Adams happy to be reunited with his former boss

MIDFIELDER Steve Adams's decision to leave Home Park and join his old boss Paul Sturrock at Sheffield Wednesday for a rumoured £50,000 fee may well have been influenced by the barracking he received from fans. The Plymouth-born player was often said by Sturrock during his tenure at Home Park to be the first name he put down on the team sheet. The 24-year-old defensive midfielder must have realised that with skipper Paul Wotton being given a long contract his first team opportunities were going to be limited under Williamson's new regime. The former YTS trainee's biggest assets are his ability to read situations, spots danger quickly, cover other players, as well as bringing calmness and stability in the heat of battle with simple or indeed sometimes defence-splitting passes. Adams, who lives in Saltash, said: 'I'm delighted. It's a great opportunity for me to work with the coaching staff again. 'I won two championships under Paul Sturrock and know how he works and the way he likes to play so I'm looking forward to it.' A delighted Sturrock described Adams as a manager's player and a player's player rather than a fans favourite. 'He's not the sort to take a ball down and stick 60 yard passes to people's feet. But he'll do all the donkey work to provide the balance you need.' The good news for Argyle is that on-loan striker Dexter Blackstock is being allowed to stay at Home Park until the end of the season, apart from the last game against Leicester City. The one drawback is that Southampton can recall the teenage striker at any time. Could 2006 actually be the year when Home Park is finally completed? Plymouth City Council intend to spend £30 million on a new Life Centre at Central Park. The Mayflower centre will be replaced by a new state-of-the-art sports centre, a competition-sized ice rink, and an Olympic size swimming pool, but the jewel in the crown will be the completion of Home Park. Argyle chairman Paul Stapleton said: 'We need to bring the stadium up to date. The outline plans are due go before the Plymouth City cabinet on Tuesday.' A win against Saturday's visitors Brighton could lift Argyle above their South Coast rivals. Argyle's form has lifted of late, with 3-0 defeats of Sheffield United and Crewe Alexandra lifting them to 19th, but just four points above the relegation zone. With Adams out of the equation Williamson, will almost certainly pick a 4-4-2 formation. Norris, Buzsaky, Wotton and Capaldi look likely to form the midfield, leaving Blackstock and Nick Chadwick as the front runners. Barring injury the defence is likely to remain unchanged, which means Matt Doumbe is likely to be warming the bench again, despite strong rumours that central defender Graham Couhglan could be heading for Bristol City. A Danny Cullip own goal and a Paul Wotton strike enable Argyle to win 2-0 at the Withdean Stadium in Argyle's second match of the season. That win ended a seven-match winless league run against their south coast opponents. Brighton will not be taken lightly as their 2-0 defeat at Stoke City stopped a mini run that saw them beat Sunderland and Millwall. Special care will have to be taken with diminutive striker Leon Knight, who although having only scored five league goals this season is a major threat. Brighton also have a number of experienced players in their squad. Kerry Mayo and Gary Hart have made over 300 appearances, with Richard Carpenter recently passing the 200 mark, a landmark no-nonsense midfielder Charlie Oatway should achieve against the Pilgrims. The reserves and U18s didn't fare to well this week. The U18s slipped to a 3-1 home defeat to Portsmouth, their second Merit table loss in a row. Tony McKeever was Argyle's scorer. It was left to East Cornwall youngsters Ryan Dickson and Chris Reski to produce Argyle's goal in the reserves midweek 3-1 defeat at Swindon Town. Reski providing the finishing touch to a Dickson pass. Argyles Ladies recovered from defeats against Reading Royals and Newton Abbot to win 4-1 at Reading Ladies, with Katie Middleton hitting three and Toni Rogers the other. Argyle will hope to improve their league position on Sunday when lowly Launton, who Argyle beat 9-0 in their first match of the season, are the visitors.

Fixtures - Coca-Cola Championship: Sat Mar 12 Brighton & Hove Albion (H) 3pm Argyle Ladies: Sun Mar 13 Launton (H) 2pm.