SUMMER NEWS.

Sorted the season tickets today. I will however have to collect when they are ready. Queue was about 1 hour so not too bad. My bladder can hold out for that time normally.

One thing to add which I found amusing today. There was a bloke handing out greenmember literature to the queue. He got to me and said as he handed me the leaflet that if I joined it could save me £70 on my season ticket and other benefits. I had a quick glance at it and then asked him a question which sort of jumped out at me. So if I join I get 15% off my season ticket then? Yep he said. So I pay you £18 per month every month = £206 per year and you give me back £54? So basically the offer was I give the club £152 per year and could also get 10% off in the club shop. Where is my advantage for joining then? Well you support the club financially so you are helping them. So why didn't you just ask for cash with a collecting tin then to save all this printing and time? It's the club you are supporting. So you aren't really selling this are you mate? At that point the conversation ended. I wasn't really objecting to the leaflet but it is being sold as an advantage to the supporter rather than the club itself which is a bit disingenuous really. They could do with a better argument.

 

Ben Waine called up to the New Zealand squad for June friendlies versus Sweden and Qatar,

 

It would be handy to have enough players on international call-up so as not to be at a disadvantage by only losing one main player and having to continue playing league games under-strength.

 

Argyle will be travelling 11,922 miles this coming season.....which is 764 miles further than last season.

Local derby's this coming season wll be.....

1.....Bristol C...............238 miles....no more than a trip to the shops ?
2.....Cardiff..................304
3.....Southampton......306
4.....WBA......................402.....surprisingly the next nearest.

Long hauls are.......

1.....Sunderland...............804 miles.
2.....Middlesborough......756 miles.

 

So we're top for relegation as far has Sky Bet are concerned at odds of 6/4.

Which is interesting seeing we haven't started building our team yet......hopefully at least nine bought or loaned players in the pipeline in the next few weeks.

 

A summary of the current position from Chris Errington:

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/plymouth-argyles-championship-squad-stands-8498501

 

PS........Overlooked the fact that now we are in the Championship we get automatically deferred from playing during international weekends etc.

 

PRE-SEASON MATCHES

Tues 11th July.....Parkway...(A).....7.30pm.
Tues 18th July.....Torquay...(A).....7.30pm.
Sat 22nd July.....FG Rovers... (H).....3pm.
Tues 25th July.....Salford...(H).....7.30pm.
Sat 29th July.....Swindon ...(A).....3pm.

Surprised there isn't some tougher games.

 

We’ll have plenty of those when the season starts.

 

And here's one possibility, albeit behind closed doors...

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/plymouth-argyle-finalising-pre-season-8514501

 

Maybe Bournemouth......anyone else would be miles away.

 

How can basic unheard of players from Premier clubs be worth £30 million having only just kicked off their nappies ?

One of Argyles Championship rivals Birmingham have just picked up £6 million from the selling on of Jude Bellingham ....that is roughly 50% of Argyles complete budget......Steven Schumacher will need to be a total genius to compete this season and achieve a mid-table finish in a very uneven playing-field.

 

Assuming that Steven Schumacher brings in through buying and loaning the best available players for the budget that he has....and still gets relegated.....that says to me that English football has sunk to a new low that means that you have to live beyond your means just to stay afloat.

I need to look back at how Brighton changed from a nomad team without a ground...literally playing on the local rec...to a successful Premier club that will be playing in Europe next season and now selling and buying multi-million £ players......good management yes....but was it also very deep pockets.

Also Brentford who have been a lower league player for many years....suddenly a successful Premier team as well....offering £30 million for a Championship striker....is that just good management.....or is that just a bottomless pocket situation again.

These clubs have just past me by without me knowing.....its got to be big money and overspending surely ?

 

Bellingham is one hell of a player though. Possibly the hottest prospect for England in decades and even more remarkable given he plays in midfield, where the battle is most intense.

I'm not sure why Birmingham deserve anything - it's my understanding he went off to play in Germany aged 17 precisely because he thought rightly that he'd have a better chance of succeeding there than anywhere in England.

 

It has been announced that during PAFC's training camp in Spain....we will be playing a friendly against Heart of Midlothian on Thurs July 6th...kick off 6pm local time.

Match will be played at the Marabella Football Centre.....and fans will be allowed in.

Heart's finished 4th in the Scottish Premier League last season.

 

More Championship fall-out - literally.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65929124

 

Darren Moore and his backroom staff leave Sheffield W.....The Chairman agrees that it is time to part company....Huh I could have sworn I saw Moore walking around Wembley with the third place winners trophy.

Maybe it was the shame that "us a big club" only came third to a tin pot insignificant little club from Devon.

 

Generally speaking, this can be summed up as "Don't panic Captain Mainwaring",

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/neil-dewsnip-explains-plymouth-argyle-8536113

 

I see that one of our Argyle Green backers Cline Thomas has left for more lucrative pickings......Leeds United....lets hope he cuts his financial ties to PAFC correctly to avoid a conflict of interest.

Hope also that Argyle Green's 20% stake in PAFC is built on better foundations.

 

The report says he is returning his Argyle shares for cancellation. You can’t get fairer than that: effectively gifting whatever he paid for the shares to the club.

In fact, I’ve never heard of such a thing being done.