Is this the worst Argyle Team ever?

I think the worst display from an Argyle team I have ever witnessed was the 5-2 loss away to Cheltenham Town under Hodges. From memory we were 4 down at HT. The team that day was:

Jon Sheffield
Wayne O'Sullivan
Jon Beswetherick
Adam Barrett
Paul Mardon
Chris Leadbitter
Terry Fleming
Martin Barlow
Sean McCarthy
Paul McGregor
Jason Peake

Subs: Steve Guinan, Paul Wotton, Martin Gritton

How many of the current squad would genuinely get in that team?

Can't think of any Nick. Barring about 4 players that looks a reasonable side.

We were pretty dire under Mick Jones in around '97/98 at the time of the civil war with Dan McCauley. Can't remember many of the players from back then though.

I think that this is on a par with the side I watched draw 0 0 with Oxford on a tues. night under Dan MaCauley And was almost certainly that Hodges side, toothless, boring and I actually stayed away until the start of the Luggy tenure, (couldn't have been too long after that dire night). Watching us slug out 0 0's and 1 all's last season was as bad as that, this season is worse because we should be improving, the league table doesn't lie, we aren't.

The worst I remember was a 3 v 0 defeat at Scarborough at the end of the 98/99 season. Scarborough were relegated that year and we finished below Excretia.

From GOS the team was
James Dungey, Paul Wotton, Jon Beswetherick, Steve McCall, Mick Heathcote, Simon Collins, Martin Barlow, Lee Phillips, Mark Sale, Darren Bastow, Steve Guinan. Subs: Jon Ashton, Brendan McGovern.

Doesn't look as bad as our current squad. I guess the 'competition' is whether the current squad is worse than the one we had last year. My guess is that its probably 'slightly' better.

I'd have Jake Cole in there for Jon 'hands like hooves' Sheffield and probably put in Blanchard for Mardon. You'd have to replace Jason Peake with Bhasera and I couldn't have Sean McCarthy Mk II in any team of mine but I'm struggling to think of anyone I could replace him with... maybe Griffiths on the strength of one decent 20 minute spell?

I don't know about 'team' but the worst performance I ever saw was in Kemp's reign. I think it would have been the September 1991 game at the old Oxford Manor Ground.

Team: Rhys Wilmot, Kenny Brown, Ryan Cross, Nicky Marker, Adrian Burrows, Danis Salman, Darren Garner, Kevin Hodges, Robbie Turner, Andy Morrison, Mark Fiore. Subs: Andy Clement, David Cooper.

The whole game was dire. It's the worst I've felt at an Argyle match - and that goes for the last few months. The big hoof-ball game personified and ugly it was.

Flippen 'eck Knecht. That team would piss this league. Kenny Brown, Nicky Marker, Hodges, Bang Robbie Turner (always had a soft spot for him) and Jock Morrison. Some bloody good players.

I've just remembered Bristol Rovers 5 Argyle 0 at Twerton in the FA Cup. That was so bad Argyle fans were fighting with each other. To make it worse they drew Liverpool away in the next round.

Nicky Marker and Jock Morrison both went on to play for Blackburn in the top flight. Kenny Brown went to West Ham. Kevin Hodges club legend and Robbie Turner?

They would walk into any team in this league now and oh for any one of those now.

Preferrably Marker for me, absolute class at best.

Last years team away to Gillingham in August...lost 3-0.......nearly offered Gillinghams goalkeeper some of my sun blocker cream he looked uncomfortable leaning against the goalpost for long periods.....Peter Reid just looked uncomfortable.

I don't think this team would have held their own with the Hodges team so it is our worst. Christ, that Kemp team would walk this league.

As I said, I don't know about 'team" but that performance and style of playing was dire!!!!!

I bet you there would be some of our current crew who would be much better in a differently organised side just as some of Kemp's players did.

Never mind 'team'.

Clueless Carl has managed to kick on and assemble, quite comfortably, our worst ever squad

Whadda Guy eh?

Id say this is slightly worse then the Kevin Hodges era,spankings that hang in the memory from the Hodges "dynasty" for me was the spanking at Cheltenham that someones already mentioned..... i also remember going all the way up to Darlington (Feethams) watched us get spanked there as well , there was many more however with Hodges his side could at least turn in a good performance every now and again (not many granted) say once every 10-15 games wed play brilliantly i think we had just been hammered of some obscure side then the next week we beaten Swansea who were the Champions that season with an Adam Barrett header, that was the game where their fans wrecked the Noahs Ark pub and got marched up to the stadium by the police.
With current day Argyle under CF it is the same negative crap week after week after week, even when we do win it is never a complete performance imho.
That for me is the main difference between CF Argyle and KH Argyle.

Maybe the players are on absolutely crap wages?

Jordan Copp is trying to sell his mountain bike on twitter for £20

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If only we had a Paul McGregor type player. When bothered he was was capable of creating something from nothing. I never thought I'd see another Kevin Hodges style era but it's here - time must be semi-bloody-cyclical!

I remember Steve Guinan's hat-trick against Scunthorpe when we tore them apart 5-0. Also a thoroughly good trouncing of Leyton Orient 5-0, with two goals from Chris Leadbitter! Oh and McGregor's hat-trick against Barnet in a 4-1 smashing. Punchdrunk is right, these would come along every few months and then disappear back into mediocrity.

Nick Wall wrote:

I think the worst display from an Argyle team I have ever witnessed was the 5-2 loss away to Cheltenham Town under Hodges. From memory we were 4 down at HT. The team that day was:

Jon Sheffield
Wayne O'Sullivan
Jon Beswetherick
Adam Barrett
Paul Mardon
Chris Leadbitter
Terry Fleming
Martin Barlow
Sean McCarthy
Paul McGregor
Jason Peake

Subs: Steve Guinan, Paul Wotton, Martin Gritton

How many of the current squad would genuinely get in that team?

He's a singer now.

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Kemp's team was terminally untalented but always put a shift in, & that was in what is now the Championship.
I still say they would have stayed up if Shilton had not tried to get them playing football when he came in & instead waited until the following season.

I got every faith that carl will build the worst argyle team ever, the boys a natural.

Ffarquhar wrote:

Kemp's team was terminally untalented but always put a shift in, & that was in what is now the Championship.
I still say they would have stayed up if Shilton had not tried to get them playing football when he came in & instead waited until the following season.

I tend to agree, the object lesson is not to panic and change the manager towards the end of the season but at the start, as soon as it becomes clear summit's up.

The 67/68 team was bad but playing two divisions higher than this one.Shocking under Kelly in the post Waiters era,needed Allison to come in and save us with about 10 games to go.Pretty bad in the late Shilton days,not much better under Mick Jones.All of those teams were playing in a higher league though and had players who would just walk into this current outfit.The Hodges era was the nearest approximation but even then people like Stonebridge,McGregor,O'Sullivan,Hargreaves,a young Wotton and Buster would be outstanding talents at HP now.One thread running through the catalogue of badness is that the managers were either promotees from within or ex players returning to the club and finding the job too big for them-Hore was a similar type.It just doesn't work for Argyle-all succcessful managers in modern times have either had some previous managerial success elsewhere [Warnock,Smith,Sturrock] or had established big reputations as players [Rowley,Waiters,Shilton in his early days].Something to think about for the Argyle directorate there maybe.

Without doubt this is worst team that I can remember, I guess the Hodges era comes the closest, but even then there were some good times, albeit few and far between.

Not only that, this is the worst that the club has ever been. Everything seems so unprofessional, and the fanbase is so divided. In the Hodges era, we seemed to care more, but now the club seems to be losing long term supporters in droves.

It is difficult to compare different eras.

BUT......this team is playing in the BASEMENT DIV 4.....on the verge of the Conference, how can any previous team compare with that.......glory now seems to be a 1-1 draw with Rovers who haven't won a league game this season......the local Rec ground might give you more satisfaction and you don't have tp pay for that priviledge.

It's a bit like comparing the Roger Bannister 4 minute mile world record with Sebastian Coe. If Bannister had raced in any race with Coe the chances are he would have come last. Different era equals different skills, fitness and equipment etc.

All you can do is look at results now compared with results from previous and this lot would be down there competing with the worst I think although somebody is bound to come up with statistics that disprove that theory. You might need to ask if any player from 25 years ago would even get a game in any professional team in 2012 in their respective leagues. My guess is that a lot wouldn't despite our memories of them at the time.

I'd say this current 'team' and 'manager' are by far the worst to have ever played in the football league.

No, you're all looking too far back imo.

Our team of last season before we got Purse and Blanchard in was way worse than this.

This is the next worst in my lifetime though, I arrived as a fan in the Sturrock Mark 1 era thank God.