Leeds United failed to get what Plymouth Argyle did out of 22-cap international | OneFootball

Tony Capaldi played a major part in Plymouth Argyle's rise to the Championship, but his spell at Elland Road is not fondly remembered

Ask any Plymouth Argyle fan of a certain vintage, and they can likely rattle off the majority of the 03/04 Division Two title team without missing a beat.

Your Romain Larrieus, your David Friios, your Paul Wottons and your Graham Coughlans of this world would immediately spring to mind, as well as your Mickey Evans’s, your David Norris’s and your Steve Adams’s. These players are immortal at Argyle.

Another regular feature in the side under Paul Sturrock that season was Tony Capaldi, with the left-sided star operating further up the field, while also being able to fill in at left-back when required.

The Northern Ireland international went on to be a prominent player as the Pilgrims made headway in the Championship, before moving to Cardiff City, although Leeds United fans will have a much different view of the Norwegian-born star.

Tony Capaldi plays major part in Plymouth Argyle success

Having joined Argyle after leaving Birmingham City in the summer of 2003, Capaldi immediately became a favourite in the Sturrock regime, with his ability to whip a delicious ball into the penalty area exactly the sort of player the Scot in the dugout loved.

Half a yard was all he needed, with Evans and co. looking to feed off any aerial bombardment in the goalmouth, while his long throw could also be a handy weapon to utilise for the same impact.

Any Argyle fan worth their salt knows how the 03/04 campaign got underway, with some underwhelming performances to begin the season seeing them draw with Grimsby, lose to Colchester in the cup, and then be dispatched by Rushden and Diamonds, before going on to lose just two of their next 26 league games en route to the title.

It was Capaldi who got the consolation in that defeat at Rushden before it all clicked together, with six more goals coming throughout the season, including an early goal in a 7-0 trouncing of Chesterfield.

The Greens were 5-0 up within 18 minutes that day, which proves just what a powerhouse they were in the division that season, with teams 1-0 down before they had even left the tunnel at Home Park, such was the aura within the club at the time.

And Capaldi was getting plenty of recognition for his part in that success, Northern Ireland calling him up to their squad for friendlies with Estonia and Serbia and Montenegro late on in the year.

The left-sided star was capped 21 times for his country while playing for Argyle - a record for a player contracted to Home Park to this day - as he continued to impress when stepping up to the second tier, with 107 matches in the Championship proving as much.

The Greens were as high as they had ever been at this point, with a top half finish in the second tier under their belts for the first time in 20 years, but before too long, the rug was pulled out beneath them.

The core of players that helped them to that success were slowly being pulled apart, and Capaldi was among those to leave in the summer of 2007, as he turned down a new offer at Home Park to join Cardiff City.

‘We’ve got Capaldi, you’ve got a baldy,’ would never be sung from the Devonport again when a follicly challenged member of the opposition took to the field. It was the end of an era, in so many ways.

Tony Capaldi’s Cardiff City career hampered by injuries

That first season, there was no stopping Capaldi, as he played in all but two of the Bluebirds’ league games, and helped his side all the way to the FA Cup final, in which they lost 1-0 to Portsmouth, as he looked every bit the player that had departed Devon the year before.

The season after was a much different story though, as continuous setbacks saw him feature just five times in 08/09, with his body letting him down time and time again, before trying to start afresh as the 09/10 season got underway.

A return to Home Park saw him dismissed for a late second yellow, much to the amusement of the Green Army in attendance, but in truth, it wasn’t the same player they had seen don the green years before. This was a player who didn’t trust his own body.

A drop down to the third tier was seen as the solution, and a promotion-chasing Leeds United were only too happy to take him in November, with eyes on a permanent move in January.

Capaldi said at the time, via the BBC: "If I can sort a more permanent deal in January I can't wait to move up. We will sit down and talk about it.

"That's the idea - a loan with a view to a permanent deal. It's up to me to put some decent performances in."

Those decent performances were nowhere to be seen though, with a first start against Kettering Town in the FA Cup proving to be a tougher task than expected, with the Robins holding the third tier outfit to a 1-1 draw.

Three appearances against Oldham Athletic, Huddersfield Town and Brentford followed, but Simon Grayson had made up his mind before too long, with the club deciding they had better options to fill the left-back berth.

That setback started something of a free fall for the once promising defender, as he made just nine more appearances for Cardiff before being released that summer, before underwhelming stints at Morecambe and Oxford United in League Two.

Just six years after leaving Home Park with a reputation as a top Championship operator, Capaldi was dropping out of the Football League, with Tamworth his next destination.

The stint at Elland Road seemed to mark the beginning of the end for the left-sided star, who barely got a chance to recreate his Devon displays elsewhere in the Football League.

Having played such a big part in getting the Greens into the second tier and establishing themselves there, Capaldi is still widely admired by the Argyle fanbase, although Leeds United will have very differing views from his time at the club.