The new Championship season is still in its infancy, yet a steadily growing number of Plymouth's supporters are calling for an immediate end to manager Paul Sturrock's second spell in charge of the Pilgrims.
Why? Well, Plymouth are without a win so far this campaign, having been unceremoniously dumped out of the Carling Cup by lower-league Gillingham and having picked up just two points from their opening four league matches.
“Sturrock's critics argue that he has bought poorly, wasting what resources the club has on sub-standard talent, industrious journeymen and uncommitted drifters with no edge at this level.”
So the start to the current campaign is not completely unexpected. Unlike, say, Ipswich's lame limp out of the starting blocks. However, despite the expected poor results, Plymouth haven't been turned over by anyone thus far, and have remained competitive in every game they've played.
So why the growing rumble of discontent at Home Park?
Sturrock's critics argue that he has bought poorly, wasting what resources the club has on sub-standard talent, industrious journeymen and uncommitted drifters with no edge at this level, and of employing ineffective and aesthetically unpleasing tactics. Amongst his harsher critics, even Sturrock's interview persona, appearance and general demeanour have been a target of furiously vented vitriol within online messageboards and significant pockets of matchday crowds.
Conversely, Sturrock's supporters say he has signed some promising young prospects, that he saved the club from relegation with unquestionably shrewd loan signings toward the end of last season, that he has been unlucky with injuries to other signings and that he was forced to act quicker than he would have liked in replacing departing stars like Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, David Norris and Peter Halmosi. They also point out that with any amount of money it takes time to build a squad capable of challenging at the top of the league.
So, considering this, is the heat on Pilgrims' hard-boiled boss justified?
Unfortunately, the answer would seem to be yes. The new campaign is already beginning to look like an all too familiar repeat of last year's desperate relegation dogfight. While it's true that Argyle are a modestly sized club for this league, the crux of Paul Sturrock's criticism lies in the fact that that while Argyle will struggle to fight against the resources of larger clubs in the same division, Sturrock has been given sufficient funds and time to assemble a squad capable of surviving in the Championship.
Only time will tell how long Argyle's new board will give Sturrock to convince them he can keep the club in the Championship this year. But unless things improve remarkably at Home Park soon, with tough away matches at West Brom and Newcastle coming up, Paul Sturrock looks likely to be one of the season's early managerial casualties.
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