Port Vale Victory is Just the Start of a Long Road to Redemption for Argyle

Lorent Tolaj fell to his knees after eight agonising minutes of stoppage time. The Swiss sensation had delivered the sole strike of Plymouth Argyle’s lunchtime kick-off against his ex-club, Port Vale.

The Greens had won a game of football for the first time in two months, and the relief plastered on the 888 travelling Janners was unmistakable. Argyle returned to Devon with three crucial points that lifted the club from the foot of the League One table, but as the 240-mile journey from Burslem to Britain’s Ocean City commenced, one unifying thought ran through everyone's minds.

That was far from a convincing performance, wasn’t it?

Unconvincing has been the overriding umbrella term for Plymouth’s season so far, and the inaugural months of Tom Cleverley’s reign as Argyle boss. However, what if there were a simple four-step plan that could revolutionise the club's fortunes…

1. Lorent Tolaj Dependence Must Stop

The prospect of life without Tolaj starting up top for Plymouth is a scarily realistic one, especially if he continues to perform in the fashion he has been since arriving at Home Park in August.

The 24-year-old has started every league game possible (12, to be precise) since heading to the South Coast and has scored 43.75% of Argyle’s entire goal haul in League One action since.

Lorent Tolaj is League One's joint top scorer on eight goals with seven of them scored for Argyle after his transfer from Port Vale in the summer! ⚽️👏#pafc pic.twitter.com/92jtF4UeVf

— Argyle News Hub (@PAFCNewsHub) November 24, 2025

Tolaj (League One’s joint top scorer this season) is a forward destined for greater heights. With 25 goal contributions in this calendar year, he has taken to the third tier with ease. His goals are nothing less than integral, but if the contributions were to dry up, or even worse, he was snapped up by the circling Championship clubs in January, well… You can already hear the panic alarms.

To combat this scenario playing out, Derek Adams (current sporting director and Plymouth Argyle head coach between 2015 and 2019) must search for a second forward to play alongside Tolaj, a successor that can eventually fill his boots.

Reuniting with Ryan Hardie would, of course, be a romantic move; the Scottish striker spent over five years at Home Park, scoring 74 goals, and was a huge part of the club's rise from League Two to the Championship. He left the Argyle this summer, but has played just 167 minutes in the Championship at Wrexham thus far.

Owen Oseni and Aribim Pepple are the other two senior centre-forwards contracted at Plymouth currently, but neither have stepped up to the plate as of yet. The pair of 22-year-olds have a huge weight on their shoulders to produce goals, but if one of them were to start scoring consistently, the rewards reaped would be unbelievable.

2. A Dynamic, Creative Midfielder Must be Found

All successful Argyle sides have always had a midfielder who can not only create chances, but also chip in with the odd goal too. In recent years, it was the likes of Finn Azaz and Morgan Whittaker; before them came Danny Mayor and Graham Carey.

🟢⚪ A first goal of the season for @Argyle's Danny Mayor!#EFL | #SkyBetLeagueOne pic.twitter.com/B9dhwtKOol

— Sky Bet League One (@SkyBetLeagueOne) April 8, 2023

These midfielders have been the life of Home Park and the reason why thousands trek to watch the Green Army play. Cleverley’s current squad lacks that man, even after multiple attempts to find him with the signings of Caleb Watts, Xavier Amaechi, and Jamie Paterson.

Plymouth have made 16 signings this season already, but in order to save their season, a few more may have to come through the door. Signing a man who can string together Tolaj up front and the midfield behind, would encourage more goalscoring opportunities, and potentially get some of the others in the squad firing.

3. Focus on Experience First, Then Youth

Joe Ralls made his Argyle debut as a 69th-minute substitute last weekend, after he joined the club as a free agent three weeks ago. The 32-year-old spent 15 years at Cardiff City before leaving in June, and as soon as he stepped on the pitch, you could tell that his presence was a much-needed wave of experience.

Rallsy in Green. 💚

A first Argyle appearance for @Joe_Ralls at the weekend! 👊 pic.twitter.com/xKeKpdxDSp

— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) November 24, 2025

Joining him off the bench was an evergreen 35-year-old Joe Edwards, who is now into his seventh season playing at Home Park, and fifth as club captain. Together, the pair shored up Plymouth’s defence as Cleverley strategised a way to see out what was a memorable away win.

It is extremely common at the League One level for clubs to seek out the flashiest youngsters to bring in on loan with the hope that their star power can complete the team. However, when you are entrenched in a relegation brawl, it is those with maturity who are the most valuable asset of all.

Of the 16 players to join the Green Army this season, Ralls was just the second player over the age of 33, as the majority of the additions were aged 24 or under. This inexperience appears to have cost the club massively.

Early-season hopes of a return to the second division are a distant memory, and as reality settles in, dipping into the free agent market for a few more Ralls-esque individuals would be a sensible decision.

4. Anchor Down a Formation

If the club and its board are insistent that Cleverley is the man to take Plymouth forward, then the former Manchester United man will have to knuckle down, pick a formation, and stick with it. That is the only way a clear ideology can be established on the pitch.

It is worth mentioning that a carousel of injuries has not helped Cleverley when forming a consistent starting line-up. Last weekend, the head coach made it clear that he was pleased with how the 4-4-2 formation out of possession (which was more often than not) played out.

Matthew Sorinola looked natural as ever on the right flank, and Brendan Galloway, partnered with Kornel Szucs in either full-back position, was not only effective but impressive, as both are usually more adjusted to a central role.

Cleverley has noted in the past that he is happy to chop and change formations if something is clearly not working. He is well-versed in both back three and four systems (e.g. 3-4-2-1 & 4-2-3-1) and will often use both in a game, like we saw this weekend, and previously with his Watford teams.

Watford FC confirms that club captain Tom Cleverley is retiring from football as a result of injury.

However, some exciting news will soon be announced jointly by the club and Tom.

Thank you, Tom. 💛 pic.twitter.com/HuMAlqa6dZ

— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) July 1, 2023

Perhaps Cleverley’s reluctance to find a stable formation is partly down to how little experience he still has in the coaching game. The ex-Premier League champion only retired two years ago and has had a sudden rise to senior first-team management. This all feeds into Argyle fans' original concerns when Cleverley was first appointed, as a club that was thrust into uncertainty upon relegation from the Championship, it was a risk to bring in someone with such a young coaching career.

That risk is yet to pay off, which has left Janners crying out for answers.