More Than Argentina

Authorised Biography of Ally MacLeod

Ronnie McDevitt

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• eBook ISBN:
  9781909626812
• Year: 2014

Generally remembered only as the manager of Scotland's national soccer team during the ill-fated trip to the 1978 World Cup, Ally MacLeod was a colorful character who in fact gave far more to the Scottish game. From Third Lanark to Blackburn Rovers, Ally was a successful player and leading campaigner in the abolition of soccer players' minimum wage. His managerial career with Ayr United, Aberdeen, Airdrie, Motherwell, and Queen of the South is also assessed with contributions from his family, supporters and former players. Which of the Old Firm clubs approached him shortly after he was appointed manager of Scotland? Did he really underestimate Peru? How did one of Scottish soccer's oldest trophies get damaged within the MacLeod household? And why didn't he select Andy Gray for Argentina? If you think all there was to the man was Peru and Iran, think again and read the truth about Ally MacLeod.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Preface
• Foreword
• 1. Young MacLeod
• 2. Alistair the Third
• 3. Briefly a Buddy
• 4. Ally the Anglo
• 5. Noddy Goes to Wembley
• 6. A Capital Captain
• 7. Back to Cathkin
• 8. An Honest Man
• 9. Bouncing Back
• 10. Full-time Boss
• 11. Mr Ayr United
• 12. A Citizen of Ayr
• 13. Top Ten Target
• 14. A New Don
• 15. The King of Aberdeen
• 16. A Wembley Winner
• 17. On the March
• 18. The Summer of ’78
• 19. Argentina
• 20. Retention and Resignation
• 21. The Fir Park Experience
• 22. Life with the Diamonds
• 23. Home Again
• 24. Somerset Sunset
• 25. A Dumfries Swansong
• 26. A Commercial Opportunity
• 27. The Final Whistle
• Postscript: Blackburn Revisited
• Photographs