Greener Pastures Upon the Pitch - Manager Legacy of Tyler Koch -

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Plymouth rallies to three straight victories

Three fixtures and nine points sat on the opposite end of the spectrum of where they had once rested. Due in large to a huge swing of momentum that favored the Argyle side. The team absolutely plowed through the opposing sides, winning their first fixture against Newport County in a 3-1 affair that kept them within promotional playoff range, a week later, Daniel Bachmann pitched a clean sheet as the keeper held the Portsmouth side to zero goals on 8 shots in a beautiful performance that was definitely reminiscent of why they had signed the young tender in the first place.

In the final fixture in January, Fleetwood Town fell behind early and were unable to develop a proper attack, in actuality, an attempted counter attack resulted in a second goal for the Plymouth side when Freddy Adu unleashed a laser from outside the goal box to extend their lead to two - nil. After a rocky start to the month with a draw and loss to beatable teams, the squad ultimately turned it around in a big way.

Plymouth is only four points away from automatic promotional status in a tightly contested upper echelon with Scuthorpe United (62), Portsmouth (61), Oxford (60) and Southend (59). Plymouth sits at 57 which is well ahead of 7thh place Bury which sits in tight contest with the Bristol Rovers and Hartleepool, but it seems that it would be one of those three will be the final seed in the promotional tournament, unless one team surges and one team fades. AFC Wimbledon whom once led League 2, sits at 14th in the League with 35 points, after winning five of their first seven fixtures.

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Final splurge sees Pilgrims getting defensive

With a newer tender between the pipes for the final run at promotion, the team made a smart move and went after defensive players in hopes of providing a way to ease the burden of growth for Daniel Bachmann, and in doing so added some nice depth at bargin values.

Manu Torres joins the team as the highest touted player of the incoming transfer group. Torres was at the end of his contract and his squad was aiming to gain anything for the leaving defender whom grew tired with spending most of his time on the bench.

Joining him will be Ben Glasgow who leaves the Premier League for a more active opportunity for growth, leaving behind Stoke City for a mere 80,000 in what could prove to be a steal. Glasglow has potential but hasn't been growing very quickly and as such saw his status dwindle in a Stoke City squad aiming to move forward and turn the page towards their upcoming seasons.

Abroad, Dortmund brings in Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid, while Liverpool sells Luis Suarez and with the money from the sale brings in central midfielder, Arturo Vidal.

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Hourihane in form as Pilgrims win every February fixture

With almost an entire month between action as the league took it's small break at the end of the transfer window to allow for teams to develop and impose their new signees and for the few remainders still playing in the various cup tournaments, this provided an excellent opportunity for rest.

Plymouth absolutely benefited as the team utilized the rest period to finally get fully healthy as the team seemed to turn it's fortunes around starting with a 2-1 victory over Wycombe to start out their February slate, one assist from Connor Hourihane and a goal from Marvin Morgan and Leon Goretzka set up the slate for this one.

Onwards it was a matchup against Scuthorpe United which sat in automatic promotion range and was looking down on Plymouth, at least prior to the game but with a hattrick, Connor Hourihane quickly ended that belief as the Pilgrims continued their ascent upwards. Winning 4-2, with the final goal attributed to Marvin Morgan was an excellent way to end this fixture as they seemed to be gelling on all cylinders.

In the final fixture of the month, it was the Pilgrims knocking off Oxford United on a late penalty kick from Freddy Adu to cap off a brilliant month of play for the squad in green. "This squad is perfectly balanced and flows beautifully, we are playing great football out there and if we continue playing like this, we will be playing League 1 football next year without a doubt!" Spoke an elated Tyler Koch.

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Man down: Pilgrims keep rolling despite severe injury

Shortly after commending the Pilgrim side for getting healthy once again prior to their February slate, the team had heart breaking news cross their desk when the Physio dropped off news that Connor Hurihane will miss llikely the remainder of the year with a broken ankle suffered in the squads March 1st victory over Cheltenham Town.

Despite the loss, the squad plugged in Alessandro and ended up winning the match against Cheltenham Town in a 3-1 decision thanks to 3 separate goal scorers including Romauld Boco whom has gone a long spell without a goal after a brilliant stretch.

Against Rochdale, the team played absolutely brilliantly as they claimed a 3-0 cleansheet victory against the outmatched side, amongst those was Anthony Martial scoring a hat trick only weeks after Hurrihane scored his, as he looks to revisit an excellent level of form.

Finally against Torquay United, Neal Blackman would score 2 goals, sadly one would be on his own net, but that goal wouldn't matter as they rolled out to a victory on the afternoon with a 3-1 decision after the club went up 3 nil twenty minutes into the match, Leon Goretzka added a header goal and Freddy Adu roped a shot in from the edge of the box to give the side their 3 scores.

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Three more victories

Southend United was the only opponent capable of separating the Pilgrim's from their win streak, but they would fall and ultimately the squad would see their win streak extend to 12 games in what has been a surreal run for the Plymouth side which seems more than keen to be promoted come May. Against Southend United, Plymouth saw Leon Goretzka lace in two beautiful shots, a late Ruben Reed goal would be the ultimate decider, when the squad went up 3-1, they looked unbeatable but Southend would mount a rally and score a goal in the 83rd minute; they would unleash a few more shots towards goal but wouldn't be able to knock one past Daniel Bachmann.

A week later and another worry as Anthony Martial would be pushed to the ground in a scrum from the ball in the attacking quarter; he would lay writhing on the ground and blood was visible but the wound ended up being healed within three days, even so he would leave and Marvin Morgan stepped in, knocking in a header on a late corner to give them a 1-0 victory in another cleansheet performance.

To conclude the month, with Connor Hurrihane still on the bench and the team still chugging fourth looking to be every bit of a champion, they took on Exeter City, two quick goals in the 13th and 28th minute would separate the teams, a goal in the 87th minute would make the scoreline look better, but this game was largely one sided.

Plymouth Argyle currently sits at 84 points and with 7 matches remaining, they would have to lose every game to even think about about missing the playoffs, and sit 10 points ahead of Scuthorpe whom is locked in currently at 4th place. Bury is tied with the Bristol Rovers in points, but with tie breakers in place, they sit just outside of the promotional tournament.

Sitting at the bottom of the table would be Fleetwood Town (31), Mansfield Town (30) and York City (29). Only 15 teams remain in the race for promotion and for teams such as Exeter and Wimbledon, it would take a lot of luck and victories in the rest of their fixtures. A combination that doesn't appear to be happening any time soon.

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Pilgrims continue to grow; Hourrihane shocks

The Pilgrims would see their win streak halt against Mansfield Town whom would force a 1-1 draw thanks to a late penalty kick after an early goal by none other than Connor Hourrihane, whom the physio cleared for action and played brilliantly in an early return from an injury expecting him to be benched for the remainder of the season.

The opening match was highly anticipated with Chesterfield (#1) took on the second ranked squad and fireworks were to follow, but sadly it was only one team hitting the back of the net as the Pilgrims stunned the Chesterfield side with a 3-0 thrashing, that was started by Ruben Reed and finished by Neal Blackman that headed home a shot in the 90th minute for a rare goal. The thrashing definitely turned heads.

With the next fixture, featuring the lowly Morecambe side, the team struggled out of the tunnel and an early injury to Freddy Adu (in which he ran into another player and was ruled out with a concussion) forced him out, without the midfield convert, it would take a goal in the 85th minute by Anthony Martial to keep them ahead and earn them their three points.

Finally, against Mansfield Town, the squad would see their winning streak fall, as they would only manage to draw in a rare appearance by Hourrihane who brought his side back to level with his return, but the lack of Adu did play a big part in the draw.

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Pilgrims secure promotion with 4-1 dismantling of Torquay United

Shortly after a 0-0 draw against Newport County in a match that head skipper, Tyler Koch admitted his men weren't up to par in, the team set out for one goal, to secure promotion with a victory. They would get it thanks to a pair of Ruben Reed goals, with Romauld Boco adding a pair of reassurance goals to guarantee that Torquay United wouldn't rebound and rally.

Portsmouth needs a victory or a Scuthorpe loss in one of the next two fixtures to maintain their bid, if Scuthorpe won out and Portsmouth drew twice, it would come down to a tie breaker for the third spot to be automatically promoted.

Bury secures the final spot in the tournament with a 8 point lead over the Bristol Rovers, as the playoff is all but solidified.

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Plymouth loses final two as they play reserves

In the final two fixtures of the season, youngsters stepped out onto the pitch for the first time or starting for the first time and aim to give some experience despite losing their final two games against beatable squads, the team had absolutely nothing to lose and allowed themselves opportunity for growth with their performances today.

Sam Slocombe was named the top goalkeeper in League 2 action, despite his performances, Scuthorpe United will have to travel through their league playoff to secure a promotion, but with him in the pipes, that is a valuable reassurance.

Nicholls won the Golden Boot after hitting 19 goals to lead the league in scoring this season, but he wouldn't be named to the league squad. Which featured two Pilgrims, and was dominated by Chesterfield and Scuthorpe squad members.

(GK) Slocombe - Scuthorpe United
(D) Smith - Chesterfield
(D) Branston - Plymouth-Argyle
(D) Brown - Cheltenham Town
(D) Talbot - Chesterfield
(M) Welsh - Scuthorpe
(M) Sparrow - Scuthorpe
(M) Ryan - Chesterfield
(M) Darikwa - Chesterfield
(S) Reid - Plymouth-Argyle
(S) O'Flynn - Exeter City

Abroad, Chelsea laid claim to the Capital One cup, Chelsea tore through their competition, beating Millwall 5-1, than Everton 3-0, followed by Fulham 4-2 before stunning Arsenal with a 3-2 thriller. Chelsea has a matchup in the Champions Cup with Real Madrid, Chelsea had a more sober run through the cup, winning 3-1 in their opener, than beating Paris in a 2-1 thriller, getting taken to penalty kicks against Juventus. Real Madrid recently knocked off Manchester United to secure a bid, having had to go through AC Milian in the round prior.

Tottenham Hotspur will take on Saint-Etienne in the Euro League final.

Peterborough claimed the J.Paint Trophy with a 3-2 decision over Preston.

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International and Local news

Saint-Etienne capped off a brilliant run with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham in the final for the Euro League. Some saw them getting knocked out in the Semi Finals but they paved through and now hold some new hardware to show for it.

Manchester United takes home the F.A. Cup after a 3-1 thrashing of Everton whom has seen some difficult endings to their cup aspirations across the board. Manchester did manage to stave off a talented Chelsea squad.

Chelsea would bring home more hardware, surviving two Cristiano Ronaldo goals while getting 3 of their own to hold onto the Champions Cup. Chelsea has won two of the last three Champions Cups!

Bury will be the final team to be promoted following a 2-1 victory over Oxford United in the League 2 final. Bury tore apart Southend United in a 4-1 drubbing, while Oxford United piled on 3 goals against the leagues best goalie to advance to the final where they receive a bittersweet ending.

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Plymouth makes promotions for youngsters

Heavily scouting South Africa and Brazil was quite fruitful for the Pilgrims whom made a big boost to their squad with recent signings that further accentuate the growing trends of the squad, the most promising of which (RB) Jose Magellan and (LW) Victor Henriques of Brazil and Obi Mensah (RW) and Emmanuel Ado (CDM) of South Africa.

Other call ups include Eulogio Anibal (CB), Diogo Faria (GK), Estevao Dano (CM), Pedro Alvares (CDM), Laurenco Cunha (RB) of Brazil and Awushi Mensah (GK), Mamadou Aduamah (CDM) of South Africa.

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Plymouth Development

With such a large rotation of players being brought in, it is clearly evident for the need to bring up how players have grown throughout the season, and after the squads thrilling promotion, it is definitely time to focus on the individual players behind the performances.

High Growth
Curtis Nelson (CB) 57 -> 62
Ben Purrington (LB) 49 -> 53
Jacob Murphy (RM) 53 -> 57
Leon Goretzka (CM) 68 -> 72
Reuben Reed (ST) 61 -> 65

This group saw some excellent play this season aside from Purrington whom took most of his matches for the minor affiliates of the squad, all have played parts in the squads victories and while Murphy was transferred, he has been showing excellent poise at Port Vale. Two of the above are on loan which hurts, Reed and Goretzka will likely be returning to their clubs unless some excess funds are pumped into the coffers.

Average growth
Andre Blackman (LB) 60 -> 63
Matt Lecointe (ST) 55 -> 58
Nathan Ake (CB) 67 -> 70
Connor Hourihane (CM) 62 -> 65
Maximillian Meyer (CAM) 65 -> 68
Durrell Berry (RB) 59 -> 62
Freddy Adu (LW) 69 -> 72
Lewis Alessandra (RM) 59 -> 62
Anthony Martial (ST) 63 -> 66
Manu Torres (LB) 62 -> 64
Ben Glasgow (RB) 54 -> 56
Luke Young (CM) 56 -> 58
Guy Branston (CB) 61 -> 62
Romauld Boco (RM) 59 -> 60
Jamie Richards (CB) 54 -> 55

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Plymouth-Argyle 2014 Outlook

The squad announced that they would have quite the transfer budget come the start of their League 1 venture after securing automatic promotion in the League 2 level of play and needless to say, the flames are burning strong despite a poor showing in international friendlies to open the season. They may not have won a friendly but the squad is definitely gearing towards a run.

In large news, Freddy Adu was sold after an incredible offer of $9,500,000 was lavished upon the striker that the Pilgrims simply could not pass up, in return the Pilgrims introduced Leon Goretzka as a permanent member of the squad and were able to do so without using the entire sum brought in by the Adu sale.

The team will open League 1 play with a big pending note above the squad as they seek to bring forth either Pavel Mamaev or Davide Di Gennaro, both would be a big upgrade in the middle of the pitch and would help the flow of the game gravitate towards the attacking third.

The Starting XI, reserves and second squad have all been set fourth by Tyler Koch and will look as follows.

Starting XI
4-4-2
GK - Daniel Bachmann (60) - 20 Years Old - Austria
RB - Jose Magellan (63) - 17 Years Old - Brazil
CB - Andre Blackman (63) - 23 Years Old - England
CB - Nathan Ake (71) - 19 Years Old - Netherlands
LB - Manu Torres (65) - 24 Years Old - Spain
RM - Lewis Alessandra (63) - 25 Years Old - England
CM - Leon Goretzka (72) - 19 Years Old - Germany
CM - Maximilian Meyer (69) - 18 Years Old - Germany
LM - Conor Hourihane (66) - 23 Years Old - Ireland
S - Obi Mensah (60) - 17 Years Old - South Africa
S - Anthony Martial (67) - 18 Years Old - France

Reserves
Eulogio Anibal (CB)(60) - 16 Years Old - Brazil
Neal Trotman (CB)(61) - 27 Years Old - England
Romuald Boco (RM)(60) - 29 Years Old - Benin
Curtis Nelson (CB)(62) - 21 Years Old - England
Marvin Morgan (S)(62) - 31 Years Old - England
Pedro Alvares (CDM)(59) - 17 Years Old - Brazil
Guy Branston (CB)(61) - 35 Years Old - England

Second Squad
Andres Gurrieri (RM)(58) - 24 Years Old - Argentina
Dominic Blizzard (CDM)(59) - 29 Years Old - England
Jesse Gonzalez (GK)(56) - 19 Years Old - Mexico
Awushi Mensah (GK)(53) - 17 Years Old - South Africa
Matt Lecointe (S)(59) - 19 Years Old - England
Laurenco Cunha (RB)(67) - 16 Years Old - Brazil
Mamadou Aduamah (CDM)(53) - 16 Years Old - South Africa
Diogo Faria (GK)(53) - 17 Years Old - Brazil
Ben Glasgow (RB)(57) - 20 Years Old - Ireland
Hamza Bencherif (CDM)(59) - 26 Years Old - Algeria

Injuries
Victor Henriques (S)(61) - 17 Years Old - Brazil (Medial Collateral Ligament - 2 Months )

Loans
Jacob Murphy (RM)(58) - 19 Years Old - England - Playing at Morecambe
Emmanuel Ado (CDM)(62) - 16 Years Old - South Africa - Playing at Walsall
Estevao Dano (CM)(58) - 16 Years Old - Brazil - Playing at Wallsall

2014-15 Fixture List
8/8 vs Rotherham United
Capital One Cup: vs Portsmouth
8/16 @ Shrewsbury Town
8/19 vs Brentford
8/23 @ Bury
J.Paint Trophy: MK Dons
8/30 vs Chesterfield
9/13 @ Coventry City
9/16 vs Oldham Athletic
9/20 @ Sheffield United
9/27 vs Crawley Town
9/30 @ Preston North End
10/4 vs AFC Bournemouth
10/18 @ MK Dons
10/21 vs Portsmouth
10/25 @ Tranmere
11/1 vs Colchester United
11/4 @ Yeovil Town
11/22 @ Barnsley FC
11/25 vs Notts County
11/29 vs Gillingham
12/2 @ Leyton-Orient
12/9 vs Bradford City
12/13 @ Port Vale
12/20 @ Crawley Town
12/23 vs MK Dons
12/27 @ AFC Bournemouth
12/30 @ Gillingham
1/3 @ Notts County
1/6 @ Bradford City
1/17 vs Leyton-Orient
1/24 vs Barnsley
1/27 @ Walsall
2/14 vs Coventry City
2/17 @ Chesterfield
2/24 vs Yeovil Town
2/28 @ Colchester
3/3 vs Shrewsbury Yown
3/7 @ Rotherham United
3/10 vs Bury
3/17 @ Brentford
3/27 vs Tranmere
4/4 @ Portsmouth
4/11 vs Sheffield United
4/14 @ Oldham Athletic
4/18 vs Walsall
4/25 vs Port Vale
5/2 vs Preston North End

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Pilgrims' start out on top

One fixture in and the squad is still firing on all cylinders as they took off against Rotherham and didn't bother looking back, they scored an early goal before allowing an equalizer on a weak header. That goal would be followed by an Obi Mensah shot from inside the goal box to give the Pilgrim's the lead in his first professional goal and appearance.

Joining him was Daniel Bachmann who played exceptionally but drew some ire for allowing a rather weak header past him to cascade into the net. Even so, the youngster did perform well enough to show why Koch has placed faith in him, stopping 13 of 14 shots.

"It was a brilliant start for the youngster and it definitely allows for him to get going in the right direction from the ignition, he was seen as a rotational player coming into the season but with that injury to Henriques, he has truly embraced his role and has stepped up!" Let out an excited Koch, who saw his team begin another campaign that they will hope will be just as strong as their predecessor.

Abroad, the team has come to terms with his squad, but Pavel still seems hesitant to leave his homeland and travel to England to play football, time will tell but it appears unlikely that Pavel will be featured on the roster facing Portsmouth in their tournament opener.

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Portsmouth advances on PK's

A hard contested affair between recent League 1 Promotee's Portsmouth and Plymouth Argyle ended in a 2-2 deadlock after extra time which sent the game to penalties, a goal surrendered late in regulation was the decisive goal as Portsmouth knotted the game at 2 a piece and prevented Plymouth to advance into the second rounud of the F.A. cup.

In penalties, the affair was dominated quite simply by Portsmouth as three consecutive attempts by the Pilgrims ended with the ball soaring over the top iron, while only one shot would be defended by Daniel Bachmann and Portsmouth would knock in the clinching goal, sending them onward in the cup tournament while Plymouth will end their run disappointingly early.

Some positive news emerged following the matchup as the Pilgrims finally managed to negotiate the contract for Pavel Mamaev, he joins the centerfield unit which should give them an excessively strong middle line, one of the strongest in League 1, Goretzka and Mamaev should be a powerful tandem and should propel the Pilgrims up the standings.

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Plymouth atop League 1 table

The Pilgrims continue to win, a trend that surfaced last season only seemed to have continue as the win column continues to grow, now with the Pilgrims sitting at four total victories and no losses or draws, the Pilgrims whom are sporting an impressive +8 goal differential and have only surrendered 2 goals in 4 fixtures.

Their contest against Shrewsbury would be the only time in over a week that the ball would pass Bachmann, but thanks to a an assist and goal from Pavel Mamaev who took very little time to make a name for himself, the Pilgrims were able to eclipse the Shrewsbury side, knotting in 14 shots to Shrewsbury's 5.

The following week against Brentford and Bury, the aggregate score of which would be 6-0, as Bachmann would post two consecutive cleansheets, Anthony Martial would get a goal in the matchup against Brentford, coming alive in the goal box and making himself a very viable target. Brentford would fall 2-0 and onward against Bury; a familiar foe from League 2 a season ago, the difference in the two teams was put on blast, after a 3-0 halftime score, including a Pavel Mamev and Martial goal, out came the subs and they would add one more goal, Bury would only challenge Bachmann once, but the goal would be overturned due to an offsides call.

The MK Don's are next, the Dons are the opening matchup in the Johnstone Paint Trophy matchup for the Pilgrims, than the month of August will be closed out against Chesterfield.

Morcambe and Wallsall reached out to the Pilgrims in hopes of securing a transfer for Daniel Bachmann but the team refuted any rumors they were hoping to deal the young tender, and their refusal of the transfer offers definitely lends credibility to their words.