Sean Graham
Ronnie Coyle is one of Raith Rovers’ greatest servants, playing 327 games and scoring 13 goals between January 1988 and March 1996. As most fans will know, Coyle, who also played for Celtic, Middlesborough and Rochdale, has been battling the devastating effects of leukaemia recently.
For the 46-year-old Scot, the last two years have shown that the life of a footballer is not always about fame and glory, especially when health problems are involved and dealing with a cruel illness like leukaemia is never going to be easy.
“Dealing with leukaemia has been a life changing experience and you appreciate how precious your life and family are.” the Glaswegian said in a recent interview. “I have been appreciating and enjoying life to the full as you just don’t know what’s round the corner for you.”
In order to show their respect for their club’s legend and to raise awareness, Raith Rovers Former Players Association, with the kind permission of Raith Rovers FC, have arranged a benefit match in Coyle’s name to kick off on Sunday, with all proceeds going towards the Ronnie Coyle benefit fund.
On the day when Scotland take on the samba stars of Brazil in London, this match for Rovers legend Coyle will take place in Kirkcaldy and fans who are not making the trip to the English capital, could spend their Sunday at Stark’s Park, supporting a worthwhile cause.
The Ronnie Coyle benefit match takes place with Raith Rovers’ team of 1994 taking on Celtic in a re-run of Rovers’ Coca Cola League Cup final of the same year. All of Raith Rovers historic 1994 cup final squad have agreed to take part and will be managed by the legendary Jimmy Nicholl, while the Celtic team will be taken by ex Raith and Celtic legend Frank Connor.
The organisers of the Ronnie Coyle benefit match were given a massive boost when it was confirmed that three former internationals, two of who previously starred for Manchester United, will also participate in the big match.
Former England international Gary Pallister, who was one of Coyle’s team-mates at Middlesbrough, later went on to play for Manchester United winning an impressive range of accolades including the FA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, Football League Cup and the Premier League title.
Pallister will feature in the Raith Rovers side along with Dennis Irwin, the former Republic of Ireland international who is best known for his long stint at Manchester United. Earlier in his career Irwin played for Leeds United and Oldham Athletic, and it was whilst he was at Oldham, and Coyle was at Rochdale, that they shared a flat.
It is also confirmed that a further addition has been made to the list of players in the Celtic side with another former Republic of Ireland international agreeing to come along in support of a great mate.
Bernie Slaven started his career with Greenock Morton in 1980, before moving on to Airdrieonians, Queen of the South and then Albion Rovers before finally landing at Middlesbrough, where he became friendly with Coyle.
Coyle’s career has taken in Celtic, Clyde, Middlesbrough, Rochdale, Raith Rovers, Ayr United, Albion Rovers, East Fife, Queen’s Park and the Scotland youth squad before quitting the game to work in sales and marketing.
The 46-year-old Glaswegian has never hidden his love for Rovers, where he spent most of his footballing career, and this became even more evident when he gave his support to a fundraising walk called the “Reclaim the Rovers” campaign in the summer of 2005.
Coyle is going through a hard time at the moment, but he is a fighter and is held in high regard by everyone at Raith Rovers and beyond, as the names of the players who want to appear in this benefit match for him shows.
He has made many friends in the game and has given the Raith Rovers supporters plenty to smile about, especially during their run to the Coca Cola Cup final and venture into Europe as the side participated in the UEFA Cup for the very first time in the club’s history in the mid-90s.
With the Rovers being the obvious underdogs to Celtic, the Coca Cola Cup final was a bittersweet day for Coyle and it was a delight to see his club win a domestic cup, despite his best mate, Paul McStay, stepping up to miss the decisive penalty.
With Raith Rovers winning the cup, this meant a shot at Europe for this little club from Kirkcaldy and it is no wonder that the Scotsman today describes the two First Division titles, the Coca Cola Cup win and the club’s magnificent performance on the European stage as the highlights of his career: “The positives were of course the result for the club, the supporters and what it meant to a small club like the Rovers. The European venture that followed was a major high for everyone, apart from the moment when I slipped at the wrong time and allowed Bayern to equalise.”
Coyle has truly played an immense part in Rovers’ history and the huge popularity of the charity match on Sunday has highlighted that it is now time for the club to return favours and to support their idol who has been loyal to the Kirkcaldy club for so long.
And with this, the last word should go to Ronnie Coyle himself, who expressed how much this gesture means to him: “Words cannot express how I feel towards the people behind the benefit match and the club. My heartfelt thanks go to all of the players for making the effort to participate in the day, I am truly humbled by their response. To my family at Raith – well, they all know exactly how I feel about them, I don’t need words!”
