Argyle sign Graham Carey

[StevePAFC]

there won't be many on here that remember dear old Buggsy....he was cr@p with a capital CR...but he became a fans favourite nevertheless because he was so poor. The guy couldn't trap a bag of wet cement yet alone a football. Absolute rubbish yet the crowd loved him....

A player that runs around all game like a headless chicken goes down as a legend to some Argyle fans

I think Memory Man and myself have a slightly higher opinion of Buggsy's effectiveness than your goodself. He was unorthodox but Argyle had strikers in that team who appreciated his ability to put in telling crosses.

My comment was only tongue in cheek haha, i was referring more to the likes of Warren Feeney

 

[memory man]

there won't be many on here that remember dear old Buggsy....he was cr@p with a capital CR...but he became a fans favourite nevertheless because he was so poor. The guy couldn't trap a bag of wet cement yet alone a football. Absolute rubbish yet the crowd loved him....

A player that runs around all game like a headless chicken goes down as a legend to some Argyle fans

Bugsy was an integral part of the Argyle side that went closer to the First Division than any since. Indeed, had he not got injured with six games to go we may well have made it. According to private notes (that I have seen) by the manager of the day, Ellis Stuttard, Bugsy was an automatic choice because he frightened other teams with his blistering pace. There was no one quicker in that season's Second Division. At his best he would show a clean pair of heels to any defence. Yes he did fail occasionally to trap or control the ball but anyone who saw him play against West Ham in the FA Cup will never forget his display, capped by a stunning solo goal. Had he reached that level all the time he would not have been at Home Park for very long. During that 1961-62 season he gave several match-winning performances, but also could frustrate the crowd with elementary errors. After being recalled by Stuttard the team lost just twice in 18 games. Bugsy then got tonsillitis and in the five games he missed the team drew once and lost four. Erratic yes, poor no.

 

[Cult Of Personality]

Sounds like another good player signed up . Just need that tough tackling midfielder we have lacked for sometime. Someone who breaks up play but also gives us a bit of steel and no how

 

[Greenford]

Sounds like another good player signed up . Just need that tough tackling midfielder we have lacked for sometime. Someone who breaks up play but also gives us a bit of steel and no how

Lee Cox?

 

[Cult Of Personality]

Sounds like another good player signed up . Just need that tough tackling midfielder we have lacked for sometime. Someone who breaks up play but also gives us a bit of steel and no how

Lee Cox?

To fragile sadly

I rate the guy but god dam injuries has blighted his career down here

 

[HarlHM]

Sounds like another good player signed up . Just need that tough tackling midfielder we have lacked for sometime. Someone who breaks up play but also gives us a bit of steel and no how

Anthony O'Connor?

 

[davie nine]

Sounds like another good player signed up . Just need that tough tackling midfielder we have lacked for sometime. Someone who breaks up play but also gives us a bit of steel and no how

Anthony O'Connor?

Still hoping until departure announced. Interesting that we are a week into his contract expiry and still not snapped up.

 

[Josh Pope]

there won't be many on here that remember dear old Buggsy....he was cr@p with a capital CR...but he became a fans favourite nevertheless because he was so poor. The guy couldn't trap a bag of wet cement yet alone a football. Absolute rubbish yet the crowd loved him....

A player that runs around all game like a headless chicken goes down as a legend to some Argyle fans

I think Memory Man and myself have a slightly higher opinion of Buggsy's effectiveness than your goodself. He was unorthodox but Argyle had strikers in that team who appreciated his ability to put in telling crosses.

My comment was only tongue in cheek haha, i was referring more to the likes of Warren Feeney

Worked for Lewis Alessandra too.

 

[HarlHM]

Sounds like another good player signed up . Just need that tough tackling midfielder we have lacked for sometime. Someone who breaks up play but also gives us a bit of steel and no how

Anthony O'Connor?

Still hoping until departure announced. Interesting that we are a week into his contract expiry and still not snapped up.

Yeah, true, but CoP said we've lacked a tough-tackling midfielder for some time. We had O'Connor recently - that was my point, however badly written it was.

He's clearly off elsewhere though.

 

[Bermudian Green]

Just as pundits and commentators speak every week about "the number 10 role", not all the players they speak about play in that shirt number. It is an historical reference to the way numbering was. Similarly, centre forwards are often referred to as "a typical number 9" though the may well play in any shirt from 2-50. So my reference to the 11 shirt was an historical one associated with people who played wide left, a time when the shirt worn matched the position played. Most people of my generation would recognise what I meant. It was not until 1999 that squad numbering in the three Football League divisions became compulsory! Until then it was strictly 1 to 11, numbers which historically referred to a position on the field. Indeed, on 5 Dec 1959, for a home game against Bristol Rovers, Harry Penk wore the 7 shirt (always the outside right) and Peter Anderson wore the 11 shirt (always the outside left). At the kick-off Penk lined up on the left and Anderson on the right. The referee was not impressed and warned manager Jack Rowley afterwards that it should not be allowed to happen again. Incidentally, for a game which saw Argyle battling against relegation, 16,675 turned out on a cold November afternoon - something else consigned to the history books!!

You have some amazing anecdotes. How on earth do you remember them all?

 

[The Doctor]

Just as pundits and commentators speak every week about "the number 10 role", not all the players they speak about play in that shirt number. It is an historical reference to the way numbering was. Similarly, centre forwards are often referred to as "a typical number 9" though the may well play in any shirt from 2-50. So my reference to the 11 shirt was an historical one associated with people who played wide left, a time when the shirt worn matched the position played. Most people of my generation would recognise what I meant. It was not until 1999 that squad numbering in the three Football League divisions became compulsory! Until then it was strictly 1 to 11, numbers which historically referred to a position on the field. Indeed, on 5 Dec 1959, for a home game against Bristol Rovers, Harry Penk wore the 7 shirt (always the outside right) and Peter Anderson wore the 11 shirt (always the outside left). At the kick-off Penk lined up on the left and Anderson on the right. The referee was not impressed and warned manager Jack Rowley afterwards that it should not be allowed to happen again. Incidentally, for a game which saw Argyle battling against relegation, 16,675 turned out on a cold November afternoon - something else consigned to the history books!!

You have some amazing anecdotes. How on earth do you remember them all?

For anyone interesting in this kind of thing, and the evolution of football formations and tactics more generally I would thoroughly recommend Jonathon Wilson's excellent book "Inverting the Pyramid" which I have just finished reading. As allluded to by Memory Man, it was seen as unsporting to line-up in a different formation from the original 2-3-5 and/or to have players playing in the 'wrong' numbered shirt for the position. after all, what was the defender supposed to do if the player who they were supposed to mark (based on their shirt number) wasn't in the right part of the field?

 

[Shadowknight]

I'd like to see Graham do a weekly column in the herald, where he tells us about either his hobbies or things to do in the area.

Carey on Football.
Carey on Camping.

That sort of thing.