Ally MacLeod

Ally MacLeod
Personal information
Full name	Alistair Reid MacLeod[1]
Date of birth	26 February 1931
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death	1 February 2004 (aged 72)
Place of death	Ayr, Scotland
Position(s)	Left wing
Senior career*
Teams managed
1966–1975	Ayr United
1975–1977	Aberdeen
1977–1978	Scotland
1978	Ayr United
1979–1981	Motherwell
1984–1985	Airdrieonians
1986–1989	Ayr United
1991–1992	Queen of the South
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Alistair Reid "Ally" MacLeod (26 February 1931 – 1 February 2004) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He is perhaps best known for his time as the Scotland national football team manager, including their appearance at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. MacLeod played as a left winger for Third Lanark (two spells), St Mirren, Blackburn Rovers, Hibernian and Ayr United. He then managed Ayr United (three spells), Aberdeen, Scotland, Motherwell, Airdrieonians and Queen of the South.

Early years

Alistair Reid MacLeod was born in the south side of Glasgow on 26 February 1931. His family lived in Clydebank for a while but the house was bombed during the Second World War. At length they settled in Mount Florida, near to Hampden Park and Cathkin Park. McLeod signed provisionally for Third Lanark when he was still a schoolboy.[2] He made swift dashes up the left wing. His distinctive running action earned him the nickname "Noddy".[3]

Playing career

MacLeod started his playing career at Third Lanark as a provisional signing as a schoolboy in 1947. He made his first-team debut against Stirling Albion at Cathkin Park on 6 November 1949.

Despite Stirling being victorious 4–2 MacLeod frequently joked that his was a debut with a difference—although he did not set the local heather on fire, someone else did! As the teams trooped off the field at the end of the match, Cathkin's grandstand was ablaze. The players had to run into the dressing room, grab their clothes and race out as four fire engines had arrived to tackle the fire.

In 1953, MacLeod was in the Thirds side that trounced Alloa Athletic in the League Cup opener, 10–0. Sitting 8–0 up, MacLeod's teammates' main objective was to get him on the scoresheet. He had set up five goals but had missed several sitters himself. A left-foot rocket shot, and a simple tap in took Thirds' tally to 10. He joined the Royal Scots for National Service but was still able to turn out for the Thirds.

MacLeod was reluctant to move to St Mirren in 1956, but having secured a guarantee that the reported £8,000 fee would tremendously help Third Lanark's survival, he moved on. He spent only six weeks at St Mirren before moving to English team Blackburn Rovers.

Managed by fellow Scot Dally Duncan, MacLeod was man of the match in the 1960 FA Cup Final, but the game was lost 3–0 to Wolves.[2] While at Blackburn he made strenuous efforts along with the PFA steward Jimmy Hill to help abolish the maximum wage, but when subsequently his promised wage increase was not forthcoming, while other players in the team were raised from £20 to £25 per week, he entered into discussions with Hibernian. When Blackburn realised that they were going to lose him to Hibs they matched their offer with an increase from £20 to £25. MacLeod, having already accepted Hibs' offer, felt he could not go back on his word, so left Blackburn to go back to Scotland.

He played with Hibs until 1963, when he returned to Third Lanark. In 1964 he signed for Ayr United, where he finished his playing career, with no major honours won.

Coaching career

Ayr United

He started his managerial career in 1966 when he took charge of Ayr United. He took Ayr back to Scotland's top division and turned them into well respected side.[2] He took them to a Scottish and a League Cup semi-final[2] and also set their attendance record with 25,225 watching a 2–1 success over Rangers F.C. In 1973, MacLeod was named Ayr's "Citizen of the Year".

Aberdeen

In November 1975, after nine years at Ayr, he moved to Aberdeen where he guided them to a League Cup final success over Celtic.[2]

Scotland

After such success with Ayr and Aberdeen, in May 1977 the Scottish Football Association appointed him manager of the Scotland national football team.[2] He introduced himself to the squad with the blunt statement: "My name is Ally MacLeod and I am a winner." In his first months in charge, Scotland beat England at Wembley and qualified for the 1978 World Cup from a group containing Czechoslovakia, who had won the 1976 European Championship, and Wales.[2] Scotland's World Cup expectations gathered momentum with MacLeod happy with the wave of massive optimism, saying to the press his team would return with "at least a medal".[2] Scottish comedian Andy Cameron recorded a version of "Ally's Tartan Army", which reached number 6 in the UK charts just before the World Cup.

Qualification was particularly sweet for Scotland since, for the second World Cup in succession, Scotland had achieved what their traditional rivals England had not. Defeat against England in the 1977–78 British Home Championship was taken to mean little. Spirits remained sky-high as 25,000 people came to Hampden Park to watch the squad circle the ground in an open-top bus prior to their departure for Argentina.[2] Prestwick Airport was packed with supporters seeing the team off. When a journalist asked him "What do you plan to do after the World Cup?" MacLeod replied: "Retain it."[4] This anecdote, though, is denied in some accounts of the Scottish saga at the 1978 World Cup[5] and has been cited as one of the most popular hoaxes in British football.[6]

Some observers were worried by the absence through injury of full-back Danny McGrain. Opponents Peru's impressive credentials went overlooked and were not expected to provide many problems in the first match. Peru, however, won the game 3–1. Scotland took the lead but Don Masson missed a penalty and in general failed to play to their potential.[2] As MacLeod himself put it, the performance was "rank bad". Plentiful excuses emerged: there had been a dispute concerning bonuses, the hotel swimming pool had no water in it, there was nothing for the players to do. It was then revealed that the winger Willie Johnston had taken a cold tablet which contained a banned stimulant fencamfamine (Reactivan). He was sent home.[2] MacLeod, at a press conference, saw a mongrel dog approach: "I think he is the only friend I have got left", he said, stretching out a hand.

The game with Iran finished a 1–1 draw, after a poor display by the Scots. They then needed to beat the Netherlands, one of the tournament favourites, by three clear goals, to qualify.[2] MacLeod gave Graeme Souness his first game of the World Cup and was rewarded with a much-improved team performance. When Archie Gemmill scored what is widely thought to be one of the greatest World Cup goals ever (it was officially ranked seventh best by FIFA), to make the score 3–1 to Scotland, qualification to the next phase looked possible. Three minutes later, though, the Dutch pulled a goal back; the game ended 3–2 and Scotland were eliminated on goal difference. The Netherlands proceeded to the final, where they lost to Argentina.[2]

MacLeod survived an immediate inquest by the sport's authorities but resigned after one more game in charge,[2] only 17 matches and about 500 days after his appointment.

The Scottish Football Association's annual report, issued in May 1979, stated that, "regardless of the depressing aspects of Mr MacLeod's latter days in the Association's employ, it would be quite unfair not to comment that he was largely responsible for kindling an enthusiasm for the Scottish team that far exceeded anything which had gone before. The Association benefited considerably from that enthusiasm and should not forget it".

In his autobiography, The Ally MacLeod Story (1979), he wondered whether he had "generated just too much excitement. Had I raised the level of national optimism just too high?" But he was able to console himself: "Would the Scottish fans have tolerated anything less from me than whole-hearted conviction?" MacLeod also reassured the reader that he, for one, never thought that Scotland were invincible, and claimed to be perfectly at peace with himself. "I am a very good manager who just happened to have a few disastrous days, once upon a time, in Argentina."

Later career

His subsequent managerial career included spells at Motherwell (1979–1981), Airdrie (1984–1985) and a return to Ayr (1986–1989) when he again won the Second Division title. His last job in football was with Dumfries club Queen of the South. In 1992, he played in a game for Queens' reserve team, scoring a goal from a penalty at the age of 61.[2][7]

Death and tributes

Increasingly again treated with affection by the Scottish footballing public, in July 2003, at Hampden Park, he was presented with a crystal decanter in appreciation of his services to the national team and to Scottish football.

He died in 2004, aged 72, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.[8] MacLeod was posthumously inducted to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2015.[9]