🟢 Schuey goes west: An evening with the Plymouth Argyle gaffer in Cornwall
Plus, a double dose of St Austell, with reaction to both the announcement of their multi-million-pound redevelopment and their weekend win over Camelford, as well as words from St Blazey.
⬇️ In today’s newsletter ⬇️
🟢 Schuey goes west: An evening with the Plymouth Argyle gaffer in Cornwall
⚽ Midweek round-up
🔵 SWPL Premier West
⚪ St Austell: ‘Super exciting time’ for Town as grand development plans revealed
⚪ St Austell: Ainslie pleased with clean sheet in Camelford victory
🟢 St Blazey: Green and Blacks learning ‘harsh realities’ of Western League — Richardson
Enjoy. 〓〓
🟢 Schuey goes west: An evening with the Plymouth Argyle gaffer in Cornwall
By Colin Bradbury
Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher ventured across the Tamar on Tuesday night for a Q&A session at St Blazey AFC.
Hosted by Plymouth Argyle Cornish Supporters Association (PACSA) chairman John Simmons, the event saw 125 Cornish Greens packing the room for 80 minutes of questions.
Schuey was typically forthright in his answers, with some great insights into the season so far and an inside perspective on the current state of play at Home Park. And for good measure, he also brought the League One trophy along with him.
Here are some of the highlights.
On the season so far and the move up to the Championship
We’ve seen the quality we’re up against. If we don’t take our chances, the opposition all have good players who will punish you. But I think we’re doing alright and will get better. What’s stood out to me is that sometimes you just have to say, ‘that was good play’. There weren’t too many times last year against too many teams (in League One) where you’d say that. If teams got chances against us it was often through a mistake or lack of concentration on our part. But this year it’s just good play. When we’re attacking, some of the blocks the defenders are making are fantastic. It’s probably not surprising, but it’s just the standard of play. Every team has great players.
Have Argyle got the budget to compete in the Championship?
Our finances are very tight. We were able to spend the money on Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker in the summer and that was amazing. We haven’t been able to do that for a few years. For us to be at the stage where Simon (Hallett, chairman) is allowing us to do that, for the club to be financially secure is amazing. I can’t be going on about getting more money just because we’re up against better teams. It is what it is. We’ve got the budget we’ve got.
Zac (Newton, club secretary) is very strict on the budget. If we’re 50 quid over, he’ll let me know that we have to make it back with attendances or cup runs or whatever. But we’ll reassess in January because if we really need something I’m sure Simon will say we might have to dip into reserves.
When things were going well last season, when we had a £3.7m budget at the start, in January we got an extra £400,000 because they felt that might be enough to get us over the line. And it was. But I won’t go in asking for it because that wouldn’t be fair.
You said before the Swansea game that their budget was ‘top six’ and ours was close to the bottom. So is the aim to finish at least fourth from bottom this season?
The gulf is huge. Swansea do have a top six budget — reported to be £20 million — and they made money from player sales. Their aim is to get into the Premier League. For us the brief is to over-achieve compared to the budget. Last year the brief was to over-achieve by a few places and we did better than that. This year if we can over-achieve by three places it will be ‘objective achieved’ — we’ll be safe. I’m confident that with the way we’ve recruited we can do that. But the gulf is there.
The reality of it is that most teams have better players, finances and resources than us. But the longer we can compete and concentrate the better we will get. We’re creating more chances than Rotherham, Sheffield Wednesday and QPR and if that continues we will win enough games to stay up in this league.
You obviously want the team to play passing football but is there an issue with getting used to the physicality of the Championship. Do we need to learn to be more physical?
We’ve told the players that when they come back (after the international break) we’ll do an overview of the first 11 games. At the moment we’re conceding too many crosses and too many entries into our penalty area. We’re also allowing too many shots. But we don’t want to lose the way we play as we’re creating enough chances to win games. We don’t necessarily need bigger and stronger players, but we’re the lowest team in the league in terms of giving away fouls in our own half. Maybe it shows we’re not being aggressive enough in our own half.
We put loads of crosses into the box but lack players to get on the end of them. What’s happening?
We’re one of the highest chance creators in the league (sixth or seventh) so that’s not the problem. Ryan Hardie’s not the most physical of players, not your old-school number nine. He often shoots when there’s no-one else around him because he’s too fast and nobody can catch up with him. So a lot of his shots are on transition when he’s counterattacking.
But if we’re putting crosses into the box, we need others to be a position to score. Quite often it’s our wingbacks who score goals from crossing opportunities. It’s the same with set-pieces. We’re about 21st the division in terms of goals scored from them so that’s an issue — we need to do better off attacking set-plays. We don’t have the personnel to attack the ball. So that’s why we now play corners short and try to take shots from the edge of the box — we’ve got good shooters but not lads who attack the ball.
You’ve played two different formations this season — why?
We’re not going to be as physical as every other club because we haven’t got experienced Championship players. So we’ve changed to a system (four-at-the -back) that will allow us to control possession and take away the physicality difference because we’ll have the ball more. In games like Birmingham, Preston and Millwall we had 65 per cent possession to nullify their physicality — they can’t bully us because we’ve got the ball.
The other system (the three-at-the-back played last season) gives us the chance to be a bit more solid. With Norwich we knew all their play came through the middle, so we set traps for them and were clinical with the turnovers. Against Swansea it was more difficult because they play with wingers, so four defenders gives a better chance to defend. I thought we did better when we changed to a back four, we had more control of the ball. We can’t just expect to win every game solely based on the players we’ve got; we have to work out the best system to give us a chance.
Which of the new players signed in the summer are you most impressed with so far?
Probably Lewis Gibson. We got him for free from Everton, who paid a lot of money for him as a young player. He’s stepping into the Championship to test himself at this level and done brilliantly, both with and without the ball. He should be available for the West Brom game.
Was it difficult to get Mumba, Azaz and Whittaker back in the summer?
They all had other offers. I know Morgan turned down better deals but from January onwards he was saying that he only wanted to come back here. Bali was a bit more difficult, but when I told him about the new system we were going to try and how it would fit him he wanted to come back. We tried to get Finn on a permanent as well, but we just couldn’t make it work. All three players really enjoyed their time here last year and they were all keen to step up and test themselves. So it wasn’t hard to convince them.
How’s Mustapha Bundu fitting in?
He’s really easy, very low maintenance and speaks great English. He’s a great lad – always has a smile on his face. When we saw him in his first couple of training sessions, we all went ‘wow!’ He needs to do a bit more fitness work but that’s to be expected as he hasn’t been playing.
When can we expect to see Mike Cooper back?
He’s back on the training field. He’s a top-quality goalkeeper and we have missed him. He was desperate to start in the first game of the season, but we had to tell him to slow down. We always had in mind that after the second international break was when he should be knocking on the door to come back. He’s been training non-stop for four weeks and kept a clean sheet against Torquay today.
Is geography still a problem in terms of attracting players?
It will always be a problem. So we try and sell it a different way. We tell players that we believe we can develop them. So for the young players we got last season – Morgan, Finn, Bali – Plymouth seems a million miles away from home but they’re going to be in an environment where they can improve individually. Our location didn’t matter because they feel as though they’ve improved, and they enjoyed their time last season. So they wanted to come back.
Are clubs being coached to deal with all the extra added-on time this season?
Probably. We’ve adapted in terms of the timing of substitutions. Last season we made our substitutions on average after 57 minutes, this year it’s about 66 because the games are longer. So subs still have a good half hour when they come on, giving them time to make an impact.
We go in at the third round of the FA Cup this year. What kind of team will you pick — are we focusing on the league?
It depends what team we draw. If we get Everton away, we’re going for it! There’s good prize money at stake so we’ll be doing everything we can to go as far as we can. It would be great to get a big draw in the fourth round.
We’ve seen ‘smaller’ clubs like Brentford and Bournemouth getting established in the Premier League. Can Argyle do that?
For us to get to the next level will take a huge effort and more investment – outside investment. That’s what Bournemouth and Brentford have all had.
How was it playing against Ryan Lowe?
Horrible. I don’t normally get nervous before games, but I felt sick before the Preston game. You don’t want to lose against your mates. I wouldn’t want to lose a game of cards. We still speak all the
time though. If it wasn’t for Ryan I wouldn’t be here. Whatever happened, happened. It was the best thing for him at the time to go back up north.
We’ve heard a lot about the Brickfields plan. What’s in it for Argyle?
When we came down here in 2019 we couldn’t get our heads around the Academy not having a permanent site. At Everton we had a permanent training base. Here, players were going up the road to Exeter because they had better facilities at the time. Since then the club have been looking for a site. Recently I don’t think we lost any players to Exeter and now we’ve overtaken them in terms of coaching. If we want to produce the next Cooper, Randell, Jenkins-Davies etc. we’ve got to have the facilities. The Academy is the foundation and needs to be top class if we’re going to produce top class players.
And some final snippets…
“Would I like to manage Everton? Not right now!”
“In the Championship more teams fly down here, so we lose a bit of the advantage we had of other teams having to make a long trip down to Devon on the coach.“
“Do I prefer to be a manager or a player? A manager, although It’s harder and more stressful. You never switch off. Even when my missus is talking to me, I’m not listening.”
“The most jovial member of the squad? Bali Mumba is the player who is always positive and makes a point of walking around and shaking everybody’s hand when he arrives in the canteen every day.”
“Me and my family went to Glastonbury with Simon Hallett last summer. His taste in music is horrendous.”
🔵 SWPL Premier West
⚽ Callington Town 1-4 Bude Town
A fine second-half display saw Bude Town record a four-goal victory at Callington Town on Tuesday night.
Gary Clarke’s first-half effort gave the Seasiders a slender advantage at the interval, with Kieran Parkin, Ben Potter and Alfie Moulden clinching victory after the turnaround before the hosts grabbed a consolation.
⚽ Camelford 0-5 Liskeard Athletic
Liskeard Athletic climbed to the top of the table after putting five goals past Camelford at Trefrew Park on Tuesday.
Mike Smith’s brace put the unbeaten Blues two up before Max Gilbert extended the lead to three by the half-hour mark, with Ruben Kane and Will Larsen completing the scoring in the second half.
⚽ Newquay 0-3 Wadebridge Town
Wadebridge Town ran out 3-0 winners at Newquay to end a run of five successive defeats on Wednesday night.
Sam Gerken headed Paul Rowe’s side into the lead just before the break, with Jacob Smale’s finish and Jacob Rowe’s penalty completing a much-needed victory for the Bridgers.
⚪ St Austell: ‘Super exciting time’ for Town as grand development plans revealed
By Tom Howe
St Austell first team coach Craig Ainslie has lauded plans for a multi-million-pound redevelopment project at the club as ‘phenomenal’.
The ambitious program, which will include a complete redevelopment of the club’s existing facilities at Poltair Park, will provide a focused hub accessible to residents.
The planned upgrades to the grounds include a new state of the art Stadia 3G pitch, a contemporary clubhouse, bespoke changing rooms and grandstand complex, as well as an inclusive venue designed to serve all needs.
Key partners are actively planning the next phases of the project, including The Cornwall College Group, Argyle Community Trust, Cornwall FA, Cornwall Council, St Austell Ward Councillors, Football Foundation, NHS and Social Prescribing and Safer St Austell.
“The future development of the ground is really exciting,” Ainslie told Cornwall Sports Media. “The committee here are super hard working and have done a phenomenal job behind the scenes, as people can see from the kind of plans that are being laid out.
“Working with other stakeholders within the community and really drawing the town together around the club is what we want. Your football club should really be one of the pillars of the community and provide that outlet for as many people in it as possible.
“Whether that is going to be youth football played up here on a 3G surface, whether that be women’s football or disability football. All those possibilities become a lot easier and a lot more achievable if we can get that project off the ground.
“It is a super exciting time for the club. What it does is cement its place within the town and provide a future for the club, some stability and some excitement for everyone to work towards. Hopefully we can contribute to that good feeling with continued good results on the pitch.”
Current members of the club, originally founded in 1890, expressed their support for the project during a recent public presentation of the proposals held in the Lilywhites Lounge at Poltair Park.
Jason Powell, club chairman, said: “I am really pleased with the very positive feedback from everyone in attendance. It is a very exciting time for the club and we now need to push on to make this plan a reality. Bringing much needed facilities to the people of St Austell.
“This redevelopment will transform AFC St Austell into a modern and inclusive sports facility, continuing our mission to nurture local football talent and promote the importance of sport in the community.”
⚪ St Austell: Ainslie pleased with clean sheet in Camelford victory
By Tom Howe
Although it wasn’t a vintage performance by any stretch of the imagination, St Austell got the job done and consolidated top spot in South West Peninsula Premier West with a 2-0 win over Camelford on Saturday.
In his post-match interview with Cornwall Sports Media, sat deep in the stand, first team coach Craig Ainslie explained the Lillywhites are confident in the knowledge that they can score goals.
Indeed, strikes from Matt Searle and Kieron Bishop took the team’s total to 49 from 14 league matches, shy only of the 60 scored by Liskeard Athletic, who dethroned St Austell after Tuesday’s 5-0 win at — ironically — Camelford.
After five league games without one, Ainslie went on to champion the clean sheet his side kept in their win and challenged them to repeat the trick again and again, furthering that aura of unbeatability in the ranks at Poltair Park.
“We conceded a few goals recently that we weren’t too happy with,” reflected the former Newquay boss. “We have got back to basics around how we are as a team, certainly when we are not in possession. We know we can create and score goals so if we can keep a clean sheet we will back ourselves in any game.
“You can’t always score four, five or six goals in a game. Three points and a clean sheet is a good reward for the lads on what has been a hot day and a busy schedule for us. Nobody cares at the end of the season. Everyone will look back and see that we won 2-0 and got three points.
“I didn’t think we were in any jeopardy or looked like conceding but, at the same time, we didn’t have any sort of fluidity to our game. The type of fluidity that saw us score seven on Wednesday in the cup. We talked to the lads at the water break and they went out for the rest of the half, upped the tempo, upped the pace and applied the tactical direction we had given.
“We controlled the game really well without creating too many chances but had one or two that maybe, on another day, we might have taken and made the game more comfortable. I thought that the back four defended excellently and that Harry Ashton made a great save in the first half. We did more than enough to win the game and I don’t think that anyone will disagree with that.”
Despite Ainslie’s concerns, a quick statistics check shows St Austell have the highest set of clean sheets this term, with a rate of 50 per cent in contrast to the 41 per cent of their rivals from Lux Park.
The fact that he singles them out as an area of improvement is evidence of the kind of mentality ingrained in the squad by Ainslie, first team manager Chris Knight and their coaching team.
That mindset was on display for all to see in the sunshine of Saturday afternoon, no more embodied than by makeshift left-back Martyn Duff who, with his side under pressure in the second half, drew applause from all quarters.
Belying his stature, Duff leaped like a salmon to win a header against a taller opponent and launch an attack. When it broke down, he picked up on Camelford’s opportunity to break and sprinted back all of 50 yards to cut out a one-on-one just as the trigger was being pulled.
“Duffy has been excellent for us this season,” said Ainslie. “He is a selfless guy who will play anywhere we ask him to and work as hard as he can. He keeps himself in great shape and his attitude epitomises everything we want as a coaching staff. He rolls his socks up and gets on with it.
“It’s a bit of a running joke in the dressing room. It’s only upfront and in goal that he hasn’t played, maybe if a game is going for us we will try and get him the full set. It’s not just his attitude, his quality is there as well. He is everything we are about as a team and sets the tempo for us. Everyone else feeds off it.
“It’s a fantastic club. The gaffer has done a really good job in putting a competitive squad together. We took a bit of time in pre-season to establish how we wanted to play the game. We have got some fantastic players here and some great individual quality. You talk about players like Martyn, with great work rate and ethic.
“We have kept a good core of players that were here last year, have brought in some players from elsewhere and I think we have got the balance just about right. We are playing some good stuff and I have enjoyed coaching it. It is a great dressing room and atmosphere. The club is going places and it is really nice to be a part of that.”
🟢 St Blazey: Green and Blacks learning ‘harsh realities’ of Western League — Richardson
By Gareth Davies
Joint St Blazey boss Brad Richardson feels that his side are learning the ‘harsh realities’ of life at Step Five after the Green and Blacks were defeated 1-0 by Clevedon Town on Saturday.
Looking for their first Western League Premier Division win in three games, Blazey were sunk by a 49th-minute strike from the Seasiders’ leading marksman Sam Beresford.
Falling behind was harsh on Blazey who, during an entertaining first half, had the lion’s share of possession and better chances. Luke Cloke had a goal chalked off for offside whilst at the other end, Owen Punselie somehow missed an open goal from inside the six-yard box.
But once Beresford had broken the deadlock after the turnaround, Clevedon defended resolutely as Blazey’s search for a leveller was in vain and the points headed back to Somerset.
“Me and Moon (Andrew, joint St Blazey manager) used the words harsh realities at the end,” said Richardson at full-time. “(Clevedon) have some real knowhow in this league and they just camped in when they scored the goal.
“The goal from our point is soft because someone has run off one of our players in midfield. That is preventable, but we had enough chances to come away from here with something.
“Clevedon are a really good side in this league but I thought in the first half, we were the better side. We are very unlucky not to come away from the game with anything because I couldn’t be prouder of the lads for their endeavour and effort, but we just lacked a little bit of quality in the right moments, if I am being honest.
“You can’t have off days in this league and this is something that we have told the lads before. We have been unlucky today, but we can’t go on saying we were unlucky because we need to pick up wins.
“In our last game against Oldland, we were atrocious in the first half and got found out. At Step Six you can play like that and (conceding four goals) doesn’t happen.”
Defeat keeps Blazey in the bottom half of the standings but with the campaign now passing its quarter point, Richardson assessed his side’s season so far and admitted that a changed squad compared to last year has hindered their progress.
“We have done OK and although the results haven’t always come, the performances have been mainly there,” he added. “We have had to chop and change a lot of players from last season to this and it will take us longer to get to grips with this league, while creating a new team spirit.
“We have lots of newcomers, but we will get there and we will make sure we get there.”
We’re back with our weekend round-up on Sunday. See you then!
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Thanks for the comment.
I'm sorry you feel we 'focus' on Plymouth Argyle'. In fact we cover a wide range of Cornish sides in the National League South, Southern League, Western League, South West Peninsula League and St Piran League. Today, for example, we are covering St Austell, Bodmin Town and Sticker. If you look back over the last few newsletters we have interviews with managers and players from Truro City, Falmouth Town, Mousehole, Helston, Saltash, Launceston, Bodmin, St Austell and many, many other clubs. We also cover as many of these clubs as possible from a photography perspective. Plymouth Argyle is just one of the clubs we cover.
One other thing to say is that in terms of people who actually attend matches, Argyle is far and away the most supported football club in Cornwall. At a conservative estimate, 20 per cent of the crowd at Home Park comes from Cornwall. That's around 3,200 people. No other club comes close to having that level of support. In addition, most of our Argyle coverage is focused on the club's activities in Cornwall. The club runs soccer schools, adult football programmes and social outreach programmes as well as a network of player development centres and centres of excellence to find talented youngsters for the Argyle Academy. Like it or not, there is a very substantial interest in Argyle on this side of the Tamar and we are therefore providing content to meet that demand.
I hope that answers your question and that you continue to enjoy our comprehensive coverage of the Cornish football scene.
If you are sincere in wanting more folk to subscribe then stop focussing on a football league side from Devon, if this continues, I will cancel my subscription.