GoS: Player Details

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Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean. Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

Greens on Screen remains advertisement free, which means we are grateful for the generous support of our donors and the work of our volunteers to help keep it free of promotions. If you would like to support the work of Greens on Screen, please consider donating to the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.

GoS's sole aim is to be a service to fellow supporters, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate Argyle's history for many years to come.

Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Thanks to Dave Rowntree for many of the player images after 1984.

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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RHYS SHIRLEY

Full Name: Rhys Bowles Shirley

Born: 18 January 2003

Came from: Trainee Went to:

First game: 07 August 2021 Last game: 07 November 2021

Appearances: 9 (3/6) Goals: 1

From Gunnislake, Shirley began his football career in the Devon Junior and Minor League with Callington Colts and then Marine Academy Plymouth, where his express pace brought him to Argyle's attention. He also attended the Independent Football Academy (IFA) in Saltash.

At the age of 16 in the summer of 2019, Shirley joined Argyle's Academy, where he signed a full-time apprenticeship contract. However, his bright start with the under-18s was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with football severely impacted throughout most of 2020 and early 2021. In the summer of 2021, Shirley enjoyed pre-season training sessions with the senior squad and was selected for warm-up friendlies, most notably scoring a fine goal in Argyle's 7-0 win at Saltash.

Having impressed manager Ryan Lowe, the 18-year-old striker was rewarded with a place on the bench for the first team's early matches in the 2021-22 season and made his Football League debut as a 76th-minute substitute at Rotherham in the first game of the campaign. Later that August, he scored his first senior goal in a 4-1 EFL Cup defeat at Swansea. In November 2021 he then joined Plymouth Parkway on a 28-day work experience loan.

However, after the high of that goal in Wales, he was released by Argyle in July 2022, having made nine appearances and scored that single goal in all competitions.

Eschewing the oft-traditional move into local non-league football, he moved Stateside to study at Eastern Florida State College, where he also played for the Eastern Florida State College Titans soccer team.

In 2025, he moved to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he played college soccer as a sophomore for the Golden Eagles during the 2025 season, before moving to the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega for the 2026 season playing for the UNG Nighthawks.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.

We are very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree and the PAFC Media Team for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. We have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of the page.