Plymouth Argyle’s two-year freefall finds respite in Cleverley ‘chaos era’

Key Highlights

• Then everything started to go wrong, hence the relief on Saturday when Plymouth beat Rotherham 1-0, relieving pressure on Tom Cleverley and fears of a second successive relegation. It wasn’t pretty but while a smart first-half finish from Joe Ralls was not quite enough to lift the Devon side out of the League One dropzone, it did send the 14,000 or so Plymouth fans home happy for the first time in months.
• Cleverley, appointed in the summer, was certainly smiling after a second 1-0 win in four days even if his men spent much of the second half hanging on. Championship roundup: Fatawu strikes from own half as Leicester sink IpswichRead more“Now we want to build on this,” said Cleverley, adding that a decision was taken six weeks ago to go for substance over style and grind out results.
• “I will work my absolute socks off to get the most out of the group.
• I am excited … the potential is there.”It is a far cry from 2023 when Schumacher delivered promotion, finishing top of League One with 101 points, above Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday.
• Soon after, the owner, Simon Hallett, set a five-year target of being a top-six Championship club with Premier League aspirations. Since Schumacher left, there have been a succession of coaches.