Thanks to the dismal nonsense of
the past 18+ months, Rangers supporters would have been forgiven for thinking
their job was in-fighting, disagreeing on club politics, and shareholder/AGM
meetings. In fact, lest we forget, Rangers are about football. It is why we exist, why any club exists, and in among the bureaucratic rhetoric and
takeover threats there has been the fundamental tenet underneath of 11 men
kickin’ a baw.
We cannot forget this, nor do we
want to. Without tooting my own horn, I consider myself one of the few bloggers
around who actually concentrates on 4-4-2 or individual players. Yes, I do also
focus on the ‘other’ stuff too but it would be naive to ignore it completely.
That said, in line with
discussing football this entry
focuses on Ally McCoist. Specifically, how he compares with his predecessor.
It is a long-running saga which
began the moment the club announced McCoist would be the new boss. The debate
is simple; ‘is Ally McCoist good enough to be Rangers manager’? He is
frequently derided by a great number of fans unconvinced he has what it takes, and
who yearn back to the days of Uncle Walter.
As we know, McCoist was Walter’s
protégé. They began their managerial partnership under the Scottish national
team, and famously in January 2007 transferred it directly to Rangers. So if
anyone knew Smith’s regime well, it was his apprentice.
Now we are into McCoist’s third
season, and the debate about his merits continues. Is it valid? Is it fair to
question whether he has the mettle for the job? Of course it is. Every employee
of Rangers has to justify having such a lucrative job. If you are not up to it,
you tend to have your contract terminated (Darren Cole being a fine recent
example). And yet after over 24 months McCoist remains on board.
Let us take a look at his record.
For a start McCoist has had to manage under radically different circumstances
to Walter, so that already skews any likeness to his time at Ibrox considerably. It is also worth noting that prior
to Steven Naismith’s injury in October 2011 Rangers were 15 points clear under
McCoist. That injury derailed that season completely, and administration
compounded it. Remember, admin did not start till February, and while McCoist
was completely unable to replace Naismith’s influence on the team or compensate
for its absence, until his injury Rangers were owning the SPL. 15 points in 3
or 4 months. With a full-strength Rangers.
So while Rangers lost that
league, it owes as much to losing the club’s best player as it does to any failings
on McCoist’s part. Admin only added to that misery. I have not forgotten Malmo, and I blame
Jelavic missing a sitter in that one. I have also not forgotten Maribor. The team just
did not perform over those two legs and a massive portion of blame there goes
to McCoist.
Domestic cups were ghastly, and
again, McCoist takes his share of the blame there.
Following season, despite
horrendous football catalysed by a shoddily put-together team at short notice,
Rangers still won the league with plenty room to spare. Again, woeful in the
domestic cups and kicked out early doors.
This season, however, has been
quite a different tale. Blip at Station
Park aside, Rangers have
won every match comfortably. This is a side McCoist has put together himself
and has not inherited from someone else, and it is also a side containing
signings McCoist did not have to panic into acquiring. The manager planned
these ones.
In total, in fact, Ally McCoist’s
13/14 Rangers have conceded 3 goals. 2 of those were in that league cup horror
show against Forfar. And the other was a ridiculous Ugo Ehiogu-esque overhead
volley scissor kick at Ibrox. 14 goals scored in 4 matches tells its own story.
Yes, there have been questionable
decisions and fans will never 100% agree on everything the manager does.
Supporters are aghast at the concepts of Cribari or McCulloch in defence. The
idea of Barrie McKay constantly on the bench disquiets them similarly.
Furthermore, Faure as right back V Berwick attracted considerable ire pre-match
from supporters demanding McCausland. Curiously, Faure had a fine match and the
angst at full-time was far less than it had been at the announcement of team
selection.
I am not especially pro-McCoist.
I just feel the man maybe attracts more criticism than he particularly
deserves. He is no Guus Hiddink. I am the first to admit that. But then, Guus
Hiddink did not have to contend with Kyle Hutton and Ian Black last season.
With Nicky Law (a McCoist
signing) on board this season, Black has been frankly a different player.
Others have also been vastly improved this season, including aforementioned
McCausland, Faure and we are also getting even more out of Lee Wallace.
What I am saying is Ally McCoist
is what we have right now, and currently the side tops League One by 2 points
already after only 3 matches.
My personal stance is McCoist
deserves the right to have at least one full season as Rangers manager in the
SPL without losing his best player to injury or almost losing his club to
administration. If McCoist cannot manage a respectable campaign (winning the
SPL would be glorious on initial return but being realistic top 4 would be the
target) when he finally has no erroneous factors to derail him, then yes, his
time would be up.
So, that all said, let us finish this
with the stats of McCoist’s time at Ibrox as manager:
Played: 98 matches
Won: 63
Drawn: 15
Lost: 17
That is in all competitions. 64% win ratio.
By comparison with a much better
team in the SPL Smith’s final title winning season saw:
Played: 56
Won: 36
Drew: 10
Lost: 10
That is in all competitions. 64% win ratio.
Are Rangers actually doing so
much worse on the pitch than they did under Smith? Numbers suggest otherwise.
In fact, the numbers suggest the club is doing exactly the same.
Food for thought eh?