Hippo132

AN UNOFFICIAL KILLIE FANZINE

ISSUE NO. 132

Pasca does strictly come dancing MCCOOL SAYS...........MAGIC MUST GO C.O.G. - IN LAYMANS TERMS MANAGERS REPORT CARD.

£2.00

THE KILLIE HIPPO IS ON SALE AT HOWARD ARMS, GLENCAIRN SQUARE, KILMARNOCK FOG’S SNACK BAR, KILMARNOCK RUGBY CLUB CAR PARK KILLIE TRUST DESK (PARK HOTEL FOR HOME GAMES) MATCH DAYS AT RP + AT ALL AWAY GAMES

HUGE THANKS TO ALL ADVERTISERS, SUBSCRIBERS, DISTRIBUTORS AND KILLIE FANS FOR THEIR SUPPORT. All views expressed are those of the contributors.

E-MAIL : Killiehippo@aol.com WRITE : 20 WITCHKNOWE COURT, KILMARNOCK KA1 4LF

NO ARTICLES TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION

BACK ISSUES 2–131 INCLUSIVE AVAILABLE GET IN TOUCH FOR DETAILS

SHOOTING FROM THE HIPPO Welcome to issue 132 and I’m writing this as it has just been announced that Kris Boyd has been called into the Scotland squad for the Norway friendly. That’s great news and just reward for the big man who has shown a tremendous attitude since returning to Killie. He is the record goalscorer in our league and may well be the one thing that saves us from a horror season although I wish we had a shape to the team that would give him more chances than he is currently getting.

In the last editorial we were talking about the crucial upcoming games against Ross County and Hearts. Thankfully we won both games however the mood around the place is still depressing and our subsequent defeats in Inverness and Perth have left us languishing in 11th spot. I’m sure you don’t need reminding but if Hearts didn’t have their point deduction we would be sitting bottom of the lot!!

You will see a couple of articles in this issue about Allan Johnston and it does seem more and more fans are running out of patience with the boss. I’ll be honest, I feel a bit sorry for AJ as it can’t be easy having to work with Sandy Clark on a daily basis. It does appear that Clark has a strong influence on team selection/tactics and it would be fair to say that he isn’t over popular with many of the players. Fans pick up on anything when things are going badly and AJ’s media persona and tendency to stand on the touchline looking lost don’t help. It is still early in his Killie managerial career but huge improvement is required if he wants to be here for the long term.

Off the field nothing appears to have changed, Johnston clings onto his power whilst holding out for fantasy money and in the meantime the club slowly dies.

The consortium are still apparently working hard to get a deal done but the football club is Johnston’s bread and butter and he will hang around collecting his cash until he is forced out. I have absolutely no idea how this is all going to end but the longer he remains the more likelihood of the club will have a reak financial disaster.

You will probably know all about the working party that has been set up to look at community ownership. This will be ongoing regardless of who is in charge and if the consortium do take over we will be speaking to them immediately to ensure they are in this for the right reasons and to ensure they have a road map to community ownership. That is the only way we can prevent a repeat of the current depressing situation, a situation that not one Killie fan can be enjoying.

Thanks to all you loyal Hippo readers for your continued support during this “annus horribilis” and please keep sending us your thoughts. Ideally someone will come up with a simple resolution and we can all get back to screaming abuse at the stewards.

Sandy

MCCOOL SAYS‌.

MAGIC MUST GO Is it time for Allan Johnston to go before he takes our once proud club into the first division, the championship, the SPFL's naughty step, or whatever the hell they're calling it these days? I know it's early, and I know - or at least we're forever being told - how difficult it is to manage Kilmarnock, but the possibility of a new broom has to be at least a pub discussion, if not a boardroom one. The victories at home to Ross County and Hearts rightly bought him some breathing space, but yesterday may just have been breaking point. I didn't make the game, but the report card from friends who did is not good.

Neither are the rumblings rumoured to be coming out of the club, namely that the training is poor and the tactics amount to a big blooter up the park to Kris Boyd. And anyone who has seen the briefest of highlights from our games this season would surely verify the latter. Some of the performances I've witnessed these last few months have scared me like a needle phobe in a hospital. Quite simply, they've been the worst for many a long year and anything comparible has generally come when the sqaud has been of far lesser quality than the current one.

Three nil down to St Johnstone in an hour. It's almost three years, and eight games, since we last recorded a win over them. When Inverness beat us last week, they went thirteen points ahead of us. Ross county left us behind at the end of last season and even now that they've been brought crashing back to reality with a few pummellings thrown in for good measure, they're still above us without getting out of first gear.

I take nothing away from St Johnstone and how brilliantly they've done over the last few years, on limited resources, and in my current abode, I'm the last person who's going to "diss" the Highland clubs, but look at our resources compared to the three of them. Forget the debt. Focus instead on playing budgets and annual turnover. Our crowds dwarf theirs, despite being at the lowest ebb in years, with a boycott being observed on all home games. They couldn't afford some of the players we have.

None of the three of them should be that far ahead of us on the park, ever.

That they are, when our sqaud is as good on paper as it is right now, beggars belief. If some people think that's an arrogant statement, frankly, I couldn't care less.

In fact, maybe a bit of arrogance is exactly what's needed, because the confidence, along with any level of expectation, appears to have gone right out of the club, culminating in the top six collapse at the tail end of last season and the Chernobyl that has been our start to this one. The reaction of the fans to the ensuing mediocrity has been one of shoulder shrugging acceptance that it's inevitable, while they blame it all on the chairman.

Which of course, you could do until next Christmas, but there has to come a point where serious fingers are pointed at Allan, rather than Michael, Johnston. I'm like a broken record here, we have good players. Darren Barr, Manuel Pascali, Kris Boyd and both the goalkeepers, alone, should make us better than at least four teams in the SPFL. Yesterday, Hearts' win at Pittodrie, which brings them back within less than fifteen points of us, has seen us reclaim our "worst team in the league" tag.

Why? Well at the risk of repeating myself for the umpteenth time, Allan Johnston has surrounded our better players with average loan signings and chopped and changed the staring line up like a tart chops and changes her profile picture. No continuity means no understandings on the park, means shambolic performances and defeats. I watch a lot of Inverness and you could virtually predict their line up before it's shouted over the PA system. They went second yesterday. Enough said.

Listen, I've been sacked more times than Roger Mellie. It's as easy in my line of work as it is in football management and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but sometimes it has to happen. You could even argue that it might be better for Allan Johnston in the long run, because he's clearly the wrong man in the wrong movie, and his reputation could take an irreperable battering if he stays in his post.

For what it's worth, I would replace him with Jim Duffy. I understand he works without a contract at Clyde, and therefore, wouldn't command a compensation fee. He's experienced at every level of the Scottish game, and beyond, and is equally comfortable on the training pitch as a coach and in the dressing room as a manager.

He's also worked with more rockets in his time than NASA, which would stand him in good stead for linking up with our Michael. One man's choice is another man's dud of course, but he ticks a lot of boxes. It's surely better we act now before things get any worse.

Our next four games are against Motherwell, Ross County and Dundee United twice. Can anyone see much in the way of league points, or progression in the Scottish cup, coming out of that quartet? If they can, their names should be a byword in eternal optimism.

MCCOOL Hippo says – Interesting thoughts from the highland dwelling coach operative and I know a lot of fans are coming round to a similar view point.

I’ve never been an advocate of changing managers regularly as it is generally a recipe for failure. AJ is starting to test our resolve all the same as there is no sign of improvement, no recognisable style of football, no connection with the fans and no indications that we are going to get the required points to climb the table. ………………………………………………………………………………………

SCUM GAG A gorgeous model, a nun, a scum fan and a Killie die hard are sitting together in a train.

They drive through a tunnel and suddenly the lights go out and it is completely dark in the cabin. Then there is a clapping sound just before the train leaves the tunnel. In the light again the scum fan is holding his cheek.

So the scum fan thinks: “Damn, that Killie guy must have tried to touch the hot model, she must have thought it was me and slapped me in the face.”

The nun thinks: “That’s right. He must have tried to touch that young girl, but she didn’t want it and defended herself” The girl thinks: “Oh, he surely wanted to touch me, but inadvertently touched the nun and she must have protected herself!”

The Killie supporter thinks: “Excellent, in the next tunnel I’ll punch that scum walloper again!”

C.O.G. – IN LAYMAN TERMS I’m sure you have all read something about community ownership recently but it’s all a bit different for many folk who don’t seem to fully grasp what it is all about. It’s amusing to see Johnston mention it recently because we know he has absolutely no interest in it. The difference now is that banks are looking very favourably upon community influenced ownership and teams like Dunfermline have benefitted hugely from debt forgiveness because their new structure revolves around community.

Johnston and parasites at other clubs have latched onto this and all of a sudden are dropping the word “community” into all their plans……..sickening hypocrisy at its worst.

The Killie Trust has worked tirelessly over many years to push for a community structure although it would be fair to say there are a variety of different ways of having community involvement, much depends on the state of each individual club.

Please visit http://thekillietrust.wordpress.com/ for more information but here is a quick summary of how we see the advantages of community ownership: The Killie Trust initiated the Community Ownership Group (COG) in May 2012.

The purpose of this initiative is to make Kilmarnock Football Club community owned as soon as possible.

The Vision for Kilmarnock Football Club The Killie Trust’s vision for Kilmarnock Football Club is for it to be a well-­‐run club which puts the fans and community at the heart of everything it does.

Fans will own at least 50%+1 of the club with the remaining shareholders understanding and supporting the principles of community ownership.

How do supporters have more control when it is a community owned club?

The members also elect the board of the Killie Trust. If the members disagree with how the Trust is being run then members get an opportunity every year to elect new people onto the board. These elections are carried out on the democratic principles of one person one vote regardless of how much time or money they put into the Trust. This ensures that no individual can hold undue influence over the Trust.

The members of the Trust also decide who should represent them on the club board. This will be decided using the same principles as the Trust Board elections. Those standing for election to the club board would need to meet certain criteria before being eligible to stand. Therefore one of the main strengths of community ownership is that everyone eligible gets one vote.

Community ownership is not about the day to day running of the Club, it is about democratically deciding who should make the strategic decisions about how our club is run. This process ensures that those who take on this role are held accountable for their actions and provide acceptable explanations for those decisions. This is good governance.

Community ownership is not about picking the team on a Saturday, it is not about deciding which player to buy or what is on the menu at hospitality.

These are all decisions for employed staff to take. Community ownership is about deciding who should represent your views about how Kilmarnock Football Club engages with its supporters and the wider community. It is also about deciding the future direction of the Club and ensuring that decisions taken are right for the club as a whole and not individuals within it.

Only genuine community ownership will give the supporters the opportunity to put an asset lock on Rugby Park. This means that our ground cannot be sold without the knowledge or permission of the fans.

It also ensures that a reasonable market value is obtained if the fans agree that moving to new ground is in the best interests of the club and it’s supporters.

So how does the current form of ownership at Killie compare to community ownership.

Here are the key differences.

Category

Community Ownership of Kilmarnock FC

Current ownership of Kilmarnock FC

Legal Status

Co-operative Community Benefit Society

Limited by Shares

Legal Objectives

To provide community benefit written into constitution - The trust is committed to supporting local sport in the area.The trust is a not for profit organisation, all profits are reinvested into the club and the community.

Legally constituted to provide value for shareholders.(Given the current size of the debt this an unlikely occurrence so the model is inappropriate)

Financial Sustainability

Financial prudence is written into their constitution, with transparency and accountability assured by democratic model.

There is no such provision in this model of ownership.

Unlikely to build up debts from private lenders as these cannot be converted into shares. Sustainable growth

The Club has built up debt, including soft loans and floating charges over assets.

This is common in this type of ownership model as it can be difficult to access other types of finance

Voluntary Support Club would be owned by the fans and community therefore evidence from similar clubs is they have a large pool of willing volunteers.

Privately owned businesses may reduce the pool of volunteers as the ethos and benefits of volunteering may not be understood.

Network of support

All other clubs are viewed as competitors.

Member of Supporters Direct alongside 34 other supporters’

trusts who provide from mutual support/benefits.

The Co-operative sector offer extended advice and support.Competition on the pitch – co-operation off the pitch.

Grants

Non profit distributing Cooperative. Eligible for larger range of grants including from the co-operative sector.

As a privately owned Company KFC will find it very hard to meet eligibility criteria.

Board structure

Democratic model with large pool of candidates, all positions will be either elected from trust membership (open to all) or co-opted for particular skills.

For a long time there was only one Board member. In August 2013 Billy Bowie joined the Board.There is the risk of private motivation outweighing community needs and a short-term perspective.

Hopefully that clears up a few things for many fans and it shows there are far more options open to this type of structure as opposed to what we currently have.

Clubs all over Scotland and England are finding the tired old benefactor/businessman model is killing clubs left right and centre. There is far too much self interest involved at many clubs and once these guys have done untold damage, they vanish into oblivion whilst the loyal fans are left to pick up the pieces.

As far as Killie are concerned we have MJ sitting tight and trying to squeeze every penny out the club for himself. We are fortunate that there are people out there actively trying to buy the club but I’m told Johnston has refused a recent bid and the constant concern is that he will simply take us into administration out of sheer bloody mindedness……well he hasn’t invested a penny so has SFA to lose.

The Trust are ploughing on regardless with the COG initiative and will be speaking to whoever ends up in charge with a view to working towards community ownership, The working party is up and running and you can read an update elsewhere in this issue.

SPFL MANAGERS REPORT CARD Following on from McCool’s article on AJ I had a wee browse at all the managers in the SPFL. It’s a precarious and thankless task in many cases but bosses are generally well paid so don’t get too much sympathy from the punters.

I checked out all current Scottish club managers and it’s incredible to think that out of the 42 clubs, there are only 7 managers who have been there for three years or more. There’s no doubt that clubs are under increasing financial pressure and it seems the sensible plan to give managers a few years to stamp their mark is a thing of the past. For whatever reason fans appear far more inpatient these days so it’s fair to say that bosses will rent rather than mortgage when they are hired at a new club.

There are only three managers in the country, none of them in the SPFL, who have lasted four years or more. As it happens two of them are former Killie players….Gardner Speirs at Queens Park is the longest serving and he will hit the 6 year mark in January. Dick Campbell at Forfar will hit 6 years next May whilst Ross Jack will have been 5 years in charge at Elgin come January. Fourth on the list comes the first SPFL boss, Neil Lennon who has inhabited the world’s biggest soup kitchen on a permanent basis since June 2010.

Killie has never been a club who regularly changed bosses, well until the recent few years at least. On the face of it looks like the tighter the money gets the quicker chairmen are to blame the boss and punt him…..taking the spotlight off their own inadequacies in most cases. The Kenny Shiels dismissal was a shocker in so many ways but he is very keen to get back into the game and is a front runner for the job at Inverness. I was even contacted by the sports journalist from the local Inverness paper and gave Kenny a glowing reference.

Anyway I digress, here is a run through of the current bosses in the SPFL with a tongue in cheek prediction of where they will be in 12 months time:

CELTIC NEIL LENNON APPOINTED 9 JUNE 2010 I suppose it would be easy to say that given the financial imbalance in the SPFL that anyone could win trophies with Celtic…. so as a two bit fanzine with little intelligence that is exactly what we will say.

Credit where it’s due, Lennon has earned a few plaudits mainly on two fronts. Firstly, last years Euro campaign saw them reach the last 16 beating Barcelona along the way. Secondly he managed to restrict Killie to only two goals at Parkhead when the dream machine ended our very unlucky 58 year run at the Girodome.

This time next year……….he will still be in place as they will have won the league again and no chairman with at least one brain cell will want to touch the odious little fud.

ST MIRREN DANNY LENNON APPOINTED 7 JUNE 2010 If you draw up a list of the 10 most boring football cliches ever then I’ll guarantee DL will mention at least one or two in his post match interviews.

He is monotonously boring but he has done well to stay in the job for as long as he has.

The Buddies finished 11th last year and there was talk of replacing him however he had brought a League Cup win in March when they beat the Jambos so he deserved another year at least.They havent been great so far this season so he may be under more pressure in the new year.

This time next year……He will have left football and will be in Latvia representing Scotland in the Worlds Most Boring Man Championships.

MOTHERWELL STUART MCCALL APPOINTED 30 DECEMBER 2010 Whatever he does with Motherwell he will always be remembered for bouncing off a car bonnet with a beer can in his hand……which is normal Saturday night behaviour in Motherwell as it happens.

The ginger haired beer monster has done a good job during his spell there with the team consistently in the top six with euro adventures thrown in.

Money is tight and he has had to move on players every summer but he manages to bring through youngsters and make a few shrewd signings. He was heavily linked with a move to Sheff Utd in the summer but nothing happened and carries on as boss whilst holding the title of Lanarkshire Car Bouncer of the Year.

This time next year…….he will still be at Motherwell although I would expect him to head back south in the next few years.

ROSS COUNTY DEREK ADAMS APPOINTED 19 MAY 2011 Adams had a previous spell in Dingwall in the lower league where he won promotion and got them to a Scottish Cup final in 2010. Strangely he left to become assistant to Colin Calderwood at Hibs but that never lasted and he returned north.

The club are as high as they have ever been so don’t expect a managerial change soon…….unless MJ has drawn up his contract.

This time next year……As long as they avoid the drop I can see DA being there although they were far from impressive at RP. DUNDEE UTD JACKIE MCNAMARA APPOINTED JANUARY 2013 After a decent playing career McNamara took charge at Partick Thistle in April 2011. He quickly made an impression and the arabs appointed him less than a year ago. He has continued to place faith in the youths (take note AJ) and papers are reporting that young Gauld may be heading to Old Trafford.

This time next year…….McNamara has done well so far and may attract attention from elsewhere but I’d be surprised if he moved quickly. Hopefully the arabs suffer a dramatic 6 goal loss in the Scottish cup and his managerial career suffers a bit setback!!

PARTICK THISTLE ALAN ARCHIBALD APPOINTED 22 MARCH 2013 Former Jags player took temporary charge after McNamara departed and got the job on a permanent basis last March. He has Thistle playing like we did under Mixu, pass, pass, pass, pass etc They had the initial burst of enthusiasm when they came up but things have settled down and it could yet but a tough season for the rookie SPFL team with a rookie manager. I can see a few teams getting involved in a scrap for the play off place and Thistle may just be one of them.

This time next year…..he will be appointed new manager at Ibrox after McCoist runs off with Sue Barker to a luxury nursing home for old sports duds who cant stand old age, HEARTS GARY LOCKE APPOINTED 16 MARCH 2013 It’s been a baptism of fire for JJ’s secret love child and god knows where he or the club will be in 12 months. They had a good recent win at Pittodrie but prior to that were mince and looked nailed on for relegation.

The next few months will be crucial once everyone tries to suss what the mad liths are up to. It’s more complex than an ibrox boardroom battle and will probably end in a similar disaster.

This time next year…….GL will be back helping the Tynecastle youths while his team battle in the 1st division.

ABERDEEN DEREK MCINNES APPOINTED 25 MARCH 2013 There are obvious signs of improvement at sheep shag central although that may be to do with many other teams getting worse. It looks like they will be a top six team come May so I don’t see the manager being under pressure even though the deluded fans are notoriously hard to please.

This time next year….he should still be there but the natives will be getting restless for no obvious reason.

ST JOHNSTONE TOMMY WRIGHT APPOINTED 10 JUNE 2013 Another club who have done well in recent years on limited funds. It does seem there has to be a minimum of 50% of Irish managers in the league so TW was appointed to replace fellow Irishman Steve Lomas who left for Millwall in the summer.

The saints had an entertaining wee run of games in Europe and have already beaten killie twice this campaign. Wright has settled in quickly and as long as the saints are safe in the league I don’t see his job being under threat.

This time next year……he will be a victim of the great irish manager cull of 2014 and will be a tractor driver on a farm just outside Perth.

HIBS TERRY BUTCHER APPOINTED 12 NOVEMBER 2013 After doing a fine job for ICT since January 2009 the big Englishman chose to move on and take up the poisoned chalice at Easter Road. He had previously turned down opportunities to return down south so it was a wee surprise to see him go to a club who go through more managers than the Park Hotel.

Fenlon followed KS as the Irish cull continues so Lennon + Wright better look over their shoulders. I’m not sure how TB will do in Embra and he may just regret moving from his comfy wee position in the highlands.

This time next year……TB and his faithful lapdog MM will be struggling to get Hibs in the top six and the locals will be looking for their annual managerial change.

INVERNESS C.T. There are a lot of high profile names being linked to the job and Kenny Shiels is favourite with some bookies. They appear to be a well run club and will be looking for someone who will bring stability and security to them…..I’d give it to Paulo Di Canio!!

KILMARNOCK ALLAN JOHNSTON APPOINTED 25 JUNE 2013 You will maybe have read McCool’s critical article on AJ elsewhere in this issue. I’m not one for chopping and changing managers on a regular basis as it tends to be a recipe for disaster rather than success…….but AJ really is testing our patience.

Once KS had been dismissed in the summer AJ was well quoted as his replacement. I think it was telling that AJ took a while to finally decide to accept the job as he was presumably well aware that he was moving to an unsettled club. He would also be well aware of the bad feeling following the nature of Kenny’s departure so it would have been obvious from the outset that it was no easy task.

It would be fair to say that the opening few months have not helped endear the new boss to an unhappy Killie support. In short, the style of football is basic, his assistant is unpopular and we simply aren’t racking up the required points. Perhaps most worryingly many of the youths introduced last year have never been sighted. Guys like Barbour, Slater, Winchester are out the picture whilst others like McKenzie are getting fewer opportunities. The one thing that gets on my man boobs is we are helping to develop a Celtic youth player to the detriment of our own youths and that simply cannot be right however you look at it.

This time next year…….everything depends on our off field troubles and who knows what will happen next week never mind next year. It seems that Johnston is refusing all bids and if that continues he will simply take us into administration and nobody knows what will happen after that. Whatever happens I’ll be surprised if AJ is still in charge in a year.

It will be interesting to check a year from now to see who is still there however the most incredible stat is that in the SPFL only four managers have been in place for over a year. Constant change has never proven to be successful and perhaps it’s time for chairmen to grow a pair and give bosses a reasonable amount of time.

Finally I’ll predict that ownership will change at Killie and Kenny Shiels will be back in the hotseat….dont put your hard earned cash on it though!!

DAVIE MCFARLANE R.I.P. We were extremely saddened to hear of the death of former Killie player Davie McFarlane on 30 October. Davie was a record signing at the time and was signed at a time of turmoil at Rugby Park. Here is a fitting obituary from a friend of Davie: THEY cremated Davie MacFarlane this week, at the obscenely-young age of 46.

The name might just ring a bell to one or two, as he was one of the 13 players who secured Graeme Souness his first trophy as Rangers' manager, when they beat Celtic 2-1 in the League Cup/Skol Cup final at Hampden, in October, 1986 beating Celtic 2-1.

Davie Mac came on for Cammy Fraser with 17 minutes left, but, this cameo was one of just 14 first-team appearances he made in four seasons as a full professional with Rangers.

He then went via a loan spell at Kilmarnock, another loan-out at Dundee to Killie (for ÂŁ100,000), before, less than 40 appearances later, being shipped-out to Partick Thistle, then off to Australia.

Returning from Oz, Roughie recruited him to Glenafton Athletic, where he enjoyed his best spell in Scottish football. He was a key player in the Glen's only Junior Cup win - setting-up John Miller for the only goal of the game, against Tayport in 1993, and over the whole five-year roller-coaster under Rough's managership.

Davie also featured in the following season's Game of Shame - the Junior Cup final against Largs at Ibrox during which referee John Underhill seriously strained an arm, holding up so many cards, then writing-out names. However, the freefor-all in the penalty area, during which Archie Halley and his best mate, Alex Kennedy, exchanged Glasgow kisses, is a classic in junior football.

Sadly, for Davie, things went downhill rapidly thereafter. He struggled to cope without playing and his life spiralled downwards, out of control.

His end was sad, but, as someone who enjoyed his company on a daily basis as fellow commuters into Glasgow over a number of years, before his fall from grace, I shall remember him as a bloody good midfielder, a smiling, friendly man who always had time for the fans. I am saddened at how it ended for him, and even sadder that I missed his funeral.

Might Change Be Around The Corner?

IT REALLY is becoming more and more difficult to philosophise about Scottish football – the mainstream media in Scottish football simply refuses to engage in meaningful opinion-forming pieces, which will lead to debate; and who can blame them - the self-appointed aritocracy of Scottish football, aka the Hampden Blazers, simply are incapable of addressing the issues which are facing the game, while the two warring "mafia" families, the currently dominant Murphia and the grumbling, festering Brownbrogia are more-concerned with petty points scoring and finger-pointing.

On which subject, well-done to Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, who has this week taken his eye off his obsession with all things Rangers and posted an excellent article, which is worthy of the attention of the entire Celtic family, and in which he makes several salient points.

At least there are signs of democracy breaking-out. Pars United has won the battle for control of Dunfermline Athletic and it to be hoped, by everyone with the good health of the game in Scotland at heart, that they can manage a renaissance of the game in one of its heartlands - Fife.

On this side of the country, in fact, in God's Own County of Ayrshire, there are hopes that the downtrodden Kilmarnock faithful might get their act together and take their club forward. Of course, like any wee, learned Marr College FP, beleagured Chairman Michael J will push for a huge price for his departure. However, it is to be hoped that brighter days are ahead for Killie.

I shudder to pontificate on what might happen at Hearts. I might jest about tartan-clad Capulets and Montagues, or Corleonis and Sopranos, glaring at each other across the Clyde, but those fans who seek to purchase Hearts and turn it around are, I fear, likely to have to negotiate with genuine gangsters of the Eastern European sort - and that might get messy.

The last time Scottish football was a virtual one-party state, during Celtic's basement days between 1945 and the return of Stein in 1965 (although, to be

fair, that fallow period included one double, one or two other significant victories - 7-1 and the Coronation Cup anyone), the likes of the Hibs team of the Famous Five, Tommy Walker's golden Hearts teams of 1955-1965 and the Willie Waddell-Walter McCrae-led Kilmarnock teams of 1958-1965 offered genuine competition to an otherwise dominant Rangers.

This time round, we await the shoots of recovery amongst the down-trodden.

The trouble is, this time around, unlike back then, the greater riches of the English game will always handicap the non-Glasgow sides. Back in the day, with the huge crowds and the low overheads which the stingy directors of the time had to allow for, it was easy to pay Scottish players as much as they could earn in an English League in which the maximum wage ruled.

Today, with footballers' wages comparatively lower in Scotland and rapacious agents hell-bent on making money out of the game, it is well-nigh impossible for a Scottish club outwith the Big Two - and even they struggle now - to keep hold of their best talent.

New figures came out last week, showing the best-supported teams in the world. Celtic are, globally, the 16th best-supported team, with an average home attendance of 46,000-plus. Rangers are 19th-best, with an average home attendance of over 45,000. Yet, in global terms, the two clubs are small beer, skint, minnows.

Something has to be done, to allow the clubs to realise their potential, without unduly weakening the Scottish game, of which they are a crucial component. But, that's a big circle to square. Maybe we should go back to the original idea of William McGregor and the pioneers of what they called - because they thought in British rather than English terms: The Football League. Then, our two major clubs, yes the Celtic-minded among you might want to accept this, even that lot currently heading the third tier in Scotland, could flourish properly, while those left behind, could find their own level.

Such a plan might go against the current fashion for more Scottish selfdetermination, but, it could be the saving of Scottish football.

SOCRATES

KILLIE SNIPPETS Both fan groups are run off their feet at present so I'll try to bring you up to speed with the latest goings on.

The open meeting in the Grand Hall saw a proposal to form a working party tasked at looking to bring the club into community ownership. Obviously it is important to have a broad range of views so the party will include reps of national government, local government, business and all fans groups. The initial meeting was held a couple of weeks back and we will update you as things progress and there is something to report.

The Trust are the constituted body with a big focus on the community side of things so that will be the vehicle that can facilitate any plans moving forward. With that in mind the Trust are due their AGM which will be held in the Park Hotel. We had originally planned to have it on Monday 2nd December however that may well be getting put back a week until the 9th. A notice of the meeting will be winging its way to Trust members but please check press, websites etc to confirm the correct date.

The KFCSA are represented at the working party and are also busy with our normal business. The open meeting agreed the red card protest and the displays at both Ross County and Hearts games gained a lot of media coverage. There are no other similar protests planned at present as everyone waits to see how the consortium will fare in their attempt to buy out Johnston.

As we have said before it all comes down to one thing, how much he wants for his own pocket. The danger is that he is pig headed enough to take us into administration if he doesn't get what he wants and the amount of damage he is doing in the meantime is immeasurable. Obviously confidentiality agreements are in place hence there is next to no information getting into the public domain.

Our understanding is that talks are ongoing and the consortium is very keen to take over and invest in the club however it seems they are being prevented by the aforementioned stumbling block.

The Billy Bowie stories are all smoke and mirrors as most folk sussed and he simply has not chucked £1m into the black hole.

The guy appears to be doing what he thinks is best for the club but I can’t help but think that he would be better taking a step away from the doomed parasite. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> One story that seems to have flown under the radar is the incredible signing of the two Nigerians. We spoke a while back to a journalist who had the inside track on the whole affair. An agent with “ a bit of history” was hawking these guys about different clubs saying they would be English Premiership players in a year.

Only one club took the bait and last March Killie acquired Papa Idris and Gabriel Reuben. Strangely the whole deal was done by Michael Johnston and KS had no say in the signings……..he had no idea of their abilities, credentials etc.

Eight months down the line and Idris has departed among some concerns over his contract situation whilst Reuben is still here but has never kicked a ball. Questions must be asked, Why is he not playing? + How much is he costing us?

SPL 19/10/13 KILLIE 2 V 0 ROSS CO. KILLIE – SAMSON, CLOHESSY, TESSELAAR, IRVINE, BOUZID, BARR, NICHOLSON, PASCALI, BOYD, GARDYNE (MCKENZIE 76), IBRAHIM (SILVA 35) SUBS NOT USED – REGUERO, FOWLER, GROS, JACOBS + O’HARA BOOKED – PASCALI GOALS – BOYD 17 + IRVINE 71 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ROSS COUNTY –BROWN, KOVACEVIC, GORDON, KETTLEWELL, BRITTAIN (LUCKASSEN 64), MCLEAN, BOYD, SPROULE (MAATSEN 25), DE LEEUW, ROSS (GLEN 76), QUINN SUBS NOT USED – BROWN, TOKELY, MACPHEE + MORROW BOOKED – MCLEAN + BOYD GOALS – HEE HAW REF – S FINNIE

CROWD - 3582

DICK OF THE DAY – BETFAIR This was being billed as the first six pointer of the season so it was vital our “big game players” were on their game. With this in mind I reckoned Boydy could be the match winner so I went online before leaving Hippo Towers to stick a wee first goal bet on the big man.

Now you have to remember that Betfair give bets on TV Talent(less) shows, time of first corner kicks and 6 day old babies playing for their countries……..but they had no first goalscorer betting up for the Killie game.

The rest is history, Boydy scored first, I didn’t strike a bet and the chances are I’ll never have another winning bet for the rest of the season…….unless someone can give me inside info on I’m a Celebrity……..

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was good to talk to Ben Gordons folks on the way into the game, they still think very highly of Killie. Sadly Ben doesn’t seem to be half the player he was in his first stint at Killie and thankfully we took full advantage of a poor County side.

Irvine had his best game in a Killie shirt and scored a goal of the season contender. A good three points at last and hopefully this result can spark us into life.

SPL 26/10/13 KILLIE 2 V 0 HEARTS KILLIE – SAMSON, CLOHESSY, TESSELAAR, IRVINE, O’HARA, BARR (CLINGAN 29), NICHOLSON (MCKENZIE 87), PASCALI, BOYD (MUIRHEAD 90), GARDYNE, JOHNSTON SUBS NOT USED – REGUERO, FOWLER, GROS + ASHCROFT BOOKED – SAMSON, CLOHESSY + JOHNSTON GOALS – BOYD 16 + 64 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> HEARTS – MCDONALD, MCGHEE, MCHATTIE, HAMILL, WILSON, MCKAY, ROBINSON, TAPPING (CARRICK HT), STEVENSON (PATERSON 20), WALKER, SMITH (NICHOLSON 67) SUBS NOT USED – RIDGERS, MCGOWAN, HOLT + OLIVER BOOKED – MCLEAN + BOYD GOALS – HEE HAW REF – K CLANCY

CROWD - 5090

DICK OF THE DAY – FAT SCUM LAD It’s nice when you can pick the DOTD before the game even starts and this was such a day. In the morning papers Stevenson was writing his newspaper piece that I’m sure was pinned on the Killie dressing room wall as a motivational tool.

You would think that most experienced players would learn not to tempt fate but this salad dodger is as bright as four in the morning. Within 20 minutes Boydy had scored a beauty and Stevenson had limped off leaving his team mates to suffer a sound pounding. Hopefully he will ignore the warning signs and write something similar before our next encounter.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Perhaps we should look at bringing red cards to every home game, even long after Johnston has crawled back under his stone. For the second week running the cards improved atmosphere and helped produce a goal close to each of the 18th and 69th minute………if only it was that simple.

This was a much better performance from Killie and Boydy showed his class with two excellent finishes. The Jambos tried their best but it could be a long hard season for the gorgie boys.

SPL 2/11/13 I.C.T. 2 V 1 KILLIE INVERNESS – BRILL, SHINNIE, TREMARCO (DEVINE 88), FORAN, WARREN, MEEKINGS, WATKINS (WILLIAMS 72), DRAPER, MCKAY, ROSS (POLWORTH 81), DORAN SUBS NOT USED – ESSON, GREENHALGH, PEPPER + AGDESTEIN BOOKED – TREMARCO GOALS – DORAN 7 + SHINNIE 52 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> KILLIE – SAMSON, CLOHESSY, TESSELAAR, IRVINE, O’HARA, BARR, MCKENZIE (GROS 80), PASCALI, BOYD, GARDYNE (MUIRHEAD 88), JOHNSTON (CLINGAN 60) SUBS NOT USED – REGUERO, ASHCROFT, FOWLER + KILTIE BOOKED – NONE GOALS – BARR 76 REF – S MCLEAN

CROWD - 2948

DICK OF THE DAY – ALLAN JOHNSTON It’s probably only because we didn’t do the award in the last issue that the boss hasn’t already received his first gong. Killie went many years with no international players in the team but presently we have two and in my opinion they are our key players, Boyd and Clingan.

Boydy can get the goals to save our season and Clingan adds composure to midfield where he brings a wee bit of shape.

Incredibly he was left on the bench as we lumped aimless long balls in poor conditions. It was severely painful to watch, don’t be fooled by the score as we never looked like taking anything. Come on AJ, play your best players, give youth a chance and get the ball on the deck. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This was a fairly typical Killie away day, a great day out with my chums despite the football being pants. The first goal was extremely unlucky as it took a wicked deflection but all in all we were rotten and AJ’s post match clichés don’t exactly fill you with confidence that he knows what he is doing. The last two wins seem like a long long time ago and I still think we are in for a very long hard season…..go on Killie prove me wrong.

SPL 9/11/13 SAINTEES 3 V 1 KILLIE ST JOHNSTONE – MANNUS, MILLER, EASTON, DAVIDSON, MACKAY, SCOBBIE, MILLAR, MCDONALD, HASSELBAINK (EDWARDS 77), MAY (KANE 90), WOTHERSPOON (CADDIS 66) SUBS NOT USED – BANKS, CREGG, BROWN + JAHIC BOOKED – NONE GOALS – HASSELBAINK 24, MAY 31 + 54 (PEN) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> KILLIE – SAMSON, CLOHESSY, TESSELAAR, IRVINE, O’HARA, BARR, CLINGAN, NICHOLSON (ASHCROFT 87), PASCALI, BOYD, GARDYNE (FOWLER 59) SUBS NOT USED – REGUERO, GROS, MCKENZIE, WINCHESTER + IBRAHIM SENT OFF – IRVINE + BARR GOALS – CLOHESSY 69 REF – W COLLUM

CROWD – 2855

DICK OF THE DAY – WILLIE COLLUM It would be too easy to harp on about how poor we are and give the award alternate weeks to the two johnstons but lets get back to basics……and have a cheap shot at officials.

We would have been gubbed regardless of the red cards however Irvine’s first booking had to be a joke. He went past a player, lost his balance and went down…..only to get booked for diving. Barr could also claim to be a bit unlucky and it seems Collum is making up for his brave late decision in the League Cup final!! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> That’s us into November and out of seven away fixtures we have the grand haul of two points. AJ + SC seem to prefer a negative “lets try not to get beat” attitude.

Well I’ve got news for you guys…IT AIN’T WORKING. We have a great goalscorer up front but Messi wouldn’t score regularly in this team and an immediate change in tactics is required.

A further worry must be the centre half area where Bouzid and barr were forming a promising partnership a few weeks back. Now the big man is out for weeks, Barr will be suspended and we will revert to having to play players out of position.

I’m away for a pint before I get too depressed!!

WORLD’S WORST STRIP (+ BONCE)

IAN WALLACE (COVENTRY 1978) Some folk may say that without a shadow of a doubt this is the worst strip ever to (dis) grace a football field. Others will say his barnet is up there with the worst in fitba history.

What can’t be denied is that it’s the worst strip/bonce combo ever witnessed……..doesn’t he make you proud to be Scottish??