The Pilgrims have picked up 19 points out of a possible 30 at Home Park this season but are winless on their travels and have managed just three points from 10 games
It was a short comment in a much wider post-match assessment from Steven Schumacher of Plymouth Argyle’s 4-0 defeat away by Championship leaders Leicester City but it was telling nonetheless.
“I know everyone keeps going on about the away record but it is what it is. We will keep doing as best as we can and eventually we will get that first win.”
It was an acknowledgement from Schumacher, who has achieved so much during his two years as Argyle manager, that his side’s away championship results this season have become an issue. It is the biggest single reason which could prevent the Pilgrims from achieving their main priority this season, which is avoiding relegation back to League One.
How much concern there is about the away results among the Argyle players, Schumacher and his staff can only be speculated at. Publicly, though, they will probably try to play it down.
That is perfectly understandable, but outside the dressing room among supporters and the media it is definitely a talking point and as good as Argyle’s results have been at Home Park this season – 19 points out of a possible 30 is very good – it is threatening to undermine that great work.
Argyle’s record of no wins, three draws and now seven defeats on the road is now on the radar of people nationally, not just in this part of the world. It is not going to be ignored.
When I was asked to write a few words for Leicester’s matchday programme one of the questions was about the stark contrast between the Pilgrims’ home and away form.
When I was sat in the Press Box before the game, my colleague Jordan Blackwell from the Leicester Mercury/Leicestershire Live asked me a very similar question.
My answer to both was basically that Schumacher was sticking to his principles of playing attacking football and while it was working well at home Argyle were being ruthlessly punished for mistakes and lapses in concentration in away games.
One question which will we will all have to wait to find out the answer to is how much Schumacher is prepared to adapt his tactical approach to away games if wins continue to prove elusive.
For example, would Argyle would be better served by being more defence-oriented and harder to beat, while trying not to lose their ability to catch teams on the counter attack?
Now one point that needs to be made is that I doubt many of the Green Army thought Argyle’s wait for a first away Championship win of the season would end at table-topping Leicester. Given the Premier League pedigree of the Foxes a draw would probably have felt like a victory.
Yes, the Pilgrims lost 4-0 but there were two divisions between the clubs last season and it would be a huge surprise if Enzo Maresca’s Leicester are not promoted this term.
It is also fair to point out that apart from at Leicester and in the 4-1 defeat away to Bristol City in mid-September the Pilgrims have been competitive in their away matches. They have played some good football too.
But the fact remains they have picked up just three points and scored only seven goals in 10 matches. A slightly bizarre stat also is that they have not won an away league game in a 3pm Saturday kick-off since beating MK Dons 4-1 on October 15, 2022.
Of course it not going to be easy for Argyle away from home in the Championship, which is packed full of former Premier League clubs and players. However, it will put a lot of pressure on them to keep performing to a high level at Home Park unless they can start getting a win or two on the road.
There is reason to believe they can do that. There are six teams below the 18th-placed Pilgrims in the table at the moment and they have not played any of them away from home. In contrast, they have visited four of the current top five.
Argyle are away to Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night and although the west London club are in 22nd position they have won their last three matches, keeping a clean sheet in two of them, and they would draw level on points with the Pilgrims by beating them.
So even in mid-December it is a fixture which will carry a lot of importance. A victory would be a huge boost for Schumacher and his players, especially with winnable home games against Rotherham United and Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City to follow before Christmas.
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