AI predicts when Plymouth Argyle will next win a major trophy | OneFootball

AI predicts when Plymouth Argyle will next win a major trophy | OneFootball

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Football League World

·19 October 2025

AI predicts when Plymouth Argyle will next win a major trophy

Article image:AI predicts when Plymouth Argyle will next win a major trophy

Plymouth Argyle haven't won a major trophy over their 139-year history, but ChatGPT thinks it'll come sooner rather than later. Here's what AI thinks.

They may not have won one in 139 years of trying, but when we asked ChatGPT to predict when Plymouth Argyle would next win a major trophy, its reply was surprisingly soon.


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For the supporters of many football clubs, the very idea of winning a major trophy is for daydreams only. This can even extend into Premier League clubs. Four of the current top 20 - Bournemouth, Brighton, Fulham and Brentford - have never done so.

But these four clubs are at least in the Premier League. There are plenty of clubs who've never even played top-flight football in England, and arguably the biggest of these is Plymouth Argyle. Formed in 1886, Argyle have never graced the English top flight, and neither have they ever won a major trophy.

It doesn't seem likely that Plymouth will break that 139-year run this season. They're in League One, so they won't be playing Premier League football for a while. But while ascending to the top flight is an achievable goal, it's not the same as winning a major trophy, so Football League World have asked ChatGPT to predict when this might happen for the Pilgrims, and its reply may surprise you.

AI predicts that Plymouth Argyle will win their first major trophy "5 to 8 years from now"

Article image:AI predicts when Plymouth Argyle will next win a major trophy

For the avoidance of doubt, "winning a major trophy" means winning the English League Championship, the FA Cup, the EFL Cup or a European trophy. But while this may feel like a pipe-dream for supporters of the club, AI isn't quite so sure, and says that "my best guess is that Plymouth Argyle might win their next major trophy around 2030–2033 (i.e. 5 to 8 years from now), assuming steady progress, successful promotions, and investment".

Before Plymouth supporters start going out and bulk-buying green and white bunting, it should be added that AI lists "more realistic near-term trophies" for the club as being the EFL Trophy or winning the League One title, and given their team's mixed start to the season, most Argyle fans would bite your hand off for that.

But ChatGPT has taken the most optimistic prognosis possible in suggesting that they "might" - a word which, with the greatest will in the world, is going some extremely heavy lifting - do something they've never done before within the next decade, suggesting that, "with the right investment, management, and momentum, winning a major national trophy (FA Cup, EFL Cup) becomes more realistic" within a period of the next five to eight years.

Plymouth have reached three semi-finals before but have never played top-flight football

Article image:AI predicts when Plymouth Argyle will next win a major trophy

In the 105 years since they joined the Football League, Plymouth Argyle have never played top-flight football. Their highest ever final League position was fourth in the Second Division in 1932 and 1953. They have, of course, never played European football - though they did host it once; when hooliganism caused UEFA to force Manchester United to play at least 200 miles from home in 1977, Home Park hosted a European Cup Winners Cup against Saint-Etienne.

Their record in the EFL Cup isn't especially stellar, either. They've not got past the Third Round of the competition in more than half a century, though the last time they did, in 1973-74, their team - featuring future England international Paul Mariner - went all the way to the semi-finals before losing over two legs to Manchester City. They did the same in 1964-65 before losing to Leicester City, although this was two seasons before the final of the competition was moved to Wembley.

Their most famous run of all came in the 1983-84 FA Cup, when they beat Southend United, Barking, Newport County, Darlington, West Bromwich Albion and Derby County to set up a semi-final against Watford at Villa Park. Plymouth were in Division Three - League One - at the time, and got a little lucky with the draw, with West Brom being their only top-flight opposition. Had they won the match, they'd have become the first club from the bottom two divisions of the League to reach an FA Cup final.

But as things turned out, a first-half George Reilly goal was enough for the Hornets to eke out a 1-0 win and book themselves a place at Wembley, where they lost 2-0 to Everton. Plymouth ended that season in a lowly 19th place in Division Three, only five points above the relegation places. Argyle have been nowhere near as close to winning a major trophy since.

If the idea of winning the Premier League, FA Cup or EFL Cup seems a little far-fetched for Argyle supporters - and it is worth remembering that they got to the FA Cup Fifth Round last season - they can at least take some local pride. Their record is the best of the three Devon sides to have ever played League football. Exeter City reached the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1931 and 1981 and went no further, and have never been past the Fourth Round of the EFL Cup, which they've reached three times.

Torquay United - former EFL members, now residing in the National League South - have been to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup on four occasions and no further and have got to the Third Round of the EFL Cup and no further. And Devonians unhappy with the overall record of their county's teams in terms of trophy hauls can at least take solace that they're doing better than neighbouring Cornwall, which has never had a League club, although Truro City became the first Cornish club to reach the National League at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Plymouth Argyle have recent silverware under their belt. In 2023, they won the League One title, and this was the fifth time that they'd done so. In the same season, they also reached the final of the EFL Trophy before losing to Bolton Wanderers at Wembley. Either or both of those would surely do Argyle fans fine this season. And they did knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup last season, so there's always hope.

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