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My name is Mike Hughes, I was born in Plymouth and have supported Argyle since 1984 when my Old Man used to take me to games. We climbed, fell, climbed, fell again, but are thankfully on the climb again.
What was your first game?
My first game was in 1984 at Home Park. We lost 2-1 to Reading, with Trevor Senior netting both for Reading. Staniforth got the Argyle goal.
Describe the most memorable and worst game you've seen and why?
The QPR game (Bobby’s first in charge) at the end of last season was very memorable. We won 2-0 with both goals in the last 10 minutes. The win secured promotion and the championship which I think is some sort of record
for a manager’s first game. We also beat Chesterfield 7-0 earlier in the season, after being 5-0 up in 17 minutes.
We played Gillingham away in January and lost 1-0. The match was very poor played in terrible conditions. The players seemed to lack motivation and spirit. I actually met Bobby at the weekend and mentioned it to him, he said the performance was “Shocking” so at least we agreed. Byfield performed his usual theatrics which was another annoying feature of the game.
Who do you consider as your current local rivals, and why?
Torquay are the nearest league club to us, but they’re seen as a younger brother, as they sign on most of our released players. Exeter are seen as the more deadlier rival, although whilst we’ve progressed, they’ve declined. Its good to see them going through a revival under Alex Inglethorpe, as I like the South West clubs to do well.
During the 70s/80s we had a “port” rivalry with Portsmouth which I’m told got quite violent at times. We are also not keen on Burnley as they beat us in a Play-off semi final, and also beat us in a last game relegation decider during the 1990s.
This season Cardiff and Reading are our “local” rivals as they’re both about 150 miles away, our shortest away journeys this season.
Who are the best and worst players you have seen?
I was lucky enough to see (Sir) Tommy Tynan play and I was always in awe of his goalscoring ability and all round play. He played in quite a successful Argyle side, which achieved our highest ever league placing (7th in the second division).
The worst player must be Peter Swann (our record transfer signing). We bought him for £300k from Port Vale, when Shilton was player manager. He removed the captaincy from the very popular Steve Castle, and gave it to Swann. Swann scored the first goal of the game in his debut, but unfortunately we lost 6-1 (at home) to Brentford. He was slow and pretty much dreadful in every department. We sold him for £200k to Burnley.
Which current or former Rotherham player impressed you most?
I went to the same school as Darren Garner, although I’m 5/6 years younger. I’ve always followed his career and I hear that he’s quite popular after waving to the crowd recently.
How did you fare last season?
We won the Division 2 championship by 8 points. Unfortunately we lost Paul Sturrock in the process. This was our second championship in 3 years, so we’ve been a bit spoiled.
You beat us 1-0 in October and looked alright! whats happened since?
I can’t quite put my finger on it. John Blackley was our defensive coach until October, then he left for Sheffield Wednesday. The defence has looked quite dodgey since his departure.
Our initial success was due to playing the Sturrock style (direct ball to Micky ‘Trigger’ Evans), but teams got wise to it, and we were slow to adapt. Bobby Williamson is slowly trying to make us less direct and has signed players that suit a passing style.
We have also struggled to score goals, which wasn’t helped by the departure of Stevie Crawford back to Scotland after 5 months. We struggled to sign any replacements, but have now signed 2 strikers in a fortnight (Blackstock and Chadwick), which was unexpected.
Bobby Williamson, a hero in Rotherham, whats the verdict down there?
There is a mixed feeling about Bobby. Some fans already want him sacked as they believe that despite the signing of very promising players his tactical and motivational skills are lacking (hence our rapid decline). There are quite a few unproven rumours circulating about Bobby and the side at the moment, so much so, that the Argyle Vice Chairman has threatened libel actions against fans on one website.
The fans that are Pro-Bobby argue that quite a few of the Sturrock side have struggled in this division, and that Bobby is trying to change the style. Sturrock spent just £55k in 3 and a bit years at Argyle and the team wasn’t expected to mount a challenge on Division 1 (The Championship) until next season. It happened ahead of schedule. The board seem happy with Bobby though, so he won’t be going anywhere soon.
You've just signed Nick Chadwick for £250k, Happy???
Very happy. Since Crawford left we’ve had 4 strikers. Milne is permanently injured, Keith is nowhere near good enough, Taylor has just moved up from League 1 so is adapting, and Trigger is 32 and looks knackered after just 5 minutes.
We’ve also recently signed Dexter Blackstock on loan from Southampton who looked very lively in his debut against Reading. Chadwick is another striker who has scored in the Premiership. The Everton fans state that he is a very good player, so I hope he adapts quickly.
I am also slightly shocked at the fact that we’ve spent money. We had 2 cash transfers for Foreign strikers collapse during the transfer window due to our frugal board.
Any more signings in the pipeline?
Our local rag, and the Bristol papers are linking us with Tommy Doherty who plays for Bristol City and Northern Ireland. He’s had a big fall out with the manager and has been stripped of the captaincy. The price is being touted as £150k - £300k (More money!). We also need a left and right back because the cover we have is very limited. The 2 current full backs- Worrell and Gilbert, have got to be the worst in the Championship. They’ll happily hoof the ball all day to opposition defenders.
So what do you think of The Millers?
I always like Ronnie Moore and was impressed how Rotherham stayed in division 1 for so long under him. I was surprised that Ronnie left, because I would have imagined him to be someone who would have been motivated to keep Rotherham up in his last season as some sort of parting gesture. Perhaps the new manager will uplift the side.
Is your manager barking mad?
No, he’s a typical dour Scottish bloke with a wicked sense of humour (like Sturrock). I haven’t heard of any unusual Bobby stories yet. After speaking to him, he was very positive and persuasive, so he might go into a career as an Evangelical preacher after football?
Are you happy with your Chairman/Backroom staff?
We had a new board take over just after the Sturrock appointment, when the dreaded Dan McAuley left. The Chairman is an accountant and we’ve made a profit each year for the last 3 seasons. Under them we’ve had success so I can’t complain. They’ve also just found the chequebook which is even more encouraging.
Our 2 Scottish coaches Jocky Scott and McCabe remind me of the Chuckle Brothers. I don’t really know much about them. We also have ex-keeper Crudgington, a mad physio (Paul Maxwell) and an improving youth set up, under the excellent Stuart Gibson.
Which team do you want to beat the most this season and why?
It was Forrest when Kinnear was manager, and I would have liked to have beaten Leeds (we lost both games). At the moment I’m happy if we get a point.
What sort of line-up can we expect from you?
Not sure again. We played 4-1-3-2 against Reading, but we now have 4 strikers to choose from, so we could play 4-3-3. It was quite easy to pick the Sturrock sides, but Bobby likes to tinker. The likely line up will be- McCormick (GK), Worrell (RB) Doumbe (CB) Coughlan (CB) Gilbert (LB), Wotton (Anchor), Gudjonsson (RM) Lasley (CM) Buzaky (LM), Blackstock (CF) Chadwick (CF).
Predicted score?
Not many chances, poor refereeing, but I’m hoping we’ll nick a 1-0 win.
Who's going up?
Ipswich (Champions), Sunderland, Derby (Play offs).