Luckily for Super Ally, failure at Motherwell and expulsion from the Europa League next midweek won’t see him sent to the Tower of London; nor see him lose his lands and children; or even result in his head and bodily parts being distributed to various corners of the kingdom.
We’ve moved on in recent centuries (in some ways) and although this might not be popular, a week of disappointing results probably won’t even see a real prospect of change in leadership at Ibrox. Sure, it would put McCoist and co. under extreme pressure – and there is a chance that more dropped points against Aberdeen and especially in the first home derby of the season would lead to serious, sustained and genuine pressure on the (metaphorical) head of the manager. But it is all, for the moment, the stuff of its, buts and maybes. And, more importantly, from this dark place there is a chance for Ally McCoist to find his spider and seek inspiration.
Firstly, it is notable that following last night’s debacle in Slovenia Ally chose not to spare his players from their share of blame. To lose one goal in the fashion we did was to invoke memories of the long and far from proud history of Rangers European concession: the second was enough to wonder what Lady Bracknell would have made of it all. The players do have to accept the blame for the two terrible goals and for a general lack of concentration. Despite this, it is still Super who picked the side and – much more importantly – it is McCoist who sat and watched while the opposition team cramped up and tired, yet dealt with this by changing personnel. Ally, on the other hand, made no attempt to freshen up the side and those watching both in the stadium and on satellite television must have wondered why – for example – someone like Lee McCulloch was punished by remaining on the field while in a state bordering on distressed. He and others were knackered; weary legs, tired minds, slowly crumbling in front of our eyes. And there were no reinforcements to be found.
We joked the other week on the FF Twitter that the reluctance to use subs was some form of message being sent to Craig Whyte, along the lines of “this is all I have to work with”, but the unfunny aspect now is that no serious explanation is immediately apparent. The manager quickly runs into some logical problems if he is too harsh on the second-half performance of men when he had it in his power to swap them with physically more effective substitutes. This aspect of the game was truly one where all the huffing and puffing and arguments over delicate and complicated football tactics and approaches was rendered inadequate: not a single person who watched that game could understand why something as simple as fresh replacements for visibly ailing players was not undertaken. If there is an excuse, a means to justify or to explain, then we need to hear it and it had better be exceptional.
Secondly, the manager admitted he made a decision that didn’t work out: the replacement of Naismith by Lafferty at half-time. Now, this is very much of the ‘small beer’ variety of signs but not if it speaks of willingness on his part to actually do what most people want: namely, for him to stamp his own authority on this squad and to be more ruthless as his options increase. He has to accept the responsibility when it goes wrong but he also must endeavour to be clear in trying to improve matters and to show that lessons are learned: decisively and quickly. Naismith ran the risk of red but the change lead to more space in midfield for the opposition and the barely-ready Lafferty predictably toiled. This cannot be allowed again and it’s clear that – if availability allows – we cannot possibly countenance the twin pair of McCulloch and Edu as our starting midfield in a game we look to win. We see it. Ally must see it. And he must change it.
Ally McCoist is fifty next year. Whether or not he can make it as manager of The Rangers remains to be seen but he is no longer a fresh-faced young man who needs mollycoddled. People will call – and have called – for him to be helped by an older coach of some sort but the insult explicit in such a move would be too much for a man of his position to bear. It’s certainly comforting for some to wish that Walter Smith was still there to lend a hand but there were a number of points in Walter’s second spell as manager where he was under intense pressure (it pains me even now to type the Kaunus word) and both this and other Rangers websites were very close to suggesting that he should retire and seek out the best cardigans to be had at woollen mills across the nation. Smith got through those times and his second spell was, undoubtedly, more remarkable and worthy than his first. Ally won’t get a second chance to be the boss, but he now has to earn that first opportunity.
Even in the world of ifs and buts, whys and what-not’s, this time next week Rangers could have removed Motherwell from atop the SPL and progressed to the group stages of the Europa League. Neither result would shock odds-makers. Even allowing for legitimate areas of doubt, a 1-0 home win against Maribor is not beyond this squad. If we truly believe that then it is time to bash every panic button in sight. Neither Ally nor the players must consider such mental rot. Two wins will be a way to show character and impress upon the footballing world that this season can still be a success, even after a slow and less than impressive start.
All problems will not be solved; all suspicions forgotten; all genuine concern forever banished. It will be a test of Ally McCoist as a man, a manager and as a Ranger. He scarcely let himself down as a player but only goodwill is relevant from that past life - and legendary status on its own has not saved previous occupants of the office of manager. We shall discover soon if he can negotiate the first obstacle on the road to success as the boss. He must pass this test. For all of us.