2005–06 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

Plymouth Argyle started their 2005-06 season in the Football League Championship having finished 17th place in the season prior. They underwent a change in their manager, replacing Bobby Williamson with Tony Pulis in the hope of seeing an improvement to the previous season. The "Green Army" finished 14th in the league and made it to the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

Summary of the 2005–06 season

After a poor start to the season, which made relegation a likely outcome, Argyle fired manager Bobby Williamson and brought in Tony Pulis. Argyle regrouped under Pulis and regained a solid place in the middle of the league standings. The team's performance was one of contrasts. Argyle allowed only 46 goals, which made it the fifth (tied) best defense in the league – a play-off-contending defense. However, Argyle only scored 39 goals, which made it the third (tied)-worst offense in the league – a relegation performance. For the fans, it meant an endless series of 0–0, 1–0, and 0–1 games – not the most exciting to watch. However, under new manager Pulis, an expert at getting the best out of low budget teams (and filling strategic gaps with players loaned from other teams), relegation never looked likely.

Notable events

• In August, Argyle opens the season by defeating Reading 2–1 at the Madejski Stadium. It would be Reading's only home loss in the Championship all season. Victory at Reading is followed by a draw and four losses in the Championship.
• 6–23 September, manager Bobby Williamson is fired. Jocky Scott is named caretaker manager. Tony Pulis is named as the new manager.
• September–October, Pulis's first shores up the Argyle defence and achieves a record of one win, one loss, and five draws in first seven games under his management.
• 22 November – 18 February, young central defender Elliott Ward comes to Argyle on loan from West Ham. He stays for three months and proves successful on the field and popular with the fans. In 15 games with Ward, Argyle concede only 15 goals and achieve a record of 6 wins, 5 draws, and four losses in the Championship. Argyle move up to mid-table and while not safe from relegation, it seems very unlikely.
• 18 February, striker Vincent Pericard, on loan from Portsmouth, scores a hat trick against Coventry City in a 3–1 victory. This was the biggest win of the season by low-scoring Argyle.

Squad

Squad at end of season^[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Romain Larrieu 2 DF Anthony Barness 3 DF Rufus Brevett 4 MF Lilian Nalis 6 MF Keith Lasley 7 MF David Norris 8 MF Ákos Buzsáky 9 FW Mickey Evans[2] 10 FW Vincent Péricard[3] (on loan from Portsmouth) 11 FW Nick Chadwick 13 DF Mathias Kouo-Doumbé 14 DF Tony Capaldi[4] 15 DF Paul Wotton 16 DF Hasney Aljofree

No. Position Player 17 MF Anthony Pulis (on loan from Stoke City[5]) 18 FW Leon Clarke (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) 20 MF Lee Hodges 22 DF Paul Connolly 23 GK Luke McCormick 25 DF Ryan Dickson 26 FW Chris Zebroski 27 FW Reuben Reid 29 MF Luke Summerfield 30 GK James Debbage 32 MF Bojan Djordjic[6]

Left the club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 4 DF Taribo West (released) 10 FW Scott Taylor (to MK Dons) 17 MF Bjarni Guðjónsson (to ÍA) 18 DF Nuno Mendes (released)

No. Position Player 19 FW Matt Derbyshire (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 21 DF Elliott Ward (to West Ham United) 27 MF Jason Jarrett (on loan from Norwich City) 28 MF Marcus Martin (to Truro City)

Transfers

Out

In

Results

Results summary

References