The 2001–02 season was the 107th season in the history of Plymouth Argyle Football Club, their 77th in the Football League, and 5th in the fourth tier of the English football league system. Their 12th-place finish in the 2000–01 season meant it was their fourth successive season playing in the Third Division.
Season summary
The club began the 2001–02 season in the Football League Third Division, following a disappointing 12th-place finish the previous year. There were signs of change at the club and they finished the season as champions, breaking numerous club records in the process, including a record haul of 102 points. They achieved 31 wins, 9 draws, and 6 defeats, from 46 games. Their leading goalscorer was Graham Coughlan with 11 goals in all competitions – an outstanding achievement for a centre-back. The club reached the second round of the FA Cup, drawing 1–1 at home with Bristol Rovers before losing the replay 3–2. They entered the League Cup in the first round and were eliminated away to Watford 1–0. They also competed in the Football League Trophy, where they bowed out in the first round after a 2–1 defeat away to Cheltenham Town. Notable players to begin their careers with the Pilgrims this season included Coughlan, Marino Keith, and Jason Bent.
Legend
Football League
League table
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!width=30|Pos
!Club
!width=30|Pld
!width=30|W
!width=30|D
!width=30|L
!width=30|GF
!width=30|GA
!width=30|GD
!width=30|Pts
|- bgcolor="gold"
|1||align="left"|Plymouth Argyle
|46||31||9||6||71||28||+43||102
|- bgcolor="palegreen"
|2||align="left"|Luton Town
|46||30||7||9||96||48||+48||97
|- bgcolor="palegreen"
|3||align="left"|Mansfield Town
|46||24||7||15||72||60||+12||79
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
|4||align="left"|Cheltenham Town
|46||21||15||10||66||49||+17||78
|- bgcolor="lightblue"
|5||align="left"|Rochdale
|46||21||15||10||65||52||+13||78
|}
<small>Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points</small>
Results summary
FA Cup
First Round
First round replay
Second Round
Second Round Replay
Football League Cup
First Round
Football League Trophy
Southern Section First Round
Players
First-team squad
:Squad at end of season
Left club during season
Statistics
Appearances and goals
Key
# = Squad number; Pos = Playing position; P = Number of games played; G = Number of goals scored; 13px|alt=A yellow card = Yellow cards; 13px|alt=A red card = Red cards; GK = Goalkeeper; DF = Defender; MF = Midfielder; FW = Forward
Statistics do not include minor competitions or games played for other clubs. All players are listed by position and then surname.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan="2" valign="bottom"|No.
!rowspan="2" valign="bottom"|Pos.
!rowspan="2" valign="bottom"|Name
!colspan="2" width="85"|League
!colspan="2" width="85"|FA Cup
!colspan="2" width="85"|League Cup
!colspan="2" width="85"|Total
!colspan="2" width="85"|Discipline
!colspan="1" width="50"|Notes
|-
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!Apps
!Goals
!13px
!13px
!
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|GK||align="left"| Chris Adamson ‡
|1||0||0||0||0||0||style="background:#98FB98"|1*||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|GK||align="left"| Romain Larrieu
|45||0||4||0||1||0||50||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|GK||align="left"| Luke McCormick
|0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|DF||align="left"| Jon Beswetherick †
|32||0||3||0||0||0||35||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|DF||align="left"| Paul Connolly ¤
|0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|DF||align="left"| Graham Coughlan
|46||11||4||0||1||0||style="background:#98FB98"|51*||11||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|DF||align="left"| Brian McGlinchey
|29||1||3||0||1||0||33||1||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|DF||align="left"| Craig Taylor
|1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|DF||align="left"| David Worrell
|42||0||4||0||0||0||46||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|DF||align="left"| Paul Wotton
|46||5||4||0||0||0||50||5||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Steve Adams
|46||2||4||0||1||0||51||2||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Jason Bent
|21||3||3||1||0||0||style="background:#98FB98"|24*||4||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Joe Broad ¤
|7||0||0||0||1||0||style="background:#98FB98"|8*||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Sean Evers ¤
|7||0||1||0||1||0||9||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| David Friio
|41||8||4||2||1||0||46||10||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Neil Heaney
|8||0||0||0||0||0||style="background:#98FB98"|8*||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Lee Hodges
|45||6||4||0||1||0||50||6||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Martin Phillips
|39||6||4||2||1||0||44||8||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|MF||align="left"| Kevin Wills
|18||0||2||0||1||0||21||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|FW||align="left"| Nicky Banger †
|10||2||0||0||0||0||style="background:#98FB98"|10*||2||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|FW||align="left"| Dean Crowe ‡
|1||0||0||0||0||0||style="background:#98FB98"|1*||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|FW||align="left"| Mickey Evans
|38||7||3||0||1||0||42||7||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|FW||align="left"| Martin Gritton ¤
|2||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|FW||align="left"| Martin Green¤
|2||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|FW||align="left"| Marino Keith
|23||9||2||0||0||0||style="background:#98FB98"|25*||9||||||
|-
|align="center"|-||align="left"|FW||align="left"| Ian Stonebridge
|42||8||4||1||1||0|||47||9||||||
|}
Goalscorers
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Scorer
!Goals
|-
| Graham Coughlan
|rowspan="2" align=center|11
|-
| David Friio
|-
| Marino Keith
|rowspan="2" align=center|9
|-
| Ian Stonebridge
|-
| Martin Phillips
|align=center|8
|-
| Mickey Evans
|align=center|7
|-
| Lee Hodges
|rowspan="2" align=center|6
|-
| Paul Wotton
|-
| Jason Bent
|align=center|4
|-
| Steve Adams
|rowspan="2" align=center|2
|-
| Nicky Banger
|-
| Brian McGlinchey
|rowspan="2" align=center|1
|}
Awards
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;width:45%; text-align:left"
!2001–02 Awards
!Pos.
!Player
|-
| Player of the Year || DF || Graham Coughlan
|-
| Young Player of the Year || MF || Steve Adams
|-
|}
Transfers
Permanent
In
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;width:65%; text-align:left"
!Date
!Pos.
!Player
!From
!Fee
|-
| 24 August 2001 || FW || Nicky Banger || Dundee ||Free
|-
| 21 September 2001 || MF || Jason Bent || Colorado Rapids || Free
|-
| 6 November 2001 || FW || Marino Keith || Livingston || Free
|-
| 1 December 2001 || FW || Blair Sturrock || Dundee United || Free
|-
| 4 December 2001 || MF || Neil Heaney || Dundee United || Undisclosed
|-
|}
Out
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;width:65%; text-align:left"
!Date
!Pos.
!Player
!To
!Fee
|-
| 3 July 2001 || FW || Sean McCarthy || Exeter City || Free
|-
| 8 July 2001 || MF || Martin Barlow || Exeter City || Free
|-
| 10 July 2001 || GK || Jon Sheffield || Yeovil Town || Free
|-
| 1 August 2001 || MF || Michael Meaker || Northwich Victoria || Undisclosed
|-
| 6 August 2001 || DF || Michael Heathcote || Shrewsbury Town || Free
|-
| 17 August 2001 || MF || Stuart Elliott || Carlisle United || Free
|-
| 26 November 2001 || FW || Nicky Banger || Free agent ||Released
|-
| 28 March 2002 || FW || Steve Guinan || Shrewsbury Town || Free
|-
| 29 May 2002 || DF || Jon Beswetherick || Sheffield Wednesday || Free
|-
|}
Loans
In
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;width:65%; text-align:left"
!Start date
!Pos.
!Player
!To
!End date
|-
| 10 August 2001 || FW || Dean Crowe || Stoke City || 5 September 2001
|-
| 10 January 2002 || GK || Chris Adamson || West Bromwich Albion || 7 February 2002
|-
|}
Out
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;width:65%; text-align:left"
!Start date
!Pos.
!Player
!From
!End date
|-
| 24 November 2001 || MF || Joe Broad || Yeovil Town || 24 December 2001
|-
| 29 November 2001 || FW || Martin Gritton || Shelbourne || 31 May 2002
|-
| 1 February 2002 || DF || Paul Connolly || Bideford || 31 May 2002
|-
| 28 March 2002 || MF || Sean Evers || Stevenage Borough || 31 May 2002
|-
|}