Plymouth Argyle would love repeat of West Ham United deal | OneFootball

Carl Fletcher made all the difference when joining the Greens on loan in the 08/09 season

Plymouth Argyle will be counting down the days until the January transfer window opens, with Wayne Rooney’s side in desperate need of additions ahead of the second-half of the season.

With an injury list as long as your arm and an inventory of issues that is just as big, the Greens will be looking to add plenty of fresh blood once 2025 gets underway, and try to address a worrying run of form that leaves them in the relegation places.

Wins are proving hard to come by, as the Pilgrims have shown a naivety and inexperience that has seen them surrender all too easily to their divisional rivals of late, and a lack of EFL experience across the park is costing them dear at crucial points in games.

There will be members of the Green Army that will be able to cast their mind back to a January recruit that added plenty of bite to their side, with Carl Fletcher’s introduction in 2009 helping the Home Park outfit rally towards the ends of the campaign to stave off relegation.

Carl Fletcher arrival spearheads Plymouth Argyle survival bid

Argyle were in dire straits back in the 08/09 campaign, with the club seeing a number of the players who got them to the heady heights of the top half of the Championship depart, leaving them hastily trying to rebuild as the campaign got underway.

Following the likes of David Norris, Dan Gosling and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake out the door from the previous January, the Greens waved goodbye to Lilian Nalis, Peter Halmosi and Jimmy Abdou, with the worrying financial situation at the club starting to rear its ugly head.

While there were some early signs of promise during that 08/09 campaign, any momentum was frozen still as winter drifted in, with a run of one win in 15 league games leaving the Pilgrims looking worriedly over their shoulder as the relegation picture started shaping up.

Home Park was in need of a leader; someone who could rally the troops and get every player on the pitch to delve into their deepest reserves and give everything they could for the green shirt, someone who wanted to win at all costs.

And in Carl Fletcher, that was exactly what they got, with the Welshman joining from West Ham United on loan for the remainder of the season in February, having previously been borrowed by Championship rivals Crystal Palace.

Right from the off, the new recruit raised the bar in terms of performance level on the pitch, with a rumbustious debut against Sheffield United immediately winning over the Janners in attendance.

Flying into tackles, scoring the opener, haranguing teammates and opposition alike; Fletcher played like he meant it, and gave every other player in green the impetus to give that extra 10% on a match day.

Another win against league-leading Wolverhampton Wanderers in his next outing proved that Argyle were a different side now with their new leader in tow, with Watford the next to come a cropper at Home Park, while Reading managed to escape with a point.

From looking like certainties to drop into the relegation zone to a side that could go toe-to-toe with anyone in the division, Argyle were exuding confidence as they headed into the final few months of the season, although they weren’t completely out the woods, with results still needed to ensure their safety before the end of the campaign.

Wins against Blackpool and Coventry City helped to seal the deal late in the campaign, with a five-point margin enough to see them safe for another season, despite the ongoings off the pitch that were slowly murmuring in the background.

It was telling that Fletcher started every single game and played every single minute during his loan spell at Home Park, with his experience in the middle of the pitch turning fortunes around in the blink of an eye, and fast-forward to the current day, Argyle find themselves in desperate need of a similar saviour in the weeks to come.

Plymouth Argyle need Carl Fletcher 2.0 in January

How Argyle could do with a player of that ilk in their current guise; a player who can disrupt the opposition, get a handle on a game and dictate the momentum on the pitch with his composure and positioning on the field.

Currently, Rooney has Adam Randell and Darko Gyabi [pictured] operating in the central areas, but both have shown great swathes of naivety in recent weeks, with their lack of Championship experience costing Argyle dear as clubs continue to overrun the Pilgrims in the engine room.

While Adam Forshaw looked to be the man that the Devon side could have relied on as an experienced head after being brought in at the start of the year, the former Leeds United man has seemingly fallen out of favour at Home Park right now, with his inconsistent performances typical of a club struggling for results of late.

What Argyle need now is a cool head in the middle of the park who they can rely on when times get tough. They have seen what a difference that can make in the past, and if they get things right in the upcoming transfer window, they could find themselves with another Fletcher-like situation on their hands.

With things as tight as they are near the bottom of the table, things are likely going to come down to the finest margins come the end of the season, and having a player that can keep heads up and spirits high could make all the difference as Argyle fight tooth and nail for Championship survival.