Leicester City lived to regret £200k Plymouth Argyle deal | OneFootball

Peter Gilbert's move from the Pilgrims to the Foxes was a massive flop, and lasted less than six months

The 2003/04 season is still one that is sure to get plenty of Plymouth Argyle fans of a certain vintage teary eyed, as the Pilgrims battle their way to the Division 2 title and earn a place in the Championship.

After a year-long slog against the likes of Queens Park Rangers and Bristol City, the Greens ran out victorious, with Paul Sturrock amalgamating a squad that ran through brick walls to succeed at Home Park.

The Scot’s recruitment over the previous years had paved the way for promotion to the second tier, with only one player making their debut during that dominant season, with that being full-back Peter Gilbert.

The Welsh youth international embedded himself perfectly into his new surroundings, and played all but a few games that season to help the Greens to success, before comfortably making the step-up to the second tier the following year.

That form inspired Leicester City to make a move for him in the summer of 2005, but the Foxes failed to see any of his Home Park heroics after dishing out £200,000 for his services, with his time with the club over before it had really begun.

Peter Gilbert plays huge part in Plymouth Argyle promotion

Gilbert arrived in Devon on loan from Birmingham City in the summer of 2003, as he looked to rebuild his career after suffering a serious knee injury while with the Blues.

The length of the initial move was being debated by Sturrock at the time, with an initial three-month move being mooted.

"We've agreed a loan but the length of the loan spell is still to be agreed. We have got to tie the bits and pieces," Sturrock told the club's official website, via Sky Sports.

"Hopefully, he'll be a valuable asset to the squad. I was very tempted to give it a whole year, but I feel that sometimes young laddies can't settle or don't fit in, so the beginning of this will be a three-month loan.

"I'm hoping it will be a year. If it is a year, he will have been very successful for us and played a big part in our season. That's the aim."

And play a big part in the season he most definitely did, with his first league appearance coming in a 3-1 win against Brentford at Griffin Park, before missing just one match for the remainder of the campaign, as the Greens surged to the title.

Whether it was Tony Capaldi, Lee Hodges or even David Norris playing in front of him, Gilbert’s ability to bomb forward and whip in deliveries for the likes of Mickey Evans and Marino Keith to battle for was huge in that era, while his unflappable confidence at the back belied his age at times.

With recognition on the international stage coming his way during his time in Devon, Gilbert continued to catch the eye after promotion was secured, having signed a permanent contract with the club during that initial campaign.

Once again, the tireless tirades down the left side earned him plenty of plaudits, as the Pilgrims waded into the conversation in the Championship, and caused plenty of sides to take note as they bloodied more than a couple of noses on their way to a mid-table finish.

Peter Gilbert’s Leicester City move is a flop

It was no surprise that admiration was coming in for plenty of players at Home Park during that time, with Leicester swooping for Gilbert in the summer of 2005, with a £200,000 fee enough to prise him from the Pilgrims’ grasp.

Having been relegated from the Premier League a year before, the Foxes were trying to rebuild in the second tier with Craig Levein the man in charge, but almost from the off Gilbert’s face didn’t seem to fit.

Just five appearances was all it took for the Scot to disregard his summer signing, with the Foxes winning just one of those encounters; a 4-2 victory over Stoke City to get their campaign up and running.

By November, Gilbert was already out the door, with Sturrock - fresh from a failed stint at Southampton - bringing him to his new club, Sheffield Wednesday, initially on loan, before landing a permanent deal in January.

The Scot seemed to have an infatuation with the player, having also tried to get the defender to come back to Home Park when he returned the dugout in Devon, although Wednesday were reportedly left reeling after an illegal approach by the Pilgrims.

After leaving Hillsborough, the defender’s career somewhat petered out, with stints at Oldham Athletic, Northampton Town and Southend United to follow, before dropping out of the Football League to join then-fifth tier side Lincoln City at the age of 28.

Gilbert’s journey shows that the grass isn’t always greener, with his career dissipating into obscurity soon after leaving Home Park.

Both player and club will likely live to regret that more to Leicester, where his confidence was shot to pieces, and his on-pitch antics suffered as a result.

At Argyle, he will always be considered a key part of their history for that 03/04 campaign in particular, where he played a massive part in getting the club back to mixing it with the big boys, and allowing the Green Army to dream again.