DEAL ONGOING: Ipswich Town pull underlined in wake of £2m Plymouth Argyle transfer

As a football club, Plymouth Argyle have always struggled to keep hold of their top talent.

The recent dramas surrounding Morgan Whittaker and Michael Cooper are nothing new for members of the Green Army, with their top stars so often cherry-picked by those with deeper pockets and looser pursestrings than themselves over the years.

You only have to look at the last time that the Pilgrims were in the second tier so see that exact scenario happen once again, with a number of stars departing the club as they looked to be on the cusp of establishing themselves in the Championship.

One of the key stars to leave that time around was David Norris, with the temptation of Ipswich Town proving too much for the midfielder, who had helped the Greens rise up through the divisions during his time at Home Park.

David Norris underpinned Plymouth Argyle promotion success

Having initially joined the Devon outfit on loan from Bolton Wanderers in October 2002, it took Argyle just two months to decide to sign the energetic midfielder, in a £25,000 transfer that would change the history of the club forever.

Right from the off, the former Trotter was making a name for himself in his new surroundings, with his enthusiasm and professionalism setting the standards for his teammates across the pitch, as he pestered third tier defenders for a pastime.

Having not long earned promotion from the fourth tier with a colossal 102-point haul, Norris was joining a team used to winning, and that continued into the third division, as an initial top-half finish was followed up by another title-winning campaign the season after.

Norris was at the heart of everything Argyle did right during those days, with his infatigable performances causing all sorts of mayhem down the flanks, as well as being deployed in the middle of the park when needed.

Indeed, it was he who setup the season-defining moment against promotion rivals Queens Park Rangers late in the campaign, as his pinpoint centre was tucked away by Mickey Evans to give the Greens the lead in the biggest of showdowns, before David Friio added a second to secure the victory.

‘2-0. That’s it, Argyle are up!,’ cried Gordon Sparks on the radio, while Home Park was sent into wild abandon as the second tier beckoned.

David Norris excels in the Championship before acrimonious Ipswich Town ending

For the next three years, Norris continued establish himself as a handy operator in the top rung of the EFL, as Argyle slowly gained a foothold among the best in the Football League.

Despite the step-up in quality, the Pilgrims as a whole grew in confidence with each passing year in the Championship, with their bundle of energy in the engine room providing plenty of spark to build upon.

Year on year, the former Bolton man’s reputation continued to rise, as plucky old Argyle showed no fear against plenty of fallen giants that came in their path, with no quarter given at the fortress that Home Park had become.

These were halcyon days down in Devon, and it seemed like everyone wanted a piece of it, with January 2008 seeing a mass exodus of the top talent at the football club.

Few had foreseen the financial issues that would blight Argyle in the years to come, but the pre-cursor to that was all and sundry leaving the club midway through the season, with likes of Akos Buzsaky, Dan Gosling and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake all departing for pastures new.

While it looked as if Norris would be staying loyal to the club, an eleventh-hour move to Ipswich left the club in the lurch, with Pilgrims Chairman Paul Stapleton less than pleased about the way in which the midfielder conducted himself.

The Argyle chief said at the time, via the Ipswich Star: “The problem began because last summer when he (Norris) was told by Ian Holloway that he could leave the club in January.

“David got a bit confused, I think, and believed that the board had agreed he could leave in January.

“January 2 came and he came to see me, saying he wanted to go. He saw me many more times in January, each time saying he wanted to go.

“He badgered us to death – I saw Norris more times in January than I saw my family.

“It took until January 31 for him to go because, all the way along the line, we told him we didn’t want to lose him. Two days before the transfer deadline, he told me he never wanted to play for Argyle again. That phone call seemed conclusive in my mind.”

That was that then, after helping Argyle rise through the ranks, Norris was gone in the blink of an eye, before going on to feature over 100 times for the Tractor Boys, in a side that were perennial mid-tablers at the time.

Spells at Portsmouth and Leeds United followed, as the midfielder excelled in the second tier, while Argyle were left to spiral back down the divisions, as administration took hold.

Seeing players leave was a scene the Green Army had almost become used to during that winter, but the feeling of each departure never got easier, as one of the finest sides to ever take to Home Park slowly got dismantled in front of their eyes.

At the time it felt like David Norris would play in green and white forever, but his departure proved just how quickly football can move on, with the fanbase left mourning the heroes of yesteryear.

The midfielder is still lauded by the Green Army, and rightly so, but his departure would have left something of a sour taste in the mouth at the time, as Argyle were stripped of their assets in front of the baying crowd.