Argyle's form has been very good, so the list of contenders was very large. David Norris has been excellent all season, and many will have voted with that in mind, but the fans' appreciation for what Elliott Ward brings to the team meant that he was sure to be victorious on January's showing.
Paul Wotton's goals, regardless of his overall contribution, are the reason why Plymouth sit much further up the table, so in 3rd place he eventually sat. Some votes also came in for Mickey Evans and Nick Chadwick who both seem fully complimentary as an in-form front pairing should.
The results were as follows:
Elliott WARD: 31.4%
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David NORRIS: 30.4%
Paul WOTTON: 19.1%
Mickey EVANS: 6.2%
Nick CHADWICK: 3.1%
Lilian NALIS: 2.6%
Romain LARRIEU: 2.1%
Paul CONNOLLY: 1.5%
Lee HODGES: 1.0%
Tony CAPALDI: 1.0%
Anthony BARNESS: 0.5%
Mat K.DOUMBE: 0.5%
Hasney ALJOFREE: 0.5%
"with the help of Elliott Ward, Argyle seem more dominant now..."
The Pilgrims made a lot of progress in January, despite starting with a televised 3-0 home defeat to Leeds United and a cup exit to Wolves. Argyle had held Glenn Hoddle's side to 1-1 draw just 7 days before, in which Elliott Ward scored. However, Defeat second time around meant that Tony Pulis' side missed out on a lucrative tie against Manchester United in the 4th round, to the frustration of Plymouth fans.
Norwich were in good form on their visit to the Westcountry, but a first-half goal, now credited to Nick Chadwick, set the Greens in good stead for victory over the East Anglians until Darren Huckerby equalised with suberb finish after the Argyle backline had failed to deal with the initial attack.
This hasn't gone unnoticed, like with the Michael Ricketts goal on Saturday for Burnley that condemned the Pilgrims to just their second league defeat in ten. Whilst fans can have few complaints with the defence at present, a few goals have been leaked from not-so-direct attacks. But with the help of Elliott Ward, Argyle seem more dominant now in the air and certainly more organised in thwarting opposition set-pieces, an area where they were often vunerable. A lot of the team's recent success is derived from the fact that the backline are now isolating long-ball attacks and the use of targetmen by the opposition.
Realistically, Tony Pulis cannot afford to be without Elliott Ward in order to maintain this method and many fans would surely prioritise trying to retain his services over any other new signings.
Argyle were once relatively sound in clearing their lines and tended to lose goals from corners, free-kicks and long balls. Hasney Aljofree, perhaps not the best in the air, would be considered a no-nonsense defender who dealt well with ground-level attacking play. After working reasonably well with Kouo Doumbe earlier in the season, I feel he should not end up becoming isolated at Home Park as he has proven to be a useful player. He was fully effective at left-back during our three-game winning run but came unstuck against the pace of winger Nathan Dyer in the 2-1 victory over Southampton. The correct balance is a difficult one to find, but Pulis and his staff can hardly be faulted for resurrecting the Pilgrims' season and making us hard to beat. However, these issues need to be considered if we are to progress further at this level.