List_of_Plymouth_Argyle_F.C._seasons

List of Plymouth Argyle F.C. seasons

List of Plymouth Argyle F.C. seasons

Add article description

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English association football club based in Plymouth, Devon. They compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, as of the 2023–24 season. The club was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club. At this time, there was no League football,[1] so matches were arranged on an ad hoc basis, supplemented by cup competitions. In January 1903, the club became a limited company and changed their name to Plymouth Argyle F.C.[2] Election to the Southern League followed in March, as the club gained direct entry to the First Division for the 1903–04 season. The club were also invited to compete in the Western League, a competition which was considered secondary to the Southern League.[3]

The Plymouth Argyle squad for the 1903–04 season in the Southern Football League, their first as a professional club

Argyle finished as runners-up in 1908 and 1912,[4] before winning the League championship for the first time in 1913.[5] The club harboured ambitions on entering the Second Division of the Football League before competitive football was put on-hold in May 1915 due to the First World War.[6] The Southern League resumed in August 1919, but it was to be Argyle's last season as a member before the League's top division was absorbed by the Football League to create the Third Division ahead of the 1920–21 season.[7] A year later, more clubs were added to the division and it was split in two, Third Division North and Third Division South. Argyle were placed in the latter.[8]

The club finished as runners-up for six consecutive seasons between 1922 and 1927,[9] before finally winning the League championship in the 1929–30 season, and promotion to the Second Division for the first time.[10] Argyle remained there for almost twenty years before returning to the Third Division South in 1950. The club won the League championship again in the 1951–52 season, and Argyle's best season to date followed a year later. They finished fourth in the Second Division and reached the fifth round of the FA Cup. The club were relegated again in 1956 before winning another League title in the 1958–59 season, in the re-unified Third Division. Argyle's stay in the second tier of English football this time lasted almost a decade until they were relegated again in 1968. The club were promoted from the Third Division once more in 1975 as runners-up, the first time they had done so without ending the season as champions.[11] Argyle reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in April 1984,[12] and were promoted from the Third Division as runners-up again in the 1985–86 season.[13]

Plymouth Argyle Performances from 1920 until 2023

Argyle were relegated to the fourth tier of English football for the first time in their history at the end of the 1994–95 season, but earned promotion again the following year, this time at Wembley Stadium in the 1996 Third Division play-off final.[14] The club won their first League championship in forty-three years at the end of the 2001–02 season,[15] breaking numerous records in the process, including a Third Division record points tally of 102.[16] Argyle conceded just 28 League goals that season and kept 27 clean sheets in 46 matches.[17] Two years later, the club won the Second Division of the Football League and promotion back to the second tier,[18] which was renamed the Championship by the League's board in the summer of 2004.[19] Argyle's success in the 2003–04 season took their tally of titles in the third tier of English football to four, which is a divisional record.[20] As of the end of the 2012–13 season, Plymouth Argyle Football Club has spent 40 seasons in the second tier of English football, 39 seasons in the third, and seven seasons in the fourth. The table details their achievements in all senior first team competitions, their top goalscorer(s), and average home league attendance for each completed season since their professional debut on 1 September 1903.[21]

Table key

Winners* Runners-up¤ Play-offs† Promoted ↑ Relegated ↓ Top scorer in Argyle's division‡

Seasons

More information Season, Division ...

Footnotes

  1. The Football League Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.[22]
  2. League matches only (including Southern League and Football League, but excluding Western League and play-off matches). Sourced from Danes, Complete Record, up to and including the 2008–09 season,[23] and from the Football League website thereafter.[24]
  3. Records from all domestic league competitions are sourced to Danes, Complete Record, up to and including the 2008–09 season,[23] and to Statto,[25] and Football Club History Database,[5] as appropriate thereafter. Wartime competitions are listed at RSSSF.[26][27]
  4. Records from other domestic cup competitions are sourced to Danes, Complete Record, up to and including the 2008–09 season,[23] and to Statto,[25] and Football Club History Database,[5] as appropriate thereafter.
  5. Includes goals scored in the Southern League, Western League, Football League (including play-off matches), FA Cup, League Cup, Associate Members' Cup/Football League Trophy, and several now-defunct competitions, such as the Anglo-Scottish Cup, Football League Group Cup, and Full Members' Cup.[23][28]
  6. Jack Peddie scored the clubs first professional goal on 1 September 1903 against West Ham United in the Western League. He scored the club's first Southern League goal four days later against Northampton Town.[29]
  7. Herbert Swann scored all five goals in a 5–0 home win against Millwall in the Western League on 31 October 1906.[30]
  8. During the war, the only football played at the clubs Home Park ground was military-based. It was used by service teams stationed at HMNB Devonport, who organised regular matches during the conflict.[6]
  9. Having left the club eight years earlier, David Jack became the worlds most expensive footballer when he joined Arsenal for £10,890 from Bolton Wanderers.[31]
  10. The Football League expanded its membership at the end of the 1919–20 season by forming a Third Division. All but one of the 22 Southern League First Division clubs were included in the new league, with the exception being Cardiff City, who were elected to the Second Division at the expense of Grimsby Town.[4]
  11. The Football League expanded its membership again at the end of the 1920–21 season when it created an extra division for clubs based in the North. The existing division was therefore split in two and called the Third Division South,[32] and Third Division North,[33] respectively.[1]
  12. The club finished level on points with Southampton at the top of the table,[8] but missed out on promotion by goal average. Only the league champion gained promotion to the Second Division at the time.[34]
  13. Frank Richardson scored 31 goals in the Third Division South.[35][36]
  14. Jack Cock scored 32 goals in the Third Division South.[36][37]
  15. The club finished two points behind Bristol City to make it six successive league finishes as runner-up, which left supporters questioning the team's desire for Second Division football.[9][38]
  16. Promoted to the second tier of English football for the first time. The team went undefeated until Christmas Day, and were confirmed as Third Division South champions by Easter.[39]
  17. Bill Hullett scored 10 goals in 11 matches this season after signing from Everton.[40]
  18. League football was abandoned after three games because of the Second World War.[5][41]
  19. The club played out the 1939–40 season in regional league and cup competitions,[42] before they were forced to withdraw from competitive football as the war intensified. Guest players were permitted, and results and records from this period are not included in official statistics.[43]
  20. The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46,[44] but the Football League proper did not resume until the following season. However, 1945–46 did see the only full season played in the wartime Football League North and South regionalised competition; this included First and Second Division clubs divided geographically, playing each other home and away. The club were able to take part despite the city of Plymouth in ruins, but they often struggled to assemble 11 fit players on a Saturday, so it was no surprise that they managed just three wins from 42 matches.[43] In all, 72 players represented the club that season.[45]
  21. From the first round proper to the sixth round of the 1945–46 FA Cup, matches were played over two legs.[44]
  22. Dave Thomas scored one goal in 10 consecutive matches this season.[46][47]
  23. Having finished in the top half of the league in the previous season, the club were placed in the newly united Third Division following the amalgamation of the Third Division North and Third Division South.[1][48]
  24. Wilf Carter scored 5 goals in the 6–4 win against Charlton Athletic in the Second Division on 27 December 1960 at Home Park, just one day after they lost to Athletic 6–4 at The Valley.[49]
  25. Having finished level on points with Grimsby Town, the club avoided relegation on goal average.[50][51]
  26. The club's first appearance in the semi-finals of the League Cup.[52] They lost 4–2 on aggregate to Leicester City and went out at the same stage eight years later,[53] losing 3–1 on aggregate against Manchester City.[5]
  27. The first time that the club had been promoted in the Football League without winning the title,[54] benefitting from the three-up, three-down promotion and relegation system that was in place at the time.[1]
  28. The criteria for separating clubs finishing on the same number of points was changed ahead of this season from goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded) to goal difference (the difference between goals scored and goals conceded).[1]
  29. This season saw the introduction of three points for a win instead of two.[1]
  30. The club's first appearance in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.[55] They lost 1–0 to Watford at Villa Park.[12] Argyle would go on to reach the quarter-finals in 2007 and lost to the same opponents by the same scoreline.[5]
  31. Tommy Tynan scored 31 goals in the Third Division.[56][57]
  32. The Third Division of the Football League became the Second Division after all clubs in the First Division broke away in order to form the FA Premier League.[58]
  33. First appearance in the play-offs, lost in the semi-finals to Burnley, 3–1 on aggregate.[59]
  34. Relegated to the fourth tier of English football for the first time.[60]
  35. Promoted to the Second Division via the play-offs, beating Colchester United 3–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals,[61] and Darlington 1–0 in the final.[62]
  36. The club won the Third Division championship with 102 points in the 2001–02 season,[63] which is a record for that division.[16][64]
  37. The First Division was renamed the Championship from the 2004–05 season.[19]
  38. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake scored 23 goals in the Championship,[65] 11 for Plymouth Argyle,[66] and 12 for Wolverhampton Wanderers.[67]
  39. The club was docked ten points by the Football League for issuing a notice of intention to appoint an administrator.[68]
  40. The 2019–20 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with league positions decided on a points-per-game basis. Plymouth Argyle averaged 1.84 points from 37 games.
  41. Most of Plymouth Argyle's home games in the 2020–21 season were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One home game against Ipswich Town was limited to 2,000 spectators.

References

General
  • "Plymouth Argyle". Statto. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  • "Plymouth Argyle". Football Club History Database (FCHD). Richard Rundle. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  • "The Introduction Page of the RSSSF". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  • Knight, Brian (1989). Plymouth Argyle: A Complete Record 1903–1989. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 0-907969-40-2.
  • Cowdery, Rick; Curno, Mike (2009). Plymouth Argyle Miscellany. Plymouth: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-905411-30-6.
  • Danes, Ryan (2009). Plymouth Argyle: The Complete Record. Plymouth: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-710-8.
Specific
  1. [1]
    "History of the Football League" Archived 9 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine "The Football League | About Us | History | History | HISTORY OF THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE". Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). The Football League. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  2. [2]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 14–15.
  3. [3]
    Danes, Complete Record, p. 14.
  4. [4]
    "Southern League final tables". RSSSF. 25 May 2010.
  5. [5]
    "Plymouth Argyle" Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. FCHD. Richard Rundle. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Covers seasons up to and including 2007–08. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  6. [6]
    Danes, Complete Record, p. 19.
  7. [7]
    "1920–21 Third Division" Archived 14 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  8. [8]
    "1921–22 Third Division South" Archived 31 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  9. [9]
    Cowdery & Curno, Miscellany, p. 57.
  10. [10]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 20–24.
  11. [11]
    "1974–75 Football League". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  12. [12]
    "The FA Cup Archive". The Football Association. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  13. [13]
    "1985–86 Football League". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  14. [14]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 48–49.
  15. [15]
    "2001–02 Football League". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  16. [16]
    "Football League Points Records" Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine . The Football League. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  17. [17]
    Danes, Complete Record, p. 50.
  18. [18]
    "2003–04" Archived 4 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  19. [19]
    "League gets revamp". BBC Sport. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  20. [20]
    "Past Winners" Archived 17 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine . The Football League. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  21. [21]
    Danes, Complete Record, p. 15.
  22. [22]
    "1960–61 English League Cup" Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  23. [23]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 144–355
  24. [24]
    "Club stats" Archived 6 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine . The Football League. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  25. [25]
    "Plymouth Argyle" Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  26. [26]
    "Wartime Champions 1915–19". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  27. [27]
    "Wartime Champions 1940–46". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  28. [28]
    "Squad stats". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  29. [29]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 144–145.
  30. [30]
    Danes, Complete Record, p. 366.
  31. [31]
    "History of the world transfer record". BBC Sport. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  32. [32]
    "1921–22 Third Division South" Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  33. [33]
    "1921–22 Third Division North" Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  34. [34]
    Danes, Complete Record, p. 20.
  35. [35]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 172–173.
  36. [36]
    "1921–39 Third Division Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  37. [37]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 180–181.
  38. [38]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 180–183.
  39. [39]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 188–189.
  40. [40]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 204–205.
  41. [41]
    "1939–40 Football League". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  42. [42]
    "1939–40 War Leagues". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  43. [43]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 26–27.
  44. [44]
    "1945–46 FA Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  45. [45]
    Cowdery & Curno, Miscellany, p. 164.
  46. [46]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 208–209.
  47. [47]
    Cowdery & Curno, Miscellany, p. 92.
  48. [48]
    "1958–59 Third Division" Archived 23 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  49. [49]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 236–237.
  50. [50]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 242–243.
  51. [51]
    "1963–64 Second Division" Archived 12 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  52. [52]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 244–245.
  53. [53]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 262–263.
  54. [54]
    "1974–75 Third Division" Archived 21 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  55. [55]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 288–291.
  56. [56]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 292–293.
  57. [57]
    "1947–92 Third & Fourth Division Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  58. [58]
    "A History of the Premier League" Archived 18 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Premier League. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  59. [59]
    "1993–94 Second Division" Archived 23 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  60. [60]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 320–321.
  61. [61]
    "Plymouth land knockout blow". The Independent. 16 May 1996. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  62. [62]
    "Pilgrims progress". The Independent. 26 May 1996. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  63. [63]
    "2001–02 Third Division" Archived 3 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  64. [64]
    "Plymouth 2–0 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 20 April 2002. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  65. [65]
    "Divisional Scorers" Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine . The Football League. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  66. [66]
    Danes, Complete Record, pp. 352–353.
  67. [67]
    "Sylvan Ebanks-Blake" Archived 19 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine . Wolverhampton Wanderers. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  68. [68]
    "Plymouth Argyle are deducted 10 points". BBC Sport. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article List_of_Plymouth_Argyle_F.C._seasons, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.