Ally McCoist

Ally McCoist
Ally McCoist 1994.jpg
McCoist in 1994
Personal information
Full name Alistair Murdoch McCoist
Date of birth 24 September 1962 (1962-09-24) (age 48)
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Rangers (assistant 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 59 (12)
Total 590 (293)
National team
1980-1981 Scotland U-18 10 (7)
1983 Scotland U-21 1 (0)
1986–1998 Scotland 61 (19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Alistair Murdoch "Ally" McCoist, MBE (English pronunciation: /ˈæli məˈkɔist/; born 24 September 1962 in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire) is a Scottish former professional football player who played as a striker. He is currently assistant manager at Scottish Premier League club Rangers, where he spent fifteen of his twenty-two years as a player.

McCoist began his career with St Johnstone before moving to 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 the Scottish top tier league's all time leading goalscorer, having netted 291 times for St. Johnstone, Rangers and Kilmarnock between 1979 and 2001.

Largely thanks to his career at Rangers, 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.

Contents

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 sixteen year-old but was rejected by the then manager Alex Ferguson for being "too small".[1] After failing to score during his first two seasons in Perth, McCoist netted 23 goals in 43 appearances during the 1980-81 season.[2] He also appeared 10 times for the Scotland national under-18 football team, netting competitive strikes against France and Spain in 1–1 draws and the only goal of the game to send reigning U-18 champions England out of the competition at the first hurdle. This led to Sunderland making a GB£400,000 bid for the 19-year-old striker which the club accepted and so McCoist moved south of the border.

Sunderland

McCoist's time at Sunderland, however, was unsuccessful: he managed 8 goals in 56 appearances, including a hat-trick of penalties against West Bromwich Albion in November 1981.

He returned to Scotland and joined Rangers in 1983 for £185,000.

Rangers

In 1983 the then Rangers manager John Greig signed him 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) and Scotland's fifth-highest scorer, with 19 goals.

McCoist made his competitive debut for the Ibrox side on the opening day of the 1983-84 season against St. Mirren and went on to score 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 a creditable 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 League Cup final against Celtic brought further accolades his way.

His tally of 31 goals the following 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.

But 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 Hibs. 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 Ibrox in 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.[4]

International career

McCoist made his Scotland debut aged 23, on 29 April 1986, in a 0-0 friendly match against Netherlands.[5]

McCoist starts just one game at the 1990 World Cup finals 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.[6]

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 UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
4 26 April 1989 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Cyprus 2-1 2-1 FIFA World Cup 1990 qualifying
5 15 November 1989 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Norway 1-0 1-1 FIFA World Cup 1990 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 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
8 14 November 1990 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia  Bulgaria 1-0 1-1 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
9 11 September 1991 Wankdorf Stadion, Bern  Switzerland 2-2 2-2 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
10 13 November 1991 Hampden Park, Glasgow  San Marino 4-0 4-0 UEFA 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 FIFA World Cup 1994 qualifying
14 17 February 1993 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow  Malta 1-0 3-0 FIFA World Cup 1994 qualifying
15 2-0
16 16 August 1995 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Greece 1-0 1-0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
17 15 November 1995 Hampden Park, Glasgow  San Marino 3-0 5-0 UEFA 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 UEFA Euro 1996

Coaching career

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.[7]

McCoist returned to Rangers as an assistant manager to Walter Smith in January 2007.[8] 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.[9]

On May 25, 2010 it was announced he will be the new Rangers manager beginning in June 2011.[10]

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 Scottish League Cup Europe Total
1978–79 St. Johnstone First Division 4 0 4 0
1979–80 15 0 15 0
1980–81 38 22 38 22
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 Scottish 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 24 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 29 8 1 0 2 1 32 9
1999–00 12 3 1 2 2 0 15 5
2000–01 18 1 2 0 2 2 22 3
Total Scotland 534 285 50 29 67 59 56 21 707 394
England 56 8 4 0 5 1 65 9
Career total 590 293 54 29 72 60 56 21 772 403

Honours

Team

Former Northern Ireland striker Derek Spence next to the European Golden Boot, which was won by Ally McCoist in 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Rangers
1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
1992
1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996

Personal

1991-92, 1992-93

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. On his farewell episode he failed to recognise "Mystery Guest" Walter Smith who he is now working with at Rangers. He was also a regular pundit for ITV'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 famed football commentator Englishman Martin Tyler as co-commentator for matches such as Germany vs Australia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa for television cable sports network ESPN.[11]

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.

Personal life

McCoist is the father to five boys.[12] His two youngest sons are by partner Vivien Ross. His three eldest sons are by his former wife, Allison, whom he left in 2001 after having an affair with Patsy Kensit.[13] McCoist, Ross and their sons reside in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire.

Awards

He was awarded an MBE in 1994 for his services to Scottish football.[7]

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.

References

  1. ↑ "Sportsound". BBC Scotland. 5 October 2008. 
  2. ↑ Turnbull, Simon (14 January 2007). "Stokes and the McCoist parallel". The Independent (Independent News and Media). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/simon-turnbull-stokes-and-the-mccoist-parallel-432056.html. Retrieved 4 October 2009. 
  3. ↑ "Life and times of Ally McCoist" BBC Sport. 21 May 2001.
  4. ↑ "McCoist takes final bow". BBC News. 2001-05-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/k/kilmarnock/1341494.stm. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
  5. ↑ "Netherlands 0-0 Scotland" The SFA website
  6. ↑ "Scotland 1-0 Australia" The SFA website
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Ally McCoist Factfile" Telegraph. 10 January 2007.
  8. ↑ "Smith appointed boss of Rangers". BBC Sport website. 10 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/6233237.stm. 
  9. ↑ "Smith in McCoist revelation" Sky Sports (25 May 2008)
  10. ↑ "McCoist thrilled with future role as Rangers boss" BBC Sport. 26 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "ESPN and ESPN Radio Commentator Assignments for 2010 FIFA World Cup" Live Soccer TV. 26 May 2010.
  12. ↑ "McCoist fifth son". Dailyrecord.co.uk. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/06/04/five-a-side-team-for-ally-mccoist-as-girlfriend-gives-birth-to-fifth-son-86908-21413721. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
  13. ↑ "Call it chemistry Patsy Kensit and Ally McCoist". The Scotsman. 2001-10-13. http://news.scotsman.com/topstories/call-it-chemistry-Patsy-Kensit.2266992.jp. Retrieved 2010-07-05. 

External links