CHRIS ERRINGTON: MY TOP FIVE PLYMOUTH ARGYLE PLAYERS OF 2023/24

Plymouth Argyle played 51 competitive first team matches during their 2023/224 season, and I was fortunate enough to be present at all but one of them.

In addition to their 46 Championship fixtures, the Pilgrims played two games in the Carabao Cup plus three ties in the FA Cup. The only one out of all those I missed was the 3-2 league defeat away to Ipswich Town in late October, which was because we had a family celebration of my son's 14th birthday that weekend.

Otherwise, at Home Park or in various far-flung parts of England - and you do not get much more far flung from Plymouth than Sunderland and Middlesbrough - I was privileged to be on reporting duty for Plymouth Live and The Herald.

You can read more of our Argyle stories from Plymouth Live by clicking HERE

The travelling was not always easy, I must admit, especially as Argyle struggled to pick up points on the road. It was not until early February, and a 1-0 victory over Swansea City in south Wales, that they won an away league game for the first time in the season.

Their only other successes on their travels came against Middlesbrough (2-0) and Rotherham United (1-0), while back-to-back defeats against Stoke City (3-0) and Millwall (1-0) meant they Pilgrims ended up with 13 defeats from 23 fixtures.

Having seen every match bar one home and away, I feel well qualified to give my assessment of Argyle's top five players from a season which was a combination of exciting, at times turbulent and stressful, but ultimately a successful one for the club.

5 JORDAN HOUGHTON

There were questions going into the season whether Jordan Houghton, at the age of 27 and despite his Chelsea academy pedigree, would be good enough for the Championship after playing all of his first team football in League One or League Two previously.

He proved any doubters completely wrong with a series of consistently impressive displays in central midfield, and was particularly important at the start of the campaign as Steven Schumacher switched the Pilgrims to a 4-3-3 formation and Houghton was deployed in a holding role while his team-mates were all given the freedom to push forward.

Houghton ended up making 32 Championship starts, plus another eight appearances off the bench. He was unable to get any goals but that was not what he was in the team for. Instead, his ability to break up play was pivotal.

He also impressed off the pitch, too. Houghton was regularly put up for interview with the local media by the club and he was always engaging, thoughtful and insightful with his comments, particularly in the aftermath of the dismissal of head coach Ian Foster and as Argyle regrouped to fight their way to safety.

4 RYAN HARDIE

The striker went 11 games at the end of the season without getting a goal for Argyle, but that does not tell the tale of his season, far from it.

Hardie finished with a very valuable total of 13 goals - 12 of them in the Championship, the other in the FA Cup against Sutton United - even though he did not score from the 2-0 win away to Middlesbrough on February 24 onwards.

He had literally run himself into the ground towards the end of the campaign after an over reliance on him given Argyle's shortage of attacking options within their squad. They also had Mustapha Bundu and Ben Waine, but one of the mysteries of the season was why the club did not add further to that.

Instead, it was nearly always Hardie who started games, even when it was clear he would have benefited from, a break, but he kept on going, putting the team first and although the goals dried up for him he never gave opposing defences an easy time with his constant willingness to run in behind them.

3 FINN AZAZ

Yes, I know Azaz left Argyle on January 2 but I have no doubt in my mind he was one of the key players for Argyle as they made the transition to the Championship this season.

His totals of seven goals and five assists ranked him third in both categories for the entire campaign, despite only being with the Pilgrims for the first five months of 2023/24 before he was recalled from his loan by Aston Villa to be immediately transferred to Middlesbrough for £2.5 million.

After being part of Argyle's 2022/23 League One title-winning squad, Azaz did not rejoin the Pilgrims until the week before the Championship season began but he was soon up to speed and catching the eye with his performances in one of the attacking 'number 10' positions.

His vision and creativity was a big factor behind the outstanding success of Morgan Whittaker, not only in terms of the high-quality service he provided for him but also in drawing away attention from Argyle's top scorer because of his own skill and attacking threat. He was a huge loss when he left and the Pilgrims simply could not replace him.

2 LEWIS GIBSON

Amid all the excitement and euphoria at the joint club record £1 million signings of Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker last July, Argyle made another less high-profile recruit which turned out to be hugely important for them.

Gibson had been on loan to Bristol Rovers from Everton in League One during 2022/23 so was very familiar to Steven Schumacher and the Pilgrims' backroom staff. They identified him as a target for the step up to the Championship and were able to recruit him on a permanent transfer from the Premier League club.

That was a very good piece of business for Argyle but not only did they bring in a very solid, composed and reliable defender the 23-year-old - an Under-17 World Cup winner with England let's not forget - is now a valuable asset for them too.

One of the many stand-out features of Gibson's play this season was that his defending rarely felt rush, or on the edge. That was because he could sense danger and get in position to make vital blocks, tackles or headed clearances. He missed just five of Argyle's 46 Championship games, starting 39 times.

1 MORGAN WHITTAKER

Simply outstanding for Argyle over the course of the 2023/24 campaign and very worthy of his place in the EFL Championship Team of the Season, an achievement which should not be under-estimated given the incredible quality of the players in the division.

Who would have thought that the Pilgrims would ever turn down a £8.5 million offer for one of their players from a top European club? But that is exactly what happened in January when Italian side Lazio made a bid for him. Not only did Argyle reject it immediately, they did so with the blessing of Whittaker, who has enjoyed and embraced being an important part of the set-up at Home Park after being such a fringe member of the squad at Swansea City.

Some of his performances and goals over the first half of the season in particular were magnificent, and will live long in the memories of those who saw them.

Yes, his levels dropped towards the end of the campaign, but it is worth remembering that 1) opposing sides made him a marked man and knew if they stopped him there was not a lot of other goal threat from Argyle and 2) it was the first time in his career he had played a full season of football. He was an ever present in the Championship with 45 starts and one substitute appearance - which was when he was 'rested' by Steven Schumacher for the 4-1 drubbing at Bristol City in September.

Whittaker just missed out on becoming the first Argyle player in 30 years to reach 20 league goals in a season, stuck on 19 at the end of the campaign, but that was still a superb return. Put simply, without the talented 23-year-old the Pilgrims would have been relegated, no ifs, buts or maybes.

Who were your top five Argyle players of 2023/24? Have your say in our comments section:

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2024-05-07T05:40:48Z dg43tfdfdgfd