[Albion] Alexis Mac Allister: Albion legend?

[Tyrone Biggums]

Really, so your basing it on length of time at the club, Mark Lawrenson spent just over 3 years at the club, he is a legend is he not to the older folks on here ? What did he ever win while here ? I think we will watch him grow and go on to win many more trophies and only then will some folk hark back to watching him, telling their kids, we once had a world cup winner, quietly going about his business in midfield, so what he was not always the one who showboated or had the silky skills of some, but he was at the heart of our growth, we grew side by side as a club and him as a player. and we have achieved our best EVER season, with him at the heart, and that is why he will always stay in mine, and is a legend.

A lot of the stuff I've read about ML on here has been disparaging

That's generally not the tone directed towards club legends.

 

[Happy Exile]

Ali Mac and his achievements make him someone who will clearly go down in club legend and folklore and rightly so, but I'm not sure he's a club legend himself.

 

[HalfaSeatOn]

He can join the queue of WC winners while at the club. Of course he’s a legend. In this day and age, leaving to progress your career on cordial terms is an added bonus.

 

[dwayne]

Don't get me wrong, seems like a great guy (although dumping his bird for her best mate wasn't a great thing), model pro, always gave 100%, etc etc

But....

The fact that I can't think of more than 3 standout moments in maccers career at the Albion (last min palace, Leicester FK,man u pen). And the fact that he was largely average for his first 2 years at the club (go read the :maccer signs' thread on this very website) would put me firmly in the not legend camp.

I definitely have no grudge for him joining Liverpool, fair play. But I can't see him being much better than average there, which is no slant as they are a massive club.

 

[seagullwedgee]

Great player, supreme commitment in his application, on the pitch and in the camp.

But you can’t be a legend on 120 appearances and 20 goals. Half of which were pens.

 

[dazzer6666]

Not for me Clive, not been here long enough. Will be part of the history as an Albion WC winner and remembered as a very decent player and top bloke though.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Really, so your basing it on length of time at the club, Mark Lawrenson spent just over 3 years at the club, he was no fancy Dan on the ball & he is a legend is he not to the older folks on here ? What did he ever win while here ? I think we will watch him grow and go on to win many more trophies and only then will some folk hark back to watching him, telling their kids, we once had a world cup winner, quietly going about his business in midfield, so what he was not always the one who showboated or had the silky skills of some, but he was at the heart of our growth, we grew side by side as a club and him as a player. and we have achieved our best EVER season, with him at the heart, and that is why he will always stay in mine, and is a legend.

Legend, iconic, world class…there are lots of ways to describe top rate players.
‘Legend‘ does take into account time of service, ideally connections to the area, number of appearances.
Every club should only have a handful of legends or it’s cheapened.
For me Dunk is THE stand-out legend in the years Ive followed the Albion.
I like ‘iconic’ for Mac - it recognises his unique talents, World Cup, his personality, his role in the most successful ever period for the club but also recognises his fleeting contribution in the greater scheme of things. Arguably his WC win makes him more of an Argentina legend than an Albion one.

 

[Taybha]

Not exactly Robin Hood I'd say more Bagger Vance.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Really difficult for me…..

In terms of ability and achievement then ‘yes’, but the word legend is thrown around quite a bit.

I voted ‘nah’, because as well as the above there needs to be longevity as well in my view.

Great player though and am sad he’s gone.

 

[BN9 BHA]

100 appearances….definitely not

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I'd argue that Hans Kraay is a legend. No long service, no special talent, but legendary status. Johnny Crumplin is another.

Neither are hearts of the club but both are legends. Stories are told.

There are also greats of the club. Outstanding players.

Then there is a very rare group who are both greats and legends. Pete Ward for example.

For me, Alexis is a great. Not a legend.

 

[Icy Gull]

A lot of the stuff I've read about ML on here has been disparaging

That's generally not the tone directed towards club legends.

Lawrenson’s an odd one. When here he was sublime, especially as a centre back, his marauding runs WERE the stuff of legend.

However after he left he pretty well airbrushed us from his past, in the eyes of many of us. His love was for Preston and Liverpool and he made no bones about it. I think we (well me certainly) got a little precious about it but recently, as we are on the up again, he happily links himself to us when asked

As said before until a season or so ago he was recognised by us old timers as probably our best ever Albion player (seen in the flesh)

Alexis, so far in thoughts towards the Albion, seems the complete opposite. Let’s wait and see what his thoughts on his past are when he’s won a few League titles and a couple of CLs

 

[Simster]

* Made nearly top flight 100 appearances for the club. A number only bettered by maybe 20 players in history.
* Integral to the side that got us into Europe for the first time.
* First Albion player to appear in a World Cup final, a game that he bossed for an hour
* Made the club at least £30m profit, possibly nearer £50m.

He was also crying his eyes out on the final day. He'd be happy here forever and is only leaving because he knows he has to for the sake of his career.

Of course he's a legend. Especially if he ends up back here in the twilight of his career.

 

[AstroSloth]

The way I see it Mac Allister is a legend not really for his play with us (even though it's been exceptional) but because of what else he's done.

Becoming a World Cup winner whilst playing for us is incredible. Then to go along with that how we've treated him means young Argentinian players now see us as THE place to come and develop which could be huge in the future.

 

[Simster]

It’s a word that can be overused.
We have one very obvious legend.
And two who are close to legendary status.
In some ways it’s an insult to Dunk to call Mac a legend too.

It really isn't an insult to Dunk at all. Dunk is another legend, a bigger one in fact. But then Dunk is in the conversation when deciding who in is Albion's all time legend.

I know there's always a recency bias in these conversations, but you have to accept that a large number of all time legends are of the Amex Premier league era. Dunk, Ale Mac, Groß, Sir Chris Houghton, and in time there will be one or two others.

 

[Norman Potting]

Hope this works - video from early in the year of the legend, the medal and some awe struck young fans.

 

[A1X]

No, lovely guy and a great player for us but then so have others been. Noteworthy in our history? Absolutely.

For my mind, we have only one “legend” at the club right now, that being Dunk. Solly and Pascal are on the cusp. The others not there yet, another two seasons of Ali Mac building on where we’ve got to and it’d be an unquestioned yes.

 

[pb21]

I get the idea about playing for long enough to warrant legend status, but how long is long enough?

Mac Allister has played 112 times for us, which arguably isn't enough, but in his first stint Zamora only played an additional 24 times, with 136 appearances.

 

[portlock seagull]

Nah, we’ve loads of ex players who won the World Cup…

 

[Bridcutt]

Definitely not. Choosing to stay with us for another year instead of going to Liverpool would have helped