Stat Attack: Plymouth Argyle vs. Notts County

Notts County and Plymouth Argyle have met a total of 43 times over the years, with the Magpies winning 23 times; the Pilgrims have triumphed 11 times, and nine draws have taken place.

The first meeting took place on 13 Jan 1923, a FA Cup clash in Plymouth which ended as a goalless draw.

We met earlier in the League Two season, on 11 October 2015 at Meadow Lane; Reuben Reid struck on 18 and 86 minutes to give the Pilgrims the win.

Plymouth club takes its nickname from an English religious group that left Plymouth for the New World in 1620. The club crest features the Mayflower, the ship that carried the pilgrims to Massachusetts. 

The city of Plymouth is the largest in England never to have hosted top-flight football. They are also the most southerly and westerly League club in England.

The club was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, the first match taking place on 16 October 1886 against Caxton, a team from Cornwall and saw the Pilgrims lose 2–0. 

Poor performances on the pitch led to the club going out of existence in 1894 before being resurrected in 1897 as one part of a general sports club, the Argyle Athletic Club.

Much speculation surrounds the origin of the name Argyle. One explanation is that they were named after the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an army regiment with a strong football side of its own. 

Another theory is given the respective geographical placements–suggests the name comes either from the nearby public house, The Argyle Tavern, where the founder members may have met, or the local street named Argyle Terrace. 

An alternative suggestion is that their initial kit was decorated in the famous Argyle diamond pattern.

The club adopted its current name when it became fully professional in 1903 joining the Southern League, under the management of Bob Jack. 

Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles (one Division Two and two Division Three), five Southern League titles and one Western League title. 

The team set the record for most championships won in the third tier, having finished first in the Third Division South twice, the Third Division once and the Second Division once.

In March 1973, Plymouth played a friendly against Brazilian giants Santos - who had a certain Pele in their ranks. However, the Devon club shocked the crowd of over 37,000 people at Home Park by cruising to a 3-0 lead and going on to win the game 3-2.

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Several Plymouth players are missing ahead of Notts’ visit to Home Park. 

Midfielder Carl McHugh and top scorer Jake Jervis were among those who required treatment during the midweek encounter at Yeovil Town and face a race against time to be fit for Saturday.

Striker Tyler Harvey misses out once again with an ankle injury but he is set to return to action in early March.

Notts midfielder Stanley Aborah has been left out of the squad recently, but is hoping to be involved this time, while Scot Bennett has missed the last three games with injury and will be checked on before the squad travels.

Will you be heading down to Devon for the game, or following it on the radio/online? What do you think the score will be? Let Pride of Nottingham know by signing up to the community, visiting the forum and joining the conversation.