Alternative end of season awards

A sideways look the season's highs and lows

It’s the time of year for end-of-season wrap-ups, and one last chance to drag over this car crash of a season again.

By any metric, it’s been one of the more entertaining relegation seasons going. But a season as silly and nonsensical as this deserves a silly and nonsensical round-up and an incredibly poor AI-generated cover image.

So here’s One Team In Devon’s alternative end-of-season awards – and you can listen to an accompanying Pilgrim’s Podcast for extra colour.

Banter moment of the season (non-Rooney)

There were so many banter moments that I decided to maximise the value by splitting them into Rooney and non-Rooney.

Straight off the bat, a clear favourite is the misspelt names on the backs of shirts that set the tone for the first part of the season. It became shorthand for the lack of attention to detail and preparation, which felt in line with an awful performance, that perhaps the team never psychologically recovered from.

Hiring Mike Phelan from footballing obscurity after Pete Shuttleworth disappeared is another strong shout – as was the combative St Dennis fan forum where we chose to announce that huge investment was imminent, only for it to transpire it wasn’t close at all. And the winner is…

Winner: Dyslexic Kitman

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Banter moment of the season (Rooney)

The Rooney appointment – in the face of all data and logic – surely comes in top billing for banter, but Wazza managed a few moments of his own. From doing karaoke on the Barbican, nights down at the Skiving Scholar, to videos emerging of him showing people around his flat in the early hours and ending up on the front pages of The Sun. The banter kept on coming.

Winner: The Rooney appointment

Redemption arc of the season

Victor Pálsson, emerging from an emblem of the failed Rooney experiment to a key choice at centre-back – and with a wonderful assist for Bundu in the Leeds game – makes him a shoo-in for an Argyle all-time redemption arc.

But shout-outs also to Pleggy for his meteoric rise from the fringes, Ryan Hardie from biblical drought to unstoppable goal machine, and Bundu – who has gone from versatile backup to seemingly one of the Championship’s hottest properties in 10 games.

Winner: Victor Pálsson

Assistant manager of the season

WTF.

Winner: Mike Phelan

Comeback of the season

Being three goals down against Preston to draw 3-3 should make this the ultimate comeback. In a season where Argyle defied form and logic to post countless last-minute goals, this one was special, and Andre Gray could have easily won it 4–3 at the death.

But Sheffield United was something else. After all he’d experienced, did Michael Cooper know deep down that the late winner in front of the Devonport End was inevitable? It looked like it. And the brutal baying of “Cooper, what’s the score?” from a raucous Devonport added an incredible soundscape. Inject it.

Winner: Sheffield United

Thrown under the bus award

This is a monster category in a season of recriminations and blame games at Argyle.

Morgan Whittaker leads the nominations, thrown under the bus by Miron Muslic in the post-Burnley reset, even though logic states his deal must have been done or close to it.

Muslic also chucked the board under the team coach too, for the shambolic lack of planning ahead of the new season and the recruitment team’s record. There was also room for Rami Al Hajj, despite being easily our most talented footballer.

But it wasn’t all Muslic. Steven Schumacher went from Schuey at the wheel to under the wheel, having been interviewed and widely tipped to rejoin Argyle, and then rejected for Muslic at the last minute.

And Simon Hallett went further by jibing: "I'd prefer not to go into comparing Miron with Schuey, it would be unfair on Schuey I think.”

All eyes are on next season.

Winner: Morgan Whittaker

Goal of the season

The ball from Lewis Gibson and the over-the-shoulder finish from Andre Gray make this a clear choice. Special mentions to the sublime finishes from Morgan Whittaker at QPR and Brentford, as well as Cissoko’s tricky finish against Blackburn.

Winner: Andre Gray vs Watford

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Player of the season

The great thing about doing an alternative awards list is not having to think too seriously about which player was the least dreadful this season.

Ryan Hardie deserves half an award for being incredible for half the season. Bundu is surely the most improved, while Pleguezuelo was a colossus in a defence that conceded a record-breaking number of goals. Adam Randell showed his class, but also, too often, where his development still needs work.

So the only winner on the Plymouth Argyle teamsheet, for me, was the Green Army.

The highest average attendance in 64 years despite relegation, incredible numbers on the road, and – more often than anyone would care to admit – the driving force behind incredible comebacks, without which we’d have been shockingly bereft of points.

Winner: The Green Army