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Because last season's squad was kept entirely intact bar the sale of Camara. It's entirely relevant because with the same group of players, we got 80 points, and potentially this season 101. I think it's a bit farfetched to suggest that two seasons running on an average of 90 points, we have relied on loans, ignoring the fact that the very large majority of the squad are contracted to the club.
Why should you have never been down here? You'd have to be at least 70 years old to think of and have witnessed Ipswich as a Premiership winning club. Any young Ipswich fan of today only knows Ipswich as a Championship/L1 club. Sorry to burst your bubble. That's literally what you are.
Our away form was top 4/5 all season, which doesn't really constitute dodgy away form, despite our imperious home form or having played 2 league games where we got mullered (Peterborough & Barnsley). If being top 4/5 away all season long constitutes 'dodgy away form', then we'll have to agree to disagree as to the definition of 'dodgy'. Dodgy away form to me suggests a side in the lower half of the table, not the 4th or 5th best in the league.
The difference between Ipswich 'dropping points at Bolton, Derby, Peterborough, Barnsley etc' is because on paper that's a run of fixtures against some of the top sides in the league. What Argyle had all season long, week in week out, was everyone saying 'they will slip', 'they won't keep it up'. 'loan fc', 'if their loan players get recalled in Jan they'll be in trouble' etc etc
The loans have made a massive contribution but we have no reliance on them. We scored 80 pts last season with totally unremarkable loans. Now we're on 98. All these 'lucky' wins of late - have basically been with 1 loan starter in Mumba. We've been winning week in week out with the others out of the squad or on the bench. Azaz and Cosgrove and Matete have been benched for quite a while now. If we were reliant on anyone, it was Whittaker. He left and we maintained everything. Again, the team is massively underrated.
Portsmouth spent £1.8mn more than us, year 2021/22.
In that same year, Ipswich's wages & salaries was nearly triple ours at £16mn. The video suggests that the wage bill at Argyle this season, is almost that of Ipswich's. If anything, the gap is even wider than it was before, and will be at least 3x that of Argyle. So that video looks silly and the rest of your argument doesn't follow anything.
Bizarre chip? All season long on TWTD (or owlstalk for that matter) there is a thread about us. Every week of the season it was 'Plymouth will slip'. Recently it's the 'Plymouth have been so f** lucky'. Your manager then had a pop about that. Before that on here it was 'Plymouth's dodgy away form' (3rd best in the league). We've had plenty of 'Loan FC' comments. When Whittaker was recalled, there was about 15 threads on here.
So, forgive Schuey, the manager who has had to take all the brunt and pressure, for being a bit frustrated and letting off a bit of steam! Forgive Schuey for being a bit fedop of Argyle being underestimated, week in, week out. Deary me.
The irony, is that on PASOTI there's barely ever anything on Ipswich or Sheffield Wednesday.
Seems that the big clubs just can't deal with little Plymouth upsetting the applecart.
We obviously won't be ready as your team will be. I can see you guys doing a Sunderland and potentially yoyoing for a play off place.
Going to be a lot of change at our end but we seem to have a good policy with signings now and recruit well. I think we will continue to bring young players in and hopefully we can attract a few older heads too. Might have to tap into the local westcountry network. Rumours of Ashley Barnes wanting to return to Plymouth - would be a hell of a coup if we could.
If we can get Barnes and one or two older heads, I would back Schuey to recruit well otherwise and probably take some punts in the loan market again. We'll definitely miss the likes of Mumba and Azaz however.
I'd think Schuey will get a bit of cash to spend also but nothing significant.
The things with loans however is that we are taking a punt on young players who are totally unproven. You guys can go out and sign a 1st teamer at Stoke, or a 1st teamer at Wigan. Whereas you can nab ready made players, we have to take a riskier approach and try to grab young players who are not on the radar of the big clubs. Take Whittaker and Mumba in the summer - ready made for clubs like Ipswich or whoeverm we have no chance. Schuey will have to unearth a few gems again. I think there needs to be a bit more appreciation of the risk involved with this. Fundamentally we can't afford to go out and buy the ready made player so we have to be creative and take some risks. This season it paid off - but noone had heard of Whittaker or Mumba last season. We effectively got them at a discounted price.
I read your post again. Your initial reply was highlighting the impact of the injuries in your squad and how that affected you, after I said you had something like 5 ready made replacements or something (trying to highlight what an increased budget meant). In relation to the budget chatter - the reality is you had Morsy, Ball, Evans, Camara and Humphreys. Way more experience, financial outlay in transfer fees, players with Championship level experience, International experience, and 5x options. We had Randell, Houghton and Butcher. No Championship experience, no fees, and 2x less options. We can sit here and compare injuries all day - but the simple fact is that in central midfield, your bigger budget showed. What's so complicated about that? The irony also is that Ball, Camara and Evans would not replave Morsy and Luongo right? Nice options to have.
The idea that we managed our form better than you, doesn't correlate with us being less impacted. That is ridiculous. And I'm not sold on the Ipswich pre Jan as you are. Remove all those blockbuster Jan signings and you were dropping like flies up until Rovers away. Didn't have the mettle. It's your Jan signings that have really pushed you on.
I agree with much of what you say, only that we took Mumba and Whittaker on after not kicking on at Peterborough and Lincoln. They look like million dollar players now but Mumba spent the season on the bench at P'boro. Whittaker didn't do nowt the season before at Lincoln. Their profiles are only where they are now after us brigning that on. Cosgrove did nowt at Shrewsbury or Wimbledon. None of these lads were fancied. The only one we nabbed who was wanted after smashing it in L2 was Azaz. Their value after the season they have had with us wasn't the same before the season started. And as per a previous post, I recall Ipswich loaning TJJ and Hirst. It's a loan market, and Argyle have recruited through it brilliantly.
Without derailing the thread we have had just as many injuries. More importantly we lost our absolute very best players. Cooper, Whittaker, Randell, Azaz and Mumba are/were the best 5 at the club. Lost the first four - Randell and Azaz for something like 2-3 months and the other two permanently. Similarly, lost our number 1 cb for also 2 months (Scarr). Without blowing smoke up Schuey's backwide - it's the loss of the loss of these key players that's made what Schuey has done remarkable. It's like removing Morsy, Broadhead, Chaplin and Davis and Walton. Correct me if I am wrong - but my impression is that they are some of your very crucially important players.
Sure we have been, but I'm sure Ipswich and Weds have too. After 40+ games we have sat above Ipswich for nearly all if not the entire time? I can't recall. Seems an unnecessary comment from McK therefore.
I have no issue with Ipswich nor do I feel the need to say McK hasn't done well for you. But like many Argyle fans, we're not too fond of the man.
But otherwise I much prefer Ipswich to go up over Wed and if the league was to start today you would win it. Far too good for this league.
The thread is about comparing Ipswich's budget vs Argyle. Up until Jan of this year (when we were at our best and had yet to sign Matete), we had 3 cm's. Randell, Butcher and Houghton. Randell is an academy lad. Butcher rejected a contract extension from Accrington and Houghton was released by MK Dons. Comparing that to your side - you have Morsy, Ball, Camara, Evans, Humphreys - have I missed anyone? When I say worthy, I was referring to the extra depth, the higher profile of player. I'm not disputing potential injuries - I'm just comparing the options. We literally had Randell, a released lad from MK Dons, and a journeyman type player from Accrington. The latter two of whom wouldn't get a sniff in your side.
Comparing the value of a purchase with a loan player (Whittaker), doesn't seem a very balanced argument. Firstly, Whittaker had a bang average loan at Lincoln. He wasn't hot. He wasn't in demand. Furthermore, you and Wednesday have utilised the loan market, despite your post reading as though you haven't. Whether TJJ or Hirst or anybody epse matched upto Whittaker however, is a separate topic. But you've been benefitting from the loan market also.
I know you've had injuries but you haven't had injuries or loss of players anywhere near as bad as us. Losing Whittaker, Cooper and Randell is losing perhaps the 3 most gifted players in the squad. Azaz was out for 2 months. Scarr the same. As far as I can see, your very best players have largely been unaffected - the likes of Chaplin, Morsy, Davis etc (I'm talking long term injury).
You guys have the best roster of players but if you lost Broadhead, Morsy and Chaplin for effectively the rest of the season (Randell just came back for his 1st start vs Cambridge), I think that would have a massive impact on your side.
Didn't think that was a dig? I'm not aware of another L1 club spending as much as Ipswich.
However - on that point. We're definitely not happy with McKenna for his generally snidy remarks such as 'Plymouth have had an awful lot of decisions'. I can't recall him ever saying anything nice about us.
Very poor. Even more so given the respective budgets. Comes across unlikable and bitter towards Schuey.
Misleading? If you tally up your squad value in transfer fees - it is north of £10mn. If you tally up our fees, it is anywhere between £500k-£800k. We sold Camara to you for £500k (and he was one of our best players), and you've still got about 5 worthy replacements. We're operating on wildly different budgets.
It's not pointless, lazy or misleading (would love for you to explain how it's any of those things). It's just reality. Ipswich have the most complete team in this league. We're somehow ahead of you and have been pretty much all season, despite also losing Whittaker, Cooper, Randell, Azaz and many others to very lengthy injuries.
'Nasty tools?' We're likely only paying a slice of the loan player wages. Besides, this is the same loan market that you are benefitting from, sending out a heap load of players to other L1 clubs and L2 also. Are those nasty tools also?
Well, yes what McKenna has down is down to budget. He has assembled a squad that on paper is worth greater than £10mn. A forward line of multi million pound players like Broadhead and Chaplin. There's not another club in this league that has anywhere near those resources.
On a serious note, what a finale this is looking like. It's all in the hands of Argyle and Ipswich now. Credit to Ipswich. Looking utterly formidable at the moment. We've just got to keep grinding away. Looks like we lost Mumba to a bad injury sadly, in addition to Azaz, Gillesphey, Grant, Ennis, Mike Cooper, Randell and others! We march on.
Well, the constant disrespect and underestimating of us from the bigger boys at the top end, because we are little old Plymouth, rubs after a while. This thread is just that. Disqualifying our credentials as down to being 'lucky'. It starts to create a very false narrative about us. Even your manager has come out with it today.
Interesting that you didn't raise the handball/red card offence just before half-time here, which would have been 1-0 but for the blatant handball. (35 seconds in)
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