Ally McCoist

by Ally McCoist, Crawford Brankin

Genres: Football

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might be biased as he was my first hero but you just can’t not love Ally McCoist and this autobiography really brings out the best in him and reminds us why we all love him. It covers his early years right up until Scotland’s involvement in Euro 92.

I realised as I was finishing this book (and oddly noticed he was on commentary duty for Senegal v Netherlands in the World Cup!) that Ally has just turned 60 a couple of months ago and this book was finished around his 30th birthday which means he has lived the same amount of time again since!

Despite the time having passed, his character has remained unchanged and I was laughing along whilst reading this as well as being impressed by his honesty (and lack of modesty of course!).

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

This is the kind of light-hearted, easy read that you would expect from the Rangers legend, an amusing and sometimes colourful account of his life and career up to 1992, so it misses out some of the later European highlights and dramas as well as some of his other impressive achievements with the club.

McCoist won the Golden Boot during the 91/92 season, a feat he would go onto repeat the next season scoring the exact same tally of 34 (a year after this was published), making him not only the first and only Scot to win it, but the first to win it over two consecutive years. Even in 2024 McCoist still remains Rangers’ all-time top goal scorer with 355, add to that the most league goals and the most hat-tricks for them and he also won ten league titles with the club.

His wit and humour comes through fairly well and the joke he made in the dressing room to then player manager Graeme Souness about the Italians being renowned for “fowl play” when talking about someone in a restaurant poisoning Trevor Francis’s chicken the night before a big match, gave me a good laugh.

He gives insight into some of the games he played for club and country, I too remember standing in the terraces back in a cold, dark night in the spring of 1989 as Mo Jo scored a double as they beat France 2-0. Very different times now. I also recall being present at the same stadium a few months later on a red, hot May afternoon which saw Rangers go down 1-0 to a single Joe Miller goal as they lost the Scottish Cup Final to Celtic…something which unfortunately hasn’t changed.

I was amused by his Fergie experience at Mexico 86, Ferguson told him if any strikers dropped out of the squad, he would be going in their place. This is even funnier as in Pat Nevin’s recent autobiography he tells a similar story about being fed the same lie for the same competition and then hearing that David Speedie had been told the same and of course none of them were called up, Dalglish dropped out and Steve Archibald went. Scotland managed only a single goal in three games during Mexico, and that came from Gordon Strachan, a midfielder.

I really felt for McCoist, at Italia 90 too, being at the wrong end of some truly appalling managerial decisions courtesy of Andy Roxburgh who proved to be way out of his depth, even though McCoist had an established and successful partnership with Johnston, he didn’t pick McCoist until the final game, instead playing three different strikers alongside Mo Johnston over three games, a totally ridiculous move, showing real amateurism, that’s what friendlies are for?...to try out new partnerships and systems so you know your best players and systems for the major tournaments.

So this was certainly a pure nostalgia read for me bringing up many amusing names and events I had long since forgotten about. The writing and style is very much of its time and place, and hasn’t aged too well, but that’s also part of its charm, and this is a book which will appeal to fans of the man, era, team or sport, or all four. Good fun.

[Nick Ackland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like.soccer.

[Shonaigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Due to age I seen much more of McCoist on a Question of Sport than I ever did of him playing. Only seen archived footage of him. But, he is of course quite the character, cocky, very funny and there is something about him that you can't help but like. His beloved Rangers are in dire straights at the moment. The book itself was published in 1992 so is obviously all about Ally the player. Very easy to read with some laugh out loud moments as he recounts stories- particularly those featuring Paul Gascoigne. He came across well and the book looks at his family life, upbringing and how he got into football. Follows his journey in football and the trials he faces along the way- such as his poor spell in England, being treated unfairly by managers etc... Interesting getting a perspective on him and found it a very good read.