Exclusive: How Don Goodman feels about Tom Cleverley's "disappointing" start as Plymouth Argyle boss | OneFootball

Don Goodman reacts to Tom Cleverley's "disappointing" start to life as Plymouth Argyle boss.

Plymouth Argyle's poor start to the season has raised questions about whether new manager Tom Cleverley is the right man for the job

After a bitterly disappointing Championship campaign last season facing relation to League One with a 23rd place finish, Plymouth Argyle have started the 2025/26 campaign in the same fashion.

Despite being tipped as heavy promotion candidates, new manager Tom Cleverley has struggled in the dugout so far with Argyle losing four of their opening five league games this term.

All those involved at Home Park have come into the season with high expectations and optimism for the season ahead. However, shipping nine goals in five games and picking up just one win in the league has left Argyle fans fearing the worst for the season ahead.

Cleverley's first month in charge has been difficult, to say the least. He will be looking for a quick turn around in form in order to get the fans back on board, and deliver on the expectations expected of him and his team prior to the start of the season.

Don Goodman drops Tom Cleverley, Plymouth Argyle claim

With Plymouth struggling early on this season, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has said that Cleverley needs to turn things around soon.

Speaking exclusively with Football League World, Goodman said: "I think as a new manager at any football club it's obviously ideal if you can get off to a good start, win a few games, get the fans on board, get the players buying into your ideas, etc, and it just hasn't materialised at Plymouth for Tom Cleverley so far.

"In a couple of the games they've come the wrong side of the fine margins. Obviously, Bolton away they were totally dominated, and then they played QPR in the League Cup and really put up a great performance, created loads of chances, and you thought 'this is it, Plymouth are back,' and then there's been a couple of disappointing results since.

"It's still early days, but performances have been a little bit mixed."

With an impressive 3-2 win over Championship outfit QPR in the cup finally followed up with their first league win of the season vs Blackpool on Saturday, Cleverley and his side have given the Argyle faithful a glimmer of hope.

However, positives have still been few and far between for Plymouth. The need to start picking up points in the coming weeks is vital, otherwise Cleverley's days in Devon could be numbered.

Tom Cleverley and Argyle's task isn't getting any easier with upcoming fixtures

With four league losses in a row before claiming their first three points to kick off Argyle's season, Cleverley must now harness that winning feeling again, and weaponise it as they head into a tough run of games.

Following their League Cup clash with Swansea City on Tuesday, the Pilgrims will travel to table-topping Cardiff City this weekend.

After that, Stockport County will travel to Home Park, with Dave Challinor's side going well in the league so far this term, which is followed up by another tough away day to Luton Town.

These next three fixtures could be crucial for Cleverley, and perhaps even determine his Argyle future should they suffer further defeats, as the board will be wary of letting the promotion chasers get too far ahead even at this early stage of the season, whilst also attempting to shake themselves free of the relegation battle they could be facing.

With Plymouth in danger in the opening month of the season, three points against the Bluebirds could provide a much-needed morale boost within the group, and lead to piecing together a run of form that the fans at Home Park desperately want to see after going through the motions since the beginning of last season.