The McCoist debate - Some balance.

[TheWee BlueDevil 0]

My word! This has gone well hasn't it.

I can see where TWB is coming from to be honest (classic football cliche there). He is not a troll in my opinion and calls out some of the uber crazies from time to time. His style of post can come across as very condescending at times but overall I think he is a genuine Bear.

Edited January 5, 2014 by TheWee BlueDevil

[Hildy 0]

One lesson that needs to be learned from recent years - I don't think we can afford to employ another manager who was a playing hero.

 

Many who defend Ally are doing so out of a sense of loyalty to a guy who was a fantastic player for us: a genuine legend. They just cannot bring themselves to admit that Ally might not have the credentials to do the job we would all like him to do.

 

People who cannot handle McCoist being criticised sometimes even go as far as to suggest that the Rangers manager shouldn't be criticised at all. 'Ally's a true blue - leave him alone'.

 

With this in mind, it's probably better to avoid all the ex-Gers who are in management unless their records are so exceptional that they just cannot be ignored - like the recently retired Alex Ferguson.

 

If Gough, for example, came in and made a hash of things, we'd have to go through all this turmoil again.

 

When Ally goes, whenever that is, I think it may be advisable to seek out a replacement who has never worn our colours at all.

 

Yes, it's sad that it has come to this, but in the long run it might be a lot less troublesome.

[Gribz 743]

 

When Ally goes, whenever that is, I think it may be advisable to seek out a replacement who has never worn our colours at all.

 

Yes, it's sad that it has come to this, but in the long run it might be a lot less troublesome.

 

Yet you will get the other side of people saying because he isn't a Rangers man he knows nothing about the club, that's unless he is winning every game 6-0.

 

For the last 30 years we have had 3 years of non Rangers men in charge - Advocaat for the best part of 3 seasons and PLG for 6 months.

 

I think it would be refreshing to have a new face in who has had nothing to do with the club.

[der Berliner 3,247]

I kept the "on field" stuff out of this for a reason, as the opinions on how Rangers players (whether at the start of 2012/13 or 2013/14) should be and play like. Some of those opinions are very one-sided, to say the least. The reason is that we had that before and quite a few people back then (some of whom are no longer with us on Gersnet) wielded the "excuse"-club with abandon. Now, to each his/her own and as I have said above, I have hardly been a fan of either Rangers managers' team-selection and tactics throughout the years. Same goes with Ally, this season as much as last. What e.g. should always come into the equation though - and we saw a double-climax against the Pars and Airdrie - is what is all too easily brushed aside by quite a few: the oppositions attitude, aggression, and - dare I say it - quality. There is no doubt that any Rangers player on our roster should/is more equipped to life on the park than most players of the opposition these days. But pump some adrenalin into them, have them their cup-final (in front of their own support) and a possible chance to catch the eye of a Rangers manager ... and you get just one (sic!) potent mixture of what Ally and Co. have to face nigh any game since they took over. Other Rangers managers with much more quality line-ups faced somesuch every now and then in the cup (and did not always get through it with flying colours), while Premier Division, League and SPL encounters against the weaker teams where not always a stroll on the park either, despite the Gascoignes, Laudrups, Walters and the like. At the end of the day, these great teams of the past managed what was reduired more often than not. Which is what McCoist provides too. Neither back then nor now is the fare delivered always great to watch, even though the standard has been upped from last season. As (IIRC) Faure said, you cannot play good or quality football all season, as the opposition is sometimes way too aggressive or up for it to make this happen. Should Rangers be able to overcome this? Yes. But I for one do not expect them to do it in 18 out of 18 games. Those opposition players might be plummers or policemen or school-teachers, but more often than not these chaps play football at a decent enough level for years, if not decades too. They know how to play the game and to thwart better teams. That is more often than not their bred and butter. And somesuch is usually taken out of any debate about our current team, the performances, and our manager. Which, I have to say and without any disrespect, happens all to often once people's world only rotate about their own club.

 

So the question remains what people want from McCoist right now and whether he is - in mind and material - able to provide it (24/7). IMHO, he's now assembled a decent enough squad to challenge successfully for a quick re-entry to the top tier, albeit I do expect next season to be another milestone in terms of managerial quality, as the opposition will be stronger and more challenging. He continues where previous Rangers managers frustrated us throughout the years, like fielding a midfield made up of central midfielders. Not always pretty to watch, but at the end of the day well able to get a result. IF ONLY he would spark it all up with at least substituting the odd attacker into the frame earlier on. That said, in recent weeks Aird has become a feature ... so there is slow change on that front too.

[Anchorman 0]

I've made this comment before, but as the subject has come up again - My lack of confidence in Ally is based on my belief that what is winning us games in the league we currently find ourselves will not even come close to getting us an acceptable amount of wins in the league we belong in. Let's not get away from the fact that ours is a very unique situation i.e. we are in a league we do not belong in. We are a very big fish in a very small pond. Normally it is a results driven business when teams have found their level in terms of the league they are playing in, and if they happen to do well in that league because of a good run of results it is a bonus. Our situation is entirely different. Any manager we have at the moment must come through these lower leagues at first attempt, and it shouldn't be applauded - we are in totally inferior leagues to where we belong.

So I would argue that in our unique situation it is not purely results driven. Our manager must show that he is going in the right direction to being able to deliver results when it really becomes results driven i.e. in the top league, which is our level. I believe the signs are not good on that front. If he turns it around and the signs start looking good I will be first on here to say "sorry Ally - I was wrong".

[pete 2,499]

After watching Hibs v Hearts the other day, I know one thing certain. We will have to play the game and pass the ball 10 times quicker than we do now.

I do believe you become accustomed to the speed of the opposition you are playing as we now have and we will get used to the SPL tempo when we are there, but i think the players will think they have been hit by a train in the first few games.

[bluebear54 0]

As things stand, I don't see it as a foregone conclusion that will stroll through next season. We may very well not be top of the league at times.

What will happen then?

I still remember the hapless effort against Malmo and Maribor. And that was with players who should have destroyed both teams.

At the end of the day, discussion won't decide Ally's future. Bums on seats will.

[Zappa 0]

After watching Hibs v Hearts the other day, I know one thing certain. We will have to play the game and pass the ball 10 times quicker than we do now.

I do believe you become accustomed to the speed of the opposition you are playing as we now have and we will get used to the SPL tempo when we are there, but i think the players will think they have been hit by a train in the first few games.

 

Our team can only play against what's put in front of them pete. To be fair to our lower league opposition I think a lot of the time they're giving us a really good game and making it extremely difficult for our lads. Sometimes our current league opponents are playing a very good passing game, sometimes it's a good high tempo game not allowing us any time or space and other times they're simply trying to kick us off the park. All-in-all though, I think we're getting good games against very fit and well-drilled lower league sides, a lot of which have some very decent youngsters and the odd ex-SPL player with loads of experience.

 

Match commentators like to keep bringing up the fact that we're playing against part-time opposition and that may be technically correct, but there's not really a huge gulf in quality on the pitch. When the gulf in quality does become evident it's only because we have a great day and are completely on fire or because an opposition team has a nightmare. By in large though, most of these lower league opponents would give the top tier teams a tough match just as they are with us and in fact they've frequently done that in cup competitions over the years.

 

It's for these reasons amongst others that I wanted to see the leagues being restructured back into 2 big leagues instead of 4 small leagues because I think it would have leveled the playing field and shown that the gulf in quality isn't as massive as it's sometimes made out to be. That said, I'm not disagreeing with your basic point that we're going to need to improve our game.

[Waltersgotstyle 297]

As things stand, I don't see it as a foregone conclusion that will stroll through next season. We may very well not be top of the league at times.

What will happen then?

I still remember the hapless effort against Malmo and Maribor. And that was with players who should have destroyed both teams.

At the end of the day, discussion won't decide Ally's future. Bums on seats will.

 

I think we will walk it again next year.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Waltersgotstyle

[Gribz 743]

I can understand ugly wins away from home on these tight grounds with the opposition being fired up and aggression going in, its hard to play Barca-esk football like that. But at Ibrox where the pitch should be in good condition, the opposition come with a different approach and we control games we should see far more the team. As it was on occasion that some teams late last season were coming and being the better footballing side! There is no excuse for that.