Joe's Time
After the Argyle captain capped off a season in which the Greens retained their Sky Bet Championship status, Rob McNichol discusses Joe Edwards' starring role in the Pilgrims' ensemble cast...
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The clock on the big screen at Home Park had just gone past 86 minutes.
Tellingly, next to the timer, which changed its display once every second – as clocks are wont to do – the scoreline had remained fixed for some time. Since the 40th minute, in fact, which is when Joe Edwards scored a header to put Argyle 1-0 up against Hull City.
One suspects some wags will already be commenting: ‘it didn’t feel like the time was moving much either’. Indeed, the universal standard second did not seem to be applying to Plymouth, such was the urgency to see the clock reach 90 minutes – and beyond.
Now, there were just under four minutes remaining of the 90, and Edwards picked up the ball. He played it forwards to Morgan Whittaker, then continued his run. Whittaker returned the ball, and Edwards ran on to it, angling his run across Hull captain Jacob Greaves.
The two skippers ran parallel to the Portcullis Legals Lyndhurst Stand, who roared on the man in green. Greaves, in desperation, used his arm to try to halt Edwards’ progress, eventually knocking the latter to the ground. The whistle sounded, and the next noise was 16,000 people in Home Park cheering at the free-kick our captain had just won.
In my seat in the press box, I had one of those moments where you breathe out so forcefully it actually makes a little noise you were not in control of. Apologies if I startled anyone in the row in front. If we have another Final Day full of similar drama in the future, I’ll write a little post-it on my laptop – ‘remember to breathe out as well as in’. It’s amazing the things you forget in times like that.
Edwards, the free-kick won, lay on his back to fill his lungs with some crucial air, too. As he did, I had a flashback to Saturday, 5 February, 2022.
That day, a fair few thousand of us were at Stamford Bridge, home of the, at the time, reigning European Champions, Chelsea. German international Kai Havertz broke beyond the Argyle backline, who had pushed up for a corner, and looked set to make the score 2-1. However, before his effort gained any speed, it was blocked by a flash of white with a boot on the end.
It was, of course, Joe Edwards, in front of the nation, doing us proud.
There have been 223 games in which he has done us proud. When have you ever seen a performance from Edwards – or, to give him his full name, ‘Joe Edwardscapt’ – where you have felt anything but total commitment?
Earlier this season, alongside Argyle TV’s Charlie Price and first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell, I recorded an episode of the Argyle Podcast in the series we call ‘Argyle Fives’, in which we discussed some of the all-time great Argyle captains.
I recall saying in that recording that, as fans, we appreciate watching someone who plays the way we think we would, given the gift of the green shirt, plus a whole of lot of ability and opportunity we don’t actually have. In Joe Edwards, the Green Army have someone to represent them, in body and spirit.
Back to the (near) present, and having won the free-kick against Hull, Joe pulled himself to a sitting position. From the Argyle TV camera perspective, you could see the back of his shirt, numberless, from having to change it earlier in the match, blood from a head wound having necessitated a switch; literal battle scars coming to the fore.
Joe pulled himself to his feet, and rotated both of his arms in the universal gesture which means: ‘lift it’. It was notionally aimed at the crowd, but it was probably in part for himself, trying to eke out every bit of substance from his adrenal glands, as well as extracting all the noise the Green Army had within them.
It wasn’t the only time Joe mimed to the stands in this way during the afternoon, but it was done very much in sync with the crowd. When we, as supporters, see Joe do this, I think we know how genuine it is, and therefore it elicits the prescribed response. I often see managers of opposition teams doing what I call ‘playing to the back row’, maybe applauding an attack or protesting an officiating decision, but doing so in such an exaggerated fashion that it looks like their next move might be Kabuki Theatre rather than a dugout.
A glance to the foot of my screen tells me that we are on about 750 words and I haven’t even got to the goal yet. To be honest, we don’t need to dwell heavily on it. That will – rightly – get its own attention, be played on a loop alongside other historic Home Park strikes. It’s already part of our folklore.
It was Joe’s 23rd goal for Argyle, and I would guess approximately half have been in similar circumstances. Not the importance, I mean the timing of a run from the right flank, meeting a ball perfectly and seeing the net ripple shortly afterwards.
I chose to focus on the run and free-kick above because the importance of that sequence, and several moments like it, are ultimately what get you over the line.
And this is where it is important to bring in the rest of the Argyle squad, not just to focus on one man. The purpose here is not to elevate Joe above all others – a) he would not want that, b) it simply isn’t the case – but to use his status to illustrate the group as a whole.
He is the leader, whether by word or action, and others follow. He sets an example, but there is no point setting a pace if the peloton are not interested in slipstreaming.
Individual examples have abounded over recent weeks. It might be the resurgent Dan Scarr ejecting a cross into our box (I think he literally blocked two efforts with his face against Hull); it might be Alfie Devine (by the way, how good was he on Saturday?) making a controlled decision to keep the ball in our possession; it might be Ben Waine straining sinews to occupy defenders on the ball; it might be Callum Wright’s crafted, clipped cross that Edwards got on the end of.
Every one of the aforementioned has had times this season where they have been out of favour, probably not getting the minutes they desire, having to watch on without being able to affect matters on the field.
We think of it as being a prerequisite to footballers that they should not sulk, not get downhearted, but roll up their sleeves whatever the situation. To an extent that is correct, they probably should be doing so, but in practise not all do - and sometimes it is very hard to not let any personal feelings or negativity permeate performances.
There is a positive culture at our football club, which people like Joe Edwards help perpetuate, that has been crafted by many people over the last few years. They include some former managers, former players, members of staff, and a great many people with us right now. It is a culture of respect, of hard work, of honesty and integrity.
That doesn’t always get you where you need to be, but every now and then you can chalk up one for the good guys, and I truly believe that mentality shone through when it needed to. Through the season, it has always been there, on some level, but it probably began to burn at a level back to near its brightest, en route to Rotherham United a few weeks ago.
Perhaps the most crucial thing of all is that I believe the visible spirit was apparent to all, within the club or without.
This has been a trying season, we all know that, but the fact that the Green Army have never left the players’ side is, I think, testament to both sides of that equation. To the fanbase, I think it reflects an understanding of situations, recognising that effort was being given, and knowing that unconditional backing was the way forward.
Credit must go to the players, too, for earning that backing. Had there been a semblance of not caring, phoning it in, contributing to the perceived downfall, then that reciprocated and symbiotic support system would have been, for this season at least, irrevocably lost.
Beating Leicester City 1-0 at home is going to go down as one of the all-time special Home Park nights. On that night, I truly believed in belief. Whether the performance sparked the reaction, or the volume from the stand fuelled the performance, who knows? Or cares, frankly.
Three weeks on, in what was a totally different game, the mythical footballing gods of mixology got their cocktail right again as the win over Hull secured Sky Bet Championship football for another season.
In the grand scheme of things, it matters not how you claw your way above that dreaded dotted line, but to have won our final game, deservedly, playing really well against a good side, is a pleasant coda to the season.
In the aftermath of the game, another side of Joe the Captain came to the fore. As the players and staff, along with close friends and family, made a lap of Home Park in appreciation, more than one local news outlet asked to get Joe’s thoughts on the day, on the goal, on survival – and he duly obliged.
After the lap came a visit to representatives of BBC Radio 5Live and talkSPORT, where more questions were asked and answered. All interviews to this point had been conducted with Joe’s son perched atop his shoulders, and very well behaved he was, too (the son, I mean. Well, both of them, really).
The next port of call was into Club Argyle, for man-of-the-match duties, interviewed by another esteemed former Argyle captain, Gary Sawyer, and the formalities of presenting match sponsors with the accoutrements of their experience. More sage words were spoken in here.
Exiting the packed lounge, full of joyous Pilgrims, I became Kevin Costner to Joe’s Whitney Houston, whisking him through the crowd and down to the Media Centre, for one final meeting with the press, this time of the written variety.
A week earlier, Joe had got the call to speak to the press for a different reason. After the disappointment at Millwall we, as a media department, needed to someone to speak on behalf of the club and the players, say the right thing, balance the genuine pain of defeat with the need to stay positive and convey that message.
That often becomes a captain’s job. Go onto Argyle TV and look up a few choice games: 5-1 at Grimsby Town in the Emirates FA Cup; Bolton Wanderers at Wembley; even, coincidentally, a 3-0 home loss to Hull City three years ago. A common theme is Joe, being asked sheepishly by someone like me, if he wouldn’t mind being the one to speak after a very disappointing result. Another common theme is him always saying ‘yes’, understanding the responsibilities of his role.
Against Hull, it was a pleasure indeed to have Joe face the litany and variety of questioners on this occasion, as the hero of the hour, and not the individual to face up for a poor team performance.
Those regular readers of my irregular missives will know that I abhor clichés, and the last day of the season seems to be a magnet for them.
‘The Great Escape’ is the usual favourite, used to tag an unlikely survival tale. Never mind the fact that, in the film, 73 of the 76 escapees are recaptured. It’s not a happy ending, so hardly a fitting platitude.
Add in the fact that this year’s final game was on The Fourth of May (I’m not saying it the other way round) and you can imagine that my cliché radar was twitching.
And so it was that three people, during Joe’s media rounds, uttered that classic: ‘you couldn’t write it’. Cue internal rage as I listened on.
Of course you could write it. In fact, that is the best story going, isn’t it? Our skipper, with one of his classic headers, gets the only goal of the game, and keeps us up. What a script.
No twists, no additional drama, no rug pull: just a satisfying denouement, with a heroic leading man, who features in several chase sequences. That’ll do, I think.
The best part is that the sequel has now been signed. ‘Championship 2’ is slated to hit cinemas and football grounds in August, and although the script is under development and not all artists are yet signed to the project, excitement is already abounding.
Plymouth Argyle Productions is not blessed with Hollywood blockbuster resources, but the shooting budget will be increased, and necessary investments can be made to the affiliated studios, too. That’s the exciting part, really.
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to spend the summer pitching the Joe Edwards spin-off biopic. Running time? Not sure. He hasn’t stopped yet…
