Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English association football club based in Plymouth, Devon. Founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club,[2] they became a professional club in January 1903,[3] and were elected to the Southern League ahead of the 1903–04 season. The club won the Southern League championship in 1913 and finished as runners-up on two occasions,[4] before being elected to the Football League in 1920, where they compete to this day,[5] as a founder member of the Third Division.[6] Argyle won their first Football League championship, and promotion to the Second Division for the first time, ten years later in 1930.[7] As of May 2011, the club has won five championships in the Football League, gained promotion on eight occasions, and been relegated nine times.[8] Four of those league championships were won in the third tier, which is a divisional record.[9] Argyle have made one appearance at Wembley Stadium, in which they won the 1996 Third Division play-off final.[10] The club has also achieved moderate success in domestic cup competitions; they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1984,[11][12] and the quarter-finals in 2007.[13][14] Argyle have also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup twice, in 1965 and 1974.[15][16]
Since introducing professionalism, more than 900 players have made a competitive first team appearance for the club. All players who have featured in 100 or more such matches are listed below. The club's all-time appearance record is held by Kevin Hodges, who made 620 appearances for Argyle between 1978 and 1992.[17] Nine other players have made at least 400 appearances for the club, with the two most recent being born and raised in Plymouth; Mickey Evans and Paul Wotton, with the latter being the club's most successful captain.[18] The all-time goalscoring record is held by Sammy Black,[19] who scored 184 times between 1924 and 1938. He is also second on the all-time appearance list, having played in 491 matches for Argyle. Four other players have scored at least 100 goals for the club, with the most recent being Tommy Tynan.[20] As of 2010, Tony Capaldi is the club's most capped international player,[21] having made 21 appearances for Northern Ireland during his Argyle career.[22] Eight players have gone on to become the club's manager; including caretakers, 11 former players have held responsibility for first-team selection.[23] Rory Fallon is the only player listed who has represented his country at the World Cup while with the club.[24] He scored the goal that secured New Zealand's place in the 2010 tournament,[25] and played in all three of their matches in the group stage.[26]
Table key
| Argyle career | Years that the player was registered to the club |
|---|---|
| Starts | Appearances made as a member of the starting lineup |
| Subs | Appearances made after coming on as a substitute |
| Goals | Goals scored in official competitive matches |
| International | Statistics from matches sanctioned by FIFA, the sports governing body |
Players
John Willie Sutcliffe was capped for England in football and rugby union[28]
Harry Wilcox captained the club to the Southern League title in 1913[29]
Moses Russell was the club's most capped international player until 2007. He won 20 caps for Wales during his Argyle career, scoring one goal[30][31]
Alex Govan spent two spells with the club and won two league titles[32]
Paul Mariner was the first to win the Player of the Year award twice[33]
Paul Wotton captained the club to league titles in 2002 and 2004[18]
Romain Larrieu was voted Player of the Year in his ninth season[34]
Graham Coughlan was the club's top league goalscorer in 2001–02[36]
Carl Fletcher (2009–2012)
.jpg)
- As of match played on 27 April 2013.[40]
Footnotes
- A. ^ : Players are listed according to the date of their first team debut.
- B. ^ : For a detailed description of playing positions, see Association football positions.[62]
- C. ^ : Appearances and goals are sourced to Danes (2009), up to and including the 2008–09 season,[63] and to Soccerbase as appropriate thereafter.[40] Statistics from the abandoned 1939–40 season and subsequent wartime competitions, including the 1945–46 Football League season, are generally not included by football historians. Substitutions were introduced in 1965.
- D. ^ : Caps and goals at international level are sourced to Danes (2009), up to and including the 2008–09 season,[64] and the relevant player reference thereafter. Caps earned during the players whole career are included, not just those won while contracted to Plymouth Argyle.
- E. ^ : Jack was the first player to sign a professional contract with the club.[1]
- F. a b c d e f g h i j k : A player who later managed the club; including caretakers.[23][65]
- G. ^ : Clark led the team to the Western League championship in the 1904–05 season.[66][67]
- H. a b c d e f g h i j k : Scored four goals in one match.[68][69]
- I. ^ : Wilcox led the team to the Southern League championship in the 1912–13 season.[29][70]
- J. ^ : Holds club record for goals scored;[19] second overall for appearances made.[71]
- K. ^ : Titmuss captained the club to the Third Division South title in the 1929–30 season.[72][73]
- L. ^ : Chisholm led the club to the Third Division South championship in the 1951–52 season.[74][75]
- M. ^ : Carter shared captain duties with Len Casey, who joined the club mid-season, during the 1958–59 Third Division title winning campaign.[76][77]
- N. ^ : Scored five goals in one match.[68][77]
- O. ^ : The first winner of the Player of the Year award.[33]
- P. a b c d e f : Won the Player of the Year award twice.[78][79]
- Q. ^ : Green captained the side to promotion from the Third Division in the 1974–75 season.[80][81]
- R. ^ : Holds club record for appearances made;[71] eighth overall for goals scored.[82]
- S. ^ Won the Player of the Year award three times.[20][78]
- T. ^ : McElhinney led the club to promotion from the Third Division in the 1985–86 season.[83][84]
- U. ^ : Heathcote captained the club to promotion from the Third Division via the play-offs in the 1995–96 season.[85][86][87]
- V. ^ : Wotton led to the team to the Third Division championship in the 2001–02 season, and the Second Division championship in the 2003–04 season.[18][88]
- W. ^ : Holds club record for international caps won while at the club.[89][90][91]
References
- General
- Knight, Brian (1989). Plymouth Argyle: A Complete Record 1903–1989. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 0-907969-40-2.
- Riddle, Andy (2002). Plymouth Argyle: 101 Golden Greats. Westcliff-on-Sea: Desert Island. ISBN 1-874287-47-3.
- Cowdery, Rick; Curno, Mike (2009). Plymouth Argyle: Miscellany. Plymouth: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-905411-40-5.
- Danes, Ryan (2009). Plymouth Argyle: The Complete Record. Plymouth: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-710-8.
- Specific