Plymouth Argyle legacy of Steven Schumacher has lost some of its shine

Steven Schumacher mentioned his 'affection' for Plymouth Argyle a couple of times when I asked him some questions in the Press conference after his Stoke City side beat his former club 3-0 at the bet365 Stadium.

However, there was not much affection for him from the 2,600-strong travelling Green Army before, during and after the game. Instead, there was abuse, and quite a lot of it. The backroom staff who followed the 39-year-old to Stoke from Argyle were loudly booed too, as was former Pilgrims' loan signing Luke Cundle, but inevitably it was Schumacher who received the worst reception.

I found it a sad sight and sound to see someone who led Argyle to the League One title with 101 points a little less than 12 months ago, accompanied by two 'minders' as he walked out of the players' tunnel in one corner of the stadium to a crescendo of boos - and other comments - from fans who revelled in singing 'Schuey's at the wheel' not that long ago.

Read More: Steven Schumacher hoping to repair relationship with Argyle owner Simon Hallett

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Having said that, I fully understand the reaction of those supporters and, remember, all those there were season ticket holders and are hugely passionate about their club and team.

Schumacher was always going to move on from Argyle at some stage given the incredible success he enjoyed as manager, but the timing of his departure - a few days before Christmas and with a vital winter transfer window just around the corner, was terrible from the Pilgrims' perspective. Going to a team also in the lower half of the Championship table also did not sit well with the Green Army.

It was interesting to hear Schumacher talk in the Press conference about how his once very close relationship with Argyle owner and chairman Simon Hallett had broken down after his sudden exit from Home Park.

"I haven't spoken to Simon really since, which isn't the way we want it to be," he admitted, while also revealing a chance meeting with him in the stadium car park and a post-match text message from Hallett suggested their friendship would be revived.

It was inevitable that Schumacher was going to 'get some stick' from away supporters at Stoke on Saturday, and that is exactly what happened. In part, it was a reason why tickets for an admittedly important Championship clash were snapped up so quickly.

How all this leaves his Argyle legacy - and he has the highest winning percentage of any manager in the club's history do not forget - remains to be seen.

It has definitely lost some of its shine, as anyone who was at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday could tell but, equally, there are still a number of supporters who remain very appreciative of the excellent work he did for the club, both as the assistant to Ryan Lowe and then as the manager in his own right.

They say time is a great healer, and that may be the case with Schumacher and eventually re-establishing a better rapport with the Green Army as a whole.

However, there are a lot of fans who have never forgiven Ian Holloway for the way he left Argyle in similar circumstances in 2007, when he quit the Pilgrims for Leicester City. They still have a lot of anger over the manner of his departure all this time later, and it could be the same with Schumacher in the years to come.

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