Ally Dick

Porto Loyal

Well-Known Member
Bears of my age will remember he was one of the first players linked with Souness. Bit about him on BBC website today, where he confirms what happened. Interesting Davie Cooper element too


It looked like Rangers would be his next destination, a move that would have made Dick the Ibrox club's first high-profile Catholic player three years before Maurice Johnston claimed that label.

The winger was keen and so was manager Graeme Souness, only for the deal to break down.

"I made the mistake of telling one of my mates, who told his mate, who phoned a newspaper," Dick says. "Two days later the headline wasn't 'Ally Dick signs for Rangers', it was 'RC [Roman Catholic] signs for Rangers'.

"Souness phoned me and said things had got a little out of hand so they were just going to shelve the move for the time being."

The Rangers manager would still be involved in Dick's next move, though.

Shortly after the Ibrox deal faltered, Souness was contacted by Cruyff with a view to signing Davie Cooper. The Ajax icon was rebuffed but was sent away with a recommendation that he take another Scottish winger. "That's why I got a very strange call out the blue from Ajax," Dick says.
 
Never heard of him before and a very interesting read.
 
Really interesting to think of Cooper going to Ajax, he was still to give us a couple more good years though from this point in time so glad he didn't though.
 
So his move to us was shelved because it was leaked to the press that we were signing an RC?
I seem to remember the Sun knew we were signing Maurice Johnston.
 
Nowadays he would have gotten a lot more support and potentially recovered his career.

Or at least made a small fortune and set him up for life.
 
How "high-profile" of a Catholic was he?

I'd like a look at the media's working when deciding who is and who isn't a "high profile Catholic".
 
How "high-profile" of a Catholic was he?

I'd like a look at the media's working when deciding who is and who isn't a "high profile Catholic".
His family are/were Catholic but having known them (my dad was pals with Ally's old man) I'm not sure they were ever inside a place of worship for anything other than weddings/funerals - like the rest of us.
 
I saw him play a few times at White Hart Lane and he was a cracking player. As Gosperl Bear says, he was dreadfully unlucky with injuries in his time at Spurs. Played a major part on this great day (with Paul Rideout superb for England);
 
I used to stay next door to him, and he was brand new with me wrecking his fence by constantly battering a ball off it every day, so quite a sound guy.
 
"Never heard of him before and a very interesting read."
Showing my age but he was vey sought after and had the potential to be a very very good player. Sadly for him and Scotland (and maybe Rangers) it wasn't to be as his career was cut far too short.
 
Was that common knowledge about Ajax wanting Davie Cooper? Fantastic to hear that Cruyff was another admirer of his.
 
Not entirely before my time but if this Dick was that good, why no Scotland caps?
 
Played against him many times for schools, Bannockburn HS v St Modans HS. Remember his old man bringing him down to the pitchside in his car when the weather was bad !
Stand out at schools level along wi Andy Kennedy from Wallace HS.
 
A good read and tbh I've never heard of him. He certainly must have had talent to make the grade with Cruyff and Ajax, shame the injury never allowed him to reach his true potential.
 
So his move to us was shelved because it was leaked to the press that we were signing an RC?
I seem to remember the Sun knew we were signing Maurice Johnston.
The Sun reported the story on the morning we signed Mojo.
 
Not entirely before my time but if this Dick was that good, why no Scotland caps?

The great Scottish hope that never really for-filled his early promise, also it was difficult for anyone under 23 yrs old them days to get a game for Scotland did not matter how good you were
 
I actually saw him play for Scotland under 18’s at the old Kingsmills Park in Inverness in the early 80’s. He played wide left. Good player then.

He was a part of the Scottish under 18 team that won the European championship in 1982. Absolutely unthinkable, now.

He got a bad injury whilst at Ajax.
 
I remember dick playing for Scotland schoolboys v england many years ago. He was outstanding that day and looked a real prospect.
 
Factual inaccuracies again in being the first RC player.
It's just accepted as truth that Rangers wouldn't sign RC rather than RCs too scared to sign for Rangers
I don’t the whole facts but Rangers had catholic players before Mo Jo,I think the Rangers don’t sign catholic’s played right into the fhilths propaganda and became more catholics don’t sign for Rangers,They don’t play for Scotland’s Catholic clubs nearest rivals or they won’t go to heaven.
 
How "high-profile" of a Catholic was he?

I'd like a look at the media's working when deciding who is and who isn't a "high profile Catholic".
Wouldn‘t really matter what interpretation you'd use.
Firstly, he wouldn’t have been the first RC but, the press would claim otherwise.
Fact is, he was from an RC background and this, even then, was enough to get the press mouthpieces salivating with their negative Rangers story.
Look at the way they questioned Butcher at the time then had things to say when we signed Francis.
That we went to Italy and still managed to avoid signing an RC.
The press are scum, parasitical scum.
Always have been and always will be.
 
How "high-profile" of a Catholic was he?

I'd like a look at the media's working when deciding who is and who isn't a "high profile Catholic".

He had a good game in a School Boys International at Wembley.

Admittedly he did look a prospect and signed for Spurs, I think.

But never did realise the potential we saw at Wembley.
 
Factual inaccuracies again in being the first RC player.
It's just accepted as truth that Rangers wouldn't sign RC rather than RCs too scared to sign for Rangers
The media have never reported this issue fairly.

To this day they report old cases ambiguously, referrring to 'difficulties' in RC's signing for Rangers without specifying the truth that the difficulties would be on the RC side.

Before Mo Johnston, Souness had tried for John Collins and Ray Houghton, both of whom declined citing 'not letting their families down' as the reason. (That's just a euphemism for their 'lives getting made hell' by their own community, as it was for Mo.)

In older times Old Firm players were very largely native Scots. If they were RC's they most likely went to apartheid schools, supported Celtic - the club, like the schools, set up exclusively to keep them apart from heretic Protestant influence - and dreamed of playing for their chosen team, not their biggest rival. It's hardly rocket-science to work out why so few RC's played for Rangers.

But we 'called their bluff' - after Mo, countless RC employees, players, a Captain, a manager, and yet thirty four years later they are bitterer than ever.
 
Factual inaccuracies again in being the first RC player.
It's just accepted as truth that Rangers wouldn't sign RC rather than RCs too scared to sign for Rangers

It doesn’t though, it says he would have been “ the Ibrox club's first high-profile Catholic player ”. Which at the time was true. And he was prepared to come, unlike Ray Houghton.
 
I don’t the whole facts but Rangers had catholic players before Mo Jo,I think the Rangers don’t sign catholic’s played right into the fhilths propaganda and became more catholics don’t sign for Rangers,They don’t play for Scotland’s Catholic clubs nearest rivals or they won’t go to heaven.
They forgot about Don Kichendbrand. The big South African .
 
I played against him at old accies Park, Scottish schoolboys semi final.
Hamilton Grammar - St Mowdens.
They beat us on penalty kicks.
He was class player then.
 
Have a look for a book called "The next big thing" its full of stories of guys like him who should have(but never) made it, he does have a section in it.
He played for Stirling Boys Club but a few years before him they had a player called Vic Robertson who imo was the best young player i had ever played against by a mile, if i remember correctly he played for and scored for StJohnstone when 16 years old i have no clue where he ended up.
 
How "high-profile" of a Catholic was he?

I'd like a look at the media's working when deciding who is and who isn't a "high profile Catholic".
He was pretty high profile. IIRC he was the Billy Gilmour of his day in terms of signing a big contract for Spurs whilst still very young. He was the first player to be paid a substantial signing on type fee when he was about 16yo. His father drove the bargain, no agents then
 
The filth that passes for press in this country like to go on about sectarianism when it comes to Rangers yet it seems to be only them that bring up the subject whenever we try to sign someone.
They really are scum
 
I actually saw him play for Scotland under 18’s at the old Kingsmills Park in Inverness in the early 80’s. He played wide left. Good player then.

He was a part of the Scottish under 18 team that won the European championship in 1982. Absolutely unthinkable, now.

He got a bad injury whilst at Ajax.
I played in a East Inverness boys v West Inverness boys game before that game.
My claim to fame.
Still got the prog somewhere.
 
I played in a East Inverness boys v West Inverness boys game before that game.
My claim to fame.
Still got the prog somewhere.

Nice one, mate. A decent crowd there iirc.

Can you remember who Scotland played that night?

Was speaking to the old man about it after reading this thread and neither of us could remember who it was against.
 
Nice one, mate. A decent crowd there iirc.

Can you remember who Scotland played that night?

Was speaking to the old man about it after reading this thread and neither of us could remember who it was against.
Wales
I was at Central Primary at the time.
Year 7
Was weird playing at a proper ground with actual people watching and shouting.
 
John Spencer was years before, lazy or shitstirring journalism.


Wee John had no qualms in a Blue jersey.

Ally Dicks pals didn't want him signing for us.


That looks the way of it. Papers to blame as much as anyone, so no change there.
 
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