Thursday 6 November 2008

Plymouth Argyle

I have to confess that I have a bit of soft spot for the Pilgrims. I am of Cornish descent on my mother's side and, the rise of moneybags Truro City notwithstanding, Argyle are the team supported by most Cornish people who are not egg chasers. I remember coming back from an Easter break in Cornwall when I was a child and all the Argyle supporters getting on the train in East Cornwall.

Argyle is also the team supported by many people on the Isles of Scilly (see link to Radio Scilly) and I believe that some even manage to get off 'the Rock' occasionally to watch a game. That must be a journey and a half. With only two teams that have to play each other every week, football on the island is a bit of a struggle. The likes of David Beckham and Steven Gerrard have come to help: see here You Tube . More recently, most of the Argyle squad came over for a weekend when they didn't have a match which I am sure was appreciated.

I have only been to Home Park for a pre-season game and we got a friendly welcome from the locals. However, on Saturday what we have to try and do is to replicate last year's against-the-odds victory.

It has been suggested that if Charlton win the next three matches, Alan Pardew will go from zero to hero. I still want to see Charlton to win matches, unlike those who think that losing them would hasten Pardew's exit. But I am not enough of a goldfish to think that a few wins would mean that was problem sorted.

I have never met Alan Pardew whereas I met Alan Curbishley many times and had some quite long chats with him. Pardew does come across to me as a likeable person, but he is hired to get results. Recent pictures show him looking rather seedy and, understandably, under some strain.

If the board are determined to keep him, it might be a best if they issued a statement saying that this was their view, but that performance had to improve on the pitch and this had been discussed with the manager.

One of our problems is that we have far too large a squad which means that some players never get a look in. It also encourages the Tinkerman behaviour which is the worst aspect of Pardew's management.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only thing I want from that part of the country is the Exter city manager to replace Pardew

Anonymous said...

Hopefully Pards will make the squad play some Crown bowls first (to get some inspiration) and then steal some points, because otherwise it looks..............

Anonymous said...

Wyn, I went to a supporters club meeting last night for a question answer & session with AP. There was obviously a concern as to his safety after last weeks game. He did turn up (when I'm sure others wouldn't have had the bottle) and to the credit of the supporters there and to Alan it was an excellent meeting, there was no venom. He gave what I thought was an honest assessment of his position, the players and the club. His assessment of his players and past games wasn't that different from the views expressed on this site. He knows he hasn't got the mix of players right, that some players are under performing and some prone to bizarre lapses.
His plans have been upset by a lack of funds and the selling of a number of players he would have choosen not to sell. He wants to sort the issues out and was confident he will do so. I didn't come away thinking everything is rosy more that he is a decent guy trying to sort out a club with limited resources where some of the players he has brought in aren't performing as they should and some of his decisions haven't paid off. I hope he can sort it out, and if he can't and goes I would hope he isn't subject to some of the abuse he has been receiving. The behaviour of the supporters last night was excellent.

Wyn Grant said...

Thanks for posting this. I have never disliked Pardew as a person and I think he's a decent man. The question is whether he can do a job for Charlton as I originally thought he would.