THE DAILY DIARY

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Also included on the three most recent days, facts from Argyle's history.

Friday 30th April 2021

Argyle have announced that Joe Edwards is the winner of the player of the season for the 2019/20 season. The stand-in captain had an excellent year with 8 goals to date topping off a consistent level of performance. Mike Cooper came second and Conor Grant in third. Cooper himself won the young player award outright with top scorer Luke Jephcott second and loanee Kelland Watts in third.

Cooper celebrated his award by signing a three year contract, taking his deal up to the summer of 2024. The young keeper said of his breakthrough season: "I got pulled to the side about a month or two ago and the manager said we want to give you a new deal – to which I said '100%, love that'. I'm really excited, really happy to pen another three years with my club. I'm a bit taken aback by it, to be fair, I just want to say thanks to everyone who has voted for me, the support has been much appreciated this season. I am just really grateful to receive the award. It means a lot, coming into my first full season, having all the backing that I've had has been a massive help for my confidence, and probably exceeded a few of my expectations, to be fair. All in all, I'm really happy with how my year's gone personally, and I hope to take it into next year."

28th

Argyle have announced plans to launch a new digital offering for supporters, including a modernised official club website, mobile app, and streaming service. They will be moving away from their current partner, ifollow, as of next season.

25th

Despite Argyle's loss to Oxford, results elsewhere confirmed beyond mathematical doubt that Argyle will play in League One next season. Despite some frustrating spells, Ryan Lowe expressed his happiness at getting the job done. The manager said: "We're mathematically safe in this division for next season, which was always the aim, with two games to go. I'd have bitten your hand off for that at the start of the season. We had a false start, we probably gave the fans false hope, and probably gave myself false hope, because we were up there, and you're thinking 'go on, you can kick on.' That weren't to be, the case was for us to go and get as many points as we possibly can that kept us in the division, and we've got that. I want to finish higher than where we are now. We were undone in early doors by an own-goal from Joe, and our goal was a great finish. In the first half, we had some moments, we caused them a few problems but we just didn't have that clinical edge. I thought the lads gave us a reaction, it was what we wanted, they played some good stuff. On 70 minutes when we've got it back to 1-1, I'm thinking 'carry on doing the same thing', and then from a throw-in we don't track runners."

"We've been saying the same things a lot of the season. Without being too critical of certain individuals, we know where we need to improve. The recruitment has started a long time ago for that next season, we are on with it, we do need to find a solution – we can't concede as many goals as we have conceded. Neil Dewsnip, Andrew Parkinson, Zac Newton, the Board and me and my staff are talking about recruitment, and now we know where we are, what league we're going to be in, we can push forward with it and make sure we recruit better."

"What we can do now is give the lads a bit more of a positive mindset, what we can say is what a game to come into – Sunderland at home. I want to make sure that we put on a show, because some lads we're never going to see again. We want to go out with a bit of a bang, we've had two losses on the bounce, we want to pick up straight away and go out with two wins on the bounce, if we possibly can."

Ryan Law had a baptism of fire in the Argyle side with two losses but his individual performances were praised by his manager. Law himself said: "I went to Chippenham just before Christmas, I did well there but obviously COVID cancelled that season. I came back to Argyle, but wasn't really playing, just in the stands for some of the games, and on the bench for a couple. I went to Torquay, and played pretty much every game there. I will keep an eye on Torquay's results and I am hoping that they can get promoted, and obviously Adam Randell is doing well there too. But I am focused on trying to do as well as I can in the remaining games of the season at Argyle. It's my third year as a pro, and I'm happy to have the chance, and I just want to keep in the team and keep playing. There's two games left, and hopefully I can start both of them. I've been playing with Coops since I was like, eight, and Luke from when I was 15, maybe? It's easier playing with those because I've been playing with them for years."

24th

Argyle fell to another defeat, going down 3-1 at in form Oxford. It was a better performance with only an unfortunate own goal by Joe Edwards seeing the hosts take the lead. Argyle equalised after half-time via Niall Ennis but two home goals saw the yellow continue their play off push. Argyle: M Cooper, Edwards, Woods(Watts), Opoku, Law, Moore(Lolos), Fornah(Reeves), Camara, Mayor, Ennis, Jephcott(Hardie). Subs: McCormick, Tomlinson, MacLeod.

22nd

Ryan Lowe blasted the lack of pride shown by his side in their 0-6 mauling to Charlton Athletic. Lowe complained that there was no excuse for a lack of desire from his players. Lowe raged: "I'll front it up, I'm the manager of this football club that I'm proud to manage. There were a lot of players in there that weren't proud to wear the shirt, and I'll make sure I do something about it. I'll take the responsibility, albeit it they need to look at themselves. It just epitomises what we need to go forward, and that's men and people with desire. We dominated possession but we didn't have the desire to keep the ball out the back of the net, and we didn't have desire to score, so how are we going to win a game of football? I've got to give Charlton a bit of credit, they've scored six goals, but the fact of the matter is that my players didn't show pride, passion or desire, which is what I'm all about, so I can only apologise.

"It's tough but we have to keep working hard and try to put it right, because we've got another tough game at Oxford on Saturday, then Sunderland and Gillingham, and I want to see a reaction quickly. We can't just roll over for team and that's certainly what they've done in the end, they've rolled over, without a fight. I'm absolutely distraught deep down, but all I can do is make sure I do my best with this group to put it right. We have to keep stamping it down on them, what they need to do, to not only represent Plymouth Argyle but to represent me and to do the stuff that we ask them to do."

"I feel for Ryan Law, he was outstanding on Tuesday night; his first professional debut in League One. I'm gutted for the kid, I just said to him in the dressing room 'well played', because he was fantastic, and if I can get another ten players like him, then that's what I want. He gave everything out there tonight."

20th

Argyle suffered an embarrassing 0-6 loss at home to Charlton Atheltic, featuring former Pilgrim Ben Purrington. A fairly even first half in which Argyle were trailing by one, saw the deficit doubled on the stroke of half-time. After the interval, things became truly chaotic. An own goal from Kelland Watts and a series of defensive gaffes saw Argyle go five down shortly after the break. Salt was well and truly rubbed into the wounds with a minute of normal time to go as Charlton made it six. It was a full league debut to forget for wing back Ryan Law, albeit his personal performance was far from inadequate. Subs: M Cooper, Aimson(Moore), Woods, Watts, MacLeod (Reeves), Edwards, Camara, Mayor, Law, Hardie (Ennis), Jephcott. Subs: McCormick, Opoku, Fornah, Lewis.

18th

Despite conceding a last-minute equaliser in their Sky Bet League One draw at Burton Albion, Argyle manager Ryan Lowe was heartened by the team's overall performance. The manager also explained why he didn't use the match to blood young players for Argyle. Lowe said: "The performances were a lot better. I thought the performance against Hull was good but individual errors cost us. A lot better than Shrewsbury. We knew what we were coming up against in Burton Albion. Every time there's a throw-in, it's coming in your box, wherever that's from. We dealt with that, we competed really well, and we probably should have scored a few goals before the break."

"We're disappointed, because the lads definitely deserved three points, but it wasn't to be. It's a point, it's a point that you'll take. You want all three, but they've been doing well, Burton, and all we can do is go on to the next one. We had some great chances, but it wasn't to be. Ryan's great finish, he deserved that for all his work ethic. It's small margins, isn't it? Was it out, from the throw-in? We don't know. Can we play the ball in behind a little bit more when there's only 60 seconds to go? The lads were excellent in everything that they've done, first and second contacts. We're disappointed with the goal, but I thought we worked ever so hard to get the three points. Ultimately, the performance was a lot better than it has been, the desire and commitment was there, which I'm pleased about, and we got a point."

"Some people don't really see it, do they? They don't really see what Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Dino Maamria's teams are about. Do I throw two or three young kids in today and they get bullied and battered and bruised and never play again? It's got to be warranted; the training's got to be right. We were hoping Ryan Law was going to be with us on Thursday, but he had to wait for a COVID test to come back so he only had half a day's training with us, if that. They've got to warrant a place in the team, they've got to warrant a start. We can't just make wholesale changes when you're coming up against a team like Burton, and Charlton, Sunderland, Gillingham, Oxford – they're all big games. I'm not just going to make four or five changes so people can be smiling and happy about it – I'm going to do it for the right reasons for this football club." We're going to play a part teams' seasons and where they're trying to get to. Charlton are trying to get into the play-offs, Oxford's the same, Sunderland's going to be the same. We've got to do it for a bit of personal pride, as well as for the football club. That's our message to all of the players from now until the end of the season – keep going, keep performing to the best of your ability, and see where it takes you."

Ryan Hardie added: "We fought hard for 92 minutes of the game and then one mistake, or you could say one misjudgement, cost us. We're all very disappointed. We've got to start seeing out those games, we've got to win 1-0 sometimes. Sometimes you've got to change the way you play, and I think we did that, we adapted. They went long more, and then we had to go long more which, from the front to the back, we dealt with really well in most situations. I think conceding a goal just knocks everything. If we won 1-0 then we would say 'what a performance' but, at the end of the day, we want to get three points."

17th

Argyle ended their two game losing streak with a 1-1 draw away to Burton, in a game that could have been so much more. Argyle took the lead with 20 minutes to go via a Ryan Hardie finish, superbly looped over the Brewers keeper. Argyle did not look in much danger but a defensive mishap saw the hosts level up deep into stoppage time. Argyle: M Cooper, Aimson, Opoku, Watts, Fornah(MacLeod), Edwards, Camara, Mayor, Lewis, Hardie(Moore), Ennis (Jephcott). Subs: McCormick, Reeves, Law, Lolos.

15th

Wing-back Ryan Law has returned to Home Park after a successful loan spell at Torquay United, where he made eight appearances for the promotion chasing gulls. Ryan Lowe said of the youngster: "Gary Johnson has been over the moon with him, he's done a fantastic job since he's been there. They wanted to keep him, but we feel that, along with Klaidi Lolos, and the other youngsters like Ollie Tomlinson, there may be an opportunity for one or two of these to get some first-team football in League One – because we need to have a look at them. It was only right by Ryan, he's done everything we've asked him to do – he's come back fitter and stronger. He's gone to Torquay and become more of a man, and we think it's right to bring him back. We haven't brought him back to just sit around and be a training player, we've brought him back to force his way into the first-team and get an opportunity in League One."

13th

Argyle have had schedules altered for two of their remaining matches this season. The next game away to Burton will kick off at 12.30pm, as a show of respect to the late Prince Philip, whose funeral is scheduled to take place at Windsor Castle that afternoon.

Meanwhile, on the final day, Argyle will now travel to Gillingham on Sunday 9th May, kick-off 12pm.

12th

Ryan Lowe was less angry following this 3-0 defeat than the one before it but he was still frustrated at individual errors that saw Argyle leak goals once again. He said: "Definitely disappointing, I thought we were well in the game. I thought the first goal knocked us a little bit. In transitions, we need to look after the ball carefully, and we didn't. It allowed them to take a quick free-kick, we left some players unattended and then we've gone to the ground too early. We've gone in at half time being well in the game, we had more possession, we had more chances, and second half we make a mistake and an individual error that's cost us. They're a good team, Hull City, we know we couldn't give them half a chance let alone three or four chances, and that's what we've done. Every time they went through, they looked like scoring. We did get up there a few fair bits, and Niall Ennis and Luke Jephcott caused a few problems early on, and Danny Mayor's getting down that side, some balls are coming in the box and Pan got in and he had one blocked. We work on those patterns to get in those areas, and you've just got to have that ruthless edge."

"We give them the game plan, we tell them the way the opposition are, we give them the players and what they're about, we give them all the detail. I think it's individuals that need to take a look at themselves and see what they can do better. It's small details like keeping the ball, being stronger in a tackle and not taking any chances."

"The personnel might change in terms of who plays. We've just had Lewis Macleod come back from a little bit of a niggle and injury, but we've lost Conor Grant today. He was just a bit stiff from Monday. He's got a bit of a tight groin, so we've had it checked and he's probably a week to ten days away so there's no way we could risk him. Conor has been a different class all season, he's one that we've missed, so I'm disappointed with that but there's nothing we can do. The lads coming on the pitch have got to give us a bit more because we've got five games left and I don't want the season to peter out. We've got to get back to being ruthless, not making any individual errors and mistakes, collectively as well, and then hopefully we've got half a chance of winning games."

Captain Joe Edwards spoke on similar lines, talking about naivety. He said: "We knew it was going to be a tough game, they're a good side, top of the league, and we knew we had to bring our 'A' game. We're just disappointed with the goals we conceded and the mistakes that led to the goals, really. It's a little bit of naivety, it's probably where we are at the moment in terms of our season. We're just as disappointed as anyone, the lads really want to do well for this club and at the moment it's not going the way we want it to. They are a good side, but at times we played well and were well in the game. We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit with the goals and that's the frustrating thing. Ultimately, we haven't got the result or the performance that we wanted. It's going to be a tough week working on things to do better. These things happen, we've got a young team, still learning, still making mistakes, but you've got to come through it and make sure it doesn't happen again. That's our challenge, for us as a team and individuals, to make sure you don't repeat these mistakes. We've got five games left and we need to put some good performances together."

"We've got an honest group of lads, no-one likes losing, and it's down to us as individuals to make sure that we take responsibility for ourselves first. Once you do that, you can bring others with you. We'll have a tough week working on things, we know what's expected in terms of a reaction. If you work hard, the fortunes will turn around."

10th

Argyle fell to their second 3-0 loss in a row, going down at home to title favourites Hull City. Argyle were competative for most of the first hour, only going in one down at the break. The visitors however truly showed their class towards the end with two goals to make the scoreline look comfortable. Argyle: M Cooper, Aimson, Opoku, Watts(Reeves), Fornah(McLeod), Edwards, Camara(Moore), Mayor, Lewis, Ennis(Lolos), Jephcott(Hardie). Subs: McCormick, Tomlinson.

9th

Argyle have announced that the Argyle Superstore at Home Park will reopen its doors on Monday 12th April. With indoor spaces once again opening on Monday in line with government guidance, the Superstore will be open between 9am-3pm, Monday to Friday, as well as 10am-2pm on Saturday. The Superstore will be closed on Sunday.

7th

Ryan Lowe expressed rare anger at Argyle's performance in their loss to Shrewsbury, making it clear that such performances would not be acceptable. The manager fumed: "That didn't epitomise me, that performance, especially the second half. After the first goal, they crumbled right under. It's our worst attacking performance since I've been a manager, let alone at Plymouth Argyle: three shots, one on target, didn't create anything, and never had a shot in the first half. It's very rare that I've come out and done this but that was disappointing, and I apologise to everyone that was watching because that's not acceptable. We can make all the excuses under the sun, but I'm not making any. Shrewsbury had more energy than us, they had more determination than us. Their defenders were on the front foot and we were very reactive instead of proactive. Up to the top end of the pitch, it just fizzled out, there were no shots.

"I'll never single them out, but they know collectively as a group that it wasn't good enough. What disappointed me is the attacking options and the players we've got, but we didn't threaten them. We say send the man outside, that's a rule, and for the first goal, they've let some come inside and get a shot deflected. The second one we chose to go back where his middle centre-half should be and he wasn't there, and you're giving it to the player who's going to put it in the back of the net, and that's what he did. The third one was a disgraceful one as well, we let him come inside, on his right foot, and he puts it in the bottom corner. We don't get give-mes like that, we don't get any shots or options because people defend properly against us and our lads didn't defend properly. They've got no choice; they're going to have to show a reaction. We can't gift any teams goals in League One, so they've got to put it right.

"We've got to do the right thing by the group, because they've had two games in a short space of time. We'll have to recover them properly and we'll have to get back on the training ground and put it to work. We've got another tough game against top-of-the-league Hull City on Saturday. They've got to make sure that they perform to the best of their ability because I won't accept performances like that."

6th

Three second half goals sunk Argyle to a 3-0 defeat at Shrewsbury, in a performance that never saw Argyle find any kind of rhythm going forward, as well as being porous in defence. It was an Easter Monday to forget in blustery conditions. Argyle: M Cooper, Edwards(Moore), Aimson, Opoku, Watts, Fornah(Lewis), Grant, Camara(Reeves), Mayor, Hardie(Jephcott), Ennis(Lolos). Subs: McCormick, Tomlinson.

4th

The first fixture of the Pilgrims' 21/22 pre-season campaign is pencilled in, with Argyle scheduled to host to Neil Warnock's Middlesbrough at Home Park this summer. Ryan Lowe's Greens will take on Sky Bet Championship Boro on Friday 23rd July - with kick-off 7pm.

3rd

Ryan Lowe described the win against AFC Wimbledon as a two-sided game, with Argyle's first half display by far outshining their second half one. Lowe detailed: "It was a very hard-fought win. First half I thought we were very good, worthy of 1-0 at half-time, and possibly could've had a couple more. The second half performance wasn't anywhere near good enough. I was animated because we were giving the ball away very cheaply and we had an overload in midfield that we should've dealt with quite quickly, but we didn't. We have to give AFC Wimbledon a lot of credit. They're fighting for their lives. They stuck to it, they changed shape, they pushed four right up and they stopped us, made us go backwards and they had a right good go. We've played a lot better in second half performances over the season and not got anything from it, so for us to get three points, a win and a clean sheet, I'm over the moon."

"It was a terrific goal. Tyrese Fornah rolled it over his foot, a little bit of a trick, then he smashed it across the front. It was a lovely little flick from Sam and it rolled into the corner. Pleased with him, pleased with the goal, and he's got us a 1-0 win and a clean sheet. It's pleasing that we've reached 52 points. We've got seven games to go, so there's 21 points to play for, we've got to keep climbing the table as much as we can, keep picking up points, and start enjoying the games more.

"The workload of the players was a different class, we've seen they've all ran the distances they should be running to win a game of football, so I'm pleased with that. The squad is looking fresh, but we've got to recover them all now and have a game plan ready for Monday. We've just got to keep believing and keep building. We just want to keep winning games of football and if they play the way they did in the first half, we'll certainly do that."

Fornah himself also spoke positively of the development and of his delight on behalf of teammate Sam Woods, saying: "I'm really pleased for Sam, he's had a tough time not being in the team. He didn't allow things to get to him, and it was a pleasure to set him up today. I'm good in tight areas, I like to think I've got good feet. I tried to get a little move on the defender, so I had room to make a cross for Sam, and luckily today Sam was the guy that created a goal for himself. I thought first-half we played really well. The game plan was to try and move the ball out wide to our full-backs, and from there break – because we've got the ability in the team to get forward as quickly as we can. Second half it was a bit tougher because they came at us. Obviously, they were a bit disappointed with their first-half performance. They're a good team, and they're battling, as we all know. For us, it was about not conceding in the second-half and maintaining the win, which we did."

"I think that the Gaffer has seen that I've got that ability to break forward. I see myself as box-to-box, I like to do everything – I've got the ability to run forward, my legs are long, I can stride with the ball, I'm very calm with the ball. I think the Gaffer has trusted me to play with a bit more freedom."

2nd

Argyle's Easter Weekend has started in fine form with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened AFC Wimbledon. The only goal of the game came 11 minutes in with a sublime backheel from loanee Sam Woods, after a Tyreese Fornah cross. Full-time came, taking Argyle to the 52 point mark. Argyle: M Cooper, Edwards, Aimson, Woods(Reeves), Lewis(Watts), Fornah, Grant, Camara, Mayor, Hardie(Jephcott), Ennis(Moore). Subs: McCormick, Tomlinson, Lolos.

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