"I think the problem is" - Pundit reveals where Wayne Rooney is going wrong at Plymouth Argyle | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer tells FLW where he believes the Pilgrims can improve after an inconsistent start.

Plymouth Argyle's away form has been a huge downfall in their season so far, and player-turned-pundit, Carlton Palmer, believes it is something that needs to be improved upon immediately.

Wayne Rooney's side suffered their fifth loss on the road in 2024/25 on Wednesday evening, as they were beaten 1-0 by Millwall. Romain Esse's 13th minute strike was the difference between the two sides in a relatively low quality game.

The Pilgrims are one of five teams in the second tier to not have tasted victory on their travels this season, but currently sit bottom of the away table, having drawn just one of their six matches away from Home Park.

Plymouth have also scored just once, conceding 13, and there will be fears that without turning around this form, then relegation could be on the cards despite the team looking very difficult to beat at home.

Pundit details Plymouth's current issues

While it is still very early days in the season, supporters will be taking notice of Argyle's current issues on the road, and the impact that it could have in the future if it is not turned around quickly.

Although goalscoring has been an issue, the number of goals that are being conceded by Rooney's side makes for grim reading, with only Portsmouth (16) and Watford (15) conceding more away from home so far this campaign.

It's a situation that must be fixed quickly, according to former England and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer, who has been speaking exclusively to Football League World about the Plymouth's chances of relegation.

"Plymouth Argyle, last time out, suffered a narrow defeat to Millwall, losing 1-0," he started. "I think the problem is for Wayne Rooney's side is they're conceding way too many goals. I mean, they're up there with the most goals conceded so far this season.

"Watford are in 9th place, and they've conceded 19 goals, but the teams that have conceded as many as Plymouth’s 19, are Queens Park Rangers, 19, and Portsmouth, 23. They're all at the bottom end of the table.

"Wayne Rooney needs to stop Plymouth shipping goals the way that they are doing. As I said before, everybody is focusing in on Plymouth and Wayne Rooney every time there's a result. If it's a good result they're talking about, has he turned the corner? Is he proving people wrong? If they get a bad result, then you know people are saying, well, can he do it?"

Palmer continued: "I think people just have to be patient and wait and see how the season unfolds. There's a long way to go to see if Wayne Rooney keeps Plymouth Argyle in the Championship this season. Given their resources, this would be a fantastic achievement.

"But they've certainly got to stop shipping goals, and they've got to sort their away form out, this is what you've got to do as a manager. You want to play attractive football, of course you do, you want to play a certain style, but the Championship’s a tough league and what you've got to do is you've got to make yourself hard to beat.

"At this moment in time, I can't say whether Plymouth are going to be relegated or not."

Rooney's away form has been an issue throughout his EFL career

Home Park has been a sanctuary for Plymouth in 2024/25, and they've won three of their five home matches this season, including a victory over table-toppers Sunderland.

However, this is a pattern that will be all too familiar to supporters of both Birmingham City and Derby County.

The Rams in particular suffered on the road in 2021/22 under the guidance of the Manchester United legend, winning just three of their 23 away games as they were relegated to League One with a 21-point deduction.

Nevertheless, if Derby had managed to win just three more of those matches, then they would have survived. Birmingham also struggled under Rooney away from home, picking up just four points in eight games.

The 39-year-old struggles to galvanise his teams on their travels, and must work out a way to transfer some of Plymouth's form from home to away, otherwise relegation looms.