Season Diary 24

Entry #24: Sunday 30th November 2008

Yesterday i braved the freezing cold and made my way to hamilton for the football. I shouldnt have bothered. As i wrote yesterday, my plan was to get the travel club bus up, and we did. I picked up Blackie on my way to Gareths and his mrs ran us down to the snooker club with just enough time for a quick beer before the bus. On top of us three, Fauldsy turned up for the bus and the reformed Sellic supporter Chambers arrived with seconds to spare.

The bus journey was largely uneventful, a bus to Hamilton takes roughyl an hour so we were in Lanarkshire for jsut after one. We were dropped outside the Railway Club where someone had phoned ahead to make sure we would get in alright. Personally i thought we had hit the jackpot, cheap booze in these places for definite. Well not this one, regularly priced pints of lager was what it sold, the cynic in me says that if we went upstairs to the bar area instead of the hall for events we were in (someones 21st was the night previous as ballons were still up) prices would be a little kinder but i never got to follow up on that theory. At the same time, i wasnt going to heavy on the booze because had a night out in Glasgow planned and didnt want to give the doormen a skoosh reason to turn me away. Anyway, we sat spread out, our bus of less than fifty, in a room that could have held about 250 and dranka dn talked and watched Hearts beat Rangers throught he medium of Sky Sports News, cos thats another thing about this place, they olny had Setanta upstairs where the cheap ale flowed like water (in my mind anyway). I picked out my super single for the day, Burnley (thank you Owen Coyle, the man who Killie tried to sign a hundred times in my youth but he always went elsewhere (he probably only turned us down the once but like Tommy Coyne, Willie Falconer etc, it was always to Motherwell, a real bone of contention for me when i was young)) who duly won and proved a highlight of the football day.

Thats because the Killie game was absolutly rotten! After having walked round to the game down a side alley way along the railway line (felt as if we were being set up for a doing or something) we got to the away stand, called the Spice of Life Stand as its named after a local Indian restuarant. I have often wondered why Killie dont get our stands sponsored, the East especially, i suppose this is the fear, it might be Poundland that came in with the best deal (the Poundland Stand does have a ring to it i must admit) Also to get to the Spice for Life Stand we had to pass the other stand at this ground; The Ried furniture Stand, commercialism is alive and well in this neck of the woods it would seem. As we approached the turnstile, of which there were only two open (only two actually there) it was pretty busy. £22 for adults, £11 for concessions. I radied my pockets for a ten spot. Nothing in the front pockets, nothing in the back, i even keeked in the wee johnny pocket in the hope of a late November miracle, it wasnt to be, i had to stump up the 22quid because all i had were purple notes, cant believe i am complaining about only having £20s but turns out i am.

So with the waiting about outside to get in we missed the kick off, this wasnt a problem for me as when we debated going at all (staying for drink in the Railway Club being the other option, not Xmas shopping in downtown Hamilton) i declared my long standing belief that i am not too bothered about missing kick offs as they are generally all the same, never any varaiation. Which is true as well. I also maintained that i am not too bothered missing an early goal, especially if its for Killie, takes the nervous edge off, were one nil up, i am not quite there yet but i can go in smiling instead of worrying about when we will get one.

What i would have given for an early goal, because this way dreadful. Really we are the most toothless team in the league, we just cant make any chances. We lined up without a recognised striker in the team and played Wullie G in the wing to swing some crosses in, to who exactly? Och, the less said about the game the better, we got beat one nil after Offiong scored Hamiltons solitary chance in the match plus it was absolutely freezing. Not a good combo.

Plus side is that this was my first visit to Hamiltons ground and i thought it was ok, fair enough they only have two stands (plus one that holds about 50 fans with a wee patio outside) but the first rows are about 7 feet off the ground meaning every seat is a good one, pity the views were only pishy Killie displays on the park or supermarkets.

It was frozen at the game and the mist was beginning to settle as the game ended, that i suppose was ok as we would be ona bus soon but i had a night out in glasgow to go on and the thought of walking about in the frozen fog wasnt too appealling. Didint stop me though and i am glad i went. It was a couple of mates birthday night out so we went to ashton lane then a place called Boho, my recollection of getting to this boho place was basically walking into the fog and not being able to see five yards in front of you, we walked and walked not being able to see buildings at our sides until someone shouted stop, we stopped an turned and there was Boho. However the highlight of the night for me and Fest and Gareth was when we met John Henry in The Loft in Ashton Lane, Fest spotted him when he was standing having a pee (Fest was peeing, not watching JH peeing) and asked him to come over and see us which he duly did. Top bloke is John Henry. the picture is Fest, John henry and myself and taken by Gareth, the beauty of cameras on phones is taking photos of sleeping drunk friends with toothpaste on their faces and moments like last night.

Season Diary 23

Entry #23: Saturday 29th November 2008

I am going to the football today, I have a rare Saturday off so i am going to Hamilton. As of yet i have no way of getting there because the Pyramid Club isnt open and i havent booked myself onto their bus but it shouldnt be a problem. Worse comes to worse i can get the number 16 bus through but i would rather get the Travel Club bus.

Its the Scottish Cup today, not for Killie but its the last round before we enter the draw so you can see who we could possibly get from todays results.

Season Diary 22

Entry 22: Thursday 27th November 2008

Over the two Saturdays past, both home games v Dundee Utd and ICT, Killie trivia questions that i thought up over a month ago have been debunked, first of all two weeks ago my "who are the five players to have the number 9 squad number since squad numbers were introduced?" was crapped on because it turns out i had missed one. I had Paul Wright, then by my recollection we signed big Michel Ngonge, however he didnt want to follow Paul Wright as number 9, he wanted 18, the 18 we had was a utility player called Sean Hessey, Ngonge wanted 9 but didnt want nine, he wanted 18, 1 plus 8 equals 9, Hessey said he would give up 18 if he got 9, he did and it was weird. Then i had the jersy going to Kris Boyd who wore it and scored a hatful before moving on, less said the better. Then it was Colin Nish and now its Alan Russell, all well and good, that makes five. Well no, i got a late night phone call to let me know i forgot one.

Gary McSwegan, cant believe i forgot about him, in season 2003-2004 he was number 9 after being 25 in his first season (the one before), Boydie wore 12 that year, when i was told i went home and checked, i had a wee inkling at the back of my head that it might not be, maybe they were mistaken, he was number 10 was he not? No, he was 9. Arse. Also the Kevin McGowne answer came up, as i knew it would but my actual question insulates me from this as squad numbers came to pass in the season 98-99 and McGowne doesnt count. The reason they mention this is because Killie had squad numbers in Europe after winning the cup. I dont know whos bright idea it was but they were allocated on alphabetical order so Big Kev was 9 ,but that falls outside of the time limit so doesnt count. I always thought that the Hessey answer was the tricky one, the one that would have got people thinking, how was i to know that my own question would goose me when it came right dow to it! Gary McSwegan!

See thats what happens with these types of questions, especially if they are dreamed up by dumb asses like me. I came up with it to test the usuals in the pub; Wee Cuthbert, big Aldo, Jake Sharp, big Davie and Burnett on a Sunday and the like, good Killie boys and they all accepted the 5 man answer (this question i had first asked back in mid October time, i was caught out at the end of November) but then one would ask another person at some point down the line if trivia questions come up in another pub (they do, regularly) and eventually Sweggy came out, 6 instead of 5, so i got caught out and insult to injury they arent slow in letting me know, not content to the next time they seen me a phone call at half 10 on a Saturday night was how i was told. So cheers for that fellas.

The next Saturday, it was the poser, name the 10 goalies to have played for Kilmarnock since we won the cup in 97. Thats 10, not including outfield players who have went in ala Gus McPherson who most people name first as if all you want to do is trip people up. No the question regards actual goalkeepers and till that day there was ten. Here goes.

Drago for starters, he won the cup and played on till he was sold to some Spanish mob, he was replaced by Gordon Marshall (in my opinion he could be the finest goalie i have ever seen in a Killie strip), both these keepers had excellent scoreboard animations, Drago had a dragon which scrolled down to a smiling baby dragon or a face made out of the dragons knees or something, alwasy confused me actually. And Gordon Marshall, he had "you've been halted....by the Marshall" Hands down my favourite scoreboard animation (2nd place goes to the three stooges) Melly was back up to both these guys and so makes three. Francios Duberdeau was in there somewhere (THE worst goalie i have ever saw) Craig Samson (goes to expo) played a game too, a defeat in what has been my only visit to Aberdeen, Colin Stewart played in a mauling we gave Hibs, and Michael Watt too, all in some sort of order which i dont know off the top of my head. Then comes the recent ones Graeme Smith played before following the cash to Ibrox, Chad Harpur, who my dad for no reason calls Chud, and so now do i and my brother, again for no reason, just Chud as well too, not Chud Harper, just Chud, i i was to put it in a sentence the sentence would be "god, i hope Chud isnt on the bench today" And Alan Combe our current number 1. this meandering rubbish has a point as such though as that Combe went off injured and the answer became 11. Welcome to the killie first team Damien (Dizzy) Rascale, in your 45 minutes on the park you became the second Frenchman to guard our goal and already the best!

Anyway, the fitba, the Dundee United game showed me that our team is one which only plays when confident, we scored a penalty on the stroke of hal time and came out a new team for the seconf half, i feel that if we hadnt scored then probably we would never had! But we scored again and it was a topper and down at our Moffat Stand end too!

Inverness game saw our newest number 9 make his first start, it wasnt impressive if i tell the truth, but then the whole team were crap. Turning on the stye with half an hour to go and two nil down isnt the way to do it. the fact we had a chance to grab a draw is immaterial. The two goals we lost were defensive boobs and goalkeeping boobs in the first half. Combe never came out for the second half, an injury that to my knowldge hasnt came to light. Sub Wullie G came on and showed flashes that he could be a player scoring one and getting taken down for the penalty, my worry is that for a left winger he only kicks with his right and he never goes to the byeline, a frustrating enigm,a of a player he is. To wrap things up he won a penalty with minutes remaining and us down two one. Mehdi stepped up after not hitting our pen the week before (Hammill hit it and scored, Mehdi has since revealed an old habit from his days in France meant that if he was brought down for the penalty he doesnt hit the resultant spot kick, Wullie G went down this week so Mehdi places the ball) and blasts it high and wide, gutted. Fact of the matter was that we got exactly what we deserved from the game, sweet f.a.

Other info from this period where i havent posted much, a guy called Armand One has been reperted to be training with us. he has been released by soem Finnish mob i think, he still lives in Scotland from his time as a player of Cowdenbeath and Partick Thistle. Not knocking him or anything but he was reported in the papers as saying he read that JJ was looking for a tall striker so asked for a trail, is this really what it has come to?

Do We Learn Anything?

Article appeared in Killie Hippo 84 (out 15th November 2008)

Do We Learn Anything?
(a story of apathy, training methods and fear from the Glasgow Science Centre)
(well not exactly from, as I have never been)
(but then who has?)

I really want to be positive about this season because it has really gone well I feel, good results here and there, a together looking squad, far removed from last year, I have written a fair few articles in here in past few years and it is nice to write positive things, but I sit here on the Friday after our CIS, Co-op or whatever its branded, league cup exit and I find myself unsure, I even left writing this an extra day as I could have easily written it yesterday but didn’t want to spout all sorts of venomous vitriol about the Quarter final game because its not really synonymous to our season. But as it happens I feel the same today so may as well give it both barrels because I fear these problems could rear their head at any point here on in. The game as you know ended three one.

After the game while walking back to my car I looked forward to the first person to utter the famous phrase "we were shite but there not much better" because sadly that statement is a load of meaningless bollocks, especially said after last nights display, I decided to go into the pub to wait for the traffic to calm down (I use this as an excuse, I could easily used; wanted to see end of Arsenal game or fancied a can of juice, however none of that’s true I was basically spoiling for an argument) someone did utter that stupidest of stupid sayings but I didn’t have the heart to take him to task, his girlfriend had their first child earlier in the week.

So effectively I am taking it that whoever reads this has said that thing to me, so this is how I would reply. Celtic were streets ahead of us, playing neat little triangles and breaking at pace when the opportunity arises. Personally it makes me wonder what we actually do when we go up to Glasgow to train, play hide and seek perhaps. Games like these show up how much fitter the old firm seem in comparison to us, this is something which can be easily reversed, we may not be able to bring in the top players or pay the greatest wages but surely we can get our team fitter than anyone else, we are a full time club with full time players, super fitness should be an easy attribute to acquire and keep for professional SPL players, we can harry them for 90minutes, close them down. It is also worth noting that pass and move exercises are performed by every team of all ages in every training session in every town in every country in every universe, and exercises where shutting down these passing movements are performed also, god, I did it when I trained, its the fundamentals!

Its these fundamentals that we seem to lack. Other gripes about training, why cant we defend corners. Scott MacDonald scored a header, that’s Scott MacDonald who a week earlier was described as one of Celtic seven dwarves, a wee mistake on our part then? It would seem no, he missed a further two or three headers from corners also, how does this happen? Free kicks that are played into our box, again in every training session in Britain you defend your 18 yard line, we don’t. somewhere closer to ten yards out is ok by us, where did we learn this? So set plays haven’t been mastered to any degree it would seem and even if they were the fact that it happens repeatedly in games means that we learn nothing from week to week, hell, from corner to corner. When attacking? Any set plays we had ourselves were wee floated in poofy balls that are meat and drink to the Caldwell’s of this world, no variation or anyone who looked like they had a clue. Turning defence into attack, non existent, this would come under the fitness aspect I suppose though, which I have covered and to reiterate WE DONT MATCH UP! Finally, err, do we ever shoot?

Tactics chosen seem odd, we change our system to play only these two teams, one man up front (our winger) one in behind. Two breakers in the middle, two wingers (our two most creative centre mids). it didn’t work, we didn’t change it. When watching the Man U v Celtic game a week earlier I felt that Strachan bottled the tactics battle. He played a Killie move against them. But why didn’t he pick out their weaknesses and punish them? make the game work for him, he had an opportunity with his wingers to crucify Gary Neville in the right back role, show Fergie that he is done as a Man U player, he never and Neville was allowed to push on and assist in the demolition instead of being hemmed back and ran ragged. Now that’s not to say that that would exactly happen but its would have been at the very least a showing of attacking tactics! Roll onto Wednesday and we can look at the Celtic line up, weak link possibly? Wilson at left back? He is predominantly right footed and cant tackle with his left foot, a perfect opportunity to put our right winger (Danny) up against him put him under pressure by going outside again and again. Make Strachan change his team. Again these things are great in hindsight and I am merely a punter, who am I exactly to come up with elaborate tactics to break down oppositions? Indeed, but then these managers are paid big money to come up with ways of getting results surely and us punters are only there to watch, yes watch from our elevated position in the stands (positions where team shape and players performances are far easier spotted, far easier than say pitch level where it is impossible to see exactly what positions the players on the other side of the field have taken up) but I digress…..

Back to my point, there seems to be a blatant lack of coaching in our players. It would be good if the fans all club together, a quid each and hire out the powerleague and see what actually goes on in a Killie training session, if were paying for it then surely they cant refuse? or like other aspects of our esteemed club (they're disregard of the website poty for instance, we are constantly asked to get out and support our team, our players but when they are asked to support us it’s a different story it seems to me) they are far more happy when they hide from they people who pay to see them and love them unconditionally. What a truly frightening combination that is after all.

Basically that’s how I feel, I could go into detail about my disappointment in certain players performances, but what would be the point. I could talk about the poor refereeing seen again this season, tell me how the common man can get behind these guys when they are paid £800 a week minimum for a second income! yellow cards for first tackles for our players, Caldwell makes ten fouls adjudged to be the ref merit able in stopping the play but he goes uncarded, but again what would be the point. I could talk about self belief, it too seems to be lacking, from comments from our players and our manager in particular it doesn’t seem to me that he feels we can beat them so basically were onto plums before a ball is kicked. Every other team in the league give the big two a good go every once in a while, I struggle to think when we did last, it gets to the point where I dread these games, including even the point this season where we came into our games against them unbeaten!

But no, the thing that stood out predominantly for me on Wednesday was the poor levels of fitness and obvious lack of the basic fundamentals that we are all taught from an early age. I haven’t played football to any sort of level in my life but I do know that at its core football hasn’t changed, the players may have, but the basics remain the same.

Season Diary 21

Entry #21: Saturday 15th November 2008

No one told me dundee United were ten games unbeaten. this afternoon should be good, i expect a big travelling support. Ten games unbeaten? You have got to be kidding.

Season Diary 20

Entry #20: Thursday 13th November 2008

Decided not to go back to posting after the second half. Another gubbing at Celtic Park and thankfully i never missed the famous victory that will wipe out more than 50 years of nae wins! I think that would be a nice thing to happen in this season (any season) for this diary as much as anything, were out the league cup and our league championship chances look slim (!) so that would give it a point. Yes i am still looking for a point.

Anyway a whole raft of games left before we have to play the Old Firm again so plenty of time to get the oppositons goalies kit dirty (Mark Brown didnt have asave i dont think last night) and i for one am looking forward to it. I shall ignore JJ and BB's coments about last night, by that i mean not read then rather than simply not report them, i will probably just get upset. We have our number nine hopefully fit, Mr alan Russell, and i hope he proves me wrong because i personally didnt fancy him when we signed him, but as i say; think positive! Its onwards and upwards now, Dundee Utd on Saturday and that bawnut Craig Levein moaning his way through 90 minutes, well i hope he is moaning.

Season Diary 19

Entry #19: Wednesday 12th November 2008

Killie game is on at this very moment, first time i have written while match is going on, kinda weird. Anyway, no way was i going to Celtic Park tonight, its a shame because when the fixtures were announced i highlighted this one as a away game i would get to. Sadly our pathetic performances versus the big two means i havent wasted my money. its 1-0 to celtic as i type. Sheridan. Was listening to the radio on the tv but it was some sort of open all mikes thing that Sportsound are doing, not really sure whether i like it, so i have put on the full commentary online and decided to type too. On top of that, i have a stream off some foreign website going on another window but its maybe twenty seconds late so if anything happens i can flick it up and watch, feel bad bout having it on actually.

a wee shake up in the line up incidentally, Corrigan is at centre half which i am actually happy about, i remember him getting called the kaiser or something when at motherwell and wanted to see that sort of thing for us. he is almost been here a year!

Half time.

Im back, im back again!

two bets up in a row, the boy is back. sadly they are worth next to nothing but its nice to be a winner. had a fiver on Brechin on Saturday, their odds were slashed without me knowing though so instead of almost getting a tenner abck i got £8.50, ho hum cos i am back in the saddle. last night i had arsenals babes against Wigan. three one win sees me pick up £9.75 for my £6.75 on. Again small gains but a winner beats a loser any day.

I am conflicted about whether to bet tonight, i fancy East Stirling to beat Annan but seriously, East Stirling! i cant be thinking right.

Season Diary 18

Entry #18 Tuesday 11th November 2008

The first email type post that i promised i was going to bring when i first started this. these went back and forward today.

RK: oh the killie are pish!

D: After such a bright start we've fell away horribly, why every team can compete with the old firm bar us is beyond me. We make them look brilliant every time we play them, and the annoying thing is there no!

RK: the thing that bugs me is that we dont take either a positive or a negative stance agaisnt them, its not backs against he wall and we will maybe grab something at a corner or a free kick, or we dont go out and harry them at every situation. ala jerome varaille in the late ninties, and we dont go out and have a go early doors like we did when gary mac was our box to box midfielder. we just dawdle through the game offering nothing for the fans to get gee'd up about.

D: Its depressing, I dread playing them cause its just a case of how many. If I hear from another celtic fan 'its always a tough game at rugby park' I'll scream because its there biggest banker of the season and anything but a tough game for the old firm. Can't even see a glimmer of anything about it changing. We seem to be worse at rugby park as well than we are in Glasgow. You just wanna put a rocket up every single one of them.

RK: fernandez was screaming at simmonds in the second half cos he his head was down and he wasnt pressing the gaem, which was good to se, what would have been better was one of ours screaming at ferdy and telling him to stop playing for fouls all the time and try and do something positive! in fact it was his fault for the first goal, not playing the whistle he let this man take the ball and a corner followed (goal!) while he was screaming for a foul, he then chased the referee about this so called foul. also JJ doesnt seem to think we can do anything agaisnt them and it show in the tepid performances we get in these games. dont get me wrong i dont expect great things in every game but a spirited display that makes the rangers and celtics have to actually do some work for a change would be nice.

by the way, did you hear the rangers party songs on the telly?

D: I heard the infamous famine song, what were the party songs?

RK: god, we were treated on sunday! the famine song, no surender, whos the fenian in the black and wait for it... the sash! not heard that in long enough! i see david murrays anti bigotry campaigns are going well.

D: and they say there victimised.

the only solution is too deduct points if any bigoted or racist songs are sung by any group of fans, a fine doesnt mean anything to the fans as its not them that has too pay it. If the sfa or spl did that it would go away over night as the fans would police themselves. Do they have the cohona's to do it, I doubt it

RK: yer right, fines mean nothing to anyone, points affect the fans who do it and if points keep getting taken away then the players wont want to sign,why would they, constantly hamstrung by bigoted idiots! i got a pile o old rangers programmes a wee while ago, dug out the Killie ones and passed them on, anyway, thirty years ago they had their code of conduct, no drinking on the buses, pishing in the streets sort of things and bogoted songs were mentioned. 30yearts on nothing has changed, would be good if someone pointed this out i the media or something. they try but clearly not hard enough. fuck if any other company business, family etc had a problem for thirty years would they be allowed to prosper they way rangers have? eh no. sadly its sectarianism and bigotry that is there biggest money spinner, if they never pedalled that then they would have killie esque crowds.

D: did chambers tell you of his new switched allegiance, and that he was on talksport talking to Ian Wright about why he has moved too the Killie side.

Chrissy will not be too happy about his change of team

RK: fuck i listened to it mate! plus i had to sit beside him at the fitba on sunday. ye can understand his point of view though.

D: too be fair politically me and chambers stand pretty much side by side on a lot of things.

Its just quite funny because Chrissy isn't too happy about it, he was saying on sunday if he ever asks for a champions league ticket again or a ticket for any big game he'll be told where too go.

RK: i would like to hope he wouldnt. if he is brave enought to make a stand on the radio and change allegiance. them he should stick by it. if he says he is going to be a killie fan thats fine, or a motherwell fan whatever, who cares but it wont come instantly, you dont instantly become the biggest fan ever overnight. speaking to him on sat and sun though he was genuinely angry and basically it compounded all the gripes he has had with celtic suporting all season. good for him i say that he has seent hrough all the baggage and bullshit, suppose its for us to watch now to see where it goes from here. ie wednesday night!

D: chrissy was asking if it bothered me on sunday, i told him not really because it has been on the cards for a while and its not glory hunting supporting a team that lets be honest have very little glory. He just wants too hang about with his pals on a saturday and since the vast majority go too rugby park you can understand it. Plus he has reasons like being an ex-forces and having a brother in the forces who are not welcomed exactly at celtic park by a minority of the cretins that dwell there.

Clearly bothers chrissy though, haha

RK: i cany understand how though? chalmers has spoke about his discomfort bein around silly wee dicks talking bout theior opinions of the british army in ireland and that when they know jack shit. i pretty proud o him actually, not cos he chose killie, as you say its more about him wanting to spend time wi pals and also cos he actually likes being from killie (community spirit and all that) but becuase he saw past the small mindedness that we as non bigoted citizens have been hoping people would at some point or another.

D: he deserves a statue outside the burns mall, or at least his name on a brick on the moffat stand

Season Diary 17

Entry #17 Monday 10th November 2008

See that pal of mine from Sunday, the ex Celtic man, well he only went and called TalkSPORT and spoke on the air about his disgust with what the Celtic fans did and how he is changing his alegiance to Killie. Sadly he was talking to Ian Wright and Adrian Durham who dont care one jot about Scottish football and it shows when their show touches on it, good broadcasters but sadly one dimensional. Anyway, thats by the by, whats important was the call. Well done chalmers!

Season Diary 16

Entry #16: Sunday 9th November 2008

Got myself a freebie after all, pulled a few strings and got a ticket from the Killie Trust. Though i am grateful and all wish i hadnt bothered, what a waste of time. At half time i really thought we were onto something, not because we were playing any scintilating stuff, no more because the luck we were experienceing was unlike any seen in any 45 minutes of football at the theatre of pies. Kris Boyd had a penalty saved and then cracked the crossbar with a free kick. surely our luck was in, since that man left us for them he has scored in every single encounter at our ground, was this to be different? The answer is no, he scored one in the second half to keep up his record and his goal was added to by a further three more, four nil defeat, cant say i was surprised though.

I also must add that i turned to my mate next to me and said when he lined up for his penalty, "he has to miss sometime" and he duly obliged, I felt good about this, it was a good feeling in a game of mainly bad ones.

Oh, the friend i speak of is a guy who gave up supporting Celtic as recently as yesterday, he is ex forces and felt that the final straw in his gradual split up from Celtic was their fans (minority it must be added) protest and disrespect for Armistace Sunay and the poppy appeal. He did quite well i suppose, seemed keen to know the players names and that, he did continually call kenny Miller a judas so i suppose old habits die hard!

Anyway, thats that game out the way, only Wednesday to go and we dont have to have the bigots in our thoughts for a while, well into the new year actually! Yeah!

3 on the bounce

my gambles losing streak has stretched to three. Back down to a tenner which sucks. Inter Milan let in three crazy goals in Cyprus (Cyprus!) to draw three each and leave my 17quid with mr william hill and then Dynamo Kiev blew a lead to get beat 2-1 by Porto at home. Basically that 60quid away in three gambling days. decided to have a wee rest on Thursday, collect my thoughts. I had my eye on Ajax at 1/3 if i had got back to winning ways, but i didnt so i left them, they won one nil. lesson learnt though i just got a bit greedy and a lot excited.

So its a fiver on this afternoon, good luck me.

Season Diary 15

Entry #15: Saturday 8th November 2008

Well wouldnt you believe it, Billy Brown came out and said more or less what i did on Wednesday in his column in the Record! Of course in the weird world i live in i never read Wednesday paper (which has Tuesdays news in it) till Friday (yesterday) but that doesnt take away from the monumental fact that for once "one of our ain" has came out and said what the fans are thinking. His line about Celtic folk saying in the press that we are thugs who put the boot in and Nakamura complaining that he had been kicked off the park and couldnt come back out for second half due to injury was priceless. The fact that we were vilified for putting a man out the second half but he could still make the bench on Sunday and Wednesday was put by BB in stark contrast to the fact that Gary Caldwell put Fernandez out for 18months and he wasnt crucifed in the papaers by Kilmarnock players or officials. Double standards all the way. BB i salute you!

thats enough talk of Celtic, it seem to have taken over the last wee while. enough talk i suppose till midweek when we play them again.

Rangers tomorrow and i dont have a ticket, my Moffat ticket idea seems to have went awry at some point, might pick myself up a freebie before 2pm tomorrow but, you never no! Its a fact that we havent beaten them at home since Tom Black scored the winner in the last game at the old Rugby Park in our first season back in the big time! 14 years ago! I remember being at that game, behind the goals at the Rugby road end, down the front, thinking Andy Millen was going to score when he went clean through and put it wide, then the man with the best moustache ever scored the only goal. how it happened escapes me at he moment, if i am honest the biggest memory of the game was that Mark Hateley played at centre half, supposedly because it was a career path he was going to follow, ala Gullit. He was awful and never played there again, we won and gave ourselves the chance to stay up, on the last day at Easter Road and the rest is history. I shall have a wee look on youtube see if i can find the highlights of our last win v the Gers at ruggers.

Found it!



Cany believe i forgot that goal, a free kick, it was always going to be a free kick, he was a free kick specialist back in the days we had such a thing. Tam Black, god, i bet he cant beliee he was the last Killie player to score teh winner v Rangers at home. a victory is long overdue!

Season Diary 14

Entry #14: Wednesday 5th November 2008

Just catching up with the weekend papers about the football. A bit late yes but reading throught them all the same. The Aberdeen game we lost, but the attacks on us by Celtic manager and some players about our bully boy tactics last wednesday. Mura'sNakas was picked on and came in for some heavy handed challenges according to Strachan (i used ot really like Strachan, his quips were always funny and he came across as a good football man, then he took the Celtic jobs, got snowed under with all the bile and paranoia and now he comes across as nothing more than an arse) and the silky tippy tappy scotland cap that is Scott Brown.

WELL FUCK THEM!

I wish our management team or chairman would show some balls and come out and defend us, even at the detriment of starting some sort of war of words. really, it would maybe stoke some fires in the belly for our trip to Parkhead next week. Why cant we cobble together a video of off colour challenges from the cup game and bookend them with the Fernandez challenge of two seasons ago, the amount of times Celtic resorted to cynical fouls in order to get themsleves back in position was alarming, shirt pulling, blatant obstructions, the lot, why dont we show this to the media, packaged nicley it highlight our plight. Teh Fernandez assault in particular shows what a "doing" actually is, and its not in the slightest like the hard but fair tackles put in on Celtics special teams player. In fact another incident i remember was from our 1st game of the season last year, we held Celtic to a nil nil if you recall. Wullie (Wullie) Gibson goes to go past John Kennedy and enter the box, Kennedy squares off his knee so Gibson has to go over it, effectively tackling him above the knee, he goes down and its a Killie free kick, all in the game i suppose, a cynical foul but a good one. But you have to remember that Kennedy himself was the victim of the most cynical of fouls while on international duty and had the sympathy of all Scottish football after that, for me when he did that it was a big kick in the teeth, how could he do that and risk injuring another player. These little incidents are forgotten.

My gamble at the weekend had me win with Leeds on Saturday afternoon and then Barca at night. Kitty increased to 70quid ish. 6 in a row! No bet on Sunday but £35 on Brum on Monday, they got beat! Gutted is not the word, thought i was untouichable, so much for that. Inter Milan made it two losses on the bounce last night also, drawing three each with a Cypriot team, a Cypriot team! managed by Temuri Ketsbaia who is most famous for kicking advertisment boards at Newcastle. The special one was not happy, and neither was Inter boss Mourinho!

Season Diary 13

Entry #13: 1st November 2008

Aberdeen away today, I'm not going, no chance. Bus would have left by now anyway.

Only been to Aberdeen once, enough to tick it off my list of Scottish grounds i suppose. It was the 3rd of January i went, a good few years ago now. Craig Samson made his only appearane for Killie in that game. Our bus left Macks bar at 8o'clock or something, i was still rough from Ne'erday, ate my breakfast in MacDonalds and spewed it up before Fenwick. We got off the bus and walked up a hill, incidentally the taxi rank where we got off was the strippers but we didnt know, instead we went to three of the worst pubs i have ever set foot in and got a taxi to the game, empty stomach i was drunk roughly half an hour after we arrived in Aberdeen. A brucie bonus, its as if i had known what was coming up next! Sportsound informed us that it was one nil to Aberdeen while we were still in the taxi. We still went and got beat 3-1. It was freezing, the seats are just put onto old terracing meaning they are seriously uncomfortable, there is always hundreds of seagulls (seagulls terrify me) and its hours away on a bus.

I suppose basing my opinions on a trip on a freezing cold third day of the new year isnt the best idea but really i cant see me back in Aberdeen anytime soon, i have maintained since then that Scottish Cup or league decider (!) would be the only way to change my mind.

Of course i am talking bollocks, i would go back if it was a European game also.

A draw would be nice today, and hopefully Killie turn it on again and do it for all they hardy bastards that do what i dont and trek all the way up there to follow us. Roll on 10to5 and a Killie victory creeping up the vidprinter.......................................