# 2005–06 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

Plymouth Argyle competed in the Football League Championship in the 2005–06 season, having finished 17th place in the season prior. They underwent a change in their manager, replacing Bobby Williamson with Tony Pulis in the hope of seeing an improvement to the previous season. The "Green Army" finished 14th in the league and made it to the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

## Season summary

After a poor start to the season, which made relegation a likely outcome, Argyle fired manager Bobby Williamson and brought in Tony Pulis. Argyle regrouped under Pulis and regained a solid place in the middle of the league standings. The team's performance was one of contrasts. Argyle conceded only 46 goals, which made it the fifth (tied) best defense in the league although they only scored 39 goals, which made it the third (tied) worst attack in the league. It meant a lot of 0–0, 1–0, and 0–1 games – results that are synonymous with Pulis' style of football. However, under new manager Pulis, Argyle were never in any significant danger of relegation.

## Notable events

* In August, Argyle opens the season by defeating Reading 2–1 at the Madejski Stadium. It would be Reading's only home loss in the Championship all season. Victory at Reading is followed by a draw and four losses in the Championship.
* 6–23 September, manager Bobby Williamson is fired. Jocky Scott is named caretaker manager. Tony Pulis is named as the new manager.
* September–October, Pulis's first shores up the Argyle defence and achieves a record of one win, one loss, and five draws in first seven games under his management.
* 22 November – 18 February, young central defender Elliott Ward comes to Argyle on loan from West Ham. He stays for three months and proves successful on the field and popular with the fans. In 15 games with Ward, Argyle concede only 15 goals and achieve a record of 6 wins, 5 draws, and four losses in the Championship. Argyle move up to mid-table and while not safe from relegation, it seems very unlikely.
* 18 February, striker Vincent Pericard, on loan from Portsmouth, scores a hat trick against Coventry City in a 3–1 victory. This was the biggest win of the season by low-scoring Argyle.

## Squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | FRA | Romain Larrieu |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Anthony Barness |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Rufus Brevett |
| 4 | MF | FRA | Lilian Nalis |
| 6 | MF | SCO | Keith Lasley |
| 7 | MF | ENG | David Norris |
| 8 | MF | HUN | Ákos Buzsáky |
| 9 | FW | IRL | Mickey Evans |
| 10 | FW | FRA | Vincent Péricard (on loan from Portsmouth) |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Nick Chadwick |
| 13 | DF | FRA | Mathias Kouo-Doumbé |
| 14 | DF | NIR | Tony Capaldi |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Paul Wotton |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Hasney Aljofree |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | WAL | Anthony Pulis (on loan from Stoke City) |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Leon Clarke (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Lee Hodges |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Paul Connolly |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Luke McCormick |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Ryan Dickson |
| 26 | FW | ENG | Chris Zebroski |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Reuben Reid |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Luke Summerfield |
| 30 | GK | ENG | James Debbage |
| 32 | MF | SWE | Bojan Djordjic |

### Left the club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | DF | NGA | Taribo West (released) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Scott Taylor (to MK Dons) |
| 17 | MF | ISL | Bjarni Guðjónsson (to ÍA) |
| 18 | DF | POR | Nuno Mendes (released) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Matt Derbyshire (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Elliott Ward (to West Ham United) |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Jason Jarrett (on loan from Norwich City) |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Marcus Martin (to Truro City) |

## Transfers
### Out

| Date | Player | Transfer | To | Fee |
| June 2005 | Matthew Villis | Sale | Torquay United | £0 |
| July 2005 | Gary Sawyer | Season-long loan | Exeter City | N/A |
| July 2005 | Graham Coughlan | Sale | Sheffield Wednesday | £100,000 |
| July 2005 | Peter Gilbert | Sale | Leicester City | £200,000 |
| October 2005 | Taribo West | Released | Free Agent | N/A |
| January 2006 | Matt Derbyshire | Recalled from loan | Blackburn Rovers | N/A |
| January 2006 | Jason Jarrett | Recalled from loan | Norwich City | N/A |
| January 2006 | Scott Taylor | Sale | Milton Keynes Dons | £100,000 |
| January 2006 | Nuno Mendes | Released | Free Agent | N/A |
| January 2006 | Bjarni Guðjónsson | Released | Free agent | N/A |
| February 2006 | Keith Lasley | Short-term loan | Blackpool | N/A |
| February 2006 | Elliott Ward | Recalled from loan | West Ham United | N/A |
| February 2006 | Rufus Brevett | Short-term loan | Leicester City | N/A |
| June 2006 | Rufus Brevett | Released | Free agent | N/A |
| June 2006 | Keith Lasley | Released | Blackpool | N/A |

### In

| Date | Player | Transfer | From | Fee |
| June 2005 | Ákos Buzsáky | Buy | F.C. Porto | £250,000 |
| June 2005 | Bojan Djordjic | Buy | Rangers | £0 |
| June 2005 | Anthony Barness | Buy | Bolton Wanderers | £0 |
| July 2005 | Nuno Mendes | Buy | CD Santa Clara | £0 |
| July 2005 | Taribo West | Buy | Al-Arabi | £0 |
| July 2005 | Rufus Brevett | Buy | West Ham United | £0 |
| August 2005 | Matt Derbyshire | Season Loan | Blackburn Rovers | N/A |
| November 2005 | Jason Jarrett | Short Term Loan | Norwich City | N/A |
| November 2005 | Elliott Ward | Short Term Loan | West Ham United | N/A |
| January 2006 | Lilian Nalis | Buy | Sheffield United | £0 |
| January 2006 | Vincent Péricard | Short-term loan | Portsmouth | N/A |

## Competitions
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Southampton | 46 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 58 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 46 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 54 | 63 | −9 | 58 |
| 14 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 56 |
| 15 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 53 | 66 | −13 | 56 |
| 16 | Leicester City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 51 | 59 | −8 | 54 |

#### Results

Championship match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A |
| 1 | 6 August 2005 | Reading | Away | W | 2–1 |
| 2 | 9 August 2005 | Watford | Home | D | 3–3 |
| 3 | 13 August 2005 | Derby | Home | L | 0–2 |
| 4 | 20 August 2005 | Crystal Palace | Away | L | 0–1 |
| 5 | 27 August 2005 | Hull City | Home | L | 0–1 |
| 6 | 29 August 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Away | L | 0–2 |
| 7 | 10 September 2005 | Norwich City | Away | L | 0–2 |
| 8 | 13 September 2005 | Crewe | Home | D | 1–1 |
| 9 | 17 September 2005 | Burnley | Home | W | 1–0 |
| 10 | 24 September 2005 | Southampton | Away | D | 0–0 |
| 11 | 27 September 2005 | Sheffield United | Away | L | 0–2 |
| 12 | 1 October 2005 | Stoke City | Home | W | 2–1 |
| 13 | 15 October 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | Home | D | 1–1 |
| 14 | 18 October 2005 | QPR | Away | D | 1–1 |
| 15 | 22 October 2005 | Luton Town | Away | D | 1–1 |
| 16 | 30 October 2005 | Millwall | Home | D | 0–0 |
| 17 | 5 November 2005 | Ipswich Town | Away | L | 1–3 |
| 18 | 19 November 2005 | QPR | Home | W | 3–1 |
| 19 | 22 November 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | Away | D | 0–0 |
| 20 | 26 November 2005 | Reading | Home | L | 0–2 |
| 21 | 3 December 2005 | Coventry City | Away | L | 1–3 |
| 22 | 10 December 2005 | Watford | Away | D | 1–1 |
| 23 | 17 December 2005 | Crystal Palace | Home | W | 2–0 |
| 24 | 26 December 2005 | Cardiff City | Away | W | 2–0 |
| 25 | 31 December 2005 | Wolves | Away | D | 1–1 |
| 26 | 2 January 2006 | Leeds United | Home | L | 0–3 |
| 27 | 14 January 2006 | Norwich City | Home | D | 1–1 |
| 28 | 21 January 2006 | Crewe Alexandra | Away | W | 2–1 |
| 29 | 24 January 2006 | Leicester City | Home | W | 1–0 |
| 30 | 31 January 2006 | Southampton | Home | W | 2–1 |
| 31 | 4 February 2006 | Burnley | Away | L | 0–1 |
| 32 | 11 February 2006 | Sheffield United | Home | D | 0–0 |
| 33 | 14 February 2006 | Stoke City | Away | D | 0–0 |
| 34 | 18 February 2006 | Coventry City | Home | W | 3–1 |
| 35 | 25 February 2006 | Derby County | Away | L | 0–1 |
| 36 | 4 March 2006 | Brighton | Home | W | 1–0 |
| 37 | 7 March 2006 | Preston | Home | D | 0–0 |
| 38 | 11 March 2006 | Hull City | Away | L | 0–1 |
| 39 | 18 March 2006 | Cardiff City | Home | L | 0–1 |
| 40 | 25 March 2006 | Preston | Away | D | 0–0 |
| 41 | 1 April 2006 | Wolves | Home | W | 2–0 |
| 42 | 8 April 2006 | Leeds United | Away | D | 0–0 |
| 43 | 15 April 2006 | Millwall | Away | D | 1–1 |
| 44 | 17 April 2006 | Luton Town | Home | L | 1–2 |
| 45 | 22 April 2006 | Leicester City | Away | L | 0–1 |
| 46 | 30 April 2006 | Ipswich Town | Home | W | 2–1 |

### FA Cup

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| Third round | 7 January 2006 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Away | L | 0–1 | | 11,041 | |

### League Cup

League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| First round | 23 August 2005 | Peterborough United | Home | W | 2–1 | Wotton 35' pen., Taylor 38' | 5,974 | |
| Second round | 20 September 2005 | Barnet | Away | L | 1–2 | Buzsaky 19' | 1,941 | |