Plymouth Argyle are "lucky" to have owner Simon Hallett amid "fickle" claim & projected £10.6m loss | OneFootball

FLW's Pilgrims fan pundit has issued a reaction to the comments made by the Argyle owner in the recent fans forum

It's been a real up-and-down season for Plymouth Argyle in their return to League One, both on and off the field.

On it, the Pilgrims looked doomed to back-to-back relegations up until mid-November, with fan discontent growing and cries to remove Tom Cleverley from his post. However, since then, Argyle have been one of the best teams in the third tier.

Off it, though, Plymouth have been hit pretty hard financially. Owner Simon Hallett's five-year plan back in 2023 was to become a sustainable top-six Championship club, and while the position as one of the second-tier's better sides is a long way off being complete, so is the sustainability.

Redundancies have been implemented as the club looks to cut costs, and even with that, Plymouth are being projected to lose a staggering £10.6 million in 2026, according to Simon Hallett during Argyle's recent fan forum.

Unfortunately, that wasn't even the biggest talking point to come out of the forum, though, as Hallett would call football fans "fickle" and say that they're "short-term, - something which hasn't gone down well with the passionate Plymouth fanbase at all.

Simon Hallett defended in the wake of Plymouth Argyle "fickle" comments

Given the dedication of Plymouth fans and the money they spend travelling up and down the country every other weekend for away games, they arguably have more of a right than most to feel disgruntled about the direction of the club.

Luke Hodge, FLW's Argyle fan pundit, does feel that the owner is in the wrong for the choice of wording, but believes that it was just a poor phrase, rather than one which carried any malicious intent.

"He probably shouldn't use the word fickle, especially given that the Green Army travel the most miles and spends the most money in the country due to the location. That's annoyed the fanbase, and I can see why," he admitted.

"But I don't think for one second that he doesn't appreciate the fans, not one bit. He just says the wrong words at times. Let's be honest, some supporters wait for every single word to jump on them and give him hate.

"Still, he isn't even completely wrong, either. Our fans can be fickle at times. I was sitting in December, saying never again to Bim Pepple in a green shirt, and now in April, I'd chip in for a statue!"

Other than the "fickle" comment, Hodge doesn't see too much wrong with the content throughout the rest of the forum.

The fan pundit appreciated the presentation from their CEO, Paul Berne, and felt that, despite the projected £10.6 million loss, it isn't that bad when taking into consideration the operating losses that every side in League One seems to be making currently.

"The loss is big, no denying that, but when you zoom out and look at the state of League One as a whole, clubs are dropping huge losses left, right and centre, and most have nothing to show for it on the pitch," Hodge continued.

"We're genuinely not in the disaster territory that some claim we are. We have decent playing assets and a structure that isn't collapsing.

"I felt that the PowerPoint from Paul Berne was excellent. Proper, detailed, clear and transparent.

"I think the club is in good hands with him as CEO. Simon Hallett isn't without blame, and he has made poor decisions to get where we are now, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we all make mistakes.

"We owe him massive debts for basically funding the majority of those £10 million losses.

"It's easy to forget when results dip, but Argyle are genuinely lucky to have them two at the top, in my opinion."

Plymouth Argyle fan pundit debates whether a sale should be on the cards soon

As is the case with many clubs in the EFL, new investors are being sought to help turn these mass losses into something a little more manageable.

Hallett has been Argyle's majority shareholder since 2018 and has overseen various promotions and relegations at Home Park. As Hodge alluded to, he hasn't run things completely smoothly and has made mistakes, but has worked to rectify those to the best of his abilities, such as the £9.8 million he lent the club back in December.

The fan pundit feels that a sale is a lot easier said than done, especially for a club like Plymouth.

"It's never really that simple, is it? He's said he'll sell to the right people, but with the global financial picture as it is, half the clubs in League One are either up for sale or begging for investment," Hodge said.

"Plus, with our location, it's not like there's a massive queue of buyers banging the door down.

"It's a lot easier to tell him to sell, but a lot harder for the club to make it work long term."