Next Plymouth Manager Odds: Why Argyle Need Experience

EFL pundit Gab Sutton discusses why Plymouth Argyle need experience in their next appointment, after Ian Foster’s dismissal as Head Coach… 

It would have been impossible for Ian Foster to have had the career he’s had, up to and including his appointment as Plymouth Argyle boss, without being an outstanding coach. 

After leading Dundalk into the Europa League, Foster is credited with the development of James Maddison, Callum Wilson and John Fleck at Coventry, and his role in Portsmouth’s League Two title win in 2016-17, providing the technical and tactical nous as first-team coach to complement the passionate man management and motivational qualities of Paul Cook. 

Foster’s work was recognized by the FA, who entrusted him with nurturing the three age groups up to the Under-20s, the very best of one of the top nations in the world for emerging talent. 

That doesn’t just happen by accident, serious coaching ability has to be shown to earn the opportunity to develop Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka. 

The problem for Foster, after assisting Steven Gerrard with Al-Ettifaq, was becoming a number one for the first time in an in-season appointment. 

The Championship is a difficult league for a first-time Head Coach to go into at any stage, but in-season it’s brutal. 

For in-season impact, it’s arguably less about the level of coaching talent, and more about experience: knowing how to get fans on board, knowing how to motivate senior players, knowing the drill in the media, drawing on previous situations and stepping into a possibly chaotic situation with confidence. 

Neil Harris has done it superbly at Millwall. Gary Rowett is already doing it at Birmingham, it seems. Neil Warnock did it at Huddersfield last season. 

If the manager in question already has an affinity with the club in question, it doesn’t do any harm, but ultimately in-season impact is about confidence, and the ability to adapt as everything happens so quickly. 

Naturally, confidence comes from experience, and that’s what Foster didn’t have. 

He had the coaching credentials, but the unique circumstances of this job, at this level, meant he had to acquire a whole host of new qualities in a short space of time, all under the magnifying glass, with the pressure to deliver immediate results. 

Of course, any empathy we might have for Foster in that situation doesn’t change the reality for Plymouth Argyle fans, who saw their team go from enjoying the odd great performance every 3-5 games, to the odd good one in 10-12, and a side that dropped their heads all too easily after falling behind. 

As such, it was probably the wrong decision to appoint him, certainly in-season, and therefore correct one to make the admission on Monday night by parting company. 

Director of Football Neil Dewsnip and first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell will take charge, the club have confirmed, until the end of the season, with a view to galvanizing the place for the rally to safety. 

Dewsnip is highly respected by the Green Army for his role in the club’s progress since relegation to League Two in 2019, likewise Nancekivell, who has represented the Devonians in various coaching capacities since 2005, either side of a year at Torquay. 

Nonetheless, there is a world in which the club seek – that word again – experience, as it faces it’s last opportunity for a final roll of the dice to save it’s Championship status. 

Under the current structure and ownership regime, led brilliantly by owner Simon Hallett, Dewsnip, CEO Andrew Parkinson and Head of Recruitment Jimmy Dickinson, Argyle will be back in the second-tier again, soon, whether it’s next season or a future campaign. 

Nonetheless, they are currently outside the drop zone and the right decision at this stage could help them emulate the progress of Luton, a similarly-sized smart operator who currently have a fighting chance of staying in the Premier League. 

And, with all due respect to Dewsnip and Nancekivell, there are managers out there who Argyle might be better off finishing the season with at the helm. 

Of course, the former duo already know the squad inside out, but the trade-off could work out favourably if the club opted for a bit more Championship nous. 

Some might suggest one final hurrah for Warnock, who already lives an hour down the road in Cornwall, and has unfinished business with the club, with the promotion-winner having been controversially sacked by then-chairman Dan McCauley in 1997 – the narrative fits. 

Alternatively, there’s Alex Neil. 

Steven Schumacher has struggled with Stoke’s supposedly superior resources because of their inferior structure, after helping bring historic success to Argyle, so it’s plausible the inverse may be true of Neil. 

Other than a challenging shift at the Championship’s managerial graveyard, the Scot worked miracles at Hamilton Academical, whom he inspired from the Scottish Championship to being briefly top of the Premiership via victory at Celtic in 2014-15. 

Poached by Norwich that season, Neil worked wonders at Carrow Road and led them to promotion through incredible form in the second half of that campaign, before financial limitations contributed to relegation, and subsequent second-tier stagnation with an aging squad. 

The Airdrie-born boss, though, did a fantastic job at Preston North End, guiding them to three consecutive Play-Off pushes on a bottom six budget, but it always felt as though they were two or three players away from being a top six side. 

The right two or three players, though, were never forthcoming, and sustaining results proved tricky by the end. Nonetheless, this is a consistent, 7/10 Championship manager well capable of overachievement, certainly in the right structure, and his knowhow could be valuable to Argyle as they look to stay up this season – then stabilize in future campaigns. 

Neil likes an aggressive 4-2-3-1, an experienced spine but a tenacious, energetic feel to his sides with the ability to threaten quickly in transition, as well as the ability to recycle and play if that’s not on. 

Argyle already have the basic ingredients to do that with Lewis Gibson and Dan Scarr at the back, Jordan Houghton bringing the protective instincts at the base of midfield next to all-rounder Adam Randell, with Bali Mumba possibly operating out wide, Morgan Whittaker as an inside forward and Ryan Hardie grafting in the channels. 

Plus, Neil likes a creative #10 and there’s a chance Alfie Devine – when he returns from suspension, could fit into a similar mould to Daniel Johnson, who he had at Deepdale, albeit as a younger version. 

If Argyle are prepared to move in that stylistic direction, Neil could be the one – and if they were to go down with him, then they may have the conversation to have one of the best managers in League One next season. 

He would improve their chances of beating the drop: it might be a late appointment but, crucially, it may not be too late…