Tom Cleverley backed for Plymouth Argyle success - Simon Hallett message sent | OneFootball

FLW's Plymouth Argyle Fan Pundit Luke Hodge believes that Tom Cleverley is the right man to take the Pilgrims forward.

Plymouth Argyle started this season extremely poorly but the Pilgrims have since majorly improved as they now challenge for the top six and the play-off places.

Having been relegated from the Championship last season, the Devon-based outfit underwent major surgery on their squad in the summer with the appointment of former Watford manager Tom Cleverley.

Plymouth began extremely poorly and seemed as though they may well be in the battle to avoid relegation down to League Two mid-way through this campaign.

However, a recent 5-2 victory over title challenging Cardiff City began to spread belief through the fanbase that they could even squeeze themselves into the top six at the back end of this season.

Tom Cleverley is the right man for Plymouth

Tom Cleverley was coming under immense pressure mid-way through this season when Plymouth sat as low as rock-bottom after 15 matches, only coming out of the bottom four and the relegation places around the turn of the year.

However, the former Manchester United midfielder has eased the pressure on himself, his team and the club’s hierarchy with the last couple of months and FLW’s Plymouth Fan Pundit Luke Hodge believes that he is the right man to take Argyle forward, despite previous scepticism and concerns.

Indeed, Luke also had a message for Argyle owner Simon Hallett, as he touched on how he hopes Cleverley continues to receive the requisite support from above in order to continue his side's rise.

“I personally believe that Tom Cleverley is the right person to take the club forward long-term.

“To be honest, I wanted Tom Cleverley appointed from the start and wanted him to succeed but when we were bottom around Christmas with performances flat and hoping running low, I was also calling for a change.

“Fast forward three months and the picture is very different. We’re talking about potential play-offs. Unlikely but we are talking about play-offs and we have seen, like in the Cardiff game, we have seen what this team is capable of when it clicks.

“Tom has had to navigate a brutal run of injuries and none more so than right now, which could test any manager, but he has been through the lowest point of this season and, with this group, he has turned it around, not just in terms of results but in terms of belief and he’s brought the fans back around as well.

“For me, that resilience and the way in which he has improved us in terms of structure and confidence, and the connection he has rebuilt between the team and supporters – that all points to someone who can lead us forward so, yes, that all points to Tom Cleverley being the man to take us forward and I hope he is given the support to keep leading us in the right direction.”

Jury has to remain out on Tom Cleverley as a manager

Tom Cleverley has experienced an unusual start to his managerial career, with this being his second job after previously been in charge of Watford.

The 36-year-old, who played just short of 150 games for the Hornets, managed to last a full season, as well as a couple of months at the back end of the 2023/24 campaign, atVicarage Road, which is very long for a Watford boss since the Pozzo ownership took charge over a decade ago.

He did a reasonable job with a team that appear to be treading water in the Championship once again this season, but it was neither here nor there, really.

His appointment at Plymouth was supposed to shed more light on his abilities but, again, as of now, there is not too much evidence to make a call one way or the other on just what his ceiling is – perhaps the last month and a half or so and the ‘run in’ will determine just how highly rated he is come this summer.