Championship 2009–10 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

1 championship

1.1 august–october
1.2 november–february
1.3 march–may
1.4 results
1.5 statistics

1.5.1 standings
1.5.2 results summary
1.5.3 results round

championship

august–october

carl fletcher appointed team captain after signing club.

plymouth argyle began campaign @ selhurst park on 8 august against crystal palace, carl fletcher captaining new side against former club. goal hungarian international centre-back krisztián timár put argyle ahead home side responded in second half give both teams share of points. argyle faced queens park rangers in first home game of season , injury-time own goal kaspars gorkšs salvaged point after visitors had taken lead in first-half. alan gow s first goal club in next match against cardiff city merely consolation, hat-trick michael chopra consigned argyle first league defeat of season. stoppage time goal derby county s miles addison denied argyle third draw of season after had taken first-half lead through alan judge, , second 3–1 home defeat followed week later, time against sheffield wednesday. first-half goal jamie mackie gave argyle hope of first victory of new season @ hawthorns against west bromwich albion, home side responded 3 goals either side of half-time claim comfortable win.

the club s poor run of form continued in next home match against watford, suffered fifth straight defeat , slipped bottom of league table. 3–1 defeat, against newcastle united, followed second successive 1–0 home defeat against nottingham forest, leave argyle 2 points first 7 matches. paul sturrock kept faith young defensive pairing of james chester , shane lowry next game against peterborough united, , 2 second-half goals mackie , rory fallon secured argyle s first 3 points of new season. s nice 3 points, have build on it, said sturrock. there s no point in getting result , kicking ourselves in teeth again. argyle earned first home win of season 4 days later against scunthorpe united. penalty judge gave hosts 2–1 win after fallon s opening goal cancelled out scunthorpe striker gary hooper. upturn in results halted blackpool, won 2–0 @ bloomfield road. hosts opening goal scored marcel seip, player on loan argyle. took part in match following request former manager ian holloway, decision criticised supporters defended senior argyle officials. suppose bound happen marcel score goal, don t think should on other cover should have been better, said executive director keith todd. understood doing.

an argyle hall of famer returned home park on 18 october 2009, when former england international paul mariner appointed club s new head coach. in football, there not sentiment. but, if sentiment involved in scenario, gave me first chance player grabbed both hands, said mariner on new england revolution website, club left rejoin argyle. plymouth argyle in blood. teams re associated ones every week, , when came knocking on door asking me employed there, delighted. first match in dugout alongside sturrock ended in disappointment argyle lost 3–1 bristol city @ ashton gate. faced ipswich town, side struggling form, @ home in next match , first-half goal fletcher put argyle ahead, hopes of claiming 3 points dented when visitors equalised through striker jon stead, capitalised on poor pass gary sawyer. welshman darcy blake, on loan cardiff city, shown straight red card late in game ended square. final game of october took place on halloween against middlesbrough, in gordon strachan s first game new manager. argyle came away riverside stadium 3 points, in game saw adam johnson miss penalty spot, second-half goal mackie lift them 22nd in league table, within 3 points of doncaster rovers.

november–february

kári Árnason scored first goal club against reading in december.

the club began november in same fashion ended previous month – win. judge , fallon scored again secure 2–1 home victory against doncaster rovers, , pull argyle clear of relegation zone. looked earning valuable point when travelled play leicester city denied 94th-minute goal midfielder andy king. home defeat, time sheffield united followed, left sturrock desperate improve morale among squad, third consecutive 1–0 defeat @ swansea city, during lowry sent off, signalled end of paul sturrock s second spell manager. paul mariner placed in charge until further notice. s sad day, happy day me because m getting chance manager in league, said former striker. s great friend of mine. bond have quite remarkable , have mutual respect each other. first match 2–0 defeat @ preston north end, took positives performance.

john carver, right-hand man former barcelona manager sir bobby robson @ newcastle united, arrived club s new assistant manager on 17 december 2009, club suffered 1–0 defeat @ home, against coventry city, 2 days later. argyle travelled cardiff on boxing day play cardiff city @ new stadium, , came away important 3 points late goal sawyer. recorded biggest win of season 2 days later against reading. brace judge, , first goals of season kári Árnason , ashley barnes secured 4–1 win @ home park , 6 points 2 games on christmas period. argyle returned league action after fa cup ties on 16 january, looking 3 points against crystal palace goal young striker victor moses won game visitors. must-win home game followed against derby county , fifth goal of season jamie mackie boosted survival bid. defeat fellow struggler s sheffield wednesday, coupled other results going against them, left argyle 5 points safety, tough match come against west bromwich albion week later. single goal striker simon cox kept albion in touch @ top of table , left argyle deep in relegation trouble again, 6 points safety.

a stoppage time penalty shane long earned crucial 2–1 win reading in argyle s next match, came goal behind claim 3–1 victory @ barnsley 4 days later, included 35-yard effort former barnsley player fallon. paul mariner full of praise team , singled out youngster yannick bolasie, made debut club. played intellect. got ball down, rather panicking little bit; stroked around; retained position @ vital times, said. introduction of bolasie breath of fresh air. think barnsley fans liked see doing. brought lot table us. double-header of home matches next on agenda argyle, against swansea city , leicester city, , both ended in 1–1 draws. new signing damien johnson scored late on against swansea, , craig noone scored first goal of season earn point against leicester. end-to-end game @ bramall lane against sheffield united ended in 4–3 defeat, included number of defensive mistakes. argyle went 3–0 before sparking life, scoring twice bolasie , first young irish striker joe mason. lapse in concentration david stockdale, on loan fulham, gifted hosts fourth goal before 20-yard volley mackie set frantic finale. in aftermath, paul mariner heaped praise on mason, describing him incredible talent.

march–may

bradley wright-phillips returned injury score 3 important goals.

argyle salvaged late point against preston north end @ start of march, remained in serious trouble @ bottom end of table, 7 points adrift of safety 13 matches remaining. 2–0 defeat followed @ queens park rangers, adel taarabt playing part in both of home sides goals. draws @ home park proving achilles heel argyle, secured creditable 1–1 draw @ play-off chasing coventry city, having taken lead through glancing header Árnason. 3 days later, 20-yard strike captain fletcher earned argyle fifth home win of season in 3–2 thriller against bristol city. had taken 2–0 lead through chris clark , overhead kick bradley wright-phillips, first club. however, visitors responded in second-half 2 goals nicky maynard before former welsh international fletcher scored seconds spare. argyle travelled play scunthorpe united looking keep momentum, threw away lead defeated deflected effort martyn woolford.

they on road again 3 days later when faced ipswich town @ portman road. argyle came away 3 points courtesy of goals wright-phillips , mason on special night paul mariner. pretty special , little choked up, said. special night. when moved states 20 years ago, didn t think come fruition tremendous reception fans, , can t thank them enough. bringing plymouth argyle here in present role special occasion. former manager ian holloway returned home park first time since departure in november 2007 in club s next game, , left happy blackpool side claimed 3 points after 2–0 victory, charlie adam @ heart of attacking threat. argyle played out entertaining 0–0 draw @ home barnsley 3 days later, did little in battle against relegation, still 5 points away safety. produced rousing away performance against doncaster rovers earn 2–1 win, coming behind second-half goals mason, , injury time header wright-phillips. in order stay up, argyle knew had make of remaining home games, went down 2–0 on 5 april efficient middlesbrough side, left them 4 points adrift 4 games left. solitary goal watford s heidar helguson dealt argyle s survival hopes fatal blow @ vicarage road, vice-captain karl duguid remained upbeat chances of defeating league leaders in next game. ll upbeat, , ll go win against newcastle next monday.

it night of contrasting emotions @ home park. 2–0 win visitors confirmed argyle s relegation league 1 , newcastle s promotion premier league champions @ first attempt. hours after match, club s board declared remained determined steer top flight of english football. paul mariner reaffirmed commitment club, vowing put things right. feel pain of supporters because club gave me first start, said. reason came here because of vision club can premiership. ve got couple of hurdles before firmly believe can it. argyle s penultimate game of season took place @ city ground against nottingham forest, had qualified play-off s, , secured comfortable 3–0 victory against relegated side. club signed off campaign home defeat against peterborough united on 2 may. argyle took lead in first-half fine individual goal wright-phillips conceded 2 goals after break craig mackail-smith. 4 days later, club announced searching new manager, paul mariner reverting original role head coach. said: disappointed not produce results wanted last season. realist , understand why , how board came conclusion have done. committed club , want regain championship status possible , build on that. work on new state-of-the-art fibrelastic pitch @ home park began following week.

results

colours: green = plymouth argyle win; yellow = draw; red = opponents win.

statistics
standings

pld = matches played; w = matches won; d = matches drawn; l = matches lost; gf = goals for; ga = goals against; gd = goal difference; pts = points

results summary

pld = matches played; w = matches won; d = matches drawn; l = matches lost; gf = goals for; ga = goals against; gd = goal difference

results round

last updated: 2 may 2010.

source: statto

ground: = away; h = home. result: d = draw; l = loss; w = win; p = postponed.