Plymouth Argyle began life without Ryan Lowe with 1-1 draw away at MK Dons in League One. A 66th minute goal from substitute Conor Grant earned a point for the away side after Tennai Watson’s first senior goal had put Dons in front in the first half. This result came after a turbulent 48 hours in the Argyle camp after manager Ryan Lowe sensationally left the club to join Championship side Preston North End. This announcement caused uproar amongst the Plymouth faithful with many fans branding the ex-manager a ‘snake’. Lowe left Argyle sitting fourth in the League having lost their previous three League One matches.
LOWE’S REIGN
Ryan Lowe was appointed Plymouth Argyle manager in June of 2019 following their relegation to League Two. In his first season in Devon, he led the club to a third-place finish and promotion back to League One. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown meant that the Football League season was brought to an early end. Argyle were awarded promotion after being in third place with nine games to play. The following season, Lowe guided Plymouth to League One survival, finishing in 18th place, six points above the drop zone.
The 2021/22 season started for Ryan Lowe and Plymouth Argyle with a 2-0 defeat against Rotherham. This would not be a sign of things to come for the Greens as they then went on a 16-match unbeaten run in the league, propelling them to the top of the table. Just as the talk of promotion started to creep in, Lowe’s men then came crashing back down to earth after losing 2-0 away at Charlton before two more defeats quickly followed, against Wycombe and Wigan respectively.
EXIT & FAN REACTION
Following the final whistle in their 2-1 victory against Rochdale in the FA Cup, Ryan Lowe was seen celebrating with the Argyle fans, pumping his fists and cheering. He looked like a manager who was very much settled at the club and looking forward to the next game already. Apparently, this was not the case as this game turned out to be Lowe’s last as Plymouth boss. Two days later, the scouse manager was already being photographed smiling and holding up the white shirt of Preston North End having just been announced as their new manager. Fans of Plymouth Argyle were less than happy to say the least with many taking to Twitter to voice their displeasure.
This resentment grew further after Lowe’s first press conference during which he blatantly disrespected his former club by stating that he was moving on to ‘bigger and better’ things by joining Preston.
RYAN LOWE STATS 2019-2021
- Earned 157 points from 103 league matches (1.52 points per game)
- Scored 147 goals in that time (1.42 per game)
- Guided Plymouth to the FA Cup third round this season
- Conceded the second most goals during the 2020/21 League One season (80)
- Signed three year contract extension in February to keep him at Argyle until 2024
Since the departure of Ryan Lowe, his assistant Steven Schumacher has been appointed as the new first team manager. Schumacher has been a key member of Lowe’s coaching staff during his time at Argyle and his previous club Bury. The 37-year-old took the reins for the first time in the Pilgrims 1-1 draw with MK Dons on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Lowe will take charge of his first Preston game when they host Barnsley on Saturday. Plymouth fans will surely have on eye on this game as their former manager looks to get off to a winning start with his new club, although whether any Greens supporters will want this to happen remains to be seen.