Happy New Year from the Chairman

In Monday's match day programme, Chairman Simon Hallett addressed the Green Army as we head into 2024. Here is what he had to say...

Jane and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We send our best wishes for the New Year to all members of the Green Army, Argyle’s sponsors and partners, and, of course, to our wonderful staff.

What a year 2023 was. Not only did we win the League One title and achieve promotion to the Championship, but we continued to make progress in realising our vision of being a successful football club supported or respected by everyone in the South West and many beyond. Both the club and members of the first team squad gathered awards for our on the pitch success, but, off the pitch, we continued to be recognised for our social media communications, our community activities, and for our efforts to make football more attractive to everyone - we scored the highest of all EFL clubs in the league’s Family Excellence Scheme.

We continue to operate sustainably with financial sustainability a key pillar to our business model as we move forward as a club. Although our financial records showed a loss for the year, we continue to be debt free and a large portion of that loss was due to investment in various infrastructure and the playing squad.

The support of the Green Army last year was superb, and has continued in the Championship, with every game so far this season being played in front of a full stadium. You are the reason we do everything, and your response has been superb. We continue to invest in the fan experience at Home Park Stadium with a number of initiatives introduced including the Mayflower Grandstand Fan Zone and this will continue to expand as we make sure every fan who attends a match, departs with a lasting positive impression.

The kind of success the club has enjoyed can only be achieved by having good people, good leaders and good processes. I thank all our staff who have worked so hard over the last several years to make Argyle a club that we can be proud of.

We made several announcements that show our ambition for Argyle. We will bring Argyle Women under the aegis of the main club. We thank our Community Trust for looking after the team in recent years but it is time to realise our “Only One Argyle” ambition and make it clear that we have players beyond those in our men’s squads.

Relatedly, we announced that, in partnership with Plymouth Albion, the Argyle Community Trust and Plymouth City Council, we will invest over £11 million to redevelop the Brickfields site in Devonport into a facility for both members of the public and our own use. When finished, it will provide a permanent home for the Argyle Academy and for Argyle Women, where they can both train and play competitive matches.

The project is an important one not just for the club, but for the city. We are delighted to have been able to cooperate so productively with other stakeholders, including the City Council to bring this project forward for the benefit of the club and citizens.

We are a community-focused club and shareholders have demonstrated that they are prepared to back good intentions with new investment. I’d like to thank Argyle Green and its members, under Nick Giannotti, for their financial support for this project, where the benefits will only be seen over the long-term.

I’m very proud of all Argyle’s staff, whether those members you see beside the pitch coaching our many men’s, women’s and youth teams, or those you don’t see, making sure that everything behind the scenes runs as smoothly as possible. But we have tried very hard in recent years to make sure no one is indispensable and that we are an institution, with great people, but able to withstand any departure.

Our first team manager, Steven Schumacher, recently decided to take up an offer from another Championship club after two successful years at the helm of our first team. We are looking for a replacement, but a new helmsman does not imply a new ship, a new crew or a change of course. We have in place a clear footballing philosophy, a clear set of values and a clear mission, all driven by clear structures and processes. Steven’s successor will be someone who embraces and values that clarity, not someone who wishes to impose his own values on the club to steer it in a different direction.

Plymouth Argyle’s success will not be driven by any individual, whether it be me, the manager, or even you. It will be driven by us. Together we will ensure that the future continues to be bright.