"Gamble worth taking" - Plymouth Argyle eyeing Thomas Tuchel and Roberto Martinez favourite | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Plymouth Argyle are on the hunt for a new manager following the sacking of Ian Foster.

Foster was dismissed in April after a disappointing three-month stint at Home Park, with Director of Football Neil Dewsnip taking charge on an interim basis for the final six games of the season.

Dewsnip won three, drew one and lost two of his six games at the helm, and the 1-0 home win over Hull City on the final day secured safety for the Pilgrims.

Argyle suffered a blow in their managerial search this week, with journalist Alan Nixon claiming that former Hull boss Liam Rosenior had rejected the chance to take over at the club.

Rosenior was surprisingly sacked by the Tigers last week, despite leading them to a seventh-placed finish this season, and the Pilgrims were keen to offer him a swift return to management, but he has turned down that opportunity.

Argyle are said to have other targets, and Bayern Munich and Portugal assistant manager Anthony Barry is currently the favourite for the role.

Barry has never been a manager, but he has held a host of high-profile coaching positions, previously spending time as part of the backroom staff at Wigan Athletic and Chelsea, as well as with the Republic of Ireland and Belgium national teams.

The 37-year-old has been an assistant to Roberto Martinez with Portugal since March 2023, and the following month, he joined Thomas Tuchel's staff at Bayern, but with the German leaving the Allianz Arena this summer, Barry's future is uncertain.

Anthony Barry under consideration for Plymouth Argyle job

With Barry seemingly in the frame to become the next Plymouth manager, we asked some of our FLW writers for their thoughts on his potential appointment at Home Park.

James Reeves

Barry would be an intriguing appointment for the Pilgrims.

He has held impressive coaching positions at some of Europe's top clubs, and he was recently said to be in contention for the Sporting Lisbon job if Ruben Amorim departed this summer, so he is clearly very highly-rated.

Barry has plenty of EFL experience from his playing days, and young, up-and-coming managers such as Enzo Maresca, Kieran McKenna, Michael Carrick, Marti Cifuentes and Danny Rohl have all enjoyed success in the Championship in recent years.

However, Argyle went down a similar route with the appointment of Foster, and that turned out to be a disaster for the club, so they may look to appoint someone with more experience this time around.

It is a big decision facing the Pilgrims, and they will be hugely disappointed by Rosenior's rejection, but given his excellent coaching credentials, Barry would be an exciting appointment and he could be a gamble worth taking.

Ned Holmes

If the Plymouth Argyle hierarchy decide that Anthony Barry is the right coach to take the club forward then I have full trust he's the right person for the job.

They have been one of the best run clubs in the EFL in recent years and though the Ian Foster appointment proved a bust, I have complete faith in them to get this next appointment right.

There's certainly plenty to like about Barry as a candidate. He knows the EFL given his experience as a player and a coach while he has an impressive pedigree after working as an assistant at Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Portugal, Belgium, and the Republic of Ireland.

The fact that the likes of Roberto Martinez and Thomas Tuchel have sought him out speaks volumes.

Part of the mistake made with Foster was bringing him in midway through the season, though of course their hand was forced, but by giving Barry a summer to prepare, Argyle would be setting him up to succeed.

There is an element of risk given his lack of senior experience but we've seen Plymouth do this before and have success.