Hello
Another Plymouth fan in peace........
My first trip to Liverpool. The people were very friendly. Nobody could be more helpful. Even the police at Anfield were laughing and joking with the younger Argyle fans as were queued up.
It didn't really matter about the result. It was a chance to go to a big club, a great stadium and play against one of the most iconic teams in English football. So really none of us wanted to see our side thrashed but at the same time there was very little pressure on the team and the management. That factor alone helps the players stay relaxed because for them it was probably the biggest match, in terms of standard of the opposition, that a lot of them had faced.
You see whilst you did field a number of youngsters, Argyle finished the match with a number of youngsters themselves or players with very little football league experience.
In the summer our squad was totally thread-bare. Most players had left and so Adams had to find around 15+ new professionals to create a squad to be competitive at league two level. To knit a squad together that has us in the top 3 of league two is a fantastic achievement after less than six months. So for us Argyle fans to witness those players who put in such an organised and well drilled display on sunday it really was a fabulous achievement because that is a team made up of free transfer journeyman, rejects & promising youngsters. The latter of which has also seen another two players in Garita and Tanner added to by loan market.
If you watched Argyle this year, especially at home, you will see our strength in the team is in our fitness, character and never say die attitude. We have played some decent football but if I am honest most of the games have been about scraping and fighting hard to get over the line to obtain a result.
So when we rock up to Anfield it was never going to be any different than unfortunately what you guys were going to witness. We would all love to be on the front foot, playing some decent football and having a go but unfortunately you would tear us apart. So we did what we know how to do well. Make the game a scrap and a fight. My only problem with Argyle's tactics was I personally did not like the fact we didn't press the ball. Way too much time and space for the ball player to ping a pass to. In fact in that first 30 minutes I felt like it was only a matter of time before you guys scored because we were so deep and yet you still managed to get around the back of us. Fortunately, McCormick either pulled off a good save or the ball rebounded off in the wrong direction and went to an Argyle shirt.
Yet we stood firm with the tactics and got through to half time.
I did think in the second half we had more intent about going forward. Again it wasn't brilliant but we had more purpose in our play. Yet the biggest difference was that Liverpool seemed to be losing belief in what they were doing so well for the first 30 minutes of the game. It played beautifully into our hands.
Had we lost the game you could argue about turning up for a game and not giving it a go. I mean after all its the FA CUP and for teams like us its all about having a go at a giant killing. Yet Derek Adams tactics were spot on simply because he managed to achieve a result that a number of us pilgrims before the game thought was very unrealistic to achieve. Even with a weakened Liverpool side. His tactics achieved his objective. So how can you question the man who has just achieved one of Argyle's biggest results in their history and yet is in charge of a football club that hasn't brought a player for a transfer fee since our pre-administration days. Well that was true until we brought Nathan Blissett a few days ago (but he was cup tied).
We try to play football at League two level. Unfortunately, a number of the pitches make this difficult. Newport for example have a rugby team play on their football pitch at Rodney Parade. Imagine trying to play decent football on this. I mention this, along with our transfer poilicy, just to show the gulf between ourselves and the Premier league as a whole. It gets wider and wider each season because of the tv revenues and so to achieve a result at your fabulous club where you have blown away most teams week in, week out, means a great deal of happiness, satisfaction and provides a fantastic memory to the GreenArmy to savior.
As a fan of lower league football you are often left with very little enjoyment, as most of what is craved is to get out of footballs basement division. Its very hard seeing your team limp its way up and down the lower two tiers of English football for the years it has. And to see them limp against teams who main ambitions seem to be how can be time waste and slow the game down. Even if you can negate the opposition your left with man in the middle. The referee. Often it goes from appalling to dreadful. Some of them just don't have a "scooby doo" about what on earth they should be doing.
So all these frustration build up inside you. So it may not seem much to some folk. It maybe be mildly amusing to others to think fans could celebrate their team entrenched in the oppositions half for so long. For a performance that wasn't eye catching in a beautiful way, but yet was in a gladiatorial way. For most, if not all of us that were there, it replaces the dark days of administration, the relegation and struggles that followed it with a nicer memory which allows us to think our club could be back on the rise. As if you don't have hope as a lower league football fan. What else you left with? What would be the point?
With regards to the replay, I do think it will be a one sided affair unfortunately. You will enjoy passing it around on our playing surface which has to be one of the best outside of the championship. I think this time you will get a goal early on as you will have learnt from your mistakes on sunday and so as Argyle try to open up a little the game should get easier for you. Obviously I would love to say will get a win and have a great chance but in all realism your team should, and i imagine will, be too strong for us. Your team yesterday was still filled with many decent international players. You have youngsters who you would find are paid far more than our top earner. Talented players like Woodburn who, looking at his quick feet in the box yesterday, have a bright future ahead of him maybe young but they still have a significantly higher skill set than some of our developing talent . Even these "youngster" could easily grace the championship and perform in that league to a high standard. That in itself shows the gulf in levels of talent between the two clubs.
So I guess this is our moment in the sun. Yet if you asked most Argyle fans all they care about and want is promotion. Liverpool was a great experience. A day to Savior. However, the league is our priority and we would of all swapped a 5-0 drubbing for a guaranteed top 3 spot finish.
In terms of your club. Did Klopp get the team selection wrong? Well maybe but, and surely this was the weaker game in your fixture list and with the experience and talent you had on the field you should feel confident about it being enough to knock us out. Klopp was magnificent in the way he went over to all Argyle players and shook their hands. That went down so well among the Argyle support well because he is so magnanimous and gracious towards us on sunday. You have the right man in charge from what I have seen both on and off the field to deliver you back the championship you all crave for. Its refreshing to hear a manager just talk. The lack of BS he speaks when talking about the games is also favorable. Plus he has a great sense of humor which is perfect to handle the media. I'm confident he will bring back the title to Anfield because he is seems so driven but knowledgeable already about what is needed to make a decent team for the premier league. The only thing that will stop him I believe is that he isn't given enough funding so he can compete with the Chelsea's and Man City's.
Anyhow, to all those who do come down to Home Park I wish you a safe journey and I do hope our fans, but more importantly the people in our city show you guys the same hospitality and courtesy that you showed us when we came to town. Many thanks for helping make the day so very enjoyable!
« Last Edit: Jan 10, 2017 11:26:08 am by m_g_m »
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