Has new Head Coach Paul Mariner turned Plymouth Argyle’s season around?
With three wins from six games it certainly looks that way.
Although the Pilgrims are still in the bottom three in the Championship, on current form they are in 12th place and heading in the right direction.
Six games is only a snap shot of a long season but if Mariner’s average pointage of 1.5 points per game was stretched out over 46 games the Pilgrims would on 69 points and just one point away from the final play-off place!
That is a complete turnaround from earlier this season when former boss Paul Sturrock picked up 15 points from 19 games at an average of just 0.79 per game and was heading for relegation. In short, Mariner has nearly doubled Argyle’s average points per game.
New Assistant Coach John Carver has also made a huge difference, since his arrival the defence has tightened up and the silly mistakes, which plagued the early games this season, have been banished.
Both Mariner and Carver always give a positive slant on things when interviewed and their enthusiasm and encouragement to the players during games is there for all to see.
The games will never be pretty as the game against Derby County proved, so any football purist moaning about the style of play will need to take a reality check and understand that three points is all that matters now, especially on the dreadful Home Park pitch.
The Argyle squad is not top heavy with quality but the players do have grit and determination and under Mariner have fought for the cause, they are fighters.
As the season reaches the final stages everyone connected with PAFC should be united in one common goal – avoiding relegation.
This is where Mariner and players need the fans fully behind them, they need belief from the terraces, the inquests into this season can begin in May but for now everyone should back Mariner and the players!
Argyle will never go racing up the league but under Mariner and Carver the team is slowly heading in the right direction and with 21 games to go are still in with a great chance of avoiding relegation.
Let’s get behind them!
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Brilliant stuff Ian, PM & JC have both brought a positive element to the party and motiviated the team to play as a unit. We know that we will never get the best players in the division, but we can have one of the best teams. PM & JC have started the rebuild (yet again) and the defence is looking pretty solid, especially with the addition of Stockdale – no offence to Larriue – and both Arnason & Johnson working well together. The rest just don’t make up ther numbers anymore and Mackie is the gem (not a wee nugget). Yes!!! we are moving in the right direction and there is no reason why this should not continue; the final ingredient that we a bit more of, is the twelth men on the terraces. COYGs, support your team.
If we can all pull together we just might achieve something, the players are doing their bit, so it’s time for the fans to step up to the plate.
Actually its 9 points from 4 league games – which is 2.25 points a game which would see us win the championship by about 40 points – lets not get carried away now.
Mariner took charge for the Preston game, 6 league games ago, Pete.