On this day, five years ago, Plymouth Argyle appointed Derek Adams as their new manager.
It is fair to say it was an interesting four years that Adams spent in the Westcountry. The Scot managed 213 games during his tenure at Plymouth Argyle and had a win percentage of just over 42%.
In his first season at Home Park, Adams guided Plymouth to a Wembley playoff final, their first trip to The Home of English Football since 1996. It wasn’t to be for Argyle as it turned out to be the most disappointing performance season. AFC Wimbledon were the better team on the day and came away with a 2-0 win, as well as promotion to League One. The following season, the Pilgrims strived to do better. And they did just that. They found themselves in the top three for the majority of the season, top of the pile for the latter stages of the season. However, a draw on the last day of the season saw them pipped to the title by Portsmouth. Nevertheless, in his second season at the club, Derek Adams guided Plymouth to League One.
After six years in League Two, Plymouth were back in League One. The first half of the season was not a good one as Argyle flirted with the relegation zone. The Pilgrims won just one of their opening 12 games. However, the season turned around following a 4-1 thumping of Oldham. It came after Adams sent midfielder Ruben Lameiras on ‘trial’ with Oldham the week beforehand, only for Lameiras to then feature in the first team and steal the show.
That 4-1 victory set up a run which saw Plymouth lose just two of their next 20 games, which also featured a run of six straight victories. Despite the form in the second half of the season, Plymouth just missed out on the playoffs, finishing in 7th place. The 2018/19 season was Derek Adams’ final season in charge at the club. It took Plymouth 11 games to register a win in the league, with many fans calling for Adams to go.
It seemed January would be the turning point again for Adams’ Plymouth as they won four out of their five games. However, following a 2-1 win against Shrewsbury in mid-March, Argyle went on another eight-game run without winning a game.
Adams was relieved of his duties with the club on the brink of relegation following a 5-1 defeat against Accrington Stanely.
Derek Adams’ time at Plymouth may not have ended the way he liked, but it was clear to see his time was up. He became disconnected with the fans due to his clear stubbornness. However, fans have to be thankful to Adams. He gave fans the opportunity to watch some of the best players to grace the Home Park pitch in recent years. The likes of Graham Carey will go down as one of the best players to ever play for Plymouth.
Off the field, Adams wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, often sparking controversy. Some of his highlights include:
12/12/15 – Plymouth suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Cambridge United. Naturally, Derek Adams blamed algae on the pitch for causing the defeat.
17/09/16 – Plymouth beat Exeter 2-0 away from home, in his press conference after the game Adams said this “I saw a banner unveiled before the game. What I would like to say is Devon is green and white – and it always will be.”
13/01/18 – Argyle drew 1-1 away at Doncaster. Rovers boss Ferguson told the press he wants to ‘shoot the ref’ after he didn’t give a penalty. Adams responded saying the referee as ‘excellent’ and ‘all three officials were very good’
11/08/18 – Unsurprisingly, Adams becomes the first manager in the EFL to be given a red card after calling a Southen player a tw*t and going nose to nose with manager Chris Powell. He said he was sent off for going outside of his technical area.
20/10/18 – Following a 3-2 home defeat to Burton Albion, fans called for Adams to go as he walked off the pitch. In his press conference after the game, Adams called them all ‘yobs’.
