Don Goodman spoke more in his interview with OLBG about Plymouth…
On Plymouth’s appointment of Wayne Rooney: “I’ve said many times that I do not blame Wayne Rooney for what happened and the failings at Birmingham City. The buck stops with what was possibly an overly enthusiastic new ownership group, who appointed him with good intentions.
“Ultimately, Birmingham got 50 points, which is usually enough to survive. But the big thing for me was the nature of the fixtures Birmingham faced when Wayne Rooney was appointed. I remember thinking ‘Oh my goodness, the next five or six fixtures are against teams in good form.’
“The timing of the appointment was not great. Of course, they lost most of them and drew against Ipswich after being 2-0 up with about 10 minutes to go.
“He failed to connect with the fans after those first few games and it proved to be a tough gig from thereon. You could argue, yes, he is fortunate to get the job, but this is Wayne Rooney and the Plymouth Argyle hierarchy may have delved deeper, like taking those opening fixtures into consideration, giving him a bit of leeway.
“Like his former team-mate Michael Carrick learning lessons at Middlesbrough, Wayne Rooney will be doing the same. He’s gone on record to say he tried to change too much, too soon at Birmingham. He will have learned from that.
“We know he wants to play a possession-based, front-foot style as it’s the way he was as a player. But there’s one thing for sure, this needs to go well for him. If it doesn’t go well for Wayne at Plymouth, then it’s hard to see where he goes in management.”
Asked who do you fancy for promotion and relegation from the Championship, he said: “Last season was one of the easiest Championship seasons to predict in terms of who would be at the top as Leeds, Leicester and Southampton all retained a plethora of Premier League-quality players They were always going to be competing at the top end of the league.
“However this season I’m not so confident in the relegated clubs. For Burnley and Luton, it depends on what their squad looks like when the transfer window shuts. Will Burnley keep the likes of Lyle Foster, Luca Koleosho and Sander Berge? If they do, you fancy them to be a force. Will Luton keep the likes of Alfie Doughty, Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris? If they do, you’d also tip them to be competing at the top.
“But Sheffield United look like a club in disarray and are coming down from the Premier in a very weak state. A massive overhaul is required for Chris Wilder and his backroom staff. I’m not saying they can’t do it, but he’s up against it at the moment.
“You’d expect Leeds to be towards the top, with the sale of Archie Gray possibly meaning they’ll be able to keep hold of the attacking force that tore apart Championship defences for 80% of the season before falling at the last hurdle.”
“Then with some teams, you don’t really know what to expect from them. You cannot rule out West Brom with Carlos Corberan in charge still, Coventry’s FA Cup semi-final proved a hindrance to their promotion hopes last season, and Middlesbrough ended the campaign very strongly.
“The upcoming Championship season will not be as strong as last season’s, which had the best top-four that I’ve ever seen. That’s going to give an opportunity for some teams to surprise us.
“At the bottom, Des Buckingham has a huge job on his hands at Oxford as play-off winners are notoriously the teams that struggle the most. It’s just brilliant that they’re in the Championship.
“Derby County remind me of Sheffield Wednesday last season as they have one of the oldest teams in the division. Wednesday struggled with the physical side of things early on last year, so it’s interesting to see Paul Warne move on a number of 30-plus-year-olds and bring pace and energy into the club. That gap still needs to be bridged, though.
“I would expect Portsmouth to be the strongest of the relegated clubs and, therefore, I’m looking at the clubs that just about survived. John Eustace has a big job on his hands at Blackburn after they relied so heavily on Sammie Szmodics, it would be some achievement if he could replicate such performances. I’m not sure about Plymouth, and that’s not because of Wayne Rooney, it’s just the nature of them being in the Championship.
“Even Sunderland finished the season winning just two of their last 15 games. They’ve got a new manager in Regis Les Bris, whose background is in developing young footballers but this is the Championship so it’s very difficult for a whole group of young players to succeed and they didn’t have any strikers capable of performing at that level and struggled for goals. Those would be the clubs I’d be concerned about.”
This is how fans reacted to what Don Goodman had to say on Plymouth…
@alwoodswork: It’s always a good sign when they write Argyle off. Just makes it all the more satisfying when we prove them wrong. #pafc
@RichardQuirk09: More than happy to be written off or so called concerned. Predicting the championship is probably the hardest league to call. pafc
@TimCotton81: Staying up easily then. Cheers Don! #pafc
@finso96:We always do better when everyone writes us off tbf
@dpayne435: It’s always a possibility, prob one of the lowest budgets, new manager, so it’s not rocket science. But The Green Army can stay up so be positive, #Argyle #pafc
@Voodoov21: Every pre-season I rate the chances of a Sky pundit being involved in a scandal & jailed. I was thinking about Gary Neville and a firearm offence, but in the end I’ve actually gone for Don Goodman and indecent exposure. #pafc
@CarlBarnard15: Just how we like it, and our used too. No surprise.
@ChrisDennis5: Got a point…. Really poor manager. He’d find a way to finish 3rd in the pub league if he was in charge of rangers or Celtic.
Scott Jarvis: We’re always going to be the club concerned with relegation regardless of who our manager is because of our low budget.. doesn’t take a genius to realise that.
Mark Harris: Probably right if we’re honest, all loan signings and the brickfields seem to be getting the priority, just hope I’m wrong
Danny Alan: If argyle gpt some big sponsors and a better marketing team then they would be able to afford a few more decent players I’m expecting argyle to be mid table at best but you new know.
Graham Bell: Goodman talks crap.
David Metters: Don Goodman never has a good word to say about Argyle and a good many others, unless it’s Leeds. Guys an awful pundit and analysis.
Reg Green: Well he ain’t wrong major concern it’s a massive gamble by hallett & the board what with the last appointment as well get this wrong it could go absolutely pair shape for hallett & the board this time with the fan base otherwise just hope the gamble pays off
Plymouth – Fixtures
Sun 11 Aug (A) Sheffield Wednesday – 4pm
Sat 17 Aug (H) Hull City – 3pm
Sat 24 Aug (A) Queens Park Rangers – 12.30pm
Sat 31 Aug (H) Stoke City – 3pm
Sat 14 Sep (H) Sunderland – 3pm
Sat 21 Sep (A) West Bromwich Albion – 3pm
Fri 27 Sep (H) Luton Town – 8pm
Tue 1 Oct (A) Burnley – 7.45pm
Sat 5 Oct (H) Blackburn Rovers – 3pm
Sat 19 Oct (A) Cardiff City – 3pm
Wed 23 Oct (A) Millwall – 7.45pm
Sat 26 Oct (H) Preston North End – 3pm
Sat 2 Nov (A) Leeds United – 3pm
Tue 5 Nov (H) Portsmouth – 7.45pm
Sat 9 Nov (A) Derby County – 3pm
Sat 23 Nov (H) Watford – 3pm
Tue 26 Nov (A) Norwich City – 7.45pm
Sat 30 Nov (A) Bristol City – 3pm
Sat 7 Dec (H) Oxford United – 3pm
Tue 10 Dec (H) Swansea City – 7.45pm
Sat 14 Dec (A) Sheffield United – 3pm
Sat 21 Dec (H) Middlesbrough – 3pm
Thu 26 Dec (A) Coventry City – 3pm
Sun 29 Dec (A) Oxford United – 3pm
Wed 1 Jan (H) Bristol City – 3pm
Sat 4 Jan (A) Stoke City – 3pm
Sat 18 Jan (H) Queens Park Rangers – 3pm
Wed 22 Jan (H) Burnley – 7.45pm
Sat 25 Jan (A) Sunderland – 3pm
Sat 1 Feb (H) West Bromwich Albion – 3pm
Sat 8 Feb (A) Luton Town – 3pm
Tue 11 Feb (H) Millwall – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Feb (A) Blackburn Rovers – 3pm
Sat 22 Feb (H) Cardiff City – 3pm
Sat 1 Mar (A) Hull City – 3pm
Sat 8 Mar (H) Sheffield Wednesday – 3pm
Tue 11 Mar (A) Portsmouth – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Mar (H) Derby County – 3pm
Sat 29 Mar (A) Watford – 3pm
Sat 5 Apr (H) Norwich City – 3pm
Wed 9 Apr (A) Swansea City – 7.45pm
Sat 12 Apr (H) Sheffield United – 3pm
Fri 18 Apr (A) Middlesbrough – 3pm
Mon 21 Apr (H) Coventry City – 3pm
Sat 26 Apr (A) Preston North End – 3pm
Sat 3 May (H) Leeds United – 3pm
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