Plymouth Argyle chairman Simon Hallett has promised fans that an investment deal is around the corner. Hallett has made it clear to the green army that he wouldn’t be able to take argyle further than a lower championship side with his investment. The board have actively been looking for new investment for a while. The lack of investment has been highlighted further since gaining promotion to the championship. Plymouth have the second lowest payroll in the championship only marginally above newly promoted Portsmouth.
Hallett took over Argyle in 2018 with James Brent reducing his stake and stepping down as chairman. Although Argyle got relegated in Hallett’s first season in charge, he appointed Ryan Lowe and assistant Steven Schumacher which would change the clubs’ fortunes. Argyle went on to gain promotion to league one finishing third. Three years later Argyle had their best season since 2008, accumulating 101 points and regaining their status in the championship under Steven Schumacher. Hallett was widely to thank for the clubs turn around and promotion back to the second division. With Investment being a recurring problem at argyle, now being in the championship it has proved a struggle they may not be able to get over.
In a recent fans forum for the Argyle Cornish Supporters’ Association, Hallett was joined by Niels Dewsnip to answers fans questions. With a lot of unrest at the club at moment with Argyle conceding 10 goals in two games and still failing to win away, Hallett had some positive news to give to the fans. He said that he was ‘on the verge of being able to come public with something’ referring to future investment. With this Hallett has also confirmed that this investment would take the clubs spending power to just below halfway in the championship. The deal is currently under the EFL ‘s Fit and Proper test meaning the deal is close to being complete.
The investment could be crucial to argyles survival. Argyle have the January window coming up in less than the month where they need to make vital signings. The Pilgrims have struggled with injuries, star man Cissoko and captain Joe Edwards have been ruled out till the new year. These injuries have only shown how reliant the team are, with one win in the last 5. With Dewsnip saying ‘in my opinion, if I was picking what I thought was Argyle’s best tram this season – without naming any names – half of the 11 I would pick are currently unavailable.’ Investment before January could allow them to fix their squad depth and bolster the quality.