Plymouth Argyle have a big Ryan Hardie, Morgan Whittaker issue that Ian Foster has to address: View | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle have been driven forward in the attacking third by Ryan Hardie and Morgan Whittaker this season.

The pair have managed the jump up to the Championship very well indeed - scoring a combined 27 goals for the Pilgrims in 2023/24.

There may well be a developing overreliance on Hardie and Whittaker though, something that Argyle boss Ian Foster should look to rectify.

Ryan Hardie and Morgan Whittaker leading the way

The capture of Whittaker on a permanent basis has proved to be one of the coups of the summer.

He signed for Plymouth Argyle from Swansea City for a club-record fee, in the region of £1 million, and has gone from strength to strength in front of goal.

Whittaker is competing with the likes of Southampton’s Adam Armstrong and Blackburn Rover’s Sammie Szmodics in the top-scoring charts and his right-hand man on the field is Hardie.

The Scotsman is also enjoying an impressive season going forward, making the jump up from League One to the Championship look effortless.

Looking at recent outings and the pair both scored in the 3-1 win away at Cardiff City in January.

Whittaker scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over the Swans, his former employers, at the start of the month.

Argyle lost to Sunderland on the weekend at the Stadium of Light and it was Hardie who scored the opener against the Black Cats, with the other half of Argyle's potent forward duo providing the assist.

The pair are propelling the Pilgrims forward and have kept them clear of the relegation battle but perhaps the club are overreliant on them.

Ian Foster solving this Argyle conundrum

Niall Ennis, Finn Azaz, and Sam Cosgrove were amongst those supporting Hardie and Whittaker on the goalscoring front last season.

That trio have all departed Plymouth Argyle following the title-winning season though and perhaps the club haven’t done enough to replace them but Foster needs to get more out of the options he does have to reduce the overreliance on his star duo.

Two of the three that departed were strikers and it is Ben Waine and Mustapha Bundu tasked with filling this void currently, neither of whom have been able to deputise for Hardie well enough.

The two strikers waiting in the wings only have two league goals to their name each this season from a combined total of 1,093 minutes.

The January window has been and gone so there is no chance of Argyle going into the market to add more attacking options - unless they look to the free agent market.

Alfie Devine and Darko Gyabi are a pair of midfielders with the ability to drive forward who were signed last month, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United respectively.

Devine chipped in with a first-goal contribution for the club in the aforementioned win over Cardiff and Foster needs much more of that to take the focus away from Whittaker and Hardie.

Bundu off of the bench as well as flying wing-back Bali Mumba are another two individuals that have to step up for Argyle as they continue their impressive Championship campaign.

Mumba for example, contributed to 13 goals last season and has only managed five thus far in 2023/24- he has come in for some stick from the fanbase, but he is still young and has a lot to offer. The price tag could go some way to weighing him down and at the same time, there is a need for him to reignite his electric relationship with the high-scoring pair.

Hardie and Whittaker may continue to thrive in front of goal but with the aim of securing Championship survival in mind, Argyle need others to chip in going forward and it's up to Foster to bring the best out of them.