2006–07 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

The 2007–08 football season was Plymouth Argyle Football Club's 38th season in the Football League Championship, the second division of English football, and their 102nd as a professional club.

Plymouth Argyle
2006–2007 season
ManagerIan Holloway
Championship11th
FA CupQuarter-finals
League Cup1st round
Top goalscorerLeague:
All: Barry Hayles (14)

Summary of the 2006–07 season

After only eight months as manager, during which he was credited with saving Argyle from relegation, Tony Pulis returned to Stoke in mid-June.[1] Two weeks later, former QPR manager Ian Holloway, was appointed manager.[2]

Holloway quickly added the team's only striker, Nick Chadwick, with veteran Barry Hayles from Millwall and 20-year-old Sylvan Ebanks-Blake from Man United who became the leading scorers of the season with 14 and 10 goals respectively. The addition of Dutch defender Marcel Seip, ultimately displaced Aljofree in central defence. In goal, Luke McCormick got first team action with Romain Larrieu out sick and kept his place.

Several young players established themselves in the first team especially Gary Sawyer who became a regular on the left of defense, especially after Tony Capaldi appeared set to leave at the end of the season. Luke Summerfield and Dan Gosling also impressed.

The first third of the season saw a fairly good start, where Holloway's signings, enthusiasm and more attacking style appeared to be lifting team performances from the previous season and to 6th place after 15 games. The possibility play-off and even promotion began to be talked about. However, the lack of depth showed mid-season as the accumulation of suspensions and injuries (including Paul Wotton out for the season with a knee injury) forced Holloway to draw ever deeper into reserves, and with a slide in results and position.

Holloway moved aggressively during the January transfer window, bringing in loanees Kevin Gallen (striker, QPR), Hungarians Péter Halmosi (midfield) and Krisztián Timár (defense), and 17-year-old Scott Sinclair (left wing, Chelsea) and permanent signing Rory Fallon (Halmosi and Timár became permanent signings at the end of the season). Settling the new players in took time and though performances improved, it was not sufficiently to boost Argyle far up the table.

However, Argyle had an excellent FA Cup run making it into the Quarter Finals before losing 0–1 against Watford, the farthest any non-premiership team made it. It was, however, a game that they should have won and the lack of killer instinct showed in this game and others. The team seemed to go into a funk after the Watford loss with a string of mediocre results which saw them drifting in mid-table. However, the team rallied at the end of the season with five successive wins and its best finish in 50 years.

In its third season in the Championship, Argyle had become an established team, with a solid and stable line up of players, highly regarded management, and optimism for the next season.

SeasonWinsLossesDrawsPointsPosition
2006–071713166711
2005–061316175614
2004–051421115317

Midfielder Lilian Nalis was voted player of the year and defender Gary Sawyer young player of the year.

While Argyle ended the season with no financial troubles, a big question remains over the ability of the team to attract the investment likely needed to lift the team to the Premiership with investments in players, stadium, and training facilities.

Team

The 2006–07 Plymouth Argyle first-team squad: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  FRA Romain Larrieu
2 DF  ENG Anthony Barness
4 MF  FRA Lilian Nalis
5 DF  HUN Krisztián Timár (on loan from Ferencvárosi TC)
6 DF  ENG Hasney Aljofree
7 MF  ENG David Norris
8 MF  HUN Ákos Buzsáky
9 FW  ENG Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
10 FW  JAM Barry Hayles
11 FW  ENG Nick Chadwick
12   Green Army
13 DF  FRA Mathias Doumbe
14 DF  NIR Tony Capaldi
15 DF  ENG Paul Wotton (captain)
16 MF  HUN Péter Halmosi (on loan from Debreceni VSC)
17 FW  ENG Kevin Gallen (on loan from QPR)
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF  ENG Gary Sawyer
19 DF  NED Marcel Seip
20 MF  ENG Lee Hodges
21 FW  ENG Cherno Samba
22 DF  ENG Paul Connolly
23 GK  ENG Luke McCormick
24 GK  ENG Josh Clapham
27 FW  ENG Reuben Reid
28 DF  SCO Scott Laird
29 MF  ENG Luke Summerfield
30 MF  ENG Dan Gosling
31 FW  EIR Anthony Mason
32 MF  SWE Bojan Djordjic
33 FW  NZL Rory Fallon
34 FW  ENG Ashley Barnes

12 Green Army is not a real player, but was registered by the club as a tribute to the supporters. The idea behind assigning the number 12 was that the great support from fans gives Argyle a similar advantage to having an extra (twelfth) player.

Transfers

Out

DatePlayerTransferToFee
18 August 2006Chris ZebroskiReleasedFree AgentReleased after being found guilty of gross misconduct
18 May 2007Josh ClaphamReleasedFree Agent
25 May 2007Tony CapaldiContract ExpiredFree AgentSigned for Cardiff

In

DatePlayerTransferFromFee
14 July 2006Sylvan Ebanks-BlakeBuyManchester United£200,000 + £100,000 if plays enough matches
19 July 2006Barry HaylesBuyMillwall£100,000
4 August 2006Josh ClaphamFreeTrialN/A
30 August 2006Marcel SeipFreeHeerenveenN/A
30 August 2006Cherno SambaFreeCádizN/A
11 January 2007Kevin GallenLoanQPRN/A
11 January 2007Péter HalmosiLoanDebreceni VSCN/A
11 January 2007Krisztián TimárLoanFerencvarosN/A
17 January 2007Scott SinclairLoanChelsea F.C.N/A
19 January 2007Rory FallonBuySwansea City F.C.£300,000
16 March 2007Ashley BarnesFreePaulton RoversN/A
16 May 2007Péter HalmosiBuyDebreceni VSC£400,000
16 May 2007Krisztián TimárBuyFerencvaros£75,000

Competitions

Championship

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
9 Sheffield Wednesday 46 20 11 15 70 66 +4 71
10 Colchester United 46 20 9 17 70 56 +14 69
11 Plymouth Argyle 46 17 16 13 63 62 +1 67
12 Crystal Palace 46 18 11 17 58 50 +8 65
13 Cardiff City 46 17 13 16 57 53 +4 64
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results

DateOppositionVenueResultScorers (for Plymouth Argyle in bold)Attend.Pos.
5 AugWolvesHomeDraw (1–1)Hayles 35, Doumbe 47 (og)15,9649
8 AugColchesterAwayWin (1–0)Summerfield 304,6277
12 AugSunderlandAwayWin (2–3)Murphy 1, Norris 8, Hayles 39, Elliott 67, Chadwick 8224,3772
19 AugSheff. Weds.HomeLoss (1–2)Wotton 43, McAllister 52, O'Brien 8314,5079
26 AugStokeAwayDraw (1–1)Sidibe 39, Hayles 7811,6268
9 SeptQPRHomeDraw (1–1)Blackstock 17, Ebanks-Blake 3112,1389
12 SeptCardiffHomeDraw (3–3)Thompson 8, Chopra 29, 49, McNaughton (og) 69,Hayles 74, Purse (og) 8811,65511
16 SeptSouthamptonAwayLoss (0–1)Rasiak 5222,51415
23 SeptNorwichHomeWin (3–1)Doherty 14 (og), Seip 47, Norris 74, Earnshaw 9411,8139
30 SeptCoventryAwayWin (1–0)Samba 8219,5458
14 OctDerbyHomeWin (3–1)Wotton 45 (pen), Lupoli 45+2, Wotton 63 (pen), Seip 7913,6225
17 OctBarnsleyAwayDraw (2–2)Kay 2, Ebanks-Blake 29, Hayles 34, Richards 509,4796
21 OctBurnleyHomeDraw (0–0)-12,8177
28 OctCrystal PalaceAwayWin (1–0)Chadwick 3917,0845
31 OctIpswichHomeDraw (1–1)Legwinski 1, Wotton 2212,2106
4 NovBirminghamHomeLoss (0–1)Jaidi 75,17,0087
11 NovLeicesterAwayDraw (2–2)Hume 29, Nalis 31, Porter 75, Hayles 9021,7037
18 NovSouthendAwayDraw (1–1)Djordjic 5, Gower 59,9,4699
25 NovLeedsHomeLoss (1–2)Blake 3, Djordjic 40, Lewis 6117,08812
28 NovLutonHomeWin (1–0)Djordjic 619,9659
2 DecBirminghamAwayLoss (0–3)Bendtner 21, Upson 30, McSheffrey 4122,59211
9 DecHullHomeWin (1–0)Ebanks-Blake 7112,10110
16 DecPrestonAwayLoss (0–3)Pugh 12, Omerod 41, Alexander 5613,17112
23 DecWest BromHomeDraw (2–2)Hayles 23, Nalis 40, Phillips 45+1, 45+315,17212
26 DecCardiffAwayDraw(2–2)Norris 34, Thompson 47, 52, Norris 5917,28913
30 DecDerbyAwayLoss (0–1)Bisgaard 8125,77513
1 JanSouthamptonHomeDraw (1–1)Rasiak 5, Hayles 6615,37713
13 JanNorwichAwayWin (3–1)Safri 45+1, Hayles 59, Buzsaky 63, 5723,52312
22 JanCoventryHomeWin (3–2)Gallen 18, Birchall 22, Buzsaky 32, Hayles 48, Mifsud 709,84111
30 JanWest BromAwayLoss (1–2)Kamara 41(pen), 50, Fallon 7019,89411
3 FebWolvesAwayDraw (2–2)Sinclair 27, Ward 33, Timar 36, Olofinjana 6919,08211
10 FebSunderlandHomeLoss (0–2)Stokes 69, Connolly 7115,24711
20 FebColchesterHomeWin (3–0)Norris 12, Ebanks-Blake 59 (pen), Gosling 6712,89511
24 FebQPRAwayDraw (1–1)Nalis 32, Cook 59,13,75712
3 MarStokeHomeDraw (1–1)Ebanks-Blake 40 (pen), Russell 5512,53912
5 MarSheff. Wed.AwayDraw (1–1)MacClean 21, Gosling, 5619,44912
14 MarBarnsleyHomeLoss (2–4)Nalis 15, Nyatanga 20, Devaney 31, Ebanks-Blake, Devaney 61, Ferenczi 9310,26513
17 MarCrystal PalaceHomeWin (1–0)Sinclair 4811,23913
31 MarIpswichAwayLoss (0–3)Garvan 9, Lee 15, Haynes 9021,07813
3 AprBurnleyAwayLoss (0–4)Duff 13, McVeigh 20, Jones 38, Elliot 619,79313
7 AprLeedsAwayLoss (1–2)Halmosi 36, Healy 45, Michalik 8730,03415
9 AprLeicesterHomeWin (3–0)Halmosi 15, Ebanks-Blake 46, Hayles 6210,90013
14 AprLutonAwayWin (2–1)Norris 4, Halmosi 40, O'Leary 517,60113
21 AprSouthendHomeWin (2–1)Ebanks-Blake 6, Clarke 25, Hayles 8911,09712
28 AprPrestonHomeWin (2–0)Ebanks-Blake 77, Hayles 8513,81312
6 MayHullAwayWin (2–1)Halmosi 45+1, Ebanks-Blake 59 Elliot 6120,66111

FA Cup

Date Opposition Venue Result Scorers (for Plymouth Argyle in bold) Attend. Pos.
6 Jan Peterborough Away Draw (1–1) Aljofree 74, Mclean 78 6,255 -
16 Jan Peterborough Home Win (2–1) Mclean 13, Hayles 18, Norris 27 9,973 -
27 Jan Barnet Away Win (2–0) Aljofree 67 (pen), Sinclair 83 5,204 -
17 Feb Derby Home Win (2–0) Gallen 14 (pen), Sinclair 83 18,026 -
11 Mar Watford Home Loss (0–1) Bouazza 21 20,652 -

League Cup

Date Opposition Venue Result Scorers (for Plymouth Argyle in bold) Attend. Pos.
22 Aug Walsall Home Loss (0–1) Dann 85 6,407 -

Results Summary

MonthWinsDrawsLossesPoints/PossiblePercentage
August2218/1553%
September2218/1553%
October2309/1560%
November1225/1533%
December1235/1828%
January2117/1258%
February1215/1242%
March1225/1533%
April40212/1867%
May1003/3100%

Pre-season results

The pre-season saw wins over Tiverton (4–0), Grays Athletic (3–0), FC Gratkorn (5–1), and Yeovil (2–0) and losses to Real Madrid (0–1) and Bristol Rovers (0–1). A pre-season altercation between first-year Chris Zebroski and team captain, mid-fielder Paul Wotton in an Austrian bar resulted in 100 stitches to Wotton's head and the sacking of Zebroski. Wotton recovered for the first game of the season.

References

  1. "Pulis confirmed as Stoke manager". 14 June 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  2. "Holloway has top-flight dream". 11 August 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.