Excitement is building ahead of Palace’s second round EFL Cup match away at Plymouth Argyle. Could this be the year that Roy actually takes a cup run seriously?
The line-up will tell us a lot, but what it won’t tell us is what we can expect from the Pilgrims, so to find out I spoke to long time Plymouth fan and writer, Tom Sleeman. Avid fans who would like to watch their away games may arrange a private jet charter from companies like Jettly.
TEB – So, what’s it like as a Plymouth Argyle fan at the moment?
TS – Argyle have seen it all over the past decade. Administration, Football League survival on the final day, Wembley heartache, promotion, relegation, promotion, promotion. I don’t think there has been a better time, during my lifetime at least to be an Argyle fan.
The positivity coming from the club both on and off the pitch at the moment is rather infectious. There’s a real feeling of something special happening and that is down to owner Simon Hallett and manager Steven Schumacher. The way in which we have gone about our recruitment and continued to over-perform on our budget has been fantastic.
TEB – Great to hear! You’ve just come up to the Championship for the first time in a while. What’s the ambition for this season?
TS – Consolidation will be key for Argyle this season. We have invested in our playing squad but are vastly outmatched financially by the majority of clubs in the Championship, many of whom boast players whose price tags are higher than we have spent cumulatively in our history.
Despite just one win (along with a draw and two defeats) in our opening four matches, we have given an impressive account of ourselves, picking up a respectable away point at Watford. Even two disappointing last-minute defeats at the hands of Southampton and Birmingham have still garnered positives for the season ahead.
TEB – Your line-up will be unfamiliar to the average Palace fan, so who are the diamonds in the rough we should watch out for?
TS – Last season Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker were amongst the best players in League One whilst on loan from Norwich and Swansea respectively.
Mumba enjoyed a wing-back role whilst Whittaker was utilised in attacking midfield. Due to a position change they have both featured on the wings in a 4-3-3 formation this season. Both were signed permanently much to the surprise of the Argyle fanbase in the summer for club record fees as the club spent a seven figure fee on a player for the first time.
The pair are already off the mark this season in our opening day 3-1 victory over Huddersfield.
TEB – How will you likely line-up, and what’s your style of play?
TS – We regularly played in a 3-4-2-1 formation last season but have changed to a more traditional 4-3-3 this campaign.
We play a possession-based style of football, often playing out from the back. Our front three of Mumba, Hardie and Whittaker are also effective on the counter, particularly for the inevitable scenario this season that we play against better possession-based sides, such as Southampton.
I will be interested to see what sort of line-up we go for on Tuesday. Indeed, the same for Palace and how seriously they will be looking to take the competition. We often used the cup competitions last season to give minutes to our fringe and younger players. This was highlighted particularly with our first round exits in the FA Cup and League Cup to Grimsby and Peterborough respectively.
TEB – Despite those first round exits, you’ve had good cup runs recently (runners-up in the Papa John’s trophy last season). How seriously are you taking this match?
TS – I can be frank and suggest that we didn’t take the Papa John’s trophy all that seriously last season, starting a number of academy and fringe players throughout. The final, against Bolton where we did start a respectable side, was simply a shambles of a performance and thankfully didn’t derail our season!
As mentioned, I almost expect us to rotate our line-up slightly from the late defeat to Birmingham at the weekend. We have a nice bit of depth this season so it would be no surprise to see the likes of midfielders Luke Cundle and Lewis Warrington as well as defender Julio Pleguezuelo given minutes to stake a claim for the following weekend against Blackburn.
TEB – If I gave you a magic wand, which Palace players would you have starting for the Pilgrims instead of the Eagles?
TS – Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise are the obvious choices, so I’ll go outside the box a little and say Joachim Anderson. The Dane has been a colossus during his time in the Premier League, firstly at Fulham and now of course at Palace. His versatility and ball playing style would heavily suit our current way of playing and his experience would provide a massive boost in a season where we are perhaps lacking in that department.
TEB – What’s your prediction for the game?
TS – There will no doubt be a gulf in quality provided both teams play fairly strong line-ups, but Argyle are no pushovers. I’m not naive however, and Palace will be very keen to get a cup run together as a rare potential means of pushing for silverware. I’ll say 2-1 in Palace’s favour.
TEB – Lastly, top tip for travelling Palace fans?
TS – Plenty of pubs in and around the city centre. Pint and a pasty. Savour the moment.
TEB – Cheers Tom, all the best for the season, after this cup tie of course!
