Plymouth Argyle 'gobsmacked' claim issued involving Tom Cleverley - 'we made this same mistake with Muslic' | OneFootball

FLW's Plymouth Argyle fan pundit has given his latest verdict on Tom Cleverley's future

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Tom Cleverley is under increasing pressure at Plymouth Argyle following the team’s 3-0 loss at home to Northampton Town at the weekend.

The Pilgrims’ return to League One has proved a disaster in this first half of the season, with the side struggling for results.

The 36-year-old was appointed in the summer after the Devon outfit’s relegation from the Championship, and it was hoped he could guide the team to promotion back to the second tier.

However, relegation to League Two is now a greater concern due to their underwhelming form, which has left the club inside the bottom four.

The 3-0 loss to Northampton, in which Lorent Tolaj was also sent off, was Plymouth’s fifth defeat from their last six league fixtures.

Tom Cleverley should be relieved of his Plymouth Argyle duties

When asked if he’s surprised that Cleverley is still in charge, FLW’s Plymouth fan pundit Luke Hodge claimed he is gobsmacked that a change in the dugout hasn’t yet been made by the club.

He’s suggested that absolutely nothing is working under the former Watford boss, and that the team is in serious danger of being relegated to League Two if he remains in charge.

“I’m absolutely gobsmacked to see that Tom Cleverley is still at the club,” Hodge told Football League World.

“I wanted him to do well, but it’s been a disastrous four months with him in charge.

“The team’s been under-performing, the position in the table, the amount of goals we’re leaking, the lack of creativity, there’s no direction in the team, there’s no passion and he doesn’t have the charisma to get us out of the hole we’re currently in.

“The formation, team selection, everything seems to be a lottery week-in, week-out and there’s been zero improvement in this group of players since the beginning of the season.

“It hasn’t been all his own doing, injuries haven’t helped, there’s been factors outside of his control.

“However, he’s been really, really poor, in my opinion and we are freefalling into League Two with Tom Cleverley in charge.”

Hodge believes that either Derek Adams should be put in charge temporarily, or Kevin Nancekivell and Joe Edwards should take over, as Plymouth cannot continue with Cleverley in charge any longer.

“I’m absolutely amazed he hasn’t been relieved of his duties yet,” he continued.

“Looks like he’s going to be continuing to be at the helm for the EFL Trophy [Tuesday] and probably likely also to be in charge for the Bradford at home on Saturday.

“It turned toxic at the Northampton game that we lost 3-0.

“I thought they were a poor side, but we were even worse.

“The first half was a slight improvement by us, but I still wouldn’t say it was anything to write home about, didn’t take a couple of chances we had and they rightly battered us in the second half, we lost our heads, as Tolaj proved.

“But as a team, and individually, our heads dropped and we just didn’t play well, didn’t come out at all in the second half and they were a really poor side.

“They’re a team I think will also be down and around in the bottom half of the table and we’re losing 3-0, it’s absolute disaster at the moment.

“There’s a fan’s forum [Monday night], which will be interesting to see how that pans out.

“But, yeah, Tom Cleverley still being at the club absolutely gobsmacked he’s still there, the club need to act fast, they need to do it now, they need to relieve him of his duties and either put Derek Adams in there in temporary charge of Kevin Nancekivell and Joe Edwards.

“But something needs to change.

“It needed to have changed weeks ago, we made this mistake before with Muslic, if we gave Miron an extra couple of weeks and got him in the door sooner, there’s every chance we’d still be playing Championship football.

“The same thing is happening here with Tom Cleverley, we haven’t relieved of him of his duties, and before you know it, we’re going to be in League Two, so something needs to happen and fast.”

Plymouth are currently 23rd in the League One table, just two points clear of Port Vale in 24th and one from safety.

Next up for the Pilgrims in the league is a home clash against Bradford City on 6 December in a 12.30pm kick-off.

Difficult to see why Tom Cleverley is still in charge at Plymouth Argyle

Cleverley has simply not been good enough at Plymouth for the club to persist with him as manager.

Results have been dreadful, and performances haven’t exactly been much better, with the Pilgrims in danger of relegation if they continue down this path.

Cleverley did well at Watford, so there is certainly a promising coach there, but it’s clear that he just isn’t getting the job done at Home Park that’s required.

Continuing with him is going to create a toxic environment that is only going to make matters worse, as it’s difficult to envisage him turning things around no matter how much time he’s given.