Plymouth Argyle Vs Exeter City Match Day Thread

[Grecian Max]

I don't see why there is such an obsession with "Plymouth will fail if they are promoted". They will or they wont, a 15k average in the league above is better than about 1/3 of the teams in there.

Well for one, they didn’t sustain an average above that for very long last time. Once the novelty wears off they are the same as most other teams - attract more through the gate when successful.

 

[SaintJames]

I think every club has a natural position in the football pyramid, I have Argyle about 7th in League 1.

I ascribe to that. Certain clubs punch above their weight and their natural position for a short period e.g. Yeovil and Crewe come to mind but eventually return to the position their league standing normally has been. Argyle predominantly have been a 3rd tier team with some spells in the 4th tier and fewer in the Championship level. Our illustrious past has seen us languishing in the bottom 10 places of the Football League all too often with relatively few seasons in the third tier. It's only been the last 20 years that we have pushed up to the heady heights of the top 7 of the 4th tier. It will be a challenge for us to become sustainable in L1 and success could be seen as surviving 4 seasons or more?

 

[Devon Red]

Plymouth Argyle - Change in attendance figures

Die Entwicklung der Besucherzahlen zeigt an, wie sich das Zuschauerinteresse für den Verein Plymouth im Vergleich der Saisons entwickelt hat.

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

Not entirely sure how reliable this is, but according to transfermarkt, Argyle averaged over 16k in their first season in the Championship in 04/05, but this steadily declined to around 10k in their relegation season - I'd imagine the same would happen again.

 

[Grecian Max]

To go a bit further than that, they were getting 6-7,000 in League 2 in 2012/13 during a low ebb. At least half of these fans are fairweathers and not a barometer of core support. Even at our lowest in the Conference we didn’t lose that percentage of support - Plymouth does change with the winds.

 

[tavyred]

Well for one, they didn’t sustain an average above that for very long last time. Once the novelty wears off they are the same as most other teams - attract more through the gate when successful.

I don’t want to appear patronising to felix but he’s falling into the trap a lot of fans fall into when they club they support is on the cusp (perhaps) of a purple patch, sustainable growth is viewed as a given and those happy to pump money in during the successful times will somehow always feel the same way.
If Argyle get promoted there will come a pivotal moment where the financial mettle of the money men will be tested, I’m no expert on the Greenies but I seem to remember a moment where Holloway as a manager asked his board to back him in his efforts to get to the Prem and they instead sold his best player (Norris?) and thus the inexorable decline ensued.

 

[tonykellowfan]

Last time Plymouth went into the Championship they blew up the wage bill to do so and screwed up their finances resulting in having to sell the key players and it was all downhill from there.

 

[Average Joe]

Simon Hallet is worth near on 100 million so unless he plans on gambling with the majority of his wealth, he won't get into the prem however he has enough to be sustainable in the championship for a few years. We're currently dicing around league one playoffs with no budget so kudos to us.

 

[denzel]

Disappointed in Muse subsidising the Gargs. I might not buy their next album.

 

[grecian-near-hell]

I'll just be interested to see how they get on, firstly come January, if any of their loanees get recalled. And they have a lot of them that make up the nucleus of their team (not just squad players). Then come the end of the season should they get promoted, loanees return to their parent clubs, is what's left of their squad strong enough to maintain championship football, if not they may need to build/buy a whole new squad. Yes they will get the TV monies but their wage bill will also increase, along with other costs.

Question marks may also need to be raised about their academy products progressing straight into a championship side, they will have to widen their net for this to be successful possibly treading on our toes, and it will take time for the academy to be able to provide a supply chain.

Also as others have pointed out they will not always maintain crowds of 16k and this figure will drift as they strive for championship mediocrity under possibly a new manager.

So all is not rosy in the theatre of gnomes. It's alright pointing to other clubs of similar size cities that have survived and challenged in the championship and above but Plimuff is at the ass end of nowhere!

 

[Boyo]

I think every club has a natural position in the football pyramid, I have Argyle about 7th in League 1.

I've had some time on my hands this afternoon, so have worked out that in the last 25 years, Argyle have spent 6 seasons in the Championship, 8 in L1 and 11 in L2, with an average position of 18th in L1.