We got our Argyle back + the run in analysed

How Argyle proved me so wrong

Welcome to One Team in Devon, after one of the famous nights at Home Park left Argyle agonisingly close to Championship safety.

Incredible scenes at the end of the Leicester game left a lump in the throat, and there’s no doubt that Argyle have remembered what made them such a force last season. Seven points from nine speaks for itself.

Read on for a look at a huge week for the Greens.

Tunnel cam video

Did we just get our Argyle back?

I don’t mind telling you that I’ve been was in a bit of a huff about Argyle last week. The Foster fiasco and some clear mistakes at board level left many people – me included – with memories of that 18/19 slide toward relegation. We’ve been here before and we know how it goes, right?

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the post Foster PR push. Yes, I lapped up elements of like a pint of Thatchers Gold on a hot day, but some of it did feel somewhat contrived. And I would have preferred some opinions to stay in the dressing room.

Then there was the tepid QPR game (a team on incredible away form) a sign to me that the problems of the Foster era were endemic. 

So I had the hump around the on-going catastrophic results from those around us, and the Leicester game, which we were obviously going to lose.

How wrong I was on all counts.

I’m sure you watched the game, have seen the highlights, tuned in for the two hours of Green and White podcast discourse, so you don’t need me to analyse what was special about Friday night under the lights

It was a performance that simply could not have happened under Foster. He could not have motivated this group to play with such passion and grit. He could not have whipped Home Park into one of the great atmospheres, that had the Sky camera literally bouncing come 90 minutes. He could not have masterminded the switch to 4-4-2, and he would not have fielded the team of battle-hardened green warriors capable of standing up and being counted, when the pressure was on – just as they did last season.

For me, this is the closest we’ve come to getting our best current XI on the pitch.

Bundu adds a directness and rawness that’s been evident all season, and finally got a start to demonstrate what he can bring. Yes, he’s a raw talent and unpredictable – but just as he did against QPR when he got onto the pitch – he makes things happen.

Pleguezuelo, Scarr and Gibson also feel like the best centre-back trio.

Finally, Forshaw and Randell have the ability to progress the ball forward.

Foster irony

One could argue that there were hallmarks of Foster’s Argyle throughout the performance.

It was exactly the type of strategy Foster was looking to implement, and the compact lines and disciplined positioning seemed a by-product of the hours spent soaking up out of possession lessons in the classroom. They were certainly better organised than the last time Dewsnip and Nance took charge in December.

If there’s one player that seems to have been left positively affected by Foster it’s Waine, who again came on and was busy, effective, dangerous and energetic.

If there’s one statistic that fascinated me, it was that Vardy failed to touch the ball for 17 minutes after coming onto the pitch. Argyle suffocated Leicester, and from our goal in the 21st minute – they barely had a sniff. Yes there were two decent chances for Daka, but for the assembled millions of the Leicester team, they deserved little from the game.

The run in

With another mad run of results, the three points versus Leicester feel crucial. Had we lost, the position would look so different. But to come out of the weekend with two extra points on 22nd and 23rd is astounding.

FWIW (nothing) Opta only gives Argyle a 1.7% chance of going down.

But this weekend’s fixtures also throw up interesting scenarios. 

As it stands, Huddersfield and Wednesday both need to get five points from their remaining games to surpass Argyle, without us scoring another point. That feels a tall order in itself.

But this Saturday we see…

• Rotherham v Birmingham

• Huddersfield vs Swansea

• Blackburn Rovers vs Wednesday

• Stoke v Argyle

• QPR v Preston

With Birmingham likely to pick up three points this weekend (as if anything is likely in this league), and Wednesday also up against the hot and cold Blackburn, there’s a good chance that if Argyle don’t get a result in the Schumacher Derby, that the table could look a little scary come Saturday evening.

Then comes…

• Huddersfield vs Birmingham

• Southampton vs Stoke

• Millwall vs Argyle

• Wednesday vs West Brom

• QPR v Leeds

But the following week, Huddersfield and Birmingham face each other, so one or both of those teams will lose points with a very tough fixture each on the last week. Wednesday and Stoke also take on formidable opposition.

The final week sees:

• Sunderland v Wednesday

• Argyle v Hull

• Ipswich v Huddersfield

• Birmingham v Norwich

• Coventry v QPR

• Stoke v Bristol City

Should it comes down to this week anything could happen, with most protagonists secure, resting players for play-offs.

One more win should be enough to see Argyle right. But two draws would also likely see us over the line – so bringing that energy from Leicester to Stoke on Saturday would be a great start.

It’s a huge game with obvious bragging rights, emotion and bad blood lending an edge to the encounter that could produce any result. I feel the pressure is on Stoke, who sit below Argyle in the table and with Southampton away next, and form side Bristol City on the final day, they will be seriously feeling the pressure. 

Schuey has been on Stoke TV asserting the need for fans to get behind the team at the Bet365 Library. There’s no chance anyone at the club will need to make the same appeal to Argyle fans.

Argyle arrive on a high, with the immense togetherness that’s been fostered within the dressing room by Nance and Dewsnip. This group would run through walls for each other.

Can we say that about Stoke and Schumacher? We’ll find out on Saturday.