Mike Rogerson

A summer to survive on…

Plymouth Argyle manager Mike Rogerson, about to launch his club into a fight for Premier Division survival, has been forced by a lack of transfer funds available to seek players leaving clubs through the Bosman ruling. With a month to go before the new season begins, Rogerson has brought in a host of new players to reinforce his promoted squad. Striker Nicola Ventola has arrived having been released by Inter Milan, joining Jacques Faty, David Bentley, Stephane Henchoz and a number of other players released by their clubs and snapped up by the Greens in the post-season. Rogerson has also paid Reading in excess of £500k for American left-sided midfielder Bobby Convey, as well as splashing almost £1m on Wolves’ Joleon Lescott.

It became increasing clear to Rogerson, however, that, with even his Assistant Manager telling him that further reinforcement was needed to avoid certain relegation, something major would have to be done. Frustration was just around the corner. With the board refusing outright to meet the wage demands of out-of-contract players such as Hernan Crespo, the Pilgrims’ boss soon resigned himself to the fact that the current playing squad had been improved and would have to suffice. The 25 or so trial players would be sifted through, in any case, and the gold filtered from the sand.

Rogerson’s starting line-up for his first friendly looked remarkably different from the team that drew away at Brighton only two months before.

Roman Weidenfeller (Dortmund, free transfer)
Paul Wotton (club captain and last seasons rock switched to full back)
Alberto Marcos (Valladolid, free transfer)
Joleon Lescott (Wolves, £925k)
Stephane Henchoz (Liverpool, free transfer)
Paul Ifill (excelled towards the end of last term)
Tony Capaldi (Fans’ Player of the Year)
David Friio (fans favourite)
David Bentley (Arsenal, free transfer)
Nicola Ventola (once the ‘next Roberto Baggio’, Inter Milan, free transfer)

Romain Larrieu (outstanding last season)
Graham Coughlan (solid and dependable)
Mark Jones (Liverpool, free transfer)
Cristian Antonio Agnelli (Verona, free transfer)
Bobby Convey (Reading, £550K)
Quincy Oqusu Abeyie (Arsenal, free transfer)
Stephen Crawford (last season’s top scorer with 22)

fergusdacat7

Good story Mike. Looking forward to the season ahead.

Mike Rogerson

Thanks Fergus. looking at the fixture list and my squad I'm not sure I am, but last season's 'pack the defence and hope to scab a point' tactic will hopefully keep us up.

Mike Rogerson

Diary Entry
Sunday 31st July

Returned from a brief summer holiday today to discover that my assistant, that idiot Gerry McCabe has played all of our friendlies using trialists instead of first teamers. Not only did we get thrashed 5-1 by the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, but we haven't won a game and all of the first team is unfit. Have hastily arranged a practice game against the reserves.

That very very nice Chairman of ours, Paul Stapleton, has also given me an extra £7m to spend. £9m then. Wahey!

Mike Rogerson

The Times report
Tuesday 2nd August, 2005

Chelsea and Arsenal were today made joint favourites to take the Premier Division title at 7-4. With Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle being seen as predictable contenders for the championship, the top of the table should be looking familiar come the season’s end.

At the other end of the table Plymouth Argyle have been made rank outsiders for the title at 1,000-1. Speaking to Times reporter Howard Swains, Pilgrims manager Mike Rogerson defiantly told the rest of the division that he did not need to invest further in players as the squad he had was more than good enough to stay up and build on that success. “To be honest,” Rogerson told The Times, “I got bored of being told we were relegation fodder last season and it’ll be the same this term, I can see. We were being written off with ten games left last season when we were looking at winning the Championship. You keep asking and I’ll keep telling you that my side is good enough to survive,”

Brian of Nazareth

Congratulations on promotion - well played. Layout seems fine enough to me so far. Nice bite-sized chunks with variety :thup:

Good luck staying up though I imagine you'll need a bit of it.

Mike Rogerson

Thanks Brian. I'm glad people enjoyed the rollercoaster of last season. It's a very young team I'll be sending out this term and I'm a bit worried that the lack of experience will hit us hard. Attempts to bring in experience have failed and the bench is looking more like a creche at the moment!

Mike Rogerson

The Times report
Saturday 13th August, 2005

With the cheers of over 20,000 euphoric Plymothians resounding in their ears Mike Rogerson’s Plymouth Argyle side took to the field at 3pm today to play Manchester City in a game that pundits predict will be the first of many defeats for the Greens. Defiant in the face of criticism as ever, Rogerson has made it abundantly clear in the last few weeks that he has every confidence in his charges and, as may be more important for the Pilgrims in May, there are worse sides in the league.

Argyle began the match with a team virtually unrecognisable from that which finished 2nd in last season’s Championship.

Plymouth Argyle; Weidenfeller, Wotton, Capaldi, Escude, Henchoz, Faty, Friio, Ifill, Angelli, Owusu, Pellici
Manchester City; James, Contra, Jensen, Mills, Distin, Sibierski, Reyna, Osman, S.Wright-Phillips, Macken, Anelka

The Plymouth fans had filled the stadium to bursting by midday and were in fine voice by the time a deafening roar signalled the players’ entrance. If the fans were happy just watching their side playing Premier Division football, they were awakened with a jolt when after just 4 minutes Fabrizio Pellici, a free transfer from Perugia, reacted quickest to David James’ inability to hold a Quincy Owusu Abeyie shot to give the Pilgrims the lead. An enormous cheer broke out amongst the home fans and the familiar sound of Mike Rogerson’s name being chanted by the home support soon ran around the ground.

As if the excitement of leading their first game wasn’t enough, half an hour later Paul Ifill played a superb reverse pass to Pellici whose audacious lob from an unfavourable angle caught James unawares. Rogerson, whose nails were almost non-existent by this point, was visibly moved by the fans cheers, although John Macken’s goal on the stroke of half time brought the home supporters a taste of how Premier Division football can be.

It took just fifteen minutes of the second half for City to equalise. Nicolas Anelka, who was lively throughout, caused panic in the Argyle box before laying the ball back to the onrushing Danny Mills, who drilled the ball beyond Roman Weidenfeller.

With ten minutes remaining on the clock the game stood at 2-2. Jacques Faty, disappointing in a central defensive role as opposed to his usual holding position, was replaced by Joleon Lescott and Romain Larrieu came on for the injured Weidenfeller. A draw looked a fair result. 2-2 didn’t reckon on Pellici. With 3 minutes remaining Ifill squared the ball to the Italian in an apparently safe area of the pitch for City. Faced by Shaun Wright-Phillips, Pellici feinted right before skipping down the outside of the winger before drilling an unstoppable shoot into the top corner beyond a despairing James. Pandemonium broke out at Home Park. There were tears of joy in the crowd, which had barely settled own before Pellici robbed Danny Mills on the halfway line. Looking up there was no option but to run and as James came out he was beaten at his near post by a wonderful finish.

Rogerson, as good as fingerless by the end of the game, ran onto the pitch as the referee blew the final whistle and bowed before his players as they left the field. Chairman Paul Stapleton, as lively as ever in the Directors Box, congratulated Rogerson in the tunnel as the manager was being interviewed by Match of the Day commentator Garth Crooks.

Plymouth Argyle 4 (Pellici 4, 38, 87, 90)
Manchester City 2 (Macken 45, Mills 62)
Attendance: 19,773
MoM. Fabrizio Pellici 10*

Mike Rogerson

Evening Herald report
Friday 19th August, 2005

Rogerson Boosted By Triple Swoop

Plymouth Argyle manager Mike Rogerson today unveiled what he described as “the only signings we needed to stay up” Surrounded by a trio of new arrivals, Rogerson looked back to his bright best after the tension of Saturday’s opening game. Joking with reporters he introduced Brazilian winger Rodrigo Ferrante Taddei, released by Serie A outfit Siena at the end of last season, as well as £5m rated Italian striker Adriano Marzeglia and young midfielder Davide Astori, both allowed to leave Milan at the end of their contracts last month. While Astori is expected to be sent out on loan to gain experience, Marzeglia and Taddei could be thrown into the side that faces Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

NICK_GIFF

Pellici seems to be a good signing!

Great story so far - KUTGW!