Plymouth Argyle F.C. Player of the Year

A man sporting a popular 1970s hairstyle, wearing a blue shirt.
Paul Mariner, winner of the Player of the Year award in 1975 and 1976.[1]

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English association football club based in Plymouth, Devon. Founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club,[2] they became a professional club in January 1903,[3] and were elected to the Southern League ahead of the 1903–04 season. The club won the Southern League championship in 1913 and finished as runners-up on two occasions,[4] before being elected to the Football League in 1920, where they compete to this day,[5] as a founder member of the Third Division.[6] Argyle won their first Football League championship, and promotion to the Second Division for the first time, ten years later in 1930.[7] As of 2010, the club has won five championships in the Football League, gained promotion on eight occasions, and been relegated eight times.[8] Four of those league championships were won in the third tier, which is a divisional record.[9] Argyle have made one appearance at Wembley Stadium, in which they won the 1996 Third Division play-off final.[10] The club has also achieved moderate success in domestic cup competitions; they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1984,[11][12] and the quarter-finals in 2007.[13][14] Argyle have also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup twice, in 1965 and 1974.[15][16]

The Plymouth Argyle Player of the Year award is voted for annually by the club's supporters.[17] It recognises the best overall performance by an individual player through the course of the season.[18] Each year, the winner is presented with the trophy on the pitch at Home Park before the club's last home game of the season. This is the more prestigious of the two awards made by Plymouth Argyle itself,[19] with the other being the Young Player of the Year accolade.[20] Since its inception in 1966, thirty-nine different players have won the award. Six of these players have lifted the award for a second time, the most recent being Welsh international Carl Fletcher. As of the 2010–11 season, only striker Tommy Tynan has received the award for a third time.[21] Three players have lifted the trophy in consecutive seasons; the first was Paul Mariner in 1976.[1] Steve McCall matched that feat in the 1994,[22] and Carl Fletcher became the third in 2011.[23] Seven winners of the award have represented their country at international level. Six winners have gone on to become the club's manager. The 2012–13 winner was Onismor Bhasera, who made 46 appearances in all competitions during the campaign.[24][25] Top goalscorer Reuben Reid won the award the following season, becoming the first forward to win the award since Mickey Evans.[26]

  1. ^ a b "Paul Mariner profile" Archived 2010-08-24 at the Wayback Machine. Plymouth Argyle. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  2. ^ Danes (2009), Complete Record, pp. 10–11.
  3. ^ Danes (2009), Complete Record, pp. 14–15.
  4. ^ Cowdery & Curno (2009), Miscellany, p. 42.
  5. ^ "Plymouth Argyle". The Football League. 1 August 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Plymouth Argyle" Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  7. ^ Danes (2009), Complete Record, pp. 23–24.
  8. ^ "Plymouth Argyle" Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Past winners" Archived 2014-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. The Football League. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  10. ^ "Pilgrims progress". The Independent. Rupert Metcalf. 26 May 1996. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  11. ^ Danes (2009), Complete Record, pp. 71–72.
  12. ^ "Where are they now?". BBC Sport. Chris Bevan; Chris Charles. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Argyle 0–1 Watford" Archived 2012-09-15 at the Wayback Machine. Plymouth Argyle. 11 March 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  14. ^ "Plymouth 0–1 Watford". BBC Sport. Mandeep Sanghera. 11 March 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  15. ^ "1964–65 results" Archived 2012-03-27 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  16. ^ "1973–74 results" Archived 2012-03-27 at the Wayback Machine. Statto. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  17. ^ "In the studmarks of Ro" Archived 2010-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Plymouth Argyle. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  18. ^ "On the trail of the Beast" Archived 2009-04-08 at the Wayback Machine. Plymouth Argyle. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  19. ^ "Fletcher runs away with Herald award". The Plymouth Herald. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  20. ^ "Young Player of the Season" Archived 2010-06-03 at the Wayback Machine. Plymouth Argyle. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  21. ^ "Tommy Tynan profile" Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine. Plymouth Argyle. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  22. ^ "Steve McCall profile" Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine. Plymouth Argyle. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  23. ^ "Captain Carl Fletcher set to stay with Plymouth Argyle next season" Archived 2011-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. The Herald. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  24. ^ Barker, Sam (20 April 2013). "Bhasera Is Player Of The Season". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  25. ^ "Onismor Bhasera". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  26. ^ "Gongs for Reuben and Curtis". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.