2018–19 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season explained

Manager:	Derek Adams (until 28 April)^[1] Ryan Lowe (from 5 June)^[2]
Chairman:	James Brent (stepped down 31 October 2018) Simon Hallett
Stadium:	Home Park
League:	League One
League Result:	21st (Relegated to EFL League Two)
Cup1:	FA Cup
Cup1 Result:	2nd round
Cup2:	EFL Cup
Cup2 Result:	2nd round
Cup3:	EFL Trophy
League Topscorer:	Freddie Ladapo (18)
Season Topscorer:	Freddie Ladapo (19)
Highest Attendance:	12,065 vs Sunderland (3 November 2018)
Lowest Attendance:	League: 8,190 vs Burton Albion (20 October 2018) All: 1,504 vs Chelsea U21 (30 October 2018)
Largest Win:	5–1 (23 February 2019 vs. Rochdale)
Average Attendance:	9,847
Largest Loss:	0–5 (30 October 2018 vs. Chelsea U21, EFL Trophy)
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The 2018–19 season was Plymouth Argyle's second consecutive season in League One and their 133rd year in existence. Along with competing in League One, the club participated in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.

First-Team Squad

No.	Name	Pos.	Nat.	Place of birth	Age	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee	Ends
Goalkeepers
1	Matt Macey	GK		Bath		38	0	Arsenal	30 July 2018	Loan	2019
21	Kyle Letheren	GK		Llanelli		23	0	York City	5 September 2017	Free	2019
31	Michael Cooper	GK		Exeter		4	0	Academy	1 July 2017	Trainee	Undisclosed
—	Harry Burgoyne^[3]	GK		Ludlow		0	0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	16 June 2018	Loan	2019
Defenders
2	Joe Riley	RB		Salford		20	0	Shrewsbury Town	1 July 2018	Free	Undisclosed
3	Gary Sawyer	LB		Bideford		257	6	Leyton Orient	25 June 2015	Free	2019
5	Ryan Edwards	CB		Liverpool		68	9	Morecambe	1 July 2017	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
14	Niall Canavan	CB		Leeds		38	2	Rochdale	1 July 2018	Free	Undisclosed
20	Lloyd Jones	CB		Plymouth		9	1	Luton Town	31 January 2019	Loan	2019
22	Tafari Moore	RB		Kilburn		18	0	Arsenal	1 July 2018	Free	Undisclosed
23	Ashley Smith-Brown	LB		Manchester		37	1	Manchester City	1 July 2018	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
25	Scott Wootton	CB		Birkenhead		10	0	Milton Keynes Dons	1 July 2018	Free	Undisclosed
26	Oscar Threlkeld	RB		Bolton		108	4	Waasland-Beveren	8 January 2019	Loan	2019
Midfielders
4	Yann Songo'o	DM		Toulon		139	3	Free agent	19 June 2016	Free	Undisclosed
6	Jamie Ness	CM		Irvine		59	4	Scunthorpe United	1 July 2017	Free	Undisclosed
7	Antoni Sarcevic	CM		Manchester		94	9	Shrewsbury Town	26 January 2017	Free	Undisclosed
8	David Fox	CM		Leek		143	3	Crewe Alexandra	22 July 2016	Free	Undisclosed
10	Graham Carey	AM		Blanchardstown		197	49	Ross County	2 July 2015	Free	Undisclosed
11	Rúben Lameiras	AM		Lisbon		82	18	Coventry City	1 July 2017	Free	Undisclosed
13	Paul Anderson	LM		Melton Mowbray		3	0	Mansfield Town	22 February 2019	Free	2019
15	Conor Grant	CM		Fazakerley		14	0	Everton	1 July 2018	Free	Undisclosed
16	Joel Grant	LM		Acton		57	10	Exeter City	1 July 2017	Free	Undisclosed
17	Lionel Ainsworth	RM		Nottingham		25	0	Motherwell	1 July 2017	Free	Undisclosed
36	Cameron Sangster	CM		Newton Abbot		2	0	Academy	1 July 2016	Trainee	Undisclosed
Forwards
9	Ryan Taylor	CF		Rotherham		78	10	Oxford United	30 January 2017	Free	Undisclosed
19	Freddie Ladapo	CF		Romford		49	19	Southend United	1 July 2018	Free	Undisclosed
29	Alex Fletcher	CF		Newton Abbot		25	3	Academy	22 June 2017	Trainee	Undisclosed
35	Luke Jephcott	CF		Ponsanooth		10	0	Academy	1 July 2018	Trainee	Undisclosed
Out on Loan
18	Calum Dyson	CF		Fazakerley		2	0	Everton	1 July 2018	Free	Undisclosed
28	Jordan Bentley	DF		Plymouth		2	0	Academy	4 March 2016	Trainee	Undisclosed

Statistics

|-!colspan=14|Players out on loan:|-!colspan=14|Players who left the club:|}

Goals record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name					Total
1	19		CF	Freddie Ladapo	18	0	1	0	19
2	11		AM	Rúben Lameiras	11	1	0	0	12
3	10		AM	Graham Carey	6	0	0	0	6
4	5		CB		5	0	0	0	5
5	7		CM	Antoni Sarcevic	3	1	0	0	4
	16		LM	Joel Grant	4	0	0	0	4
7	14		CB	Niall Canavan	2	0	0	0	2
8	8		CM	David Fox	1	0	0	0	1
	4		DM	Yann Songo'o	0	0	1	0	1
	6		CM	Jamie Ness	0	0	1	0	1
	20		CB	Lloyd Jones	1	0	0	0	1
	23		LB	Ashley Smith-Brown	1	0	0	0	1
	26		RB	Oscar Threlkeld	1	0	0	0	1
Own Goals					3	0	0	0	3
Total					57	2	3	0	61

Disciplinary record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name										League Trophy			Total
1	7		CM	Antoni Sarcevic	11	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	0
	10		AM	Graham Carey	10	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	0
	23		LB	Ashley Smith-Brown	10	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	0
4	6		CM	Jamie Ness	6	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	9	1	0
5	4		DM	Yann Songo'o	5	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	7	1	0
6	5		CB		6	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
	8		CM	David Fox	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	7	0	0
8	2		RB	Joe Riley	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	13		CM	Stuart O'Keefe	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	14		CB	Niall Canavan	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
11	9		CF		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	16		LM	Joel Grant	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	19		CF	Freddie Ladapo	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
12	3		LB	Gary Sawyer	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	20		LM	Gregg Wylde	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	24		CB		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	37		CM	Michael Peck	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
Total					75	2	0	5	0	0	5	0	0	4	0	0	90	2	0

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[4]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[5]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[6]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[7]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[8]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[9]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[10]
1 July 2018					Undisclosed	^[11]
1 July 2018					Free transfer
8 January 2019					Undisclosed	^[12]
22 February 2019					Free transfer	^[13]

Transfers out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2018					Released	^[14]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[15]
1 July 2018						^[16]
1 July 2018			Billy Craske		Released
1 July 2018			Elliott Crawford		Released	^[17]
1 July 2018			Harry Downing		Released
1 July 2018					Released	^[18] ^[19]
1 July 2018					Released	^[20]
1 July 2018					Released	^[21]
1 July 2018			Callum Rose		Released	^[22]
1 July 2018			Aaron Taylor		Released
1 July 2018					Released	^[23]
1 July 2018						^[24]
1 July 2018					Free transfer	^[25]
1 July 2018			Matt Ward		Released
7 January 2019					Mutual consent	^[26] ^[27]
29 January 2019					Mutual consent	^[28] ^[29]
10 May 2019					Released	^[30]

Loans in

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
1 July 2018					31 May 2019	^[31]
30 July 2018					31 May 2019	^[32]
24 August 2018					January 2019	^[33]
31 January 2019					31 January 2019	^[34]

Loans out

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
10 October 2018					January 2019
10 October 2018			Dan Rooney		January 2019	^[35] ^[36]
3 January 2019					31 May 2019	^[37]
11 January 2019			Harry Hodges		10 February 2019
11 January 2019			Ryan Law		10 February 2019	^[38]
31 January 2019					31 May 2019	^[39]

Competitions

Friendlies

On 10 May 2018, Plymouth Argyle announced eight pre-season friendlies for July.^[40] These were extended into ten friendlies when a tour of The Netherlands was announced in early July.^[41]

League One

Matches

On 21 June 2018, the League One fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.^{[42] [43]}

FA Cup

See main article: 2018–19 FA Cup.

The first round draw was made live on BBC by Dennis Wise and Dion Dublin on 22 October.^[44] The draw for the second round was made live on BBC and BT by Mark Schwarzer and Glenn Murray on 12 November.^[45]

EFL Cup

See main article: 2018–19 EFL Cup.

On 15 June 2018, the draw for the first round was made in Vietnam.^[46]

EFL Trophy

On 13 July 2018, the initial group stage draw bar the U21 invited clubs was announced.^[47]

Notes and References

1. News: Plymouth sack manager Adams . BBC Sport . 29 April 2019.
2. News: Ryan Lowe: Plymouth Argyle appoint Bury manager as new boss . 5 June 2019 . 7 September 2019. BBC Sport. BBC.
3. News: Plymouth Argyle will continue to pay wages of injured on-loan goalkeeper Harry Burgoyne . 2 August 2018. 23 August 2018.
4. News: Plymouth sign Canavan from Rochdale . 8 June 2018 . . 8 June 2018.
5. News: Plymouth Argyle sign former Everton youngster . 11 June 2018 . . 11 June 2018.
6. News: Midfielder Grant joins Plymouth Argyle . 7 June 2018 . . 7 June 2018.
7. News: Argyle sign defenders Grant and Wootton . 27 June 2018 . . 27 June 2018.
8. News: Former Arsenal defender Tafari Moore becomes Plymouth Argyle's tenth signing . 24 August 2018 . . 28 June 2018.
9. News: Plymouth Argyle sign striker Ladapo . 9 June 2018 . . 9 June 2018.
10. News: Plymouth sign Shrewsbury defender Riley . 10 June 2018 . . 10 June 2018.
11. News: Man City's Smith-Brown joins Plymouth . 26 June 2018 . . 26 June 2018.
12. Web site: Plymouth Argyle confirm signing of defender Oscar Threlkeld . 8 January 2019 . . 8 January 2019.
13. Web site: Anderson Joins . . 22 February 2019.
14. News: Blissett joins Silkmen on two-year deal . 18 June 2018 . . 18 June 2018.
15. News: Luton sign Plymouth defender Bradley . 12 June 2018 . . 12 June 2018.
16. News: Wales striker Church retires aged 29. 10 May 2018. BBC. 9 May 2018.
17. News: Retained List . 12 June 2018 . . 9 May 2018.
18. News: Plymouth offer new deal to Sawyer. 10 May 2018. BBC. 9 May 2018.
19. News: McCormick, Smith and Adebayo join Swindon . 8 July 2018 . . 7 July 2018.
20. News: Carlisle sign Miller and Gillesphey . 20 June 2018 . . 20 June 2018.
21. News: Paton signs for Scottish Championship club Falkirk after Argyle release . 26 June 2018 . . 24 June 2018.
22. News: Dorchester Town sign 19-year-old former Plymouth Argyle centre-back Callum Rose . 24 July 2018 . . 24 July 2018.
23. News: Motherwell add to their collection of former Plymouth Argyle players by signing Aaron Taylor-Sinclair . 20 June 2018 . . 19 June 2018.
24. Web site: Goalkeeper Te Loeke: fairytale in Plymouth becomes horrorstory. 30 May 2016 . 2 August 2018. Fox Sports NL. nl.
25. News: Oscar Threlkeld van Plymouth Argyle naar Waasland-Beveren . 9 June 2018 . Drimble . 15 May 2018 . nl.
26. Web site: Plymouth Argyle winger Gregg Wylde leaves club by mutual consent . 7 January 2019 . . 7 January 2019.
27. News: Wylde joins Livingston after Plymouth exit . BBC Sport . 9 January 2019.
28. Web site: Peter Leaves the Pilgrims . . 29 January 2019.
29. News: Carlisle sign Plymouth defender Grant . BBC Sport . 29 January 2019.
30. Web site: Retained List . . 7 May 2019. 29 May 2019.
31. News: Plymouth sign Wolves keeper Burgoyne . 16 June 2018 . . 16 June 2018.
32. News: Matt Macey joins Plymouth Argyle on loan . 30 July 2018 . . 30 July 2018.
33. News: Stuart O'Keefe and Rhys Healey to leave Cardiff City on loan, confirms Neil Warnock . 24 August 2018 . . 24 August 2018.
34. Web site: Lloyd Joins . . 31 January 2019.
35. News: Youngsters Join Truro on Loan . 10 October 2018 . . 10 October 2018.
36. News: Loan Extensions . 7 November 2018 . . 7 November 2018.
37. Web site: Let Battle commence . . 3 January 2019.
38. Web site: Law and Hodges Loan . . 11 January 2019.
39. Web site: Dyson deal confirmed . . 31 January 2019.
40. News: It All Begins Again . Plymouth Argyle F.C. . 10 May 2018 . 11 May 2018.
41. News: The Second Treat of Maastricht . Plymouth Argyle F.C. . 6 July 2018 . 20 July 2018.
42. News: EFL fixtures for 2018-19 in full . 21 June 2018 . . 21 June 2018.
43. News: Plymouth Argyle Scores & Fixtures . 21 June 2018 . .
44. News: First round draw . . 23 October 2018 . 22 October 2018.
45. News: Guiseley to face Fleetwood in FA Cup second round . . 12 November 2018 . 12 November 2018.
46. News: Lampard's Derby at Oldham in Carabao Cup . 15 June 2018 . . 15 June 2018.
47. News: Checkatrade Trophy: Round One Draw information . 13 July 2018 . . 13 July 2018.