Plymouth Argyle Weekly News #3

[davie nine]

We should be proud of our city and it’s location, MGM.
To suggest that we move the location of our training facilities further ‘up country’ is ridiculous.
It would not be Plymouth Argyle any more.
Do you really believe that is all we need to do to achieve EPL status?
If so, I’ll settle for our main aim that, currently, is to reach the Championship and consolidate our position there.

 

[Metal Green Mickey]

We should be proud of our city and it’s location, MGM.
To suggest that we move the location of our training facilities further ‘up country’ is ridiculous.
It would not be Plymouth Argyle any more.
Do you really believe that is all we need to do to achieve EPL status?
If so, I’ll settle for our main aim that, currently, is to reach the Championship and consolidate our position there.

It’s got nothing to do with being proud of the city Davie. I’m from here and proud of that,

When your looking to bring in players and competing with the rest of the EFL with a similar budget then location is a huge factor.

So unless we think out of the box we are going to never become a premier league side simply because players will choose Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and London to be based near their families. Why would you choose to live away from your family if you don’t have to? Why would you choose to travel for hours upon hours every other match day weekend.

It’s not about not being proud of where we are from. It’s trying to find solutions to an issue that’s always held us back. We have to be honest with ourselves. We are a city on the backside on nowhere. Unfortunately, to ask a footballer to move and possibly his family when they probably are settled is a major ask. If it was so easy we wouldn’t of had the debate surrounding Lowe and his family.

Personally, l don’t care if he moves down. I just care about how he performs as manger of Argyle. The same goes for the players.

It’s going to get harder as we climb up the leagues. We already see a number of current Argyle players having to be away from their families.

Persuading top players on thousands of pounds per week to uproot their life, especially if they don’t have too, is going to be a huge issue. Plus the travelling involved. A number of players will not like it. It makes our job as a football club extremely difficult as the pool of quality players we choose from will be smaller than the rest. You only have to look at other clubs in league one around us like MK Dons, they manage to entice the young Man Utd right back, and l imagine location was a benefit when he choose a team to play for.

Most of us love this city. There is a reason why many who contribute on here don’t live here anymore. To be successful in their profession the opportunities simply aren’t here. Footballers want not only the platform, which Argyle can give them, but a certain lifestyle. You aren’t going to find that in Plymouth.

There are three reasons why Argyle have never been very successful.

1. They never had a rich chairman to bankroll Championship ambitions.

2. When they had a chairman who did have money they didn’t run the club professionally

3. Location

We are very lucky we have Simon Hallett now. Yet even he has stated his investments will only go so far. When/IF Argyle become a sustainable championship club unfortunately unless we find a solution to the location issue or a very rich benefactor who’s prepared to lose money our glass ceiling is mid table championship level at best.

Unfortunately, as a football fan we don’t do realism very well. We live in a fantasy bubble. That’s great but that’s why there is so much anger around when we don’t achieve high expectations.

 

[mutley marvel]

Reading MGM comments - does he think footballers are above the average person on the street- it is their chosen profession for which they are paid wages only the average Joe can dream off

I am extremely proud of where i come from - why shouldnt i be

To suggest Argyle obtain a centralised hub to break the location issue is outrageous & a disservice to our proud football club

We are unique due to our location & players who sign on the dotted line know what they are signing up to

Last season the loanees we had came from London, Nottingham,Newcastle & Liverpool- clearly location was not a issue for them

If & when we do reach the promised land- might be in my lifetime football would have evolved & the days of overpaid prima donnas & reckless ownership (only have to look at the ESL debacle) hopefully would have disappeared into the sunset

If & when SH relinquishes his guardianship of our proud club im sure he will not hand it over to a billionaire so that we will become his play thing only to be discarded when they lose interest

 

[davie nine]

We should be proud of our city and it’s location, MGM.
To suggest that we move the location of our training facilities further ‘up country’ is ridiculous.
It would not be Plymouth Argyle any more.
Do you really believe that is all we need to do to achieve EPL status?
If so, I’ll settle for our main aim that, currently, is to reach the Championship and consolidate our position there.

It’s got nothing to do with being proud of the city Davie. I’m from here and proud of that,

When your looking to bring in players and competing with the rest of the EFL with a similar budget then location is a huge factor.

So unless we think out of the box we are going to never become a premier league side simply because players will choose Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and London to be based near their families. Why would you choose to live away from your family if you don’t have to? Why would you choose to travel for hours upon hours every other match day weekend.

It’s not about not being proud of where we are from. It’s trying to find solutions to an issue that’s always held us back. We have to be honest with ourselves. We are a city on the backside on nowhere. Unfortunately, to ask a footballer to move and possibly his family when they probably are settled is a major ask. If it was so easy we wouldn’t of had the debate surrounding Lowe and his family.

Personally, l don’t care if he moves down. I just care about how he performs as manager of Argyle. The same goes for the players.

It’s going to get harder as we climb up the leagues. We already see a number of current Argyle players having to be away from their families.

Persuading top players on thousands of pounds per week to uproot their life, especially if they don’t have too, is going to be a huge issue. Plus the travelling involved. A number of players will not like it. It makes our job as a football club extremely difficult as the pool of quality players we choose from will be smaller than the rest. You only have to look at other clubs in league one around us like MK Dons, they manage to entice the young Man Utd right back, and l imagine location was a benefit when he choose a team to play for.

Most of us love this city. There is a reason why many who contribute on here don’t live here anymore. To be successful in their profession the opportunities simply aren’t here. Footballers want not only the platform, which Argyle can give them, but a certain lifestyle. You aren’t going to find that in Plymouth.

There are three reasons why Argyle have never been very successful.

1. They never had a rich chairman to bankroll Championship ambitions.

2. When they had a chairman who did have money they didn’t run the club professionally

3. Location

We are very lucky we have Simon Hallett now. Yet even he has stated his investments will only go so far. When/IF Argyle become a sustainable championship club unfortunately unless we find a solution to the location issue or a very rich benefactor who’s prepared to lose money our glass ceiling is mid table championship level at best.

Unfortunately, as a football fan we don’t do realism very well. We live in a fantasy bubble. That’s great but that’s why there is so much anger around when we don’t achieve high expectations.

Where do Exeter Chiefs train?
We are only 40 miles away from them.

 

[Quintrell Green]

We should be proud of our city and it’s location, MGM.
To suggest that we move the location of our training facilities further ‘up country’ is ridiculous.
It would not be Plymouth Argyle any more.
Do you really believe that is all we need to do to achieve EPL status?
If so, I’ll settle for our main aim that, currently, is to reach the Championship and consolidate our position there.

It’s got nothing to do with being proud of the city Davie. I’m from here and proud of that,

When your looking to bring in players and competing with the rest of the EFL with a similar budget then location is a huge factor.

So unless we think out of the box we are going to never become a premier league side simply because players will choose Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and London to be based near their families. Why would you choose to live away from your family if you don’t have to? Why would you choose to travel for hours upon hours every other match day weekend.

It’s not about not being proud of where we are from. It’s trying to find solutions to an issue that’s always held us back. We have to be honest with ourselves. We are a city on the backside on nowhere. Unfortunately, to ask a footballer to move and possibly his family when they probably are settled is a major ask. If it was so easy we wouldn’t of had the debate surrounding Lowe and his family.

Personally, l don’t care if he moves down. I just care about how he performs as manager of Argyle. The same goes for the players.

It’s going to get harder as we climb up the leagues. We already see a number of current Argyle players having to be away from their families.

Persuading top players on thousands of pounds per week to uproot their life, especially if they don’t have too, is going to be a huge issue. Plus the travelling involved. A number of players will not like it. It makes our job as a football club extremely difficult as the pool of quality players we choose from will be smaller than the rest. You only have to look at other clubs in league one around us like MK Dons, they manage to entice the young Man Utd right back, and l imagine location was a benefit when he choose a team to play for.

Most of us love this city. There is a reason why many who contribute on here don’t live here anymore. To be successful in their profession the opportunities simply aren’t here. Footballers want not only the platform, which Argyle can give them, but a certain lifestyle. You aren’t going to find that in Plymouth.

There are three reasons why Argyle have never been very successful.

1. They never had a rich chairman to bankroll Championship ambitions.

2. When they had a chairman who did have money they didn’t run the club professionally

3. Location

We are very lucky we have Simon Hallett now. Yet even he has stated his investments will only go so far. When/IF Argyle become a sustainable championship club unfortunately unless we find a solution to the location issue or a very rich benefactor who’s prepared to lose money our glass ceiling is mid table championship level at best.

Unfortunately, as a football fan we don’t do realism very well. We live in a fantasy bubble. That’s great but that’s why there is so much anger around when we don’t achieve high expectations.

Where do Exeter Chiefs train?
We are only 40 miles away from them.

Exeter RFC have just signed a centre from Connaght, Ireland. It appears rugby players are not so fussy about moving long distances?

 

[Bryan Tregunna]

Not a good comparison.
Chiefs are at the top of the pile. If Argyle were in the Premiership, or top of Championship, location would be a problem; players follow the money.
In League One and Two, wages are that much lower, so why travel and play when you can just play,

 

[davie nine]

I don’t know a lot about the rugby setup but Exeter Chiefs have not always been at the ‘top of the pile’.
Their location (in Exeter) hasn’t changed since they were lower down ‘the pile’.

 

[IJN]

Not that I care on jot about that silly game, but were Exeter Chiefs ever anything but right up there at the top?

I know Exeter Rugby Club were lower than Albion at one stage but surely with the Americanisation of the names, Chiefs became a force.

Then again, I could be completely wrong.

 

[Darren Stoneman]

The Chiefs owners sold the old speedway ground and moved to the outskirts of the city, the development of the stadium and the investment in training gave them the footing for the current success, all built on local youth developement

If only we had improved our grandstand and youth and traing facilities, oh yeah! We have just think of the success we will have following that model! Really looking forward to the next few years

 

[Argylegames]

The Chiefs' website for their banqueting and match-day entertainment facilities shows how much their model influenced the redesign of the Mayflower. It was said at the time that we had been in consultation with the Chiefs on their development. The side of the Chiefs' ground which is next to the motorway is being rebuilt this year to make it bigger.

Edit to add:
Two of my friends have been watching the Chiefs for many years but have found themselves priced out of most of the matches these days.

 

[Guiri Green]

There is only one way to break the location issue.

People won’t like it.

However, if location is such an issue and it will hold us back the only way to break that cycle is base your training camp / pitch in a better location and further up the country. You then have a place to train for home/away matches. You have a centralised location so players can stay at home with their families. You do much less travelling. For home games, the players can travel down to Plymouth a few days before match day and use the facilities here. For the rest of the time they aren’t here they could open up those facilities to other local clubs.

It doesn’t matter where the players train. Just that they have the good facilities needed to do so. Obviously it would take a huge amount of money and so therefore is a pipe dream but if we did ever reach the premier league l would rather they spend money on this type of a facility than say a few costly players because in the long term the benefits would take away the issue we have with the geographical argument.

So, every game is effectively an away game for the Players ? Stay near your home base but travel across the country for EVERY game ? I'm sure the locally based Academy Players will relish travelling to training once they've graduated into the 1st Team squad.

 

[davie nine]

There is only one way to break the location issue.

People won’t like it.

However, if location is such an issue and it will hold us back the only way to break that cycle is base your training camp / pitch in a better location and further up the country. You then have a place to train for home/away matches. You have a centralised location so players can stay at home with their families. You do much less travelling. For home games, the players can travel down to Plymouth a few days before match day and use the facilities here. For the rest of the time they aren’t here they could open up those facilities to other local clubs.

It doesn’t matter where the players train. Just that they have the good facilities needed to do so. Obviously it would take a huge amount of money and so therefore is a pipe dream but if we did ever reach the premier league l would rather they spend money on this type of a facility than say a few costly players because in the long term the benefits would take away the issue we have with the geographical argument.

You make some very sensible and interesting posts on here, Mickey.
Let’s just say, with respect, that this wasn’t one of them.

 

[cheshiregreen]

Not seen it mentioned that Luke Jephcott played 89 minutes for Welsh under 21s v Moldova on June 4th.

https://clwbpeldroed.org/2021/06/04/wal ... qualifier/

 

[rsp4]

Agree entirely with JannerinCardiff looking at the map the same thing struck me as to how isolated we are compared to the rest of the teams in our league also what a difference it made with Morcambe winning the play offs Newport would have been almost like a local Derby for us coupled with Bristol Rovers relegation & Exeter failing again! we are even more cut off.
Face facts our geographical position has always been an issue & always will be

Hasn't always been an issue though has it. Sturrock and Holloway both managed to get very good players here.

I will admit the manager of the Greens probably doesn't get the pick of players that his opposite numbers get around London, Manchester and the Midlands but with good scouting we have had decent squads in the past.

Location is an excuse in my opinion.

 

[Railway sleeper]

There is only one way to break the location issue.

People won’t like it.

However, if location is such an issue and it will hold us back the only way to break that cycle is base your training camp / pitch in a better location and further up the country. You then have a place to train for home/away matches. You have a centralised location so players can stay at home with their families. You do much less travelling. For home games, the players can travel down to Plymouth a few days before match day and use the facilities here. For the rest of the time they aren’t here they could open up those facilities to other local clubs.

It doesn’t matter where the players train. Just that they have the good facilities needed to do so. Obviously it would take a huge amount of money and so therefore is a pipe dream but if we did ever reach the premier league l would rather they spend money on this type of a facility than say a few costly players because in the long term the benefits would take away the issue we have with the geographical argument.

Totally agree with you Mickey, but think your being a bit conservative...

My view are based upon two premise,
1. If Argyle are to develop a sustainable model for the championship/ premiership there are going to need to be BIG infrastructure changes, along the lines that have brought RB Leipzig success in Germany,
2. the ban on signing foreign players will eventually be eased ( when this will happen we don’t know).

Relative travel distances ( as the crow flies):
Plymouth to London 191 miles,
Plymouth to Birmingham 175 miles,
Plymouth to Paris 309 miles.

So you know what I’m going to suggest next ? That when the ban on signing foreign players is watered down - Argyle consider re- locating their training camp to somewhere like Chartres ( 60 miles from Paris- 240 miles from Plymouth). Beautiful little town , cheap land prices- possible in theory, to set up a purpose built state- of- the- art training facility.

Is this a crazy idea- yea, totally.
Is it a pipe- dream - more than likely.

This would break the paradigm for Argyle- and the attractions to British and foreign players of playing for a U.K. club based near Paris hardly need overstating., above and beyond any wage considerations. Argyle are uniquely in a position to consider this idea, because of their geography.

And when you consider that Chartres is only 65 miles further, from Plymouth than Birmingham- maybe it’s not so crazy as it first seems ?

The logistical difficulties of this idea hardly need overstating- but I think they could be worked through. Compared to teams in the U.S. league the distances are small. The concept would work best with two small training hubs- one near Plymouth and one fairly central in the U.K. ( somewhere like Loughborough, for example).

What we would really need to make this idea happen are two businessmen with vision- one with experience of managing big projects and another with experience in hotels/ leisure hubs....because the idea would work best as a joint commercial enterprise.....