Club News

#PilgrimsAtWembley- Part Two

ARGYLE'S day at Wembley will affect the timetable of a class of South Korean university students.

Bet that is a sentence you never thought you would hear.

That is the level of commitment however, that one member of the Green Army has made to watch Argyle at Wembley. Inspired by a tweet from an Australian fan who is travelling from Down Under to watch the Pilgrims play AFC Wimbledon in the Sky Bet League 2 Play-Off Final, we asked which of our fans are making the most effort to watch the #PilgrimsAtWembley this time round.

Play-off semi-final hero Peter Hartley will select his top five Pilgrimages, and the winners will be given an Argyle play-off gift to add to what is already going to be a special occasion.

In the build-up to Monday’s game, we will be presenting a selection of the best #PilgrimsAtWembley stories for the Green Army to share in the lengths that some of our supporters will go to in order to see the mighty Greens under the famous arch.


Argyle fan Jordan Wise is an Assistant Professor of English Literature and Media at a university in South Korea. After watching the semi-final, which kicked off at two o'clock in the morning South Korean time, on a night before his lectures, Jordan was up until past four in the morning searching for flights back from the UK.

The next day Jordan informed his students that he needed to rearrange the lecture schedule for the week beginning Monday, May 30. Thankfully his class agreed. Jordan booked his flight later that day.

"I booked a flight back to the UK," said Jordan. "I will arrive back in the UK late on Wednesday, May 25, after a 17-hour flight via Shanghai. I should be back in Devon very early on Thursday morning. My family members are still based there. I will then travel up to Wembley the day before the Play-Off Final, and return to South Korea the day after the Play-Off Final on Tuesday, May 31."

This isn't the first time Jordan has made a big commitment to watch the Greens. In Argyle's 2001-02 Championship winning season, Jordan missed a family holiday to Florida to stay at home and watch Argyle.

"While my family soaked up the sun in Florida, I enjoyed watching, among a couple of other matches, a memorable 3-0 home victory over Exeter. Some of the things that I’ve done over the years in order to watch my beloved Argyle have surprised my family and continue to baffle my wife. She will remain in South Korea while I return for the Play-Off Final."

Also travelling over from Asia, is Andy Miller who is a Private Security Contractor in Iraq. Andy was in the forces for 12 years and has been working in his current line of work for the past 10 years. His son is a season ticket holder.

"I have changed my current leave plot from pillar to post to accommodate for whether Argyle would be in the Automatic places or Play-Offs; thankfully I have very understanding work colleagues!

"I left Iraq at half four in the morning on May 11 to get back to Plymouth just after midnight. I left at lunchtime after a few hours sleep to travel up to Pompey for our away leg. There was a great atmosphere and we got a good result. I then made it to Home Park with my son, and again there was a fantastic atmosphere and an even better result. In all of my years as an Argyle fan this tops everything.

"War-torn Iraq is not quite as glamorous as Australia, but I thought I would share my Pilgrimage back home to watch the Argyle."

Another Pilgrim traveling from Asia to Wembley to support Argyle is Dale Gregory, who lives in Dubai. Incredibly, Dale will fly out on Sunday night, spend just 15 hours in England and then fly back home to Dubai, ready for work on Tuesday morning. Dale was a season ticket holder in the Devonport End before he moved to Dubai in 2006.

"I have just booked my flights for my day trip to Wembley from Dubai. I leave home at midnight on Sunday night, which is a working day in the Middle East, and I land at Heathrow at 7:05am. I will meet old friends, go to the match and then catch the 10.15pm flight home straight after the game and land back in Dubai at 8:05am. Then I will go to work. After being there 20 years ago, I just had to go again."