Season Diary

Season Diary # : Sunday 17th May 2009

Well our Killie boys have done it themselves, no need for help from the rest of the strugglers, we did it ourselves, or rather, King Kevin Kyle did it for us meant two wins and a draw and four KKK goals (what an unfortunate abbreviation for King Kevin Kyle that is) in the bag since i left the British shores. I do however disagree with some of the correspondance i have had since leaving which left the upturn in fortunes at my door, deeming me a jinx on the team. I firmly beleive it merely a coincidence that we have went three unbeaten in the short time i have been in Canada!

With Killie safe, and me on the other side of the world where the only people who care that Killie have stayed up are basically, me and well just me i suppose. i have however embraced this nations national sport in the hope that come August when they are all my new bestest pals i can ingratiate Killie on them to return my embracement of ice Hockey (does that make sense? it probably doenst, i cant even be sure if embracement is a word, it probably isnt, it should be though) or Hockey as it is simply known over here.

I have chosen to follow the hockey because i love my sport and at this time of the year with the playoffs in full swing its the main focus of sporting attention. however my decision to, in the great hockey nation of canada, to follow an American team may not go down to well to some. I have my reasons and it all links into Killie would you believe.

My current location in Canada is a place called Mimico, just outside Toronto, a small village though not small as in Symington you understand, and that place is the hometown of a young chap called David Bolland (guy below in number 36 jersey). He is a local hero and from what i can gather he has the whole of Mimico rooting for him and his American hockey team the Chicago Blackhawks.

Thats not my only link however, the more important link would be that David is actually a half cousin of my good lady Natalie and we are currently enjoying the terrific hopsitality of the Bolland family and their friends, and to bring the whole thing full circle, David father is a Killie man and Killie fan who went around the country following the blue and white galacticos in his youth before moving over here permanantly quarter of a centry ago, and not only that he has brought up his family the right way, as Killie fans so hopefully come mid June the Stanley Cup (the major prize in the National Hockey League) could be in the hands (or rather arms because it is fucking huge) of a Killie fan!

So because of all that, i emplore all Killie fans to get behind this guy and his team, the Chicago Blackhawks when they take part in the Conference final game one v the Detroit Red Wings tonight 8pm british time on the American channel Setanta provide, if they can overcome the Red Wings in a best of seven games series then they go to another best of seven series versus either Pittsburh or Carolina and that series would be for the big prize, the Stanley Cup!

And hey, Killie could actually take something from this Chicago team, they are young and hungry, the youngest average in the league actually who have proved that its not always experince that wins out, youth has its benifits. Wouldnt that be great if we could reproduce some unexpected magic like that next season? Another wee gem of information is that they were also one of if not THE dirtiest team in the league last season and what with our disciplinary indiscretions this year I can see some omens ther or there abouts, i mean, if people can read into the fact im away being the catalyst for Killies upsurge in results i am going to read into unbefore seen parralels between us and an ice hockey team in the hope that we could get ourselves a young team (with a few old heads naturally) and forge some of Chicagos success next year.

I am nothing if i am not optimistic! And also a bit of a dreamer too i suppose.

So anyway, David Bolland and the Chicago Blackhawks on behalf of myself and hopefully all the Killie fans who i now (unofficially) proffess to speak for; good luck.

and to Killie for saving themselves this season a week before the seasons end; well done.

and Kevin Kyle, one man Killie keeper upper; this blog salutes you!

Season Diary

Entry # : Saturday 11th April 2009

In the great pantheon of football phrases some are bandied around so much that they begin to lose meaning, they are so overused that whaen something comes along that actually merits it it is instantly devalued because of what the phrase has been used for before.

Take legend and world class; two phrases that are used to describe a multitude of players who proably dont deserve it. Now take the phrase of today, must win. it is thrown around willie nillie in the strangest of places, Rangers and Celtic seem to have must wins every week especially the team who plays on the Sunday following a dodgy result for the other on the Saturday. Madness. But today, for Kilmarnock, today is a MUST WIN. We are sitting third bottom and three points above our opponents today, Falkirk who are bottom, if we get beat today we could be bottom by five o'clock and thats not good. Today i am excited, apprehensive, scared, confident and also slightly indifferent due to the perpetual nightmare that has been this season has worn me down to my lowest ebb. Basically a mix mash of different and contrasting feelings but to get back on topic, today is a must win.

In fact if i must be blunt, today is the Pele, Maradonna, Leo Messi and Eric Skora of must wins.

In Killie I trust.

Season Diary

Entry # : Saturday 4th April 2009

Well i have just got in from the bookies having picked out my potential winners for the Grand National and put on the radio and Killie are up one nil! Invincibile in the 8th minute i am assured by the commentator.

This is tremendous news and i am now typing away whith a big cheesey smile on my face.

I should probably clear a few things up, today is the return to domestic football after what has been a turmoil infused fortnight off in Scottish football as the International qualifiers took centre stage. Today we have Hearts away hoping to win our first league game since beating Hibs jsut after Christmas. Inverness play St Mirren today and Hamilton and Falkirk play Celtic and Rangers respectively so this could be a decent wee chance for us to put some breathing distance over Falkirk who sit bottom. But Hearts are 3rd and looking comfortable, but were up a goal and have beaten them already this season at Tynecastle so....

I am not there today as must be pretty obvious from reading this post as a week of over indulgence has left my pocket completely empty. Weekend trip to Amsterdam to see Scotland last week, midweek trip to Hampden to see Scotland v iceland and then the Premier League Darts at the SECC means i am an avid listener to the radio today.

Calum Elliot has just equalised for Hearts which is unsurprising really as since i started listening about ten minutes in any sort of Killie possession has been minimal.

that was on 21 minutes and on 28 minutes were 2-1 down, Elliot again, he hasnt scored for Hearts in more than a year, surely then a shoe in for a goal v Killie. See all the stuff i said earlier about hope and cheesey smiles, pretend i never said it.

doodling about the bbc website there is a live text type thing for this game which updates every two minutes with examples of the info on show being:

32:40
Corner taken by Mehdi Taouil from the right by-line to the near post, clearance made by David Obua.

its kind of like a twitter style commentary of a football game and when time is short sometimes its all you need, also on this is the teams and subs. Number 17 Willie Gibson features on our bench today does this mean he has apologised for his carry on at Pittodrie? If so i didnt know. It will be interesting to see if he comes on.

Season Diary

Entry # : Saturday 21st March 2009

Todays match is live on Setanta which means an early kick off, which means i am up early, which means i am now running late.

Today match with Motherwell has been described by everone who meets me that knows i am a Killie fan as a "must win" and i couldnt agree more, our situation of being four points off the bottom isnt the direst it could be however our zero wins in 2009 and no home wins since what feels like time began means that our form is that of a team destined for relegation and thus the tag "must win" is justified.

Some info about todays television game, Motherwell have only won one Setanta match, that being the day Scott Macdonald scored two against Celtic and Rangers won the league. So in the best Killie tradition that kind of stat usually means we are due to be on the recieving end of the end of their drought. It usuually happens, teams go on runs of defeats which apporach hteir records and who do they play next? thats right, Killie. I cant seem to remember our 12.30 on a Saturday record being all that hot though, a draw v St Mirren this season excepted i think all our fixtures at this time would have been v the old firm and our record versus them needs no introduction.

So anyway, early kick off at Rugby Park, our result today means everything, a win puts pressure on the other teams and a defeat gees them all up. Its in situtaions where i now look at the teams around us fixtures (generally i dont bother) and this week its 6 pointers all round, the teams with the same or more points face off St Mirren adn Hamilton and the teams below us face off also, Falkirk and ICT, if Inverness win and we win Falkirk fall 7 points behind us which would suit, however a Killie win and a draw in that match would be better, keep them both down. In fact a draw in the St Mirren game and a draw in Falkirk game would be ideal for us. I hate relying on other teams to do favours to help, i would rather we went on a winning run before the split but with our form that wont happen.

I am off to put on that good Killie combination at the bookies; Killie win, Falkirk and St Mirren draw then go and endure the 90 minutes at the football. Good luck Killie and good luck me.

Season Diary

Entry # : Friday 13th March 2009

A whole week of nothing much happening. Not much mention of Killie in the papers and nothing much happening on the killiefc.com boards. Tomorrow its Inverness away and I for one am not going. Ticked that place of on my list so I will follow it from the comfort of my home thank you.

(imagine my pride of not mentioning the Scottish cup debacle in the above post)

The mention in the brackets above doesn’t count.

Oh, here is the video of Soccer AM’s newest hero Mehdi Taouil that was on TV last week, i watched it this week;



I now know what an aurelio is, its another one of those tricks in football i will never be able to do.

Season Diary

Entry # : Saturday 7th March 2009

Is Saturday morning and this Saturday is a Saturday off the fitba, a Saturday off! And why is it that there is no football on for the mighty Killie this fine day? Cos we got humped up in Inverness a month ago that’s why.

Its Scottish Cup Quarter final day today, oh it would have been nice, if only we hadn’t been so terrible up north. If we had gone through it would have been a home tie against Falkirk, that would have been smashing. And if we won, well that would see us in the semis, a trip to Hampden, and Falkirk! They’re playing like donkeys just now, dropped points on Tuesday, relegation candidates, surely they would maybe be thinking that this cup run thing wont be too good for their survival bid and we could turn them over, actually I think I thought out the exact same scenario last month for the Inverness game. But im torturing myself because were out, which is sad.

This morning is also the morning that wee Mehdi’s soccer skills video is on Soccer AM. It is something that was mentioned when the papers weirdly picked up on the fact that Killie were going to be on the crossbar challenge, that being the part of the story where Mehdi got filmed doing his ball juggling tricks and all that other stuff he does when he should be crossing and shooting but never actually got shown on the same morning. I know this because I have been text to tell me its just been on, I am now wondering what the hell an aurelio is.

Oops, its not actually morning anymore, rather the afternoon I should get moving as instead of football today I am going to go play crazy golf at the X-Scape complex up at Braehead.

Season Diary

Entry # : Wednesday 4th March 2009

This is me home from tonights game against Celtic, I will tell all tomorrow just want to post right now for posterity that I am well aware that in the paper ratings Scott MacDonald will get man of the match awards for the match winning double he scored but Kevin Kyle was absolutely superb i thought tonight. He gave both Caldwell and McManus water on the brain and won most every header, he also got the sponsors man of the match award, which is often a total mystery how it is decided, but they got the right man tonight. If only big Sammon had put away that chance that Kyle put over for him after skinning McManus, if only. Also Craig Bryson had a cracking game in midfield, more than matching what Celtic had to offer. I am writing this proud after a good display, think we deserved a point in the end, we were hemmed in for most of the first half even still i felt we dominated for a bit in the second. Anyway, i will cover it next post. Just wanted to get in early and point out what i pointed out about Kyle.

Season Diary

Entry # :Tuesday 3rd March 2009

Gibsongate (I am probably the only person who calls it this) seems to have taken a left turn into a little town called interestingville. Apparently what was reported in the papers I have been told is at odds to what Jim Jeffries said on the evening news. In the papers Gibson seems to be apologising for throwing the jersey away, saying it was disrespectful, he didint mean to disrespect the club, the manager or the fans, the articles also mention that Gibson cites the good numbers that were at Pittodrie at the weekend and it shows what a good support Killie have, thats always nice to read. Its worth noting (in light of what i am about to say) that Jim Jeffries quote which features is the exact same as the quotes used in Sundays and Mondays papers meaning it may be simply a recycled one.

Meanwhile, in TV-land Jim Jeffries in his interview says that Gibson hasn’t opened his mouth as regards a apology to the players the fans or even him and his staff AND that he is until further notice training with the youth teams (or how they are known amongst fans, the weans). I am posting this even though i havent seen the TV coverage personally but i have it on good authority and thats fine by me.

Sadly the fact we have a game against Celtic tomorrow and then no game at the weekend since its Scottish Cup weekend, (a dismal reminder of Inverness, sorry) means that this story will probably be brushed under the carpet by the nations media for what they will deem more important stuff (oh please make it more stuff on Marc Crosas and Mo Edu being the greatest players ever to grace the SPL, as this has been rattled out to major amounts of column inches in the past few days, Crosas scored for Celtic and now says Barca have no chance of getting him back, AYE RIGHT! and Edu, he is being compared to Viera, Keane and Essien all in the same breath simply because he started against Hamilton) (The stuff in the previous set of brackets is all ironic by the way) and so the moderately interesting story probably wont be followed up.

Tonight Falkirk take on Dundee United at home and I as well most Killie fans will be following this with interest, what we dont need is them taking three points, this relegation stuff could get hairy.

Season Diary

Entry # : Monday 2nd March 2009

Big Pasca has added me as a friend! Result! I am know linked through the power of social networking to Killie’s captain. I was slightly concerned that it was some young Killie fan with more time on his hands than me who created a profile for a player so idiots like me would be so intrigued as to try add them but as Pasca has accepted my hand of friendship I can now look at his page and the abundance of messages written in Italian plus the candid photos in the albums means I have hit paydirt! If i am honest i frankly have absolutely no idea what i could possibly speak to him about mind you but even still, kind of chuffed. What next, Michael Johnston on Twitter? I can just see our chairman giving blow by blow accounts of the life of a SPL chairman for his clubs fans to read and keep up with, much like celebrity Twitter fans Jonathan Ross, Phillip Schofield or Stephen Fry. Or maybe I can’t, Pasca as my facebook pal will have to do me for now.

Season Diary

Entry # : Thursday 26th February 2009

In an odd twist the papers are reporting who will be on the Crossbar Challenge on Saturdays Soccer AM on Sky. Its Killie! Even odder is that it is reporting who actually succeeds in said challenge, its Mehdi Taouil. Really strange. Wee Mehdi is a bit of a Soccer AM darling after his sublime skills were on the showboat the Saturday after the Ayr replay was covered by their cameras and it says they filmed him doing ball tricks too, i saw him do some of his trickjs while he warmed up at half time on the Ibrox pitch on Saturday, they really are something, but you know sometimes, i want my favourites to be able to put a cross right on top of the penalty spot rather than do ten keepy uppys with their back heel and maybe even hit the back of the net rather than hit the crossbar.

But i am just being twisted, I actually remember the last time we featured on the crossbar challenge, we were rotten. Suppose its good that Mehdi and Killie in general made such an impact on the footballing public down south and all due to the fact they featured in the best game Sky have shown this year so far! No Sky tv for me so it will be youtube or the Soccer AM website for me to catch it.

Season Diary

Entry # : Tuesday 24th February 2009

How many times this season will this story be my only Killie news when i buy my paper in the morning? Danny Invincibile is being reported to be back from injury and is training again, this should boost Killie. Good news i suppose but how many time has this been reported in the papers this season? Every few months Danny comes back from injury and its reported as a major boost for Jeffries, seems almost like its the only news that we get.

It also mentions that Frazer Wright is back on the treatment table after getting injured at Ibrox on Saturday, now if i am not mistaken we took off Garry Hay and put Fright to left back and now he is injured, why not take off him and keep on Hay, what we had was a centre half overlapping who couldn't cross, and what's worse, an injured centre half who cant cross.

Season Diary

Entry # : Thursday 19th February 2009

9.20 RK: Fuck it Blackie, just get me a ticket for the fitba, though only if it really is £6.50!

Season Diary

Entry # : Monday 16th January 2009

Got a phone call from Blackie tonight offering me the chance to go to Ibrox on Saturday with him, he will go get the tickets if i say aye. They are 6.50 child tickets however, question is, do I take the chance on these tickets, no real chance to be taken really even though i am 27 i still look like a sprightly young thing, plus more importantly the ticket machine thing doesnt care what age you are, just as long as you dont get caught its no big deal. Really with our form and our record up there I am not keen to pay the going rate of twenty odd quid anytime soon.

But on the other hand, my plan to go watch the Scottish Junior Cup game at Auchinleck; Talbot v Beith could still happen, since it got psotponed last week the general way of things is that its scheduled in till its played, meaning every saturday its pencilled in until the match is completed.

Season Diary

Entry # : Saturday 14th February 2009

10.09 D: Russell’s out for season.
10.10 RK: Fiddlesticks.
10.19 D: Simmonds has been sent back to Coventry.
10.20 RK: You’ll be happy then. Is Ally Ross in the Squad today then?
10.22 D: I dunno, I was thinking i might get a call we’re that low in numbers. Suppose Blackie would be before me.
10.25 RK: Maybe get some of our youngsters to play but JJ is always reluctant. In fact, pop quiz asshole! Can you name any up and coming Killie Players?
10.26 D: Does Flannigan still count? Jamie Adams, Cammy Bell.
10.27 RK: What age you think those guys are? Any more for any more?
10.28 D: Thats me. Adams i reckeon about 22, Flannigan i reckon 20.
10.36 RK: If your ages are right then are they young? How many games will the Oirish Scotsman McCarthy have played, England caps for Wallcott, John Fleck could potentially be six years into a career. Benzama, del Piero, all those guys didnt start at 22. I am not trying to compare like for like here but if these guys are the cream of our crop here so to speak then what the fuck? D’ya know what i mean?
10.43 D: I think those guys are the exceptions. Maybe our youth team is pish. mend we won the youth cup and released almost all of them bar Naismith. I see your point though. Bar Flannigan not saw the rest of them ever play. Our youth set up has never been that great. We were fortunate with Boys and Naismith, two stars in my whole KFC supporting career. Poor stuff.
10.48 RK: Wait and see this Rory Loy fella from Rangers, he is supposed to be good. Hand reared at Ruggers too. There is more mate.
10.49 D: Nae doubt he’ll be on loan at Hamilton next year and tearing us to shreds.
10.53 RK: Aye, good shout. This guy Scott Anson, he won young starlet or something last year at the national awards. I think he is in the squad today. It would be nice to see something. Flanny must start for me. Looks like im going today now. Want going to beacause i am in a hissy fit with Killie but Mush’s game v Auchinleck has been called off so looks like its tail between the legs and off to the Moffat stand for me.
10.55 D: See you in there for more total football.

Season Diary

Entry # : Saturday 7th February 2009

Its early as but thought i would just post a wee something to say that i am up and getting ready for the big journey north. Jon is coming to pick me up the back of 8 so i ahve just about an hour. time to get ma gear on and prepare the cargo.

The reason i must add that i am on a computer this early is to check the weather, its going to be grim on this journey.

Season Diary 55

Entry #55: Saturday 31st January 2009

Ta da! i took this picture off the BBC website but there was something similar in the record and the sun which i read yesterday. Happy days. I have also found out he will have number 16 on his back, taking over from Rhian Dodds. Incidentally both papers i read had interviews with Kyle and in shocking news he has a positive outlook! He has come up here and wants to do well for Killie and put himslef about, no one will get an easy time of it agaisnt him. All this positivity i hope will be infectious and we will start afresh this afternoon and scud St Mirren at their house warming party!

Last night i watched a bit of the SPL magazine show on Setanta, Booth and Lovell reading autocue is quite hard to take but some of the pieces are good. Christopher Brookmyre (good author) the St Mirren fan went to look at Love St one last time and also the new St Mirren stadium and the presenters took Killie players Gary Locke and David Fernandez clay pigeon shooting. Turns out Ferdy isnt his nickname, its Dav. Every days a school day.

Got a text last night also from my brother telling me Mark Roberts has signed for Ayr United. Good luck to him i suppose, At times in this past month i have thought we could resign him, for someone to hang about the box instead of dropping deep to pick up balls he could have fitted, but maybe that was just the sheer frustration of watching Killie recently which made me think such despewrate toughts. Anyway back to Kyle, i was looking for a picture to put in this post and actually found a video courtesy of the Standards excellent online content, have a look for yourself here!

Right i better go get my lucky pants and that on because the train to Paisley is in an hour and i have to get fed and stick a few quid on a Kevin Kyle opener! Pretty excited about todays game, oh you know whats jsut struck me, what if they bring back the Paisley Panda for this game and this game only, that would be cracking. Fingers crossed.

Season Diary 54

Entry #54: Thursday 29th January 2009

The Sun is carrying news today on Kyle saying that the lure of a Scotland recall brought him back to Scotland. That positive if you ask me, i like those quotes, seems like we have signed a hungry player. it also says he scored 14 goals in a season about 4 or 5 years ago for Sunderland in the Championship. Dont remember that i have to say. Wonder what number he’ll wear, i am a geek for all that stuff. Alas no posed picture in todays paper so fingers crossed for tomorrow.
God now i am thinking though, is he fit? Will we have to wait a few weeks to see him so he can get up to the fictional state that is match fitness? And while he ascertains this match fitness will he be struck by the curse f the new Kilie signing? a broken nose caused by Mark Reilly (ala pat nevin and Christophe Cocard) or something? all stuff to worry about i should think. Also, where will he fit into our line up who are churning out one of the most inconsistent runs in memory? Drop Russell? Ferdy? God i know we have been crap but if we start taking out one player we could easily rejig the whole team.
actually, there's a idea worth investigating....

Season Diary 53

Entry #53: Wednesday 28th January 2009

flicked through yesterdays paper this morning eating my breakfast and noticed that Jim Jeffries might be missing from the dugout for Saturdays game at the new St Mirren stadium. He will under go a routine operation today (which i suppose was now yesterday) and its up to the doctors whether he will be even at the game. Get well soon Jim i say, actually, given my thoughts on having an eye in the stands at games this could be a blessing, JJ can see what a pigs ear we make of many things during each and every game froma more elevated position.

Anyway this news i have which is now a day old seems weird considering i was told at tea time that Kevin Kyle was in talks to sign with us. How if JJ is ill and in hospital can this be happening when he has been fit and on the go for the first 27days and we signed no one? I’m not complaining however, were crying out for a striker. Watching the League Cup semi final between Celtic and Dundee Utd (it could have been us! well if we werent so crap in our earlier round game that is) i decided to get my phone out and spread this news text style and score some opinion to pass the time.

21.00 RK: word on the street is that Kevin Kyle is having a medical at Killie.
21.14 D: heard he’s on the verge of an 18 month deal with us coz he got released early from Coventry. He’s better than nothing.
21.15 RK: Thats not very positive.
21.18 D: After sunday i’ve lost a lot of positivity and faith in those at rugby park. By all means i hope this guys a roaring success, after Simmonds i’d take anyone
21.21 RK: You not think that him and Simmonds would make a good partnership? him playing off Kyles shoulder?
21.23 D: I dont think anything involving Simmonds would be good. I’ve personally sen nowt from that boy. He’s pish.
21.26 RK: Fair enough! At least we might see a bit of brawn in the shape of the big Stranraer baggage handler, cannae see him as a shitebag. Though from what i remember of his Scotland career, a goalscorer isnt exactly his job description.
21.31 D: Nah what we dont need is someone who creates goals, we need someone in the box. too many times Fernandez and Russell come deep and there’s noone in the box for them to aim for as thats where one of them should be. Hopefully Kyle will be an aggressive forward for us. Better than Burchill i will also add.
21.34 RK: Have to agree there, i do fear for him amongst the Killie faithful however. Kyle doesnt rhyme with pish like Nish did though. I’m sure there are haters already!
21.41 D: Everyone should have a clean slate, in a ideal world that is. too many will rmemember his Scotland career, which is a few levels above us anyway. he’s played the majority of his career in the top half of the championship for the bigger clubs. He’ll have plenty of haters i agree but thats the joys of football fans , sure willo flood will have th same problem
21.44 RK: you wonder what goes through these guys heads, not getting a game at man city, to not getting a game at cardiff to getting a game at DU to not getting a game at Celtic. Weird, thats the way it goes i suppose. You think if we get Kyle that’l be the close of business at ruggers?
21.46 D: Aye. I’m surprised we’ve signed anyone at all. BB basically said in his column in the record today we’d be signing no one.
21.49 RK: Were playing like fucking coo’s and we have freed about 6 or 7 players, we had to sign someone, surely we should be getting more. A full back, a centre half? Some loans?
21.52 D: It would be nice but i’m not holding my breath. Is that idiot Morgan still on the books we signed form ICT? what a pointless signing.
21.58 RK: Er, im not sure, if he hasnt been freed then he has been told he can leave. A panic buy of this time last year. Surely the whole point of these windows is that you pick the guys you want and go for them. Man Citys youth set up gets rave reviews on talksport, why doenst JJ contact ol Leslie Hughes and see who wants to come up for some fitba? Though he doesnt want to play our own yins so why play someone elses
22.03 D: Hes playing Coventry’s young wans’s. Dunno why we never went for the old firm pair that Hamilton got. How come falkirk get Arsenal youth players and we get Simmonds. I’m picking on him i know. I’m getting angry the more i think about it.
22.07 RK: Never thought about that. We have to remember that he is carrying an injury, dunno whether that makes it worse though. Hope if Kyle signs we get a picture in the paper of him wi the strip or something, love all that stuff, nae doubt we’l get a wee soccer shorts wi 4 lines though.

Celtic won the semi 11-10 in penalties, never seen anything like it. Everyone hit one and Willo Flood missed on his second time round. Hoped agaisnt hope that Boruc would be the sinner and his big coupon would have a haunted look on the back of the papers the next day, alas he hit the best penalty of the night. Checked our fixtures to see if the Old Firm final would affect us, were away at Inverness though so it wont.

Season Diary 47

Entry #47: Monday 18th January 2009

Today Kaka turned down a move to Manchester City and frankly thank god. Let me put this into some sort of perspective. The wages that were reported, regardless of whether they were correct or not, were in the region of five hundred thousand pounds a week. half a million pound every week in a wee brown pay poke. Forgive me if i miss out my customary exclamation marks (which i do covet) when discussing this because as much as it shocks me, it is more sheer revulsion than anything else. In this time of a recession the fact that this is actually accepted makes the mind boggle.

the perspective? Killie havent paid five hundred thousand pounds in transfer fees for any one player in their history. It is frankly scary that we are playing the same game under the same rules set down by the governing bodies like UEFA and FIFA, scary.

In fact a while ago, a few seasons maybe, i wrote a piece for the Killie Hippo fanzine highlighting the gulf in money and how that money is ruining football, when West Hams new Icelandic owners (oh the irony) were throwing about mega money about paying 5.5million fines like it was pocket change due to transfer discrepancies in their buying of Tevez and Mascherano (oh the irony again as the Hammers seem in the shite a wee bit as that transfer debacle still rumbles on) i attended a Sportsmans Dinner for the Killie Trust which was raising money to keep afloat the Kilmarnock Youth system, a youth system which will provide most of our players one would assume in these credit crunch days. That fundraiser raised something like six thousand pounds and i highlighted the major differences and how there is a seeming lack of justice in this football world.

Today just shows that, despite the signing not going through, the gulf which i spoke of merely a few years ago has been blown even wider. Its obscene.

Season Diary 42

Entry #42: Saturday 10th January 2009

Wasnt plannign on posting this morning but when i got up and stepped out into the back garden i noticed a strange purple hue to the morning. Dont know what it was but it definitely felt like i was watching Steven Soderburgh's Traffic only this must be some sort of follow up sequel set in Ayrshire and my colour of gel on the lens is purple. That might not make sense, no matter today is the day and the reason i felt a need to log on and update this with the purple hue information regards my feelings about our strip choice today. Is it an omen?

Probably not, i am more likely reading something into nothing. Best log off as got to get myself ready.