Bobby Saxton watched his Plymouth Argyle side improve during the 1980 – 1981 season to a decent seventh position finish, narrowly missing out on a birth in the play offs. Bobby Moncur took charge at the club in 1981 and the Pilgrims spent most of his two years in charge hovering towards the top end of mid table. Plymouth crashed out of the FA cup in 1981 in the third round as they suffered defeat against Charlton Athletic and they were eliminated out of the league cup in the second round during the 1981 – 1982 season as they were unlucky to suffer defeat against Middlesbrough on penalties after putting on a great performance.
Johnny Hore managed the club during the 1983 – 1984 campaign and despite watching his Plymouth side underachieve in the league, the Pilgrims enjoyed their finest ever run in the FA Cup as everybody in the country took note of the club. Plymouth was in emphatic form in the tournament and reached the semi finals of the competition, only suffering a slender 1-0 defeat against Watford. Dave Smith took charge at the club in 1984 and his first full season in charge saw the Pilgrims finish off in 15th position. Kevin Hodges and Tommy Tynan were in great form for the club during this time period.