Cheltenham Town welcomed Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle to Whaddon Road in what was a successful afternoon for the Championship side.
Cheltenham, like Plymouth, have recently appointed a new manager ahead of the 2024/25 season. Welshman Michael Flynn took over after the departure of Darrell Clarke, who opted to join League One side Barnsley. The Robins endured a tough season last time out, being relegated back to League Two on the final day of the campaign against Stevenage.
Flynn and new Director of Football Gary Johnson have been busy so far in the transfer window, bringing in 11 first-team players to bolster the squad. They have had their fair share of departures however, with the likes of key players such as Sean Long, Liam Sercombe, Lewis Freestone, Luke Southwood and Will Ferry all leaving to pastures anew.
Speaking to The Real EFL alongside BBC Radio Gloucestershire, and Gloucestershire Live, Flynn talked about the recruitment still needed.
“Still looking for more. Another five. […] I’ve got an idea of who I want, whether or not I can get who I want is a different story. Probably be one or two loans and three more permanents if the right players are there.”
Flynn seemed somewhat pleased with his team’s performance, regardless of the scoreline, saying after full-time :
“There were some disappointments, but if you flip it, we’re playing against a Championship team with very very good players. In the first 30 minutes, I thought we were excellent. Not just because we were 1-0 up, I know they equalised around about 30, but I felt we were excellent. The way we played, we were man for man, we were pressing, creating chances, opportunities, and we looked a threat.”
However, the 43-year-old was also disappointed in the manner of Argyle’s goals.
“Lots of things to work on, especially defensively. Even the chances that they missed or we saved we played a part in. We can certainly improve, we’ve given them four out of the five goals today. […] I’m not going to beat anyone up over it. They know as a collective we were defensively poor and made some individual mistakes. But we stick together and we try to improve in those areas.
“It’s about cutting out those individual errors and the mistakes that provided them opportunities. For example, I can talk about the one with the throw-in. That’s a non-negotiable with me. A throw-in where everybody switched off and a Plymouth player was then through. That won’t be happening again, and if it does, they’ll be sat next to me. It is what it is, and as I’ve said we played a part in some of their goals, but we can improve.”
New signing from Non-league Bedford Town Liam Dulson scored his fourth of pre-season, with Flynn speaking on the positives of the goal.
“Like I said, there were positives, and I think we created quite a few opportunities and got in good areas. We could be a little bit better with choice of pass, or our decision-making in the final third, but we were getting in those areas, and against, I’ll say it again, a Championship team. We caused them a few problems, but look they were the ones who punished us when it mattered”
Finally, Flynn talked briefly about the three trialists.
“We’re looking, it’s no secret were looking in that area, so I thought he (Dom Bernard) did quite well as well. There are a couple of other trialists we had too, so we’ll have a look at them, make a decision, and decide if we need a further look or we need to look at somebody else”
Writer’s View
From Cheltenham’s point of view, although the scoreline was overall negative, there were still some positives, especially as Flynn mentioned in the first half an hour. Although the Robins looked good on the attack, there are still massive improvements to be made defensively. It is, however, no secret that Flynn’s side are desperate for defensive recruits. Overall, the Greens are a decent Championship side, so there is no need for Cheltenham to panic just yet.
From Plymouth’s perspective, although the first half an hour was quite poor, the remaining hour was dominant from Wayne Rooney’s side. New signing Muhamed Tijani looked excellent in terms of strength and finishing, with wingers Morgan Whittaker and Ibrahim Cissoko also at times tearing the Cheltenham defence to shreds. The question is now can they hold onto key players such as the previously mentioned Whittaker and keeper Micheal Cooper ahead of their second Championship campaign.
