Cleverley does the impossible – but there's one big hurdle on the road to redemption

And are the play-offs actually realistic?

This is the third newsletter I’ve written since calling for the board to sack Tom Cleverley in November. The other two went unpublished, and I opted to quietly observe – and not risk jinxing – what’s been a steady and quiet turnaround over the busy Christmas period.

18% of the season’s fixtures come in the December period, so it’s a good time for struggling sides to turn around their fortunes – and that’s exactly what Argyle have done.

And it’s been a good call to stay silent. Edgy, undeserved wins and fortunate points have turned into real momentum, culminating in Argyle’s best performance of the season with a statement win at Peterborough.

The impossible turnaround

I didn’t decide to call for Cleverley’s job lightly, and I couldn’t see a way he could repair the toxic situation. The Northampton performance was, in my eyes, unsurvivable.

I had criticised Argyle’s approach since August, citing a lack of identity, purpose, and tactical clarity early on.

I strongly believe that the terrible run of form around that dreadful Exeter game could have been mitigated had Cleverley been less inexperienced and shown greater tactical clarity.

Before the Exeter game, I asked to see evidence of a tactical masterplan for creating chances and passion from both the players and staff alike. And arguably, this has been at the heart of the turnaround.

The Peterborough game was the first time I could point to Cleverley tactically outthinking his opposite number – and to devastating effect. With a balanced side where deficiencies didn’t have to be mitigated, a confident Argyle were able to express his ideas on the pitch.

Let’s see where we are at the end of the season before rushing to any more judgments. We will lose games, and let’s hope any drop-off in performance isn’t met with a hysterical reaction.

But if we finish strongly, there should be a marked acknowledgement from fans that the board got a big call correct.

The formation of an identity

What excites me most is that Cleverley has finally started to impress an identity on this team.

Possession-based nonsense is out, and he’s turned us into a side that’s good at pressing high – one that’s physical and increasingly street-smart. At the beginning of December’s resurgence, I couldn’t point to any demonstrable attributes of this squad, but we now have a blueprint for how we intend to create chances.

Yes, Peterborough may have fallen into our trap to an extent that others won’t. But these attributes will serve us well in any game in this league – and even beyond.

So what has turned things around? And how should we view the criticism that players were always good enough?

Joe Ralls is the obvious change. Around the same time as Derek Adams returned as DoF, Ralls hit fitness and has finally brought balance to the side. There are other contributors, too. Watts’ and Amaechi’s fitness helps tactical fluidity, but I believe the switch from Mumba to Curtis levels up the specific requirements of this team in a 4-4-2.

We should appreciate that at the start of the season, too many players were simply finding their feet at the level at the same time.

Oseni, Pepple, and Ross are all players who have admitted taking time to become accustomed to the physicality of League One. We started the season without Mitchell, Pleggy, Tolaj, and Ralls.

Oseni has shown himself to be a promising finisher, and Pepple’s hold-up play has been some of the best at the club since Ryan Taylor over the past four games – and he’s scoring important goals.

There’s no single answer to how Cleverley has turned the tide, but very few clubs and managers achieve such a feat.

Now for the final piece – unity

The job isn’t finished yet. We’re good at disrupting teams, but we’re yet to forge an identity at home. This is the next big test. And it’s crucial to the final piece of the puzzle: creating a true bond between players, staff, and fans.

I had previously claimed that we’d done that at Luton. But I was wrong – partly because of what came after, but also because bonds can’t be created away from home. They must be forged at Home Park.

PPG nerds claim that we need about 1.82 PPG for the rest of the season to reach the play-offs. The PPG since Derek re-joined the club? 1.82 PPG. So the play-offs are there, but we need more than just form and a fit Laurent Tolaj to get there.

Cleverley could do with watching some tapes of Ryan Lowe. If we beat Luton this Saturday, I want Clevs fist-pumping in front of the Devonport.

If Argyle are really to forge something this season, we must strap in, get behind the team, and enjoy the ride.

The results are coming – and I want to see our players and staff enjoying winning at home. And if they do, maybe Home Park will start enjoying it too.