THE NEW INTAKE

The 2006 Youth team

The 2006 Youth team has started the season well, with a number of notable victories in the South Western League. As some of these players may well be making their way into the reserve team and perhaps challenging for a first team berth in the future, it's time to get to know them a little better.

Some of the squad have been at Plymouth Argyle for some time, but there are a number of new players who are wearing the Argyle colours for the first time this season. Amongst them are Toby Davis, Karl Byrne, Mark Petnehazi, Shane Duggan and Dan Gosling. Here's a little more on each of the new boys.

Dan Gosling was born in February 1990 and comes from Brixham. The central midfielder attended Brixham College, where he took Maths, English, Science, Geography, French, PE, IT, RE and Citizenship. He chose Argyle because it was the nearest Centre of Excellence. He first played football at the age of 6, but the decision to try for a career in football was his own. He also plays cricket.

He likes the town for shopping, but says there is too much traffic. The Argyle "is a good place to be, a good atmosphere and nice friendly people around".

His favourite food is pizza, his favourite music is R&B and Dance and on TV he likes "My Wife & Kids". Dan is also a Roy Keane fan. Gosling plays in the same midfield role as Keane, who according to Dan, "encourages everyone and puts in 110% at all times". Manchester United results are the ones Dan listens out for.

His Mum has been the most helpful person in his life and he has another ambition - to be a fireman. When Dan wrote this, his happiest memory was winning the Devon National Final, but since then he was chosen to go to Austria with the first team squad and actually played in the game against Real Madrid.

He says keeping fit, learning and getting on with people are all hard, but he does not mind people watching him, so being in the spotlight is not a problem. He has thought about this sensibly and says that if he was criticised, he would know that he had not been good enough and he would just work harder and put it right.

Karl Byrne was born in May 1989 and comes from St Josephs Secondary School in Dublin. He arrived at Home Park in July because, having been here before, he liked the people and the standard of football. The first time he played football was with his brother at the age of 4 or 5 and his first game here was away to Saltash. The biggest influence on his decision to play football was his brother and Eric Cantona. He also plays pool.

What he likes about Plymouth is that they play good football every day, but he does not like the walk to training, the fines and not being able to get home very often. The hardest thing he has ever had to do was the pre-season training. Fortunately for a footballer, his favourite food is pasta and chicken.

The tricky left-winger likes hip hop, R&B and Dance music and his favourite TV programme is "Malcolm In The Middle". When relaxing, he likes to watch TV, sleep or swim. He admires two footballers - Ronaldinho ("He is just class") and Roy Keane ("He won every thing there is to win in English football"). Not surprisingly, Karl listens for Manchester United results, but he also listens for Celtic and, of course, Ireland.

His parents have been the most helpful people in his life and he has studied for his Junior Certificate. His ambition, apart from a career in football, is to travel the world. With his happiest memory being capped for Ireland, it is no surprise his hero is Roy Keane.

He says he can cope with learning and getting on with other people, but has to work hardest at keeping fit. This sensible young man says he would ignore all the attention and comments footballers receive and would talk to the people closest to him, like friends and family.

Toby Davis was born in January 1990 and comes from Stithians in Cornwall, where he attended Penryn College. He decided on a career with Plymouth as this was his first professional club - "Green Army" says Toby. His first game was for the U14's against Torquay. The biggest influence on his decision to seek a career in football came when "he played and just got more and more into it". Mysteriously, he says the hardest thing he has ever had to do is "40's and 80's". His favourite food is, not surprisingly, pasties.

The striker likes Plymouth - but not those who say it is better than Cornwall, while life at the Argyle he calls "entertaining". He has no favourite TV programme and likes any kind of music from Westlife to Westwood. To relax, he likes to lie down, perhaps listening to music.

His parents are the most helpful people in his life, so it is not surprising that his ambition is to enjoy life and have a good family. His happiest moment so far was receiving his apprenticeship. He says keeping fit, learning and getting on with people can all be acheived with effort and he will not mind being in a career where he is constantly being watched and commented on, because it is still the best job in the world. Toby likes Wayne Rooney because he never gives up, and like many of his age, he listens out for Manchester United's results.

Mark Petnehazi was born in October 1988 and comes from Oroshaza in Hungary, where he was a weekly boarder at a sports school in Budapest. He speaks English as he learned it and German at school, but he is keen to improve his English as much as he can. He also studied Literature and Biology. He returned to the Argyle in June 2006 and has been playing football since he was two years old. The first game he played for Argyle was away to Truro City.

The central midfielder also plays basketball with his friends and likes everything about Plymouth, but he finds it colder than at home in Hungary. Life at the Argyle is rather like being at his boarding school in Hungary. The hardest part is being without his family and friends. It is a help to have a fellow countryman - Akos Buzsaky - in the first team.

Mark's favourite food is pasta and he likes R&B and rap. He likes to watch talk shows on Hungarian TV, but he also likes to go to the cinema and for walks on the Hoe.

He likes Ronaldinho "because he knows everything about football". The most helpful people in his life are his parents. Because he has so many happy memories, he could not think of one happier than the rest. He has no particular hero.

Shane Duggan was born in March 1989 and comes from Limerick where he went to CB School in Sexton Street. He also knew of the Youth set up at Argyle and came to Plymouth because of it. He played football outside his house as soon as he could walk and his first game for Argyle was away to Saltash.

His father was the biggest influence on his career and he also plays rugby and hurling. He likes the training here, but not the walk to get there. Life at the Argyle is "great, so far". The hardest thing he has had to do so far was to sing a song in front of the players and staff.

The central midfielder's favourite food is a little unusual - bacon and cabbage - but he has a more conventional taste in music, enjoying dance and rap. His favourite TV programme is "Shameless" and he relaxes by watching TV.

His most admired player is Roy Keane - "the best player in England for years". He listens out for Liverpool's results. Shane has taken his Junior and Leaving certificates and he has another ambition - to be a rally driver.

His happiest memory was being capped for his country and he feels he could cope with the attention of being a football player by just ignoring it, but he thinks the hardest part will be keeping fit.

If you would like to know more about the Youth Team, visit the Official website at www.pafc.co.uk