Plymouth Argyle are set to face a reasonably comfortable ending to the campaign in League with the club in no danger of getting dragged into the relegation battle, but also too far adrift of the play-offs.

Ryan Lowe’s side have been able to stabilise themselves in the third tier of English football following on from their promotion from League Two last term. There have been times in the campaign where they have looked like having the potential to challenge further up the League One table. Although there have spells where they have struggled for consistency in terms of results and performances.

Argyle will now be hoping they can have a strong ending to the season so that can end the campaign as high up as possible in the table and can take confidence into next term. The aim will then need to be to make wise investments to the squad and to keep hold of some of their key players so that they can push on and maybe challenge for a top-six finish next time around.

While we wait to see how Plymouth’s season finishes, we have put together a list to look back on some of the club’s former players and take a look at who the ten oldest players ever to feature for them are. Click ‘next’ to scroll through this list.

Currently, Plymouth’s tenth oldest ever player is midfielder David Fox, who makes this list having made an appearance for the club at the age of 35 years 04 months 21 days during a 3-2 win at home against Scunthorpe United in May 2019.

Fox was signed by Plymouth in the summer of 2016 after he had left Crewe Alexandra. The midfielder managed to play a key role in the club earning promotion from League Two in his first season. The 37-year-old made 40 appearances in the league and 47 in all competitions for Derek Adam’s side as they secure automatic promotion with a second-place finish.

The following campaign saw the midfielder again play an important role for the club with him making 45 appearances in League One and scoring one goal as the club performed well back in League One securing a 7th place finish. In 2018/19 Fox managed to make 43 league appearances but could not prevent the club from suffering relegation down to League Two.

The midfielder was offered a new contract in the summer of 2019 but turned it down and left the club signing for Leek County School Old Boys.

Coming in at number nine on this list is former Plymouth goalkeeper Romain Larrieu, who makes this list have featured for the club at the age of 35 years 08 months 04 days during a 2-1 defeat at home to Cheltenham Town in May 2012.

Larrieu was signed by Plymouth in 2000 and managed to establish himself as the club’s first-choice keeper during their 2001/02 promotion-winning campaign from the third division making 45 appearances. He was then first choice in Argyle’s first season back in the second tier before losing his place as the number one in the 2003/04 campaign. However, by the 2005/06 term he was back as the number one making 45 appearances.

The 2006/07 campaign saw him lose his place due to health issues and he was sent out on loan spells to both Gillingham and Yeovil Town in the next two campaigns as he made his return to action. The 2008/09 season saw him again establish himself as the clubs first choice in goal and he made 43 appearances in the Championship.

The following year Larrieu made 25 appearances in the league but could prevent the club from being relegated back down to League One. The keeper then made 18 and ten appearances in the league in the following two seasons before leaving the club in 2011. He has since spent time working as a coach with Argyle.

Coming in at eighth place on this list is forward Barry Hayles, who makes the list having appeared for Plymouth at the age of 35 years 08 months 09 days during a 2-1 win at home to QPR in December 2007.

Hayles was signed by Plymouth in the summer of 2006/07 by Ian Holloway with the club paying around £100,000 to bring him in from Millwall. The forward managed to be a strong performer for the club in his first campaign firing home 13 league goals in 39 appearances and 14 in total in all competitions, which made him their top scorer as they finished 11th in the Championship.

The following campaign saw the well-travelled forward play less of an instrumental role in the side, but he did manage to score two goals in 23 appearances in the Championship. However, that would prove to be the end of Hayles’ time with the club and he left to sign for Leicester City in January 2008 signing for a fee of around £150,000.

The forward has since had spells with the likes of Cheltenham Town, Truro City, St Albans City, Chesham United, Windsor and is still playing with Merstham.

Coming in at number seven on this list is defender Darren Purse, who makes the list having managed to make an appearance for the club at the age of 35 years 10 months 15 days during a 1-0 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers in December 2012.

Purse was signed by Plymouth initially on a short-term loan deal in November 2011 from Millwall, with his arrival made a permanent one when the January transfer window opened. The defender managed to make 24 appearances in total during the 2011/12 season and scored two goals as the club endured a difficult campaign finishing in 21st place in League Two.

The following year, Purse made 21 appearances in league Two during the first half of the campaign, but he was poached by Port Vale midway through the campaign and he went on to help them achieve promotion to League One. The defender went on to have spells with the likes of           IFK Mariehamn, Chesham United, Welling United, Staines Town, Hayes and Yeading, AFC Rushden and Diamonds and Enfield Town.

Purse is currently working as a youth team coach with Oxford United.

Coming in at sixth place on this list is another goalkeeper in the shape of Rab Douglas, who makes the list having appeared for the club at the age of 35 years 10 months 20 days during a 2-1 win at Bristol City in March 2011.

Douglas enjoyed the very briefest of periods with Plymouth and some fans would be forgiven for having forgotten about the keeper’s time with the club. He was brought in on an emergency loan deal by the club in March 2008 as they searched for a replacement for the suspended Luke McCormick and would spend just one week with the club.

The keeper would feature just once in place of McCormick and he helped them secure a 2-1 win away at Ashton Gate, He then returned to his parent club Leicester City and was released at the end of that season. Douglas went on to have spells with the likes of Dundee and Forfar Athletic in Scotland and is currently still playing for Arbroath.

Coming in at fifth place on this list is former Plymouth defender Rufus Brevett, who makes this list having managed to appear for the club at the age of 36 years 24 days during a 1-1 draw at QPR in October 2005.

Brevett was signed by Plymouth in 2005 after he had left West Ham United at the end of the 2004/05 campaign. However, the defender was unable to make too much of an impact during his brief spell with the club and he went on to make just 13 appearances before the decision was made to allow him to move to Leicester City on loan.

Upon his return from his loan spell, Brevett was allowed to leave the club on a permanent basis and he went on to sign for Oxford United and helped the club challenge for promotion. He eventually retired from the game in May 2007 and spent a brief period as sporting director at Swindon Town before managing both Arlesey Town and Hanworth Villa.

Coming in at fourth place on this list is former Plymouth midfielder Lilian Nalis, who makes this list having featured for them at the age of 36 years 06 months 21 days during a 2-2 draw at home to Preston in April 2008.

Nalis arrived at Plymouth from Sheffield United in January 2006 and he made an immediate impression for the club during the second half of the 2005/06 campaign helping the club secure a 14th place finish in the Championship. The following year he was voted as the fans’ Player of the Year after playing a crucial role in helping Ian Holloway’s side secure a top-half finish.

The 2007/08 campaign would be his final year with the club and his departure was announced in April 2008 early before the campaign ended with his last game coming against Preston. Nalis went on to have spells with the likes of Swindon Town and CA Bastia and he is currently the technical advisor for the academy of at the later.

In at third place on this list is former Plymouth stalwart Paul Wotton, who makes the list having made an appearance for them at the age of 36 years 08 months 16 days during a 3-3 draw at Portsmouth in May 2014.

Wotton had started his career with Plymouth and enjoyed an impressive first spell with the club making well over 400 appearances for them during a 14-season stay with the club. He would eventually leave them for Southampton at the start of the 2008/09 campaign and had spells with Oxford United and Yeovil Town between 2010 and 2012.

He would re-sign with Plymouth in January 2012 after being released from his deal with Yeovil and he managed to make 18 appearances for Argyle in the second half of the 2012/13 campaign in League Two. Wotton played an important role for them in the following two campaigns before he eventually left the club for a second time in 2015.

Wotton is currently the manager of Truro City where has been since 2019.

Coming in at number two on this list is current Plymouth keeper Luke McCormick, who makes the list with him making appearances for the club at the moment at the age of 37.

McCormick has spent most of his career with Plymouth and started his career with Argyle in 2000 and spent eight years with the club managing to make well over 150 appearances and helped them to promotion from the third tier during the 2001/02 campaign, before playing a key role as they established themselves in the second tier. However, his contract was terminated due to legal reasons in 2008.

The keeper returned to football in May 2012 and signed for Truro City before spending a brief period with Oxford United. McCormick was then re-signed by Plymouth in May 2013. During his second spell with the club, the keeper made over 200 appearances and helped them earn promotion from League Two in 2016/17 playing in all their games that campaign.

Following two years with Swindon Town, the keeper returned for a third spell with Plymouth in 2020 and is currently a member of their squad in League One.

Currently, Plymouth’s oldest ever player is forward Steve Fletcher and McCormick will do well to beat his record of appearing for the club at the age of 39 years 09 months 02 days during a 2-2 draw with Morecambe in April 2012.

Fletcher spent the majority of his career playing for Bournemouth, but he arrived at Plymouth for a short period of time on loan during the final few months of the 2011/12 campaign. The forward would only go on to make six appearances for the club as they managed to finish in a lowly 21st place in the League Two table that campaign.

The forward returned to Bournemouth the following summer and finished off his career with the Cherries making 11 appearances for them as they earned promotion to the Championship in 2012/13. He retired at the end of the campaign and he currently works as an ambassador for the club having spent time on their coaching staff as well.