One Deal at a Time:
The Wendies (A) February 4th
In what seems an unseemly surfeit of time, Argyles cold weather break whilst the rest of their rivals persist in the delusional belief that their cup fortunes can continue without any impact on their league challenge, will finally come to an end with the true top of the table clash at the Wendy House in Sheffield. The only play is S6.
Other than the cup ties, the main preoccupation for almost all fans is the wonderfully artificial marketplace that is the January transfer window. The best thing about this is that I know, as I write this on deadline day, the only thing I can be sure of is that by the time I hit send it will be out of date. Still no Morgan spotted anywhere yet.
As there is a sizeable gap in the match schedule, and as the window also corresponds with that other significant date in footballing circles of (Wes?) Burns Night, when useless off-cuts of meat-based waste products are manufactured into an amorphous mass for consumption by a reluctant public, or as Everton fans call it, their midfield, I thought this might be an opportunity to follow the Scottish Bard.
'O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us! '
From âOde to an Exeter City managerâ (Ok Burns called it âto a Louseâ but you get my drift.)
And so, as the only match Argyle have played between the drubbing of Cheltenham and the trip for our âCup Finalâ has been an in house friendly, I have decided to take a One Game at a Time, look in the mirror.
Obviously every supporter thinks their club is unique, but in many cases Argyle have the evidence to show that that is true.
Letâs start with the whole green thing. The only English club to play in green as their primary kit colour. Thatâs alwaysâŚ.not just as some marketing ploy to sell a bunch of barely wearable scratchy sub cotton plastic hybrids, in the only two kit sizes known to (marketing) man, small child and fat bloke.
We all know that North of the border there are clubs like Celtic and Hibs that also play in green, but down here it is ours and always has been. Even when we appeased our Scottish laird, the lord Luggy we called his bright orange kit choice Tangergreen! Yeovil have come and gone, and Forest Green might have Green in their name as well, as in their owners determination to power the ground by the excess wind exhalations of his supporters vegan burger consumption, but if you see a football league game on telly and one team wears green it should only ever be us.
There is an assumption in some entertainment circles that green is an unlucky colour, especially around the circus trade. The French playwright Moliere died wearing green which also accounts for the same superstition in theatrical circumstances. Green was also associated with arsenic, which was found in many wallpapers. Napoleon, when he died, was found to have traces of arsenic in his hair and, despite having actually died of cancer, his wallpaper was found to contain arsenic and so rumours of his alleged poisoning spread.
In many societies, however, green is perceived as the colour of life and regeneration and is consequently found in many nations. The powerful Egyptian god Osiris was depicted with green skin and, in pagan times, green was considered the colour of fairies and spirits.
Good things come in green. Kermit, go lights at traffic junctions, jolly giants, goddesses, chameleons (most of the time) and of course armies. Ok, so there are broccoli and avocado, and other things as foul as the contents of an Eva Green email but, by and large, green is good.
Another thing unique about Argyle is undoubtedly the fact it is, as the saying goes, a long old poke. The most westerly and most southerly of all the English clubs, at least until Truro City manage to get into the upper echelons of the league pyramid, we are the one club that doesnât have a local derby so much as a slightly less inconvenient one. When a manager like Neil Warnock talks about meeting players at Bristol and then talking their ears off as he drove them to Plymouth so they didnât notice the distance when persuading them to sign you know our geographical extremism is something we will always have to contend with.
Then there is the traditional association Plymouth has with the sea and the Navy. Whilst not unique in having such links, hence the upcoming âDockyard Derbyâ, Argyle proudly carries the Pilgrim Fathers Mayflower on its crest. Of course the reality of the Pilgrim Fathers is that Plymouth was more of a stop off than a starting point, with various ports also claiming to be the point of origin of the early American settlers, not the least of which being Boston Lincolnshire, whose United are also nicknamed the Pilgrims. A closer study of the Pilgrim Fathers shows they had quite a lot more in common with Scrooby in Nottinghamshire and then Holland as they fled persecution in England. Plymouth Pilgrims? You havenât got a Scrooby.
And if we are talking uniqueness then, well you donât do better than Argyle in UK footballing terms. Not for our club the common vulgar City, United or even Albion (leave that for the egg chasers). Argyle, not half inched from the visiting Highlander regiment, nor even the name of the terrace where the founders of the club met and created the Club although the preponderance of street based names for local teams suggests that Argyle Terrace may have been relevant. So, it was Argyle and its founders that adopted Plymouth rather than the other way round. For those curious Greens Obn Screen history section is the best resource around.
Of course, sadly for Argyle the uniqueness of our location, name and heritage means little in terms of success. So, whilst the colours we wear result in us being known by some as the Snot, and our name by others as the Gargoyles, it is our history of never being in the top division, the largest English city with a football club never to have made the top-flight, that leaves us with the nickname that stings the most. Potential Argyle, unrealised at that, permanently reminds the Green Army that for all their fanaticism and occasional optimism, we are damned by always being measured against coming up just that little bit short when compared to the giants of football like, well Brentford, Bournemouth Millwall and even Oxford United.
And it is that which will be brought home on Saturday. The Wendies will believe they are a bigger club, despite not having been above us in the league for months, even if the calling off of their game at Cheltenham might have been in part responsible.
Almost four thousand Greens will be at the ground. The largest away following of the season. A total crowd that most in the Championship would love to have. Argyle are quite the draw it seems.
No doubt we will be in good voice, fuelled according to legend by Ginsters (other pasties are available), Ambrosia custard and cream on first scones. Cider for the Ciderman. It will be raucous and yet I for one will hope that the true spirit of football will be remembered, because in the last couple of weeks it has shown itself to be very much alive.
I doubt there are any Argyle fans not familiar with the plight of young Jayden Lamerton and his family. As a frequenter of opposition fans sites in my quest for titbits and snippets to use in my musings, I posted about Jayden and his families GoFundme appeal. Ipswich, Oxford, Derby, Bolton and Wednesday fans have been incredibly generous to the appeal financially, but in the case of Wednesday fans even more so.
Their fans asked what they could do to make this game special for Jayden, have contacted their club to see what could be done, and in one Wednesday fanâs case, offered to fund the cost of whatever could be arranged.
At this stage it is in the hands of the family and the clubs as it should be, and I should point out the Wednesday fan who offered financial support was told by Wednesday, no, this one is on us. Proper fans from a proper club.
On Saturday it is second v top, Owls v Pilgrims, Wendies v Gargoyles, Yorkshire Puddings v Pasties.
And whatever happens on Saturday I hope Jayden gets to feel the undoubted love from the whole of the football family.
COYG!!
The Wendies (A) February 4th
In what seems an unseemly surfeit of time, Argyles cold weather break whilst the rest of their rivals persist in the delusional belief that their cup fortunes can continue without any impact on their league challenge, will finally come to an end with the true top of the table clash at the Wendy House in Sheffield. The only play is S6.
Other than the cup ties, the main preoccupation for almost all fans is the wonderfully artificial marketplace that is the January transfer window. The best thing about this is that I know, as I write this on deadline day, the only thing I can be sure of is that by the time I hit send it will be out of date. Still no Morgan spotted anywhere yet.
As there is a sizeable gap in the match schedule, and as the window also corresponds with that other significant date in footballing circles of (Wes?) Burns Night, when useless off-cuts of meat-based waste products are manufactured into an amorphous mass for consumption by a reluctant public, or as Everton fans call it, their midfield, I thought this might be an opportunity to follow the Scottish Bard.
'O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us! '
From âOde to an Exeter City managerâ (Ok Burns called it âto a Louseâ but you get my drift.)
And so, as the only match Argyle have played between the drubbing of Cheltenham and the trip for our âCup Finalâ has been an in house friendly, I have decided to take a One Game at a Time, look in the mirror.
Obviously every supporter thinks their club is unique, but in many cases Argyle have the evidence to show that that is true.
Letâs start with the whole green thing. The only English club to play in green as their primary kit colour. Thatâs alwaysâŚ.not just as some marketing ploy to sell a bunch of barely wearable scratchy sub cotton plastic hybrids, in the only two kit sizes known to (marketing) man, small child and fat bloke.
We all know that North of the border there are clubs like Celtic and Hibs that also play in green, but down here it is ours and always has been. Even when we appeased our Scottish laird, the lord Luggy we called his bright orange kit choice Tangergreen! Yeovil have come and gone, and Forest Green might have Green in their name as well, as in their owners determination to power the ground by the excess wind exhalations of his supporters vegan burger consumption, but if you see a football league game on telly and one team wears green it should only ever be us.
There is an assumption in some entertainment circles that green is an unlucky colour, especially around the circus trade. The French playwright Moliere died wearing green which also accounts for the same superstition in theatrical circumstances. Green was also associated with arsenic, which was found in many wallpapers. Napoleon, when he died, was found to have traces of arsenic in his hair and, despite having actually died of cancer, his wallpaper was found to contain arsenic and so rumours of his alleged poisoning spread.
In many societies, however, green is perceived as the colour of life and regeneration and is consequently found in many nations. The powerful Egyptian god Osiris was depicted with green skin and, in pagan times, green was considered the colour of fairies and spirits.
Good things come in green. Kermit, go lights at traffic junctions, jolly giants, goddesses, chameleons (most of the time) and of course armies. Ok, so there are broccoli and avocado, and other things as foul as the contents of an Eva Green email but, by and large, green is good.
Another thing unique about Argyle is undoubtedly the fact it is, as the saying goes, a long old poke. The most westerly and most southerly of all the English clubs, at least until Truro City manage to get into the upper echelons of the league pyramid, we are the one club that doesnât have a local derby so much as a slightly less inconvenient one. When a manager like Neil Warnock talks about meeting players at Bristol and then talking their ears off as he drove them to Plymouth so they didnât notice the distance when persuading them to sign you know our geographical extremism is something we will always have to contend with.
Then there is the traditional association Plymouth has with the sea and the Navy. Whilst not unique in having such links, hence the upcoming âDockyard Derbyâ, Argyle proudly carries the Pilgrim Fathers Mayflower on its crest. Of course the reality of the Pilgrim Fathers is that Plymouth was more of a stop off than a starting point, with various ports also claiming to be the point of origin of the early American settlers, not the least of which being Boston Lincolnshire, whose United are also nicknamed the Pilgrims. A closer study of the Pilgrim Fathers shows they had quite a lot more in common with Scrooby in Nottinghamshire and then Holland as they fled persecution in England. Plymouth Pilgrims? You havenât got a Scrooby.
And if we are talking uniqueness then, well you donât do better than Argyle in UK footballing terms. Not for our club the common vulgar City, United or even Albion (leave that for the egg chasers). Argyle, not half inched from the visiting Highlander regiment, nor even the name of the terrace where the founders of the club met and created the Club although the preponderance of street based names for local teams suggests that Argyle Terrace may have been relevant. So, it was Argyle and its founders that adopted Plymouth rather than the other way round. For those curious Greens Obn Screen history section is the best resource around.
Of course, sadly for Argyle the uniqueness of our location, name and heritage means little in terms of success. So, whilst the colours we wear result in us being known by some as the Snot, and our name by others as the Gargoyles, it is our history of never being in the top division, the largest English city with a football club never to have made the top-flight, that leaves us with the nickname that stings the most. Potential Argyle, unrealised at that, permanently reminds the Green Army that for all their fanaticism and occasional optimism, we are damned by always being measured against coming up just that little bit short when compared to the giants of football like, well Brentford, Bournemouth Millwall and even Oxford United.
And it is that which will be brought home on Saturday. The Wendies will believe they are a bigger club, despite not having been above us in the league for months, even if the calling off of their game at Cheltenham might have been in part responsible.
Almost four thousand Greens will be at the ground. The largest away following of the season. A total crowd that most in the Championship would love to have. Argyle are quite the draw it seems.
No doubt we will be in good voice, fuelled according to legend by Ginsters (other pasties are available), Ambrosia custard and cream on first scones. Cider for the Ciderman. It will be raucous and yet I for one will hope that the true spirit of football will be remembered, because in the last couple of weeks it has shown itself to be very much alive.
I doubt there are any Argyle fans not familiar with the plight of young Jayden Lamerton and his family. As a frequenter of opposition fans sites in my quest for titbits and snippets to use in my musings, I posted about Jayden and his families GoFundme appeal. Ipswich, Oxford, Derby, Bolton and Wednesday fans have been incredibly generous to the appeal financially, but in the case of Wednesday fans even more so.
Their fans asked what they could do to make this game special for Jayden, have contacted their club to see what could be done, and in one Wednesday fanâs case, offered to fund the cost of whatever could be arranged.
At this stage it is in the hands of the family and the clubs as it should be, and I should point out the Wednesday fan who offered financial support was told by Wednesday, no, this one is on us. Proper fans from a proper club.
On Saturday it is second v top, Owls v Pilgrims, Wendies v Gargoyles, Yorkshire Puddings v Pasties.
And whatever happens on Saturday I hope Jayden gets to feel the undoubted love from the whole of the football family.
COYG!!
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