Hippo138

AN UNOFFICIAL KILLIE FANZINE

ISSUE NO. 138

HAPPIER TIMES........ ..GOOD RIDDANCE 2013 -2014 ..MYSTIC WORLD CUP HIPPO ..ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS £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

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SHOOTING FROM THE HIPPO I’m writing this an hour before the Howard bus heads through for our vital clash at Tynecastle therefore you can forgive my spelling errors as I’m shaking like a jelly in an earthquake. It makes you wonder if the players have the same fear as the fans or will they just be sitting in their rooms sticking pins into their Sandy Clark voodoo doll. I’m just thinking if the worst comes to the worst there is still a chance we will meet our county neighbours next season who sneaked into the play offs but that is as likely as AJ filling the current vacancy at Old Trafford.

I would normally be saying welcome to the last issue of the season and I seriously hope that is the case however if we land in the dreaded play off spot there may be one more issue for those games which would be away on Wednesday 21st and home on Sunday 25th. It does not bear thinking about as I haven’t met one Killie fan who has faith in the management team to guide us through such a pressurized situation. It is still very tight for the play off spot and I’ll be amazed if it is settled before the final round of games when we travel to Hibs.

We’ve written a season review article in this issue and I was getting more and more depressed as we worked our way through the season. Normally you would expect some point in the season where there was some genuine positivity and belief in our team but that has happened at no point for me. Of course there have been a couple of decent wins but it has been one-off stuff. Add that to our early cup exits and a picture builds that shows just why AJ + SC are being subjected to dogs abuse. That probably came to a head at Dingwall last week and whatever happens in the next few weeks there is no way that the current management team should still be in place when we hit pre-season. Talking of which, Portrush was so fantastic last summer I propose that even if we play away at Elgin we should just head to Portrush again anyway………..come to think of it Portrush was my highlight of this season!!

I’m having to put this issue before the club AGM and I see fans on the websites are expecting many answers to the new structure changes etc. From experience we will get the answers that MJ wants us to hear and tricky questions will be avoided at all costs. It will be interesting to hear what the new guys have to say and it will be even more interesting if AJ is allowed to speak to the fans…….he is only just in the door as you know!!!

Just a few wee reminders to keep your eyes peeled on websites etc in the coming weeks as the full details of the KFCSA AGM will be announced. It will be on Saturday 14th June at noon and there will be a chance for all fans to meet some of the new faces at RP. Most importantly, huge thanks for your loyalty throughout a truly horrible season and lets hope this is the last editorial for about 3 months……enjoy your summer holidays.

Sandy

GOOD RIDDANCE A SEASON REVIEW I will start by rewinding a couple of years back and specifically March 12th 2012. It truly was one of the top three best days ever in my years as a Killie fan. Nobody expected us to beat Celtic but we famously did just that and there was a huge wave of optimism that our club was on the right tracks.

Fast forward 14 months or so from then…. Summer 2013 as it is affectionately known. Pretty much the cup winning full squad (ex fowler) had vanished, the manager was fired in amateurish circumstances and the vast majority of fans were in uproar about the running of the club. It seems that fantastic cup win was a catalyst for self-destruction rather than having a positive effect around the place. The appointment of Alan Johnston and his assistant has done nothing to reverse the negativity about the place and it goes without saying that this has been my worst season ever as a Killie fan.

I’ll attempt to write an honest review of the season without constantly referring to the chairman however he is responsible for the vast majority of the troubles. I’m writing this a couple of days before we are due to go to a meeting with Billy Bowie and Andy Miller, the newly appointed Supporter Liaison Officer so you will see a separate piece about that meeting.

There has been a fair bit of discussion on the forums about the new S.L.O. appointment however we have had one before, John Corrigan. These posts have never been advertised but hand picked by MJ it appears so the concern is Andy is just another puppet….time will tell.

There was a lot of fan unrest as the opening game approached and the sacking of KS and appointment of AJ seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for many fans. They do say football fans are fickle (and its hard to argue with that) so had AJ got away to a flying start and the team were winning games the focus of attention may have been deflected………unfortunately the opposite was the case.

Of the five league games we played in August, we lost three, drew two and were knocked out the League cup at home to Hamilton. It was precisely the start the new manager must have feared and the “basic” style of play that was being adopted didn’t augur well for the season ahead. Perhaps an ever more depressing stat that was our two home league games against St Johnstone and Hibs attracted 3550 + 3807 attendances. Things were grim both on and off the park and the word “enjoyment” was a distant memory for fans in attendance or staying away.

September saw us with only three games but there was still no victory and our only point was at Firhill. Crowds were still low, we had gone two months without a win and the dreaded “R” word was on everyone’s lips. There was no chance of the manager lifting things as he appeared to be banned from speaking to fans and his post match mumblings were depressing.

October saw us with successive home games against fellow strugglers Hearts and Ross County, games that were already being dubbed 6 pointers. Boyd looked like our main hope of changing things and the big man stepped up to the mark. We won both home games 2 – 0 and the big man grabbed himself three goals in the process. At last we had discovered the winning habit and it was hoped we would gain a bit of confidence that would lead to a climb up the table.

The optimism gained from the two wins quickly disappeared as November saw us play once at home, three times away and lose the lot of them. Crowds were still mince and as well as resentment towards the chairman, many fans were asking big questions about his namesake in the dugout. Even less popular was Sandy Clark who likes mouthing off at fans, guys like him are an embarrassment to the previously good name of our club and personally I can’t wait to see the back of him. We were shunted out the cup at Tannadice and I’m guessing that’s the first time we have been out both cups before the start of December.

December always brings an important run of games and this was no different as we faced some of our fellow strugglers. Our five games saw us grab three wins against Ross county (first away win), Partick Thistle and Hearts. There was a bit of a pattern developing and it’s one that has continued until now. We gain the huge bulk of our points against our fellow strugglers so that may be a little cause for optimism for the post split games.

Our new year win over the Buddies was a nice start to 2014 and our next win was significant as well. On Jan 25th we beat Inverness at home, that was the first time we had taken anything from a top six team…….an incredible but depressing stat. Unlike previous seasons the top six were clearly superior to the bottom six and with Hearts always hot faves to vanish there was a mini league forming for the dreaded play off spot.

February saw only three games where we got two draws but we were still failing to break free from the play off scrap. There had been four teams trying to avoid 11th however Hibs were gradually slipping closer to the fight. Butcher had taken over from Fenlon but the expected upturn simply didn’t happen and the unhappy Hibees were in freefall.

There were now only six pre-split games remaining and March saw five of those games where we won twice and lost the other three.

We beat the doomed jambos again then secured possibly our most important win of the season, a 2 – 1 win at Fir Park. The impressive Slater grabbed a win deep in injury time that may well be crucial when it comes to the final analysis.

Off the field there were big changes afoot with Billy Bowie providing the financial backing to allow a deal to be done with the bank as had been rumoured for many months. The bank are simply looking to wipe their hands of Scottish football and a similar deal was struck with Dundee Utd a few months ago. The big announcement from KFC stated Johnston was stepping down as chairman in the summer, he was no longer majority shareholder and there were four new directors (including BB) getting on board.

It goes without saying that most fans don’t trust a word that comes out Johnston’s mouth so we will wait to see the whole story. Hopefully a lot more details will emerge at the AGM on 5th May but it does look like progress has been made and I’m assured that at least some of the new board know exactly where the problems lie. As previously mentioned you will see a separate article on this issue reporting on the meeting between various fan reps, BB and Andy Miller………….that gives a bit more info on the current state of affairs.

Our final pre split game was at home to St Johnstone and there was a feeling that a win would go a long way to seeing us to safety. Sadly we were pants and were well gubbed even though the final score was 2 – 1. Prior to kick off we had been 5 points above 11th placed St Mirren however they grabbed two late goals.

That takes us to the free week before the last five games and we are in 8th position only three points above the Jags in 11th.

Some folk are against the split and it has pros and cons however the league needs as much excitement as it can get……..the split and play-off spot is certainly providing that this year. It’s not too good on the ol’ hippo ticker but there will be no “meaningless games” moan for a change.

When it gets to this stage it is ore about bottle than ability and I know many killie fans are more than concerned that the players aren’t looking like they are putting it al in for the management…….our first two post split games did nothing to dispel that theory.

The first game was at home to Thistle and many felt a win would go a very long way to securing our top league status. It would have to be said that over the 90 minutes we were second best but we took the lead and things were looking good for all of three minutes. Jags equalized and then grabbed a winner and the grim play off spot was all of a sudden becoming more of a reality.

The Thistle result meant our last four games had all finished 2 – 1, one victory and three losses as we headed to Dingwall for the latest six pointer. There were a couple of things that depressingly struck me as I suffered another woeful performance.

Firstly there had been nothing from the club in recognition of the serious position we find ourselves in. It almost seemed like fingers in the ears, head in the sand and hope we will stagger over the line.

Secondly, the fans were low in numbers and high in vocal abuse of AJ/SC……and rightly so. I just had that horrible feeling that the heart and soul has been ripped out our great club.

We know MJ looks after himself only but very few fans made the trip and it was a truly horrible 90 minutes……..thank god my boozehound chums were on hand to cheer me up. As for the game itself you simply would not have known that our Premiership lives were at stake. We barely had any shots at goal and the sad thing is that Ross County are stinking as well.

For the fifth game on the trot the scoreline was 2-1………any stattos out there who can tell me if that is some sort of a record? Boydie grabbed the goal in the last minute from the only sniff of goal he had but it was a long journey home and I’m hating the name Johnston more and more.

The league table after the second batch of games made for sad but incredible reading. There was two points separating five teams but we were in the dreaded 11th spot and on a downward spiral. The third batch of games saw Killie not playing at tynecastle until the Sunday as Hibs were at home to Thistle on the Saturday whilst St Mirren played Ross County.

Mrs H asked me what results we wanted in these two games and for once I was dumbstruck…….I simply had no idea what would suit us best. The simple answer is Killie win a couple of games and we won’t need to worry about the other. As it happened both games were very tight with ten man Hibs fighting back to grab a potentially valuable point against the Harry Wraggs. St Mirren are a bit like Killie in that they have been scrapping to escape the drop a few times. They managed a narrow 1 – 0 win over Ross Co and that result just about sees them safe.

I left this last paragraph until I came home from Tynecastle, soyou’ll guess I’m not in the best of moods. Just when you think we are at rock bottom and things can’t get worse……………

PREMIERSHIP WAGE THIEVES During the recent Scottish Cup semi final tie between Sevco and Dundee Utd there were many eyebrows raised when it was pointed out that the Ibrox club have the second biggest wage bill behind their bigoted rivals. Of course it should come as no surpise s we knew the likes of Bell and Shiels moved to Ibrox for a reported £7k a week.

When you stop and think about that it truly defies belief that these obscene sums were paid to beat the butchers, bakers and haggis makers in the lower reaches. Gretna I suppose are the obvious comparison and look how they ended up. They were far richer than the teams around them but they didn’t have the second biggest wage bill in Scotland to win the lower leagues.

Don’t get me wrong, Gretna are a poor example of how a club should be run but the point is they did just enough to get out the league rather than Sevco throwing ridiculous money at it……..just after they have come out of administration for previously throwing ridiculous money about!!!

Most fans around the country will tell you that in terms of “value for money” the national sport stinks and that is really driven home when you see the actual figures in print.

Thanks to the Nareys toepoker blog on t’internet we came across the following article: “Many thanks to the chaps at SportingIntelligence.com, who kindly sent me a free copy of their annual report into wages at professional sports teams.

They continue, to my surprise and delight, to consider the Scottish League to be worth reporting with the likes of the top leagues in England, Germany, Spain and Italy. Curiously, we are in the survey, but the French league isn't!

Can everyone please continue to keep it secret from them that our league is a bit pish, so that they fit us into the report next year too? Cheers.

How accurate is their data? I don't have specifics, but this report has been heavily publicized, so I imagine they know what they're talking about.

So here's a crappy little table showing the average first team wage of every SPL club in 2012-13, and how they compare to previous seasons.

Average first team player weekly wage (ÂŁ) 2012/13 2011/12 2010/11 Celtic 22103 21253 20457 Hearts 3206 5305 6310 Aberdeen 3033 2906 3002 Hibernian 2565 2804 3322 Dundee United 2125 2503 2513 Kilmarnock 1897 2274 2404 St. Johnstone 1533 1920 1960 Motherwell 1523 2296 2319 St. Mirren 1520 2007 2046 Inverness CT 1023 954 1122 Dundee 906 Ross County 748 Here are a few thoughts...

Celtic are falling behind Europe's big hitters Celtic are now paying less to their average first team player than every single English Premier League side; in fact, they're well behind even midtable clubs; a Newcastle player will on average make half a million a year more than a Celtic player. It makes their Champions League run all the more impressive.

The domestic imbalance is staggering There does appear to be a league even more imbalanced than ours - the Chinese Super League! In the CSL, the richest club's players make 33 times more than the poorest club's players. In the Scottish top flight, the ratio was merely 29.7 to 1. If you want a soundbite, then here it is: Celtic's wage bill is greater than that of every other top flight club put together.

For comparison, in the English Premier League, that ratio is 4.6 to 1, whilst in La Liga, where Barcelona and Real Madrid are miles ahead of the rest, the ratio is 13 to 1.

Who got good value for their buck?

I expected Ross County to be eighth or ninth in the list - it came as a shock that they paid their players less than anyone else.

In fact, their average wage was less than half of that at St. Mirren or Kilmarnock, and less than 30% of Hibernian's. The Edinburgh clubs come across as the basket cases here - Hearts' bill will of course be a hell of a lot smaller this season.

Don't forget as well that Aberdeen finished in the bottom six last time out, despite paying far more than most of the sides around them. Maybe, at last, Derek McInnes has them where they should be.

What will have changed in 2013-14?

We know Hearts will have dropped well down the list. I'd be surprised if Partick Thistle weren't in the bottom three. Celtic apart, I'd imagine that the trend of gradual reduction in wages will have continued.

Where would Rangers be on this list?

They'd definitely be second, but how far behind Celtic and how far ahead of the rest? From their 2012-13 accounts, and from comparing them to those of other clubs, I would take an educated guess that their average first team player wage was a little more than ÂŁ7,000/week. Though of course we know Lee McCulloch and Neil Alexander were earning far more than that!

RELEGATION IS NOT AN OPTION BUT… Some folk have been saying on the websites that going down may not be such a bad thing……..I beg to differ. In the past I enjoyed a visit to different grounds however the financial situation was totally different and dropping down now would be a disaster……make no mistake.

However we always try and paint a happy picture at Chez hippo so here are a few things we could look forward to if we did take the plunge: 1. Much like a couple of years back wewould get an easy three points at greyskull whilst witnessing their latest financial implosion at the same time……they may have had another name change by then.

2. If they avoid relegation we will get to sample the intense cauldron of Central Park. The place is a unique fusion of football, stock car racing and illegal drugs……a truly wonderful sporting experience but only if you have indulged in the third on that list!!

3. The return of all ticket games where some fans may struggle to get a brief……oh happy days. Places like Dumbarton + Cowdenbeath will have a capacity of around 75 so get in there early folks. I will just hang around and see if I can get a lift over (no crane gags please).

Well I’ve got to three and I’ve run out of positives so as I say above…..relegation is not an option.

MYSTIC WORLD CUP HIPPO If the end of the season goes badly for Killie fan we may not to look at another ball being kicked for months however the World Cup supplies this summer’s fitba fix for you you soccer junkies out there. I remember writing before previous World Cups and Euros that England had no chance…….well I’m more confident than ever before that our deluded neighbours will come home early.

Brazil is the venue this time around and it goes without saying that the South American teams generally take the spoils when the biggest show on earth is played in their part of the world. It’s going to be hard for the Europeans to break that hoodoo although you can never write off teams like Germany, Spain……..although we can write off Ingurland.

Here’s a quick run through the groups with a few predictions along the way: GROUP A BRAZIL

CROATIA

MEXICO

CAMEROON

You will be amazed to hear that we fancy Brazil to be the team to follow from this group. The hosts may not be the same slick well oiled machine that follow the Cowdenbeath model but they will be more than a handful on their own patch.

I fancy Mexico will be the other qualifiers as they wont mind the climate and they always seem to progress through a couple of rounds. Croatia will have gained fantastic experience by getting gubbed twice by Scotland whilst Cameroon are bringing back Roger Milla at the youthful age of 79.

What to look out for – During the opening Brazil game (any Brazil game in fact) the pervy cameramen will ignore the game so they can pick out scantily clad Brazilian babes……..woohoo!

GROUP B SPAIN HOLLAND CHILE AUSTRALIA This is a good group and should provide a couple of tasty games, none more so than the opener between Spain and Holland. If it is anything like their last final there could be a few meaty challenges going in from the Dutch. Chile looked a decent team when gubbing England at Wembley last year and I fancy they will go through. That means one of the two fancied Europeans heading out.

I’ll go for Spain to win the group with Holland heading home early with the Aussies however I do think that Spain are maybe past their peak and I don’t expect them to win the tourney.

What to look out for – Two things to look out for here, firstly the Dutch will have some in fighting and will bad mouth each other and anyone else they can find. Secondly play some “gobshite bingo” by downing a pint of beer or shot every time you hear someone say this is the “group of death”.

GROUP C COLOMBIA

GREECE

IVORY COAST JAPAN

This will come back to bite me in the (huge) bum but Colombia should stroll through this group. Greece have done well to get there but I’ll be surprised if they get through so I’ll settle for Ivory coast to finish as runners up.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR – Listen out for commentator references to Chelseas going to buy Falcao, Drogba being a Chelsea legend and Greece’s “undeserved Euro Championship win.

GROUP D URUGUAY ENGLAND ITALY COSTA RICA If Group B is the “group of death” then this is the “group of unprecedented media bullshit”. Woy will be cagey and I suspect when England play the better teams they will look like Gary Harkins jogging through porridge. The opening game against Italy will be crucial and I fancy if one team loses they can just head home.

Uruguay are decent and I’m sure Suarez will be out to prove a point against some of his Premiership foes. I have a grudging respect for Italy…….that respect will double if they win the opening game. Costa Rica will be no mugs so all in all it’s a decent group. I’ll go for Uruguay to win the group with Italy going through as runners up.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR – Two good betting propositions in this group I reckon. Firstly, bet a scoreless draw in the England – Italy game, I’ll be amazed if there is more than one goal. Secondly Suarez is a numb nut and must be a decent bet for a red card……..probably against England who know how to noise him up.

GROUP E SWITZERLAND ECUADOR FRANCE

HONDURAS

The “group of meh” as I simply don’t know what to expect. On paper France should be ok but on grass they are mince and were less than convincing in qualifying. Switzerland punch well above their weight and I fancy they will make it through from this group along with Ecuador. One of their main men is Valencia of Man Utd but we wont hold that against him. As far as Honduras are concerned they are a bit like Greece…..just happy to be here in the first place.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR – Both teams that qualify from this group to get gubbed in the first knock out games. Oh and maybe France players will do much the same as their Dutch counterparts.

GROUP F ARGENTINA

BOSNIA

IRAN

NIGERIA

This looks a bit like Colombia in Group C, the argies should sail through without much fuss. In fact if you want a wee investment at the outset stick on a double for the two of them to win their respective groups. It may not be generous odds but sell the house and the wife and lump on………I expect this to come back and bite me!!

I would expect them to win all three games but the runners up spot appears a bit more difficult to predict. Iran are still celebrating their 1978 result against Scotland, Bosnia are a good technical team and I reckon they will go through whilst Nigeria have a few mystery players up their sleeves!!

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR – Nigeria to take the tournament by storm with the Killie trio of Ibrahim, Papa Idris and Gabriel Reuben. They will be on the front of papers worldwide and Killie will get a £50m sell on fee…..and relax.

GROUP G GERMANY

PORTUGAL

GHANA

U.S.A.

This looks like another decent group and with no South American involvement it will be interesting to see who adapts the best. The Germans are a good tournament team and I fancy they will do as well as any European team. I take them to win it which leaves Portugal and Ghana to scrap for second.

Ghana are one of the stronger teams whilst Ronaldo pretty much carried Portugal on his own. I’ll take Ghana to go through as Christiano may get the old petted lip out if things are going wrong.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR – Another betting proposition, bet Ronaldo to score first in the Portugal v USA game……just a thought.

GROUP H BELGIUM

ALGERIA

RUSSIA

KOREA

This is another “south American free” group and all the teams in the group will fancy they have sort of chance of getting through. Belgium are widely tipped to do well and I’ll tip them to win it but not with any confidence.

Second spot is tricky as well but I’ll plump for Russia who are generally low key but often get through a couple of rounds.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR – Numerous references to the English Premiership with the Belgians and lots of transfer talk about who Lukaku is going to sign for Well that’s your lot as I can’t be arsed working out who plays who after the group stages. Lets cut to the chase and get a prediction out there for the winners of the tournament. Brazil is the obvious choice but I would rather look for a better price elsewhere. I think Germany can go a long way but the winner will probably be South American.

I’ll go for Argentina who have some great individuals and will be hard to beat if they can get it together as a team….you can bet them at about 5/1.

On the subject of bookie bashing I’ve just had a wee look at my early season tips. We did ok in Scotland as we tipped Aberdeen to win (without Celtic) at 3/1 which is looking to have a great chance at the time of writing.

We also tipped Dundee to win the championship at 7/4 and that has just happened. The other two Scottish leagues were less than successful although we did tip Brechin as we thought Sevco may go diddies up again!!

Down south we tipped Chelsea for the league so that was close but no goldfish!! We tipped Wigan and Peterborough in the championship and league one who both made the play off places but we tipped the mighty Rochdale each way at 20/1. They had a chance of winning the league on the last day but ultimately settled for third. All in all not too bad an effort and if you want my tip for the English play offs it’s for Preston in League One.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS The recent changes at board level were seen as potentially positive by many Killie fans although most of us know never to take anything at face value these days. I have been encouraged by the thoughts of a couple of the new directors however the wise thing is always to be patient and see what really happens. We can all say the right things but ultimately it is the actions that matter so let’s wait and see.

Many fans feel the new board should already have taken a big decision by sacking Dumb and Dumber but as I write this prior to the Hearts game it would appear they are hear until at least the summer. I’ll be amazed if any normal club would keep them here for another season but are we a “normal” club?

I’m writing this just as the season ticket deal has been published for season 2014/2015. In all honesty it is absolutely mental to put these out when we don’t know what league we will be in. I’m sure this will generate a few questions at the AGM……if the plebs are allowed to ask questions this year.

Here is a look at the key points of the deal: - FREE U16 Season Ticket when purchased with any Adult or Senior Season Ticket. (£20 for each additional U16 Season Ticket) - Under 21 Season Ticket price reduced to the symbolic figure of £65.

-Moffat Family Season Ticket for a family of 4(2 Adults & 2 U16's) only £20 per match.

- FREE SEASON TICKETS - To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1964-65 Scottish League Championship victory we are delighted to offer every new and existing Killie fan who was born during April 1965 a FREE season ticket for SPFL season 2014-15. Contact the club on 0845 194 1869 to claim your FREE Season Ticket for next season.

(Proof of age and identity required)

- FREE entry to win a brand new Seat Mii worth up to £10,000 courtesy of Ingram with every Adult, Moffat Family and Senior Season Ticket purchase made before the 2014 'Killie Festival'. See below to find out how you can increase your chance of winning by purchasing early!

2014/15 Season Ticket Prices East & Frank Beattie Stand Adult Adult with U16 Senior(Over 65) Senior (Over 65) with U16 Student Under 21 Under 16

Ticket Price £330 £330 £210 £210

Discounted Cost (Maximum) £297 £297 £199 £199

£190 £65 £50

£180 £65 FREE

Moffat Family Stand(Non Celtic Matches) Moffat Family(2 Adults & 2 Children Under 16) Adult Senior(Over 65) Student Under 21 Under 16

Ticket Price £360 £210 £150 £130 £65 £36

There are various incentives if you buy early and there is the reintroduction of the under 16 deal plus a new decent deal for under 21’s. Overall though this deal will do nothing to get numbers back and I fear this is just MJ still pulling the strings.

I’ve no idea if this deal has been agreed by the new board or if it was all in place prior to them joining but it looks like a bit of another marketing OG.

I don’t want to get negative again but surely the new board would like to see a significant rise in ST numbers but I’m afraid it won’t happen with this deal. The main gripe of fans at the moment is the management team so keeping them this long is also a negative for ST sales. As I say we need to take a bit more time to see how the new structure works out and we may get a little bit more information at the Agm. One other change at the club has been the appointment of Andrew Miller as the new Supporters Liaison Officer (SLO). Andrew is a life long Killie fan who appears to want to help build bridges between fans and the club. His biggest problem is that the person who caused the rifts still hangs around like a bad smell and as long as he remains there are fans and businesses who will simply stay away.

Much like the new directors time will tell and Andrew has wasted no time in trying to connect to the fans. He has his own forum on killiefc.com where fans can ask questions that Andrew will pass on to the board/MJ. The early days have seen a mixture of club views and Andrew’s own thoughts but he is looking to put a process into place that will hopefully ensure that all directors will feed into the process rather than we just continue with the MJ show.

It should be stressed that the SLO post is not new as John Corrigan did it previously. John tried to build bridges but my take on it all was that he went back to MJ with proposals that were simply knocked back. It was all a one way street and MJ has no real desire to work closely with the fans…..unless they are hand picked of course. I wish Andrew good luck and even though there was no application process once again I’m sure he is in it for the right reasons.

Andrew held a “meet the fans” type meeting a few weeks back when fans reps got the chance to go along and raise concerns, make suggestions and have a general discussion about all things Killie. Several suggestions were around ST’s/pricing however the ST offer was obviously already decided.

Once again time will tell if there is any real desire to engage.

Finally there will be an opportunity to meet Andrew (plus one of the new directors hopefully) at the KFCSA AGM which will be held from 12 noon in the Park Suite on Saturday 14th June……..we will put out full details in the next couple of weeks.

KILLIE BITS + PIECES AGM news first of all and I apologise for no club AGM report but this issue had to go to the printers a few hours before the AGM started so you will need to get your feedback on killiefc.com and the social media. AJ is meant to be in attendance so it will be interesting to see if he is allowed to take questions amd how he will respond. MJ is not renowned for allowing the plebs to ask questions so I won’t hold my breath.

Staying with AGM’s and the KFCSA AGM will take place in the Park Suite on Saturday 14th June. The world cup will have started but there are no games that early so get yourself along for what is the first chance for most fans to hear from new Supporter Liaison Officer Andrew Miller plus we hope to have at least one of the new directors in attendance. I will be speaking to both Billy Bowie and David Moran so hopefully one or both will be there to take some fans questions.

If you are a Hippo regular you will know we have done a couple of “where are they now” articles in previous issues. I’ve just heard Morton have been beaten 10 – 2 in their final game v Hamilton so we may be looking where Kenny has gone next! Anyway an article caught my eye the other day when I saw Gavin Skelton’s name mentioned. I know most Killie lads were more interested in spotting his sister Helen in the hotel however Gavin was a decent bloke who is still in football. He has moved into management and is now player boss at Conference north side Workington….anyone fancy a trip to cumbria?

Moving on to some supporters news, the voting is now up for the KFCSA Player of the Year. You can go onto www.kfcsa.org and register your vote for either Boyd, Ashcroft, Johnston, Clingan, Pascali, McKenzie and Samson. Unfortunately we haven’t organized a big dance as due to the non relationship with the club/Johnston we couldn’t guarantee we would get any players!!

We hope to do something in the pre-season, it wont be a big dance but we will have a wee fans night and can hopefully make the presentation then. Please take a minute to place a vote and ensure we get as accurate a vote as possible.

I hope this information will prove to be meaningless to Killie fans but I will just clarify the play off process as best I can. Falkirk and Queen of the South will play over two legs this week. The winner will then play Hamilton home and away to decide who meets the 11th placed Premiership team. The dates for this are Wed 21st May with the second leg on Sunday 25th May……..the Premiership team will be away in the first leg and home in the second……..good luck Ross County I hope.

Well done to Nicola Haswell and the family for their fundraising efforts recently at the Charleston. Nicola was raising money for the Headway charity in memory of dad Jim who tragically died at the Hibs game a year ago. At the time of writing Nicola was still waiting on a little money coming in but over £1000 was raised for a very worthwhile cause. I have spoken to Nicola and KFCSA will be looking to do a fundraising event later in the year….watch this space for details.

BREAKING NEWS – I have just spoken to one of the new Killie directors and we are going to look and see if anything can be done to help the Killie buses that travel to Easter Road next Saturday.

We will speak to the club on Monday and will publicise if anything is agreed……..check websites and press for details!!!

SPL 5/4/14 KILLIE 1 V 2 SAINTEES GOALS – MUIRHEAD 5 REF – S MCLEAN

WRIGHT 31 ANDERSON 44 CROWD - 3665

DICK OF THE DAY – CORNER SHOP GUY

I suppose the attendance dispelled most of the NAPM myths….when will folk realize its long term damage that’s been done and many folk just wont be back. Anyway I could give our gong to the ref McLean who is a disgrace to his dad who was a great Killie servant. It was a poor loss so I’m afraid the lager kicked in and I bounced home after 9pm. I needed some paracetamol prevent the hangover but the wee white shop was closed…….a disgrace, he knows he can only shut once I’m home. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

SPL 19/4/14 KILLIE 1 V 2 JAGS GOALS – MAKSIMENKO 54 REF – B COLVIN

HIGGINBOTHAM 57 TAYLOR-SINCLAIR 85 CROWD – 4980

DICK OF THE DAY – IAN MCDONALD

There are many horrible memories of the Jags over the years like…..The McAdam brothers, Bertie Auld, their fans, Mo Johnston, regular late goals against us, and a horrible wee character Ian McDonald. He was a crappy wee midfielder who looked like a jakie and was just annoying……he could be the patron saint of Maryhill!!

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SPL 26/4/14 ROSS 2 V 1 KILLIE

GOALS – KISS 41 + BRITTAIN (PEN) 77 REF – K CLANCY 3401

BOYD 88 CROWD - 3401

DICK OF THE DAY – AJ + SC Sorry but I’m all out of humour after watching that shit. Please just do the honourable thing and walk away…..and if you want to do one good thing please take the dick of a chairman with you

SPL 4/5/14 HEARTS 5 V 0 KILLIE

DICK OF THE DAY – MJ/AJ/SC

I wrote the full fanzine over the last couple of weeks but left just one page so I could write the Tynecastle match report as I was praying a win would edge us towards safety…..how much more wrong could I have been?

As a long term Killie fan I have suffered more than my fair share of misery, lows and huge disappointment and this game is up there with the worst of them. Our record at Tynecastle has been fantastic in recent years so I suppose we were all hoping that our “lucky ground” would come to the rescue again. Sadly we were rotten from the first kick of the ball and well played to Hearts who have only pride left to play for. Perhaps some of our players can have a word with them to learn how to do that.

The fans turned on AJ big time at Dingwall and the abuse and chants were cranked up another notch as we witnessed one of the poorest displays ever by any Killie team. Lets not kid ourselves here, had it not been for Hearts 15 point deduction we would be wallowing at the bottom of the league…yet our parasite and his fellow directors see fit to leave the management team in place…..it defies belief. I can only guess that MJ is still solely making the decisions and hasn’t sacked them as it would be an admission that he made a monumental balls up last summer.

The result and performance were jawdroppingly bad and it may well have one slight positive effect as it may kick start our shareholders into some serious questions at the AGM tonight. It has been reported that AJ will be present to take questions. That should be interesting to hear or will MJ try to deflect attention away by announcing AJ’s departure on the evening?

We can window dress the club situation all we want but as long as MJ hangs around we will not move forward with any real conviction. I hope BB has a pair and if he genuinely wants what is best for the club he will realize that MJ has to cut all ties……..I’m less than convinced that will happen and if they are cut from the same cloth we are in for many more years of misery.

Of course we could win our next two games and remain in the top league for our 50th League win anniversary but anyone who was at Tynecastle will understand my doubts about our survival. I think I better get writing that last issue of the season for the play off games!!

RUGBY UNION AT THEATRE OF PIES?

If recent newspaper reports can be believed Scotland may face Tonga at RP in November. The above pic is what we can expect to see on the pitch the morning after the game.

The whole story came about as the Tonga manager was at Dingwall last week and loved the long punts being favoured by AJ. It is expected thousands of Killie fans will attend the game whilst Craig Samson will give coaching to the conversion kickers.