Alloa game, decision should have been Alistairs, (I agree)

[bawsburst 1,381]

Ally must action cap call-offs at Rangers

ALLY McCoist has been heavily criticised and, at times, even derided for having Rangers games postponed during the last year or so.

Matthew Lindsay Sports Journalist Monday 10/11/2014

Ally McCoist urges his men on from the sidelines in the 4-0 win over Falkirk

Fans of all football clubs like to go and see their side in action at three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon - at home especially.

So when a match is switched to a midweek slot, for whatever reason, it tends to annoy supporters.

The logic behind McCoist asking for fixtures to be called off - that three or more of his players are away on international duty - has not been widely accepted.

When the Gers manager last invoked SPFL rule G7 and had last month's scheduled Petrofac Training Cup quarter-final against East Fife put back it upset many.

Centre-backs Bilel Mohsni and Marius Zaliukas were called up by Tunisia and Lithuania respectively. Northern Ireland, meanwhile, placed Dean Shiels on stand-by.

All three men had featured in the first team in the 2014/15 campaign. But not all of them were likely to kick off the last eight tie at New Bayview.

In fact, it was not inconceivable that none of them would play.

Surely, a lot of disgruntled fans asked, the Ibrox club has a strong enough squad to be able to cope with a meeting with part-time opposition from the bottom division without Mohsni, Shiels and Zaliukas?

For followers of other clubs, meanwhile, it was nothing short of laughable that the once-mighty Glasgow giants appeared to be running scared of minnows from Methil.

McCoist will argue that it is his responsibility as manager to put out his strongest possible side on the park irrespective of how lowly the opposition team are.

He will also point to the fact his side has won all four of the games he has had postponed - against Dunfermline, Forfar, Cowdenbeath and East Fife - this season and last.

Yet, whether you approve of his stance in these situations or not is neither here nor there in the case of the Championship match with Alloa at Ibrox this Saturday.

For the club board to decree the match goes ahead without consulting with their manager on the matter is alarming and suggests all is not well in the relationship between the two parties.

Yes, the future of the troubled League One champions remains, despite Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley agreeing to loan them £2million last month, shrouded in uncertainty.

And, yes, playing the game against Alloa this weekend as scheduled will certainly ensure that much-needed revenue comes in to the stricken club as normal.

It should also prevent Championship leaders Hearts pulling further ahead of Rangers at the top of the second tier table ahead of a massive meeting between the two sides at Tynecastle seven days later.

But the decision on the Alloa match going ahead was a football one and should have been taken by Ally McCoist and Ally McCoist alone.

That it was not was a disturbing development and has set a worrying precedent. What's next? Derek Llambias ruling that Jon Daly deserves a start up front ahead of Kris Boyd? David Somers insisting the side should set up in a 4-5-1 formation instead of a 4-4-2?

The absence of Mohsni and Arnold Peralta will not impact on Rangers as neither man has featured for the first team in weeks.

The loss of Lewis Macleod, however, most certainly will. It is no surprise McCoist is considering asking Scotland boss Gordon Strachan to release the midfielder for the game if he is not set to be involved in the Euro 2016 qualifier with the Republic of Ireland on Friday night.

Macleod scored one goal - his eighth of the campaign -and set up Kenny Miller for another in an emphatic 4-0 triumph over Falkirk in a league game at Ibrox at the weekend.

He was also the deserved recipient of the man of the match award. The 20-year-old, then, will be conspicuous by his absence if he is not in the Rangers team against Alloa.

He certainly has been whenever he has been sidelined previously this term. It was no coincidence the Light Blues drew 1-1 with Alloa away and lost 3-1 to Hibs at home when the talented youngster was injured.

Five of the eight points they have dropped in the league this season have been leaked without him.

Stevie Smith will probably get the nod to stand in for Macleod and will no doubt acquit himself with all of his usual professionalism.

But he is a specialist left- back and is not a like-for-like replacement.

Having said all that, if McCoist's men, who have now kept six consecutive clean sheets in all competitions, continue to play as well as they have done in recent weeks against Barry Smith's charges they should collect all three points.

Their performance against a decent Falkirk side was assured. A Nicky Law strike early on gave them the lead and subsequent efforts from Macleod, Miller and Nicky Clark secured another victory.

The backline of Richard Foster, Darren McGregor, Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace was once again rock solid. Steve Simonsen in goals was rarely troubled by the visitors.

Hearts edged out Raith Rovers - a side that Rangers had thrashed 6-1 a few weeks ago - by 1-0 through in the capital on Saturday and maintained their four-point advantage at the top of the table.

But the fact that Rangers have won eight games on the spin, letting in just one goal in the process, is rightly giving them confidence they can catch and overtake their main rivals for promotion back to the top flight.

You would think Ally McCoist, the man responsible for orchestrating that run of form and for overseeing Rangers rise through the bottom two divisions, would be deferred to on football matters. You would be wrong.

[AlCapone 7,678]

The decision needed to be made for him....and it was the correct decision

[dummiesoot 16,115]

Unfortunately finances dictated this decision, you can partly blame the boycotters and Ally for the 'get football stopped' style of play that some have stopped watching.

[hammer93 15,113]

We have a chance of reducing the margin to 1 point if we win our next

2 games but if we postponed then lost it would be a 10 point gap a no

brainer to play the game.

[j1mgg 3,766]

I don't trust Ally to make these decisions as I am 99% sure he would of tried to postpone this as well.

[bawsburst 1,381]

If the board cannot accept the managers views on footballing matters they should take the hard decision, if they cannot take the hard decision they should allow the manager to manage as he sees any given footballing situation.

All they are doing is creating a lame duck managerial position.

[nedged 58]

Someone calling up favours from the media pack?

[cumnockbear 2,446]

It was the right decision for a number of reasons, 1) financially, Play the game on Saturday and have circa 35k or postpone to December time and play midweek in front of circa 20/25k, 2) Don't break momentum we're on a good winning streak and only a few points behind Hearts going into the crucial game with them in less than 2 weeks, 3) A backlog in fixtures is never good whether it's 1 game or 5 games especially when you're challenging in all domestic competitions.

[theiconicman 3,002]

Nice logical fallacy that because Mccoist was overruled on postponement then next we'll have the Board running the team.

[Rfc#1. 1,877]

Even though i think its extremely unlikely,who do we blame if it goes tits up and we got beaten?

Football decisions should be made by the manager,if they've nae faith in him fire him oot the door.

Sayin that,i am glad it going ahead as planned.

[BMC 125]

In England it´s increasingly seldom they have "managers" anymore... They just have first team coaches like in Europé.

[SeparateEntityMyArse 54,280]

It is the correct financial decision. Ally doesnt concern himself with finances so it is correct the board make this decision.

[AMcK 92]

Should normally be the manager's decision however it's difficult to ignore the financial element as shifting the game to midweek negatively impacts the attendance. Slightly worrying also that Ally isn't confident of beating the likes of Alloa at home without one player.

[Frank Reynolds 3,359]

He should have made the decision, I agree.

However it is clear he wasn't going to make that decision, so it was made for him.

[True Azure 1,414]

Should normally be the manager's decision however it's difficult to ignore the financial element as shifting the game to midweek negatively impacts the attendance. Slightly worrying also that Ally isn't confident of beating the likes of Alloa at home without one player.

Indeed. Worrying? it's fuckin' baffling that a Rangers manager would be happy to postpone a match against Alloa because one player was on International duty!!!!!

[dougie76 15,362]

Correct decision no matter who made it, yes it's a wee bit embarrassing for Ally but l'm sure he'll get over it.

[Zulu 981]

If the board cannot accept the managers views on footballing matters they should take the hard decision, if they cannot take the hard decision they should allow the manager to manage as he sees any given footballing situation.

All they are doing is creating a lame duck managerial position.

He is a fukin lame duck

[The Dude 20,026]

Indeed. Worrying? it's fuckin' baffling that a Rangers manager would be happy to postpone a match against Alloa because one player was on International duty!!!!!

If only one player is called up the rules don't allow for a postponement.

[Rangers Lady 2,380]

Few could handle the situation as graciously as Ally .

[Clyde Valley 234]

If there is no money to pay Allys wages due to him calling Saturday games off then Im sure he would understand.

[AlBear. 8,499]

The decision needed to be made for him....and it was the correct decision

It'll only be proved correct if we win, like we have after every other international week postponement up to now.

[AlCapone 7,678]

It'll only be proved correct if we win, like we have after every other international week postponement up to now.

if we dont beat Alloa at home then it wont be down to players missing for internationals, get real!

[Beaujolais 1,371]

The board direct the Manager. On this they have overruled him. They are in my opinion completely within their rights to do so. There is a good football reason for ensuring the game goes ahead and a significant financial benefit. If Ally does not like it.. He has options.

[AlBear. 8,499]

if we dont beat Alloa at home then it wont be down to players missing for internationals, get real!

I didn't say it would. It's the correct decision for, and according to, the fans but we don't know if it is the correct decision for the team...yet.

[TheMotor 2,208]

I don't agree that the decision should lie with the manager, whether it is Ally or anyone else. Yes, he should be able to make representations to the board but it should always be a board decision. I thought in most clubs sheduling resposibilities belong to the club secretary, reporting to the board.