Meet the opposition | Plymouth Argyle
As Swansea City prepare to face Plymouth Argyle at the Swansea.com Stadium, we take a closer look at the Pilgrims.
What’s their story?
Plymouth were originally founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, they adopted their current name when they became fully professional in 1903.
The Pilgrims have had a number of highs and lows over their 138-year existence. They won several Third Division titles from the 1950s onwards but invariably seemed to suffered relegations shortly on the back of those successes.
Perhaps the lowest point of their existence, Argyle went into administration in 2011 while two successive relegations left them in League Two.
They were promoted to League One during the 2016-17 season, where they spent two seasons in the third tier before being relegated again in the 2018-2019 season.
However, they bounced back at the first attempt the following campaign, and were then promoted to the Championship in 2023 after winning the League One title and racking up 101 points.
They survived a relegation dogfight at the end of their first season back in the second tier, but could not avoid the drop last term and they have had a challenging start to life back in the third tier.
How’s their form?
Argyle were winless in the league before their weekend victory over Blackpool; having been beaten by Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers, Lincoln City and Leyton Orient.
Their other win this season came in the Carabao Cup, seeing off Queens Park Rangers 3-2 at Home Park.
Who’s the gaffer?
Tom Cleverley. The former Manchester United and England midfielder is in his second senior head coach position after taking over following Miron Muslic left for Schalke in the summer.
As a player, Cleverley had spells in the youth ranks with Bradford City and Manchester United and made his way to the senior ranks with the Red Devils.
He had loan spells with Leicester City, Watford, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa during his time at Old Trafford.
Cleverley was a Premier League winner with United, helped Leicester win League One and was an FA Cup runner-up with Villa.
A two-year spell with Everton followed and he then rounded off his playing career with Watford, before moving into coaching with the club’s academy set-up and then progressing to the first team.
He received credit for having the Hornets in the play-off hunt for much of the season, but went the way of his numerous predecessors before taking the reins at Home Park.
Who’s the captain?
Joe Edwards. The 34-year-old joined the Pilgrims during the summer of 2019. Edwards originally started his Argyle career in midfield but his versatility has seen him feature in a number of different positions for the south-west club.
Edwards has been part of two promotions, and was the club’s player of the season during the 2020-21 campaign, which also saw him take armband after a career-ending injury to defender Gary Sawyer.
Starting his career at Aston Villa, Gloucester-born Edwards has made over 450 appearances during his career, which has included spells at Yeovil Town, Colchester United, Walsall and now Plymouth.
Over 240 of those appearances have been for the Pilgrims, and he has scored 24 goals for the club over a six-year period, including the one to secure survival in victory over Hull at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Who are the key men?
Bali Mumba has been an important figure for Plymouth ever since arriving from Norwich in 2022.
Full-back or winger Mumba came through the ranks at Sunderland, but eventually left the Stadium of Light for East Anglia in 2020.
Loan spells with Peterborough United and Plymouth followed, and his six goals and seven assists were an important part of the Janners' promotion campaign.
His form promoted Plymouth to make his stay at Home Park a permanent one, and he was a bright spark in a tough season as they managed to eke themselves clear of relegation danger in the Championship.
Mumba could not help them avoid the drop last term, but he is sure to be a key player if Plymouth are to quickly return to the second tier.
Former Arsenal academy youngster Xavier Amaechi is back in English football after spending much of his career in Germany.
The now 24-year-old was on the books of the Gunners until 2019 when he made the move to Hamburg. He would spend four years with the German club, including loan spells with Karlsruher and Bolton Wanderers, before making a full-time move to second-tier side Magdeburg.
The England age-grade international netted six goals in 41 league appearances across two seasons before returning to English football with Plymouth.
Zimbabwe international and Everton academy graduate Brendan Galloway is now into his fifth season as a Plymouth player having first arrived at Home Park in 2021.
Galloway first joined the Toffees in 2014, having previously come through the ranks and featured at senior level for MK Dons.
He went on to have a spell in the first team with Everton over parts of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons before making a loan move to West Bromwich Albion.
Senior opportunities became scare at Everton and Galloway departed Merseyside for Luton Town, and then move to Plymouth, where he helped Argyle secure promotion.