A Pilgrimage to the Premier League

[AFishWithTits]

17.07.2012​

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE IN MANAGER SWAP

Carl Fletcher made a shock resignation as Plymouth Argyle boss this morning, his reason being 'family issues'. The 32 year old Welshman had only been full-time manager since the first of this month before choosing to resign.
"I'm very grateful for the faith that the fans and board alike have placed in me over the past few years, not just as a manager but as a player too," said Fletcher. "It was a very tough decision to make, but I'm sure it was the right one. I've had some great times with this club, and I hope the next manager will have just as many and maybe more than I did."
It is understood that Plymouth fans are outraged at his decision to leave, questioning his loyalty to the club. One fan even went as far to describe his family issues as 'a pathetic excuse'.

Something else that would have outraged Plymouth fans is the decision to employ unknown manager, Lewis Edwards. With no past-experience except for the popular simulation game, Football Manager, the decision to employ Edwards has dropped like a lead balloon among the fans. One angry supporter said "I can't believe it. Argyle's fortunes have changed within one morning. I've never even heard of this Edwards bloke. Things were finally starting to look up for us; fighting off liquidation and coming out of administration. We could finally start caring about on-the-field matters without having to worry about what was happening behind the scenes. But now this catastrophe has happened. I'm losing faith."

Although the new boss is yet to give an official statement, Argyle chairman James Brent has. "I can understand why the decision to choose Edwards as manager is being seen as poor," he said. "However, we are very restricted financially at the moment and he was seen as a cheap replacement for Carl. I would urge all those out there who are understandably angry at the decision to be patient and have faith, for you never know what he can bring to the club."


*Well I'm writing a story about Plymouth Argyle and I'm gonna try and take them as far as I can, the first couple months of the story will be a little awkward to write and get screenshots as I'm currently coming towards the end of October, but I'm looking forward to writing it. Pre-season update coming soon.

 

[AFishWithTits]

PRE-SEASON
​

"It's my job to ensure that this club succeeds, and I am more than ready for the challenge."​

The new Plymouth Argyle boss gave his first official statement in a press conference held earlier today. The journalists present certainly didn't hold back with their questions, but the rookie boss seemed cool, calm and collected as he answered whatever they threw at him.
"It's a bit surreal really," he said. "As a supporter, you sit there in the stands and you criticize the manager, no matter how badly or well they are doing. There's always something they're not doing right which you are very opinionated on, whether it be tactics, team selection, transfers or media handling. It feels strange that now I have the power to exert my influence upon the club, but I definitely look forward to it.
I feel the pressure, definitely. Carl was a popular figure here and it's hard to be a successor to someone who had so much support. At the end of the day, it's my job to ensure that this club succeeds, and I am more than ready for the challenge."
Edwards has no experience whatsoever in football management, a fact which has bewildered and annoyed many fans. But the rookie is sure that the lack of experience won't hinder the club's progress.
"Everyone has to start somewhere. I'm just chuffed to bits that I can start a club that I love and always will love.
Admittedly, there's a lot of work to do in terms of transfers. We are very tight on funds at the moment, but we need to strengthen many areas of the squad. That's not to disrespect the players currently at the club; they're all fantastic players in their own right. We just need a few quality signings to take us to the next level. We've been tipped to finish in 6th place, and I have every confidence that we can finish there or even higher, despite what many think. But it's going to be hard work. We'll have to wait and see."

​

TRANSFER SUMMARY:
The way in which I wanted to go about my transfer business was to pick up free or very cheap players. For this reason, I edited my budget to £0 for transfers in order to get more wages.

IN:

• Wes Fletcher - 14k (Spread over 48 months)
• Jose Ortiz - Free
• Matt Fry - Free

Out:

• Nick Chadwick - Contract Termination
• Robbie Williams - Contract Termination
• Warren Feeney - Contract Termination

Transfers were really frustrating for me. I had a pretty low budget so it was hard to get as many players as I wanted. It was also hard to sell players; no one was interested in buying the players that I wanted to get rid of, so I had to terminate their contracts, mainly because I needed to free up the wage bill a little bit.
I did receive an offer for Onismor Bhasera for 625k (value of 400k) from Huddersfield. However, I thought I'd be cheeky and raise it up to 800k, which was a stupid decision, as they then rejected. Realizing how much I could have benefited from the transfer financially, I offered him to clubs for 500k, but it was too late - no one wanted to buy him. So, I ended up with a very unhappy player at my club.

​

FRIENDLIES
For the friendlies, I left them to my assistant. I don't usually do this, but I was so concerned with transfers that I couldn't be bothered to do the friendlies. Nevertheless, here's how we got on:

OTHER
Well my media prediction is 6th, which I think is going to be challenging, to say the least. I have a very underwhelming team but I'm confident that I can achieve 6th.
My captain for the season is Darren Purse and my vice-captain is Rhys Griffiths.

 

[AFishWithTits]

AUGUST

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RESULTS
​

​

• 
  [*=left]Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Watford [Capital One Cup, First Round]
  Darren Purse (24), John Eustace (83), Sean Murray (88)
  [*=left]Barnet 3-4 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
  Collins John (40), Anthony Edgar (49), Steve Kabba (83), Paris Cowan-Hall (24), Onismor Bhasera (28), Wes Fletcher (64), Jose Ortiz (72)
  [*=left]Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Bristol Rovers [League Two]
  Wes Fletcher (21, 79), Rhys Griffiths (88), Fabian Broghammer (20)
  [*=left]Plymouth Argyle 3-3 Aldershot [League Two]
  Onismor Bhasera (76), Jared Sims (82), Jose Ortiz (90), Aaron Morris (5), Adam Mekki (18), Troy Brown (72)

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
My player of the month for August goes to Jose Ortiz, who averaged a rating of 7.73 over 3 games. It was tough between Ortiz and Wes Fletcher, who got 3 goals in 3 games. However, Ortiz's rating was slightly higher than Fletcher's, so he deserves player of the month. Ortiz contributed 2 goals in 3 games for us.
​

​

LEAGUE POSITION: 3rd
*I don't have the league table screenshot as I'm currently in November, so I've had to go on past positions.

​

​

MONTH SUMMARY:
Overall, I'd say that we've had a strong start to the season. It's good to see that my two marquee signings Wes Fletcher and Jose Ortiz have hit the ground running. Indeed, the whole team has been very good offensively; 10 goals in 3 league games is quite an achievement. However, we've been pretty poor defensively, conceding 7 goals in 3 league games. The defeat in the Capital One Cup didn't bother me, as I never really expected to beat Watford anyway. To be fair, we put in a respectable performance against them, it's just a shame that we let in two goals in the last ten minutes.
The draw at Aldershot felt more like a win. Going 2-0 down at half time at home is never easy, so I had to go out for the attack in the second half. When they scored their 3rd goal on the 72nd minute, it felt like all hope was lost; game over. However, we kept knocking on their door until Bhasera (who I haven't been able to sell) got our first goal on the 76th minute. Little more than a consolation goal, or so I thought. Youngster Jared Sims scored on the 82nd minute, but surely too late? It appeared not, as Jose Ortiz headed home on the 90th minute to wrap up probably the best come back I've ever had in Football Manager.

​

 

[AFishWithTits]

SEPTEMBER

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RESULTS
​

​

Southend United 1-2 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Neil Harris (38), Wes Fletcher (28), Paris Cowan-Hall (66)
Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Exeter City [Johnston's Paint Trophy South, 1st Round]
Wes Fletcher (50), Steve Tully (pen, 59), Guillem Bauza (66)
Port Vale 0-2 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Maxime Blanchard (55), Jose Ortiz (83)
Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Cheltenham Town [League Two]
Wes Fletcher (69), Daryl Duffy (22)
Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Torquay United [League Two]
Rhys Griffiths (34), Rene Howe (17)
Bradford City 2-2 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Paul Benson (2, 93), Jose Ortiz (60), Wes Fletcher (85)
Plymouth Argyle 4-1 York City [League Two]
Rhys Griffiths (21), Paul Wotton (55), Wes Fletcher (60), Andres Gurrieri (74), Ashley Chambers (76)
Fleetwood Town 2-3 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Jamie Devitt (35), Gerardo Bruna (39), Rhys Griffiths (26, 43, 55)


PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Without a doubt the best player this month was Wes Fletcher. The striker played in all 8 of the games and started 7 of them, achieving an average rating of 7.31 and scoring 5 goals.

​

​

LEAGUE POSITION: 2nd
​

​

MONTH SUMMARY:
September was a very congested month in terms of fixtures, playing 7 league matches and 8 matches overall in this time. However, we did not lose a single league match and are the only team thus far to remain unbeaten in the month. A particular highlight was beating York City 4-1, who were 3rd at the time (I think we were 4th before the match). Despite our free-scoring form (16 goals in 8 games), we are still conceding way too many goals, which is reflected by the fact that we've conceded 10 in 8, keeping only one clean sheet. My defence definitely needs some fixing, but I don't have the funds to buy new players without making the wage budget even more unbalanced, so the changes will be tactical. Losing to Exeter City at home was frustrating too, given the intense rivalry between the two clubs. But we are looking very strong in the league and I hope it can continue.


​

EDWARDS BEGINNING TO SILENCE THE NAY-SAYERS​

It may be early days yet but rookie Argyle boss Lewis Edwards looks at home already. His side are 2nd of the league after 10 games and remain the only team to not be beaten yet. This has come much to the surprise of the fans, who casted their doubts upon him from day one.
'I'm pleased that the fans have had patience with me so far, and I hope I am rewarding them," stated a rather jubilant Argyle manager. "This is just the beginning of a long-term plan to reach eventual Premier League football.
Now it's important to focus and not get ahead of ourselves. We've got a massive game against Oxford next, and if we can win that, I think that puts us in a really strong position for the rest of the season."
Oxford currently sit at the top of the table, but Edwards reckons there is no opponent in the league too strong for his team.
"Am I scared? No, and even if I was, I would be comforted knowing that they [Oxford] are just as scared. However, I'm not complacent. There is no room for that. We must be alert."


​

 

[PafcLad]

green army!

 

[JCMUtdfan1]

Great start so far mate I'll be following for definite

 

[DannyB10u]

Nice start. I like Plymouth as one of my lower league sides to follow

 

[AFishWithTits]

Cheers guys Won't be able to update today as I won't have internet but I'll write it up on microsoft word and post tomorrow, thanks for following

 

[AFishWithTits]

OCTOBER
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RESULTS

​

​

Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Oxford United [League Two]
Darren Purse (3), Rhys Grffiths (80), James Constable (70, 85)
Wycombe Wanderers 1-3 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Richard Logan (50), Leon Johnson (o.g. 3), Rhys Griffiths (5), Wes Fletcher (11)
Northampton Town 4-1 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Luke Guttridge (1), Clive Platt (32, 53), David Artell (60), Darren Purse (89)
Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Burton Albion [League Two]
Wes Fletcher (9), Curtis Nelson (o.g. 23), Billy Kee (89)
Plymouth Argyle 2-0 AFC Wimbledon [League Two]
Wes Fletcher (56), Rhys Griffiths (83)
Gillingham 1-1 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Jack Payne (90), Rhys Griffiths (8)

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Player of the month for October goes to Rhys Griffiths who achieved an average rating of 7.13 over 6 games. In these six games, he scored 4 goals. He's beginning to form a remarkable strike partnership with Wes Fletcher.

​

LEAGUE POSITION: 3rd

​

MONTH SUMMARY
October was an incredibly mixed month for us, winning two games, drawing two games and losing two games, which means yes, our unbeaten run came to an end.
The main positive we can take out of this month is the strike partnership. Both Wes Fletcher and Rhys Griffiths are banging in the goals, and they play as the perfect duo for each other, Rhys Griffiths being the big target man and Wes Fletcher the clinical poacher (think Emile Heskey and Michael Owen back in the day at Liverpool).
However, our defence is still incredibly leaky, and worst of all, we are conceding late equalisers/winners. Our concentration must improve, or else it will cost us a lot of points this season.
This month also saw a future transfer arranged for Andres Gurrieri, who will be joining Alfreton for a fee of £0 in January.

Gurrieri To Leave Home Park
​

​

​

Plymouth Argyle winger Andres Gurrieri has agreed a transfer out of Home Park to Alfreton, which will take place once the transfer window opens again in January. The 23 year old Argentinian was deemed surplus to requirements under boss Lewis Edwards, making just 4 appearances, including one start thus far.
We caught up with Edwards, who seemed somewhat forthright in his attitude towards the transfer.
"It's simple; the club is in desperate need of funds, and realistically I knew he didn't have a future here at the club. The wage bill is very high at the moment, and this transfer hasn't helped with that tremendously. That's just a testament to the fact of how high the wage bill actually is."
Some Plymouth fans are angry that Plymouth won't be gaining a fee from the transfer, as Alfreton bought him for £0.
"This kind of thing is going to happen more often, I'm afraid," said the boss. "We need to move certain players on, or in an ideal world, negotiate a contract with them that is a little less generous on the salary.
The players all know where they stand with me, and if I know that a player doesn't have a future at the club, I'll tell them. I just hope we can all be amicable about it."
Edwards was then asked about the situation with Onismor Bhasera, who had requested a transfer before the season started.
"Onismor is still refusing to talk to me. I've tried to find him a new club. I've put him on the transfer list, but no clubs are interested at the moment. Ideally I'd like to keep Onismor, but he sees his future elsewhere, so what can I do? I can't have unhappy players at the club."​

 

[AFishWithTits]

NOVEMBER
​

RESULTS
​

​

Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Leyton Orient [FA Cup First Round]
Dean *** (18)
Morecambe 0-0 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Accrington Stanley [League Two]
Rhys Griffiths (4, 35)
Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Rotherham [League Two]
Alex Revell (25)
Exeter City 1-0 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Steve Tully (76)
Dagenham & Redbridge 1-1 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Michael Spillane (84), Rhys Griffiths (27)
Plymouth Argyle 0-0 Rochdale [League Two]


PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Player of the month for this month has to go to Rhys Griffiths again. He was our only goalscorer this month, 3 goals in his five games, and achieving an average rating of 7.26. He remains the league's top scorer with 13 goals.
​

​

LEAGUE POSITION: 5th

​

​

MONTH SUMMARY
We weren't able to continue our good momentum this month, and overall, it was a pretty horrendous month. Oddly enough, we didn't concede a lot of goals at all this month; 4 in 7 is not a bad statistic. However, we were facing real problems scoring goals ourselves, which ultimately led to this month's failures, which is reflected by that fact that we only scored 3 in 7, and all by one goalscorer. It's a miracle how we managed to only fall to fifth place to be honest, but next month will definitely have to improve.


​

DISASTROUS MONTH FOR THE PILGRIMS

​

It looks like Argyle boss Lewis Edwards' honeymoon with the club is over, as The Pilgrims have quite frankly had a torrid time this month. Plymouth managed just one win in seven games, scoring only three. One of these games was the FA Cup first round against Leyton Orient, which they lost 1-0, meaning that the west-country club are now out of all domestic cup competitions.
"The past month has been very difficult and it's stumped me a bit as to why we're not winning or scoring," a frustrated Argyle boss said. "Rhys [Griffiths] has been our saviour really; without him, who knows where we'd be now?
I've managed to tighten the defence up a bit, which is a positive, but that's come at a price, which is a lack of goals. So you have to ask yourself, 'Is it worth keeping this tight defence if we keep on snatching draws, or worse, losing?' Ultimately, it's all about points, so no, we must start scoring and winning again, even if it does mean conceding a shed-load of goals.
The boss will also be disappointed that previous top-scorer Wes Fletcher didn't manage to get on the score sheet at all this month.
"We have to be patient with Wes. Every striker has a dry spell, even the best. Look at Fernando Torres. He was a world beater at Liverpool, scoring goals like they were going out of fashion. And then look at his first season and a half with Chelsea. Now, he's back to his scoring ways again, even if he'll never be quite as clinical as he was at Liverpool.
The point I'm trying to make is that scoring is a confidence thing. If you've been on a drought, all you need is a goal or two to boost your confidence and start scoring again."
Something even more pressing for the Argyle fans will be their loss to Exeter City, meaning that they have lost twice to The Grecians in as many games.

​

​

 

[AFishWithTits]

DECEMBER
​

RESULTS
​

​

Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Barnet [League Two]
Onismor Bhasera (25), Mark Byrne (o.g. 29), Curtis Weston (50, Barry Fuller (52)
Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Chesterfield [League Two]
Rhys Griffiths (17), Wes Fletcher (61), Craig Westcarr (18)
Bristol Rovers 0-0 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Aldershot Town 0-0 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Plymouth Argyle 3-3 Southend United [League Two]
Jose Ortiz (2), Darren Purse (80), Paris Cowan-Hall (88), Ryan Hall (30, 87), John Spicer (58)
Cheltenham Town 0-2 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Jose Ortiz (16), Paris Cowan-Hall (72)

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
This month's player of the month is Curtis Nelson. Although our defence is still a little leaky, he managed to achieve an average rating of 7.1 over 5 games.
​

​

LEAGUE POSITION: 6th

​

​

MONTH SUMMARY
Unfortunately, our league position doesn't reflect on how well I think we've done this month. We haven't lost a single game, and we had some pretty tough opponents too, such as Aldershot, Chesterfield, and Bristol Rovers, who are all there and there abouts for the promotion race. We're still drawing too many for my liking though; teams like Barnet and Southend we should be winning against, as not only were they home matches, but both teams are near the bottom too. Maybe it's complacency, I'm not sure. If you look at the league table though, you'll see how tight it really is. Just 3 points separating 1st from 7th. There's no room for any dropped points in this league. We've got the formula right for not losing, now we just need to convert those draws into wins and I think we'll end up getting an automatic promotion place. With the transfer window looming, I'm looking to bring in a few players and do just that.​

​

 

[AFishWithTits]

JANUARY
​

TRANSFERS

IN:
​

• 
  [*=left]Chris *******-Bart - Free
  
  [*=left]George King - Free
  
  [*=left]Alex Marrow - Loan
  
  [*=left]Craig Forsyth - Loan
  
  [*=left]Emile Mpenza - Free
  [*=left]Ferrie Bodde - Free
  
  

​OUT:
​

• 
  [*=left]Andres Gurrieri - Free
  [*=left]Jordan Berry - Free
  [*=left]Chris *******-Bart - Loan
  [*=left]George King - Loan
  [*=left]Ollie Chenoweth - Loan
  [*=left]River Allen - Loan
  [*=left]
  
  

RESULTS
​

​

Torquay United 0-1 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Jose Ortiz (28)
Plymouth Argyle 0-0 Port Vale [League Two]
Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Bradford City [League Two]
Paris Cowan-Hall (72)
York City 0-1 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Wes Fletcher (78)
Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Fleetwood Town [League Two]
Craig Forsyth (23, 43), Shaun Beeley (o.g. 39), Nathan Pond (21)


PLAYER OF THE MONTH
January was a decent month for Matt Fry, who played four games and got an average rating of 7.1. This is the first month where Matt Fry has actually got an average rating of over 6.7.
​

​

LEAGUE POSITION: 1st

​

​

MONTH SUMMARY
Well somehow we've managed to raise from 6th place last month to first place this month. Looking at the table, there is not a lot in it at all, as us, 2nd and 3rd place have all got the same amount of points. Fortunately, our goal difference is greater, so we're top.
I decided to shake things up a bit tactically and go for a 5-4-1, with a sweeper, two centre backs, two wingbacks, two centre midfielders, two wingers and a striker. Judging by the results, it helped a lot. We may not be scoring loads like we were at the beginning of the season, but we're conceding a lot less; just 1 in five games this month. We also remain unbeaten in the last 13 games.
As for transfers, I desperately needed a left winger, as Onismor Bhasera was moved back to wingback, so I loaned Craig Forsyth from Watford. I also loaned Alex Marrow from Crystal Palace, as I was lacking a decent ball winning midfielder. However, Craig became injured on the last game of the month, so I had to terminate his loan, and I brought in Ferrie Boddie on a free transfer. George King and Chris *******-Bart were two youngsters which I brought in for the future. Transfer deadline day also saw Emile Mpenza returning to Home Park again. My scouts couldn't afford to scout him, so I had to go with my instincts on this one. He may be old, but some of his stats are pretty decent, so I took the gamble.
Overall, it was a very good month, and I hope it continues. If it does, promotion looks like a very realistic prospect indeed.​

 

[mickiac]

Oxford had a terrible month!

 

[Pyrforos]

I like the way you present your story mate will be following this. Good luck

 

[AFishWithTits]

mickiac, yes they did, fortunately for me haha

I like the way you present your story mate will be following this. Good luck

Thank you Gonna post the new update tonight

 

[AFishWithTits]

FEBRUARY/MARCH
​

RESULTS
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​

Oxford United 0-0 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers [League Two]
Sam Wood (90+3)
Burton Albion 1-2 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Robbie Weir (56), Emile Mpenza (25), Nathan Stanton (o.g. 50)
AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Rashid Yussuff (73), Wes Fletcher (56), Onismor Bhasera (80)
Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Northampton Town [League Two]
Emile Mpenza (68)
Plymouth Argyle 0-0 Gillingham [League Two]
Accrington Stanley 2-2 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Shane Hill (59), Craig Lindfield (62), Paris Cowan-Hall (15), Onismor Bhasera (88)
Chesterfield 2-1 Plymouth Argyle [League Two]
Jabo Ibehre (74, 90), Jose Ortiz (76)

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
At the beginning of the month, Onismor Bhasera announced that he wanted to stay at the club, so I took him off the transfer list, and this must have affected his performance. He averaged a rating of 7.05 over 7 games and scored two goals, both of which turned out to be point-saving goals (his late winner at AFC Wimbledon and his even later equaliser at Accrington Stanley).
​

​

MONTH SUMMARY
I can't tell you what position we're in at the end of March because I forgot to take a screenshot, but I think we were second or third, so sorry about that guys.
So yeah, this was a decent month. Not as strong as I wanted it to be, but still strong enough to retain the automatic promotion place. All we need is that little bit more in our last month and I reckon we can win the league.
I'm pleased that Emile Mpenza hit the ground running. He scored 2 goals in 4 games which isn't too bad. Unfortunately, as he is 34, his fitness at the end of each match is not great, so I'm always having to rotate strikers. Unfortunately, Rhys Griffiths looks like he's stopped scoring for good, and Wes Fletcher, who was sensational in his first couple months for the club, has not been scoring a lot at all, and I think that goes for the whole team. However, we're still picking up points, and that's all that matters; I will happily win 1-0 every match if it means we pick up the points.
Losing against Wycombe and Chesterfield were tough pills to swallow. They were both massive games, as they are both 1st and 3rd respectively. Those are the types of games we have to win to win the league. But I have every faith that we still can. Next update will be the April summary, which is the last month of this season. Can we win the league?​

 

[DanWalsallFC]

Really enjoying this! Good to see Rhys Griffiths doing well too making the step from the Welsh Premier League to League Two! Hope you go up as champions!

 

[AFishWithTits]

Cheers mate! Yeah he started the season on fire, unfortunately he's not scoring as much anymore but he still provides great service as a target man

 

[PafcLad]

Astonished how well youre doing with argyle, i tried your suggestions but it still wont pull off :'( maybe its just me!
KUTGW

 

[AFishWithTits]

Astonished how well youre doing with argyle, i tried your suggestions but it still wont pull off :'( maybe its just me!
KUTGW

Thank you I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, I've had to change my tactics A LOT to start getting decent results haha, lots of tweaking needed.