight of his career. However, this evergreen striker had other ideas. He quickly became a fans favourite, was Argyle’s top scorer that season and is still paying now, some 18 years later. His story began in South London in the 1970s and although never picked up by a ‘big club’ he al...

Argyle Fives on best comebacks. Everyone likes a comeback. Late drama, the range of emotion and almost certainly the ‘winning feeling’ is one of the greatest things about this great sport. And Argyle have been involved in a fair share. In the fourth of the Argyle Fives series, Charlie Price, Kevin Nancekivell and Rob McNichol dive into the club's history to narrow the list down to just five. There...

Welcome Tee-Jay. Nigerian striker Muhamed Tijani was the second player to join the club in the summer of 2024. Growing up in West Africa, Tee-Jay idolised Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney. He was always the best in his school and dreamed of one day playing in Europe. Those free-scoring school days led to that dream move, where the sun and comforts of home was replaced by the cold and rain of Ba...

The latest episode of the Argyle Podcast is available to listen to! Super Frank Nouble. Not many footballers, have played for 19 clubs, featuring in the top six of divisions in England, spent two years in China and has set up their own Academy. Well, Frank Nouble has amongst many other things. Growing up in south London, he and his brother Joel, both signed for Chelsea in the early 2000s. Frank fl...

The first signing of the Wayne Rooney era. In May 2024, Nathanael Ogbeta became the first signing of the summer as Argyle prepared for their second successive Sky Bet Championship campaign. The highly rated full back has been on the books of Manchester City since the age of eight and captained England at youth level. Brought up in a sporting family, he and his sister Naomi have helped each other t...

“Oh Bobby, Bobby…” Winning promotion in your first game in charge isn’t a bad way to introduce yourself to the Green Army. That is exactly what Bobby Williamson did in April 2004. His 504 days in charge of Argyle certainly were eventful. From that magical day against QPR, to beating Sunderland, Wigan and Reading in the Championship; signing Taribo West and then losing his job six days into a new s...

He led us out at Villa Park. What a moment that must have been for 22-year-old Leigh Cooper. An FA Cup semi-final, with half of Plymouth in the stands and one game away from Wembley. At the time he was one of the youngster captains in the Football League and although that day didn’t go his or Argyle’s way, Leigh was able to re-build his career after falling out of favour with fans and managers. Co...

‘A complete nutter.’ A phrase used to describe Andy Morrison by Blackpool manager Sam Allardyce. And, if you were to ask anyone who played against him, they would probably be the same.  However, to played in the Premier League twice, captained half of the clubs you have played for and be named as Manchester City’s best ever captains, you’re more than just a hardman. Jock, moved to Plymouth from Sc...

The future is bright, the future is Green! Nothing males a football fan prouder than seeing ‘one of their own’ break through and make it. Over the last few seasons, there has been success after success coming out of the Argyle Academy. The 2023/24 season has been no exception. The under-18s were double winner, the under-10s won the Oakham tournament, Freddie Issaka was nominated at the EFL Awards...