As I wrote about previously; Carl Fletcher was sacked for poor performances and now Argyle suffer the fall out losing 4 – 0 away at Port Vale, dropping into the bottom two, even worse is that Nick Chadwick was shown a straight red which means he will be banned for the next three games.
The loss is hardly unexpected; morale must be at rock bottom, the manager sacked and only a couple of points above the relegation places before this defeat; with a rookie assistant coach in charge. Also one of Argyle’s most experienced players Darren Purse has left Home Park to join the team that beat Argyle 4 – 0 over the weekend, let’s hope the new gaffer can bring in some experience quickly!
A new manager has been appointed, John Sheridan, who has been out of management for five months prior to being appointed Pilgrims manager. Looking at his record; he has hardly covered himself in glory; as manager Sheridan has won 39%, drew 28% and lost 33% of games. That said, those stats are better than what Fletcher has produced since succeeding Peter Reid, 16 months ago!
From a fan point of view; it’s very frustrating that owner James Brent waited so long to relieve Fletcher of his managerial position; it’s been clear for more than three months that Fletcher was only going to lead Argyle to a league two relegation battle. New manager Sheridan needs to pull a rabbit out of a hat to get the Pilgrims into a position to stave off relegation for a second season, I just hope Argyle are not in the relegation battle come the final few games of the season, I don’t know if my heart can take it; it’s clear that Argyle need a good director of football to move forward!
On a side note; anyone want to take a bet that Darren Purse will score 15 goals for Port Vale before the end of the season? Former Argyle players always seem to play better after leaving Home Park!
