AN UNOFFICIAL KILLIE FANZINE
ISSUE NO. 147
REMEMBER BACK IN ‘65 ..HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON ..IS JIM THE MANN? ..ROAD TRIP TO DINGWALL £2.00
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SHOOTING FROM THE HIPPO
All of a sudden the end of the season is in sight and we arrive at the time of the year I call “Katie Price time”…i.e. the split is imminent. I’m just about to head to the Howard to see Scotland take on the mighty Gibraltar who in all honesty should be facing Arran, Millport and Rothesay in a battle of the islands but here’s hoping I don’t witness what would be the most embarrassing episode in our history if we do anything but win. It’s never a bad thing to have a Killie free weekend as it gives us time to gather our thoughts, rest the injuries and look at what we can expect for the remainder of the campaign. I’m going to make a not so bold prediction at this point, by the time you read this I reckon Gary Locke will have been appointed our permanent manager. Our hard working mole network has been scurrying around gathering information and I am assured that Locke is the man and he will get the gig. If you buy this issue at the Motherwell or Aberdeen game and we have appointed some little known Peruvian coach feel free to hit me a slap on the hooter. I must confess to quite liking Gary Locke and will have no problem whatsoever if he is confirmed as boss. There are some fans on the forums who are not convinced but I think he has done well in recent weeks and has made one very important improvement…..our good youngsters are blossoming all of a sudden. GL did a good job bringing through youngsters at Tynecastle and if you have listened to our new chairman you will know that is what he wants to see at the Theatre of Pies. At the start of the season I was predicting Chris Johnston would be a huge player for us but he deteriorated under AJ, the same can be said of O’Hara. I reckon both are decent young players and hopefully we will now see them progress rapidly under a boss who takes off the shackles and lets them express themselves. You will see a report in here about the club AGM which saw Jim Mann take over to try and reverse the mess off the park. The new chairman has came across very well to everyone who has listened to him and seems to have a genuine desire to help the club rather than his bank balance. The huge obstacle is still inhis way and if Johnston hangs around picking up his £80k a year I’m afraid many fans will perceive that he and Bowie are the ones with the power and nothing much has really changed. I’m hopeful that JM is strong enough to let that happen. He would get lapsed fans onside by binning MJ, binning the shambolic CEB and letting everyone move forward together without any flies in the ointment. Congratulations to Mark Connelly who won the KFCSA Player of the Year award and got a great ovation from the fans. The big man is out for the season it seems but hopefully he will be bag stronger than ever in the new campaign….YNTTK Sandy
HOW THE LEAGUE WAS WON Despite more than a century of competitive football, there have been only 18 occasions when Scotland’s league championship has been won by a side other than Celtic or Rangers (including Dumbarton sharing the title with Rangers in 1891). Whether it be Hibernian’s golden era of the late 1940s and early ‘50s, or Dundee United’s first and only title in 1983, any temporary halt to the Glasgow giants’ dominance is warmly welcomed by the wider Scottish football community. Normally, any prospective challenger would need to step over at least one of the big two in order to reach the top of the domestic pile. However, season 1964/65 was a remarkable one: the traditional powerhouses were also-rans, both finishing the campaign outside the top four – a set of circumstances not witnessed before or since. Instead, it was Hearts and Kilmarnock who fought out an enthralling battle for the league title, with the lead changing hands a number of times over the course of the season. This was no freak occurrence however, with both challengers being of considerable pedigree. Hearts were in the closing stages of the most successful period in their history. Under the tutelage of Tommy Walker, the Jam Tarts had won the league in 1958 and 1960, as well as the Scottish Cup in 1956 and the League Cup on four occasions. While the legendary ‘Terrible Trio’ of Alfie Conn, Willie Bauld and Jimmy Wardhaugh had moved on, Walker could still call on two impressive attacking talents – Willie Wallace would later win the European Cup with Celtic while Alan Gordon had the distinction of not only playing for Hearts and Hibs, but also turned out for both Dundee clubs. While the side from the capital were used to experiencing that winning feeling, down in Ayrshire it was a different story. Kilmarnock were Scottish football’s nearly men – four times in the previous five seasons they had finished league runners-up, including Hearts’ triumph in 1960. As if that wasn’t painful enough, Killie had also lost three domestic cup finals during the same period.
Nowadays, a team of sports psychologists would work overtime to find the missing ingredient which would help a clearly capable team to take that final step. One thing that wasn’t lacking though was determination, with Kilmarnock once again in contention as winter turned to spring in 1965. Willie Waddell had enjoyed a distinguished playing career with Rangers and, in his first managerial role, built an impressive side including young goalkeeper Bobby Ferguson (later of West Ham and Scotland), captain and club legend Frank Beattie and prolific striker Jackie McInally (father of Bayern Munich striker Alan McInally). Hearts looked as if they had done enough when they managed to open a three-point lead at the top. However, a draw with Dundee United left the door slightly ajar and, going into the last round of matches, the contenders were separated by two points. Thanks to a wonderful piece of scheduling, the sides would go head-to-head at Tynecastle on the final day. On a glorious April afternoon, Hearts and Kilmarnock took to the field to contest their very own duel in the sun. More than 36,000 people were in attendance to see if the championship trophy would spend the year in Edinburgh, or if it would reside in Ayrshire for the first time. To describe the fixture as winner-takes-all wouldn’t be entirely accurate: the hosts had the luxury of knowing that any victory, draw or even a single goal defeat would still be enough for them to be declared champions on goal average. The visitors meanwhile, knew that a minimum winning margin of two goals was required. It’s also worth noting that had goal difference been in operation, Hearts’ vastly superior ratio would have rendered the final match as virtually meaningless. In the opening moments, what started out as an uphill struggle for Kilmarnock could have become an insurmountable mountain, had Ronald Jensen’s shot gone inside the post, rather than against it. Perhaps buoyed by that early let-off, the away side played themselves into the match and after 26 minutes they took the lead – Davie Sneddon was at the far post to meet Tommy McLean’s cross and his header gave the away side renewed hope. Determined to make the most of their advantage, Kilmarnock then turned the game on its head just a few minutes later.
Taking the ball on his left foot, Brian McIlroy drilled a shot past Jim Cruikshank in the Hearts goal. Suddenly, the outsiders were in the driving seat. Unsurprisingly, Hearts came to life. Despite being on the receiving end of Kilmarnock’s double salvo, they knew that a single goal would still be enough to win the title. However, while they made chances either side of half-time, the visitors held firm and indeed, could have extended their lead. Hearts’ last chance came in the closing minutes – Gordon met a bouncing ball, ensuring he kept it down and it travelled towards the opposition net. However, after years of near misses, it seemed that Waddell’s players had decided that this was going to be their day. Ferguson – who had made his first-team debut earlier in the season – made a stunning save to confirm an outstanding victory and a historic first championship. Although they have won both domestic cups since then, that 1965 triumph remains Kilmarnock’s only league championship win. The following season they entered the European Cup, winning a preliminary round tie against the Albanian side, 17 Nentori Tirana. Unfortunately, their opponents in the firstround proper, Real Madrid, had too much quality for their Scottish opponents: not only did the Spaniards progress to the next round, they went on to win the competition for a record sixth time. Willie Waddell had a remarkable career: as if guiding a provincial club to their first league title wasn’t enough, he won numerous titles with Rangers as a player and returned as manager, leading them to their 1972 European Cup Winners Cup triumph. However, arguably his greatest achievement was his part in the redevelopment of Ibrox stadium, following the disaster in 1971 which claimed the lives of 66 people. Hearts haven’t won a league title since, and have suffered further last day devastation. After being top of the table for most of the season, two late goals conceded at Dundee handed the 1985/86 title to Celtic. Ironically, had goal average still been in use, they would have been champions. The 1964/65 season was one of those rare occasions where Scottish football wasn’t all about the ‘Old Firm’. Kilmarnock’s championship win should therefore be celebrated, as such triumphs have been all too infrequent over the years.
PROVOSTS PAGE The provost sends his best wishes and promises to have a beer with us before the end of the season. If they ever bring in a limit on working hours for provosts JT will break every rule in the book. Anyway we have been working hard on our “Kilmarnock Picture House” project so I will try and give you an update on where we are. We are finalizing the constitution that will formalize the organization and allow us to apply for funding. Of course if there is anyone out there with good experience please drop me an email killiehippo@aol.com as we need all they help we can get. I have spoken to the college and they like our idea but we need to convince them to take the whole thing on as a college project. There will be a lot of work involved and I simply don’t have the time. Hopefully we will get a positive response from them in the coming weeks to tell us it will be part of their schedule from September!! As mentioned in a previous issue we hope to have a wee satellite gallery at the excellent newly refurbished railway station. That is what we are working on at present and hopefully there will be good news on that front by the time the final issue of the season hits the streets. I will keep you updated as we go and if you are handy on the PC with photos/images please get in touch as I may need your expertise!
FAN OWNERSHIP THE LATEST Many of you may have read recently about the proposal being put forward at government level for football fans in Scotland being given the chance to buy their football clubs. All this has come about due to the huge changes in the Scottish game in recent years. The money is no longer in the Scottish game nowadays and when ruthless individuals come in to clubs simply to line their own pockets it is simply a recipe for disaster. Here at Killie the Trust has worked tirelessly over a number of years to help the club and ultimately to get a place on the board. It is no secret that the parasite has no time for the fans as they would want to do what is best for the club and not take any money out of it…….something that hasn’t happened for a long time now. There has been lawyers letters bouncing back and forth I believe and I know the guys in the Trust are still very confident they will eventually get a seat, perhaps we will get an update at the club AGM. Whatever happens it cannot be denied there is a wind of change blowing throughout the game and here is an article we came across that spells out the changing face of the game: Football is just not the same these days. The players are more concerned with their hairstyle than their first touch and those same muscle-bound egomaniacs won't get out of bed for less that £100,000-a-week. I'll stop there, because it's probably sounding rather familiar to you at this point. The idea that football is now worse off because of the globalization of the game is one that is widespread. A growing number of fans are pining for the days that high boots were ignored and two-footed challenges were cheered; the game at its highest level has moved on from those seemingly barbaric days.
But as the Premier League takes a monopoly on British football, there is a growing realisation that the not-so-successful clubs are having to call on the local community, not the Russian oligarch, to stay alive. It is an idea that is spreading fast. Fan ownership is taking British football by storm. Now, over 30 clubs in the UK are owned or majority-owned by trusts with the likes of Wrexham, Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth recently saved by fans willing to put their hands in their pockets. But fans needn't wait for their club to be on the brink of extinction before getting actively involved in ownership. Most clubs in the Bundesliga have flourished while having a majority stake held by fans for years, while Barcelona and Real Madrid are owned by members, who elect their hierarchy through a democratic voting system. Since the turn of the millenium, the UK has seen over 180 supporters' trusts created, of which over 100 enjoy at least a minority shareholding in their club. Following the trend, supporters all over Scotland are attempting to take a controlling stake in their local sides. Benefactors are running out of cash as revenue streams dry up and more and more clubs are finding themselves with unsustainable amounts of debt. Ultimately, clubs run into financial trouble because owners have either run out of money or grow tired of losing it after prolonged spells of unsustainable spending. In that sense, Portsmouth FC are the classic example of a club rescued by fan ownership. Debts in excess of ÂŁ100 million were brought under control in 2012 after the Portsmouth Supporters' Trust took loans from both the local council and local businesses. It brought Portsmouth out of administration with fans owning 60 per cent of the club. They're prohibited from selling shares or taking dividends. They're not exactly heading back to the glory days of FA Cup finals, but at least they're future is more secure. In the end, sustainability is more important than success.
And in a period of austerity and a dominant Premier League that eats up the lion's share of the fanbase, staying alive is more difficult than it sounds. Giving fans the chance to get involved with a club and own a small part of it would help to secure their loyalty for the long-term. Michael Wood, network support manager at Scottish Fans, has recently helped Hearts, Motherwell, Annan, East Fife, Livingston and Falkirk in gaining ownership and governance of clubs. He thinks securing the fanbase is key to keeping football alive at a local level alive. Wood explained to GiveMeSport: "It’s very hard for investors to make a decent return, not just in Scottish football but any football club. Frankly, when you start running out of individuals that are willing to invest sizeable funds, the thousands of fans committed to that club in the long-term become your best option.
TAKING CONTROL Hibernian are hardly a club on the brink of financial meltdown but with a loss of £800,000 in the year to July 2014 and a revenue stream down by over 25 per cent from the previous year, trouble is on the horizon. Andrew Sibley is one of the founding directors of the movement Buy Hibs, who are trying to gain enough fan support to purchase 51 per cent of shares in the club and gain seats in the boardroom, ultimately having influence over future decisions. He told GiveMeSport: "In a recent survey it became quite clear that there was an appetite for a form of fan ownership. And the reason behind that is because the club has grown debt of up to £9.5 million, which the current owners have converted into new shares and a £5 million mortgage, which is not the same as bank debt, but will need to be paid back." The owners sensed the tone and tried to launch their own movement, asking fans to invest in Hibernian Supporters Limited, which would gain a controlling stake in the club when a certain target was raised. The catch is that fans investing in the scheme would never directly own shares in the club and therefore wouldn't gain influence over board decisions. For Mr Sibley, that wasn't acceptable.
He continued: "To us that’s wrong because fans can contribute funds but there is still no voice on the board. That is a different model from what we want, which is to create share ownership amongst the fans and gain seats on the board. Fan ownership can only work if we are able to directly influence club decisions." In a sense, the majority of football clubs are still important at a local level but representation from local people went missing as football moved to a business-led model. But now that is changing and there is proof that fan ownership does work right up to the elite level.
SWANSEA CITY: THE BLUEPRINT Swansea City have been the second team of choice for a lot of fans since they won promotion to the Premier League in 2011. Now they are established in the top flight with the Swansea Supporters Trust maintaining a 21 per cent holding in the club. The trust has one executive director on the board purely to represent the views of fans and also have an associate director. Ten years ago they were in the fourth tier of English football and in 2013 they won the League Cup. This is the model other clubs are aspiring to.
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION Even the government are involved, launching an initiative to explore how more fans can get involved with the clubs they follow. Labour announced the radical proposal of giving fans the right to buy a significant share of a club when ownership changes. It would be "the biggest legislative shake-up in the governance of football clubs since the advent of the game", as Labour put it. But there are major drawbacks to fan ownership, not least because it takes away the opportunity for an experienced businessman or woman to make tough decisions fans may not agree with. But fans in Scotland are trying to work together with current board members and/or owners to create a joint venture between small businesses and themselves.
It is working for Hearts, who are dominating the Scottish Championship after fans completed a successful takeover in conjunction with Edinburgh businesswoman Ann Budge in February 2014. "At the moment it is the clubs with smaller revenue streams that are more inclined to explore the benefits of fan ownership," Wood continued. "Hearts, who are in the transitional process of their current owner transferring her majority share to the Foundation of Hearts, are doing very well. What we’ve seen there is a relationship with fans and local businesses that has been very successful." "For clubs with smaller revenue streams, community ownership is better from a sustainable point of view because if you have a group of supporters invested in the club, the chance of them withdrawing their support is very unlikely. Alternatively, if you have one individual in charge of the club looking for a return on their investment, they might not be willing to support the club for the long-term." Since the demise of Rangers Football Club in 2012, which saw one of Britain's great clubs banished to the bottom tier of Scottish football, the clubs who have lost out financially have had to make major changes to their business models. There is now an acceptance that they won't enjoy the money that the Premier League is generating and will have to turn to their loyal supporters to survive. Former chief executive of the Scottish Premier League Roger Mitchell believes that fan-led takeovers of clubs is a result of a realisation that they will never be able to compete with their English counterpart. He told GiveMeSport: "Football in Scotland has come back to its community roots. You’ve seen that happening in Motherwell, the phoenix that has come out of Hearts has been fan-led, what’s happening at Rangers is now fan-led and what is happening at Hibs is coming from people that realise their club is really a community club competing with local rivals, not international rivals. "As such I think those are the right people that should be making the decisions because it is about what they are doing for that community, and that will probably happen on the playing side.
There was a time when Scottish football went for the cheaper Eastern European import and ignored the local boy, but now it is going back to where football was in the whole of Great Britain in the 60s and 70s." The good old days that so many fans have pined for is on the brink of returning, but it seems that fans of elite such as Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea will have to wait until their clubs look seriously at adopting the opinions of fans into their strategies for global domination. But with the Premier League continuing to grow in popularity, taking the majority of new football fans along with them, it will be the local communities that the smaller clubs ultimately turn to. Scotland are already arriving, failing to benefit the Premier League gravy train and now looking at devolving their clubs right down to the heart of the fan Base. The model has been set by a small Welsh club, who are enjoying almost unbelievable success. But, Wood believes Scottish fans will have to deal with a lack of short-term success if they want to adopt the same sustainable model. He finished: "We might see one of these fan-owned clubs challenging for titles but not for another ten to 15 years. It’s more about sustainability and making sure the game in Scotland is not just one season after the other of fighting to stay alive." …………………….. I’d say that’s a well written article which highlights the changes that are happening and I’m certain that in the years ahead we will see a massive change in the influence that fans have in their own clubs. We need to take a reality check and accept that the English Premiership and Scottish Premiership are as comparable as me and Brad Pitt. The fact of the matter is that EVERY Scottish club is now a selling club and clubs as low as the third tier in England can come up and tempt away some Premiership players…….sad but true. It tells you all you need to know when the goons in charge of our game can’t even attract a sponsor for the top flight. It may seem gloomy at present but the popularity of football goes in cycles. Perhaps club will have people in charge that really care and they are the best people to attract fans back to our ailing national sport.
ROAD TRIP TO DINGWALL Saturday 5.30am – Normally when I’m awake at this time of the morning it can be for a number of reasons. Perhaps my Friday night kebab is trying to make a return, perhaps my Friday night beer is playing havoc with my prostate (I’m at that age) or maybe Hooky (my wee mutt) is in need of a leak out the back door. However on this occasion I had stayed in on Friday and had no beer or kebabs and Hooky was snoring like a Clydesdale. There was only one explanation…..I had Dingwall-itis, it’s great to still get a buzz about a boozehound road trip. 7.30am – Having lay in my scratcher for a few hours dreaming about lottery wins, Killie winning cups and lazy days on Greek beaches I decide its time to begin match day preparations. I wonder if the players have a similar routine to me….they have scrambled egg on toast whilst I have enough cholesterol to clog every artery in Scotland. Players may go for a short jog while I’m squeezing cans of lager in the freezer to ensure they are cool for the long journey north. 8.30am - Sad times but apathy is rife and we can’t even get enough names for a minibus. The good news is we get to hire one of those cracking wee people carriers that has more room that a one bedroom flat in central London. Big Stewart is on driving duty, god bless him and my only driving for the day is to pick up Baz then take Stewart up to collect the wagon. Once again we have the pleasure of meeting the human satnav in Arnold Clark, so called because his directions for our pre season trip to Shrewsbury was down the M6 and turn right….brilliant. 9.30am – We pick up the troops at the Howard but not before I grab a carton of Lentil soup and proceed to chuck half of it over my jumper (some folk may call it a horse blanket). Of course the big concern is if I can’t hold a cup while I’m stone cold sober what chance do I have after a couple of gallons of that golden, chemical filled gut rot? We are 5 minutes into the journey when I read on facebook that one of the Killie buses has broken down already up at the Stirling services. It’s bad enough breaking down but it’s a double whammy when you realize it will cost you £20 for a burger and cuppa at the rip off fast food outlets. If we had taken a bus we could have maybe offered some help but sadly we only had a couple of spare seats and they were reserved for the boozehound cargo! Thankfully the fact the bus left early was a blessing in disguise as it meant there was time to send another bus and they still made it to the Mallard for a few beers before the game.
11am – Big Stewart makes good progress even if we have to look out for those dastardly A9 average speed cameras. I wonder if speed cameras could be awarded the dick of the Day award? We pull in at Perth services for the first pit stop (yes I said pit) to be greeted by a strange sight. One bus of Celtic fans from somewhere way up north is heading down to support their local east end of Glasgow team. However there is one other bus already there, full of egg chasing fans heading to see Scotland v Ireland at Murrayfield. The boozehounds are genuinely concerned that it could all kick off as the giro worshippers may favour Ireland and it could explode into a battle of kilts versus shell suits. Thankfully it passes without incident although one young lad has a nasty incident with a microwaved Cornish pasty. High Noon – If anyone thinks we don’t live in the most beautiful country on the planet here is a suggestion. Wait until there is a cloudless day, tie it in with a Killie away fixture at Dingwall or Inverness and drive up the A9…..heaven on earth. We were lucky as it was truly like a summers day and there was a danger at one point that we would just plank our fat arses at a nice spot and give the football a miss. Ok I maybe took that too far but it was a magnificent drive up north and I was in such a good mood it didn’t really matter if we won or lost…..which was just as well!! 1.30pm – For anyone who hasn’t been to Dingwall it’s a wee bit different to your average SPL ground. The town is about the size of Fenwick (well maybe a wee bit bigger) and I have only ever seen one pub. The Mallard sits roughly two mins from the ground and is where 99% of the Killie fans end up. To be fair there are plenty of home fans as well…..unfortunately the young one with the drum is seated right behind me. At this point I hope his operation was a success and his piles weren’t too damaged by the drum removal procedure. 3pm – 4.45pm – Traditionally the worst part of a boozehound journey and this was no different. The score made it look like a close game….it wasn’t. We were second best for 80 minutes and if we had grabbed a point late on I might even have blushed…….I was blushed enough with the gallon of lager. 5pm – 9.30pm – The long journey home was not quite as pleasant as the clouds had arrived and we missed most of the scenery. Our brief stop at Tesco was to get the second gallon sorted….along with chocolate, crisps and raw fish! I think I may have dosed off at some point, my half five rise was catching up with me. By the time we get back to Killie all the food and drink has vanished so its time for a quick sherbet in the Howard…..lovely stuff. 10pm – Mrs Hippo picks me up at Ocean Sun where I clutch my meal for two….Mrs H didn’t want anything. It’s safe to say that Match of the Day on Sunday morning is a godsend as I have no chance of staying awake for much longer. All in all a fantastic day that can be summed up like many others……great day, great company, shame about the football….YNTTK
SPL 27/3/15 ROSS 2 V 1 KILLIE ROSS CO – BROWN, KISS, BOYD, QUINN, RECKORD, GARDYNE (CAREY 74), IRVINE, WOODS, DA VITA, CURRAN (PALAZUELOS 86), BOYCE (JERVIS 65) SUBS NOT USED – REGUERO, MEITE, CARDLE + SERNAS BOOKED – BOYD + BOYCE GOALS – GARDYNE 23 + CURRAN 59 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> KILLIE – SAMSON, WESTLAKE, BARBOUR, O’HARA (KILTIE 75), ASHCROFT, PASCALI, JOHNSTON, SLATER, OBADEYI (CAIRNEY 63), ECCLESTON (MILLER 63), MAGENNIS SUBS NOT USED – BRENNAN, SPLAINE, SYME + HAWKSHAW BOOKED – SLATER + PASCALI GOALS – ASHCROFT 88 REF – B MADDEN
CROWD - 3389
DICK OF THE DAY – ROSS CO. SCOUT A trip to Dingwall on a beautiful sunny day is hard to criticize and I reckon if we had lost 8 – 0 today I would still have had a good day out. Since they got rid of Adams as manager there is not an awful lot to dislike about Dingwall. In all fairness it is just slightly bigger than Fenwick and is the least likely place to house a Premiership team. The one thing that did strike me when looking at their squad is that is principally a Killie old boys nursing home. I do appreciate that it is harder than normal to get players to stay away up north but the scout must have his number one priority as “must have played for Killie”. That means these guys try that wee bit harder against us so the award goes to their scout…..I wonder if McIntyre will be quoted for the Killie job at any time? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Fit has all been going so well in recent weeks that it had to hit a brick wall and so it proved. We were well beaten and if we had grabbed a late draw it would have been another Dick Turpin moment. The introduction of Kiltie, Miller + Cairney sparked us into life but it was all too little too late.
WILL SCOTTISH FOOTBALL RISE AGAIN? 21 May 2003: For the first time since 1987, a Scottish football team – in this case, Celtic– is competing in the final of a major European competition, the UEFA Cup. Facing them is FC Porto, managed by a certain Jose Mourinho. No prizes for guessing the victors that night. Yet, even though it was the Portuguese and not the Scottish side who were victorious that night, in hindsight a lot was said for Celtic. This was a Porto side who boasted players of the calibre of Deco and Ricardo Carvalho, to name but a few. Celtic didn’t even manage a single honour in domestic Scottish football that season in comparison. Fast-forward to now; there is no Celtic, or Scottish team for that matter, in the Champions League. Having lost 6-1 on aggregate to the might of, erm, Legia Warsaw, the Scottish title-winners received a very fortunate reprieve but were still knocked out of the next qualifying round by the even mightier Maribor. In 2003, there were two Champions League qualifying spots in the thenScottish Premier League, and at one point the winner of the latter could gain automatic qualification. 11 years later and there is just one such spot in the rebranded Scottish Premiership, and the holder of that has to pit their strengths against the champions of such footballing powerhouses as Kazakhstan in order to have that speculative shot at European footballing glory. Rangers, the joint-largest club in Scotland along with Celtic, have only just been promoted to the second-tier of Scottish football after a financial catastrophe that very briefly threatened to obliterate its existence; Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian, the two main clubs from the capital Edinburgh, are both also out of the top league, the former finding itself in similarly precarious financial situation to Rangers. So what has caused football, in a country where it plays such an important role in society and culture, for good reasons as well as bad, to be in such a dire state as it appears to be?
As usual, this is a situation where there are so many possible answers. Money is one, and especially when our neighbouring clubs down south are more or less rolling in it – at least in the Premier League – finding it in Scottish football is like finding a needle in a haystack. Even without television money, Cardiff City pocketed over £8 million for finishing last in the English Premier League. By contrast, Celtic, for winning the Scottish Premiership, were awarded a mere £2.5 million. Indeed, money is a good start if we are to attempt to trace the root of Scottish football’s problems. Back in the ‘80s Scottish football reached its zenith. In 1983 Aberdeen won the European Cup Winners’ Cup under the management of a youthful Alex Ferguson. In 1987 Dundee United, under the similarly bullish Jim McLean, reached the UEFA Cup final. But this was to change in 1988, when David Murray, a businessman who made his fortune in steel, bought Rangers for £6 million. Murray was to oversee a sustained spending spree by Rangers that included the recruitment of several England internationals over the next decade such as Ray Wilkins, Chris Wood and Paul Gascoigne, to name but a few. While bringing hitherto unprecedented domestic success to the club, he also succeeded in making Rangers a hegemony in Scottish football, a proverbial Great White Shark in a small pond. Celtic were nearly forced into bankruptcy, saved only by the money of Fergus McCann when 30 minutes away from receivership in 1994. The previous forces of Aberdeen and Dundee United, post-Ferguson and McLean were unable to match the spending of Murray and entered a period of decline that has since brought them a fraction – no, a molecule – of the success they once had. This lack of corresponding investment in Scottish football coupled with the foundation of the Premier League in England supported by the cash of Rupert Murdoch, meant that Scottish clubs were now being outshone financially both in Scotland and in England in a way that had never happened on a scale of its kind before. The money entering English football meant that English teams could now buy the best players money could buy; Scottish teams, with the exception of Rangers, could not similarly compete, and this lack of competition for Rangers, along with their lack of success in Europe, meant even their attractiveness to “big names” was not sustainable.
The Scotland National Team, meanwhile, reached its last World Cup in 1998, exiting at the group stage after a 3-0 defeat to Morocco. Scotland has never qualified for the finals of a major tournament since. But like with many problems in the world, to point out money as the root cause is overly simplistic and not the full answer. For example, Scotland is not helped by a population of just a tad over five million. Yet, while it may be that the Scottish domestic teams may never rub shoulders with football’s elite again as long as this situation exists we must still look at places such as Belgium, whose pool of talent includes the likes of Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and Thibaut Coutois (all three of whom, incidentally, play in the English Premier League), and ask ourselves: why them and not us, especially considering that football is by far the most popular sport in this country? After all, Belgium has just 34 professional clubs and two divisions to contain them. It is a neighbouring country of France, itself a major footballing nation with many times as people and resources as Belgium. And yet this small Benelux nation, famous for not much other than chocolate, Tintin and Jean Claude Van Damme, has on multiple occasions (this year included) managed to get further in the World Cup than Scotland teams containing the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law and Graeme Souness. The answer, at least in the team that reached the semi-finals of this year’s World Cup, was a complete revolution of Belgian youth football. For the purposes of word limits, this can be summarised the following way: every youth team in Belgium was instructed by the footballing authorities to play a 4-3-3 formation; training was focused on developing dribbling and quick passing, whereby drills would consist mainly of small games of 2vs2, 5vs5 and 8vs8; children’s youth teams were told explicitly not to use league tables in order to focus primarily on developing such technical skills; and on top of all this, 8 national academies were set up around the country. So it is in the development of players in Scotland wherein the problem lies. Scottish youth football was traditionally about developing players with primarily physical attributes without too much focus on the technical side of the game. In youth teams, players who were taller. And this is before we move on to the stereotypical drinking culture that has afflicted Scottish youth football. Fair enough, they want to act like normal people – but it is not how to become a good athlete.
Ergo, it is no coincidence that the clean cut culture of European countries means they consistently produce better youth prospects than Scotland does. It is not all doom and gloom though. There are signs that things are possibly on the move, that Scotland is trying to propel itself into the footballing 21st century. A case in point is Sporting Lisbon’s Ryan Gauld who moved from Dundee to allow his technique to flourish in a European environment. Dundee United, in fact, are a relative beacon of light with academy graduates who are knocking on the door of Premier League outfits whilst others like Hamilton, Kilmarnock and Hearts are trying to concentrate on producing good quality youngsters. Even at the moment, the Scotland team itself is not doing all that badly – under manager Gordon Strachan, they were unbeaten for 6 matches before losing narrowly to Germany (they of 2014 World Cup winning fame). Nonetheless, it is a long road, if that road exists at all, for Scotland to travel before they can find themselves in any major football tournament. It is one that is beset by the potholes of lack of finance, ingrained mentalities and a simple lack of competence in Scottish footballing authorities. But if Scotland was once able to produce players that could win European Cups, hold their own against and play alongside the very best the world had to offer – and all within relatively recent memory – should we really abandon all hope that it can ever happen again? THE BLOGSTER Hippo says – an interesting article that highlights how far we have sunk in the last decade but finishes by giving a little optimism as more and more clubs realize that the future has to revolve around producing good quality youngsters. Interestingly that is all much in line with what our new chairman said at the AGM. There seemed to be a real desire for killie to focus on “The Killie Way”. This is the type of strategy that Kenny Shiels was looking to build however the arrival of AJ seemed to kick all the focus on youth into touch. I’ll finish off this now as I’m away to watch Scotland v Gibraltar and praise is due to Strachan as he has given us a belief that may see us reach a finals once again……as mentioned above.
IS JIM THE MANN? Thursday 26th March will be the day that goes down in the history of KFC as the day that Michael Johnston stepped down as chairman. The fans have suffered ten years of lies, lack of transparency, self interest and a club on the slide so can our chairman mend the huge damage that has been done? Over the years we have been told year on year that we need to build income streams yet nothing meaningful was done to build those streams. Year on year we were told that the hotel was crucial to cash flow, especially during the summer months so how will we fare now that is has been grabbed by Haudit + Daudit? Prior to previous meetings there were whispers about big changes, changes on the board as well as the vomit inducing “Mj has done a great job” speech by the out of touch honorary president or whatever title he landed. However this year it appeared there really would be something to report as it was leaked that Jim Mann was going to be taking over the chairman role. An average number of shareholders turned up to witness a little piece of history. The meeting was opened by the outgoing chairman who quickly announced there were no apologies……..then he apologized for Russell Smith not being able to attend! He introduced the top table including new directors John Kiltie and Richard Cairns whilst David Moran is no longer on the board.
The most informative part of the AGM’s is normally when John Collins stands up and gives the financial performance in layman terms. This year was no different although in all honesty it was all a bit depressing and worrying. JC explained our operating loss for the year ended May 31st 2014 was £1.2m. This didn’t look as bad within the accounts as the Moffat loan was written off hence the loss showed about £400k but that is just for accounting purposes. In reality that cannot continue and if we repeat that this year we could end up following Hearts, Sevco etc. JC did say that we will be making a loss this year although not by the same amount. JC ran through each area of the business and the big loss could be attributed to poor performances in final league position, crowd revenue and commercial income. Our wages to turnover was 72% and that is another figure that can be repeated. He also explained the stadium was revalued with an increase of £570k, another unrealistic figure but clubs are pretty much allowed to do what they want as was explained at a previous AGM. JC finished his presentation by reiterating that we need to live within our means…….simply put we need to get crowds back to allow us to compete. MJ then got back up to make his last contribution as chairman and it was a wee bit bizarre. He showed everyone a video in Benny Hill super speed showing the old pitch being lifted and the new pitch laid layer by layer…….Alan Partride would have been proud of it. He waffled on about why the SPFL hadn’t managed to get a sponsor for the national sport and announced that QTS were shirt sponsor for another year………good on them.
He then went on to try and justify the Community Disengagement Board saying it had made a “strong beginning. Well if one meeting held followed by a fans rep chucking it is a strong beginning then fair enough…..good riddance parasite and do everyone a favour, don’t leave Troon again. Chairman Mann then took the floor and he spoke more sense in five minutes than Johnston did in 10 miserable years. He said we need to do far better in engaging with the fans, engaging with the community, working together and focusing in bringing through a stream of good youngsters. Mann went on to explain there was a list of things we haven’t been doing well and he will do his best to improve all of these. Each member of the board will be given tasks based on what they are good at. He did say Johnston would still be doing legal work but I’m not sure if he will still be pocketing his £80k a year. Jm then said he had four themes he would conc3ntrate on going forward: 1. The Killie Way – He wants every Killie team from the youngsters through to the first team to play an attractive brand of football that will get fans wanting to come and watch. He watches quite a bit of MK Dons and I’m sure they do something similar as do lots of teams around the globe……we did an article a while back re: Ajax doing this. 2. Best provincial club in Scotland – He wants us to be not just a Premiership club but a top six club. He wants the stadium to be smart and tidy and he wants other teams to fear coming to the Theatre of Pies, something he believes is not the case at present.
3. Self sufficient – given that the bank deal has left us with absolutely no credit facilities this is a bit of a no brainer and possibly the most crucial thing in my humble opinion. We simply cannot repeat the horrific £1.2m loss and the best way to do this is get lots of fans back to the games on a regular basis. The season tickets will be going on sale in April and JM urged fans to buy as early as possible…….no details were given re pricing of the tickets. 4. Community Engagement – JM stated we “all need a common mission” and we needed to get everybody back on side……I hope he realizes that wont happen as long as the parasite continues to hang around. Regardless of your views on Johnston it cannot be denied that many fans wont be back until he leaves and the quicker JM deals with that the more chance he has of reaching his targets. JM stated he will be reaching out for help from everyone, he stated he has spoken to loads of fans over the past year and is well aware of their views. He says he will be the face of the club, he is a good communicator and he is always willing to listen. It was interesting that he never mentioned Johnston at any time and many felt his comments throughout were a sharp dig at the outgoing chairman…..who knows. JM finished off this section of the meeting by making two telling statements. He stressed that we must “be driven by the future not held back by the past”. Then he finally pointed out that words were cheap and that everyone should judge him on his actions. The first comment seemed to be JM making a clean break from the previous chairman’s actions.
The only problem I would have with that is that the person/people who have caused the major problems are still there……best for everyone if JM could start with a blank sheet rather than being hamstrung by fellow board members. It goes without saying that the majority of people have been conned once too often and will judge JM on his actions. I have spoken to JM a couple of times and have listed to the fews of others and I genuinely believe he could be an excellent chairman……IF he is given free reign to do what he wants. The power (about 85%) is still held by the hotel thieves and having dealt with Johnston for many years there is no way he will simply accept the views of small shareholders. Bowie is the key. If he goes against Johnston then they can simply vote him off the board. If he continues to stick with his business partner I suspect Chairman Mann is bouncing his head off a brick wall. Gary Locke then took the floor and in answer to various questions he made the following observations: • It’s refreshing to see the changes and hear the positive comments coming from the floor • He feels the club is moving in the right direction and he will continue to give young players their chance in the first team. • He wants to improve the community engagement and moving back to Kilmarnock to train will help with that going forward.
• He will always be honest in his interviews just as he was after the disappointing defeat at dingwall. • He wouldn’t commit when asked about the potential return of Kris Boyd but is well aware we could do with a 20 goals a season striker. He will always look to introduce good youngsters and will aim to buy quality within the budget he is given. • He pointed out that young Greg Kiltie had showed a great attitude since returning from his loan spell at Queen of the South and has done very well recently. GL also spoke about injuries with Ngoo and Connelly out for the season but he hoped Hamill would be back in 4 weeks. • He received a round of applause when he advised the board to make a “quick decision” after tonight. GL feels it is in everyone’s best interests to make an appointment ASAP to let the new manager plan for next season. • He is speaking a lot to the media trying to persuade them to highlight the positive stuff that we are doing by bringing through youngsters. He thinks that the media reporting has improved recently in this respect. • He agreed we need to get good youngsters tied up on decent contracts and hopefully avoid losing others like happened with Muirhead. GL feels young players need to get good agents and some don’t. JM then closed the meeting and we all headed for a free Killie pie and cola!!
SOME WISE POST AGM ADVICE
Following the recent club AGM we would like to wish Jim Mann all the very best for the long road ahead and we thought it sensible to pass on a wee bit of advice. Jim should truly heed this advice during board meetings‌..