Plymouth Argyle: Ian Foster departure has had knock-on effect on key cog already – View | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle have picked up four points from a possible six since the dismissal of manager Ian Foster.

The Queens Park Rangers draw may not have been the most convincing performance but the team are continuing to keep destiny in their own hands.

One Argyle man who has looked different on the field since the change in the dugout is Morgan Whittaker, who is already returning to his former self.

The struggles of Whittaker under Foster

Whittaker scored six goals and assisted a further two during Foster’s brief stint in charge of the club.

This encompasses 14 league games as well as the two FA Cup fixtures against Leeds United, and whilst that may not sound awful on the surface, it was a notable fall-off from his early season form.

The Argyle forward was competing with the likes of current top scorer Sammie Szmodics and Southampton's Adam Armstrong at the top of the Championship scoring charts during the reign of Steven Schumacher.

He enjoyed a strong start under Foster as well, but then a dry patch came to the fore, coinciding with the team’s struggles.

Between February and March, Whittaker failed to score or assist for a run of five outings – the 2-0 win over Middlesbrough and four defeats.

Across this period, he amassed a mere 0.54 xG+A with the home loss at the hands of West Bromwich Albion being the lowest of the lows, with just 0.03. His only shot of the game was blocked, he created one chance and completed 10 passes (FotMob).

Argyle won away at Rotherham United in the first game following Foster’s sacking, with Bali Mumba scoring the only goal.

Mumba was assisted by his fellow record-signing Whittaker and the pair were generally a lot more impactful than they had been in weeks gone by.

It was a superb delivery by the former Swansea City man and Mumba took the goal very well.

Whittaker was fouled twice, made four passes into the final third and had 52 touches. Beyond that, he had five shots, two of which were on target, and created three chances.

Whittaker didn’t prosper quite as much in the recent draw against the R's, but it was still a clear upgrade from his numbers in the days of Foster.

He was playing with a lot of restrictions under the former boss and now it seems like night and day, the way in which the wideman is willing to pick up the ball anywhere in the attacking third, drive forward and get shots off.

In the draw with fellow relegation strugglers QPR, Whittaker boasted an xA of 0.44 as well as 0.16 xG, this coming from a 74% pass accuracy and four total shots, two of which were again on target.

Statistics can always be laid down to showcase the effectiveness of an attacker but it also goes way beyond that. Argyle’s star man looks to be enjoying his football once again and that is what can make the difference on this crucial run-in for the Greens.

Whittaker was one of the most dangerous forwards in the Championship when he was on song earlier in the campaign and if he can return to pre-Foster levels consistently, Argyle may not have to fear about relegation.