"Lack of cohesion" - Ian Foster named in Plymouth Argyle worst manager debate | OneFootball

We asked our Plymouth Argyle fan pundit who their worst managerial appointment was

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…

Ian Foster has been labelled Plymouth Argyle's worst manager after a disastrous spell at Home Park last season following Steven Schumacher's move to Stoke City.

Foster was appointed in January 2024 but lasted just a couple of months, being sacked at the beginning of April 2024 after a run of form that had seen them win just one of their last 12 games and had lost their last five games at Home Park, failing to score.

Had Foster not been relieved of his duties, it seems clear that Plymouth would have been plying their trade in League One now, and his appointment, which looked a risk on paper anyway, proved a poor decision.

While the 48-year-old was a popular figure in the FA setup and highly rated there, he was unable to replicate that in the Championship with the Pilgrims, and supporters were glad to see the back of him when he was sacked in April.

We asked our Plymouth fan pundit, Chris, who he thought his club's worst managerial appointment was, and it's clear that he didn't rate Foster's tenure.

Speaking to Football League World, Chris said: "There are plenty of managers I could highlight as those who have promoted and escalated the club’s status to where it sits today.

“There are, however, a number of managers who I could mention who have demoted our status or caused us to have issues in the dressing room and poor results on the pitch.

"One I’d like to highlight in particular recent seasons is Ian Foster. Foster was brought in during the January transfer window of last season after Steven Schumacher was snapped up by Stoke City.

“His credentials were positive after being an assistant to Steven Gerrard in the Saudi Pro League as well as having a background in the England youth setup, which meant a lot of Argyle supporters had a positive attitude – thinking of some good potential youth signings and an attacking style of play like he promised.

"Unfortunately, as the season went on, the results didn’t show this and seeing his style of play at Home Park, there was very little attacking play, very little linkup between the midfield and the defence, and it was often focused on trying to get long balls forward.

“Unfortunately for him, there were also rumours about him and the changing room and his practices when it came to pre-matches. The lack of results, and lack of cohesion in the dressing room, leading to several players complaining about him to Simon Hallett, meant that Ian Foster’s tenure as Argyle head coach was cut short.

“Although he managed to gain some positivity from away ends, and he managed to get a couple of results there, unfortunately, his home record was fairly terrible, and he could be seen as one of the more recent managers who’s demoted the club’s status slightly.”

Had Plymouth not sacked Foster they'd surely have been relegated to League One so the decision to get rid of him and appoint Neil Dewsnip to the end of the season proved a masterstoke.

Argyle survived relegation on the final day of the season after a win over Hull City and Dewsnip led them to three wins and a draw in total, picking up ten points in total.

It was hard to envisage Foster picking up that many points, particularly as he appeared to have lost the dressing room, so a brave call from Hallett to part ways with him with just a month remaining of the season ultimately preserved their Championship status.

The Plymouth job was Foster's first senior management role in English football, and while it didn't go as planned, he's only 48, so still a decent age for a manager, and he could well look to make a return to the game in the near future.