Plymouth board issue statement on poor start to season leaving supporters frustrated

Plymouth Argyle’s board board issue a statement on the club’s poor start to the 2025/26 season leaving supporters frustrated.

Those at the top acknowledge fan frustrations amid poor results after Championship relegation, and now find themselves in the relegation zone of League One wihtout any points after four games played at this very early stage.

The board emphasise a rebuild with new coach Tom Cleverley, staff, and squad for long-term sustainability with the hope of a return to the second tier.

A statement from the Argyle Board.

— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) August 22, 2025

STATEMENT:

We know results and our current position aren’t good enough, and we share supporters’ frustration.

Following our relegation from the Championship, a rebuild has been needed. We were not strong enough to stay in the division and a squad reset was required.

That work is now underway – with a new coach, new staff, and a competitive squad being built for the long term, with the clear goal of returning to the Championship.

Injuries have made the start harder than expected, but we also accept results should have been better.

This is not a quick fix. It is a medium – to long-term process that will take time and patience.

All money that comes into the club is used for the benefit of the club. Some is spent; some is invested – but none has gone back out to shareholders.

Separately, we have invested an additional £12.5m into Foulston Park alongside the operating costs of the club.

A full breakdown of where money has come from, where it has gone, and where it is planned to go will be shared at a Fans’ Forum in September.

Our aim is clear: to build a competitive, sustainable squad and return to the Championship the right way.

Relying on short-term transfers or loans has brought benefits in recent years, but it has also left us exposed when players have been recalled or moved on at critical moments. That is why continuity and development are key.

Our focus is on building a squad of our own, and we believe Tom and his players are the right people to lead this rebuild.

We hear the frustrations and are determined to put things right.

Now more than ever, the team needs all our backing.

The Board of Plymouth Argyle

Cleverley told Argyle TV ahead of the Blackpool game: “There’s a freshness about new players into the environment, there’s a fearlessness about them, and there’s a belief in them that they can change it.

“I’d expect a couple more before the end of the window.

“The biggest thing our football club needs – no secret – is a win. It was a game on Tuesday that could have gone either way. At the minute, those games are going against us; we’re getting punished for every micro-mistake, for every refereeing decision.

“We still have to do everything we possibly can for a top performance to take chance out of it. I think the addition of new players helps with that chance.

“The big challenge is transferring from the training ground, onto the stadium, where the consequences are a little bit more. I’ve tried helping the lads with a few techniques to do that. Experience helps with that, and we’ve got a lot of new players, young players who are desperate to prove themselves.

“These things will take time. I’m positive we’ve given them enough emotional support to deal with that for Saturday, and they’re in a good frame of mind to perform.

“I’m sure Steve Bruce’s message to his players will be similar to mine. When you are a team that is maybe not happy with performances or form, you strip it back to basics. What can you control as a player and do to the best of your ability?

“For me, the advantage we have on Saturday is a home crowd. We shouldn’t become complacent about that; we should be the catalyst to create a good atmosphere. Supporters will always react to players doing the basics well. You want to run hard for this club, tackle hard, fight for your team-mate, put your body on the line.

“I feel we are more than that, and becoming more than that might take a little bit more time than we expected. But if we do the first bit, I’m sure the supporters will be right behind us, connected to us. That is what I want to see, and what I expect to see.”

‘Absolute shambles’ – Fans react to awkward Argyle TV issues after Plymouth lose to Leyton Orient

There was plenty of reaction after the Plymouth board issue statement on the poor start to the season leaving supporters frustrated…

@NikArgyle: More statements than signings and not one of them says anything of substance.

@LewisMwhitman: Just another load of shite from the club to cover the embarrassing transfer window we’ve had. £12.5m into Foulston Park so that Hallett is financially secure when he leaves the club, this is a business man doing business, not a club owner with Argyles interests at heart anymore.

@Joe_Moore01: Froze ST prices to have an alleged top 6 side and promotion as the aim when it was clearly never the plan. Fans been sold a poor deal

@TQ_Pilgrim: In hindsight, saying “we’ll have a top 6 budget” wasn’t the best strapline for the summer.

@prouty_0205: All very good saying loans won’t benefit us if they’re recalled but if a player wants to leave under contract he will leave and you’ll sell them for peanuts so it makes no difference at all.

@VinceRennie: Thats a long winded way of saying all of the transfer profits have been put into Foulston Park

@RenzucC97: Worries me that the board genuinely think this squad is good enough to return to the championship. We are sat 23rd with 0 points – it’s nothing to do with injuries.

@wilf_pafc: Selling players to fund off field projects is NOT sustainable. Don’t lose focus on what brings the crowds in.

@adeindevon: £12.5m! Love to see the business case justifying committing over 1/3 of club’s income to this.

@plymbabyrisk: 12.5 million into Foulston park. Definitely the right decision as the football club sits joint bottom of the league, money that could have been spent helping out the new manager

@RickSlayerBloke: So in all 12.5 mil in to Foulston Park, whether that’s from sales or tv revenue we don’t know, don’t want to use the loan market as they can be recalled despite selling 3/4 of our squad for nowt in the summer anyway, and no mention of ‘top 6 budget’ or top 2 finish. Brilliant 😂

@olpafc_: Why should we as fans have to go through the long rebuild, when it was you who put us in this league by choosing PR over the clubs future? Everything should’ve been put into an immediate return to the championship.

@Jakemetcalfe05: Why say we have a top six budget then and say that we will be right back up then invest 12 million in to other things when that could have go into the first team which then could have made more money???

@PAFCRyan: All this says is, “we’ve chose Faulston Park over the first team squad, we aren’t going to address the reason as to why we have decided to keep your account credits as we have no justification other than a parky powertrip, basically this is whats happening and you best support it”

@Adam_Price17: “This is not a quick fix. It is a medium – to long-term process that will take time and patience.” Ok, fair enough. So why say we’ve got a top-six budget, it’ll be fun to watch, and predict we’ll finish second?! #pafc