PLYMOUTH Argyle played 51 competitive first-team matches during their 2023/224 season. In addition to their 46 Championship fixtures, the Pilgrims played two games in the Carabao Cup plus three ties in the FA Cup.
The travelling was not always easy, I must admit, especially as Argyle struggled to pick up points on the road. It was not until early February, and a 1-0 victory over Swansea City in south Wales, that they won an away league game for the first time in the season.
Their only other successes on their travels came against Middlesbrough (2-0) and Rotherham United (1-0), while back-to-back defeats against Stoke City (3-0) and Millwall (1-0) meant they Pilgrims ended up with 13 defeats from 23 fixtures.
Having seen every match bar one home and away, I feel well qualified to give my assessment of Argyle's top five players from a season which was a combination of exciting, at times turbulent and stressful, but ultimately a successful one for the club.
5 JORDAN HOUGHTON
There were questions going into the season whether Jordan Houghton, at the age of 27 and despite his Chelsea academy pedigree, would be good enough for the Championship after playing all of his first-team football in League One or League Two previously.
He proved any doubters wrong with a series of consistently impressive displays in central midfield, and was particularly important at the start of the campaign as Steven Schumacher switched the Pilgrims to a 4-3-3 formation and Houghton was deployed in a holding role while his team-mates were all given the freedom to push forward.
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Denne historien er fra May 10, 2024-utgaven av The Herald.
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