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Annual Celebration Of Super Ally


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Would go with Pete, Leeds away. Magical goal and this was at a high level in the Champions league against the English Champs.

 

Although his best goal was arguably in a Scotland shirt at Euro 96 against Switzerland, what a strike that was!

 

 

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Special mention for the time Souness benched him, but he came on as a sub against title-chasing Aberdeen at Ibrox. He scored 2, one a sensational overhead kick! Yet Jim Bett scored 2 to earn a draw for the sheep..

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2 minutes ago, cooponthewing said:

I still remember his hat trick in the Glasgow Cup v them in 86! We win 3-2 in sure, and it was just after Souness arrived. I was in the Jungle for the overhead kick v hibs but reckon Dynamo Kiev was my favourite. I was only a boy but it sticks in my mind.

Was that not a tap-in after their keeper threw it against a defender who wasn’t looking?

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10 hours ago, JFK-1 said:

I

He came up through Celtic youth ranks during the O'Neill era and made a few substitute first team appearances but never got into the first 11. Inveterate gambler, heavy drinker, prone to disappearing on drinking binges, failing to turn up for training, or turning up heavily hungover.

 

At age 20 he was transferred to Premier league St Johnstone for 200K then after 3 years and 69 appearances  it was a rapid tumble through numerous clubs in just a couple of years to land at the likes of Stenhousemuir. This guy had the talent in abundance but just couldn't live the life of a modern top level professional footballer and I believe many players from pre modern eras could have gone down a similar path.

 

Named after the Pope as well... :whistle:

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10 hours ago, JFK-1 said:

I think it can be difficult harking back further than say the mid 1960's. I would opine that the professional game back then was effectively amateur in comparison to pre 1960's and current standards. I think it's safe to say players from that era couldn't live in say a current Rangers side due to the athleticism and physicality of the modern game.

 

It's possible some of these greats from a bygone era would never have been able to achieve the levels of athleticism and physicality required and I actually know a guy who could have been a top player but didn't make it because he simply couldn't live an athletes life.

 

He came up through Celtic youth ranks during the O'Neill era and made a few substitute first team appearances but never got into the first 11. Inveterate gambler, heavy drinker, prone to disappearing on drinking binges, failing to turn up for training, or turning up heavily hungover.

 

At age 20 he was transferred to Premier league St Johnstone for 200K then after 3 years and 69 appearances  it was a rapid tumble through numerous clubs in just a couple of years to land at the likes of Stenhousemuir. This guy had the talent in abundance but just couldn't live the life of a modern top level professional footballer and I believe many players from pre modern eras could have gone down a similar path.

Because when you think about it back then that type of behaviour wouldn't have been viewed as so out of touch with a footballers life. It's possible many of them actually lived in a similar manner to this guy I mentioned though maybe not quite to that extreme but could still play at an elite level because all teams were littered with guys like that.      


But in saying that it takes nothing away from their achievements in their era. They were the best of their time and you can't do any better than that.

While I agree that comparing eras is difficult I think you're way off the mark if you think players from the 50s and 60s would struggle today, indeed I'd say it's the other way around. While the media like to focus on the 'maverick' players like Baxter and Jimmy Johnstone and their excesses off the field there were hundreds of top players who looked after themselves and lived life like athletes of that time. One difference was these guys still lived in the communities they were raised in, they earned similar salaries to their peers unlike today's players. So pictures of players in their local with a half of bitter and 20 Capstan give the impression of players not looking after themselves, when in fact they were as advanced in terms of fitness and conditioning as the era allowed. A lot of players were part time too, so the level of dedication and work ethic was actually very high back then. 

 

I'd actually venture that many of the top players today couldn't play in that era. The sheer brutality of football then would have counted against many of today's players. One reason I think Messi isn't as good a player as Maradona for example is the level of protection Messi gets compared to players in previous eras. As much of a genius as Messi is, he'd never have been allowed to make some of the runs he can today, he'd have been kicked up in the air by a full back and the full back would have got a talking too from the ref, nothing more. There's a video somewhere on the internet where a camera followed the German forward Jurgen Klinsman playing a match for Inter Milan. Klinsman had this reputation for diving, at that time in this country diving was viewed as cheating, pure and simple. We'd far more respect for the defender who fouled a forward than for the forward who dived and tricked the ref. Anyway, when you saw what he put up with in an average Serie A match you realised just how brave and strong he actually was. His diving was in response to the incessant and extreme fouling he received. That was the norm during the 1980s, it was even more so during the 70s and 60s.  

 

 

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My favourite goal of his was against Kiev (I think).  He looked like he was trying to guide the ball with his head into the far corner but the ball hits the other side of his head and totally puts the goalie off.  Not a spectacular strike but an example of how lucky he was too.  I'm so glad we are getting back to remembering Super Ally for the goal machine he was rather than more recent times in management.

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One thing about Ally is he is the only player to ever make a tap in look sensational!

 

In thinking back more, his goal against Celtic in the 1996 Scottish Cup Semi Final was one I enjoyed the most. Robertson cut inside and had his shot saved into the path of a running on McCoist.

 

His best assist would have to be the cross for Gascoigne to score against Celtic when Parkhead was being built.

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