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

[K0ZZ]

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

[K0ZZ]

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

[K0ZZ]

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.

[K0ZZ]

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.

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Pilgrims need every minute to stave off the Dons

The MK Don's were responsible for tournament turmoil a year ago for the Pilgrims, now that the two are in joint league play, the results appeared to be much more in favor of the Pilgrims than last time, and after going up 2-0 and 3-1 it definitely appeared the Pilgrims wouldn't struggle to hold off the Don's. Not when they Leon Goretzka laced one in past a sprawled out goal tender, not when Mensah nailed his penalty kick to make it 3-1, but a pair of quick goals after half time and suddenly the teams were tired.

The teams battled in midfield for possession and in the 83rd minute, Mensah took a clean shot and it rattled off the corner of the iron and would be cleared, and in the 90th minute, the Don's would catch Bachmann out of position but the kick would sail well over the net and Koch could catch a sigh of relief.

More missed Pilgrim opportunities would spell out the remainder of the first period of extra time, and finally in the 117th minute, an exhausted Leon Goretzka managed to work free just outside the goal box and boot one in for the game winning score, swarmed by his tired teammates, the midfielder can celebrate as the Pilgrims win a very hard fought game.

Onward the Pilgrims get a little bit of reprieve as they face a bottoming squad in Chesterfield who sits with a -5 goal differential and only one win thus far (as opposed to their near undefeated run through League 2). Their next opponent will be Torquay United on October 7th. Torquay is (3-0-2) with 9 points in League 2 action.

[K0ZZ]

Transfer window closes!

The Bundesliga grew substantially stronger in the most recent transfer window as Wayne Rooney is a top fixture, thee conflicted athlete will be leaving Manchester United for the sum of $49,500,000, where he will join an absolutely dominant Bayern Munich squad, but Borussia Dortmund is staying tight on their tails.

The other German squad that poses the most threat to Bayern made the two biggest signings of the training window by agreeing to deals with Oscar of Chelsea, and Nasri of Manchester City in what should start to close the enormous gap that has permeated between Bayern Munich and the rest of the league.

League 1 Transfers

Barnsley FC -$2,200,000
+Storey
+Elewah
+Smektala
+Beardsley
+Andriatsima

AFC Bournesmouth -$175,000
+Janukiewicz
-Allsop

Bradford City -$875,000
+Scott
+Barreto

Brentford =
No moves

Bury -$260,000
+Anthony
+Marcelo

Chesterfield -$275,000
+Williams
+Glasgow

Colchester United +$2,700,000
+Figueroa
- Pappoe
- Sears

Coventry City +$90,000
+Manera
- Murphy

Crawley Town -$1,000,000
+Fernandez
+Browning
+Springthorpe
+Minkwitz
+Marcos Lopes

Gillingham -$475,000
+Rubio

Leyton-Orient -$350,000
+Mancosu

MK Dons -$400,000
+Barrios
+Sobarzo
- Chadwick

Notts County -$375,000
+Angulo
+Summerfield
- Liddle

Oldham Athletic -$360,000
+Jorquera
+Marsh

Port Vale -$600,000
+Munoz

Portsmouth -$740,000
+Ruben Jurado
+Touncara
+Henderson

Preston -$330,000
+Bailo
-Beardsley

Rotherham +$900,000
+Harrold
-O'Connor

Sheffield United +4,050,000
+Valle
+Tomi
+Benitez
-Murphy

Shrewsbury Town +$750,000
-Summerfield

Transmere -$700,000
+Arguello
+Pappoe
+Tunnicliffe
+Blackett

Walsall -$120,000
+Dano
+Ado
+Gurrieri

Yeovil Town -$600,000
+Dugandzic

[K0ZZ]

Six in a row!

Over the streak of 3 consecutive games, the Pilgrim's remain in championship form, as they best 3 more foes in Oldham, Chesterfield and Coventry as they win each fixture in a 2-0 decision with Mensah getting his fourth goal and Mamaev getting his third, boasting both inside of the top 15, Martial tied for ninth as well with 3. An impressive showing for both strikers to be within the top of the league, the Pilgrims are looking absolutely unbeatable.

Lewis Alessandra also sits atop League 1 with 4 assists, and he was a huge target in the transfer window but many teams didn't value his services as the Pilgrims have, he has proven to be a true facilitator of the offense and while he isn't as highly regarded as others in the lineup, his ability to set up scores as been unbeatable.

Joining Alessandra atop League 1 is Daniel Bachmann whom leads League 1 with 5 clean sheets, Steele of Barnsley sits in second with 3, and rather impressively, Preston North End has three separate goal tenders in the top 7, each with 1 clean sheet (Stuckmann, James, Bailo).