Sir Ally?

[54andcounting 0]

Ally should win the Ramsdens Cup and League double this season, anything less will blow any knighthood to smithereens

[The Real PapaBear 0]

Thanks.

 

You must be abe to understand why some, and I include myself in this, were very unsure about 'the club' last summer. The need for continuance, to see the connection to the past was essential and for many Ally McCoist was the only sign of it.

Most of the players had gone, the board had gone, we'd failed to get a CVA and the 'newco' was an unfamiliar concept to most of us and the utter disbelief and disappointment that this had happened to us was causing a trauma throughout many in the support. Green was an unknown quantity, many were rightly suspicious of him, he'd no currency with us.

 

Throughout it McCoist was the the recognisable voice, the familiar face and for many, rightly or wrongly, the only person they trusted. You could argue that without McCoist 'the club' might have been stillborn last summer, without his support Green would have struggled to sell season tickets or indeed field a side.

Whilst 'the club' is all the things you said it is a number of individuals have contributed much, much more to it than most others have. Ally McCoist deserves to have his name spoken in the same way as our founders or Mr Struth now. His contribution to the club both on and off the field is now difficult to measure.

 

I remember a long time ago on Rangersmedia debating who was the greatest ever Ranger with Manticore. He, rightly, said Struth, but if you compare what they both achieved by age (ie Struth's record when he was the age McCoist is now) then McCoist is a serious contendor for that title.

I don't think anyone thinks McCoist is capable of emulating Struth as a manager, I doubt even McCoist thinks that. But that should never detract from what he has and continues to contribute to the club.

No one is bigger than the club, but without some individuals the club would be a lot smaller than it is, one of those individuals is Ally McCoist.

 

Beautifully put. The sort of measured, mature and balance response I can only dream of

[54andcounting 0]

Ally McCoist being compared to Bill Struth as a manger is taking this too far imo.

 

I'll have what amms is drinking. :cheers:

[DUDE 0]

Fair enough if you'd ask me. He should already be knighted for his playing career only. :

[amms 0]

Ally McCoist being compared to Bill Struth as a manger is taking this too far imo.

 

I'll have what amms is drinking. :cheers:

 

I wasn't comparing them just as managers but their contribution to the club as a whole.

 

McCoist is currently 50 years old.

When Struth was 50 he'd been the assistant manager of Rangers for 6 years, a period that brought 2 titles but also coincided with WW1. He became manager at 44 and by the time he was 50 he'd managed the club to 4 titles out of a possible 6 and 2 Scottish Cup Finals which we both lost. There was no League Cup at that time.

Struth never played for Rangers, indeed he had no connection to the club prior to joining as assistant manager that I can see.

 

McCoist is now 50. He became assistant manager of the club at 44 (6 years later than Struth). Like Struth the club won 2 titles whilst he was assistant manager. It aso won 2 Scottish Cups and 3 League Cups and was a finalist in the UEFA Cup.

In the 2 seasons McCoist has been manager he has won one 3rd Division title.

 

Now the water is further clouded when you factor in McCoist's playing career. 10 League Titles, 3 Scottish Cups and 9 League Cups, 2 European Golden Boots, 61 International Caps and 19 goals for his country. He is also the club's record goalscorer and has made more appearances as a player for Rangers than all but two others.

 

So as things stand Struth has the better managerial record and that is unlikely to change even when/if McCoist reaches 6 years in charge of the side. However their records to date aren't miles apart and McCoist has achieved significantly more prior to becoming manager, (Struth's overall managerial record is unlikely to be beaten I'd venture).

 

What is always difficult to measure is the intangible. Struth took over Rangers in a time of tragedy. Manager William Wilton had died in a boating accident, Celtic had dominated the previous two decades in Scotland and really were the dominant club. Struth galvanised Rangers and proceeded to build several sides who dominated in Scotland and held their own elsewhere too.

 

As we all know McCoist has faced experiences no other Rangers manager has. He has done so in exemplary fashion, holding the club together at times and starting a rebuilding process with limitations that no other Scottish manager has ever faced.

 

Time will tell how Ally turns out as a manager but even if it ends in failure his contribution to the club, both what the record books show and what he's given that can't be measured should ensure that he is always spoken about in the highest regard and in the same breath as our greatest ever servants.