Former Rangers boss and Ibrox legend, Ally McCoist, speaking on Talksport (via The Daily Record) has raised doubts about the attitude of Lyle Taylor after it was revealed that the striker has refused to play out the season with Charlton Athletic.
Taylor has been heavily linked with a move to the Gers and after Addicks boss, Lee Bowyer, confirmed his reasons for removing himself from selection it only served to fuel the flames of speculation.
So what has McCoist said?
When asked to give his opinion on Taylor’s controversial decision, he said:
“Of course, Lyle Taylor, or any individual has got a priority to look after himself and his family.
“But, when you sign a contract, any contract, any profession, any walk of life, if you’re happy to sign the contract you should at least be happy to enough to honour the contract and see it out.
“You can’t sign a contract and say ‘of there’s a nice three-year contract’ and honour it for two-and-a-half years.
“It just not right, it’s 100 per cent not right.
“So, if any individual, and I don’t know the ins and outs of Lyle’s contract, any player who is under contract, I’ve got a serious problem with them not putting themselves up to play.”
So is McCoist correct?
He would be right if these were normal times and Taylor had signed a pre-contract agreement with another club before setting out his stall, however, it is a far from a normal world that we currently live in and football is no different.
What McCoist doesn’t understand – and even admits he doesn’t know the details of Taylor’s contract – is that the striker’s deal finishes at the end of June and Charlton are (potentially) due to begin playing again from June the 20th having not played since March, he has chosen not to extend his contract and will leave when it ends, which is entirely his right.
Bowyer claims he understands Taylor’s motives because the player’s move is “life changing” but he should have handled it better rather than throwing a player – who has done so much for him – under a bus on national radio.