Successful season or not?

Beating a team in the promotion race and then losing to a team in the relegation zone the following week has only happened once in the league, Lincoln/Northampton.

At the start of the season the majority of fans (45%) who voted in a poll were happy for a midtable finish so we're on course for that and nowhere near a relegation fight.

The six game losing streak did have an away FA Cup win in the middle of it, so again not as bad as perceived.

In a Covid affected season and being the new boys in League One it was always about consolidation and a learning curve.
The best things to take away from this season so far is that Ryan Lowe can play different tactics and formations after we all thought he was too stubborn to do so and that we can't progress defensively with young centre-backs on loan.
Cooper will have a full first season under his belt and will be a better keeper next season and we've discovered two out and out goalscorers (three if Hardie finds his form) who are on long contracts.

We've also nailed Lowe and Schumacher on long contracts.

In many ways it's a season to forget for a lot of teams while we all wait for Covid to ease up but Argyle come out of the season in a better way than when we started.

charlieboy":2qj2cfvl said:

If you look at it objectively I would say it's been okay at best, to go on a loseing streak of 5 or 6 games TWICE is very poor, to beat teams in the promotion race one week and then lose to teams in the relegation area the following weekend is somewhat mind blowing, to play brilliantly one week and so badly the next is poor management. To continue to play the same way is very stubborn when you are loseing weekly and only change because of injury, then notice the improvement does not give me much encouragement. To constantly conceed goals at the beginning of the second half and corners at the near post to the extent that when a corner is awarded against us I expect the opposition to score is pathetic. A couple of additions in key positions will allow us to mount a serious promotion case next season. How manys times have we said that over the seasons only to be let down by various managers book of excuses, the league table does not lie. I am not convinced by Lowe although I am very happy to be wroven wrong.

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Two points.

1. Why do this now? If we finish with 60+ points (still very possible), it's been a very decent season. If we finish with only 50, it'll look very different. Working on our current PPG, we're on target for 59.

2. Why concentrate almost exclusively on the negatives? If you genuinely want to evaluate the season (when it's finished), look at positives and negatives.

I think it’s been a reasonably successful season overall. Yes our fluctuating form has been frustrating and baffling but this comes with a young and inexperienced team. Also, let’s not forget this is Lowe’s first full season managing at this level so hopefully he will have learned a lot from this season and make the changes needed in the summer. I don’t think we should underestimate the pandemic either. It’s been a weird season for everyone. It’s not just the lack of fans in stadiums, it’s the inability for the staff and players to socialise and get to know one another properly. These are crucial elements to build team morale. I’m looking forward to seeing what Lowe can do next season.

Personally I think this season has gone pretty much how many would have expected, newly promoted team, avoid relegation. With regards the form and a couple bad runs if you mixed it in with the great start to the year we had I don't think as much would be made of it. We have a management team only in their 3rd full season (that's including last season which wasn't strictly a full season) and their first at this level. Whilst fans are still locked out I'm happy for us to have a mediocre season and safely sit mid table and then push again next season with more experience under our belt on and off the pitch and also with some new recruits in areas which are obvious to everyone that need strengthening. The mood around the club is the best in long time and that's with nobody actually being able to attend, imagine what it'll be like in the not so distant future and Home Park rocking. We are signing players on long term contracts, our management are on long term contracts and the facilities are one of the best in the league. Football is a game of opinions so not saying any previous comments are wrong but if you look at the top of the table there are some seriously 'big' teams up there with resources far beyond ours that we have more than matched on the field. I'm more than confident next season we will improve again and the play-offs should be a real target. So to answer the OP's question, yes I think this season is a success (so far).

After 38 games the points, goals scored, conceded and goal difference isn’t much different from 2018/19, so perhaps that is a good comparison.

We will be in League One next season.
That is success. :scarf:

HC Green":o1gh9ks4 said:

After 38 games the points, goals scored, conceded and goal difference isn’t much different from 2018/19, so perhaps that is a good comparison.

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4 points better off this season. The problem in 2018/2019 was that in the last 8 games we only picked up 5 points, that isn't going to happen this season.

I think we will end up mid table which I think is a success. I am glad we have secured Lowe and the rest fo the team too. More importantly (for me) I have enjoyed the type of football we have tried to play and I can't wait for us to be able to watch games live again. I feel quite excited for the future and this is why I think it has been successful so far.

Probably not the best way to judge things but I tend to look at the other teams promoted with us last season. That was Crewe, Swindon, Northampton so based on that then we are doing ok..

Start of season would have settled for mid table so not disapointed . :scarf: :scarf: :scarf:

I was one who voted that a mid-table position at the end of the season and staying in league one would be a good season. For a moment I thought we would get into the playoffs but then we faded away with some poor and sometimes unlucky results. I think that one of the problems this season is that Lowe wanted to always play his 352 with wing backs, but that he tried to fit square pegs into round holes with some players simply not versatile enough. Yes our captain has had a good season but he is not a wing back and we rarely threatened from the right side. Aimson has shown in the last couple of games that he is better in a back four. Our midfield did not score enough goals and we always seemed to want to walk the ball into the net. We also needed someone with height up front as we always lost the heading battles.
I hope we stick with 442 for the rest of the season and revert to the more exciting, watchable 352 next season if we can get the right sort of players in.
I think that Lowe will not renew a lot of the contracts for the new season, but I do hope that Danny Major will sign on. At times I have just purred when watching him turn and leaving a couple of players in his wake.

Way, way too early to judge this. Perhaps even the end of season will be too. During our first season in this division during the first Sturrock era, he said that his aim was to put in place the foundations for a promotion push the season after. He clearly did that well. There are signs that the current regime is doing equally well, but we probably won't know for sure until after this time NEXT season. However, this feels uncannily like that. That season saw us recruit a certain David Norris; we finished 16 points outside the play-offs and struggled for consistency. Most crucially, Luggy introduced the new, more direct, style of play that brought the best out of the legend who is David Friio. Cue Ian Holloway's QPR coming to HP at the end of the following season.......

I'd say that overall it has been a success but, for me, this will only really become clear when we see how much of the experience that has been gained by young players this season is carried over to next season and whether the more senior pros choose to stay.

It has been a great season for the development of Cooper, Opoku, Watts, Fornah, Camara and Jephcott but only 3 of those 6 players are contracted to Argyle. If all of the loan players return to their parent clubs (include also Woods and Lewis) then we've done an awful lot of development work for just the long-term benefit of those clubs (or others that take these players next season). It would be even worse if one or more of our own young players leaves.

This season will certainly have been a success if we remain in League 1 (which we will) AND it gives us a strong foundation for next season's squad. If we have to bring in a whole new defence (is Aimson under contract) and lose senior players with experience (Edwards, Mayor) then we'll just be back to square one really.

Pogleswoody":30p9vdh9 said:

We will be in League One next season.
That is success. :scarf:

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This !