"Free travel" - Plea put to Plymouth Argyle's Simon Hallett regarding away support | OneFootball

The Green Army travel as much as anyone to follow their team in the Championship

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

As any match-going fan would know, away days are some of the best bits about being a football fan, with the trials and tribulations of circumnavigating the country part and parcel of being on the terraces.

Whether it be the 5am train to Newcastle, the early service station stops, or the jovial meet and greet of the supporters’ coaches as dawn breaks, there is nothing quite like the feeling of a game on the road.

But with the cost of living growing by the day, the expenditure on following your team through every match day can take its toll on the pocket, with Plymouth Argyle fans likely feeling it as much as anyone, given the distances they have to travel.

With that in mind, Football League World’s resident Argyle fan Chris has his own solution to put forward to the club’s owner Simon Hallett, with the Green Army the ones to benefit.

Simon Hallett urged to subsidise Plymouth Argyle away travel

With its location in the country, Argyle fans travel as much as any to get to away games in a football season, with a Plymouth local estimated to travel 11,884 miles if they were to attend every away game this season.

With the cost of fuel and public transport on the up, budgeting for every game on the road can become a tricky task, and Chris has his own message for the Pilgrims’ chief to help the Green Army back their team across the country.

When asked what one demand he would have of the club’s current owners, the Argyle fan said: “As with any football fan, there is always demands put towards the owner of the club, whether that be extra funds for transfers, or better facilities around the club.

“In my opinion, the main aspect I would want to ask of Simon Hallett, is in relation to the away support.

“Overall, we have one of the longest distances to travel as an away fan to watch Argyle games, and as such, costs of transport is very high for us over the course of a season.

“Therefore, I would like to say to our owner, would he be willing to put more money towards free travel for away fans.

“This would not only encourage more fans to attend, but also would allow us to have a more enjoyable experience, not having to worry about how much money we are spending on transport, and more about enjoying the game.”

Plymouth Argyle away day distances in the 2024/25 season

Starting in deepest darkest Devon, Argyle fans have some way to travel to get to any game away from Home Park, although traversing the length and breadth of the country has become something of a right of passage for any member of the Green Army.

This current campaign will not be any different, with close to 12,000 miles on the clock by the time May comes around, with an average round trip coming in at 516 miles.

The longest away day of the season will be the 804-mile round trip to Sunderland that the travelling Janners will make in January, while the 756-mile journey to Middlesbrough and back isn’t too far behind.

The closest journey for Argyle fans will be the mere 238 mile round trip to Ashton Gate to see their side take on Bristol City, while journeys to Cardiff City (304), Portsmouth (346) and Swansea City (376) can all be consider near-encounters.

Helping out with travel costs can would help any football fan, although the likelihood of an owner going out of their way to do so seems extreme, given Hallett’s constant expenditure on the playing squad and beyond.