Plymouth Argyle

The club was founded in 1886 as the Argyle Football Club, but it lasted less than 10 years before it went under. It was revived in 1897 as part of the Argyle Athletic Club, and six years later the current name was adopted when they joined the Southern League. There are a number of theories surrounding the origin of the “Argyle” in the club’s name, including a former army regiment, a nearby tavern, and a local street. Either way, I think it’s a great name! Sadly, though, they don’t wear argyle kits.

Ten years after joining the Southern League, Plymouth Argyle won the league, and in 1920 they were a founding member of the Football League Third Division. A crazy fun fact is that Plymouth Argyle went on a South American tour in 1924 and actually beat the Uruguay national team 4–0. This Uruguay team would go on to win the first World Cup six years later!

From 1921 to 1927, Argyle finished second in the Third Division and missed out on promotion by one spot each year. They finally broke through in 1930 and were promoted to the Second Division, where they would remain for another 20 years. This kicked off Plymouth Argyle’s reputation for being a yo-yo club at the time. They bounced between the Second and Third Divisions several times, and would also reach a couple of League Cup semifinals along the way.

During the 1970s and ’80s, they kept bouncing between the Second and Third Divisions but were never seriously close to gaining promotion to the top flight. The 1990s were another tough time for the club. They were knocked out of the Third Division promotion playoffs in 1994, and in 1995 the club was relegated to tier 4 for the first time in its history. They had some light at the end of the tunnel when they did make the playoffs for the first time the next season and ended up winning their first game at Wembley to get them back into the third tier. However, they went back down and were dangerously close to being relegated from the Football League before turning things around. 

In 2003 and 2004, they took the Third Division and Second Division by storm, securing two consecutive promotions and landing them in the newly formed EFL Championship. By 2008 the club had fallen onto hard times and had been relegated twice. They were forced to sell their stadium to cover debts so they wouldn’t go bust. Plymouth Argyle’s reputation as a yo-yo club continued as they bounced between League Two and League One. In 2023 they managed to get back up to the Championship, where they stayed one season by just one point, but now they are back in League One.

Might as well mention here that Plymouth is the farthest south and west of all league clubs, regularly cited as making the longest trips in the league, such as the 800+ mile roundtrip to Newcastle. We also saw them play Millwall, whom they called “dirty northern bastards,” which we would assume Londoners don’t hear that often!

2024–25 SEASON: 23rd in the Championship (relegated), 5th Round FA Cup, 2nd Round

2025–26 SEASON: League One (relegated in 2025)

 Argyle and fellow Devon club Exeter City have been played each other since 1908, and it is one of the top rivalries in English football. Both clubs went professional in the early 1900s, and within a year of Exeter going professional, they had played their first friendly match. The two were placed in the same league and met quite often over the years in the lower levels of English football. The current head-to-head stats give Plymouth Argyle a slight edge with 38 wins to Exeter’s 29, and 26 draws. They will meet twice this season in League One.

Plymouth Argyle Women Football Club was founded in 1975 under the name Plymouth Pilgrims. The club had decent success in the 1970s and ’80s, and even made it to the FA Cup Final in 1976 and 1977. Prior to the 2001–02 season, the club was invited to join the Plymouth Argyle organization, and they are now in the Women’s National League South at tier 4. Home games are at Home Park occasionally but more often at Manadon Sports Hub.

The official club anthem is “The Janner Song” by a local band called The Saggy Bottom Boys—janner being the unofficial nickname of Plymouth residents. When I was there, the teams walked out to John Philip Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis.”

Here’s the official Janner Song video from the club:

Plymouth Argyle play their home games at Home Park, which dates back to the 1930s. It was destroyed in the German bombing of Plymouth during WWII and was rebuilt following the war. It was updated in the early 2000s, and there have been a number of other renovation projects tossed around over the years, but due to financial constraints, as well as a number of other issues, there have not been significant changes to the stadium since then.

The stadium seats just under 18,000 people, with one double-decker stand (the Mayflower Stand) that has a big hospitality area and three connected single-tier stands. The home rowdies are in the Devonport End, the away fans in the Barn Park End.

TOURS: The stadium hosts tours every now and then; check homeparkstadium.com for more.

GETTING THERE: It’s about a 20-minute, largely uphill walk from the train station, or a five-minute taxi ride.

PUBS: There is a Wetherspoon nearby called The Britannia, but much better options are in town around the old Barbican port area, especially The Fisherman’s Arms and The Navy Inn. The posh Treasury gets high marks for food, and both the Minerva and the Dolphin Inns are packed with historical character. If you’re into gin, Plymouth Gin has been made here since 1793, and they have a bar, bistro, and tours.

GRUB: Again, it’s all about the Barbican. Plenty of fish and chips, as you might imagine. I thought the Harborside was excellent and friendly. 

AROUND TOWN: You will definitely want to walk around the Barbican, which was largely spared bombing in World War II–unlike basically the rest of the city–and so still has some of the old winding streets and fishing port feel to it. The National Marine Aquarium and Plymouth Fish Market are worth a visit, and American history buffs will want to visit the Mayflower Steps, which are (more or less) where the famous expedition departed from.

Hoe Park is worth a nice walk around, and I enjoyed a trip on a tiny boat called the Mount Edgcumbe Ferry out to the county park of the same name. The boat also goes to the beautiful village of Cremyll.