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Ally McCoist

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Ally McCoist MBE
McCoist in 1994
Personal information
Full name Alistair Murdoch McCoist
Date of birth (1962-09-24) 24 September 1962 (age 61)
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Rangers (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1981 St. Johnstone 57 (22)
1981–1983 Sunderland 56 (8)
1983–1998 Rangers 418 (251)
1998–2001 Kilmarnock 53 (9)
Total 584 (290)
International career
1980–1981 Scotland U18 10 (7)
1983 Scotland U21 1 (0)
1986–1998 Scotland 61 (19)
Managerial career
2011– July 2012 Rangers
July 2012 - Rangers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alistair Murdoch "Ally" McCoist MBE, (/məˈkɔɪst/; 24 September 1962) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He has been the manager of Rangers since May 2011.

McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in 1981. He returned to Scotland two years later and signed with Rangers. At Rangers, McCoist became the club's record goalscorer, netting 355 goals. In addition to this, McCoist holds the Rangers records for number of league goals scored, number of Scottish League Cup goals scored and the most goals scored by a player in European competitions with 251, 54 and 21 respectively. McCoist is also third in the all-time appearance table for Rangers, having made 581 appearances for the club.

He is second in the Scottish top tier league's all time leading goalscorer having netted 282 times for St. Johnstone, Rangers and Kilmarnock between 1979 and 2001.

McCoist was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having gained 61 international caps.

Club career

St. Johnstone

McCoist's first professional club was St. Johnstone, having signed from Fir Park Boys Club in 1978. McCoist had trained with St. Mirren as a 16-year-old but was rejected by manager Alex Ferguson for being "too small".[1] After failing to score during his first two seasons in Perth, McCoist scored 23 goals in 43 appearances during the 1980–81 season including a consolation against Rangers in a 3–1 defeat in Scottish Cup replay.[2]

With several English clubs interested in his signature due to his prolific form with both St Johnstone and the Scotland U-18 side including Sunderland, Wolves, Middlesbrough & Tottenham Hotspur he started the 81–82 season in terrific form netting four goals in five league cup games including the opening goal in a 2–0 win over Celtic at Muirton Park and the consolation in a 4–1 defeat in the corresponding fixture at Parkhead.

This was enough to convince Sunderland manager Alan Durban to splash £400,000 on McCoist making him Sunderland's most expensive ever signing.

Sunderland

McCoist's time at Sunderland was unsuccessful: he managed only nine goals in 65 appearances for a side struggling at the foot of the English First Division. He only managed two goals during the 81/82 season, his first coming against Brian Clough's Nottingam Forest side and his second a spectacular curling effort from the edge of the box against Southampton.

Three goals in three pre-season games against Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic and former team St. Johnstone followed by a goal against European Champions Aston Villa on the opening day of the 82/83 in a 3–1 win looked to point towards big things to come. He followed this up with a goal against Brighton and Hove Albion meaning he had matched his previous seasons tally midway through September.

October '82 proved to be the highlight of McCoist's spell with Sunderland as he netted 5 goals in as many games against Norwich City, Southampton, Manchester City, Everton and Wolves(F.A Cup). With seven goals scored by the end of October big things were expected but McCoist failed to score another goal in Sunderland shirt. Despite this he finished 3rd top scorer for Sunderland, one goal behind Nick Pickering.

At the end of the 1982–83 season he returned to Scotland and joined Rangers for a fee of £185,000.

Rangers

In 1983 Rangers manager John Greig signed McCoist for £185,000.[3] During his fifteen years with Rangers, McCoist achieved an array of honours, including ten league championship medals. This began with a title in the 1986–87 season and included the whole "Nine in a Row" period between 1989 and 1997. McCoist also won a Scottish Cup winners' medal and nine Scottish League Cup winners' medals. He was the first player to be Europe's top goalscorer twice in a row (in 1992 and 1993), as well as being named Scotland's "Player of the Year" in 1992. McCoist is Rangers' all-time leading goalscorer (with 251 league goals; 355 in all competitions).

McCoist made his competitive début for the Ibrox side on the opening day of the 1983–84 season against St. Mirren and scored twenty goals that year. The highlight was a hat-trick in the 1983 Scottish League Cup Final victory over Celtic. With Rangers still a team very much in the doldrums, McCoist managed 18 goals the following season as he began to endear himself to the club's fans. His chirpy nature made him difficult to dislike and he soon earned the nickname "Super Ally" with 24 goals in season 1985–86. He made his international debut against Holland in 1986, the same year Graeme Souness arrived at Rangers to begin the Ibrox revolution. McCoist was an ever-present in Rangers' title-winning side of 1987, notching 33 goals along the way and another hat-trick in the Glasgow Cup final against Celtic brought further accolades his way.

His tally of 31 goals that season could not prevent Celtic regaining the league title and, although Rangers recaptured their crown in 1988–89, McCoist played only 19 games. That title win was the first of nine-in-a-row, but McCoist found himself in and out of the first team for the first three of those successes.

In September 1987 McCoist was convicted of assault and fined £150 at Hamilton Sheriff Court. This followed an attack on a 19-year-old outside an East Kilbride nightclub in the early hours of 5 December 1986. A verdict of not proven was returned against Ted McMinn and Iain Durrant in relation to the incident.[4][5][6] McCoist and Durrant were each fined £1500 by Rangers.[5]

When Walter Smith took over from Souness, McCoist returned to the fore and won both Players' Player of the Year and the Sportswriters' award after scoring 34 goals in season 1991–92 as Rangers completed a domestic treble. Those goals won him the European Golden Boot – the first time a Scot had won the award – and he repeated that feat a year later. That despite breaking his leg against Portugal in April and missing the last seven matches of the season.

His appearances were limited over the following two seasons as a result of niggling injuries though, in typical fashion, he came off the bench to score an overhead kick to win the 1993 League Cup final against Hibernian. He played more regularly in the 1995–96 season, scoring 16 goals before netting a spectacular long-range drive at Euro '96 against Switzerland. His last appearance in a Rangers jersey came in the 1998 Scottish Cup final when he scored in a 2–1 defeat by Hearts.

Kilmarnock

McCoist finished his career at Kilmarnock, where he spent three seasons after leaving Rangers 1998. He retired from playing on 20 May 2001 at the age of 38, after playing 50 minutes of a league win at home to Celtic.[7]

International career

McCoist appeared 10 times for the Scotland national under-18 football team. He made his debut in a European U-18 Championship qualifier against Iceland netting the only goal of the game after 19 minutes. He followed this up by scoring in the return leg, a 3–1 victory which secured Scotland's qualification for the following summer's European Under-18 Championships.

He found the net again in his 3rd appearance, a 3–1 victory over Northern Ireland. His next three appearances came in the prestigious Monaco Youth Tournament, a 1–0 defeat to West Germany, a 2–0 victory over Switzerland and a 1–1 draw with France taking his tally to five goals in six appearances.

McCoist was then selected for Scotland's semi-professional side for a four team tournament in Holland however he failed to make an appearance.

At the European U-18 Finals Scotland found themselves in a group with Austria, Spain and defending U-18 Champions England. McCoist started all three games, as Scotland defeated both Austria and England 1–0 with McCoist netting the winner against the Auld Enemy meaning the final group game against the Spanish would decide the group. Again McCoist scored, a superb free-kick in a 1–1 draw. Unfortunately this result saw Scotland eliminated on goal difference.

McCoist made his Scotland debut on 29 April 1986, in a 0–0 friendly match against Netherlands.[8]

McCoist started just one game at the 1990 World Cup in Italy after being an integral part of the qualification bid.

He has captained Scotland once, against Australia on 27 March 1996. McCoist went on to score the winner in a 1–0 win at Hampden Park after 55 minutes.[9] He is Scotland's fifth-highest scorer, with 19 goals.

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 9 September 1987 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Hungary 1–0 2–0 Friendly match
2 2–0
3 14 October 1987 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Belgium 1–0 2–0 Euro 1988 qualifying
4 26 April 1989 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Cyprus 2–1 2–1 1990 World Cup qualifying
5 15 November 1989 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Norway 1–0 1–1 1990 World Cup qualifying
6 16 May 1990 Pittodrie, Aberdeen  Egypt 1–2 1–3 Friendly match
7 12 September 1990 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Romania 2–1 2–1 Euro 1992 qualifying
8 14 November 1990 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia  Bulgaria 1–0 1–1 Euro 1992 qualifying
9 11 September 1991 Wankdorf Stadion, Bern   Switzerland 2–2 2–2 Euro 1992 qualifying
10 13 November 1991 Hampden Park, Glasgow  San Marino 4–0 4–0 Euro 1992 qualifying
11 19 February 1992 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–0 Friendly match
12 20 May 1992 Varsity Stadium, Toronto  Canada 2–1 3–1 Friendly match
13 9 September 1992 Wankdorf Stadion, Bern   Switzerland 1–1 1–3 1994 World Cup qualifying
14 17 February 1993 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow  Malta 1–0 3–0 1994 World Cup qualifying
15 2–0
16 16 August 1995 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Greece 1–0 1–0 Euro 1996 qualifying
17 15 November 1995 Hampden Park, Glasgow  San Marino 3–0 5–0 Euro 1996 qualifying
18 27 March 1996 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Australia 1–0 1–0 Friendly match
19 18 June 1996 Villa Park, Birmingham   Switzerland 1–0 1–0 Euro 1996

Coaching career

McCoist celebrating with the SPL trophy in 2009

McCoist joined the Scotland coaching staff under his former manager at Rangers, Walter Smith in 2004. He turned down the managerial position at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2006 as he wanted a job nearer his Glasgow home.[10]

McCoist returned to Rangers as an assistant manager to Walter Smith in January 2007.[11] After Rangers' victory over Queen of the South in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, Smith revealed that McCoist had been in charge of the team for the entire cup campaign.[12] On 22 February 2011 he was announced as the new Rangers manager beginning in June 2011 and ending in June 2012.[13]

McCoist's first competitive game in charge of Rangers came on 23 July 2011, a 1–1 draw at home to Hearts on the opening day of the 2011–12 SPL.[14] After the game McCoist complained to BBC Scotland about a report that he argued misrepresented his view on violence after Old Firm derbies and the cost of policing the matches.[15] The BBC stood by the report but upheld the complaint about the way the piece had been edited. On Tuesday 26 July 2011, the BBC issued an apology to McCoist and he, in turn, dropped his ban on speaking to them.[16] In April 2011, McCoist had called for Rangers supporters who sung offensive chants to be arrested.[17]

McCoist took charge of his first European game on 26 July 2011 at home to Swedish side Malmö FF in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League third round qualifier, losing 1–0 to suffer his first defeat as Rangers manager.[18] His first win came on 30 July, away to St.Johnstone with a 2–0 scoreline, goals coming from Nikica Jelavić and Steven Naismith.[19] McCoist's first Champions League campaign ended at the first hurdle after drawing 1–1 away to Malmo in the Third qualifying round second leg, losing 2–1 on aggregate and having Madjid Bougherra and Steven Whittaker sent off.[20] Despite dropping into the Europa League, McCoist's first European campaign as Rangers manager ended early after another defeat over two legs in the play-off round by NK Maribor.[21]

On SPL duty, after McCoist's first five league matches managing Rangers, the club were top of the SPL having conceded only one goal. His first Old Firm match as manager was a 4–2 win over Celtic[22] at Ibrox but his side were shocked by First Division Falkirk in the League Cup with 3–2 loss a few days later.[23] McCoist suffered a fourth cup competition exit of the season on 5 February 2012, in a 2–0 defeat at home to Dundee Utd in the Scottish Cup fifth round.[24]

Despite being within four points of Celtic at the top of the table in February, having been fifteen points clear of their arch rivals at one stage,[25] Rangers' SPL title challenge was virtually ended after the club entered administration on 14 February 2012 and was deducted ten points as a consequence.[26]

McCoist was able to see out the season with Rangers finishing in second place despite the points deduction. His popularity increased with the Rangers fans even more after passionately committing his future to the club in the middle of financial crisis.[27]

Following the rejection of a company voluntary arrangement in the attempt to takeover Rangers by a consortium lead by Yorkshire businessman Charles Green, a deal was completed to sell the club's business, assets and history to Green under a new company structure. During this process there was heavy press speculation that McCoist was set to resign as Rangers manager after a conflict with Charles Green,[28] however, he remained with the club.[29] McCoist then worked alongside Green as Rangers attempted to get a league to play in for the 2012–13 season, which eventually turned out to be the Scottish Third Division.[30]

McCoist took charge of Rangers' first match as a lower division club on 29 July 2012 in the first round of the Scottish Challenge Cup, beating Brechin City away from home 2–1 after extra time.[31] On 11 August 2012, McCoist managed Rangers in their first Third Division match, drawing 2–2 away to Peterhead with Andrew Little scoring a last minute equaliser.[32] A week later on 18 August 2012, he followed this up with the club's first win in their new league, a 5–1 victory against East Stirling at Ibrox Stadium.[33]

McCoist suffered his fifth different cup competition exit in 14 months as Rangers manager on 18 September 2012, getting knocked out of the Scottish Challenge Cup quarter-finals at home to Second Division Queen of the South 4–3 on penalty kicks, after a 2–2 draw over ninety minutes and extra time.[34] McCoist took charge of his side's first league defeat of the season on 6 October 2012, losing 1–0 away to bottom side Stirling Albion.[35]

Managerial statistics

As of 2 February 2013
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Rangers 1 June 2011 Present 78 51 13 14 065.38

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1978–79 St. Johnstone First Division 4 0 4 0
1979–80 15 0 1 0 16 0
1980–81 38 22 3 1 2 0 43 23
1981–82 5 4 5 4
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1981–82 Sunderland First Division 28 2 3 0 1 0 32 2
1982–83 28 6 1 0 4 1 33 7
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1983–84 Rangers Premier Division 30 8 4 3 10 9 3 0 47 20
1984–85 25 12 3 0 6 5 4 1 38 18
1985–86 33 25 1 1 4 1 2 0 40 27
1986–87 44 34 1 0 5 2 6 2 56 38
1987–88 40 31 2 1 5 6 6 4 53 42
1988–89 19 9 8 5 4 4 2 0 33 18
1989–90 34 14 2 0 4 4 - 40 18
1990–91 26 11 2 1 4 3 4 3 36 18
1991–92 38 34 5 4 4 1 2 0 49 39
1992–93 34 34 4 5 5 8 9 2 52 49
1993–94 21 7 6 3 1 1 - 28 11
1994–95 9 1 - - - 9 1
1995–96 25 16 2 1 4 3 6 0 37 20
1996–97 25 10 3 1 3 3 6 6 37 20
1997–98 15 5 4 4 3 4 4 3 26 16
1998–99 Kilmarnock Premier League 26 7 1 0 2 1 - 29 8
1999–00 9 1 - 1 2 2 0 12 3
2000–01 18 1 2 0 2 2 22 3
Total Scotland 528 282 54 30 74 63 56 21 712 396
England 56 8 4 0 5 1 65 9
Career total 584 290 58 30 79 64 56 21 777 405

Honours

Player

Rangers
Personal

Managerial

Personal

Career outside football

McCoist is also known for his television work. He was a team captain on the BBC's A Question of Sport from 1996 to 2007 making a record 363 appearances on the show.[36] On his farewell episode he failed to recognise "Mystery Guest" Walter Smith whom he left the show to work under at Rangers. He was also a regular pundit for ITV Sport's football coverage. McCoist, along with John Motson, are ex-commentators for the FIFA video games series by EA Sports. They were replaced by Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray for FIFA 2006 but returned with Motson for FIFA Manager 08.

In May 2006, he was part of the historic first European Selection, led by Terry Venables, which saw its debut game in Eindhoven in the first EFPA match-up against a Dutch selection of all-time greats.

In 2010, he stood alongside English football commentator Martin Tyler as co-commentator for matches such as Germany vs Australia in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa for television cable sports network ESPN.[37]

He starred in the film A Shot at Glory alongside Robert Duvall, playing Jackie McQuillan, a fictional legendary ex-Celtic player. He also co-presented a late night chat show McCoist and MacAulay for BBC Scotland alongside comedian Fred MacAulay.

Awards

He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having gained 61 international caps.

References

  1. ^ "Sportsound". BBC Scotland. 5 October 2008. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ Turnbull, Simon (14 January 2007). "Stokes and the McCoist parallel". The Independent. London: Independent News and Media. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Life and times of Ally McCoist" BBC Sport, 21 May 2001
  4. ^ Not even Tin Man could carry can for Souness after Accies earthquake Daily Mail, 24 October 2008
  5. ^ a b Souness broke off our big title party to fine me pounds 1500; SAYS IAN DURRANT Daily Record, 8 April 1998
  6. ^ Footballer fined 150 pounds for assault, The Guardian, 25 September 1987
  7. ^ "McCoist takes final bow". BBC Sport. 20 May 2001. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  8. ^ "Netherlands 0–0 Scotland" Scottish FA
  9. ^ "Scotland 1–0 Australia" Scottish FA
  10. ^ "Ally McCoist Factfile" The Telegraph, 10 January 2007
  11. ^ "Smith appointed boss of Rangers". BBC Sport. 10 January 2007.
  12. ^ "Smith in McCoist revelation" Sky Sports, 25 May 2008
  13. ^ "McCoist thrilled with future role as Rangers boss" BBC Sport, 26 May 2010
  14. ^ "Rangers 1-1 Hearts" BBC Sport, 23 July 2011
  15. ^ McCoist bans BBC after accusing them of twisting sectarianism programme Mail Online, 26 July 2011
  16. ^ "BBC Radio Scotland to cover Rangers v Malmo tie". BBC Sport. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  17. ^ Gers assistant Ally McCoist wants chant fans arrested BBC Sport, 19 April 2011
  18. ^ "Rangers 0-1 Malmo" BBC Sport, 26 July 2011
  19. ^ "St Johnstone 0-2 Rangers" BBC Sport, 30 July 2011
  20. ^ "Malmo 1-1 Rangers (agg 2-1)" BBC Sport, 3 August 2011
  21. ^ "Rangers 1-1 NK Maribor (agg 2-3)" BBC Sport, 25 August 2011
  22. ^ "Rangers 4-2 Celtic" BBC Sport, 18 September 2011
  23. ^ "Falkirk 3-2 Rangers" BBC Sport, 21 September 2011
  24. ^ "Rangers 0-2 Dundee Utd" BBC Sport, 5 February 2012
  25. ^ "Rangers 3-1 Dundee Utd" BBC Sport, 5 November 2011
  26. ^ "Rangers' 10-point deduction confirmed by SPL" BBC Sport, 14 February 2012
  27. ^ "McCoist rallying call! 'We don’t do walking away' as Rangers crisis grows" Daily Mail, 17 February 2012
  28. ^ "McCoist on the brink at Rangers as crisis club hurtle towards liquidation" Daily Mail, 14 June 2012
  29. ^ "We want Ally to stay: McCoist has Ibrox future after talks with new chief Green" Daily Mail, 15 June 2012
  30. ^ "Rangers: Charles Green accepts Division Three vote" BBC Sport, 13 July 2012
  31. ^ "Ramsdens Cup: Brechin City 1-2 Rangers" BBC Sport, 29 July 2012
  32. ^ "Peterhead 2-2 Rangers" BBC Sport, 11 August 2012
  33. ^ "Rangers 5-1 East Stirlingshire" BBC Sport, 18 August 2012
  34. ^ "Ramsdens Cup: Rangers 2-2 Queen of the South (3-4 pens)" BBC Sport, 18 September 2012
  35. ^ "Stirling Albion 1-0 Rangers" BBC Sport, 6 October 2012
  36. ^ "Question of sport history". BBC. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  37. ^ "ESPN and ESPN Radio Commentator Assignments for 2010 FIFA World Cup" Live Soccer TV, 26 May 2010

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