Plymouth Argyle may already be feeling Morgan Whittaker silver lining | OneFootball

The Greens picked up a 2-2 draw against Sunderland in their first outing after Whittaker's move to Middlesbrough

They might not have thought so at the time but losing Morgan Whittaker could be the best thing to have happened to Plymouth Argyle during the January transfer window.

After more than 12 months of speculation surrounding his future, the left-footed ace finally waved his goodbyes to Home Park last week, after a reported £6 million transfer to Championship rivals Middlesbrough was agreed.

While the 24-year-old gave the Green Army many happy memories during his time as a Pilgrim, there comes a time when all good things have to come to an end, and having been handsomely remunerated, Argyle will be moving in on their quest to earn second tier survival for the remainder of the campaign.

A battling 2-2 draw with Sunderland is proof that there is still a beating heart pumping the green blood around the veins of the Devon side and that Whittaker’s departure may not be as fatal as first feared, with Miron Muslic gradually getting his game plan across to his new charges.

Plymouth Argyle finally give in to Morgan Whittaker transfer demands

Whittaker’s early form after joining the Pilgrims on a permanent deal in the summer of 2023 put a number of clubs on red alert, with the likes of Brentford and Fulham credited with interest in his services this time last year.

With the wind still in their sails after earning promotion back to the second tier, Argyle stood their ground, with the former Swansea City man going on to net 19 league goals in his first full season of Championship football, with a number of eye-catching strikes along the way.

But whether it was his head being turned, or the turnover of both management and playing staff over the last 12 months, Argyle rarely saw the same beast from the end of January 2024 onwards, with seven league goals from then until his departure marking a considerable drop-off from his early-season form.

Nevertheless, he played a crucial part in keeping the Greens in the second tier last season, while dramatic late goals against Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End provided yet more Janner jubilation, as well as the winner against Brentford in the FA Cup earlier this month.

But with the changing of the guard from Wayne Rooney to Miron Muslic over the past few weeks, Argyle’s reliance on one star man to sprinkle stardust on performances looks likely to be a rarer occurrence, with a focus on a team working for each other over individual brilliance, as Saturday’s result proved in spades.

Plymouth Argyle’s Morgan Whittaker departure may not be as bad as first feared

One swallow doth not a summer make, but the aggression and intensity shown by the Greens to earn a point at the promotion-chasing Black Cats was the finest example of Muslic’s ideology in action, with the Pilgrims transformed from a side that rolled over and got their tummies tickled by Burnley just days before.

That affair at Home Park was tainted by Whittaker’s absence from the playing squad of course, with contrasting reports regarding why he was unavailable for selection that day, with the player maintaining his innocence against rumours of his resistance to play amid transfer speculation.

But on Wearside, Argyle were a team united; laying traps and hunting in packs as Regis Le Bris’ side failed to land much more than a faint glove on them in the first 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light, with the first real glimpses of the former Cercle Brugge’s style of play coming into fruition.

The Austrian has already made headlines for his passionate plea for his side to be aggressive, physical and demanding all over the pitch since his appointment earlier this month, and that performance in the North East provided that in droves, with Nathanael Ogbeta's late equaliser the least the Pilgrims deserved from their valiant display.

It says something that many of the devoted Green Army will have made the cross-country journey back to Devon disappointed their side weren’t coming back with all three points, but having outperformed the Mackems 1.05 to 0.59 in the xG battle, they will have had every right to be ruing their luck in front of goal.

If Ryan Hardie’s calibration was on point, and Callum Wright’s effort was just a Black Cat’s whisker to the left, we could be talking about a much different story this week, as well as Argyle scoring more than once on the road for the first time this season.

The cohesion the side showed as a unit was something rarely seen under Rooney, and it is hard to believe it would have been similar with Whittaker in the team, with the forward’s willingness to pressure the ball when out of possession a rare sight to behold during his time in green.

Too often, the Pilgrims had been caught out by their forward’s laboured attempt to track back after losing possession, but this Muslic side has a different feel to it; they are fighting for each other, there is a unity, a heart, a passion that hasn’t been seen for some time, and they are more than up for the fight.

And yes, Whittaker could single-handedly win games on his own at times - with Brentford being the latest example - but those showings had become fewer and further between this season, with his performances becoming something of a hindrance on the right-hand side, and causing Argyle to lack width, due to his precursor for coming in field.

There isn’t even a comparison to be made with Whittaker and the likes of Mustapha Bundu and Callum Wright in terms of technical ability and potential for the future, but what Argyle need now are grafters, players who are prepared to give their all for the green cause and follow orders from the new boss, which the latter two have already proven they can do, with no lack of effort during their time on the pitch at the weekend.

The Argyle side that are heading out of January has a very different feel to the one that headed into it, with players fighting for each other, knowing exactly what is expected of them, and executing a game plan to perfection. This is Tony Pulis 2.0, and the Green Army better be ready for it.

Saturday’s performance makes you think a long-awaited victory is just around the corner for the long-suffering Green Army to enjoy, and few would have thought that less than a week ago, when the club looked as disjointed as it had in some time.

In terms of Whittaker, it could almost be seen as taking one step back to take two steps forward; what they lose in enigmatic attacking quality they gain in coordination, and an all-round balance to the side rarely seen over the past five months, with the chasm between defence and attack seemingly growing week on week.

Saturday proves that this is now a team that is united, a team ready to fight tooth and nail to remain in the second tier, with three months left to put it all on the line and scrap until the end.

It was widely thought that Whittaker’s departure could make all the difference come the end of the season for the Pilgrims, but on first viewing, it could be in the opposite way to what many would have expected.