Plymouth Argyle: Ian Foster has this Morgan Whittaker issue that Steven Schumacher didn’t | OneFootball

Morgan Whittaker endured yet another ineffective game as Plymouth Argyle lost on the weekend.

Ipswich Town came to Home Park and won 2-0 thanks to a Brendan Galloway own goal as well as a strike from Kieffer Moore.

Whittaker is going to be essential for Argyle in the run-in and so Ian Foster has to rectify this glaring issue, sooner rather than later.

The brilliance of Morgan Whittaker

Morgan Whittaker has quickly become one of the greatest players in the history of Plymouth Argyle, owing to his brilliance in front of goal.

The former Swansea City man excelled under the management of Steven Schumacher and this continued into the beginning of Foster’s reign.

He scored nine goals and assisted seven in the first half of last season, before he was then recalled by the Welsh club.

Whittaker’s contribution in the lead-up to Christmas was enough to help Argyle lift the League One title, and remarkably, he went to a new level upon promotion to the Championship.

The forward is challenging Sammie Szmodics of Blackburn Rovers and Southampton’s Adam Armstrong at the summit of the division’s scoring charts, but he has tailed off in the last month or so.

This has massively coincided with the team’s struggles and the subsequent discontent aimed towards Foster.

Ian Foster failing to utilise star man

In the aforementioned defeat to Ipswich, Whittaker had a combined xG+A of a mere 0.14. Of his three shots in the game, two were off target and the other was blocked.

His last goal came in the 2-2 draw with Coventry City on home soil, making it four games without a contribution for Argyle’s talisman.

Looking at this stretch of four games, and the Devonshire lost three of them without scoring, the only shining light being the 2-0 away win over Middlesbrough.

Whittaker’s struggles have coincided with that of the team, and the Home Park faithful aren’t convinced by Foster’s credentials as a coach as a result.

X: “Morgan Whittaker gone from one of the best talents in the country in the EFL to a ghost of a player.”

Anyone can tell just by watching the 23-year-old that he has struggled to make the desired impact, and the numbers back this up.

In the ‘Boro win, four chances created and two shots on target represents a good performance, yet his combined xG+A for that afternoon at the Riverside was a mere 0.11.

Across these four outings, 0.22 and 0.14 are Whittaker’s xG and xA numbers respectively, pointing towards a major downturn in productivity.

When Argyle were at their free-flowing best, Whittaker and Ryan Hardie were the duo propelling forward the side’s attack, whether that be under Schumacher or Foster.

Both then falling off massively lands the Pilgrims in a very sticky situation, with a relegation battle looming that they may be unable to escape from.

Sheffield Wednesday are rallying under the management of Danny Rohl whilst Schumacher will be very keen to stay in a job at Stoke City and steer the Potters away from the bottom three.

If these teams head in the right direction, it could be at the expense of Foster’s men.

The Greens’ boss needs to act quickly to help turn Whittaker’s fortunes in the other direction.