As Plymouth Argyle captain Joe Edwards sits in the club’s Manchester hotel and the excitement builds, he finds there’s suddenly “a little bit more time to think”. There’s certainly a lot to reflect on ahead of an FA Cup fifth-round match against the English champions.
Should Plymouth beat Manchester City, it will not just be another huge upset. It will form an argument for one of the great cup runs, given that the 22nd-placed Championship side have already eliminated Brentford away and Liverpool at home. That has offered a sense of build-up in another way, given that it’s gone from one good Premier League side to the league leaders’ second string, but now a full-strength City away from home in a big evening match.
“It’s another level again,” Edwards says. “This one’s more of an excitement. When you’re in the league, there’s a lot more pressure that comes with it. Saturday is an incredible experience for everyone to go and play at Man City, probably the best team in the world over the last five years. We’ve got a bit of time to kill, so there’ll be a bit of waiting around and trying to fill the gaps. Some boys will like that, some boys won’t.”
That feel of a camp is all the more pronounced because of an impressively progressive campaign Plymouth are involved in. They aren’t just staying in Manchester for this game, but for a few days, since they have a big league match away to Hull City on Tuesday. That decision resulted from Plymouth becoming one of 14 clubs to sign up with Pledgeball, a Bristol-based charity encouraging clubs to make environmentally conscious travel choices through their Sustainable Travel Charter.
“We’re staying up here for the period of time so as to not waste energy,” Edwards says.
Such decisions mean much more with Plymouth, both in terms of impact and effort, given their location in the south west and long distance from so many other clubs. Sitting alongside Edwards, Plymouth’s Head of Conferencing and Events Christian Kent explains it is also part of a “cultural change” at the club.
“We started on this journey a couple of years ago, that we wanted to be a more sustainable football club. So the board have stuck their neck out a little, and made investments into things like solar panels, rainwater harvesting. And obviously we play in green, so we want to be the green greens, if we can.”
Edwards fully buys in as captain. “As players now, we can see the benefits,” he says. “So the boys have got electric cars, there are charging points, we’ve got solar panels on the stadium. It’s fantastic and allows us, as players, to get on board and really support the scheme.”
Edwards is also proud that it helps the club fulfil its social role at the centre of the community. “It’s important a club like Plymouth takes the lead in that sense. Football is everywhere, so it can only be a positive effect if people see football clubs who are taking it seriously. The more that football does the better.”
Having been born in Gloucester and gone through Bristol City’s youth academy, Edwards’ familiarity with the south west means he appreciates just how “our location is a unique part of this football club”.
“You almost buy into it when you come down to Plymouth. I think the new boys come in, and they don’t really realise how far some games are like,” Edwards says.
“We are miles away from most other teams. But once you buy into it, and you’re part of that journey, it can be a positive.”
Plymouth have been on a wider journey during Edwards’ six years at the club, rising up from League Two to the Championship. It’s been all the more intense because of its location, and how it’s a one-club town.
“In Plymouth itself, you’re in a bubble really. You do feel that from the fans and the city itself. Everyone comes together. Our nearest game this season is Bristol City so, between us and them, we are the club that people look to.
“It’s where I’ve played my best football, where I’ve been happiest, where I’ve had kids, got married… I’m lucky to have been on this incredible journey, a part of what we’ve achieved.”
Edwards has had some bad luck this season given that he missed both of the previous FA Cup upsets against Brentford and Liverpool through injury, but he is back for this weekend. He wants that feeling again.
“Brentford was great, also because we hadn’t won away for so long. And to have the soon-to-be English champions down here and win the game was amazing.
“They still had fantastic players, but we felt the bench wasn’t as strong as what we thought it might be, which gave us confidence. Our mentality was to be in the game for long periods and if we had a chance to take it.
“Unfortunately we had a game two days later, so there was no party on the Barbican this time! It was very much ‘enjoy the moment’ with friends and family afterwards, then back to work.”
Edwards points to how they followed the 1-0 win over Liverpool by thrashing Millwall 5-1, in a crucial win for their survival push. “It’s been a really good distraction for us,” he says. “When you’re battling towards the bottom, it can be draining so Brentford then Liverpool was a refresh for everyone’s mind.
“We took that into the league, and we’ve had a really good run of form recently. It’s all about momentum… you go into these leagues games thinking ‘well, we’ve competed against some of the best players in the world, so we can do this.’”
Plymouth can also tell themselves they are currently one of just three teams to even beat Liverpool this season. Edwards says he has had some great experiences in the cup, given that he is a Manchester United fan who got to play them with Yeovil Town, but Saturday can potentially surpass everything.
“We’ve been really lucky with the draw but we’ve earned that with the results we’ve had,” Edwards says. “We’re hoping it’ll be a really strong line-up, because you’re always wanting to play against the best.
“We’re going with a game plan we’ve been working all week, to frustrate them and make sure we’re in our correct shape. It’s an experience you need to go and enjoy. If you can show your best self, like we said before Brentford, you go out there and give everything, whatever happens happens, you do the fans proud.”
Edwards’ support for City’s neighbours only sharpens it: the four-day trip means he and the team will actually watch United host Fulham on Sunday. “The perfect weekend is to beat City, then go across and watch United beat Fulham, and then draw United in the next round!” He can perhaps tell Sir Jim Ratcliffe about Pledgeball.
