2008–09 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

Plymouth Argyle
2008–09 season
Chairman	Paul Stapleton
Manager	Paul Sturrock
Championship	21st
FA Cup	Third Round (Knocked out by Arsenal)
League Cup	First Round (Knocked out by Luton Town)
Top goalscorer	League: ; Paul Gallagher (13); All: ; Paul Gallagher (13)
Highest home attendance	15,197 vs. Southampton (26th December 2008)
Lowest home attendance	9,203 vs. Swansea City (23rd August 2008)
Average home league attendance	11,533

The 2008–09 football season was Plymouth Argyle Football Club's 40th season in the Football League Championship, the second division of English football, and their 104th as a professional club. It officially began on 1 July 2008, and concluded on 30 June 2009, although competitive matches were only played between August and May.

The team's shirt supplier was Puma. The shirt sponsor was Ginsters.

Season summary

The club began the 2008–09 season in the Football League Championship for the fourth successive year, following a highly creditable 10th-place finish the previous year.^[1] However, this season they finished 21st in the league table, one position and five points above the relegation zone with a record of 13 wins, 12 draws, and 21 defeats from 46 games.^[2] Their leading goalscorer was Paul Gallagher with 13 goals in all competitions.

The club entered the FA Cup in the third round, where they lost 3–1 away to Premier League club Arsenal. They entered the League Cup in the first round and were eliminated away to Luton Town of League Two, losing 2–0.

Notable players to begin their careers with the Pilgrims this season included Carl Fletcher, Alan Judge, Paul Gallagher, Karl Duguid and Chris Barker. The club captain was Romain Larrieu and the team captain was Karl Duguid.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Championship

9 August 2008	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Home Park, Plymouth
	Fallon 7' Seip 56'	(Report)	Kightly 19' Vokes 78'	Attendance: 14,789 Referee: K Friend

16 August 2008	Reading	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	Madejski Stadium, Reading
	Sonko 13', 49'	(Report)		Attendance: 19,202 Referee: R Beeby

23 August 2008	Plymouth Argyle	0–1	Swansea City	Home Park, Plymouth
			Scotland 44'	Attendance: 9,203 Referee: Andy D'Urso

30 August 2008	Burnley	0–0	Plymouth Argyle	Turf Moor, Burnley
		(Report)		Attendance: 10,032 Referee: Michael Oliver

13 September 2008	Plymouth Argyle	1–2	Norwich City	Home Park, Plymouth
	Gallagher 90' Timar 32'	(Report)	Lupoli 15' Sibierski 59'	Attendance: 11,185 Referee: A Woolmer

16 September 2008	Watford	1–2	Plymouth Argyle	Vicarage Road, Watford
	O'Toole 82'	(Report)	Duguid 30' Summerfield 70' (pen.)	Attendance: 13,237 Referee: C Penton

20 September 2008	Crystal Palace	1–2	Plymouth Argyle	Selhurst Park, London
	McCarthy 85'	(Report)	Gallagher 28', 56'	Attendance: 14,209 Referee: N Swarbrick

27 September 2008	Plymouth Argyle	1–0	Nottingham Forest	Home Park, Plymouth
	Fallon 41'	(Report)		Attendance: 12,594 Referee: K Wright

30 September 2008	Bristol City	2–2	Plymouth Argyle	Ashton Gate, Bristol
	Akinde 69' Noble 88'	(Report)	Mackie 6' Fallon 18'	Attendance: 17,489 Referee: I Williamson

4 October 2008	Plymouth Argyle	4–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Home Park, Plymouth
	Beevers 15' (o.g.) Gallagher 25' Mackie 29' Seip 89'	(Report)		Attendance: 10,795 Referee: R East

18 October 2008	Derby County	2–1	Plymouth Argyle	Pride Park Stadium, Derby
	Hulse 45' Green 52'	(Report)	Gallagher 8'	Attendance: 28,495 Referee: C Webster

21 October 2008	Plymouth Argyle	1–0	Preston North End	Home Park, Plymouth
	Fallon 18'	(Report)		Attendance: 9,824 Referee: A Penn

25 October 2008	Plymouth Argyle	1–3	Ipswich Town	Home Park, Plymouth
	Cathcart 80'	(Report)	Garvan 28', 41' Lisbie 48' Norris 90'	Attendance: 12,294 Referee: P Miller

28 October 2008	Sheffield Wednesday	0–1	Plymouth Argyle	Hillsborough, Sheffield
		(Report)	MacLean 22'	Attendance: 16,515 Referee: G Laws

1 November 2008	Sheffield United	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	Bramall Lane, Sheffield
	Beattie (pen) 49', 57'	(Report)		Attendance: 25,601 Referee: S Mathieson

8 November 2008	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Charlton Athletic	Home Park, Plymouth
	Doumbe 37' Mpenza 90'	(Report)	Youga 86' Gray 90' (pen.)	Attendance: 10,716 Referee: A Hall

15 November 2008	Coventry City	0–1	Plymouth Argyle	Ricoh Arena, Coventry
		(Report)	Noone 86'	Attendance: 18,528 Referee: N Miller

22 November 2008	Plymouth Argyle	2–1	Cardiff City	Home Park, Plymouth
	Mpenza 39' Gallagher 41'	(Report)	Chopra 62'	Attendance: 11,438 Referee: P Taylor

25 November	Southampton	0–0	Plymouth Argyle	St Mary's Stadium, Southampton
		(Report)		Attendance: 14,895 Referee: A D'Urso

29 November 2008	Plymouth Argyle	1–2	Blackpool	Home Park, Plymouth
	Gallagher 67'	(Report)	Dickinson 78', 81'	Attendance: 9,969 Referee: T Kettle

6 December 2008	Doncaster Rovers	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
	Stock 37'	(Report)		Attendance: 10,187 Referee: R Beeby

9 December 2008	Plymouth Argyle	0–1	Birmingham City	Home Park, Plymouth
		(Report)	Carsley 62'	Attendance: 10,446 Referee: K Wright

13 December 2008	Plymouth Argyle	1–1	Queens Park Rangers	Home Park, Plymouth
	MacLean 83'	(Report)	Helguson 16'	Attendance: 10,747 Referee: K Friend

20 December 2008	Barnsley	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	Oakwell, Barnsley
	De Silva 37' Campbell-Ryce 90' (pen.)	(Report)	Walton 28'	Attendance: 10,944 Referee: D Whitestone

26 December 2008	Plymouth Argyle	2–0	Southampton	Home Park, Plymouth
	Fallon 38' Summerfield 52' (pen.)	(Report)		Attendance: 15,197 Referee: R East

28 December 2008	Cardiff City	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Ninian Park, Cardiff
	Bothroyd 81'	(Report)	McNamee 90'	Attendance: 19,145 Referee: S Attwell

17 January 2009	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	City Ground, Nottingham
	Earnshaw 26' Anderson 51'	(Report)		Attendance: 20,392 Referee: K Stroud

27 January 2009	Plymouth Argyle	0–2	Bristol City	Home Park, Plymouth
		(Report)	McIndoe 61' Fontaine 84'	Attendance: 11,438 Referee: P Taylor

31 January 2009	Ipswich Town	0–0	Plymouth Argyle	Portman Road, Ipswich
		(Report)		Attendance: 20,333 Referee: D Deadman

3 February 2009	Preston North End	1–1	Plymouth Argyle	Deepdale, Preston
	Parkin 42'	(Report)	Mackie 13'	Attendance: 10,660 Referee: A Haines

7 February 2009	Plymouth Argyle	0–3	Derby County	Home Park, Plymouth
		(Report)	Teale 42' Hulse 46', 52'	Attendance: 10,893 Referee: S Cook

14 February 2009	Charlton Athletic	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	The Valley, London
	Racon 31' Bailey 68'	(Report)		Attendance: 21,876 Referee: T Kettle

17 February 2009	Plymouth Argyle	1–3	Crystal Palace	Home Park, Plymouth
	Sawyer 67'	(Report)	Danns 20' Lee 27' Oster 43'	Attendance: 10,710 Referee: R Shoebridge

21 February 2009	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Sheffield United	Home Park, Plymouth
	Fletcher 49' Gallagher 70'	(Report)	Webber 63' Halford 72'	Attendance: 10,044 Referee: A Woolmer

28 February 2009	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0–1	Plymouth Argyle	Molineux, Wolverhampton
		(Report)	Gallagher 1'	Attendance: 25,710 Referee: C Boyeson

3 March 2009	Plymouth Argyle	2–1	Watford	Home Park, Plymouth
	Gallagher (pen) 35', 73'	(Report)	Smith 61'	Attendance: 9,529 Referee: N Miller

7 March 2009	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Reading	Home Park, Plymouth
	Gallagher 20' Mackie 59'	(Report)	Pearce 22' Kebe 80'	Attendance: 14,014 Referee: A Bates

10 March 2009	Swansea City	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Liberty Stadium, Swansea
	Scotland 78' (pen.)	(Report)		Attendance: 13,103 Referee: I Williamson

14 March 2009	Norwich City	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Carrow Road, Norwich
	Mooney 53' Russell 90'	(Report)		Attendance: 25,064 Referee: F Graham

21 March 2009	Plymouth Argyle	1–2	Burnley	Home Park, Plymouth
	Judge 17'	(Report)	Caldwell 16' Blake 78'	Attendance: 11,246 Referee: R Booth

4 April 2009	Blackpool	0–1	Plymouth Argyle	Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
		(Report)	Sawyer 86'	Attendance: 8,103 Referee: M Haywood

11 April 2009	Plymouth Argyle	4–0	Coventry City	Home Park, Plymouth
	Barnes 15' Mackie 26' Judge 27' Seip 37'	(Report)		Attendance: 12,568 Referee: C Oliver

13 April 2009	Birmingham City	1–1	Plymouth Argyle	St Andrew's, Birmingham
	Queudrue 50' Taylor 24'	(Report)	Gallagher 26' (pen.)	Attendance: 19,323 Referee: Michael Oliver

18 April 2009	Plymouth Argyle	0–3	Doncaster Rovers	Home Park, Plymouth
		(Report)	Spicer 15' Hayter 33' Heffernan 71'	Attendance: 11,100 Referee: P Crossley

25 April 2009	Queens Park Rangers	0–0	Plymouth Argyle	Loftus Road, London
		(Report)		Attendance: 14,779 Referee: N Miller

3 May 2009	Plymouth Argyle	1–2	Barnsley	Home Park, Plymouth
	Sawyer 12'	(Report)	Hammill 34' Campbell-Ryce 48'	Attendance: 14,529 Referee: C Penton

League table

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
19	Nottingham Forest	46	13	14	19	50	65	−15	53
20	Barnsley	46	13	13	20	45	58	−13	52
21	Plymouth Argyle	46	13	12	21	44	57	-13	51
22	Norwich City	46	12	10	24	57	70	−13	46
23	Southampton	46	10	15	21	46	69	−23	45

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	13	12	21	44	57	−13	51	7	5	11	31	35	−4	6	7	10	13	22	−9

As of games played 3 May 2009^[3]

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	D	L	L	D	L	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	L	W	L	D	W	W	D	L	L	L	D	L	W	L	L	L	D	D	L	L	L	D	W	W	D	L	L	L	W	W	D	L	D	L
Position	10	18	22	21	24	20	18	12	12	5	12	8	10	9	11	10	9	7	7	8	11	12	13	13	12	15	15	16	16	16	17	18	19	20	19	17	17	18	19	21	19	19	19	19	19	21

Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2009. Source: League Fixtures
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Cup

Third round

3 January 2009	Arsenal	3–1	Plymouth Argyle	Emirates Stadium, London
	van Persie 47' 85' Bendtner 50'	(Report)	Duguid 53'	Attendance: 59,424 Referee: M Jones

Football League Cup

First round

12 August 2008	Luton Town	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	Kenilworth Road, Luton
	Jarvis 15' Plummer 77'	(Report)		Attendance: 2,682 Referee: R Shoebridge

Squad details

Player statistics

Key

* First appearance(s) for Plymouth Argyle.

¤ On loan to another club from Plymouth Argyle during season.

‡ On loan at Plymouth Argyle from another club during season.

† Permanent player left club during the season.

# = Squad number; Pos = Playing position; P = Number of games played; G = Number of goals scored; = Yellow cards; = Red cards; GK = Goalkeeper; DF = Defender; MF = Midfielder; FW = Forward

Statistics do not include minor competitions or games played for other clubs. All players who were provided a squad number during the 2008–09 season are included.^[4]

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline		Notes
No.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals			^[5]^[6]^[7]
1	GK	Romain Larrieu	41	0	1	0	0	0	42	0	1	0	^[8]
2	MF	Karl Duguid	39	1	1	1	1	0	41*	2	4	0	^[9]
3	MF	Jim Paterson	7+10	0	0	0	1	0	8+10	0	1	0	^[10]
4	MF	Simon Walton ¤	12+1	0	0	0	1	0	13+1	0	3	1	^[11]
5	DF	Krisztian Timar	13+8	0	0	0	1	0	14+8	0	0	1	^[12]
6	MF	Chris Clark	30+6	0	1	0	0	0	31+6	0	2	0	^[13]
7	MF	Jason Puncheon ¤	5+1	0	0	0	1	0	6+1*	0	0	0	^[14]
8	MF	Yoann Folly	6+5	0	0	0	1	0	7+5	0	0	0	^[15]
9	FW	Steve MacLean	11+10	2	0+1	0	1	0	12+11	2	4	0	^[16]
10	FW	Jermaine Easter ¤	2+2	0	0	0	1	0	3+2	0	0	0	^[17]
11	FW	Paul Gallagher ‡	36+4	13	1	0	0	0	37+4*	13	6	0	^[18]
13	DF	Mathias Doumbe	21+3	1	0	0	0	0	21+3	1	5	0	^[19]
14	FW	Rory Fallon	26+18	5	1	0	0+1	0	27+19	5	6	0	^[20]
15	DF	Chris Barker	38+2	0	1	0	1	0	40+2*	0	1	0	^[21]
16	DF	David McNamee	5+5	0	0	0	0	0	5+5*	0	3	1	^[22]
17	MF	Craig Noone	3+18	1	1	0	0	0	4+18*	1	1	0	^[23]
18	DF	Gary Sawyer	13	3	0	0	0	0	13	3	2	0	^[24]
19	DF	Marcel Seip	41	3	1	0	0	0	42	3	4	0	^[25]
20	MF	Luke Summerfield	28+1	2	1	0	0+1	0	29+2	2	3	0	^[26]
21	GK	Graham Stack ¤	5	0	0	0	1	0	6*	0	0	0	^[27]
22	DF	Craig Cathcart ‡	29+1	1	1	0	1	0	31+1*	1	1	0	^[28]
23	MF	Alan Judge ‡	15+2	2	0	0	0	0	15+2*	2	2	0	^[29]
23	MF	Nicolas Marin ‡	1+5	0	0	0	0	0	1+5*	0	0	0	^[30]
24	FW	Ashley Barnes	12+3	1	0	0	0	0	12+3	1	2	0	^[31]
25	MF	Jamie Mackie	35+8	5	1	0	0+1	0	36+9	5	3	0	^[32]
26	MF	Yannick Bolasie ¤	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	^[33]
27	GK	Lloyd Saxton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	^[34]
28	MF	Carl Fletcher ‡	13	1	0	0	0	0	13*	1	3	0	^[35]
28	DF	Shane White †	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	^[36]
29	DF	Damien McCrory ¤	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	^[37]
30	MF	Dan Smith †	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	^[38]
31	FW	Emile Mpenza	3+6	2	0	0	0	0	3+6*	2	0	0	^[39]
33	DF	David Gray ‡	14	0	1	0	0	0	15*	0	2	0	^[40]
35	FW	George Donnelly	0+2	0	0	0	0	0	0+2*	0	0	0	^[35]
37	MF	Roudolphe Douala †	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	1+1*	0	0	0	^[41]

Goal scorers

Scorer	Goals
Paul Gallagher	13
Rory Fallon	5
Jamie Mackie	5
Gary Sawyer	3
Marcel Seip	3
Karl Duguid	2
Alan Judge
Steve MacLean
Emile Mpenza
Luke Summerfield
Ashley Barnes	1
Craig Cathcart
Mathias Doumbe
Carl Fletcher
Craig Noone

Starting 11

The following players have been named in the most starting line-ups. This line-up may differ from the list of players with most appearances.

No.	Position	Name	Starts
1	GK	Romain Larrieu	42
13	DF	Mathias Doumbe	21
22	DF	Craig Cathcart	31
37	DF	Marcel Seip	42
15	DF	Chris Barker	40
25	MF	Jamie Mackie	36
2	MF	Karl Duguid	41
20	MF	Luke Summerfield	29
6	MF	Chris Clark	31
14	FW	Rory Fallon	27
11	FW	Paul Gallagher	37

Awards

2008–09 Awards	Pos.	Player
Player of the Year	GK	Romain Larrieu
Young Player of the Year	DF	Craig Cathcart

Transfers

Permanent

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
1 July 2008	FW	George Donnelly	Skelmersdale United	Undisclosed
15 July 2008	DF	David McNamee	Coventry City	Free
18 July 2008	GK	Graham Stack	Reading	Free
1 August 2008	MF	Yannick Bolasie	Floriana	Undisclosed
6 August 2008	MF	Simon Walton	Queens Park Rangers	Undisclosed
9 August 2008	DF	Chris Barker	Queens Park Rangers	Undisclosed
30 August 2008	MF	Craig Noone	Southport	Undisclosed
1 September 2008	FW	Emile Mpenza	Manchester City	Free
21 March 2009	MF	Roudolphe Douala	Asteras Tripolis	Free

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
3 July 2008	MF	Jimmy Abdou	Millwall	Free
16 July 2008	MF	Péter Halmosi	Hull City	£2,500,000
22 July 2008	GK	Luke McCormick	Free agent	Released
31 July 2008	MF	Lilian Nalis	Swindon Town	Free
4 February 2009	DF	Shane White	Free agent	Released
31 May 2009	MF	Dan Smith	Free agent	Released
1 June 2009	MF	Roudolphe Douala	Free agent	Released

Loans

In

Start date	Pos.	Player	To	End date
8 August 2008	DF	Craig Cathcart	Manchester United	25 May 2009
29 August 2008	FW	Paul Gallagher	Blackburn Rovers	25 May 2009
1 September 2008	MF	Nicolas Marin	Lorient	1 January 2009
1 January 2009	DF	David Gray	Manchester United	25 May 2009
29 January 2009	MF	Alan Judge	Blackburn Rovers	31 May 2009
19 February 2009	MF	Carl Fletcher	Crystal Palace	1 June 2009