"Tough challenge" - Plymouth Argyle lauded for off-field strategy after Championship rise | OneFootball

Football League World's Argyle fan pundit issues an assessment on the club's recruitment team

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…

Plymouth Argyle are currently enduring their second consecutive season at Championship level, having spent three years in League One prior to their promotion to the second tier in 2023.

In fact, it was as recently as 2020 that the Pilgrims won promotion from League Two to the third tier, and as such both the Home Park faithful and Football League observers are still not fully accustomed to seeing the Devon outfit plying their trade in the Championship.

Furthermore, as Argyle have never played in the Premier League, they have a smaller budget than many of their second tier opponents, such as Leeds United, who have spent many years in the top-flight in years gone by. That significantly impacts recruitment at the level.

Football League World recently asked our Pilgrims fan pundit, Chris, if he rated his club's transfer recruitment team, and if he thinks they are identifying talent well enough.

Argyle fan pundit assesses transfer recruitment team

Chris told FLW: "Plymouth Argyle's transfer strategy has always been one of data, as well as analytics to identify players, and see if they'll fit into the mold.

"This has sometimes worked very well, in terms of some acquisitions such as Kornel Szucs of late, as well as Morgan Whittaker in the initial sets.

"However, there have also been times where this hasn't worked out, such as Victor Palsson, the centre-back from Iceland.

"So, in truth, I believe that the recruitment team have a significantly tough challenge on their hands, for identifying the correct players, identifying that they have the correct abilities and standards required to play regular Championship football, as well as keeping within the budget that Argyle have set.

"Due to this, it can be very difficult to find some players in the domestic leagues, hence why we often have to look further afield to identify targets.

"This has led to acquisitions, as mentioned before, like Kornel Szucs, as well as Rami Al Hajj.

"From this, however, I believe that our recruitment do an excellent job of finding these recruits, and more often than not, are able to search out for these hidden gems that otherwise may not be known for their quality from the other leagues."

Plymouth's recruitment is hit and miss

Chris makes a very good point that Argyle's transfer recruitment strategy can help them bring quality players to the club, such as Whittaker, but is less reliable on other occasions.

Whittaker is a class act who notched 19 goals and eight assists as an ever-present player for the Pilgrims in the Championship last term, and his clinical edge helped the Devon club remain in the second tier.

He also scored three league goals this season, before suffering a foot injury which is set to keep him out of action until 2025, while his absence is a serious hindrance to the progress of Wayne Rooney's side.

But on other occasions, the Pilgrims have landed less successful signings than that of the former Swansea City man, such as the aforementioned defender Palsson, who has struggled to meet the demands of the Championship since moving to Home Park from Belgian side Eupen last summer.

Given what Plymouth are competing with in the Championship when it comes to recruitment, where the budget of Leeds and Burnley stands tall, the off-field strategy deserves credit. It can't be an easy task considering where Argyle have risen from.