The Game
Argyle v Huddersfield Town. Home Park. Saturday, 5 August. 3pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Huddersfield Town are the first visitors to Home Park this season, and their manager is no stranger to PL2.
Neil Warnock, who managed Argyle from 1995 to 1997, came out of retirement to take over Huddersfield in February 2023, with the Terriers in the bottom three in the Championship.
Town gained only five points in his first six games in charge, and relegation looked a certainty, but an extraordinary run-in, as Huddersfield won six and drew two of their final nine games, meant they hauled themselves out of trouble.
The Squad
This summer, Huddersfield have brought in goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, from Blackpool, and have loaned in right-back Tom Edwards from Stoke City. A large number of players departed in the close season, including Duane Holmes to Preston North End, Will Boyle to Wrexham and Etienne Camara to Udinese.
Town’s top goalscorer last season, with six goals, was experienced striker Jordan Rhodes. Now 33, Rhodes is in his second spell with Huddersfield, and has 14 caps for Scotland.
Huddersfield’s captain is midfielder Jonathan Hogg (below), who has just gone past his 10th anniversary as a Terrier. He has played 337 times for the club.
The Gaffer
Neil Warnock’s career is a unique one. By his own admission an unremarkable player, his first managerial job came at Gainsborough Trinity in 1980, and has become the stuff of legend. He has been promoted a record eight times, and has managed more games in English professional football than anyone else, over 19 stints at 16 different clubs.
They include a spell at Huddersfield from 1993 to 1995, with whom he gained promotion from the third tier to the second in 1994/95. Surprisingly, he swapped Yorkshire for the West Country straight after the season; surprising because Argyle had just been relegated from the division from which Huddersfield had gained promotion.
Argyle emulated Huddersfield from the previous season, with Warnock guiding the Greens to Wembley play-off glory in 1995/96.
Fancy a Stat?
Fourteen of Huddersfield’s matches this season – 30.43% of their games – will be against teams Neil Warnock has previously managed.
The History
The two sides have not met in league action since 2010/11, a season in which Argyle were relegated and Huddersfield were beaten in the play-off final. In October, the Greens were victorious, Bradley Wright-Phillips scoring twice in a 2-1 win.
In January 2011, two goals from Joe Mason were not enough for Argyle, who lost 3-2 in a remarkable encounter. Mason’s goals had the Greens 2-0 up after 15 minutes, with Curtis Nelson having been sent off between Mason’s strikes. Manager Peter Reid was sent to the stands, and Stephane Zubar was dismissed after Argyle had already fallen to as 3-2 deficit by half-time.
The last meeting in any competition between Huddersfield and Argyle was in the Emirates FA Cup third round in January 2021. In another 3-2 match, this time it was Argyle who prevailed, with Ryan Hardie, Panutche Camara and Joe Edwards in the goals on that occasion.
Tickets
The game is sold out for home supporters.
If you have a season ticket and cannot attend, you can make your ticket available via the Ticket Exchange and receive face value credit if your ticket is resold. Find out more about the Ticket Exchange.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s pre-match show, hosted by Erin Black and Katie Middleton, will begin at 2pm, and is available to watch for free on YouTube.
Supporters in the UK can listen to commentary from Charlie Price and Marc Edworthy once the action begins. International supporters can buy a match pass to watch the game, here.
