“There are opportunities” – Plymouth Argyle verdict on Simon Hallett given | OneFootball

It’s been a rollercoaster season for Plymouth so far

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Simon Hallett became Plymouth Arygle’s majority shareholder in August 2018 and has ushered in some great times since.

Dropping to League Two in his first year in control, he has since built the Pilgrims back up to a place in the Championship.

Now sitting in the lower reaches of the second tier, however, things could be about to take a turn.

We asked our Plymouth Fan Pundit, Chris, for his thoughts on how transparent the ownership at Home Park have been.

Plymouth Argyle bosses backed by Home Park faithful

Speaking to Football League World, Chris said: “Considering their time at the helm of Argyle, I'm of the firm belief that Simon Hallett and [Andrew] Parkinson are very transparent with their fan base, in relation to what the business is doing, how it's progressing, what directions they wish to move and what potential outlets they have for investment.

“It's something which I believe is very fresh in the minds of many fans.

“However, there are some who believe they are not transparent enough, stating that they want to have more information regarding future investors.

“However, I’m of the full understanding that some things have to remain confidential up until the point of signature, and again, there are elements of a business, which maybe many fans don't understand, have to be kept behind closed doors until the point that it’s announced.

“From this, I would also suggest that there are opportunities to have fans talk to them and answer questions in their local fan forums, which not only adds that extra transparency, but also helps that level of engagement from the top right down to the fan base.”

Plymouth Argyle may need buy-in from fans in the near future

It’s been a strange season for Plymouth.

Their Wayne Rooney experiment faltered almost as soon as it had begun. Relegation is a real possibility, but they have managed to defeat soon-to-be Premier League champions Liverpool on an incredible FA Cup run.

Although safety is still in reach, their precarious position in the table at this stage of the season does, of course, put them in real danger of suffering relegation.

Should the worst happen, they will need buy-in from fans to navigate the turbulent times to follow.

That may not be easy – many will point to the erroneous hire of Rooney as having a hand in their demise – but one surefire way to build trust is to open up and be transparent with fans, as far as is possible, about the inner workings of the club.

From the point of view of Chris, it seems like the club are navigating that point relatively well at the moment.

The work Hallett has done in the local press will also go a long way to help this. He recently projected revenues in the region of £30m in an interview with iNews, going on to discuss in detail how he has worked to build sustainability into the club.

Even with a relegation, it will relax fans to some degree that the club is not in crisis in a big-picture sense.