Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Much speculation surrounds the origin of the name Argyle. One explanation is that the club was named after the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an army regiment with a strong football side of its own. Another theory is given by the local geography–suggesting the name comes either from the nearby public house, The Argyle Tavern, where the founder members may have met, or from a local street Argyle Terrace.[4]

The club adopted its current name when it became fully professional in 1903.

The club was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, the first match taking place on 16 October 1886.

Chart of table positions of Plymouth Argyle in the Football League

The club was disbanded 1894, before being resurrected in 1897 as one part of a general sports club, the Argyle Athletic Club.[5] The club joined the Southern League in 1903 becoming professional in the process. Argyle won the Southern League in 1912–13, then in 1920–21 entered the Football League Third Division as a founder member, along with most of the Southern League, where they finished 11th in their first season.

Between 1921–22 and 1926–27, Argyle finished second in the new Third Division South six seasons in a row, thereby missing promotion. Argyle eventually won promotion to Football League Division Two in 1929–30, when they topped the Third Division South, with attendances that season regularly reaching 20,000. Manager Bob Jack resigned in 1937, having spent a grand total of 27 years in charge of the Pilgrims.

Argyle's 20-year stay in Division Two came to an end in 1949–50 after finishing 21st – two points short of survival. They were back in Division Two before long, after winning the Third Division South in 1951–52. The closest they ever came to playing in the Football League First Division (top tier) was in 1952–53, when they reached fourth place in the Football League Second Division, their highest finish to date. They were relegated again in 1955–56, just 3 points behind Notts County. The Pilgrim's reputation as a 'yo-yo club' continued after they won Division Three – by then a national league – in 1958–59. Argyle returned to Division Three after relegation in 1967–68.

After spending six years in Division Three, Argyle finally returned to Division Two in 1974–75, but they were back down again in 1976–77.

Since then, the team has wavered between the 2nd and 3rd tier, before being double relegated in 2010–11. That was directly due to the club having been declared insolvent, following which they were deducted the 10 points they needed for survival. The club returned to the 3rd tier after finishing second in 2016–17.

On 14 August 2018, it was announced that shareholder Simon Hallett had purchased part of James Brent's stake in the club, and had become the new majority shareholder and owner, and that former director, David Felwick, would return to the club as chairman when Brent stepped down on 31 October 2018.[6] However, on 10 October 2018, it was reported that David Felwick was unable to take over as chairman, citing personal reasons, so on 1 November 2018, Hallett became both majority owner and chair of Plymouth Argyle.[7]

Outside view of the Devonport Stand

The original ground of the professional club at Home Park was destroyed by German bombers during the Blitz on Plymouth in World War II. Having been rebuilt after the war, Home Park was largely demolished as part of an extensive process of renovation, and the first phase of a new stadium built by Barrs plc was completed in May 2002. The new Devonport End was opened for the 2001 Boxing Day fixture with Torquay United. The other end, the Barn Park End, opened on the same day. The Lyndhurst stand reopened on 26 January 2002 for the game against Oxford United. Plans are currently under discussion regarding the completion of the refurbishment of the ground with the replacement of the Mayflower stand. The ground is situated in Central Park, very near to the residential area of Peverell. Towards the end of the 2005–06 Championship season, the club decided to buy the stadium for £2.7 million from Plymouth City Council, releasing the ground from a 125-year lease. This purchase was concluded in December 2006.

In the summer of 2007, the club, having failed to persuade the UK authorities[8] of the case for retaining a standing terrace, decided to add 3,500 temporary seats to the Mayflower enclosure,[9] dropping the capacity to 19,888 from 20,922. In December 2009 it was announced that the stadium was to be one of 12 chosen to host matches during the World Cup 2018, should England's bid be successful.[10] The then Argyle chairman Paul Stapleton stated that work on a new South Stand at Home Park would start in 2010. However, England failed to be chosen for the 2018 tournament, and Plymouth Argyle entered administration in March 2011. After selling the stadium back to the council on 14 October 2011 for £1.6 million,[11] this project was in serious doubt.

The club was then taken over by local business owner James Brent, who submitted fresh plans to build a new Mayflower Grandstand with a 5,000 seating capacity, and an associated leisure complex. The plans include an ice rink with 1,500 spectator seats, a 10 screen cinema complex with an iMax screen, a 120 bedroom hotel and 4,200m sq retail units. Planning permission for the project was granted on 15 August 2013. The development was due to commence in September 2013, with the demolition of the old stand planned for late October 2013 after the Portsmouth home match. As of June 2015, the plans have been withdrawn, though planning permission still remains.

The family section of the stadium was moved from block 1 of the Devonport End to the 'Zoo corner' between the Lyndhurst Stand and the Barn Park End, with a kids activities zone in the concourse.[12]

In January 2017, director Simon Hallett invested £5,000,000 into the club, along with all other directors exchanging previous loans into equity, with the intention on using the money for renovating the Mayflower Grandstand. No immediate timeframe was put on the renovations, but chairman James Brent indicated work is planned to start in 2018, finishing in 2020 ahead of the Plymouth 2020 Mayflower celebrations.[13]

Later that month, temporary seating was once again put in place on the Grandstand, this time as a one-off for an FA Cup 3rd round replay vs Liverpool.[14] The seating was kept in place for the next home match, a League 2 game vs Devon rivals Exeter City, but tickets were not on sale to the general public. Shortly after this game, the seating was removed.[15]

The club's traditional rivals are fellow Devon sides Exeter City and Torquay United; other rivalries exist with Portsmouth, Bristol City and Bristol Rovers. The rivalry with Portsmouth was heightened in May 2016, when the two teams met in the League 2 playoff semi-final and Argyle prevailed. The playoffs have also engendered a mutual dislike of Wycombe Wanderers.[16]

Although the rivalry with Exeter City has been blunted for a while due to a difference in divisions, Argyle's relegation into League One, coupled with Exeter City's survival, reignited the tensions. A distinct rivalry arose between Argyle and Luton Town after inflammatory comments made by Joe Kinnear, who was the manager of the Hatters during the 2001–02 promotion season, although that mutual antipathy has now somewhat abated. Similarly, after the departure of Ian Holloway to Leicester City in November 2007, a noticeable mutual dislike arose, culminating in Argyle's 0–1 victory at the Walkers Stadium in early February 2008. Although that antipathy has somewhat subsided, some fans remain feeling betrayed and angry at the manner of his leaving.[17]

In the 1990s, Argyle had a rivalry with Burnley, because the Clarets beat them in a Division Two (now League One) play-off semi-final in 1994. There was also a defeat by Burnley on the last day of the season four years later, which led to Argyle's relegation. However, the rivalry has subsided over the past few years, especially due to Burnley's promotion to the Premier League in 2014.

Plymouth Argyle's list of honours include the following.[34]

The club's current sportswear manufacturer is Puma.[35] The club's main sponsor is Ginsters.[36] Shirt sponsorship was not introduced by the club until 1983.[37] Beacon Electrical was the first company to have its name on the shirt of Plymouth Argyle, but it lasted just one season. Ivor Jones Insurance was the next sponsor and their agreement with the club lasted for two seasons. National & Provincial (now merged with Abbey National) were sponsors for the 1986–87 season before the club signed an agreement with the Sunday Independent which would last for five seasons. Rotolok Holdings plc became the club's major sponsor in 1992, which was owned by then Pilgrims chairman Dan McCauley. This lasted for six seasons before the club linked up with local newspaper the Evening Herald. Between 2002 and 2011 the club was sponsored by Cornish pasty-makers Ginsters.[38]

In 2011 with the club still in administration, local timber merchant WH Bond Timber sponsored Argyle's kits at first for the 2011–12 season and until the end of the 2013–14 season. Local construction access company LTC Group87 then sponsored Argyle from the start of the 2014–15 season, having their LTC Powered Access branch's logo on the shirts. Cornwall-based company Ginsters then came back for a second spell as main sponsor in the 2016–17 season.[39]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plymouth Argyle F.C..

• Official website
• Plymouth Argyle archive
• Plymouth Argyle at the Football League official website
• BBC Sport – Club news – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club statistics
• Sky Sports – Club news – Fixtures & results – Club statistics – Video
• ESPN – Club news – Fixtures & results – Club statistics – Squad statistics
• http://www.footballkitnews.com/15514/new-plymouth-argyle-kit-15-16-puma-pafc-shirts-2015-2016-home-away/