Claim made on why Bali Mumba is struggling at Plymouth Argyle - "There are reasons" | OneFootball

Plymouth’s FLW fan pundit has commented on the poor start to the season for Bali Mumba.

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…

Plymouth Argyle have had a desperately poor start on their return to League One.

Following their relegation from the Championship, the club hired ex-Watford coach Tom Cleverely to help deliver an immediate promotion push to the second-tier, but it’s been anything but.

The Pilgrims sit just above the bottom four after their opening 12 league games, winning just four, drawing one and tasting seven defeats – collecting 13 points in the process.

It’s a worrying position they find themselves in ahead of their blockbuster Devon derby, with the Pilgrims meeting with Exeter City on Thursday in their first clash in more than two years.

Plymouth and Cleverley will be hoping that a positive result in this game can be the turning point for their campaign, with the club currently staring down the barrel of back-to-back relegations.

Over the course of the summer, Plymouth’s squad oversaw a major revamp, as 12 players departed the club permanently following relegation.

Such a change in personnel has seen the team struggle to adapt to the demands of the third-tier, with more experienced professionals also failing to step up due to a lack of experience.

One player who has underperformed is defender Bali Mumba, who was part of their League One title winning team and also played a pivotal role in their two seasons in the Championship.

Falling back into League One, Mumba has so far failed to have the impact in the third-tier that he had back in the 2022-23 term, leading to frustration among the Plymouth faithful.

With this in mind, Plymouth Argyle’s FLW fan pundit has spoken about the dip in form of the 24-year-old and whether he can turn it around.

Plymouth Argyle’s lack of squad experience to blame for Bali Mumba's plummet in form

Speaking to Football League World, Plymouth Argyle fan pundit Luke Hodge has blamed the lack of leaders in the Pilgrims’ squad for the dip in form of Bali Mumba, believing he had more guidance that helped him thrive when they lifted the third-tier crown in 2023.

Luke said: "Bali Mumba will be the first to admit that he hasn’t played as well as he can do and hasn’t lived up to his potential, but he’s no different to many of the players in the squad that have been inconsistent.

"We know what Bali’s capable of, we’ve seen that in the League One-winning side, but we had a very settled side then, we had the likes of Jordan Houghton and Adam Randall in the midfield, the quality of Finn Azaz and Morgan Whittaker, players that had been at the club for a number of years and far more experienced than the current crop of players we’ve got, and that’s where the inconsistencies have come in.

"He needs experience around him, Bali, he needs people in his ear, and I don’t think he’s got that this season. The only experience we’ve got is Joe Edwards, but he’s been injured and in and out of the side.

"The next experienced player in our squad is Alex Mitchell, and he’s only 24-years-old and been at the club just a number of weeks.

"There are reasons why, not just Bali, but the team has been so inconsistent, and it’s frustrating because you can see some of the ability.

"We’ve had some cracking signings and some really good players like Lorent Tolaj and Bradley Ibrahim, it's disappointing to see the likes of Caleb Watts and Xavier Amaechi injured because they’ve got quality written all over them, and if you get the best out of the likes of Mumba and young Tegan Finn coming through, then there’s an exciting future there.

"But we’ve been bullied in a number of games this season, we do have physicality, but Bali Mumba hasn’t shown what he’s all about, and we really have to get some consistency in our game.

"Hopefully we can put a little run together of four or five games without losing, pick up some wins and see where it takes us.

"Hopefully it can start on Thursday because it’s a massive game, and it’s going to be a cauldron.

"I'm looking forward to it in one aspect but also a little bit anxious about what could happen, but yeah, Bali Mumba has definitely not started the season great, but we’ve seen what he can do, so hopefully he can start to show some form, and the rest of the players do."

Bali Mumba can still be an important player for Plymouth Argyle

We’ve seen over the last few years how big of a player Bali Mumba has been for Plymouth Argyle, with his versatility such an asset to have when injuries or suspensions crop up.

Mumba was such a key part to the Pilgrims winning League One in 2023, netting six times and providing seven assists, while he made the step-up to the Championship with ease, making 43 appearances in both second-tier seasons.

It’s clear to see he has the quality, but what our Plymouth fan pundit alludes to could be correct about the lack of experience in the squad.

There are a number of leaders that Plymouth miss this term that could galvanise the squad and get them fighting towards the upper end of the table, and adding players with those attributes should be a priority heading into the January transfer window.

Mumba, along with a number of players, have to be better and step up in key moments, but at the same time, it can be difficult when the general morale of the team is so low.

If Plymouth want to get themselves back into the promotion conversation, then an upturn in form has to start now, and what better way to kick that off then with a victory in the Devon derby against Exeter City on Thursday evening.